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SamoIsus · Aug 10, 2024

ARBITER01 · Aug 10, 2024

Is Christianity opposed to science?

No, but bible translations can create opposition it seems.

ThatRobGuy · Aug 9, 2024

The fact that this conversation is even "a thing" highlights one of the pitfalls of the fractional reserve banking systems that most countries have adopted.

It introduces a bunch of additional variables into the "supply & demand" dynamic that are unpredictable, and that even the best economists in the world can't seem to find a solid consensus on.

If it were that way in other specialized fields, we'd see it as a lot more troubling...but we've all grown accustomed to the status quo of people (in appointed positions, that we didn't vote for) messing with our money lol.

If 33% of 10+ year veteran lung doctors said "quite smoking", 33% said "smoke the same amount", and 33% said "actually, smoking is good, people need to smoke more", we'd see that as a much bigger flaw.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that most economist work is 25% sound provable reasoning, and 75% speculation.

Christsfreeservant · Aug 9, 2024

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:4-7 ESV)

I was sensing that the Lord Jesus was wanting me to share a little bit of my testimony about the times in my life when I pursued getting an education in order to end up in a particular field of study, and hopefully a career, and to share how that went and where ultimately it all lead. And so I shared the following on Facebook with my Facebook friends. But then I sensed that the Lord was saying that he had more for me to share than just that, and so I looked at the verse of the day from Bible Gateway, and that led me to this passage of Scripture above. And it touched my heart in a special way.

In context, it is letting us know that we are not to fear other humans and what they will think about us or say about us or do to us. We are not to fear nor succumb to their opinions of us and thus let that determine who we become and what we do with our lives. And we are not to be persuaded by other humans to go any direction that is not of God. And we are to guard our hearts against hypocrisy and not be led by those who are hypocrites. We are not to be easily influenced by other humans who may put a damper on what God has in mind for us to do. But we must be following the Spirit’s leading.

My Testimony

In 1968 I graduated from East High School in Akron, Ohio. After that I took classes at the University of Akron in general studies and in music education. I was hoping to get a degree in music education. After about 3 years in the music department, late in 1971, I think it was, I was sitting in our general area at the Music Conservatory, and I heard this student talk about how he took music classes for 5 years but he could not get his degree because he could not pass the piano proficiency exam. Immediately it hit me! I was horrid at piano. I mean, I was tolerable, but not good enough to pass an exam like that.

So I dropped out and tried to get a job. But I had no particular skills to speak of, and that didn't go so well. So I went back to Akron U to take a typing class, and I also took bowling and English literature and one other class (don't know what). And then I was able to get a job at the Summit County Welfare Department where I worked for a few years in their clerical department and as a caseworker before I had my first child. Then I was a stay-at-home mom, basically, until all my kids were out of high school.

Then, in 2002, at the age of 52, I believed the Lord was leading me to take classes at York Technical College. So I took business classes there part-time for the next 4 years, and I achieved an entrepreneur certificate. I could have kept going to get a degree in business, but I felt that I learned what I needed to learn during that time, and that was that I could learn. I did not have much confidence at all in my ability to learn, so I needed that time to learn that I could learn, by the grace of God, and with his help and with the help of family.

Two years later, in 2004, the Lord called me to this writing ministry where he began to teach me so many things I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would ever be able to comprehend. And I was never much of a reader, for I had poor reading comprehension, but he was having me read science, history, and political articles, etc., that I would have considered way over my head, and he was helping me to understand them to a certain degree. And I learned so much I had no idea about before.

And he was teaching me from the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and then back to the beginning to the end, and then from the Psalms through Revelation, and again, and again, and he was teaching me so many things from the Scriptures that I would never have ventured to try to learn before. But he was opening up my mind and my heart to see so much I had no understanding of before but that I needed to understand, because he knew that I was going to need to know those things to do what he has me doing.

So, if you ever feel as though it is too late for you, or that you are not good enough, or as though you can't learn, if you are a believer in Christ, ask the Lord to help you to learn, and ask other people to help you, too. And ask him what he wants to do with your life, no matter how old you are. And then trust him that he will give you whatever you need to do what he wants you to do, even if it seems utterly impossible. He has done the impossible in my life these past 20 years, and nothing within God's perfect will is impossible for him. Just don't ever give up. Every day is a brand new day.

**

I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go

Lyrics by Mary Brown, 1891
Music by Carrie E. Rounsefell, 1894

It may not be on the mountain’s height,
Or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle’s front,
My Lord will have need of me;
But if by a still, small voice He calls,
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine,
I’ll go where You want me to go.

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.

Perhaps today there are loving words
Which Jesus would have me speak;
There may be now in the paths of sin,
Some wand’rer whom I should seek;
O Savior, if Thou wilt be my guide,
Though dark and rugged the way,
My voice shall echo Thy message sweet,
I’ll say what You want me to say.

There’s surely somewhere a lowly place,
In earth’s harvest fields so white,
Where I may labor through life’s short day,
For Jesus the Crucified;
So trusting my all to Thy tender care,
And knowing Thou lovest me,
I’ll do Thy will with a heart sincere,
I’ll be what You want me to be.

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AlexB23 · Aug 9, 2024

Occams Barber said:
I find the animation style to be choppy, the plots appear discontinuous, character voices are over the top and mismatched with the characters. The overall impression is a lot of fake melodrama and a shortage of continuity.

Good sci- fi (there's a lot of rubbish around) along with good quality (historically realistic) historical fact and fiction.

OB

I do agree with you, a lot of anime is like that. For myself, I like good sci-fi, such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Dune, and Interstellar.

For sci-fi anime, Cowboy Bebop is a good one, and has good flow. Half space western, half noir.

Trailer (Duration = 1 min, age rating: 14+)
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peter2 · Aug 9, 2024

Hi Joseph.
i learn from Joseph and Jesus they both are less lost than their relatives that rejected them, even when rejected

RileyG · Aug 9, 2024

Good for the UK!

jonojim1337 · Aug 9, 2024

bobmartinbm said:
Jesus is the only saviour!

John 17:6-10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.
I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.
All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them."

Greater is the One that serves.

RoBo1988 · Aug 9, 2024

Normally, I tire of hearing about "The Ohio State University" , but in this case: "Gradishar is a graduate of The Ohio State University"!

ThatRobGuy · Aug 9, 2024

Adam56 said:
Not today. Jim Crow Laws and bans on Interracial marriage are no longer in existence.

BCP1928 said:
Those were the only laws with a racial bias?

There's certainly other laws that had an underpinning of racial biases baked in (in abstracted ways that allowed deniability) after the end of Jim Crow. The "War on Drugs" comes to mind.

For instance, the sentencing difference for different forms of cocaine use (despite it being the same illegal drug involved) was certainly one we could point to.

Another would be the sentencing disparities for marijuana dealing for "behind closed doors" vs. "open air markets".

However, from a legislative standpoint, I think we've corrected for that as much as possible from 1992 until present day...short of actually decriminalizing crime (which is a bad idea, and hasn't been working out in places where they've tried "soft launches" of that approach), not sure what more there is to do in that regard.

Although it should be pointed out that (since the sub-topic was critical race theory), that the way material is taught has to check a few different boxes off in order to be truly considered "critical race theory"... that is, if we want go off of the more specific version outlined by the original authors on the subject like Derrick Bell a few others...

While teaching that many of the institutions had some racist underpinnings and racist pasts is one component of that, it also needs to check off a few other philosophical boxes in addition to that in order to actually be CRT.

1) It needs to also teach any neutral system is inherently racist if the end results of that system end in any disparity by race. For instance, things that most people see as good, like Brown v. Board of education which put an end to racial segregation in public schools, Derrick Bell said was actually a bad thing because it was upholding the broader institution the current public school system which he felt was just a guise for racial power since white kids were outperforming black kids.

2) It also needs to teach that people have a duty to tear down any system (even if it's neutral system on paper) if the system produces any disparity in outcomes (he and a few of the other original authors of the subject often cite capitalism and the meritocracy...and one - can't remember if it was Bell or one of the others - also cited private land ownership)

That's why I've urged some folks not to play too fast and loose with the accusation of "They're teaching CRT". That's the same mistake many conservatives made with accusations of "Socialism", where they'll find one or two common threads, and then attempt to give it the moniker, when it fact, the designation they're trying give it encompasses a whole lot more than just the one or two commonalities they've identified.

For example, when they've tried to point to any form of welfare as "socialism", when in fact, socialism entails a whole lot more than social welfare policies.

Same applies here, "crying wolf" by finding the common component of "accusing the country of having a racist past" and using that as justification for the accusation of "CRT" would be a similar mistake. Both logically, as well as strategically...because when those rare examples do show up where something actually is checking all the boxes, nobody's going to take the accusation seriously if people just got done calling everything under the sun "CRT"

MarkRohfrietsch · Aug 9, 2024

The Liturgist said:
]@MarkRohfrietsch[/USER] (who is from the LCC, which is the Canadian equivalent of the LCMS, except I like to joke with him they should have called it the Manitoba Synod) and @Ain't Zwinglian are likely familiar with on a historical level. Familiar, yes and Missouri North is a term that is often used regarding LCC.

Presbyterian Continuist · Aug 9, 2024

Hawkins said:
One of the purpose of praying is that it usually remains the only way for one to communicate with God in a bidirectional manner. So it's not necessarily for something prayed must be fulfilled. It's more about how the distance between one and God is shortened. Prayers usually form a kind of intangible pattern for one to reckon more subconsciously. I pray the Lord's prayer on a daily basis. I actually learned the memorized the prayer when I was in a Catholic high school and being an atheist. Till this day I still perceive that it helps to shortened the gap between God me, and the more I pray the more I can tell the importance of the content itself of the Lord's prayer, such us "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil". That applies almost every minutes of every Christian.

Does God lead you not into temptation but deliever you from evil? You can't tell. You can never say that it's in vain!

God delivers me from evil when I am tempted and I quote the Word of God at the demon, refuse the temptation and bind the spirit behind the temptation. I am immediately set free from the temptation.

iluvatar5150 · Aug 9, 2024

Saucy said:
National Guard disputes Tim Walz's military biography

The Minnesota National Guard said Walz retired as a "master sergeant," not a "command sergeant major," as his biography states.

www.newsweek.com

View attachment 352989

How many threads are you guys going to start about this? It’s already been picked apart pretty throughly.

tdidymas · Aug 9, 2024

tonychanyt said:
Are you using the word "therefore" in the First Order Logical sense?

I'm not a mathematician, computer programmer, or philosopher, so I'm not familiar with the phrase. What I mean is that since God is the highest order by Himself, He cannot rebel against Himself (it's not His nature to do so), and therefore He cannot sin, because sin is rebellion against God. So logically there are some facts: God Himself is the ultimate authority (or power), He never contradicts Himself, nor makes any mistakes. Then, how can the ultimate authority rebel against His own authority if He never contradicts Himself? He would have to make mistakes or be self-contradictory in order to commit sin then, wouldn't He? Anyone who would entertain the thought that God might sin doesn't know God, because they would have to assume that God Himself is not the ultimate authority, or that He is imperfect to make mistakes or contradict Himself. Man might do it because he is imperfect, but not God. "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent." Does this answer the question?

One more thing, "sin" is an archer's term, meaning "missed the mark." Since God is the mark, He can't miss Himself.

Michie · Aug 9, 2024

Screengrab from YouTube / @thebrycecrawford

When evangelist Bryce Crawford recently saw a man in unusual dress standing outside a Los Angeles library, God tugged on his heart. Crawford’s resulting encounter with “Chad,” an avowed satanist, has since gone viral.

Crawford, a 20-year-old full-time missionary, podcaster, and social media influencer, shared the gospel and prayed with Chad, who was dressed in black and wore heavy face makeup. Crawford, who’s associated with the missions organization EquipNet, said he plans to follow up with Chad and keep showing him the love of Jesus.

Continued below.

Satanist Accepts Prayer From Young Missionary and Influencer

When evangelist Bryce Crawford recently saw a man in unusual dress standing outside a Los Angeles library, God tugged on his heart.

churchleaders.com

Love365 · Aug 9, 2024

They did a monorail episode.
There are many problems with monorails.
They are high off the ground and hard to repair.

High speed rail is on the ground and more useful.

The Barbarian · Aug 9, 2024

Nagomirov said:
Many Russians are parents with many children.

Actually not...

Putin is once again telling Russians to have more babies, and this time he's saying ethnic survival is at stake

Russian President Vladimir Putin is feeling the heat from a demographic crunch.

He's calling on Russians to have more babies to preserve their ethnicity, Reuters reported on Thursday.

"If we want to survive as an ethnic group — well, or as ethnic groups inhabiting Russia — there must be at least two children," Putin said at a tank factory, according to the news agency.
...
Russia was in a demographic crisis even before it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The country's population was 146.4 million at the beginning of 2023 — down from nearly 149 million in 1993, according to official statistics. However, this is up a low of around 143 million in the early 2010s.

The war is taking a toll on the population: Between 150,000 and 190,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war against Ukraine, the UK's Ministry of Defence wrote in an intelligence update in October.

An estimated 1 million people have also fled Russia during the war, deepening a brain drain and labor crunch in the country.

Putin is once again telling Russians to have more babies, and this time he's saying ethnic survival is at stake

Some 150,000 to 190,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war against Ukraine. Another million Russians have fled their homeland.

www.businessinsider.com

RileyG · Aug 9, 2024

May God bless all the faithful in China and keep them safe. Amen.

RileyG · Aug 9, 2024

FireDragon76 said:
The ECC aren't part of the historic Protestant Mainline itself. They are a relatively recent immigrant church in the Scandinavian Pietist tradition. They have more in common with Wesleyan Holiness churches, albeit influenced by Lutheranism (so they have a richer tradition of religious art).

A minister in a Mainline Protestant church always has the right to refuse to marry somebody based on conscience alone, if they feel that a couple is unsuitable marriage. So it's important to not speak it overly broad generalizations. Many of our clergy probably would marry a same-sex couple, but there is a significant minority that would not.

Thanks for the info!

tonychanyt · Aug 9, 2024

Matthew 22:

44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’?

Does God literally have a right hand? Why the right hand and not the left hand?

No, it is a figure of speech. Psalm 18:35 shows God's right hand of protection:

You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.

The right hand of God symbolizes protection and power. Mark 14:

62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

God is spirit (John 4:24). The Psalms (Psalms 63:8, 18:35, 73:23) show the right hand of God as an anthropomorphic image for our finite brain to comprehend this aspect of God: He holds us up with his right hand.

Deuteronomy 9:29 shows another example of anthropomorphism:

But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm."

This is the image of the outstretched arm of God's power.

Does God literally have a right hand?

No, not in His spiritual essence. God's right hand is a figure of speech of anthropomorphism so that we finite humans can have some understanding of the infinite God.

RileyG · Aug 9, 2024

Nithavela said:
For many insecure people, a woman taking charge looks exactly like a "bossy" woman.

Especially in the United States where we haven’t had a female President…..yet.

MorningDance13 · Aug 9, 2024

Lov4Christ said:
I should probably delete this post as I have recently found out that I have a degenerative brain disease that gives me a memory worse than most with dementia and fewer and fewer thoughts all the time. I can't hardly figure out how to do simple things like moping or loading a dishwasher which used to be incredibly easy and can not hardly figure out how to keep my self safe because I don't have all of those thoughts( like avoiding cars that are driving on the street while I'm walking. I thank God every day for all he has given me and try to read his word or listen to it but my mind cant hold onto it and that makes me the most sad. What I have is extremely rare and doctors don't fully understand how it affects me so obviously no one else does either ( like my parents who are taking care of me.) I will continue to pray for healing because this is so frightening and it is hard to have a relationship with God when I can't hardly figure out how to stay alive any more... Thanks for caring enough to respond it means alot.❤

Wow! Oh wow! I am so terribly sorry to hear what you have shared.
I can't even begin to imagine what that must be like and I'm not going to be one of those fools who says something to that effect.
I do sincerely hope and pray that you will find complete healing and that your brain will be restored so that it is functioning and healthier than it was before this problem manifested itself.
I also hope that everyone in your life will be sensitive, lovingly kind, and helpful to you.

tonychanyt · Aug 9, 2024

Mt 2:

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

According to the chief priests and scribes, Christ was to be born in Bethlehem.

But then, Jn 7:

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.”

According to some people of Jerusalem, no one was supposed to know where Christ came from. Some expected him to appear suddenly.

This difference highlighted the tension between popular beliefs and scholarly understanding, and how this affected the reception of Jesus as the Messiah. To the common people's credit, there was some truth to their belief. Jesus replied to them:

28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from.

Horizontally speaking, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a son of Mary.

But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.”

Vertically speaking, Jesus came from God. He was the Son of God.

30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

Despite this tension/confusion, some believed Jesus was the Christ because of the signs he performed.

Jn 3:

13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

Jesus was the Son of Man and the Son of God. He was born of the earthly Mary and came from the heavenly Father.

WarriorAngel · Aug 9, 2024

Home school, Catholic school, private school....not government run schools.
They literally want brainwash

Michie · Aug 9, 2024

On Aug. 7, Pope Francis resumed general audiences at the Vatican after a brief and normal pause during the month of July. The following is an explanation of the nature and purpose of these encounters with the Holy Father.

An important weekly event, the general audience takes place every Wednesday. Together with the Sunday Angelus and the principal celebrations of the liturgical year, they represent the spiritual heart of Pope Francis’ Petrine teaching.

The audiences draw people from all over the world, including non-Catholics, and give the pope the opportunity to share an often simple but profound catechesis on the Christian faith. They typically take place in St. Peter’s Square or in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.

Continued below.

What does a general audience with Pope Francis consist of?

On Aug. 7, Pope Francis resumed general audiences at the Vatican. Here’s an explanation of the nature and purpose of these encounters with the Holy Father.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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Is Christianity opposed to science?​

Putin is once again telling Russians to have more babies, and this time he's saying ethnic survival is at stake​

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Is Christianity opposed to science?

Putin is once again telling Russians to have more babies, and this time he's saying ethnic survival is at stake