SerenityA said:

I'm having constant stomach and eye pain can you please pray that it goes away

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ThatRobGuy said:

Per the AP

The report found that torture and ill-treatment of POWs took place on both sides, it was more common against Ukrainians — more than 9 in 10 of interviewees reported such abuse— than against Russians, about half of whom testified to such mistreatment.


Those are big enough numbers that I don't want my tax dollars going towards either side of the conflict.

"I back that side that only mistreats and tortures 50% of the POWs instead of 90%" isn't a bumper sticker I'll be putting on my car anytime soon.

I still suspect that the prevailing "Trump and Putin are best buddies" narrative is clouding the judgement of half the country.

The fact that so many people were so quick to fly the flag of a nation "in solidarity" that had this track record:

Ernst & Young ranked Ukraine among the three most corrupt nations out of 43 surveyed, alongside Colombia and Brazil. By 2015, The Guardian referred to Ukraine as "the most corrupt nation in Europe". Transparency International's Corruption Index (CI) provides further insight. In 2013, Ukraine was ranked 144th out of 180 countries, indicating an extraordinarily high level of public sector corruption.


...I still can't help but think ulterior motives are at play.

Otherwise, it'd be like putting an Outlaws MC sticker on the back of your car to show support because they happen to be feuding with the Hells Angels.

I'll still maintain that the half of this country that feigns "deep concern" about this conflict is only doing so because of the aforementioned perception. If there were never a perception that "Putin helped Trump win", most wouldn't care about this conflict and would still be holding their previous "non-interventionist" sentiments.

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The pursuit of virtue​

Embracing temperance to strengthen your faith

Reflect on the positive purpose of Lent, rooting our lives in virtue through fasting, prayer, and temperance, preparing us for deeper joy.

www.oursundayvisitor.com

Traffickers pose as Christian missionaries to entrap victims, Thai-Phillippine law enforcement says​

Traffickers pose as Christian missionaries in Thailand to entrap victims

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news that you might have missed this week.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

tonychanyt said:

Leviticus 22:


John 14:


Acts 4:


The word "name" could mean

1. the label of a person, i.e., the spelling of a person's name, e.g., "YHWH"
2. the person's character, Lev 22:32 above
3. the person's authority, Jn 14:13, Jn 17:11.
4. the person's title, e.g., Immanuel
5. the person's reputation, e.g., Jacob's name means supplanter
6. even the person himself, Acts 4:13.

In the Bible, the word "name" does not usually refer to the label (meaning #1).

Even today, we accept these usages:

She was beginning to make a name (reputation) for herself as a portrait photographer.

They kill in the name (authority) of religion.

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Blessed is the one who comes in the name of YHWH;
We have blessed you from the house of YHWH.
YHWH is God, and He has given us light;
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, I exalt You.
Give thanks to YHWH, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness endures forever.

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Federico Oldani is a pale, thin analytical man in his early 30s who lives in Milan and works for an Italian aerospace company. He grew up in the city, and at the age of 11 began attending Istituto Marcelline Tommaseo, a private school in an expensive neighbourhood. He quickly became friends with Carlo, a sunny, extroverted boy who shared his passion for fast cars.
...
Carlo never spoke to Oldani about Jesus. Oldani knew that Carlo’s parents were religious and Carlo was culturally Christian – everyone was culturally Christian – but he had no idea Carlo was an ardent believer. In the course of multiple conversations, Federico went back and forth about whether he had known anything at all. Sometimes he said he had an ambient sense Carlo was religious, at other times he said he had small clues he put together later. The hagiographies tell us that faith was the centre of Carlo’s life. His parents may have seen it. But at his Catholic school, his reserve on the subject was so complete that when Carlo told Oldani he was making a website cataloguing miracles, Oldani saw it more as an expression of his friend’s passion for computer programming than anything else.

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The secret life of the first millennial saint

The Vatican wants him to be the next Mother Teresa. But what did Carlo Acutis really believe?

www.economist.com

dakotariver said:

Thanks. I'm mulling over if I should go towards non-Catholic churches that have High Church, like Episcopalian or Lutheran, or if I should go to a bible based non-denominational church. Transubstantiation and the Eucharist are really important to me, and while Catholic confession really drives me insane, I have this worry if I don't do it, I'll be damned.

I've been watching a lot of Youtube videos from Protestant pastors and lay people about confession, the Mass, and Holy Communion so I can get a better understanding of what those things may or may not mean outside of a Catholic perspective. I just get so bogged down with worry on if I'm "doing the right thing". Like you said, I need to pray to God about this and allow him to guide me on the path he knows is correct.

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Jeff Saunders said:

I would like to know why most people think this verse only includes those who die after Jesus went to the cross and why this is not a true statement for those who came before Jesus?

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Radagast said:

Correct.



Not really. Barring a few fragments, the Greek book Jude quoted has vanished. There is no evidence that the Ethiopic text we have today bears any resemblance to what Jude quoted.

There are also Aramaic fragments among the DSS. They don't quite agree with the modern Ethiopic text either.

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Mikek84 said:

Hi, I just wanted some input and clarity about some concerns I have with the current sda movement. I grew up sda. Left the church, came back, left again. It's been a struggle to say the least. Over the last few years I've noticed a big change. I don't want to get political at all, but it seems like a left moving church. Unless I watch sermons online I don't get any real preaching from the pulpit. The congregations seem to be very different from traditional sda's. Church seems to be more of a weekly gathering than a weekly worship. The church I was attending now has a woman pastor and the churches around also have women pastors. They probably out number the men. I don't know where everyone stands with this, but I don't. A few YouTube sda pages I follow, its just continuous division, Its as of the Church is falling apart. I believe what sda's believe, but the church seems broken and doesn't not seem like a place to come to. I'm struggling with all this and I'm looking for clarity and direction. We all want to make the right choices and do good in eyes of the Lord. I'd appreciate some feedback. Thanks.

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trophy33 said:

Even if you got some money from this, the lost trust in your reliability/stability and that you speak truth may cost you more. It is like winning some argument in a relationship by being rude, violent, threatening, lying. It damages your long term success.

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37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

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“Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”

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Anonymous0210 said:

I had a thought earlier today and im curious what you all think of this. Is it possible for satan to deceive us into thinking that certain things are sinful only to have us focus so much on what we are perceiving as sinful that we can fall into something that truly is sinful like coveting over it? Thoughts?

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Mrpp said:

A year ago I made post here regarding Exodus historicity and through year I interacted with major scholars and egyptologists. And I realized I made error in abandonment of Jewish city. It didn't happened during Amenhotep 2 but Ramses. Also scholars and egyptologists pointed me into right date acording to Bible and there I found more compelling evidences than ever. Here there are.

WHEN EXODUS HAPPENED?

"they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh." Exodus 1 11

Pi-Ramesses was the new capital built by the Nineteenth Dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses II (1279–1213 BCE) and it didn't exsist in any form before that. It also talks about specific action attached to it like building it so it cannot be anachronism. Also name of Ramses is the only name of pharaoh that appears in Exodus therefore it is obvious that it happened then.

The text indicates that the Israelites had been in Egypt for 430 years; that would coincide roughly with the narrative of Genesis, when Joseph would have gone to Egypt at the beginning of the 17th century BCE, according to the chronology that appears to be operative there (in Genesis

MAIN EVIDENCE

1 ABANDONMENT OF AVARIS

After Ramesses II constructed the city of Pi-Ramesses roughly 2 km (1.2 mi) to the north, Avaris was superseded by Pi-Ramesses, and thus finally abandoned during the Ramesside period acording to Manfred Bietak excavation there. Most importantly, the surrounding material culture does seem to continue on until the Rameside period. So the Semites who remained there after the Hyksos period were still there through the Thutmoside and Amarna period. But midway through the Rameside period, Tell el-dab’a (Avaris area) is left in ruins and replaced by cemeteries.

Bietak says there was “a Western Semitic population living in the eastern Delta for quite a length of time, from the late 12th Dynasty (ca. 1830 BC) until the Ramesside Period”

HOW DO WE KNOW IT IS ISRAEL CITY?

The research that led to this new began in 1966 when the Austrian Academy of Sciences opened the still-ongoing excavations at Tell el Dab’a, (ancient Avaris or Hwt-Waret) and identified the site as the Hyksos capital. Look, I’ll be straight with you: the Exodus was based on the Hyksos. No doubt about it. That is what the Egyptian historians claimed (Manetho), and that was what the Jewish historians claimed (Josephus). The Hyksos arrived in Egypt at the same time that the Israelites entered Egypt in the Bible. They both settled in the same city. Each of their leaders was granted authority equal to the Pharaoh. Each of their first kings was said to bear the title of “Shalyt.” Each stayed in Egypt for the same length of time. Each was driven by the country by a new Pharaoh who was concerned that they might turn against the native Egyptians. Each was driven from Egypt into the Levant. They left Egypt in similar numbers.There is evidence that the first Hyksos arrivals migrated from Mari, just like the family of Abraham. They have recovered over a dozen signet rings bearing the inscription “son of Jacob.” They found an Egyptian-style tomb for an Asiatic chieftain, adorned with a coat of many colors, and surrounded by eleven smaller family tombs, all from the same period. They found a papyrus from near the time of the departure of the Exodus with a list of slaves, and many of the names appear directly in the book of Exodus.

Dr Falk Egyptologist talks in detail about it in Login to view embedded media
2 conquest of Joshua

As to the only pharaoh associated in any way with Israelites, it is Merneptah (reign: 1213–1203 BC), son of Ramses II (reign: 1279–1213 BC). The famous “Merneptah stele” is largely an account of Merneptah's victory over the Libyans and their allies, but the last 3 of the 28 lines deal with a separate campaign in Canaan, then part of Egypt's imperial possessions. The stele is sometimes referred to as the "Israel Stele" because a majority of scholars translate a set of hieroglyphs in line 27 as "Israel.

What is the significance of this text? Hershel Shanks, editor and author, answers: “The Merneptah Stele shows that a people called Israel existed in 1212 B.C.E. and that the pharaoh of Egypt not only knew about them, but also felt it was worth boasting about having defeated them in battle.” William G. Dever, professor of Near Eastern archaeology, comments: “The Merneptah stele tells us unequivocally: There does exist in Canaan a people calling themselves ‘Israel,’ and thus called ‘Israel’ by the Egyptians—who, after all, are hardly biblically biased, and they cannot have invented such a specific and unique people as ‘Israel’ for their own propaganda purposes.”

3 Jericho

Jericho is one of the city that has very unique manner of destruction and there are evidence it was destroyed in 13 century.More recently, Lorenzo Nigro from the Italian-Palestinian Expedition to Tell es-Sultan has argued that there was some sort of settlement at the site during the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. He states that the expedition has detected Late Bronze II layers in several parts of the tell, although its top layers were heavily cut by levelling operations during the Iron Age, which explains the scarcity of 13th century materials. You also cannot accuse of Nigro the biasses cause of his says that the idea that the Biblical account should have a literal archaeological correspondence is erroneous, and "any attempt to seriously identify something on the ground with biblical personages and their acts" is hazardous. He also thinks Exodus is dated at 15 century.Lorenzo Nigro's excavations at Jericho published a Late Bronze layer that ended up in ruins in the LB IIB period (=13th century BC). See:

"The Italian-Palestinian Expedition to Tell es-Sultan, Ancient Jericho (1997-2015): Archaeology and Valorisation of Material and Immaterial Heritage" in (eds. Sparks, Finlayson, Wagemakers, Briffa) 'Digging Up Jericho: Past, Present, and Future,' Oxford: Archaeopress, 2020, pp. 175-214

4 Desert artifacts and inscriptions across sinai mention Israel.

There's a late Middle Kingdom Proto-Sinaitic inscription from an ancient copper mine in Sinai that appears to mention Moses' metallurgist brother-in-law Hobab in connection with the Israelites, who are frequently referred to as 'the Assembly of the Sons of Israel’ in the Moses account.

It reads:

“Now unto the Assembly and unto Hobab is the majesty of a furnace.”

Again, found at an ancient copper mine in the Southern Sinai Peninsula near traditional Mt Sinai and Biblical Dophkah, where the scripture records the Israelites stopping after the Wilderness Sin where Yahweh sent them 'Manna' to eat for the first time.

An inscription found at Dophkah reads:

“I uproot an oppressed garden! Who is on the Father's side in keeping your Manna?”

There is a alter at Mount Elba dated to around 1200 BC, but right under its foundation is earlier sacrifices from sheep, goats, cattle and deer and also a scarab depicting Thutmose III (but scholars state this is from 1250BC and not earlier).

5 Mountain Sinai

Experts believe they’ve finally found one of the holiest sites in the Bible — miles from where it was previously assumed to have existed.

A biblical archaeologist organization, The Doubting Thomas Research Foundation, claims it has found the actual mountain where, according to the Old Testament, Moses lead the Israelites – a mountain that was enveloped in smoke, fire and thunder – and where, at the top, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.

Right at the foot of the mountain, there is an undeniably man-made structure with features that fit the Biblical requirements for a sacrificial altar.

This L-shaped structure clearly resembles chutes, which would be used for lining up the animals for sacrifice. At the end of the line, there is evidence of burnt sacrifices and various features required for the Exodus story to take place.

It is an earthen altar, does not have steps, and is made entirely of uncut stones, an anomalous design among most man-made structures

Tests on samples of the blackened rock retrieved in the 1980s by Bob Cornuke indicate they are metamorphic basalt.

The analysis of his rock samples concluded that it is most likely basalt that went through metamorphosis:

“[the rock was] metamorphosed in the low to middle amphibolite facies and may have undergone metamorphism at an approximate temperature of 500 degrees or lower at lower pressure, no more than 2 to 3 kilobars. My guess is that the rock started out as an igneous rock, probably of basaltic or andesitic composition and was later metamorphosed.”

6 plagues

Studies of stalagmites in Egyptian caves have found that timing coincides with a period of prolonged drought. AccuWeather founder and executive chairman Dr. Joel N. Myers, author of Invisible Iceberg: When Climate and Weather Shaped History, says the extended dry spell could have triggered a domino effect of natural disasters such as those described in the Bible.

“Once you have a drought and a heat wave, everything changes,” he says. “When the climate changes, a series of disruptions occur that feed on each other.”

The Bible lays out exactly the chronological events of the plagues. It isn't a coincidence that the exact sequence of events is verified by stalagmites taken from caves in Egypt, the presence of volcanic ash and pumice stone in an area where there has never been a volcano, and a complete change of climate during the reign of Ramses II, which would have accounted for these events.

All over the city of Avaris are shallow burial pits with multiple victims. There were no careful interments as was required under Egyptian customs. The bodies were thrown one on top of another in mass graves. There is no evidence of grave goods being placed with the corpses as was the Egyptian custom. Bietak is convinced this is direct evidence of a plague or catastrophe.

Wood shortages noted in later periods in Egypt, likely resulting from locust.

Amun-her-khepeshef was first in line to inherit the throne of Egypt from his father, Ramesses II's. He died before inheriting his father's titles 25 years into his father's rule.

7 Others evidences

High amount of Egyptian loanwords that's significantly more frequent than would be expected in Imperial Aramaic

Egyptian names in Pentateuch

Names fit with 2nd Millennium BCE

Use of toponym Raamses

Other Toponyms fit with 13th Century BCE

Exodus. 14-15 is similar to Kadesh Inscription

Not written in a Mythological Fashion

Attested in multiple Israelite sources

Literary device "mighty hand"

Requests for temporary leave

knowledge of Egyptian crop circles

Biographies of Ahmose showing that the people of Ataris were enslaved.

A change in dynasty explaining the new Pharaoh's lack of knowledge of Joseph.

Egyptians considering Semites enemies.

Rameses' successor was not as militarily strong, suggesting a weakening of Egypt in the wake of Exodus.

Other discoveries in Bible

The [Mesha Steel] (Mesha Stele - Wikipedia), erected by King Mesha of Moab, tells the story of the Moabite rebellion in 2 Kings 3:4–28 from the perspective of the Moabites.

The [cylinder of Cyrus] (Cyrus Cylinder - Wikipedia) confirms the role Cyrus the Great and the Persian Empire played in ending the Judean captivity in Babylon as described in the Bible.

The writings of [Flavius Josephus] (Josephus on Jesus - Wikipedia) provide a non-Christian source that supports the historical existence of Jesus.

There are countless more archaeological discoveries, as well, that confirm that the Bible, as a history of the Israelite people, at least reflects the history of a people as they told it.

Common objections debunked.

Consensus of experts is that exodus didn't happened

Contrary to the very popular misconception, the scholarly consensus among actual Egyptologists is that the Exodus is “very likely” rooted in historical events, but most Egyptologists shy away from the subject because it is too controversial. That is according to a survey of Egyptologists conducted by Dr. James Hoffmeier, who is himself an Egyptologist, the Professor of Old Testament and Near Eastern Archaeology at Trinity University, and the director of the North Sinai Archaeological Project.

According to Hoffmeier, 85% of the Egyptologists who responded to his survey believe that the Exodus was likely rooted in historical events. Many of them connect it to the expulsion of the Hyksos in 1522 BC (which has some very startling parallels the Exodus account), while others associate it with the reign of Ramses II. Only a few respondents said that a historical basis for the Exodus was “unlikely.”

David Falk"Today pendulum has shifted. It swunged another direction"

Why Exodus matters

Why Exodus events are so important. Getting Large numer of people out of Sinai without starving is miracle. Diffrence beetwen Exodus and other events is that it relies on miracles happened. If those were random natural disasters then pharaoh would never release slaves without being threaten. Even if you would explain all natural things in this story you would never explain why all those miracles happened at around the same time. It's timing is miraclous.

if God does not exist, the individual incurs only finite losses, potentially sacrificing certain pleasures and luxuries. However, if God does indeed exist, they stand to gain immeasurably, as represented for example by an eternity in Heaven in Abrahamic tradition, while simultaneously avoiding boundless losses associated with an eternity in Hell.

Sources

Pi-Ramesses - Wikipedia

“On the Historicity of the Exodus: What Egyptology Today Can Contribute to Assessing the Sojourn in Egypt,” in T. E. Levy, T. Schneider and W.H.C. Propp (eds.), Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective, Heidelberg-New York: Springer ,

_On_the_Historicity_of_the_Exodus_What_Egyptology_Today_Can_Contribute_to_Assessing_the_Sojourn_in_Egypt_in_T_E_Levy_T_Schneider_and_W_H_C_Propp_eds_Israels_Exodus_in_Transdisciplinary_Perspective_Heidelberg_New_York_Springer_17_36

Why I Took Down Exodus Rediscovered

Fall of Jericho - Wikipedia

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Moses' Altar and the 12 Pillars - Doubting Thomas Research

Mount Sinai's Distinct Blackened Peak - Jabal Maqla

Did Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, have anything to do with the ten plagues or exodus from Egypt?

Did the 10 Plagues of Egypt Really Happen? Here Are 3 Theories

Ten Plagues of Egypt

Amun-her-khepeshef - Wikipedia

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Pascal's wager - Wikipedia

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What is the probability that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist? They want me to give like … 92% probable. No, you can't. With history, you can't do that.

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You make it sound like you have some kind of objective, mathematical, precise thing.

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