Manning5me, your sincerity is not in question, however, Freemasonry is, in fact and deed, a Satanic mockery of Christianity, and subjective denials such as yours, although routinely heard from Freemasons and Freemasonry, cannot stand against the plethora of objective truth.

https://pulpitandpen.org/2017/03/23/a-pastors-awakening-to-freemasonry/

A Pastor’s Awakening to Freemasonry: This entry is part 6 of 31 in the series Freemasonry:

James Bell has been shepherding the Lord’s flock as the pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Gallatin, Tennessee for over forty years. Brother Bell prepared for the ministry by studying God’s word at Truett-McConnell College, Belmont University, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The following is his personal testimony about encountering Freemasonry:

"In January of 1969, at the ripe age of 23, I left seminary to take my first full-time pastorate. My wife and I moved from Ft. Worth, Texas to Hartsville, Tennessee where I had been called to pastor First Baptist Church. Quite a few FBC members were active in the local Masonic Lodge, Harstville Lodge #113. Many of their wives were active in the Order of the Eastern Star. My wife and I were often invited to monthly potluck dinners at the Lodge, provided, of course, by the Eastern Star ladies.

Once we had our fill, they would kindly invite us to leave. Prior to taking my pastorate and being invited to these potlucks, I had no knowledge of the Masonic Lodge. Quite frankly, I had neither interest in nor curiosity about Freemasonry. However, during my six year tenure at FBC that would change. Three memorable events opened my eyes to the darkness and dangers of Freemasonry.

First, I received a used book from England entitled “Darkness Visible: A Revelation and Interpretation of Freemasonry” I was amazed as I gazed upon a photograph in the book of a candidate prepared for initiation into a Masonic Lodge. He was blindfolded with one pant leg up above the knee. I was stunned as I read the horrible vows that such candidates were expected to make. They were blood oaths. “How could Christians make such vows!?” I exclaimed.

Disturbed by what I had seen and read, I took the book to a respected FBC Church member who was a Mason. He looked and listened as I turned to the pages which I had marked. Then, without hesitation, he proclaimed that he knew nothing of such vows and practices…that maybe they did such in England; but definitely not in Hartsville, Tennessee!

He stood there, looked his own pastor in the face, and lied. Since that time, I have found dishonesty to be a common practice among Masons. When confronted about the disturbing nature of their craft, Masons lie. When confronted with inside information from former Masons who gave up the craft out of Christian conviction, Masons will accuse the former Masons of being dishonest.

The second event was the first Masonic funeral I attended. I discovered that when a Mason died the Lodge members would show up at the funeral services wearing their white aprons and expect to have the last word at the grave site. As a pastor, this was normally my role. Over time, I noticed that regardless of what a Mason had professed as to Jesus Christ and regardless of how he had lived, his Masonic brothers proclaimed that he was going to have a grand eternity simply because he was a Mason.

Needless, to say, this was deeply troubling. I had no ability to stop their proceedings. However, I told families and funeral directors that if I was expected to preach the funeral then the Masonic rituals would have to be done before I concluded at the grave site; I insisted that the Bible have the last word.

A third, heart-breaking event, solidified my stance against Freemasonry. Brother Nat McKinney, pastor at the Riddleton Baptist Church, in Smith County, Tennessee, asked me to preach a “Revival Meeting“… which I did. Before the evening’s services, we visited in several homes. One of those visits was to the home of an 85 year old gentleman who had never professed faith in Christ. He graciously received us into his old, but substantial, house and proceeded to make us feel most welcome. In fairly short order, he gave me permission to share the gospel of Christ with him. He seemed to listen carefully.

However, when I asked what his response to what he had heard was, he did not hesitate to reply, “Young man, I believe in God but I am a Mason. I do not need Jesus!” I remember appealing to him; but he was steadfast— Being a Mason was enough to secure his eternity in heaven… he did not need Jesus.

That settled it. From that day forward, I have gathered materials, usually written by former Masons, and I have used such materials to help others leave the darkness of the Masonic Lodge. In spite of all Masonic denials, Freemasonry is a false religion which every Christian should flee."

James Bell, forty year pastor, Southside Baptist Church, Gallatin, Tennessee

A person who is truly seeking to be more informed about world events will 1. Read; 2. Speak to a variety of people; 3. Think about what you have learned, and how best to beneficially apply it to your own life and to your world.

Thank you for including your opinion of a troll as one who "provokes," i.e., "stirs discord" ...as on a political debate forum.

It is a very commonly observed word, usually attributed to those whose opinion is judged as less than properly courteous while differing from that of the writer.

It's in the eye of the beholder, Steven. There is a core group of trolls most everywhere these days.

Trolls have had, throughout recorded history, a significant impact upon folklore, literature and media.

There is a fair amount of that to be found within any arena within our contemporary culture.

"A troll, historically, is a being traceable to Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely, if ever, helpful to human beings."

"The most popular modern depiction of trolls is the internet phenomenon renown as "trolling" -deliberately posting provocative or offensive messages online solely to elicit a reaction. Although this type of "trolling" is not readily identifiable with the mythical creatures of lore, the term is subjectively perceived as online harassment, giving anyone labeled a troll a negative connotation within segments of contemporary culture."

Whether portrayed as menacing beasts or annoying tricksters, enduring worldwide belief in their presence in one form or another has always been a testament to their enduring fascination for mankind.

Everyone loves to hate something or someone... or, perhaps truthfully, to project themself the victim of such hatred.

Resources
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org › entry › Troll
https://study.com › academy › lesson › troll-mythology-folklore-origin.html
https://mythicalencyclopedia.com/troll/
Wikipedia

Thank you, Radiance

All those who believe and receive His offer of salvation will be saved. God forgives and is reconciled to every individual who has faith in Jesus Christ. No one can benefit from this free gift from God unless or until they are first willing to believe there is cleansing from sin in no other, and accept it.

The webpage below lists "One Hundred Bible Verses on that subject:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/jesus_christ_died_for_the_entire_world

Here are a few more of them:

1st John 2:2
"He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

2nd Corinthians 5:21
"For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

They did no such thing!

The Israeli government had fully vacated Gaza in 2005, effectually giving the land to the Arab Muslims who now called themselves Palestinians.

Gaza is a narrow strip of land sandwiched between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, but with a short southern border with Egypt, 25 miles long and 4 miles wide.

In the wake of the 1948-49 war, Gaza was occupied by Egypt for 19 years.

Israel occupied Gaza in the 1967 war and stayed until 2005, during that time building homes, villages and commercial greenhouses for agricultural commerce.

In 2002, Israel was offered "normal" relations with all 57 Arab countries in return for a full withdrawal from the lands it had captured in the 1967 war, the creation of a Palestinian state and a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees. The presentation of the plan was destroyed by Hamas, which blew up an Israeli hotel full of Holocaust survivors from WWII during their annual historic Passover Seder meal.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withdrew entirely from Gaza in 2005, forcefully evicting all Jewish settlers from the land. Israel turned the entire territory with commercial greenhouses and settler's homes intact, over to the Palestinians, who promptly raided and destroyed the greenhouses, and elected the entire Palestinian militant terrorist group Hamas the following year (2006), to govern over them in their only legislative elections ever held to this date.

HAMAS is an Islamist group totally committed to the destruction of Israel and is designated as a terrorist group by the UK and many other countries.

Had they been intent on the development of the Gaza Strip for the future well being of their people, they could have built tourist hotels and resorts on the Mediterranean Sea shores, but they opted, instead to build hundreds of underground tunnels and missiles and other weapons to continually war upon Israel.

During the years between 2006 and 2023, with no show of gratitude for the land of the Gazan Strip, HAMAS has proceeded to attack Israel and its citizens innumerable times without provocation, their only thought being to destroy Israel and possess all of the land partitioned to Israel by the U.N. charter, and ca 3,800 years before that, given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as a permanent possession by the God of the Bible.

The Palestinian militant group, HAMAS, launched a devastating, barbaric missile attack and cross-border murderous sneak attack on Israeli territory on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel has responded with a defensive air and land offensive on HAMAS forces in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of eliminating Hamas' ability to continue torturing, raping and murdering Israeli citizens.

HAMAS, as an army of terrorists, must be destroyed because their only function is to steal, kill and destroy.

saltwind,

I believe HAMAS is totally to blame for forcefully refusing to allow their own Arab Muslim Gazan citizens to escape the bombardments, preferring to allow them to die, and Israel to be blamed... although Israel had dropped leaflets in Arabic, by the thousands, before each bombing warning them to get out.

This terrorist war was brought to Israel; they were in no way the aggressor. They are fighting for their own survival.

Never again!

Hydro, a detective, I am not, but thank you for 'sharing.'

In a debate, I don't believe anyone can successfully "exalt themself" above anyone else, anymore than they can "run anyone else down," other than in their own mind, UNLESS that targeted individual tacitly or passively acquiesces.

IMHO, only God truly knows what anyone on an internet forum does or does not understand, or for that matter, how they are living their personal life, - for on this or on any other debate forum, we see only the expressed opinions, beliefs, and written interactions between our fellow forum members, as they see fit to express them.

Unless a forum member wishes to state their gender/sex, as material to their specific argument, it is immaterial to me, i.e., not my concern.

It is only fellow member's stated opinions and beliefs on a particular topic, as well as their source material and documentation, not their personality, that might garner my attention, whether to agree or to disagree and attempt to refute their argument.

In addition, whether anyone actually has a "know it all better than thou attitude" is known but to them and to God. I can't read anyone's mind, or control another person's attitude, nor would I care to do so.

These events took plan on October 7th, 2023. Lying and denying the truth now will never make them go away, anymore than the Holocaust of WWII can ever be successfully hidden away. The truth cannot be long suppressed.

Film has been culled from body cameras worn by Hamas attackers, dashcams, traffic cameras, closed-circuit TV and the mobile phones and social media accounts of victims, soldiers and emergency medical workers. It includes disturbing scenes of people being gunned down as they drive along a highway, cower in their homes and try to flee across an open field. There are still photographs of burned bodies, of bloody teenagers piled in the backs of trucks, of lifeless children in pajamas (their faces blurred to protect their identities).

Sara Greenberg — a former foreign affairs adviser to the Israeli prime minister whose husband, Lt. Col. Amnon Shefler, is a spokesman for the Israeli military. “Just as there are those who deny the Holocaust, there are those who are attempting to deny and distort the atrocities committed by Hamas, despite the fact that the Hamas terrorists documented the attacks themselves.”

HAMAS terrorists gleefully sent the videos to Media Internet outlets for all the world to see as they were being committed, by those HAMAS members who committed the crimes, proudly documenting their deeds in real time.

The appalling record of Hamas brutality has set a new standard in graphic evidence of unrivaled human atrocities.

Internet bigots are now flooding social media with denial of this savage, beyond animalistically cruel assault.

Pro-Palestinian hashtags on TikTok have more reach than 10 top mainstream news sites from across the political spectrum combined, according to research conducted by data scientist Anthony Goldbloom. There are 54 views of videos with pro-Palestinian hashtags for every view of a TikTok video with a pro-Israel hashtag in the U.S. and #freepalestine is one of the top-performing hashtags across all of TikTok.

But although it is especially disturbing that rampant atrocity denying antisemitic content abounds, the truth of 10/7/23 has been released by TIME.com, and dozens of others.

The videos produced by the actual terrorist HAMAS perpetrators absolutely do include:

Savagely beheaded babies, pregnant women with their wombs violently cut open and fetuses stabbed, live babies burnt in ovens, as their parents are being tortured while being forced to listen to their screams and smell their burning flesh; hundreds of innocent people hunted down like animals and burned alive, gruesome mutilation of raped women's corpses, a systematic pre-planned sub-human campaign of indescribably savage murders, rapes and barbaric acts of necrophilia, trained for months in advance.

Now open to public mourning, the site of the October 7th Hamas attack on the Nova rave is rapidly becoming an internationally recognized Israeli national memorial, similar to memorials honoring genocidal victims at Israel’s Yad Vashem - west of Jerusalem, The American Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the Hungarian Jewish Museum in Budapest’s stately Dohány Street Synagogue, the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide in Ukraine, Srebrenica-Potočari Genocide Memorial and Cemetery in Croatia, and Rwanda’s Kigali Genocide Memorial, among many other infamous memorials of man's capacity for godless inhumanity to man.

They are vital landmarks forever documenting the historic truth of unimaginable human depravity and cruelty victimizing their fellow human beings.

https://time.com/6565186/october-7-hamas-attack-footage-film/
The Worst 45 Minute Film You Will Ever See
By Jeffrey Sonnenfeld
January 23, 2024 11:03 AM EST
Sonnenfeld is the Lester Crown Professor of Leadership Practice at the Yale School of Management, and President of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com › news › general-news › hollywood-screening-bearing-witness-hamas-israel-attack-1235642773
Gruesome Footage of Oct. 7 Hamas Atrocities Screens in Hollywood Under ...
Nov 8, 2023Gruesome Footage of Oct. 7 Hamas Atrocities Screens in Hollywood Under Heavy Guard.

That is not humble, but arrogant.

Were you able to atone for your own sins, Jesus could have remained in heaven during the 1st century, as there would have been no need for His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension back whence He came.

Thank you, Emily,

There's really nothing, IMHO, brave about speaking our minds, as long as it coincides with the truth as well as one can perceive it, and short of engaging one's mouth prior to effecting such an engagement with the mind.

I would be indifferent to any personal (ad hominem) vitriol or hatred thrown my way, placing no value on the thrower's obviously-in-error opinion.

It would be very difficult for anyone who can truthfully self-identify as a rightwing, Christian, Conservative to be anyone's sheeple, as we are traditionally independently free-thinking individuals.

Those who support Trump do so because he stands for and has politically fought for those long ingrained basic principles we possessed before he ever rose to represent them.

As for TDS being a cult, I'm not sure how that works...

The foundation of a cult (from Latin for worship) is traditionally, historically, seen as forming around a person, an individual with a powerful, often magnetic personality, and is then shaped and recognizable in it's followers-members by their adherence to that leader's distinctly unique teachings.

In this case, it would appear that the constants are being reversed so that the cult-members, per se, are formed around that individual they would willfully consign to hell, rather than worship, were it within their power to do so - which it isn't!

Interesting perspective, though.

Back to the concept of "being brave," - Emily, I do not believe that the poster(s) exist on this forum or any other that could intimidate either of us.

Yes, he is, and going for a fourth term, which (although now illegal - via term limiting), if successful, would rival Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

This United States of America's greatest need at the moment is the dissemination of the Bible, through every nook and cranny, every hill and crevice, across every river, over every mountain, get my drift.

Donald Trump doesn't attempt to hide any of his faults, nor has he ever.

His business masterpiece, "The Art of the Deal' (1987) very openly proclaimed and displayed decades ago that his greatest God-given talent was his business sense. He has the heart of a "profit-eer," i.e., a capitalist...

"Acquisition beyond expenditure; excess of value received for producing, keeping, or selling, over cost; hence, pecuniary gain in any transaction or occupation; emolument,
'a profit on the sale of goods'"

capitalist
noun

A supporter of capitalism. An investor of capital in business. A person of great wealth.

It is his flaws that make him so cute!!!

TJKMO,

Every Evangelical Christian on earth is a sinner, a forgiven sinner.

Christians can recognize Donald Trump as a choice God would make, based on His written word. In 1st Corinthians 1:25, 27-28, God has made it very clear that His choice is not often one the 'movers' and 'shakers' of this world would consider:

"Because God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength,
Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world - what is viewed as nothing - to bring to nothing what is viewed as something." (1st Corinthians 1:25, 27-28)

Three thousand years ago, King David, Adulterer and Murderer of his Adultress wife's soldier husband, was used by God, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to author 75 of the 150 Psalms.

For centuries, commonly referred to as "God's Psychiatry (before there was an Academic Discipline known as Psychiatry), those Psalms have blessed the lives of untold millions of people by offering timeless wisdom for a more courageous, enthusiastic and more confident outlook on life, with inward peace. The essence of God's psychiatry are 'prescriptions' from Bible passages, among which are: The Twenty-third Psalm, The Ten Commandments, The Lord's Prayer, and The Beatitudes.

After Moses had murdered an Egyptian who was beating a fellow Hebrew,Moses, who had been raised as a prince in Egypt by God's provision, was then used as the Deliverer of God's people, bringing them out of servitude in Egypt. Moses received the Ten Commandments, written by the finger of God, then he delivered the Hebrews to the front door of the Promised Land, i.e., Canaan, in fulfillment of His 400 year old promise to Abraham.

If hindsight were but foresight, if ever presented with the opportunity, he should indeed have done so.

These 'ordinary' Gazans are taught nothing but hatred for any Kaf'ir(s) nonMuslim(s), from the womb to the tomb.

This irrational, unreasoning hatred 'normally' extends beyond Kaf'irs, from Sunni Muslim to Shi'ite Muslim, and from Shi'ite Muslim to Sunni Muslim, for thus are they taught from birth.

They are greatly to be pitied just as a rabid dog is to be pitied... from a distance, from the exterior of their enclosure or area of confinement, -

OR, most unfortunately, in order for any civil society to exist within their vicinity, quite often, they simply must be put down.

"Therefore let no one judge you in regard to food and drink or in regard to [the observance of] a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day." (Colossians 2:1)

The ancient Jewish celebration of Purim 2024 also begins Saturday night, March 23, continuing through this Sunday, March 24, 2024 (extending through Monday in Jerusalem).

The festival of Purim commemorates the Divinely orchestrated salvation of the Jewish people from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day, two thousand, four hundred years ago BCE, by Persia's Jewish Queen Esther, in the ancient Persian Empire,” It is celebrated with Megillah readings, gifts of food, charity, feasting, and merriment.(Esther 9:17-19, 9:27)

Oxford University Press, a department of the University of Oxford acknowledges that the term, Bible Thumper, is now considered to be a derogatory term within our contemporary society.

The term is often used by today's activist nonreligious to imply that someone who quotes Scripture in their daily speech usage is [politically incorrectly] pushing their religious beliefs upon others. However, the Bible itself endorses the promoting or endorsing of God's word, calling followers of Christ to share the gospel.

In sharing one’s faith, gentleness and respect (1st Peter 3:15) are to be utilized by Christians as they are also exhorted to always "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15)

The earliest known use of the noun Bible-thumper is in the 1810s, during a time when officiating pastors often held their Bible aloft while delivering a sermon, and would occasionally tap it with their free hand for emphasis. This was especially common throughout the southern and midwest United States, in what has been traditionally known as the Bible Belt.

In His Priestly Prayer to God the Father in John 17, Jesus confirms that He has brought the message of salvation to the world: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

Jesus’ mission of bringing the truth has been accomplished (John 17:4), and He turns the focus of His prayer to God working through the disciples and other believers. He confirms that believers will be rejected by the world for believing “Your word is truth,” but believers are also assured joy, God’s protection from the evil one, and sanctification by God’s Word (John 17:13–19).

The Old and New Testaments reaffirm that the words recorded in the Bible are God’s words and that they are totally true. Since God cannot lie, His Word is truth: “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless” (Psalm 18:30). Since God is eternal and unchanging, His Word is always the same: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35; Isaiah 40:8). Jesus uses the Word as He rebukes the devil who was tempting Him: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’”
(Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).