hislegacy said:

Ah, then before Oklahoma eliminated the food tax we were already paying less than those in Germany -

I love Germany, I'm there three to four times a year. I'll be in Berlin this time, with a stop in Stuttgart. The Netherlands in December, Greece in January and then back to Germany in February.

Good people, good food! Great Churches.

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Taxes in germany are generally higher than in the USA.

New King James Version, SS 5:

14 His hands are rods of gold Set with beryl. His body is carved ivory Inlaid with sapphires.

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H3027-hand can refer to the hand or the entire arm; "arms" goes better with "rods".

English Standard Version:

His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires.

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Bob Crowley said:

If the churches ever reunify, I think a case could be made for the canonisation of CS Lewis.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury would have to accept the authority of the Pope. Many women priests would have to leave, though.

Kamala doesn’t care about the persecuted Christians. It doesn’t fit her agenda.

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It's the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It's the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God's holy fire
It's every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir
It's all God's children singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns"
It's all God's children singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns"
Let it rise above the four winds
Caught up in the heavenly sound
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals
To the faithful gathered underground
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation
Some were meant to persist
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples
None rings truer than this
It's all God's children singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns"
It's all God's children singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns"
It's all God's children singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns"
(He reigns)
It's all God's children singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns"
(He reigns)
And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they've just heard
'Cause all their powers of darkness
Can't drown out a single word
When all God's children sing out
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns"
(He reigns)
All God's children sing out
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns"
(He reigns)
All God's people singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns" (Hallelujah, hallelujah)
All God's people singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns" (Hallelujah, hallelujah)
All God's people singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns" (Hallelujah, hallelujah)
All God's people singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns" (Hallelujah, hallelujah)
All God's people singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns" (Hallelujah, hallelujah)
All God's people singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns, he reigns" (Hallelujah, hallelujah)
All God's children singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns" He reigns
All God's people singin'
"Glory, glory, hallelujah"
"He reigns"

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When did it become breaking a rule
To say your name out loud in school
When your names the only one that sets us free
When did it become incorrect
To speak the truth about life and death
When your life gave us all eternity
Even if it gets me convicted
I'll be on my knees with my hands lifted
If serving you's against the law of man
If living out my faith in you is banned
Then I'll stand right before the jury
If saying I believe is out of line
If I'm judged cause I'm gonna give my life
To show the world the love that fills me
Then I want to be Guilty
I'll rise up and honor you
I'll testify to all the good you do
'Cause your Grace and your Mercy have overtaken me
So even if it gets me convicted
I'll be on my knees with my hands lifted
If serving you's against the law of man
If living out my faith in you is banned
Then I'll stand right before the jury
If saying I believe is out of line
If I'm judged cause I'm gonna give my life
To show the world the love that fills me
Then I want to be Guilty by association
Guilty of being a voice proclaiming Your ways
Your truth
Your life
I'll pay the price to be your light
If serving you's against the law of man
If living out my faith in you is banned
Then I'll stand right before the jury
If saying I believe is out of line
If I'm judged cause I'm gonna give my life
To show the world the love that fills me
Then I want to be Guilty by association
Guilty of being a voice proclaiming Your ways
Your truth
Your life
I'll pay the price to be your light
Oh I want to be Guilty

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Some men came along, said I’m doing wrong singing my songs for the rock of all ages, (they said)
“Will they still like it where it’s at? And put more hair and flash in your act,”
Well, my show is now act, it’s just what I believe, so I told them they were wasting there time on me.

Because I’m never gonna serve… never gonna serve anyone else but you, my Lord,
No one but you, my Jesus,
I’m never gonna serve… never gonna serve anyone else but you, my Lord,
No one but you, my Jesus.

They can keep all their glitter and their fancy shoes,
I don’t want their riches and I don’t need their blues,
I guess all I’m saying is: I just wanna do it for you,
Nobody else but you.

They went right on trying to sell me their song, and kept telling me over and over, (they said)
“You could go buy you a meat-house star, and you could drive a new car, eat caviar,”
Well, I told them “No thanks” as I turned and walked out, ’cause I know who I am and I know where I’m bound.

And that I’m never gonna serve… never gonna serve anyone else but you, my Lord,
No one but you, my Jesus,
I’m never gonna serve… never gonna serve anyone else but you, my Lord,
No one but you, my Jesus.

Well, they can keep their champagne and their smoking rooms,
I don’t want their fame and I don’t need their food,
I guess all I’m saying is: I got to be singing for you, Lord,
Nobody else but you.

Nobody else but you,
No one else ’cause I’m never gonna serve… never gonna serve anyone else but you, my…
Nobody else but you.

essentialsaltes said:

Nope. I just think it's strange that a medical procedure that's been pretty uncontroversial for 40 years... and suddenly different groups are coming out to either ban it, or to have the government pay for it.

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Ok. That’s fair.

Excellent write up. Thanks!

KT

hmmm..... perhaps I should not have named my daughter Dorkus....

Rescued One said:

I believe God's word. Christians preach, but God does the saving.

1 Corinthians 3:6
6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

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Yes. We respond to the grace of God. However, tradition was passed down which was eventually made through the canons of the Sacred Scriptures.

I would love to see the religious women wear the habit again. It's a shame so many communities got rid of it.

What is the ‘call’ for Christians? Or what is the Christian vocation? We are all on a path, and many seek to respond to a call t to be of service to others. The above quote from the forward of the book “In Sinu Jesu”, fits me to a tee. I have been in monastic life for almost 53 years, and to tell you the truth, I am only just beginning to understand what my call is about. I do believe that the call I have, is for everyone as well, since we are all made in the image and likeness of God, and called to union with Infinite Love. We just have different ways of seeking to live out of that reality.

When I was a young monk, I knew that the one thing I had to do was to become ‘spiritually stubborn’. I needed that to get out of my way. I felt called by God, a very strong call, to give my life as a monk, for others, both in service, as well as in prayer. It has been hit and miss, but through the grace of Christ Jesus, even though I may fall more than seven times a day, my being ‘stubborn’, has allowed me to get up and begin again. A monk (all Christians) are called to cling to God even when they are in despair……for God’s love is stronger than death, desolation, and the fury of hell.

My own inner wounds, my fear, my anger, my inability to feel certain types of emotions, my not knowing how to shed tears, my laziness, and my running away from pain, have been my constant companions on my journey toward a deeper trust, and love of God. Through it all, the Lord Jesus has been faithful, never letting go of his call to me, and gently over the years, so as not to overwhelm me, has led me deeper into trust. Though my understanding is still shallow. If my heart is still hard, how can I understand the infinite love of God? Yet, I can trust, and abandon myself to this mystery of endless depth.

We are called to become loving as Christ Jesus was loving. To incarnate Christ Jesus. In other words, to become fully human. To miss that call is to reduce oneself below the level of the lowest beast, for without love, we become an infinite wasteland, or, our own private hell.

By Our Lord's infinite compassion, and mercy, it is our wounds, our failures, and our desire to begin again, is the prod that keeps us on the road to a deeper union with God.—Br.MD

Michie said:

I really do not understand what the Church considers incorrupt when it seems so much is done cosmetically to them to display them.

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They might last for a long time, but they won't last forever.

Thanks for sharing

My fallen away Catholic cousin was an IVF for her best friend (my cousin is the biological mother though, so her friend's children are technically my first cousins once removed). It breaks my heart she abandoned Church teaching.

Praying for an end to this practice.

okay said:

Just looked him up. Apparently has a net worth the order of $100 Million. For a second-generation preacher that seems suspect unless their family has old money or his wife had money when he married her.

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He preaches the prosperity gospel. Him and Joyce Meyers are very wealthy compared to most.

Congress and President Joe Biden’s government have reportedly paid the Texas arm of Catholic Charities USA $769 million since 2021 to help deliver a huge population of poor migrants into U.S. communities, workplaces, and housing.

“Catholic Charities has a history of prioritizing the needs of migrants over those of Americans,” said Sheena Rodriguez, the president of Alliance for a Safe Texas, which champions border security and anti-trafficking programs. “I’ve spoken with numerous homeless Americans who claimed they were forced out of [a Catholic Charities] shelter in the dead of night to accommodate the influx of illegal migrants,” she told Breitbart News.

On August 16, she reported:

Obligated prime grant awards for Catholic Charities locations in Texas amount to $769,192,082.35 (often contractual amounts), of which $450,462,304.35 is reported as outlayed (actual funds paid out so far).

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The funding helped shelter and transport many migrants from the border region to U.S. communities and workplaces. The funding was only a small part of President Joe Biden’s catch-and-release welcome for roughly 10 million legal, illegal, and quasi-legal migrants from 2021 to 2024.

Catholic leaders are defending Catholic Charities’ participation in the government’s migration-based economic strategy which divides many foreign families, kills many migrants, cuts Americans’ wages, drives up housing costs, expands U.S. poverty, and reduces the incentive for U.S. trade with developing countries.

The catch-and-release network of shelters and buses also brings criminals into many U.S. communities.

Continued below.

Skiatook history teacher under investigation following controversial assignment​

Days later, Richter told his class that as a former marine, sometimes he gets violent, according to Gray.

In an interview, Loggins declined to say whether Richter is allowed to teach and coach football while under investigation. Loggins said the way his district handles personnel matters is confidential.

Richter is a non-certified adjunct teacher, which Loggins said has become more prevalent in Oklahoma because of a teacher shortage.

“He was one of very few applicants for the position because other districts can be a little more competitive in their compensation,” Loggins said about Richter.

--

Liberals probably want to throw money at the problem and hire properly-certified teachers.

Gen 7:

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark.

600/2/17 Noah's family entered the ark.

Gen 8:

2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

600/7/17 Flood reached the maximum level.

5 month = 150 days

Each month is 30 days long. The Jewish calendar today is lunisolar. On average, there are 29.5 days in a month. There are 30.4 days in a Gregorian calendar month. Noah's months were different from both.

The present location of the Persian Gulf was not explicitly named in the Bible.

Gen 11:

31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.

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Abram traveled from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan along the two rivers. Ur was some tens of km away from the Persian Gulf.


Esther 1:

1 This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, a the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush: 2 At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.

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Susa wasn't far from the gulf.

Elam's southern border was the gulf. Jeremiah prophesied in 49:

38 I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials,” declares the Lord. 39 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come,”

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Joel might have pointed to the gulf in 2:

20 I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.

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While the gulf was not named in the Bible, its near cities were.

Here’s a roundup of the latest developments in the U.S. regarding abortion and pro-life issues:

Lawsuit against Massachusetts ‘campaign of intimidation’​

A group of pro-life pregnancy centers in Massachusetts is suing the governor and other state officials for a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign against them, which they argue constitutes “impermissible viewpoint discrimination” based on their religious and political speech.

The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 19 by Your Options Medical Centers (YOM), a Christian-based network of pregnancy resource centers.

Under Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, Massachusetts launched a first-in-the-nation $1 million advertising campaign against pregnancy centers in June.

One example of the language used by the ads targeting Massachusetts residents on social media, billboards, and public transit, reads: “Avoid anti-abortion centers. They try to limit your options if you’re pregnant.”

Continued below.

RileyG said:

Disgusting! I'm ashamed he is from my state!

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Could be worse Brother you could be from my state California pfft. I hate Grewsome Newsom. He is Gay.

This is one of the most pertinent articles I have read on this site.

Note that this basic subject, of being true to “our shared reality” (as I would phrase it), is a bedrock foundation of Christian and Jewish belief, and Christian apologetics, and critical Bible study skills. This topic about being true to reality, cuts across all sorts of other topics, although the currently “intellectually-blind” American culture often does not realize that.

Teaching about our shared reality, is foundational for teaching the Christian faith (hence, for catechism). It is NOT, as many Protestant Fundamentalists claim, some sort of “empty philosophy” or “wrangling over words”, that is a common response by some Fundamentalists when the topic of the nature of reality is bought up.

Note that there are many related connections, to discussions of what our shared reality is.
Some of these are…
1 The Bible presents aspects or characteristics of our shared reality (so Christians and Jews CANNOT ignore this topic!)
2 The Bible presents a MORAL-ETHICAL OUGHT to accurately present our shared reality. This is in the form of “You shall not lie!” Lie about what? About our shared reality. The biblical form of this command is “You shall not bear false witness”, and that opens up the topic to include all sorts of reality that is not commonly discussed by Christians. Such as how we perceive the behavior, and statements, and opinions of other people. Also, how we perceive the written record of mankind (including the testimony of the written Scriptures). Note that the Bible includes examples of the nobility of researching whether or not the opinions or assertions of someone, are true.
3 The Bible presents the truth that we each, can choose to ignore our shared reality, or mis-hear or mis-see what is happening. Note Jesus warning “Be careful how you hear!” Human choice, is in the middle of our perceiving. And the classic virtues include virtues that affect how we perceive. These are patience, endurance, gaining knowledge, and gaining the ability to carefully reason. If we do not pursue and practice these virtues, we should not expect that we will gain critical thinking skills, or be able to have the self-discipline to pay attention (to what people say, to the reality around us, to arguments, or to a process of testing whether an assertion/opinion is correct).
4 Note that while the Bible does not provide detailed models of HOW we perceive and think about our shared reality, the truths that the Bible affirms, REQUIRE specific constraints on our worldview, regarding what our shared reality is, and how we can know about it. This is a point that it mostly ignored in Christian apologetics, because many apologists have not carefully thought about them.

For example…

Everyone SAYS that the want JUSTICE.
But to get justice, you must first have access to:
A shared reality
Accurate (enough) individual perceptions of that reality (we could call this evidence)
Accurate methods of reasoning about what relevant connections exist, in our shared reality (the ability to recognize RELEVANT evidence, and IRRELEVANT evidence, with regard to a certain topic.
An accurate (enough) method of communicating with other human beings
A fair rule of law, that encodes what is evil, and what is righteous, and has
A clear method of applying the law to valid evidence, to produce JUST
decisions.

Try confronting those who do not believe that we live in a shared reality, with this logical outcome — that there can never be any such thing as JUSTICE! As the historic philosophers clearly recognize, those models of reality the deny that there is truth, or that we can know it, are dark and hopeless models (with regard to interesting topics, such as JUSTICE).

Unless Christian teaching starts with…
—- what our shared reality is
—- how we perceive our shared reality
—-how we can test out personal perceptions, to see if they are correct (this requires sound logic)
Then we can never get to asserting the core of Christian doctrines, such as the 10 Commandments (specifically, “You shall not bear false witness”).
Rather than being “empty philosophy”, these basic assertions about our shared reality are a necessary foundation for presenting the truths that the Bible asserts.
————— —————
Note that the massive chaos in our current politics, is often due to the younger American generations NOT having an exposure to basic philosophical examinations of what our shared reality is. Or, how we are to accurately perceive it. Or, how we are to use sound logic to examine our perceptions and opinions, to see if they are correct.

The electronic screen generations, for example, often do not have the attention span required to listen carefully to the (above) argument about what we must know, for there to be “justice”.

The electronic screen generations often do not have the basic vocabulary, to understand discussions of Epistemology, Formal Logic, Moral Theory, or Critical Bible Study skills. (Or, increasingly, what the text of the Bible is asserting.)
————— —————
Christians are FORBIDDEN from gossiping, and lying. They are COMMANDED to test all things, and hold on to what is true.
Conspiracy theories are unproven speculations. They are “explanations”, but like hypotheses, they do not have the evidence to affirm them as truths. Conspiracy theories, ARE NOT accurate descriptions of our shared reality, or about causes and effects in our shared reality that have been fully demonstrated. Christians should NEVER embrace conspiracy theories, or spread them.

Conspiracy theories about a “Deep State” plot, start out with the assumption that …

1 There is an omnipotent entity that can hide all true evidence
2 What I am asserting (the conspiracy theory) is TRUE, however this omnipotent entity covered up all evidence for what I am saying
3 STILL, you must believe the explanation I am giving you, even though no one will ever get the evidence to confirm this explanation, because the omnipotent Deep State has the power to cover up any and all evidence for what I am asserting.
This is an argument that there is a category of explanations, that can NEVER be proven to be true, because some omnipotent institution has covered up all the evidence that could have been used to prove the theory. This is essentially the same thing as saying…
“My theory is UNFALSIFIABLE, but still you MUST BELIEVE IT, because I believe it.”

In formal logic, definitions, and propositions, that are UNFALSIFIABLE, are not logically coherent, and are discarded as nonsense.
The basic format of a conspiracy theory, is that it is UNFALSIFIABLE.
————— —————
Christians need to go further, and assert that a righteous person must not only ASSERT TRUTHS, but LIVE IN ACCORD WITH THOSE TRUTHS.
Those who assert the commands that we should protect the weak and helpless, should not be out there insulting people and threatening them and their families, or have a history of abusing women, and lying about our shared reality. Jesus’ parables about the FRUIT that a tree produces (defines what sort of tree it is), is a stark reality check.

Someone who responds to criticism with abuse and threats, is showing what sort of tree they are.
These are deeply Christian topics, although they are also topics that are very relevant to the politics of 2024.

Joseph G said:

Can They See God For Who He Really Is?
Steven Curtis Chapman

Too many hypocrites," I heard her say,
"I even saw it in the headlines today;
How can I follow God when His own people turn away."
She said, "Nobody's perfect but I just want to see
Somebody living what they say they believe;
If they've got all this world needs like they say,
I wonder why won't they give some away."

[Chorus:]
Can she see God for who He really is
In what she sees in you and me.
Can she see God for who He really is,
For who He really is is all she really needs to see.

He slips into church and he puts up his guard;
They look so happy but his life's been so hard.
He keeps his distance so they won't see the scars;
It's just a religion that's all dressed up in white,
And God is love as long as you're living right.
But does he know that Jesus also has scars,
And His love can reach Him no matter how far.

[Chorus]
Can he see God for who He really is
In what he sees in you and me.
Can he see God for who He really is,
For who He really is is all he really needs to see.

The skeptics are watching to see who will fall,
While those disillusioned search for the Truth in it all;
Maybe today we'll cross their paths unaware,
And they'll stop and look at us. What will be there?

[Chorus]
Can he see God for who He really is
In what he sees in you and me.
Can he see God for who He really is,
For who He really is is all he really needs to see.

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Dang, this song has deep meaning in 2024. I love Steven Curtis Chapman, and I will add this one to my favorite Christian music. We must show our good actions both in front of others, and in private, so we can spread the Gospel around. Steven Curtis Chapman was the Chris Tomlin of the 1990s. Good music, with Biblical lyrics.

Reminds me of a verse:
1 John 4:20 (ESV): "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen."