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@coal
Absolutely, I concur with all you said. There is something to be said of sustenance of Russian culture during the USSR, and a resurgence of it is certainly a potential now. Personally, I am disappointed by Democrats dismissing/embracing Russia. Wish they'd make up their minds. I think Russia could be formidable ally, But Dems hated Trump so much, it blinded them that they now blame Russia for everything. One get's tired of it.
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@Greyparrot
Was that a pun, or a slipped 'i'? I'll buy it either way.
Damn, just recognized a secondary possible pun: "Too based," as in, stuck excessively on 2nd base...
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@Vader
@dustryder
He was taught antisemetism from a Pakistani government
This appears to have little to do with Islam
One of you doesn't have a finger on the pulse. Given Raja is, by birth, Pakistani, I submit that his upbringing carried more weight than the suggestion that the issue has naught to do with Islam, or, at least, the radical interpretation thereof. I do not believe for a a moment that most Muslims are radical, i.e., arguing for the complete dominion of Islam at the expense, let alone the life, of all other religions.
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@coal
Hence, your interest in Russian culture, as it was pre-Lenin. I entirely agree and admire it; it was an admirable culture which could have flourished significantly enough, I believe, to reach a status of Russian becoming the next language of diplomacy after French, instead of English. The Russian revolution cancelled that well enough, and they've yet to recovery that glory.
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I am fascinated by the utter lack from any of you of the position that Palestine [which, as a nation, even now, exists only as a suggestion officially sanctioned by the UN, and not a recognized sovereign State], should have sovereignty of the West Bank. If ya'll think that the Arab nations are so solidly behind the sovereignty of a Palestinian State, why are none of them offering a portion of their land to be a State of Palestine? Don't know? Take a guess. It's plain as day if you're willing to open some eyes beyond your woke condition, which is complete shut-eye to me. I will not tell you now. I want your guess, first.
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There's intelligent members that rarely post stuff I like and vice versa.
That's basically it; I agree. And, my trailing point that I should reciprocate more often is exemplified by my like of your #2. Thanks
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@Username
the current prolonged state of the occupation.
What "occupation?" And by whom is the offense given?
David purchased the temple mount [formerly Mt Moriah, where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, but was prevented at the last moment], and surrounding land [effectively, the whole of the West Bank, simply because the Jordan River was a natural boundary], from Araunah, the Jebusite king, a descendent of Ishmael, Isaac's half-brother, and father of all Arab tribes/nations, for the price of 50 shekels of silver. Araunah was willing to give the land to David, but David prudently insisted on the purchase and established the price. No one since has offered payment for the land. It still rightly belongs to David's descendants, even though the record indicates that Jacob and the remaining sons [11] went to Egypt during famine, received by Joseph, Jacob's last son [12] who was sold by his brothers to Egypt. The record does not indicate all members of Jacob's family [grandchildren, for example, necessarily went to Egypt; highly unlikely. Therefore some of the House of Israel [or Jacob] remained in Palestine, land that had been Abraham's, Grandfather of Jacob.
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@Double_R
In the much-aligned 7/25 transcript of then President Trump to President Zlelennsky [Ukraine], Trump did what? He asked for a favor. One favor. Then he asked about CrowdStrike, not Biden, neither Punter, nor Joe. He asked about Mueller, not Biden, neither Punter, nor Joe.. Then he asked about Ukraine issues, not Biden, neither Punter, nor Joe. Zelensky spoke for a bit, without mention of Biden, neither Punter, nor Joe, then Trump picked up with Giuliani, Barr, and Yovanovitch [not named], but not Biden, neither Punter, nor Joe. Finally, in the eighth discussion point between them, Trump mentions Biden. So, there's your rationale, and it does not hold water. There are seven points of separation between the ask and mention of Biden, but the whole is to be deleted [as Schiff did in his parody in argument before Congress], and we go direct, by your accusation, and Schiff's, and then the entire House Democrat caucus, to an ask about Biden? In what universe? Not in my republic. Sorry about yours.
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@Theweakeredge
That's a strained gnat's argument of distinction, but argues for the exception rather than the typical, which has been, for the last 700k years, that both geographic and magnetic north have aligned, now, by magnetic polarity, overdue by 200k years to change.
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Slo Joe has rolled over, again. Once, in criticism of Trump [who of the Progs doesn't?], Biden called Putin a "killer." But, Putin wants a pipeline direct through the Baltic Sea to Germany, and, ever the loyal dog, Slo Joe rolls over. The pipeline is virtually complete, anyway, so, what was Joe supposed to do? Well, he might have shown the same lawful [?] diplomacy he showed to Ukraine, threatening to withhold the billion dollar aid. No, not to Putin. Tell me, isn't that pipeline supposed to be supplying fossil fuel to Germany? Isn't fossil fuel a GND disaster? So, where is Slo Joe's outrage? Nope. Rollover Joe is ready to please. Arf.
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@zedvictor4
Though one would suggest that logic is always logical, at any level.
Is it logical that we should be able to walk on water? By current logic, no. However, is it possible that ability could be achieved by adherence to natural law we do not currently understand? Thus, logic is dependent on law.
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@Theweakeredge
geographic north and the geomagnetic pole north are in opposite directions right?
Nope. You suggest the opposing condition is constant. It is not. Geographic north does not change, but magnetic north does.
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@SkepticalOne
Did you ask for authoritative? Nope. New rules?
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@Double_R
The irrationality of Biden taking authority not granted, even by his position, since even Obama, your contribution, by the way, was not authorized to countermand the law, is sign of Biden’s incompetence. After all, y’all were willing to impeach Trump over absurd charges, but what goes around suddenly does not go around? Cheeky.
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@zedvictor4
Sometimes, like this morning, I feel centuries in the making.
I don't trace as deep as Adam & Eve, but that is a goal. WE, the members of my Faith, believe the necessity to ultimately trace our ancestry to Adam and Eve, with the intent to seal our family lines together, son & daughter to father and mother, until we reach them and can celebrate the family of God the Father, because we have a Mother there, too. Yeah, bearing billions and billions of spirit children. We all are brothers and sisters, and just need to learn to respect that and stop our quibbling over tidbits of problems.
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@zedvictor4
Don't know. You said it. Although, it is an uncommon Yank expression. Might have come from your lot.
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@SkepticalOne
How did you come to this definition?
It is the doctrine of the the Church of Jesis Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which I am a member, and as taught in the scriptures, but not just the Holy Bible, but also the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, and the pearl of Great Price.
Yes, I am definitely a polytheist, because there are innumerable Gods. God the Father has a Father who is a God, and there is his Father, ,and so on back into an eternity of past, as there will be of future. That is why I believe [this is mine, not doctrine of the Church] that our Gather in Heaven directed the creation, by Jesus, as a pre-mortal spirit, the firstborn of God in the spirit, which may have consisted of just this galaxy, with earlier gods in ancestry, God's fathers, if you will, creating others. The process repeats continuously, and will into the future. Among our generation of spirit children, born on earth to physical parents, will have the opportunity for those who are obedient to God to become gods, themselves. That is the ultimate destiny of man; to repeat this cycle.
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@Reece101
ancient Egyptians did their maps upside down.
Yes, because they viewed their empire as "Upper Egypt" and "Lower Egypt," relative to the elevation change of the Nile, flowing south to north. But, they did not use cardinal compass points. We're not certain, even now, but it is thought they positioned themselves, maps, and architecture by careful study of the progression of equinox and solstice through the alternating seasons of the year.
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@thett3
will do.
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@Reece101
You asked...
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@zedvictor4
Fair enough. I'm not necessarily looking for compatriots of my exact mind. That we can find areas of agreement, I'm happy. Differences of opinion should only represent challenges to our comfort zone, which cannot be a bad thing. This Yank is grateful for that Brit. Different sons of different mothers, but who said that was anti-social?
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Currently, I rank 10th in likes on the forum leaderboard, an achievement that is truly humbling. So, either my designation by some as "stupid" and "imbecile" is more universally held [not a good sign for your lot who like my commentary] than not [and, at times, it may actually be true...], or, more of you think I do not deserve the imbecilic designation. Of course, I prefer the latter, and, as a repentant cynic, I sincerely thank you for your kindness. I will certainly make a better effort to reciprocate.
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@coal
I'm a fellow Scot; before that, France, with my Scot ancestry arriving in Boston in 1625, so, I am centuries an American.
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@3RU7AL
Wow! Who wound you up?
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@Timid8967
Be happy Stephen is at least in a constant mode of padding your stats, while, in my case, at least, I cannot provide that service, by his choice, to him. "@Stephen" spelled out by me in response does not count as a mention. Apparently, that fact has escaped him, because he still seems willing to beat me, too. Every beating another mention... Since I feel nothing, I'm happy for the mention.
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@FLRW
"The destruction of the Indians of the Americas was, far and away, the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world."
And by that, you are willing to indict the rest of us, all of us, though we had naught to do with those heinous actions? What makes you different than us? That you acknowledge history? So do I; but I am willing to forgive and move on, hoping my actions can contribute to correcting the sins of the past. You? You think correction is achieved by indictment of your fellow travelers in time?
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@SkepticalOne
God [the Father] is the literal Father of our spirits; all of us. His Son, Jesus Christ, the son of him in spirit, and in the flesh, the only child of God to bear that distinction, is the creator of this world and the "heaven" around it, [which may not be the entire universe, and perhaps just our galaxy] at the direction of the Father, and our savior and redeemer by atonement, pr propitiation, from lives of sin, conditional on our acceptance of him, and our repentance for sin. The Holy Ghost, the third of the Godhead, is the rightful source of our comfort in pain and suffering, and the testator of all truth to us. There are, therefore, three separate individual gods who work in complete harmony and unity to achieve eternal glory for mankind, conditional on our performance in regard to love of God, and love of our fellow man, which, by Christ's own words, are the two great commandments on which all others ["the law and the prophets"] hang. We cannot love God without love of one another. by which love we would not commit any sin against ourselves or one another.
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@Double_R
Absolutely wrong in that case, because even Oba'a had no authority to withhold the aid to Ukraine because it was a previously legislated matter which Oba'a, himself, signed into law: The Ukraine Support Act of 2014, launched by the 113th Congress. The President had no authority to make the statement himself, nor through Biden. Period.
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@RM
I bring up those particular countries only because my extensive personal experience is there, and not in NoKo, for example. However, at one time [I've not been in Singapore for 10 years] a fineable offense was spitting on a public sidewalk, or chewing gum [the don't even sell the stuff] because the stuff ends up on sidewalks everywhere else. Must always flush a toilet, even in one's home [or hotel room]. I was there once over a six-week period. A woman from Hong Kong arrived the same day I did, coincidentally. She was stopped at the airport for the discovery of 1 kilo of heroin in her luggage. I watched the news as in, within 5 weeks, she was arrested, charged, tried, convicted, and executed for her crime. Singapore is no Disneyland; they are serious about law enforcement, and they enforce it with extreme prejudice.
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@PGA2.0
The types and shadows of the OT pointed to a greater truth - Jesus Christ.
We're in complete agreement on that matter. Thanks.
...solely in His humanity, not His divinity which He did not use.
On that, I disagree because to bleed from every pore is an exquisite pain that humanity, alone, cannot sustain. There are very few examples of people having that condition [it does happen, rarely], but none survive it, and all succumb to death in shorter than the excess of 12 hours that Jesus suffered. It was by virtue of his divinity that he endured longer, until afternoon, and then only because he willed his death; he had complete control over life and death by virtue of his divinity.
Again, you fail to understand the Bible you claim you have read in different languages. There is physical death and there is spiritual death.God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
I understand by your logic[?] that God the Father is a spirit, who bore a physical son, Jesus Christ, who lived a mortal, physical life, was crucified, then resurrected to a physical body, as witnessed by up to 500 individuals, if not more, and thus said to his apostles, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." Luke 24:39. And yet, God the Father is still a spirit? Were John and Luke at odds, or is it that we either do not understand what john really means by saying God is spirit, and we worship in the spirit, but we are clearly physical beings, and so why should God the Father be the unique only-a-spirit since resurrection is a process to recover an eternal, physical body?
I fully understand the distinction of physical death and spiritual death. We suffer a sense of spiritual death right now in our physical separation from God [thus, we depend on worship of him "in the spirit."] Physical death is obvious, and a one-time occurrence. Spiritual death, while temporary, or of longer duration by our sinning, may be overcome by our repentance, and ultimate forgiveness to earn the right to eternal life with God, as a physical association, or will suffer permanent spiritual death by our decline to repent.
I agree completely with the rest of what you say.
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@MarkWebberFan
@RM
Glad MarkW mentioned Singapore, because your slur of con-pol-lies speaks to the typical western - and specifically American - misconception of east-west dichotomy by which your slur is so exemplary, is telling.
I have logged so much time in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, not to mention China, to feel like an expat without ever being one, I understand exactly what MarkW is saying, and you do not get it. Or, if you do, or did, something is amiss evidenced by your commentary.
And that is regardless of your politics, so stuff your accusation of lies. I could say the same, but It appears to me to be simple indoctrination, much of which is by personal choice.
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If all there was to sovereignty were occupation of land, then most of our designations of political boundaries would be uncontested. As that is not the case, something more than physical occupation is in play.
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The reaction of the media to their truncated version of CDC’s announcement last week re: masks ought to teach all needed to be known of P.C. It is agenda-driven. What CDC actually announced, and what media reported; two distinct stories. P.C. Is what media says it is, not necessarily what is.
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@Reece101
The polarity of Earth flips about every 500,000 years, but the last time it did was about 800,000 years ago, so we’re overdue. However, it is so uncatastropbhic, we may not notice but that our compasses will not agree with their marking. The physical orientation as represented by world maps will not shift. We don’t shift upside down.
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@zedvictor4
The lick of paint.... never thought of using my tongue instead of a brush. Did I miss something?
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@ludofl3x
If all you did was ask a question, then why did you begin with “If God breathed...” only to conclude in your #42 “This is the question and it does not begin with ‘if’” Sorry that I must point out that your question begins exactly with ‘if,’
The answer is in your question, “...why would such a being (God) so immense and powerful care about a person... at all?” Because he can.
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@ludofl3x
"If god breathed the universe into existence, why would it give a shit who said its name when and for what in some distant corner of the universe?"
You have merely dismissed that "then" exists after the comma "," and before "why," whether you verbalize it, or not. Your "if" statement may still reside in the territory of not-truth simply because there is no evidence, to date, that the universe does, or does not precede God; that it is the universe, in fact, that breathed God into existence. Do not suggest that because Genesis says, "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth," and that lights were created in the firmament of heaven. Is heaven consistent with the entire universe, or perhaps just our galaxy, or what?
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@ludofl3x
Since what immediately follows "if" is typically not true, whatever may follow as a then-statement starts out on the wrong foot; a not-true statement, making what follows the proposition a mere wish, and that may also fail to offer any solution out of the dilemma presented by the contradiction of the proposition and the wish.
A similar dilemma is present by what most people construct as a syllogism. In that case, the P1 & P2 must both be true in order for the C to be true, and even if P1 and P2 are true, C may still not be true. Syllogisms cannot be 3 sentences strung together; most are. A + B = C only works if the addition actually does equate to the sum. A syllogism is, in effect, a mathematic formula in words. Just so, an if/then is also mathematic wherein half of it is typically already known to be false.
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@thett3
By my Mother-in-law's influence, I say "y'all" all the time.
The accent is gone in TX [some regions]!? Wow. Haven't been in TX since the 90s. GA. FL, yeah, but FL seems more NY than South. All the retired snow birds, I guess.
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@FourTrouble
Good suggestion.
I transferred to Boulder for business for four years in the 90s. Delightful area but for the politics. You may be familiar with the "39 square miles surrounded by reality."
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@ludofl3x
If there were one ideal climate, it would be easier to combat climate change. It is not true that we have one ideal climate for the whole Earth. Get it?
If wishes were fishes...
If Democrats and Republicans could cooperate...
If everyone could agree to be kind to one another...
There is no profound about it. This is basic stuff.
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@FLRW
We all know that
We? Your pocket mouse? I'm suspicious that he knows more than you think.
By the numbers:
There is no scientific evidence indicating that God exists. We all know that. For example:
- God has never left any physical evidence of his existence on earth. Got to get around more.
- None of Jesus' "miracles" left any physical evidence either. Ditto
- God has never spoken to modern man, for example by taking over all the television stations and broadcasting a rational message to everyone. His communication is one-on-one. Unfortunately, the reply is often considered one-on-none, but that would be on you, wouldn't it?.
- The resurrected Jesus has never appeared to anyone. Got to meet more people.
- The Bible we have is provably incorrect and is obviously the work of primitive men rather than God. Right, God did not write a single jot or tittle, but that does not discount it. Censorship is so easy, most fall into that trap. That's on you.
- When we analyze prayer with statistics, we find no evidence that God is "answering prayers." Apparently, then, your knowledge of statistics [mine is pretty good] is lacking data, asks the wrong questions, asks too many questions, has a lousy moe and confidence level, asks loaded questions with an agenda, and does not have a sufficient sample size. All of that are necessary cautions in taking accurate, data-specific polls. Most polls do not consider these important factors.
- Huge, amazing atrocities like the Holocaust and AIDS occur without any response from God. You're really expecting a response when you've already shut his mouth and gagged him?
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@Reece101
Absolutely I learn from failure. If nothing else [and there usually is] I learn how not to do something. Why repeat a failure? That only proves I'm insane, yeah? - and I probably am. Don't need catsup on it to spice it up.
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@thett3
Are you a Southerner? I'm not, but my Mother-in-law is from NC, and she says she's fixin' to do something all the time. I wish I spoke like that. Not a criticism, just don't hear it much, unless I'm in the South, so it must be a regional dialect thing. I'm from CA, and our boring speech has no flare at all.
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@thett3
They are site-given awards for personal accomplishments, such as earning gold and silver medals [also indicated on your profile] and being a patreon. A Mod will be able to tell you how to redeem them.
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@bmdrocks21
Convenient to ignore the billions we have given to the Middle East. And the Middle East, including Palestinians, considers we do 't respect them for also giving aid to Israel? Why don't Arab nations do more in support of Palestinians? Your argument is a red herring.
All nations getting along is an absurdity? Nice attitude. Tell me what is better. Anarchy? Personally, I'd rather have 3 friends. What's wrong, or absurd, about that? Because you've got a hair up the arse over Israel? Get a life, bud, one that is inclusive. You've been hating Trump for so long, now that he's gone, you don't know what to do with it. It's a wish balloon. Let it go.
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@PGA2.0
[audible sigh]
And that, my friend, is why I so oppose the citation of single verses, which inevitably draws them out of context. What is the whole of the fourth chapter all about? When is the context of every mention of Jesus and his words to the disciples and apostles, and, virtually all within the sound of his mortal voice, before his crucifixion and accomplishment of his propitiation for mankind? During his mortal life, not by his second coming allegedly to have already happened. No. His mortal existence, brief as it was among them. We still await his coming in the flesh again, as he promised numerous times, but has yet to fulfill.
Try reading Mathew 24, the entire chapter, once again, and get the feel of that chapter's context in time. Don't begin at verse 34, ignoring all that precedes it. That verse speaks to "this generation," and everyone assumes Jesus speaks of that first century CE generation. No, it is not. The previous verses, from verse 3, describe another generation, a future generation. It has not yet happened, even now; we still await the signs...
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@bmdrocks21
Is the following a riddle? "Why isn't any nation in support of all other nations? Isn't that the goal?"
You think I'm playing with semantics? So the Arab world out-populates Israel? Is relative population important to the discussion? Nope, it's a red herring. Isn't a world collection of nations having regard for one another and not thinking that every other one is an adversary the meaning behind "peach on Earth, goodwill to man?" That's not just a holiday slogan we drag out to deck the halls; it is the most fundamental lack we currently have. Maybe it's time we actually tried it, because every other hairbrained dick idea we've had has not worked, and we're repeating these spit-wad ideas generationally with the expected results: insanity. Isn't it time to consider it is the paradigm that is wrong?
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@RM
No. If there is no doing, there is no teaching by failure.
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@Stephen
Did I say the read must be in a particular language? No, I did not. Do not assume I intended to signify any specific language. The more languages in which one reads biblical text [considering even its known antiquity], the better, because there is no language to be compared with another that will translate word-for-word across the two languages. That is an attempt to translate by cultural comparison when one may not fully understand the culture of either language well enough to do better than an attempt of dictionary-to-dictionary translation, but that is what we have, unfortunately, and therein is most of your issue with biblical contradiction. But you seem to want to ignore that point. That's on you. And you seem unable to reconcile that I can believe the Bible as the Word of God, in spite of those difficulties with it.
As for the power of the Holy Ghost, by its power, ultimately, step by step, precept upon precept, one can know the truth of all things.
You may say, "What? Become like God?"
I reply: "Yes. It is a long journey, and, as said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. So, there are many steps to go, many more than a thousand miles, one after the other, but, yes, that is the ultimate achievement of man.
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