samuelg1

Human trafficking is happening in every country. That much is evident. That's no reason to tolerate it here or elsewhere. There is no excuse to tolerate any crime.

Stereotypes are generally accurate. We have stereotypes of cars, motorcycles, cats, dogs, elephants, gators, football players, jockeys, etc. "Let's not stereotype elephants, they're not as big as they say" when one comes charging. Good luck with that.

Trafficking is already happening in the US so we should allow in more illegals so that they can traffic too. Impeccable logic lol.

You're right, arguing with them is pointless. There are lots of retired, older folks here who have nothing better to do than troll this forum tens of thousands of times lol. They are just bored and restless, their words are just random meanderings. Please try to forgive them.

These atrocities would not be happening if they just stayed at home instead of illegally jumping the border. There are many millions applying for legal immigration status: you can't cry "victim" when you attempt to jump the line.

The reality is that they are illegal aliens who are in violation of border law. They need to be sent back.

It is as unfair as separating any other criminal from their family for committing a crime. Don't commit the crime, you won't be separated.

The problem with your claim is that you do not take into consideration the fact that the KJV and all translations are just that: translations. You will need to consider the original text from which the Bible was translated: the Greek. If you do not do so, you really have no idea what you are talking about. Which unfortunately is true for at least 90% of those professing Christianity.

For those interested, we are actually looking at the Greek original text demonstrating all of the fallacies in translation of major editions such as the KJV and NIV. Suffice to say, without actually examining the original Greek text, we know nothing about the Bible itself.

In a way, I'm glad I encountered this heretical church. It's forced me to dig deeper and conduct my own research instead of being a lazy slob and relying on someone else to spoon feed me the supposed word of God. As I have discovered, a lack of vigilance leads to a lack of knowledge, which in turn makes one an easy prey for shifty pastors looking to turn a quick buck. I see this church and every other church for what it is: a fun, social gathering which may or may not present God's word in an accurate light. Whatever is said, I'll be sure to double check it's accuracy on my own. And no, I won't feel guilty in the slightest: Sunday is not the Sabbath and attending church is not required by the Bible. So many people have been duped but I'm not one of them.

Drug use is now celebrated and promoted in "gangsta" rap, popular music and film. It is the "cool" thing to do. You can't really be accepted in youth peer groups unless you at the very least, consume alcohol. Almost all "youth" parties revolved around drinking and drug consumption. There is even a local church meeting group which holds meetings at the local tavern.

This was disappointing to me. They were older, but newlyweds. This was their time to bond deeply with one another, in this their "honeymoon" period. Instead, she is already flirting with single men in front of her husband. What made it worse was that the husband had had hip replacement surgery and relied on her to transport him to their car in his mobility chair. Instead, she kept him waiting in the lobby for 15 minutes while she was chatting me up. I saw him waiting outside for her the entire time? when I left (she insisted on walking me to my car). It leads me to believe that there is no real distinction between the "christians" at church and nonbelievers in actual behavior.

And yet we are supposed to welcome these drug cartels, pimps, gangs and thugs with open arms or we are "racist."

It's not just California; the entire country is a lost cause. Within two generations, the entirety of the country will be unrecognizable.

There are several meetup groups, all associated with the larger "mega" churches. All of the attendees are older, middle aged, trying to find a partner or spouse. They're not well attended, actually. They typically struggle to attract even a single RSVP. One lady in one such group pestered me to attend one of these meetups which was quite annoying.

OK, I get it now. I've been attending a church sponsored course during the week. The topics vary, but all of course are related to some aspect of worshipful living. It sounds like good stuff. I've gotten to know a number of my fellow attendees and it's amazing what you can learn about people in just a few minutes. Almost all of the married people I've met are on their second and third marriages. Many have met their spouses at this particular church. This is the purpose of their attending. They get divorced, then go to church in search of redemption and forgiveness, and then network at church in hopes of meeting a Christian spouse. There are plenty of singles as well attending these weekly classes and they have the same goal in mind. The Bible does allow for marriage and re-marriage under certain circumstances but I couldn't help but be struck by how common divorce is within our church. What disappoints me even more however is how flirtatious the married women are. I am single and I would like to meet a Christian wife. However, I am adamantly opposed to married women flirting with me. This type of behavior however is very, very, very common. They are flaunting their flirting in front of their new (second or third) husbands as well, which is even more disappointing. So it seems as if these women are indicating that they are willing to openly flaunt their disloyalty to their new husbands and are perhaps open to a fling, initiated at Church! Many of these women are considerably older than I am as well, as many are well in to their 50's and 60's, yet acting like swingers. I didn't realize until recently how off the rails the modern church has gone. The more time I spend at churches, the more I realize how corrupted and rotten the people attending them truly are.

I wonder if that church will put up a display depicting Jesus being murdered by the Jews.

I enjoy listening to the Ted and Austin Broer podcast hourly show several times a week. It's a great way to blow off steam and an opportunity to laugh at the farcical and clown like nature of what's going on all around us in this three ring circus we call the multicultural west. Ted Broer in particular loves to rant for 10, 15, 20 minutes at a time, screaming at the top of his lungs about the insane transsexuals, homosexuals and homicidal maniacs in politics and media. It's hilarious because almost all of it is true. The podcast is also an amazing source of tabloid gossip about televangelist and mega-church scammers. It is so funny! Ted Broer actually knows almost all of them personally, so it's particularly entertaining because he is privy to the exact details of their lives and how hypocritical and debased all of them are. Sadly, he encourages us all to donate to our local churches instead of the national and internal mega-church scammers. He seems not to be aware of how deeply socialists and the communist left have infiltrated EVERY SINGLE LOCAL CHURCH in or near any major metropolitan area, and on both coasts, and probably in the midwest as well. Possibly the Deep South or some of the more rural sections of the US are immune, then again, maybe not. Many small towns are being targeted as host populations for Somali and Syrian refugee re-location. This means states like West Virginia and Idaho. My sense is that the collapse is inevitable. I could be wrong and I hope I'm wrong.

I don't know why it took me so long to realize it, but the "pastors" at my morning church at least are not really pastors. As a matter of fact, I have absolutely no idea what their qualifications are, or what their training consists of. Aside from the lead pastor, the staff at modern churches now consist of the following: 1. babysitters aka youth worship leaders, K to 12. 2. event planners and coordinators who serve in largely a para-professional capacity: creating flyers, setting dates, arranging for logistics: food, drinks, a/v setup and other simple tasks. 3. entertainers and a/v tech: local musicians, almost always in their 20's, many hoping to score big with a hit christian album on iTunes or on youtube. Volunteer tech responsible for sound mixing, lighting etc. 4. pseudo-theologians who may or may not have a graduate degree in theology, but they stayed at a holiday inn express. Kidding. Maybe they took theology courses. Maybe they didn't. But they're delivering sermons! Woopee!! 5. volunteers from the congregation who serve as greeters, groundskeepers, parking lot attendants, etc. I mean seriously, even the lead pastor is beginning to say some incredibly stupid things, as are assistant "pastors." They're so lost they don't know if they're coming or going. The point being, they've been so dumbed down by whatever they're reading or watching in media, their brains are scrambled eggs. I have no guilt whatsoever treating church functions strictly as social events for the local community, because that's all they really are. So much of biblical teaching has been stripped away, it's not really worship in any meaningful sense. "Haalloween" celebrations at church: really?!? "Tree lighting ceremonies" at church: really? "Multi-cultural" celebrations at church: really?!? Why?!? The last item on the agenda is teaching from the Bible.

Both churches I have been attending recently are clearly moving in this direction although in less obvious ways. They are talking up anti-racism rhetoric, promoting multiculturalism and otherwise denigrating any social setting which consists primarily of people of European ancestry. The lead pastor in the morning church is constantly talking up how wonderful people from "other cultures" are. I oppose racism, but a realistic and honest discussion of crime, illegal immigration, drug and human trafficking are now being re-defined as "racist." It's a crazy world we live in. Many of the local churches are also promoting alpha courses. These courses are subversive and political as well, slowly introducing liberal and even anti-christian communist politics through the back door. The thing you have to realize is that at least 90% of people who attend churches are sadly really really really dumb. This is why there are so many multi-millionaire pastors. Most christians are easy prey, coughing up money to scammers at an astronomical rate. Get ready for more of this as we descend into the abyss and total collapse.

The church's latest staff hire is a financial advisor lol. How much more obvious can this church's priorities get? Without getting into too much detail, it's clear the lead pastor either pestered and/or begged this new "pastor" to join our church. I use the term "our" loosely as well since there is a membership process which very few in the congregation have gone through. There is so much which is unclear about this church. What's very clear is that few if any of the "pastors" have a theological degree. None of them strike me as the "pastor" type, meaning most of them seem not especially well versed in the Bible. They know enough or can read enough to put together a half hour talk, but beyond that, have no in-depth knowledge that any of us could not acquire in just a few hours of study time if we were so inclined. I believe the lead pastor has a graduate degree in theology. His wife has some coursework in theology. Beyond that, these "pastors" qualifications are extremely sketchy. There is nothing in the church website which attests to their training in theology. As far as I can tell, they make announcements from time to time in the main service, act as event coordinators setting up and tearing down tents, but otherwise, serve primarily as babysitters for the huge numbers of children who require babysitting during the main services. Sure, they plan a multitude of events, but their number and scale are minuscule compared to what would be expected in a private business. I'm really scratching my head as to how I put my faith, quite literally speaking in these people. As far as I know, they could've been former automobile mechanics or Tupperware salesmen. I don't think anyone else is asking either. It's just crazy.

I had no desire to attend either the morning church or evening church this past Sunday. This is the first time in several months I have not attended at least one of those two services, unless I had other matters to attend to. In any event, the Sabbath is from sunset to sunset Friday evening to Saturday evening, not Sunday. It's odd that so many Christians complain about the precedence of the NFL on Sundays, yet Sunday is not even the Sabbath. Perhaps it is college football or the Friday slate of NBA games which are unholy instead? Why not be sure to keep every day as a holy day? Why reserve one day of the week for worship?

I think in all likelihood there is no legal issue with my driving someone else's car with their permission. It's also likely that I am fully covered under their policy. Having said that, I asked R1 and R2 to check for me to make sure, but the request in and of itself made them re-consider their request. I am happy to reconsider a future request so long as they clear it with their insurance policy first. But it is their obligation as the ones requesting assistance to make sure that the practice is legal for all involved as laws vary from state to state and from one policy to the next.

All of the practices of Halloween are satanic. None of the rituals could even be remotely classified as "innocent fun."

Thank you for your thoughtful words, Dennis. My car is a bit older and am not keen on testing it's long range abilities! I tend to get tired after a lengthy drive, so I might not even enjoy a service I had to drive a significant distance to, even if If found it ideal.