bryan

Fascinating stuff here. When I was flying small planes in Colorado the rule was that temperature, pressure, and even humidity all are part of what determines whether it's safe to take off. It's counter intuitive to me, but days with high humidity where the air 'feels think' are actually worse days for flying. I'm told it's something with the water molecules being larger and the wings having less to 'grab'. That's just what I remember from a long time ago, so please correct as needed.

Great idea here! Let's add a community voting system so we can all rate responses to posts and classify them as one of these types! (That's not a serious recommendation, by the way, but a fun idea to consider. There are social media communities that rate posts and at times it works well.)

The local auto parts store is advertising Pumpkin Spice brake pads. Each time you come to a stop, you're reminded of Pumpkins...

I'm very hesitant to post some messages and bible study documents I developed for our home church for the same reason. Opinions about how to interpret scripture and which view is correct frequently seems to change from comparing viewpoints to personal attacks. I'd love to get other viewpoints to better develop and / or correct things I missed. However, which any viewpoint or correction is presented as 'You're wrong. I'm right. This is God's word.' it's not helpful.

When we had a home church, we had a fellowship and would help each other out with home projects, have potlucks, and all sorts of things. At formal churches, there seem to be 'church events' and not much else.

That's sad and it reflects badly on this group.

Being with someone and NOT saying anything can be very powerful.

Replying "I understand" when you have no personal, specific experience is frequently both arrogant and insulting.

"You're a sinner. Look at all these sins you're guilty of committing. Join my church and you can be saved!"

Current favorites: Freedom is not free. Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free. - Richard Cotten Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for the West as it commits suicide. - Burnham Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana

This thread is frightening.

Calling the original study as "unsubstantiated false data" and quoting another commentary seems a bit strong here. The original article explained how they performed their study fairly clearly. It's up to the reader to decide if it was valid or not. The tripod sourced commentary you quoted disagrees with comments and opinions. Again, it's up to the reader and their ability to understand studies, sample sizes, and statistics to make up their mind either way.

Going from the advice in a thread about online dating in similar situations, the general recommendation is to first try to meet people through church, volunteer groups, and other social events in your area. There are some people that have had good luck using dating sites like eharmony that try to match people before they meet. Many that try dating sites, however, say it either is a lot of work or one still must weed through many 'bad dates' anyway.

Thanks for posting this, Kiwi. Some of the professors articles from the last month are good food for thought as well. "We engineers like to solve technical problems. That’s the way we think, that’s why we chose our major, that’s why we got into and stayed in engineering. There are several other reasons why we got into engineering. One of them was the absence of what I describe here as “social engineering,” where the professor/instructor is interested not so much in solving technical problems as in setting the world right—in his or her opinion. A second and related reason is that engineering (and the sciences generally) should be, like the scales of justice, blind. Engineering does not care about your color, sexual orientation, or your other personal and private attributes. All it takes to succeed is to do the work well. ... One of the features of their growing power is the phenomenon of “engineering education” programs and schools. They have sought out the soft underbelly of engineering, where phrases such as “diversity” and “different perspectives” and “racial gaps” and “unfairness” and “unequal outcomes” make up the daily vocabulary. Instead of calculating engine horsepower or microchip power/size ratios or aerodynamic lift and drag, the engineering educationists focus on group representation, hurt feelings, and “microaggressions” in the profession." https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2017/08/engineering-education-social-engineering-rather-actual-engineering/

I think these are key points. Many churches have shifted to act more like a business trying to increase membership. When the body of believers doesn't have good ways to keep growing as a Christian and all the associated ethics, morals, and life styles, that body loses focus and church frequently becomes no more than a weekly social event.

Looking at the original questions: Why are Christians divorcing at such an alarming rate? Why doesn't the Body of Christ have a lower divorce vs unsaved atheists? My church did a pretty serious series of classes on what the bible said regarding divorce. The result? Divorce was okay based on scripture for more than just infidelity or death. Abuse of spouse or child and abandonment were reason for divorce. The rules for when a divorced spouse were also clear based on scripture. The result of the series of classes? Church members separated into three groups based on what they thought was allowed and wasn't. The scripture from the bible didn't matter. Verifying meaning and interpretation going back to root languages in the bible didn't matter. Verifying scripture with other scripture didn't matter. All that mattered was what members felt was right in their view. The point? Christians and churches create their own interpretation of what's right and wrong regarding divorce, abuse, and marriage. They quote scripture to support their views and only rarely are willing to listen and study to see if their beliefs are true based on the bible. It's no wonder divorces are higher among Christians when so many are dead sure they are right and others are wrong.

Bed bugs are no joke. The apartment next to my daughter lived in got them and they spread to hers. The pest companies said spraying generally doesn't help much and you need to heat treat everything to high enough temperature to kill all bed bugs and the eggs. They have a special moving van for people to move out and treat all their belongings. To treat an entire house can run into $10,000+. In many cases, the cheapest option is to abandon most things they can habitat and move out.

This discussion can lead to another topic: What insurance is needed on your vehicles and what amounts make sense? If you own money on a vehicle loan, you likely have no choice and much carry 'full' insurance. For older vehicles, it can at times make sense to have only liability insurance. It all depends on where you live, the age and value of your vehicle, and your own ability to pay for damage that may happen.

Does the fender bender damage affect the safety or usability of the car at all? If not, then you may choose to get the car repaired so it looks better. You could take the insurance money received and use it for something entirely different. It's completely up to you.

Looks like the answer to the OP is no. The Catholics aren't suddenly worshiping Lucifer. Most of the following is from other discussions of this topic based on five minutes with Google. Here are the clips from that video attributed to the Easter Vigils in 2012 & 2013 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, along with someone's translation into English:Flammas eiusFlaming LuciferLucifer matutínus invéniat:Lucifer finds Mankindille, inquam, Lúcifer, qui nescit occásum Christus Fílius tuus, (!!!!) Point: The Easter Vigil is called in Latin "Lucernarium" because "Christ is our light"From the Exsultet:Flammas ejus lucifer matutinus inveniat. Ille, inquam, lucifer, quinescit occasum.May the Morning Star find it yet alight, the Morning Star that knows no setting. Now, consider this: the latin "lúcifer" is translated "morning star". It can also be the planet Venus which is visible just before dawn. The name Lucifer would be spelled the same, but I don't think with the accent on the u. We have lost the use of accent marks on vowels in English. That is the problem with languages; the translation is only as good as the person doing the translation. Since there are no native Latin speaking people any more, we have no one who understands all of the vagaries of the language. We deal with people every day who interpret the Bible to suit their own purposes. It is a tool used by some who wish to attack the Church. It's no different than those who attack opposing differing viewpoints by twisting the words of their opponent. Politicians have their own sanitized word for such prevarications, they call it "spin". "In the New American Bible, it states "How have you fallen from the heavens, O morning star, son of the dawn" but the Vulgate and other translations have replaced morning star with Lucifer. In Revelation Jesus is referred to as morning star. My question, is why did the Vulgate have Lucifer and the double inference to morning star that in Revelation is Jesus but does it refer to Lucifer as well?" Another point: the entire closing passage reads (Latin, then English):Flammas eius lúcifer matutínus invéniat:ille, inquam, lúcifer, qui nescit occásum.Christus Fílius tuus,qui, regréssus ab ínferis, humáno géneri serénus illúxit,et vivit et regnat in sæcula sæculórum.May this flame be found still burningby the Morning Star:the one Morning Star who never sets,Christ your Son,who, coming back from death's domain,has shed his peaceful light on humanity,and lives and reigns for ever and ever.Regarding the reference in the Vulgate to Lucifer as the morning star, tradition holds that Lucifer was the angel of light, but fell from heaven over Adam's stewardship of the entire earth. Isaiah uses the metaphor about Babylon, drawing (scholars tend to believe) from a Canaanite myth to make his point to the king who held Israel in captivity."How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High'..."Metaphorically, the fallen angel has "power" over the world until Christ, our true Light, enters time. Christ is the true Morning Star.

One data point: My current employer fills any position in India if at all possible because the equivalent job there costs 20% of the same job in the USA. If it must be filled in the USA, they try to use a H1B workers who will accept 30% less on average than American workers. Fake news constantly shows a shortage of IT jobs in the US, but whenever I look at the actual data it ends up being companies trying to convince politicians to allow more H1B workers to lower their labor costs. Mean while, American workers cannot easily compete with outsourced or H1B workers since they cost so much less.

Latin is a great language that's the root of many others. Could you post the hymn in Latin so we can see how it references Satan?

It's science, so it could be used for good or bad things. The first article I read about this talked about fixing specific, known defects. If this helps a couple have a healthy, normal baby where they would otherwise not much of a chance of that, that sounds good. If it's used to make sure children have blue eyes or blonde hair, that will be an interesting market. When they start trying to use genetic engineering to add athletic abilities, height, or intelligence, that will really be interesting but I suspect that's many decades away.

The molestation and drug dealing stands out as being a current danger. The behavioral parts sound like they could cause harm as well. It sounds like you're doing what you can to protect your child, husband, and marriage in general. Minimizing contact and access to the toxic relatives make sense.

Let me clarify a few terms so the context of what I'm saying makes sense. This is all my interpretation, so I'll leave it to others here to clarify and update if needed. Christian: One that has 'been saved', accepted Christ as their savior, and has an ongoing relationship with Jesus. Possession: Where a demon inhabits the body of a person and can control that person's actions Oppressed: Where a demon / evil spirit is actively attacking a person by influencing their thoughts and possibly environment. Spiritual Warfare: Oppression by one or several demons / evil spirits of a person So, can a Christian be attacked by Spiritual Warfare and oppressed? I think so. The bible says Christians will be persecuted and I think that includes spiritual oppression. What can one do about this? The bible talks about putting on the Armor of God. I believe that and having an active relationship with Jesus can protect one from such spiritual warfare and oppression. Will this make you completely immune to being attacked spiritually? I think Christians are always targets and need to constantly rely on Jesus for protection.