Friday night tradition

After work, rent VHS videos, mostly eerie film noir and cult classics, like the original Werewolf and Dracula, to B movie Sci-Fi, so phony they were great!

Good.

I would add that Trump is not widely expected to win. The latest batch of polling shows Trump barely ahead of Biden, and not much different than it has been for much of the year. A squeak-by advantage well within the margin of error.

Perhaps that is good news, and shows social and Christian conservatives saying enough. Maybe Christians and others who value the Life movement are saying , they have debased themselves and held their noses for eight years. But they will not simply act like sheep and push the appropriate button as Trump moves to diminish opposition to one of the most critical moral crises in modern history.

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The guy was a lovable fellow. I remember watching him go on The David Letterman show. Richard knew Dave would make fun of him but he didn't care. He was definitely a character and he will be missed.

It’s unclear whether the attack on Shahzia Sikander’s sculpture is related to protests by anti-abortion groups, which previously denounced it as “satanic.”


Shahzia Sikander's sculpture "Witness" after vandalism on the University of Houston campus (© Shahzia Sikander, photo by Abdurrahman Danquah)

Artist Shahzia Sikander’s monumental sculpture “Witness” (2023) was beheaded in the early hours of Monday morning, July 8, on the grounds of the University of Houston campus.

The 18-foot-tall sculpture depicting a female figure in a hoop skirt and jabot with braided hair shaped into ram horns and vine-like appendages was installed for a temporary exhibition at the university earlier this year. In February, anti-abortion groups denounced the Pakistani-American artist’s work as a “satanic abortion idol” and threatened to protest the display, resulting in the university’s decision to cancel Sikander’s campus lecture for the opening reception.

“Witness” was vandalized as Hurricane Beryl made landfall along the Texas coast, causing power outages and damages across the campus and city, said Shawn Lindsey, associate vice president of Media Relations for the University of Houston.

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hislegacy said:

So much for passing the money only to Harris

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Not looking good for Joe. Looking awful for Kamala.

Rebels excoriating Vatican’s doctrine watchdog rally around Hollywood star Mel Gibson and Bishop Joseph Strickland​

Rome’s recent excommunication of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has deepened the division in the Catholic Church, causing several Catholics to show their support for Viganò by demanding to be excommunicated as well.

The former papal ambassador to the U.S. and a fierce critic of Pope Francis was excommunicated on July 4 by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) after he was “found guilty of the reserved delict of schism.”

“His public statements manifesting his refusal to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff, his rejection of communion with the members of the Church subject to him, and of the legitimacy and magisterial authority of the Second Vatican Council are well known,” the DDF statement declared.

The excommunication was widely expected after Viganò on June 20 refused to attend the judicial process, defiantly announcing that he regarded the accusations against him to be “an honor.”

A week later, Viganò released a second statement declaring:

I do not recognize the authority of the tribunal that claims to judge me, nor of its Prefect, nor of the one who appointed him.
This decision of mine, certainly painful, is not the result of haste or a spirit of rebellion; but rather dictated by the moral necessity that as Bishop and Successor of the Apostles obliges me in conscience to bear witness to the Truth, that is, to God himself, to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

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The Vatican’s verdict has sparked fierce dissent within the ranks of primarily traditionalist Catholics, who are themselves divided on Pope Francis’s papal legitimacy, with figures like Mel Gibson, Bishop Joseph Strickland, podcaster Taylor Marshall, and media outfit LifeSiteNews openly declaring their support for Viganò .

Actor Slams “Apostate” Pope​

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Michie said:

ANALYSIS: What made the 34-day papacy of Albino Luciani so special?

Pope John Paul I greets a priest in this undated file photo. Born Oct. 17, 1912, in Italy’s northern Veneto region, Albino Luciani was elected Pope Aug. 26, 1978, and took a double name after his two immediate predecessors, St. John XXIII and Bl. Paul VI. (photo: CNA / Vatican Media )

VENICE, Italy — Quick: Name a pope known for lifelong personal humility and a core commitment to the poor and marginalized among us — a man not expected to ascend the throne of Peter.

Many will surely answer “Pope Francis,” but the description is also true of Blessed Pope John Paul I, who took the name John Paul I when elected vicar of Christ on Aug. 26, 1978. He died only 33 days later, on Sept. 28.

Forty years after publication of a best-selling bombshell falsely claiming John Paul I was murdered, for initiating Vatican financial reform — David Yallop’s 1984 book-length conspiracy In God’s Name sold more than six million copies — the fog is clearing on this papacy.

In the Doge’s Palace in Venice on May 17 and in Rome, at Gregorian University last Nov. 24, illustrious gatherings marked the reassembly of John Paul I’s library, partially dispersed after his death, and the release of a new edition of Illustrissimi (To The Illustrious Ones), an unusual catechism comprised of 40 letters written by Luciani to famous figures, both historical (Charles Dickens, St. Teresa of Avila, Jesus) and fictional (Pinocchio).

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Pope John Paul I’s Legacy Is Rediscovered

ANALYSIS: What made the 34-day papacy of Albino Luciani so special?

www.ncregister.com

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As to the murder of pope John Paul I, there was this big shouting match in his apartment the night before he was discovered dead. One may not have actually had to actively kill him considering his health.

My hope is that he will be more and more appreciated in coming years, not as a predecessor of pope Francis but as a continuation of what went before him, a positive synthesis of the best of popes John and Paul.

Michie said:

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THAT's the one!

What kind of man was he?

David fled from Jerusalem and Absalom in 2Sa 15:

27 The king said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer?

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Zadok was royal to David.

Go back to the city in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”

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David trusted Ahimaaz to inform him of military intelligence on Absalom's vital plan, and he did in 17:17. David and Joab knew him to be a good man because he was loyal to David, like his father Zadok.

Later Joab killed Absalom. Ahimaaz and a Cushite ran to deliver the news to David, who was waiting at a city gate in 18:

27 The watchman said, “I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man and comes with good news.”

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David expected good news from Ahimaaz because he had demonstrated personal loyalty and reliability.

Hey, I made another animation with my daughter! Hope you like it!

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BPPLEE said:

The death penalty would be appropriate

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God gives…God takes away.

HTacianas said:

I'm certain that all of the native Greek speakers among the earliest Christians would have pointed that out long ago.

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Verse where the earliest Christian would have pointed it OUT long ago ?

Where did Christians begin ?

Read Acts 11:26 is when they began to call the disciples CHRISTIANS of Christ , first in Antioch .

The Greek word for Christian // Christianos , just means FOLLOWER of Christ !!

dan p

armchairscholar said:

I'm a simple man, I see a post arguing against Islam, and I have to contribute Let me add my two cents:

Thomas Aquinas did not engage in direct polemics against Islam or Muhammad, but rather took a more philosophical and apologetic approach. His main work addressing Islam was the Summa Contra Gentiles, written between 1261-1264 as a manual for Dominican missionaries working with Muslims and other non-Christians(Francisco, 2007).

In this work, Aquinas aimed to demonstrate the rationality and coherence of Christian doctrines, rather than directly attacking Islamic beliefs(Francisco, 2007). His approach was to show how Christian teachings were consistent with reason, even if they could not be fully proven by reason alone(Francisco, 2007).

Regarding Islam specifically, Aquinas made several arguments:

1. He claimed Muhammad offered no supernatural signs or miracles to validate his prophetic status, unlike biblical prophets and Jesus. (true)

2. Aquinas argued Islam spread primarily through violence and worldly promises, not through divine truth or spiritual appeal. (true)

3. He asserted the Quran contained factual errors and contradictions that a divinely-inspired text should not have. (true but not the strongest point)

4. Aquinas contended Islam's sensual descriptions of paradise appealed to base desires rather than higher spiritual truths. (very true)

5. He criticized Islamic law as permitting immoral practices like polygamy. (Very true)

Aquinas ultimately concluded Islam was a false religion founded on flawed human teachings rather than divine revelation. His goal was to use reason and philosophy to demonstrate Christianity's superior truth claims compared to Islam and other faiths.

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The fathers of the Church constantly refuted heretics.
It was their job. They were asked.

Did Caleb capture Hebron before or after Joshua's death?

The LORD swore in De 1:

35 ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the LORD!’

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It was fulfilled in Joshua 15:

13 According to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the people of Judah, Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). 14 And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak.

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Caleb captured Hebron before Joshua's death.

But the parallel account in Judges 1:

1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”

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10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

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The above verse could be a flashback to Josh 15:14.

Did Caleb capture Hebron before or after Joshua's death?

God promised to give Caleb the land he trod on. He probably received the land before Joshua died.

Walking The spiritual life is not about ‘dressing up’, though it can often be that for a while. No, our seeking after the Infinite, is, in fact, a ‘dressing-down’. It is about falling through the cracks in the ice, that thin layer that hides the often-brutal unconscious from my sanitized, self-serving thoughts about myself. I cannot go very deep unless I face what is dangerous to myself. Not only myself but others as well. The news is full of stories when someone falls through that layer of ice and comes in contact with the ‘Id’ as Sigmund Freud would call it. The Id according to Freud is

“The division of the psyche that is unconscious and serves as the source of instinctual impulses and demands for immediate satisfaction of primitive needs.”

This is a gift? I would say yes, a gift that paradoxically needs a strong ego to deal with it. I believe that ‘self-knowledge’, has to do with embracing aspects of myself that are painful to look at. Yet there you are, if it is part of me, not dealing with it would have me shut down, and not approach the bright light of the God-Head, in silence, or any kind of prayer. To pray from the heart is to open up myself to the actions of ‘Infinite Truth’. It can seem like hell, but in reality, it is purgatory. A necessary step in letting go of the false idea that I have to be ‘pretty’, or ‘together’ before I can come before the ‘Face of God’, which for me is revealed in Jesus Christ.-Br.MD

Ana the Ist said:

I'm not sure what case you're referring to here.

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Only the Right’s long struggle with the Administrative State

Ana the Ist said:

Most cases sent to the SCOTUS aren't heard by the SCOTUS.

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The venue for adjudicating Agency v. the Regulated cases , cease being decided by the internal agency administrative-judges and lands back into district courts (which are ill-equipped to deal with thorny, technical, jargon-laded issues) which will ensure that appealable errors will abound; more work for the Circuits, more work for SCOTUS, (eventually).

Ana the Ist said:

They all hear the same cases....lol....so there's literally no decrease in workload that can be had by adding justices.

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We had gotten up to nine justices when the nation had but ~40 million people; granted technology has vastly increased the Justices efficiency but having the same number seems wildly optimistic.

No one presses play on Netflix’s newest season of Bridgerton expecting a theologically sound lesson in the nature of the human heart. But when a television show claiming to be about love captures as many eyes as this one has — with 68.7 million views since its full debut on June 13 — it reveals a truth about how people are spending their time, which in turn exposes a truth about what they are worshipping.

In addition to the clearly objectionable pornographic elements in “Bridgerton,” there are also revealing flaws in the series’ storytelling and confused messages about female empowerment.

Love story of Penelope Featherington​

This season tells the love story of Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), a wallflower who discovered her independence by writing an anonymous gossip column. Her writing, described as her “life’s work,” is her great, brave undertaking as a woman with precious few ways to make her place in society. For all her writing talent, the most this feminist heroine can show for herself is pages picking apart people’s lives and berating them for their worst moments. This newest season concludes with Penelope finally signing her name to the column, after years of using it for her own personal advantage. This act proudly declares ownership of something that is, in the end, as ordinarily petty as speaking poorly about someone to a crowd of eager listeners.

Far from a heroic lead himself, love interest Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) comes into his own as a man by frolicking across foreign countries having casual sex with strangers. After failed attempts to stifle romantic feelings for Penelope by having more casual sex (this time with paid prostitutes), he begins their courtship by admitting his affection and initiating — can you guess? — a casual sexual encounter with her. An abrupt marriage proposal follows: the epic romantic conclusion to the first half of the show.

Real-world parallels to Colin’s behavior​

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rockytopva said:

To scare... To terrorize... Little difference as far as I am concerned.

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Exactly my point. You refrained from saying the man who dropped the child on his head to scare him was a terrorist but did so label the robbers.

Paleontologists recently identified a dinosaur that is believed to have lived at least partially underground—demonstrating that dinosaurs successfully exploited every kind of habitat available to them.

Fona herzogae lived 99 million years ago and possesses a skeleton that bears many hallmarks of animals that burrow.

Discovered in Utah by paleontologists from North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, it was a rather simple, unornamented dinosaur about as big as an average-sized dog.

Examinations of several close-to-complete skeletons show that F. herzogae possessed large bicep muscles, fused bones along the pelvis, and strong muscle attachment points on the hips and legs: all signs of a burrowing lifestyle.

Where it was discovered in Utah was, at the time of the animal’s life, a flood plain called Mussentichit that formed along the edges of a massive inland sea to the east, and peaks and volcanoes to the west. It was warm, it was humid, and it was riverine.

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Terrorist attacks have forced a denomination to close 70 churches in central Nigeria's Plateau state, while in the country's northwest, Christians are celebrating the release of a kidnapped priest.

The Rev. Amos Mohzo, president of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that attacks by Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists have forced 70 congregations in Plateau state's Mangu and Bokkos counties to stop services in the past two years.

Previous Christmas attacks last December directly affected COCIN congregations, he said.

“Our members were killed, people were killed, people lost their houses, many [were] traumatized and we couldn't do anything," Pastor Mohzo said. "We were stranded, but we had to face the challenge, and Christmas was celebrated by displaced Christians in Internally Displaced People's (IDPs) camps in spite of the tragedy."

In the Mangu area, attacks forced at least 40 COCIN congregations to close, he said.

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Michie said:

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — President Joe Biden argued July 11 that he is equipped to win the November election and serve another term in the White House in his first solo press conference since his performance at a debate raised concerns about his physical and mental acuity.

The high-stakes press conference — also the president’s first in eight months — took place at a NATO summit in Washington, as a growing number of congressional Democrats and some of the party’s top donors have raised concerns about his candidacy, or have called on him to step aside in favor of another candidate to run against former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, in November.

Biden’s press conference followed a significant gaffe earlier in the day, when he intended to introduce Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the conference, but called him “President Putin,” the Russian leader who ordered the invasion of Ukraine. Biden returned to the podium to correct himself, with Zelenskyy joking he is “better.”

Biden’s response to health concerns​

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In first post-debate press conference, Biden argues he will stay in race

President Joe Biden argued July 11 that he is equipped to win the November election and serve another term in the White House in his first solo press conference since his performance at a debate raised concerns about his physical and mental acuity.

www.oursundayvisitor.com

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It amazes me that the MSM was calling that a good press conference

he was fading at the end, wasn't making sense, and started to sound confused. Earlier, he introduced Zelensky as Putin, and said Trump was VP

I put the odds of a Trump victory in November at around 70% right now. If anything additional happens to Biden (falls down, has another confused press conference, bombs another debate, etc.), it is all over for the Democrats

​

Bishop Kevin Vann, center, has spent more than three years pursuing a retraction and a monetary award over an email sent to 47 people in 2020. He contends the letter by a charity administrator damaged his reputation by suggesting he meddled unethically in the finances of an independent Catholic foundation.


Suzanne Nunn prays the rosary with friends each morning in her Mission Viejo home. From St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in Laguna Niguel, she brings Communion to the sick and homebound. She drives parishioners without transportation to Sunday Mass, decorates the altar for holidays and instructs adult converts in the tenets of the faith.

One observing the 68-year-old in her church volunteer work or at prayer in her regular pew might struggle to comprehend another role she plays in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange: the target of a protracted and expensive legal crusade by the bishop.

For more than three and a half years, Bishop Kevin Vann has pursued a libel lawsuit against Nunn over an email she sent to 47 people in 2020 about what she saw as his improper meddling in the finances of a Catholic foundation where she worked.

Vann, the leader of Orange County’s 1.3 million Catholics, has persisted in the litigation despite court defeats, including a stinging January ruling in which a Superior Court judge threw out his entire suit against Nunn and voiced support for her criticism of the bishop. The decision means that, unless an appellate court intervenes, the bishop will be responsible for Nunn’s legal bills, calculated at nearly $2 million by her attorneys in court filings requesting repayment.

Where that money would come from is unclear. So is the source of funding for extensive legal work on the bishop’s behalf by a Costa Mesa firm. A spokesman for the diocese declined to answer questions about the financing of the litigation, including whether it is being underwritten by Sunday collections or other donations from the faithful.

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David was vulnerable in 1 Samuel 21:

10 David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.

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Gath was a Philistine city (1Sa 17:4), and Achish was a Philistine ruler. David was desperate. He was willing to seek refuge among his people's enemies to escape Saul, hoping to stay under Achish's protection.

11 But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”

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Achish's servants alerted him that David was a servant of Saul and posed a danger. Achish didn't want him.

12 Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

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Why was David afraid?

David thought he was in danger now because he didn't have many men with him while fleeing from Saul. He was afraid that Achish would take revenge on David, who had killed many Philistines. Sensing that, David changed his tune:

13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

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Achish was fooled by David's pretense and dismissed him.

Later, David wrote about this incident in (NIV) Psalm 34:

1 Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.
I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

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David pretended to be insane before Achish and Abimelek. Wiki:

this seeming contradiction is easily explainable when you understand that Abimelech would have been his title and Achish, his actual name.

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For the next many months, Saul continued to pursue David. Then, it was public knowledge that David was Saul's enemy. 1Sa 27:

2 David arose and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow.

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Why did King Achish reject David in 1Sa 21 only to welcome him in 1Sa 27?

Achish rejected David earlier, thinking that he was still Saul's servant. Later, the geopolitical situation changed. This time, David came with women and children, seeking asylum. Achish thought he could use David against Saul, their common enemy.

12 Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”

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For the second time, Achish was fooled by David. David had an adventurous life.