It sounds like the Bible could fall under the category of hate speech materials according to section (1)(a).
The time may soon be approaching in the West when actual Christ followers will be separated from those simply wearing the label ‘Christian’. This is already the case in persecuted areas of the world. Only Christians will bear the name when doing so is extremely costly. May God have mercy on those already bearing that cross and bearing the cost in other lands. And may we be found faithful in all things here as well.
Those who can’t handle reality will leave this platform due to @CommunityNotes.
But the public will increasingly come to realize that 𝕏 is the best source of truth, causing our user numbers to rise as they abandon the less accurate sources of information. https://t.co/oLQjWD2LxF
BREAKING: Video footage of senior Pentagon official Stephen Hovanic getting arrested in connection to an alleged human trafficking ring has been released.
Sick man.
In the undercover video footage, Hovanic is seen soliciting s*x from an undercover agent but claims he was simply… pic.twitter.com/I0mLbbRRSv
Believers most often have lived (and still thrived, by God’s grace and Providence) in hostile secular cultures. Keep the faith. Many may fall away as events and dissension tear at the civic fabric, too often seeping into communities of believers; but God continues to preserve and strengthen his church and the faithfulness of his people. God is always doing something in hard times. How are we called to respond? -dj
As an aside, as we are now within a year of casting votes in another national election, what are the most important characteristics for a secular nation’s leader to have? -dj
How to respond? I expect God will guide us in how to respond in our own circumstances. Some may have to speak out when they’d rather not, while others provide more prayer and physical support. There will probably be increased opportunities to take offense—and many may fall away because of the offenses. We can trust Holy Spirit to lead and guide in those perilous time, as he is doing even now.
MIC of a leader? Must love the country (with actions as well as words), must love all the people. Must be willing to surround himself with wise advisors from wherever. He must be loved and appreciated by his family and neighbors.
I was thinking about a lot of this with comments made by our pulpit guest on Sunday — a church planter in our presbytery — who made the comment during our SS hour that for a long time the U.S. culture was one of neutrality toward Christianity; but that now we are encountering something different, a culture that appears to be turning overtly hostile toward the faith. And that will impact how we witness to our neighbors and others (who likely may know nothing about Christianity); how we relate to those who do not know or understand the faith (and may harbor a strong hostility toward it), the examples we set without sometimes realizing it. As for traits in leadership (no leader has them all or is perfect, of course), I’d list humility, faithfulness to family and others in their circle, compassion, wisdom, perseverance, true to their word, a good listener — and as mumsee mentioned also, having the wisdom to surround him or herself with good and trustworthy advisers who won’t be afraid to speak the truth. High standards and no one meets them all — and voting for people we do not know personally leaves a lot of blanks in what we can know about a person — but I think it’s an important question to consider. – dj
I don’t know if this is exactly relevant to the discussion, but a little while ago, I came across this excerpt in an article about “Good and Evil in the Lord of the Rings”. It occurred to me that even Christians have sometimes said that in our current political climate, we need to “fight fire with fire” or “take the gloves off” or whatnot. This makes the point that as Christians, we cannot do that. It is too spiritually dangerous.
<i>”The symbol of power in Tolkien’s story is the One Ring. Sauron created the ring, and into it he poured much of his being, power, and will. The ring enables the wearer to enslave the minds of others, but when anyone other than Sauron uses the ring, it gradually enslaves and destroys that person. It is clear that Tolkien saw the lust for power as a dangerous temptation. He writes in one letter: “The most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.”
How, then, is evil to be fought? If there is any principle that is clear in the writings of Tolkien, it is that we cannot fight evil with evil. We cannot use the ring as a weapon. Tolkien said, “You can’t fight the Enemy with his own Ring without turning into an Enemy.”</i>
Thanks for sharing that, Kizzie. And it brings up another characteristic that we might/should desire in a leader, the lack of a personal lust and drive for power. -dj
I think that is all embodied in love of country and love of the people. If the love is there it will come with the desire to serve, maybe through leading.
SCOOP: The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta is now determining loans on the basis of "diversity, equity, and inclusion." This is discriminatory, illegal, and directly subsidized by the federal government. pic.twitter.com/fEj3DuNqdY
How did we get so far that we're going backwards now? This is clearly discrimination based on characteristics beyond your control… Which we spent DECADES trying to remove from society… DEI is evil, and this needs a class action lawsuit, immediately… https://t.co/WG1Jws3dln
~ Donald Trump, Joe Biden and the Beltway press corps all agree on at least one thing: Mr. Trump has the 2024 Republican presidential nomination wrapped up. Yet no one has voted, the Iowa caucus is 47 days away, and now the contest to be the GOP’s non-Trump alternative is getting interesting. …
… Mr. Trump is trying to project inevitability while ducking the debates so he doesn’t have to answer questions about his record or his court cases. The White House and the media want him to win the GOP nod because they believe he will lose in November. But Republican voters will get their say, and premature triumphalism is never a good look. ~
Everyone else has poll numbers in the single digits. Hs only real competitor, DeSantis, has lost a lot of ground after being exposed as just another establishment shill.
Wandering Views 
Same problem here. No one in authority wants to admit to their failure to keep the country safe.
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@8:11
It sounds like the Bible could fall under the category of hate speech materials according to section (1)(a).
The time may soon be approaching in the West when actual Christ followers will be separated from those simply wearing the label ‘Christian’. This is already the case in persecuted areas of the world. Only Christians will bear the name when doing so is extremely costly. May God have mercy on those already bearing that cross and bearing the cost in other lands. And may we be found faithful in all things here as well.
Debra
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Amen, Debra!
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The media hates what they can’t control, which tells you all you need to know.
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Huh, go figure.
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This is the Deep State. Embedded in the govt for years for their own nefarious purposes.
No accountability from higher ups as to just what this degenerate was up too.
Or worse, they knew it all along.
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Believers most often have lived (and still thrived, by God’s grace and Providence) in hostile secular cultures. Keep the faith. Many may fall away as events and dissension tear at the civic fabric, too often seeping into communities of believers; but God continues to preserve and strengthen his church and the faithfulness of his people. God is always doing something in hard times. How are we called to respond? -dj
LikeLiked by 1 person
As an aside, as we are now within a year of casting votes in another national election, what are the most important characteristics for a secular nation’s leader to have? -dj
LikeLiked by 1 person
How to respond? I expect God will guide us in how to respond in our own circumstances. Some may have to speak out when they’d rather not, while others provide more prayer and physical support. There will probably be increased opportunities to take offense—and many may fall away because of the offenses. We can trust Holy Spirit to lead and guide in those perilous time, as he is doing even now.
Debra
LikeLiked by 2 people
Debra, good response, thanks. -dj
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MIC of a leader? Must love the country (with actions as well as words), must love all the people. Must be willing to surround himself with wise advisors from wherever. He must be loved and appreciated by his family and neighbors.
mumsee
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I was thinking about a lot of this with comments made by our pulpit guest on Sunday — a church planter in our presbytery — who made the comment during our SS hour that for a long time the U.S. culture was one of neutrality toward Christianity; but that now we are encountering something different, a culture that appears to be turning overtly hostile toward the faith. And that will impact how we witness to our neighbors and others (who likely may know nothing about Christianity); how we relate to those who do not know or understand the faith (and may harbor a strong hostility toward it), the examples we set without sometimes realizing it. As for traits in leadership (no leader has them all or is perfect, of course), I’d list humility, faithfulness to family and others in their circle, compassion, wisdom, perseverance, true to their word, a good listener — and as mumsee mentioned also, having the wisdom to surround him or herself with good and trustworthy advisers who won’t be afraid to speak the truth. High standards and no one meets them all — and voting for people we do not know personally leaves a lot of blanks in what we can know about a person — but I think it’s an important question to consider. – dj
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Ideally, of course, a future president would be a committed and wise believer. -dj
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“But God” – can and does also work in nonbelievers. -dj
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I don’t know if this is exactly relevant to the discussion, but a little while ago, I came across this excerpt in an article about “Good and Evil in the Lord of the Rings”. It occurred to me that even Christians have sometimes said that in our current political climate, we need to “fight fire with fire” or “take the gloves off” or whatnot. This makes the point that as Christians, we cannot do that. It is too spiritually dangerous.
<i>”The symbol of power in Tolkien’s story is the One Ring. Sauron created the ring, and into it he poured much of his being, power, and will. The ring enables the wearer to enslave the minds of others, but when anyone other than Sauron uses the ring, it gradually enslaves and destroys that person. It is clear that Tolkien saw the lust for power as a dangerous temptation. He writes in one letter: “The most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.”
How, then, is evil to be fought? If there is any principle that is clear in the writings of Tolkien, it is that we cannot fight evil with evil. We cannot use the ring as a weapon. Tolkien said, “You can’t fight the Enemy with his own Ring without turning into an Enemy.”</i>
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Oops. WordPress doesn’t allow me to use the old method of italics, and I haven’t figured out how to use the other things. I hate change.
Let’s see what happens here.
Or what happens here.
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Oh, okay. That was easy. Like email.
Carry on, folks! 🙂
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Thanks for sharing that, Kizzie. And it brings up another characteristic that we might/should desire in a leader, the lack of a personal lust and drive for power. -dj
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I think that is all embodied in love of country and love of the people. If the love is there it will come with the desire to serve, maybe through leading.
mumsee
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Why am I now singing a Beatles song? 🙂 -dj
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I give up, what Beatles song?
mumsee
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“Why am I now singing a Beatles song?”
Well, probably because you’re a hippie. 🙂
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Much like America under Biden.
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Dj,
So which of the 2 are you choosing, Trump or Biden?
Because reality is it’s only a 2 man race.
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Biden’s America.
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With policies like this from Biden, your choice should be clear. And easy.
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@8:12: haha.
@8:16: it’s not over yet, we shall see. -dj
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mumsee: All You Need is Love -dj
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Aw yes, but not that love.
mumsee
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You still made me sing it lol -dj
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WSJ:
~ Donald Trump, Joe Biden and the Beltway press corps all agree on at least one thing: Mr. Trump has the 2024 Republican presidential nomination wrapped up. Yet no one has voted, the Iowa caucus is 47 days away, and now the contest to be the GOP’s non-Trump alternative is getting interesting. …
… Mr. Trump is trying to project inevitability while ducking the debates so he doesn’t have to answer questions about his record or his court cases. The White House and the media want him to win the GOP nod because they believe he will lose in November. But Republican voters will get their say, and premature triumphalism is never a good look. ~
-dj
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Interesting?
Everyone else has poll numbers in the single digits. Hs only real competitor, DeSantis, has lost a lot of ground after being exposed as just another establishment shill.
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