David Morrill of Portland, Oregon, was involved in conspiracy theory communities online until a mental health crisis forced him to confront his beliefs. He talked with his father about how he found his way back to reality. Their conversation is part of our Student Reporting Labs series on misinformation, “Moments of Truth.”

Watch the video above to learn more, and then answer the discussion questions in the upper-right corner of this page.

This lesson was originally posted here on PBS NewsHour Classroom on February 13, 2023. Check out more resources at NewsHour Classroom.



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discussion Questions for Moment of Truth: How Online Conspiracy Theories Led to This Man’s Mental Health Crisis

​

​

I must say that I have experienced much of what is written here, from the Canons of Dort in 1618-1619. I do believe in pressing toward the goal of perfection as stated in Article 2, but also that the sin nature and infirmities of the flesh are still with us as expressed in Article 1.
Article 4 contains some rather frightening revelations: "they are not only liable to be drawn into great and heinous sins by the flesh, the world, and Satan, but sometimes by the righteous permission of God actually are drawn into these evils. This, the lamentable fall of David, Peter, and other saints described in Holy Scripture, demonstrates." I know all this quite well, and can add to that the sins of Samson, and Solomon as well.

Now there must come a time the person is either brought back to repentance by a literal act of God upon his or her life, sometimes in drastic and dramatic ways, or the person continues on in their sin to the point of apostasy, departing completely from the faith of which they were exposed to, but yet not born again by.
Yes, I believe you be exposed to the faith, taste the good things of God, even reap of His blessings, but be lost. case in point: Judas, and those described in Matthew 7:20-23.

In my case I have no idea if God was involved in granting righteous permission, but I do know He will give someone over to their sins. Could He have stopped me from some of these sins? Of course. Why didn't He? Perhaps to show me the true gravity of sin. Perhaps to show other people other things I have no idea about. And to show that no matter the powers I claimed for myself, as I described in a testimony yesterday, all personal power and ability is as nothing in His sight, and we are truly weak without Him, and our giving Him our 100%

I've also experienced Article 11, having doubts concerning this assurance, and feeling assured of hell. But I suspect if did not have such doubt at the time, that perhaps the seed of the Word was not within, for if I did not fear Him who can cast into hell, there would be no fear of God, and such as who do not fear God are usually lost. Also in my prodigalness I did not really "run from the Father" but would call Him out and demand Jacob like wrestling matches, or to destroy Satan in a duel for God, and all form of madness and folly. Yet at the core I obviously clung tightly to an ultimate trust in God.
1 John 3:20, "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." Absolutely! HalleluYAH!

So now I find for the past few years what is explained in Articles 12, 13 and 14 - an incentive to godliness, is no inducement to carelessness, and that God keeps me by His Word, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.

I suppose I will only know the real reasons and purpose of my many follies when I am set free from this flesh and am glorified. There is no way I can know all of the Fathers sovereign will and what He purposes in my life, or how my life may have effected others for both good and for evil, and considering Romans 8:28 I have seen what begins as an evil gets turned around for good, as was with Joseph in Egypt.

The Fifth Main Point of Doctrine:
The Perseverance of the Saints​

Article 1: The Regenerate Not Entirely Free from Sin​

Those whom God, according to His purpose, calls to the communion of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and regenerates by the Holy Spirit, He also delivers from the dominion and slavery of sin, though in this life He does not deliver them altogether from the body of sin and from the infirmities of the flesh.

Article 2: The Believer’s Reaction to Sins of Weakness​

Hence spring forth the daily sins of infirmity, and blemishes cleave even to the best works of the saints. These are to them a perpetual reason to humiliate themselves before God and to flee for refuge to Christ crucified; to mortify the flesh more and more by the spirit of prayer and by holy exercises of piety; and to press forward to the goal of perfection, until at length, delivered from this body of death, they shall reign with the Lamb of God in heaven.

Article 3: God’s Preservation of the Converted​

By reason of these remains of indwelling sin, and also because of the temptations of the world and of Satan, those who are converted could not persevere in that grace if left to their own strength. But God is faithful, who, having conferred grace, mercifully confirms and powerfully preserves them therein, even to the end.

Article 4: The Danger of True Believers’ Falling into Serious Sins​

Although the weakness of the flesh cannot prevail against the power of God, who confirms and preserves true believers in a state of grace, yet converts are not always so influenced and actuated by the Spirit of God as not in some particular instances sinfully to deviate from the guidance of divine grace, so as to be seduced by and to comply with the lusts of the flesh; they must, therefore, be constant in watching and prayer, that they may not be led into temptation. When these are neglected, they are not only liable to be drawn into great and heinous sins by the flesh, the world, and Satan, but sometimes by the righteous permission of God actually are drawn into these evils. This, the lamentable fall of David, Peter, and other saints described in Holy Scripture, demonstrates.

Article 5: The Effects of Such Serious Sins​

By such enormous sins, however, they very highly offend God, incur a deadly guilt, grieve the Holy Spirit, interrupt the exercise of faith, very grievously wound their consciences, and sometimes for a while lose the sense of God’s favor, until, when they change their course by serious repentance, the light of God’s fatherly countenance again shines upon them.

Article 6: God’s Saving Intervention​

But God, who is rich in mercy, according to His unchangeable purpose of election, does not wholly withdraw the Holy Spirit from His own people even in their grievous falls; nor suffers them to proceed so far as to lose the grace of adoption and forfeit the state of justification, or to commit the sin unto death or against the Holy Spirit; nor does He permit them to be totally deserted, and to plunge themselves into everlasting destruction.

Article 7: Renewal to Repentance​

For in the first place, in these falls He preserves in them the incorruptible seed of regeneration from perishing or being totally lost; and again, by His Word and Spirit He certainly and effectually renews them to repentance, to a sincere and godly sorrow for their sins, that they may seek and obtain remission in the blood of the Mediator, may again experience the favor of a reconciled God, through faith adore His mercies, and henceforward more diligently work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

Article 8: The Certainty of This Preservation​

Thus it is not in consequence of their own merits or strength, but of God’s free mercy, that they neither totally fall from faith and grace nor continue and perish finally in their backslidings; which, with respect to themselves is not only possible, but would undoubtedly happen; but with respect to God, it is utterly impossible, since His counsel cannot be changed nor His promise fail; neither can the call according to His purpose be revoked, nor the merit, intercession, and preservation of Christ be rendered ineffectual, nor the sealing of the Holy Spirit be frustrated or obliterated.

Article 9: The Assurance of This Preservation​

Of this preservation of the elect to salvation and of their perseverance in the faith, true believers themselves may and do obtain assurance according to the measure of their faith, whereby they surely believe that they are and ever will continue true and living members of the Church, and that they have the forgiveness of sins and life eternal.

Article 10: The Ground of This Assurance​

This assurance, however, is not produced by any peculiar revelation contrary to or independent of the Word of God, but springs from faith in God’s promises, which He has most abundantly revealed in His Word for our comfort; from the testimony of the Holy Spirit, witnessing with our spirit that we are children and heirs of God (Rom 8:16); and lastly, from a serious and holy desire to preserve a good conscience and to perform good works. And if the elect of God were deprived of this solid comfort that they shall finally obtain the victory, and of this infallible pledge of eternal glory, they would be of all men the most miserable.

Article 11: Doubts Concerning This Assurance​

The Scripture moreover testifies that believers in this life have to struggle with various carnal doubts, and that under grievous temptations they do not always feel this full assurance of faith and certainty of persevering. But God, who is the Father of all consolation, does not suffer them to be tempted above that they are able, but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that they may be able to endure it (1Co 10:13), and by the Holy Spirit again inspires them with the comfortable assurance of persevering.

Article 12: This Assurance as an Incentive to Godliness​

This certainty of perseverance, however, is so far from exciting in believers a spirit of pride, or of rendering them carnally secure, that on the contrary it is the real source of humility, filial reverence, true piety, patience in every tribulation, fervent prayers, constancy in suffering and in confessing the truth, and of solid rejoicing in God; so that the consideration of this benefit should serve as an incentive to the serious and constant practice of gratitude and good works, as appears from the testimonies of Scripture and the examples of the saints.

Article 13: Assurance No Inducement to Carelessness​

Neither does renewed confidence of persevering produce licentiousness or a disregard of piety in those who are recovered from backsliding; but it renders them much more careful and solicitous to continue in the ways of the Lord, which He has ordained, that they who walk therein may keep the assurance of persevering; lest, on account of their abuse of His fatherly kindness, God should turn away His gracious countenance from them (to behold which is to the godly dearer than life, and the withdrawal of which is more bitter than death) and they in consequence thereof should fall into more grievous torments of conscience.

Article 14: God’s Use of Means in Perseverance​

And as it has pleased God, by the preaching of the gospel, to begin this work of grace in us, so He preserves, continues, and perfects it by the hearing and reading of His Word, by meditation thereon, and by the exhortations, threatenings, and promises thereof, and by the use of the sacraments.

Article 15: Contrasting Reactions to the Teaching of Perseverance​

The carnal mind is unable to comprehend this doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and the certainty thereof, which God has most abundantly revealed in His Word, for the glory of His Name and the consolation of pious souls, and which He impresses upon the hearts of the believers. Satan abhors it, the world ridicules it, the ignorant and hypocritical abuse it, and the heretics oppose it. But the bride of Christ has always most tenderly loved and constantly defended it as an inestimable treasure; and God, against whom neither counsel nor strength can prevail, will dispose her so to continue to the end. Now to this one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever. Amen.

There is only one true God, 1 Corinthians 8:

4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God [Θεὸς G2316] but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” [G2316] and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Click to expand...

Other so-called "gods" are demons, 1 Corinthians 10:

19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.

Click to expand...

Demons are angelic beings who rebel against the one true God.

So it appears my search is getting to an end. It doesn't matter how much I search, I just get to the same place. A complete and utter hatred for everyone and everything in this world.

First, I hate the people who cannot read the four characters of YHWH. They claim to be professors and experts, and they try to educate me, even though this should be obvious to anyone with half a brain, what the four characters mean. I wish them sickness and death, because their presence is just regurgiating.

Then I hate the people of this country. I know them on a level few people know about them. They are disgusting beings, with less of a soul than an animal.

In fact, I am so disgusted by this situation and the people around me, that I would rather die than to continue being a witness to this.

Now when Christ was in the world, all you had to do was to say his name basically and somebody would kill you. That's alot more merciful than my current situation.

Over the weekend, I went to the park to share the Gospel. Upon returning to my car, I witnessed a concerning sight: another vehicle went past hastily, yet one of its tyres was blown and the wheel scraped against the ground, emitting smoke and sparks.
My instincts kicked in, suspecting foul play—a stolen car taken for a joyride. Fueled by excitement, I decided to tail the vehicle, intent on thwarting the thieves. However, after just a minute of pursuit, the car disappeared around a bend, leaving me momentarily puzzled.
Soon, I spotted it down a nearby driveway, smoke rising from the back right-hand side. Hastily turning around and parking outside the driveway to block any escape, I approached the scene. Small flames licked from the shredded tyre. If left, this would have spread not only engulfing the car but also to the adjacent house.
Then, a frail, elderly woman emerged from the house with a bucket of water. Grabbing it from her, I attempted to douse the flames to no avail. Urging her to fetch a hose, I ventured inside for another bucket, only to find the fire stubbornly persistent.
Thankfully, the woman returned with a hose, and after connecting it to the tap, I sprayed the underside of the car until the fire relented. It dawned on me then that she was the driver, unaware of how to change a punctured tyre. In a panicked moment, she rushed home at speed, hoping that the police would not see her.
With the crisis averted, I made sure the lady was OK before departing. Yet, halfway home, regret washed over me—I missed a crucial opportunity. I could have assisted her in changing the tyre and shared the Gospel with her while doing it. It was a missed chance, and I couldn't help but feel frustrated.

Thinking back on what happened, I need to always keep an eye out for opportunities to talk about the Gospel and lend a hand whenever I can. Always be vigilant.

OCD is a mental illness that causes repeated unwanted thoughts or sensations (obsessions) or the urge to do something over and over again (compulsions). Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help.

Scrupulosity is a form of OCD involving religious or moral obsessions. Scrupulous individuals are overly concerned that something they thought or did might be a sin or a religious or moral doctrine violation.

God knows your anxiety and your suffering.

Romans 7:

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Click to expand...

That is the compulsion.

16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.

Click to expand...

That's your conscience agreeing with God's law.

17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

Click to expand...

I.e., Sinful thoughts in your brain mess up your thinking.

Is OCD intrusive thought a sin?

It is a sinful thought that sticks to your brain. Don't look to yourself but look to God. 1 John 3:

21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God

Click to expand...

Trust in God that he knows you and does not condemn you. Jesus died for all our sins. This is the truth and the truth sets us free.

How can one overcome OCD?

It will take time and practice. You have been born of the Spirit. Look to the Paraclete who dwells in your spirit. Focus on Him and not on the erroneous thoughts in your brain. Seeking a Christian therapist may help.

See also

• How to deal with depression
• people with disabilities.

Outspoken priest raises concerns over predator priests in the Society of Jesus


A senior Jesuit has written an apocalyptic letter warning his confreres across the world that the Society of Jesus is doomed if it does not repent and regain its original vision.



In his 11-page epistle titled Ad Usum Nostrorum (For Our Use), Fr. Julio Fernández Techera, rector of the Catholic University of Uruguay, raises the alarm that the society is in “deep decline” and “does not have a real vision of where it is going and what it wants to achieve.”



The letter begins by asking why the sex abuse scandals of the celebrity Jesuit mosaic artist Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik that rocked the Society of Jesus in 2022 have not been addressed in the Congregation of Procurators and are not stated clearly in the De Statu Societatis 2023.



Fernández expresses grave concern that multiple members within the Jesuit community at the Aletti Center in Rome, co-founded by Rupnik, have left the Jesuit order as an expression of solidarity with the predator priest, who is accused of sexually abusing 25 nuns.



After highlighting the “Rupnik Tsunami,” Fernández addresses the cover-up by several Jesuit provincials in the case of Fr. Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno, a Bolivian Jesuit, who abused over 85 males, including several Jesuit seminarians, in the 1980s.

Continued below.

These past few months I’ve been slacking and somewhat grew bitter about my life and my relationship with god. Ive grown bitter and have been living in unrepentant sin. I think that I’ve been actively hardening my heart again but I’m trying to stop it now.

I’ve been trying to return to god after years of being away and I recently talked to a pastor. I’ve still been debating with myself on a lot of things but I think I hold worldly sorrow/false guilt. It’s still guilt but it’s temporary I think. I’ll constantly remind myself of what exactly I’ve done and remember but I know that’s not repentance. I’ve hurt a lot of people in my life and this pastor said to trust god to restore the damage and help those who I’ve hurt and to trust that Jesus can still cover those sins even if they have hurt other people or if there’s some condemning verse about it. I do know that it’s a common belief that if you still care then you haven’t blasphemed the Holy Spirit or anything however what if I truly don’t care? I’ve been neglectful of my spiritual situation and my relationship with god for years and i ‘stopped caring’ for some time. I stopped walking in the ways of god and stopped acknowledging my sins, instead I pursued them and I didn’t care for the consequences or if they would estrange me from god. I don’t think I am sincere and I don’t think I care but I truly want to care. I think there’s a huge chance that I’ve dulled my conscience and use this ’false guilt’ to at least make me care a little, otherwise without it I don’t care.

The “Divine Nine,” a group of prestigious Black fraternities and sororities, is contending with hundreds of videos accusing them of idolatry or worse

When Candace Junée was a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, she walked into a dark, candlelit room and knelt on a pillow as she prepared to join Alpha Kappa Alpha, the world’s oldest Black Greek-letter sorority.

Junée didn’t think much about the ceremony until a year after she graduated, in 2015, when she joined a new church and heard members say Christians shouldn’t belong to Black sororities and fraternities like hers. Already inactive in her sorority’s activities, she told The Washington Post, she revoked her membership privately through prayer. Then last year, after some of Junée’s acquaintances told her God wanted her to leave AKA permanently, she posted videos on YouTube and TikTok calling the rituals she went through “openly demonic” and the sorority a breeding ground for “idolatry.”

She is part of a growing number of people who have publicly denounced their affiliation with a group of the largest historically Black sororities and fraternities, the National Pan-Hellenic Council or “Divine Nine.” There are hundreds of videos in the same vein as Junée’s, either condemning the groups as anti-Christian and paganist, or defending them from those accusations.

Black Greek-letter organizations formed in the 20th century as havensof sisterhood and brotherhood for college students who were generally discriminated against and barred from joining existing sororities and fraternities. The groups continue to be fixtures in Black culture, holding fundraisers, voter registration drives and stepping and strollingperformances. “Crossing” into one of the organizations through a mix of public and secretive rituals has facilitated lifelong career connections and friendships, and a sense of connection to famous Divine Nine members such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who pledged to Alpha Phi Alpha and Vice President Harris, an AKA.

The grandson of a minister and the immediate past president of Alpha Phi Alpha’s Inglewood, Calif., chapter, Ross said public denunciations have the “intellectual nutritional value of a Snicker bar.”

Welcome to an engaging and thought-provoking forum dedicated to exploring the intersection of theology and science. Here, we delve into the profound question: What role, if any, does God play in the evolutionary processes? This forum is a space for individuals from all backgrounds—whether you're a scientist, theologian, philosopher, or curious mind—to share insights, theories, and perspectives.

Join us as we discuss various viewpoints, ranging from theistic evolution and intelligent design to atheistic and agnostic interpretations. Engage in respectful dialogue about how divine influence might align with scientific understanding of natural selection, genetic mutation, and species adaptation. Whether you're here to contribute your knowledge or simply to learn, your presence enriches our collective exploration of one of humanity's most profound questions.

In this case, it's the ironically mislabeled Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) objecting to canine handling soldiers expressing their Christian faith. It seems that putting Biblical scripture dog tags on their service animals offends MRFF's intention for a godless society.

Once again, an organization who's soul purpose is to undermine America's Christian heritage chooses to oppose God and oppress good citizens under the misguided notion of separation of church and state. Not only has MRFF failed to understand the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment concerning freedom of religion, but it has demonstrated intolerance towards those who would express their faith in any public way.

I'd hope that religious people of all faiths would see the problem with this and that irreligious people could learn to understand that in America we have freedom of religion, not freedom from religion - at least that's what the highest laws of the land hold.

Now, US Customs and Border Protection and the FBI say the gang is established in the US.

“They have followed the migration paths across South America to other countries and have set up criminal groups throughout South America as they follow those paths, and that they appear to follow the migration north to the United States,” Britton Boyd, an FBI special agent in El Paso, Texas, told CNN said.

US Border Patrol chief Jason Owens, who has confirmed multiple arrests at the southern border of alleged Tren de Aragua members over the last year, issued a warning in early April. “Watch out for this gang. It is the most powerful in Venezuela, known for murder, drug trafficking, sex crimes, extortion, & other violent acts,” Owens said on X.

The Mexican cartels have thrived under the Biden border policies, and human trafficking is their big money maker. It was only a matter of time for other gangs to get established in the United States. I don't understand why any moral person would support the current border policies that make crime so easy.

Hello folks. Today will be a study that is important for both Catholics and Protestants alike, showing how we must glorify God with our arts, workmanship, and helping others. Now, we are not forced to do this, but it is essential for keeping our faith alive. As a Catholic myself, we as Christians in general must heed these verses.

James 2:26 (NRSV-CE): "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead." - Catholic Bible
James 2:26 (KJV): "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." - Protestant Bible

While they would rather "mend not end" DEI, what the university leaders describe gets to the heart of what is happening on college campuses.

To those who have paid close attention to DEI’s growth on the quad, the anti-Israel sentiments on U.S. campuses aren’t surprising.

Timothy Minella, senior fellow at the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute, believes that the antisemitism on display is directly correlated to the adoption of this flawed diversity agenda.

The hatred needs to stop.

Gen 1:

26 God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

Click to expand...

There is plurality within the divinity.

And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Click to expand...

There is oneness/unity within the divinity.

Both are true. This passage is an example of the divine personal mystery.

See also My take on Trinity

This is a comment that I wrote for a book club, about the book Columbine, by Dave Cullen.
But, as I read the book, I focussed on the topic of how conspiracy theories about the
Columbine massacre formed, and how it was that they were believed by many
Americans. I provide this same view of the disaster, focussing on conspiracy theories.
---------- ----------

I know a lot of people only read for enjoyment. But in periods of intellectual explosion, book clubs often read for extending adult education, and for intelligent discussions.

You may think that the Columbine book is only in the true crime category. But it fits into another, very relevant, and very current problem -- the widespread popularity of some groups in America to believe conspiracy theories.

When reading the Columbine book, ask yourself:

-- How could these 2 kids not be mentally insane, but also not be normal?
-- Was there any possible successful intervention possible? As it turns out, for Dylan, Yes. For Eric, probably not.
-- Why is it in America, that so many people are willing to believe that some criminals are "made" by being outsiders, into shunned subcultures (such as Goth), were part of a trench coat crowd, or being persecuted by jocks or popular students?
-- What was the role of media, and social media, in leaping to "explanations" and so creating conspiracy theories?
-- Why did many of the students who experienced parts of the massacre, begin to believe the explanations of the news channels, even though almost all of these speculative explanations were wrong?
-- What was the interaction between Christian religious groups, and the proliferation of some false explanations of what was going on with some of the victims of the shooting?
-- Who were the target groups in Columbine, for those who tried to use the Columbine trauma to grow their political support, or grow their religious conversion goals?
-- Why is it that the FALSE explanations of the shooters' motives, became established online as a LEGEND of 2 persecuted kids, who finally "snapped" and tried to target their persecutors? Why has this false conspiracy theory legend become the predominant story of Columbine, that you will find on the internet?
-- Why is it that the LEGEND of Columbine, became a template of later shooters who followed the conspiracy theory legend, and tried to copy the "target the jocks and the popular students" legend? Why do some politicians use this legend?

And then, think about ...

-- What makes people believe the conspiracy theories that conclude that the 2020 presidential legend was stolen through massive fraud?
-- Who are the traumatized groups, that the Alex Jones and Tucker Carlsons of the world, try to manipulate and use to grow their own business careers?
-- Why is it that some politicians start to use the slogans of conspiracy groups, when they know that careful research will prove that conspiracy theories are false?
-- Why does the embracing of conspiracy theories, tend to lead to the denial that America has a fair rule of law? (Ask yourself, why the 24 lawsuits that Trump filed claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, were rejected by American courts on the basis that they did not present any relevant or sound evidence of their claims?)

Finally, as you read the book about this school trauma, ask yourself...

-- Why didn't those who saw serious warning signs of impending violence, not take effective action to stop it?
-- What are 13 characteristics of a psychopath? Of a seriously depressed kid?
-- What is the relationship between fantasizing about violence (or getting "justice"), and carrying out the violence that Eric and Dylan did, at Columbine. Where is the line, between fantasizing about ideas, and a serious commitment to carry them out?
-- How long did it take for the trauma of parents and families, to work out?
-- Why is it that the local law enforcement agencies NOT put together the intentions of the 2 shooters? One FBI agent did, but the local police couldn't, and didn't see why the FBI analysis of the "chemistry" of Eric and Dylan worked the way it did.
-- How is this dual chemistry existing in public figures who use immoral and violent language (claiming "freedom of speech"), and thousands of quiet and depressed online listeners, who may decide some day that they should cross the line between fantasizing and doing? How is this dual chemistry exhibited in the violent jihadist groups, who have public figures making violent and outrageous claims, trying to recruit damaged and discouraged listeners, to "fulfill" their lives by carrying out the violent goals of the recruiters. (While the recruiters don't bother to get involved in the violence at all.)

Obviously, I am reading this book as the FBI psychologist read the mountains of evidence about the 2 shooters, Eric and Dylan. This is NOT the conspiracy theory LEGEND of the shooting, that is common on the Internet.

And, I am concerned about much more than school violence carried out by its own students. I see broad correlations between the different mental states of Eric and Dylan, and the way these very different mental states exist in modern America between public figures advocating violent forms of lawlessness, and thousands of online watchers who feel that they have been done wrong.

These are modern and relevant topics, for book clubs [and Christians] to discuss.

The city of Carlsbad in California has been accused of instructing two chaplains to stop praying in the name of Jesus at public events.

The First Liberty Institute (FLI) claimed that this action infringes upon freedom of religion.

The group said in their public complaint to the Carlsbad City Council: "Because the chaplains cannot in good conscience erase the name of Jesus from their prayers, this order deprives first responders of the solace and spiritual strength that the chaplains' volunteer ministry has provided for nearly two decades."

Continued below.

(Photo: Unsplash/Benjamin Combs)

For many enthusiasts, tending flower beds and growing vegetables is a spiritual activity that helps them grow closer to God. It has been this way throughout Christian history, perhaps inspired by the story of the very beginning of humankind in the perfect paradise of Eden.

Then from the earliest days of monasticism, to modern smallholders and homesteaders, faith and working on the land have been deeply associated with one another.

Biblical lessons

Of course for most people in the world, and in the West before the modern era, survival and life itself depended on the practice of horticulture. Everyone except the very wealthy would enrich their diet by cultivating vegetables and fruits in any ground that could be found, and a much larger proportion of the population worked as small farmers. Perhaps this is one reason why the Bible is full of references to and metaphors of plant growth to teach about spiritual life.

The fertility and abundance of good fruit is contrasted with the aridity and famine of a desert throughout. Jesus chose cultivation to illustrate spiritual growth in the parable of the sower; in Psalm 1 those who meditate on scripture are "like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season." Gardening therefore brings a deeper understanding of these passages, as well as awe of the beauty of the created world.

Eden

Continued below.

Marriage is a sacred covenant created by God. He created men and women to be committed in their marriage until death do they part. This is not something to be taken lightly. We must be intentional daily to create a thriving marriage that glorifies God.

Being a committed spouse means that we don't allow our hearts, minds, or bodies to venture outside of the covenant that we have made.

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:4 that marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

Unfortunately, these laws are disregarded at every turn in our current culture. The world wants us to believe we can create our truth about marriage. But God created marriage laws to protect us. He desires for us to have thriving, committed marriages that reflect Him, which means fidelity and solid commitment to each other.

Being in a committed marriage is becoming more and more difficult with the amount of pornography that is on display in multiple aspects. Billboards, movies, TV shows, magazines, and of course, the internet. The enemy is having a hay day with the number of inappropriate images infiltrating our minds.

This can make it especially difficult to avoid the draw of pornography addiction. It is presented as normal and innocent when in reality, it is destroying lives and destroying families.

Pornography addiction is an epidemic in our country. The damaging effects on marriages are devastating and harmful.

Here are 4 ways that pornography damages a marriage:

Continued below.

You Get Social Media The Summer Before College​

Jenna asks the couple about their stance regarding social media and their children. “Our house rule is you get social media the summer before you go to college,” Joanna says.

Chip comments about how the kids aren’t exactly in agreement with no social media until they are 18. “But you can tell these kids want it before that…they wanted it at 12, 13, 14,” he says. Joanna tells TODAY that the kids do understand the heart of the rule.

The famous couple discusses the fact that all the kids’ friends seem to have social media and that having a no social media rule in that environment can be hard. However, as Joanna comments, “We can say you have these other things that are really great. Our life is a little different.”

It’s Better to Wait​

Taking the focus off of social media, even if everyone else around you is on it, and focusing on what you do have is a great idea. There is so much more to life than having your face in a phone. Making memories and having experiences outside of your phone makes for an ideal childhood.

Chip and Joanna then discuss how social media isn’t good for kids at an earlier age and that it is better to wait. Chip asks, “What benefits have we personally experienced…?” referring to his and Joanna’s use of it.

While they can admit that social media has helped their careers, Jenna comments that they are, in fact, adults, not kids, which makes a big difference.

Parents Need to Decide What to Do​

Continued below.

Hello folks. My proprietary laptop charger is on the last legs of life, so I found out that one can charge a laptop slowly overnight using a USB-C charger for a phone. The phone charger is 15-20 watts, while the laptop uses a 44W charger. So, it takes 3x longer to charge, but it works (while laptop is off or asleep). Finally, if you are on the go, one can use a power bank (at least 30 watts) to slowly charge the laptop.

Charging Surface Book 2 with USB-C (and power bank), video duration = 2 minutes, not my video, as I do not make videos
Login to view embedded media

According to a new report by Lifeway Research, a majority of pastors in the United States continue to oppose same-sex marriage, and the past growing trend of support among mainline clergy is slowing down. The report, released Tuesday, found that in 2023, 21 percent of Protestant pastors said they saw “nothing wrong” with same-sex marriage, a slight decrease compared to the 24 percent of pastors who said the same in 2019.

As reported by The Christian Post, Lifeway also found that 46 percent of pastors from progressive mainline denominations support same-sex marriage, which is not much of a difference from the 47 percent in 2019, even though it is above the 32 percent reported in 2010.

Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, stated in Lifeway that the “previous growth was seen most clearly among mainline pastors, and that level did not rise in our latest survey.”

“Debates continue within denominations at national and judicatory levels on the morality of same-sex marriage, yet the overall number of Protestant pastors who support same-sex marriage is not growing,” said McConnell.

The report also found that 7 percent of Evangelical pastors were in favor of gay marriage, that pastors aged 18 to 44 were more likely to support same-sex marriage than pastors over the age of 65 (27 percent vs. 15 percent), and that only 8 percent of pastors with congregations with more than 250 regular attendees saw nothing wrong with gay marriage.

Lifeway Research conducted the report from Aug. 29, 2023, through Sept. 20, 2023, surveying 1,004 Protestant pastors. At the 95 percent confidence level, the margin of error was plus or minus 3.2 percent.

Continued below.

The 77th Cannes Film Festival was marked by controversy when a female security guard clashed with Dominican actress Massiel Taveras when she tried to display the train of her dress depicting Jesus Christ wearing a crown of thorns. The incident was captured on video and posted to social media, which showed a visibly upset Taveras pushing ushers away whenever they rushed her up the stairs whenever she wanted to show off her dress, which had a hand-painted image of Jesus Christ. As reported by Deadline, the dress was designed by Giannina Azar and while the image of Christ was painted by Yan Páez.

The incident follows a similar altercation at the at the premiere of the French film “Marcello Mio,” between actress Kelly Rowland and the same female security guard who clashed with Taveras. The woman knows what happened, I know what happened,” Rowland told The Associated Press about the incident last Tuesday.

“I have a boundary and I stand by those boundaries, and that is it,” she added. “And there were other women that attended that carpet who did not quite look like me, and they didn’t get that scolding, or pushed off, or told to get off. I stood my ground, and she felt like she had to stand hers. But I stood my ground.”

“We need respect,” wrote Taveras on Instagramas she reshared posts of Rowland’s experience.

Another incident at the Cannes Film Festival that drew controversy was when Karla Sofia Gascon, a 46-year-old Spanish, trans-identified male actor, jointly won the Best Actress award for the roles in Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez.”

Continued below.

I just happen to be lucky enough to live where both broods of cicadas emerged, overlapping for the first time in 221 years.

I’m sharing with you something completely different from my usual topics today, and it’s about a very odd historic and scientific event I’m living through right now. It’s about the cicadas.

Have you heard about them? North America is the only part of the world that experiences periodical waves of cicadas, meaning large insects that show up after a certain number of years (the rest of the world does get cicadas annually but in much smaller numbers). The species of cicadas in the U.S. have either 13-year life cycles or 17-year cycles, meaning they emerge from the ground to cover everything in sight only once every 13 or 17 years.

The two different life cycles almost never occur at the same time … but they’re both here in 2024. By “here” I mean literally here, because per the New York Times, I just happen to be lucky enough to live in one of the “small patches of Illinois [where they are] likely to come out of the ground in the same place.” You can see a map of this once-in-a-lifetime event (I hope) here. Look for the small patch where Broods XIII and XIX intersect -- that's me!

I’m pretty sure that at least one million of the projected trillion cicadas are in my backyard.

Continued below.