Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
No, you certainly don’t. Because if you did, you wouldn’t be acting like a child and disrespecting people that didn’t do anything to you on the internet.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Experience the POWER of TRUTH in the King James Bible in the “HEARING of God’s Word read by Alexander Scourby. Click the Playlist link below to HEAR the Entire KJV Bible with AUDIO and TEXT on YouTube, read by the Greatest Voice Ever Recorded, according to the Chicago Tribune,. Save it for instant access anytime and anywhere 24/7, and share it with others. Don't forget to comments.
This Bible verse really helped me today:
Psalms 37:4-5 ESV
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. #Bible#Trust
The #Anglican tradition has a daily reading lectionary where you read 4 or so chapters each day and go through the NT 2-3 times in a year, and the OT once (depends on which lectionary you use.)
I've been doing this awhile, and had the habit down, but health made me focus on essentials for a time and I got behind for about a month.
In my catch-up phase, I decided to just treat the epistles as single-sitting readings.
And you know, I'll probably do this more often. There's value in chapter breaks, but honestly: if it's a two-page letter, it shouldn't take five days to read it (I'm looking at you 1 Peter.)
Anyway. Just stating the obvious: the #Bible is full of short stories and letters and small, concrete narratives. You should read them that way. That's how they were meant to be read!
@michael Even more: the letters would have been read in one go by many churches! Like the early tradition (before the Gospels were written) was to copy and share these letters around to encourage those of good faith. So an early church service in Ephesus would have had them reading the letter to the Philippians as well (and vice versa). But it would have been all in one go!
I love my tradition, but feel that there's a certain value that we lose by following a weekly lectionary of chopped-up scripture. I may reach out and offer to just read a letter or two. There's a dude I heard on a podcast that has a few books memorized and can just get up and perform them. That sounds like it would be valuable to me!
❤️🔥🕊️❤️🔥**[JESUS]*When he comes!*he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin!righteousness!& judgment!*about sin!*because people do not believe in me!*about righteousness!*because I am going to the Father!where you can see me no longer!& about judgment!because the prince of this world now stands condemned!*❤️🔥🕊️❤️🔥
Find the shortest and longest verses in the #Bible with #Python#EV
#!/usr/bin/python3
with open("kjv.txt") as file:
print("Shortest verse: ",min(file,key=len))
with open("kjv.txt") as file:
print("Longest verse: ",max(file,key=len))
Greg Sargent talks with Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, about Trump's bible grift. He notes that evangelical leaders are conspicuously quiet about what Trump is doing with the bible. Is he making promises to them that he'll let them install a Christian nationalist government if he's elected?
"You can hardly ask for a better example of Christian nationalism [than this bible combining the scriptures with the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Pledge of Allegiance]."
"This ideology is a tool for a leadership-driven political machine that turns this mythology that the US was founded by and for white Christians into political power."
A portion of the US population is getting nervous due to doomsayers spouting frightening rumors about the coming eclipse on April 8. Misinformation and bogus claims are rampant, particularly with the religious-minded, who regularly use world events to scare people back into the fold.
It’s as if we never had a solar eclipse before in the world!
Even though it sometimes feels like we’re regressing, we are in the 21st century. Eclipses have happened repeated, around the world, in the past century. They are predictable and explainable. We can factually document that catastrophes do not accompany them. Yet, here we are… with too many in the audience expecting some cataclysm in the wake of the moon shadow.
The reasons for this are complex and social. Most people still don’t understand nature and they succumb to social pressure to be fearful. Things that sound sciencey are convincing, whereas actual science gets ignored.
An eclipse occurred and nothing happened
A solar eclipse is when the moon passes in a specific alignment between the earth and the sun so that the sun’s light is blocked out for a short while. The shadow moves across the earth’s surface because the earth is turning and the moon is moving. There is nothing particularly dangerous about this condition (unless you aren’t expecting it).
The last solar eclipse in the US occurred on Aug 21, 2017. Self-styled prophet and Nostradamus superfan, John Hogue, self-published a book around that time suggesting that there would be great upheavals as totality passed over two seismic zones – the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) and the Cascadia zone in the northwest. That didn’t happen. To hedge his bets, in case no earthquakes occurred, he also suggested the event was also an omen of bad times to come. We didn’t need an eclipse to signal that since in 2017 more than half the nation were already well aware of suffering through “interesting times”. No psychic powers were needed. I don’t think it’s reasonable to link the eclipse to the pandemic and wars, etc., years later, but being reasonable isn’t cool these days.
A solar eclipse in Hong Kong in July 2009 generated a rumor that a tsunami would occur. People were warned people to stay away from beaches. Again, nothing happened.
These ideas about catastrophes related to eclipses didn’t die even though none of the predictions ever came true.
The buildup
Hullabaloo around the April 8 event is getting louder as we get closer. At first we heard of cities and states in the path of totality declaring states of emergency so extra funds could be used for deploying responders. This is not because of the potential for natural catastrophe but for the possibility for a human disaster. Visitors who want to view the event will be heading into areas that can’t handle the volume. Officials guessed that overcrowding, traffic, potential violent incidents, injuries, and stresses on utilities and other necessary services might be a concern. So they are preparing.
There are rumors of power cuts or outages during the eclipse. This is from a rumor that solar cells will suddenly stop producing during the darkening. I’m always amazed that people think the smart people who run complex systems haven’t thought of this.
From the NY Times:
“I don’t think anything is as predictable as an eclipse,” said Pedro Pizarro, president and chief of executive of Edison International, a California power company, and the chairman of the Edison Electric Institute, a utility trade organization. “You can prepare.”
There are so many superstitions about eclipses – really dumb ones persist, such as the idea that it’s dangerous to be out during the event, particularly for pregnant women. It’s true that animals do act strange because they get confused about the sudden night fall but, again, there is nothing dangerous about it.
Storms are unrelated to the eclipse
The temporary diminishment of solar radiation will cause darkness, a drop in temperature and maybe small changes in wind speed and direction because of the reduction in convection. The cooling only happens for a few minutes. There is no connection to thunderstorms. A misappropriated weather forecast on March 15 in Orlando had some people thinking that the eclipse would generate a giant storm front. This BS hype is par for the course on Reddit.
Earthquakes are unrelated to the eclipse
The connection between eclipses and earthquakes goes back to the Bible. Even though many places around the world have experienced total eclipses and weren’t leveled by a massive quake, the unfounded connection persists. Eclipses and earthquakes have long been viewed as portents from God or “gods”. This wacky idea still hangs on in modern times even though we know they are not arbitrary events – they have a natural cause. The doomsday hype about earthquakes appeared at the time of the 2017 US solar eclipse.
Some religious leaders, who think themselves very special in that they can interpret the Bible and strike fear into their followers, saying that a large quake could occur that would cause massive damage. They encourage people to be prepared. Being prepared for a quake is not unreasonable. But suggesting that a large quake may occur during this time is dangerous and irresponsible. In particular, Tennessee evangelist Perry Stone uses “information” he just learned about the NMSZ (like, yesterday) to convince listeners that Jesus might have been talking specifically about 2024 in the Bible verse that connects earthquakes (in various places) to famine, pestilence and signs from heaven. The sign from heaven is the eclipse, he says. From his videos, Stone Ministries specializes in scaring people with nonsense claims about End Times and evil. This interpretation is a stretch. We are asked to believe that a predicted solar eclipse that occurs in a short time span over the US will herald a global catastrophe. Considering the track record of religious prophecies, I’m going to play the odds and say, “Nah”.
The path of totality does, again, pass over the centrally-located NMSZ along the Mississippi in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and Kentucky, (and the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone to the northeast) however, this means nothing. The NMSZ is still poorly understood. The large earthquakes it generated in 1811-12 would be devastating if they occurred today. Many people still assume that the next “Big One” could occur in the next century. This is unlikely, though small quakes are frequent. Current research even suggests the fault system may be shutting down, not “overdue” for another large release.
https://i0.wp.com/sharonahill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/map-with-SZ.jpg?resize=819%2C573&ssl=1Map of the path of the eclipse of 2017 and that of 2024. The New Madrid and Wabash Valley Seismic zones are roughly located in the red oval. Both eclipse paths cross this area. Geologically, that has no signficance. The moon passing in front of the sun has no bearing on tectonic plates (or volcanic eruptions). Yet, most people know that the phase of the moon affects the earth’s ocean tides. The extra gravitational effects from a new or full moon phase on the entire planet is slight, but we see it in the oceans, which are unbounded and slosh around.
The exerted force on the crust is negligible, except for the small possibility that a large fault already set to rupture gets broken by that little extra push. The data that suggests this may be the case is not fully accepted by seismologists and, regardless, has no practical use in seismic hazards prediction. These small changes associated with tidal stresses on the earth have not convinced scientists that we should worry more about earthquakes every two weeks in line with moon phases. Yet, many crackpots still proclaim that earth tides can predict quakes. They see the celestial bodies in alignment and assume the gravitational pull is increased, but it’s not. The same misapplied ideas may also be leading to those same wind bags spouting about tsunamis or large tidal effects. None of it shakes out.
There are many large earthquakes around the world every year. And there are several lunar and solar eclipses every century. The odds that events will sometimes coincide is inevitable. But they are not caused by each other. If a quake occurred in the US during this eclipse, the chances are that the quake would be small, because there are dozens of small quakes that occur every day. And, if that were to happen on April 8, anywhere in the US, or even weeks later, it would be difficult to stop people from assuming they are related. Human brains want to make connections and attribute causes to a direct observation, and usually to an agency – like God, the Devil, or the government – to form a story in their own minds. But correlations, in the context of our narrow human views, do not mean the events have a causal relationship. Sadly, few people are well versed in understanding natural phenomenon and applying critical thinking. They prefer to believe a dramatic story and share it with others. Thus, we have these kinds of social commotions about interesting events, swirling with misinformation and pseudoscience.
@glitzersachen I hadn't known that has happened. In so many ways, the initial promise of the Internet to link people globally across cultural and geographical boundaries has been subverted by commercial interests. That strikes me as sad.
"Trump is spending a good chunk of his donations on his legal bills. The Times ran an amazing report about this on Wednesday. Of nearly $85 million in donations, almost a third, $27 million, has gone to legal bills. Hey, at least this time around, he’s apparently actually paying them.
Trump will have money. There’s no use pretending he won’t."
"But $400 sneakers and $60 Bibles are not signs of strength. They’re signs of weakness. Panic. Desperation. A guy who’ll sell anything that isn’t nailed to the floor. ...
So let’s avert our gaze from the people who’d walk across hot coals for Donald Trump (while he stood off to the side, pleading bone spurs) and think instead about the ones who are slowly peeling off."
"They’re out there too. And they’re starting to see what you and I have so obviously seen for years: a twisted, desperate huckster who’s never cracked a Bible in his life and whose only religion is hustling the suckers who are born every minute."
— Hey Christians, If you turn the price upside down the $59.99 Trump is selling the bibles for, it has 666 in the price. ...Ye shall know them by their fruits...
"While Jesus hangs on the cross the Roman soldiers sit beneath him, casting lots for his clothes. Even amid the harrowing violence of the crucifixion, this—for me—is one of the most devastating parts of the story. It’s the casualness of the cruelty; little games to divvy up the belongings of a man who’s still gasping for air just above their shoulders. This is what empire does…."
"This Holy Week, Donald Trump made headlines selling $60 Bibles to fund his mountain of legal fees—Christian Nationalism selling off Christianity’s clothes while the faith they’re killing still hangs upon the cross. The twice-impeached, white supremacy spouting, serial raping, grifter-in-chief is a fitting stand-in for the Roman soldiers in our Good Friday story. His entire life embodies the savagery of the American imperial project."
"Trump is going to trial on April 15 for violating campaign finance laws, he’s a convicted rapist, the majority of the money he’s raising for his campaign is going to pay his legal bills, and he has been reduced to selling gaudy gold sneakers and specialty bibles to try and offset the hundreds of millions of dollars he is facing in potential court judgments."
"The man facing a criminal trial in New York next month for paying hush money to a porn star after having an affair with her just six months after his wife Melania gave birth to their only child, told us: 'All Americans need a Bible in their home and I have many, it’s my favorite book.'”
"The problem facing our nation is not Trump, it’s his followers. While we are disgusted by all things Trump from his attempted coup to his selling Bibles, they love him for it….
With each Trump lie and new product he sells, he reminds us: There's a MAGA sucker born every minute!"
"That Trump has turned Holy Week into an ugly carnivalesque grift is not surprising, given his character and the financial crisis he is facing due to legal troubles, but it should be appalling to every Christian. Christian theology has a word to describe those who claim the attributes a deity or who treat sacred things with contempt and disrespect. That word is blasphemy."
"And the failure of Christians—especially white evangelical Christians to whom Trump is pandering—to speak out against such disgrace during the holiest week of the Christian liturgical year is a measure of our captivity and complicity in Trump’s denigration of both Christianity and our nation."
Uh-oh. Devout Christians on my FB page are PISSED that Trump is selling bibles. This is their straw. It will be fascinating to watch if its the straw that brings his run down. #bible#trumpbible
Here’s a sample:
“As a follower of Jesus I am both disgusted and offended that any politician would sell the Word of God to raise money!!!! How about it my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? Enough is enough 😡”
@TammyGentzel Why? Were they angry when he held up the bible in the square, upside down or not? Or when he couldn’t cite to a TV interviewer a single biblical passage? Or when he claimed to like the old and new testaments equally? Or are they just annoyed with it being launched during Holy Week?
As the solar eclipse approaches, Alex Jones says that "the biblical implications [of the eclipse] are massive." Yes, that Alex Jones, "the alt-right conspiracy theorist who was ordered to pay $1.487 billion in damages in a defamation lawsuit over spreading conspiracies related to the Sandy Hook school shooting."
“Today, Trump began to hawk Bibles for $59.99, plus shipping and handling, with a video message saying ‘Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country, and I truly believe we need to bring them back…. That’s why our country’s going haywire—we’ve lost religion in our country.’”
Now you can celebrate the most important time of the Christian calendar by buying your copy of the 'God Bless the USA' Bible and doing your part to Make America Great Again!
In a stunningly blatant display of white Christian nationalism, Donald Trump is encouraging his followers to buy a pro-America Bible in partnership with singer Lee Greenwood…."
Addie Loggins: I want my two hundred dollars.
Moses Pray: I don't have your two hundred dollars no more and you know it.
Addie Loggins: If you don't give me my two hundred dollars I'm gonna tell a policeman how you got it and he'll make you give it to me because it's mine.
Moses Pray: But I don't have it!
I find it pretty hilarious that #Christians claim to be #Prolife on christian grounds when the #bible explicity tells people that not only abortions are ok, but actively tells you that you SHOULD have abortions (under certain circumstances).
Dont take my word for it, the bible is pretty clear about this.
If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse. – Numbers 5:24-27
also not quite as direct but still pretty damn suggestive:
Cursed be the day on which I was born! … Cursed be the man who … did not kill me in the womb. – Jeremiah 20:14-17
and the penalty for violently hurting a woman causing a miscarriage is just a fine, but killing the woman is death, almost as if the lives arent equal…
When people […] injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined […]. If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life. – Exodus 21:22-25
