Hi, this is a question that I hope someone can answer.
I’m Northern Irish with no solid connections to Scotland. Though I do take a casual passing interest in Scotland as it’s relatively close (we can pick up BBC Radio Scotland from the car where I live).
What I don’t understand is the liberalism in Scotland. It’s quite clear to me from the political changes that have occurred there that it is a left of centre country and much more liberal than large swathes of England.
As a Northern Irish person this confuses me. Where I am from there is a large contingent of evangelical Presbyterians who have hardline views, these are the types of people who are still stuck in the dark ages (in my opinion) and don’t believe in abortion and gay marriage. Some are that hardline that they don’t drink alcohol or have televisions in their homes.
In this area you will often see large mega churches and people standing with microphones in towns talking about sinners. They’ll also have large signs in the countryside with bible verses quoted.
Now, this religion originated in Scotland. It’s a Scottish religion, it’s not an Irish or English religion.
So why did this religion come to form in Scotland with such hardline views, only for Scotland to become quite a liberal country?
I’m just curious why our Presbyterians in Northern Ireland are so different and hardline.
would just like to caveat that most people in NI don’t have these views and think these people are a little loopy.

Hi, this is a question that I hope someone can answer.
I’m Northern Irish with no solid connections to Scotland. Though I do take a casual passing interest in Scotland as it’s relatively close (we can pick up BBC Radio Scotland from the car where I live).
What I don’t understand is the liberalism in Scotland. It’s quite clear to me from the political changes that have occurred there that it is a left of centre country and much more liberal than large swathes of England.
As a Northern Irish person this confuses me. Where I am from there is a large contingent of evangelical Presbyterians who have hardline views, these are the types of people who are still stuck in the dark ages (in my opinion) and don’t believe in abortion and gay marriage. Some are that hardline that they don’t drink alcohol or have televisions in their homes.
In this area you will often see large mega churches and people standing with microphones in towns talking about sinners. They’ll also have large signs in the countryside with bible verses quoted.
Now, this religion originated in Scotland. It’s a Scottish religion, it’s not an Irish or English religion.
So why did this religion come to form in Scotland with such hardline views, only for Scotland to become quite a liberal country?
I’m just curious why our Presbyterians in Northern Ireland are so different and hardline.

• would just like to caveat that most people in NI don’t have these views and think these people are a little loopy.

What is it called when you hate how you look so much it makes you want to hide and never talk to anyone again. What is it called when you internalized your mothers constant criticism about your looks so much so you made it a core topic when it didn’t mean anything before. What is it called when it’s completely shattered your self confidence and self image? I look at old photos and wonder how I didn’t see that I was enough and that I was beautiful. And now I look at myself in the mirror and can only think about how people will judge me for the weight that I’ve gained. I can’t properly connect with people in the moment because I wonder if being myself is enough. I grew up in a very judgy home and community where the people are cold to people that don’t fit societal expectations. The way I’m treated when I’m fit verses when Im fat is saddening. I’m tired of caring but sadly this is who I am right now. I’ve become this vain, insecure person. I don’t know who I am. All I care about is what people will think of me when they see me. What will they say? Will they say something that breaks me? Why am i so sensitive? I wasn’t like this when I was younger. I have so much resentment for my mother and the way she talked to me growing up. I wish she was kinder. I wish she was empowering. I wish she talked to me like a daughter she loved rather than an enemy she was trying to make insecure. I wish she understood the power of her words. I wish she understood she was breaking me. I know it isn’t her fault. That’s how women were raised in her country. No remorse. No love for the weak. Anyhow, it’s my job to heal now. What’s done is done. How can I heal from this though? I feel like it’s stunting my growth. How do I stop hiding? It’s like I know what to do but I’m stuck. I’m desperate to change but it’s so hard.
I know I need therapy. I can’t afford it right now. I would just like to have a conversation with our community. Thank you.❤️

Matthew 27:11-26~" Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
These verses describe our Lord's appearance before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. That sight must have been astonishing to the angels of God. He who will one day judge the world allowed himself to be judged and condemned, though "he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." (Isaiah 53:9.) He from whose lips Pilate and Caiaphas will one day receive their eternal sentence, suffered silently an unjust sentence to be passed upon him. Those silent sufferings fulfilled the words of Isaiah, "as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he opens not his mouth." (Isaiah 53:7.) To those silent sufferings believers owe all their peace and hope. Through them they will have boldness in the day of judgment, who in themselves would have nothing to say.
Let us learn from the conduct of Pilate, how pitiful is the condition of an unprincipled great man.
Pilate appears to have been inwardly satisfied that our Lord had done nothing worthy of death. We are told distinctly, "that he knew that for ENVY they had delivered him." Left to the exercise of his own unbiased judgment, he would probably have dismissed the charges against our Lord, and let Him go free.
But Pilate was governor of a jealous and turbulent people. His great desire was to procure favor with them and please them. He cared little how much he sinned against God and conscience, so long as he had the praise of man. Though willing to save our Lord's life, he was afraid to do it, if it offended the Jews. And so, after a feeble attempt to divert the fury of the people from Jesus to Barabbas — and a feebler attempt to satisfy his own conscience, by washing his hands publicly before the people — he at last condemned one whom he himself called "a just person." He rejected the strange and mysterious warning which his wife sent to him after her dream. He stifled the remonstrances of his own conscience. He "delivered Jesus to be crucified."
Behold in this miserable man a lively emblem of many a ruler of this world! How many there are, who know well that their public acts are wrong, and yet have not the courage to act up to their knowledge. They fear the people! They dread being laughed at! They cannot bear being unpopular! Like dead fish, they float with the tide. The praise of man is the idol before which they bow down, and to that idol they sacrifice conscience, inward peace, and an immortal soul.
Whatever our position in life may be, let us seek to be guided by principle, and not by expediency. The praise of man is a poor, feeble, uncertain thing. It is here today, and gone tomorrow. Let us strive to please God, and then we may care little who else is pleased. Let us fear God, and then there is none else of whom we need be afraid.
Let us learn from the conduct of the Jews described in these verses, the desperate wickedness of human nature.
The behavior of Pilate afforded the chief priests and elders an occasion of reconsidering what they were about. The difficulties he raised about condemning our Lord, gave time for second thoughts. But there were no second thoughts in the minds of our Lord's enemies. They pressed on their wicked deed. They rejected the compromise that Pilate offered. They actually preferred having a wretched felon, named Barabbas, set at liberty rather than Jesus. They clamored loudly for our Lord's crucifixion. And they wound up all by recklessly taking on themselves all the guilt of our Lord's death, in words of portentous meaning, "His blood be on us and our children."
And what had our Lord done, that the Jews should hate Him so? He was no robber, or murderer. He was no blasphemer of their God, or reviler of their prophets. He was one whose life was love. He was one who "went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil." (Acts 10:38.) He was innocent of any transgression against the law of God or man. And yet the Jews hated Him, and never rested until He was slain! They hated Him, because He told them the truth. They hated Him, because He testified of their works that they were evil. They hated the light, because it made their own darkness visible. In a word, they hated Christ, because He was righteous and they were wicked, because He was holy and they were unholy — because He testified against sin, and they were determined to keep their sins and not let them go.
Let us observe this. There are few things so little believed and realized as the corruption of human nature. Men imagine that if they saw a perfect person, they would love and admire him. They flatter themselves that it is the inconsistency of professing Christians which they dislike, and not their religion. They forget that when a really perfect man was on earth, in the person of the Son of God, He was hated and put to death. That single fact goes far to prove the truth of Edwards' remark — "unconverted men would kill God, if they could get at Him."
Let us never be surprised at the wickedness there is in the world. Let us mourn over it, and labor to make it less, but let us never be surprised at its extent. There is nothing which the heart of man is not capable of conceiving, or the hand of man of doing. As long as we live, let us mistrust our own hearts. Even when renewed by the Spirit, they are still "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." (Jer. 17:9.)

What is it called when you hate how you look so much it makes you want to hide and never talk to anyone again. What is it called when you internalized your mothers constant criticism about your looks so much so you made it a core topic when it didn’t mean anything before. What is it called when it’s completely shattered your self confidence and self image? I look at old photos and wonder how I didn’t see that I was enough and that I was beautiful. And now I look at myself in the mirror and can only think about how people will judge me for the weight that I’ve gained. I can’t properly connect with people in the moment because I wonder if being myself is enough. I grew up in a very judgy home and community where the people are cold to people that don’t fit societal expectations. The way I’m treated when I’m fit verses when Im fat is saddening. I’m tired of caring but sadly this is who I am right now. I’ve become this vain, insecure person. I don’t know who I am. All I care about is what people will think of me when they see me. What will they say? Will they say something that breaks me? Why am i so sensitive? I wasn’t like this when I was younger. I have so much resentment for my mother and the way she talked to me growing up. I wish she was kinder. I wish she was empowering. I wish she talked to me like a daughter she loved rather than an enemy she was trying to make insecure. I wish she understood the power of her words. I wish she understood she was breaking me. I know it isn’t her fault. That’s how women were raised in her country. No remorse. No love for the weak. Anyhow, it’s my job to heal now. What’s done is done. How can I heal from this though? I feel like it’s stunting my growth. How do I stop hiding? It’s like I know what to do but I’m stuck. I’m desperate to change but it’s so hard.
I know I need therapy. I can’t afford it right now. I would just like to have a conversation with our community. Thank you.❤️

Let's say I'm just having an ordinary conversation and I randomly remember a verse from the Bible that relates to the topic, so I just blurt it out. People give me weird, passive-aggressive looks when I don't append the exact verse, like, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” — Matthew 11:30. I understand the need in academic writing or whatever, but in casual conversation? And it's not like the Bible was originally versed anyway, so those little numbers aren't technically even part of the book, they're there for convenience, and using them all the time like this is inconvenient, thus defeating their purpose. So, am I being disrespectful or are people just awfully pedantic about this one thing?

Let's say I'm just having an ordinary conversation and I randomly remember a verse from the Bible that relates to the topic, so I just blurt it out. People give me weird, passive-aggressive looks when I don't append the exact verse, like, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” — Matthew 11:30. I understand the need in academic writing or whatever, but in casual conversation? And it's not like the Bible was originally versed anyway, so those little numbers aren't technically even part of the book, they're there for convenience, and using them all the time like this is inconvenient, thus defeating their purpose. So, am I being disrespectful or are people just awfully pedantic about this one thing?

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Embracing the Promise of a Living Hope: A Reflection on 1 Peter 1:3

Life can often feel like a series of highs and lows, a constant rollercoaster ride that sometimes leaves us feeling uncertain about the future. It’s in those moments of doubt and uncertainty that we find solace in the promises embedded in Scripture. One such promise is given to us in 1 Peter 1:3. But what does it truly mean to embrace a “living hope”?

Understanding 1 Peter 1:3

1 Peter 1:3 (NIV) proclaims:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

This verse, rich in meaning, forms the foundation of our Christian faith. But let’s break it down to fully appreciate its depth and significance.

The Gift of a New Birth

Imagine starting fresh with a clean slate every morning. That’s the essence of being given a “new birth.” The concept isn’t just about a second chance; it’s about a transformation of our entire being. We are reborn not by human means, but through God’s great mercy.

• Mercy and Grace: It’s essential to understand that mercy is not getting the punishment we deserve, whereas grace is receiving blessings we don’t deserve. In His mercy, God wipes away our past sins, giving us the opportunity to start anew.

Embracing a Living Hope

What exactly is a “living hope”? It’s not a wishful thinking or a passive longing. Instead, it’s dynamic, active, and life-giving. A living hope thrives and grows, impacting all aspects of our lives.

• Resurrection of Jesus Christ: The foundation of this living hope is the resurrection of Jesus. If the resurrection hadn’t occurred, our faith would be in vain. Jesus’ victory over death gives us the confidence that nothing is impossible with God.
• Ever-Present Help: This hope isn’t confined to a distant future. It affects our present reality, giving us strength and courage to face daily challenges. It assures us that God is continually working in our lives.

Interactive Reflection

As you ponder over the promise of a living hope, consider the following questions:

• How has the concept of “new birth” transformed your perspective on life?
• Can you recall a specific instance where you experienced the power of living hope in your life?
• In what ways do you actively nurture this hope in your daily walk with the Lord?

Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. Your testimony could be a source of encouragement to others!

Bringing It All Together

The beauty of 1 Peter 1:3 lies in its message of renewal and vibrant hope. This promise isn’t just spiritual poetry; it’s a powerful declaration of our identity in Christ. We are reborn, sustained by a hope that’s living and active, anchored in the resurrection of Jesus. As believers, we are called to live out this hope, impacting our world and witnessing to His great mercy.

Strong Call to Action

As you reflect on the transformative power of a living hope, consider how you can let this hope shine through you today. Share your thoughts, prayers, and experiences in the comment section. How has God’s mercy and the resurrection of Jesus transformed your life? Let’s build each other up by sharing these stories of hope and renewal.
Embrace the living hope that is yours in Christ. Through highs and lows, let this hope be your anchor, knowing that God’s mercy has given you a new birth into a vibrant and active promise.
If you want to want to research more Bible Answers on your own, please try our Bible Answers GPT. It’s easy to get lost in the interesting responses you’ll find… every search is like a new treasure hunt 🙂
Source =

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Peace be to you all.

Introduction:

In this post, I will be answering and refuting the individual who keeps writing posts about me and comments every second he gets trying to "refute" me and "expose" me. I am only doing this because some brothers and sisters have allowed themselves to be fooled by this dude.
I won't resort to personal attacks and baseless claims (much like he does), and I will jump straight ahead to answering his objections.

Response to the introduction:

He begins by discussing my translation of the word "ישוחח," which I interpret as "argue" or "put forth."
Firstly, in Biblical Hebrew, verb forms such as Qal and Piel (often referred to as Polel in some grammatical traditions) are distinguished by their specific diacritic markings (i.e., vowel points and consonantal diacritics). Since I believe that the Masoretes distorted the Old Testament by adding these diacritics to reach a deviant interpretation, I do not consider them at all. I read the Old Testament without any diacritics. This is something he has yet to understand, perhaps because he believes that the Old Testament was revealed with diacritic markings—I don't know.
He later argues that the ancient Christian manuscripts (such as the Codex Sinaiticus, Septuagint, etc.) must agree with my claims and not with the Masoretic renderings of the Hebrew text, a conclusion he bases on thin air. I ask: Why is that so? Can you give us one good reason for this conclusion? You can't! He says this only because he considers these Christian manuscripts as divinely revealed criteria and translations. In contrast, I (and many others) see them as ancient interpretations of the original Hebrew text, which are very erroneous. This is especially true considering that rabbis themselves claim these scholars and translators failed to understand every Hebrew idiom in the book. They took everything literally and thus deviated from the intended meaning throughout their translations. These are the translations he claims must agree with my understanding.
The Masoretes could even have been influenced by Christians and their manuscripts, leading them to render some verses erroneously, whether knowingly or unknowingly—we can't be certain. However, I believe it wasn't unknowingly, and I have very good reasons for holding this opinion.
His arguments in his objections are all flawed and fallacious.

The Original sin being denied in the OT:

Now, the word he is fixated on is "ישוחח." As he mentioned, I used a classical Hebrew dictionary to translate the word. I don't remember the exact dictionary I used, but here is a random one I will use today:

Root: שִׂיחַ (v)
1 - to put forth, mediate, muse, commune, speak, complain, ponder, sing
1 -(Qal)
1 - to complain
2 - to muse, meditate upon, study, ponder
3 - to talk, sing, speak
2 - (Polel) to meditate, consider, put forth thoughts

Source: מקור: Open Scriptures on GitHub, Creator: יוצר: Based on the work of Larry Pierce at the Online Bible
In other words, both Qal and Polel essentially mean the same thing.
This following excerpt is from my original post about this, the post he is "refuting":
Excerpt from the post in question:
_______________________
Isaiah 53:8, traditional translation:
"From imprisonment and from judgment he is taken, and his generation who shall tell? For he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the transgression of my people, a plague befell them."
The original verse (without diacritics):
מעצר וממשפט לקח ואת־דורו מי ישוחח כי נגזר מארץ חיים מפשע עמי נגע למו:
My translation:
"He was taken from arrest and trial, and as for his generation, who will argue that he was cut off from the land of the living [i.e. killed] for the sin of my people, a plague befell them."
_______________________
In this verse, God is explicitly denying the doctrine of the Original Sin, stating that those who argue, speak, put forth, or ponder that Jesus was killed for the sins of His (God's) people are cursed (or afflicted by a plague).
It is crystal clear! He is just in denial because it contradicts his Pauline doctrine. Thus, he has fixated on this specific word, insisting it is (without a shadow of a doubt) in the Polel form (because his Pauline forefathers said so), and claims that Exion has made a grave error. Incredible, indeed. What a rebuttal!
Let's see if the Polel form does anything to save him:
1. Meditate:

"He was taken from arrest and trial, and as for his generation, who will meditate that he was cut off from the land of the living [i.e. killed] for the sin of my people, a plague befell them."

The definition of "Meditate" is:

1. To plan mentally; consider,
   
2. To focus one's mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation.
   

I know it isn't the latter, because that is just ludicrous and silly. But guess what? They even tried to claim it is the latter, which is beyond amusing to me and any other sane person reading this.
2. Consider:

"He was taken from arrest and trial, and as for his generation, who will consider that he was cut off from the land of the living [i.e. killed] for the sin of my people, a plague befell them."

It still obliterates the doctrine of the Original sin completely.
3. Put forth thoughts:

"He was taken from arrest and trial, and as for his generation, who will put forth thoughts that he was cut off from the land of the living [i.e. killed] for the sin of my people, a plague befell them."

It still obliterates the doctrine of the Original sin completely.
This is what I have to deal with. He is correcting my interpretation by yet again confirming it and he doesn't even realize it. He refuses to accept that the Old Testament completely refutes this absurd Pauline doctrine that God sent His "son" to the earth to kill him and forgive mankind. He can't understand that the Old Testament aligns with the Quran, calling them cursed. I have explained this to him several times, but to no avail. According to him, the early Christians "meditated" about Jesus' "abode." He raises the same objection in every comment he makes on every future post I do, as if I haven't just refuted him using the Bible, dictionaries, and other sources. In one ear and out the other. The only reason I'm even writing this response is to make you guys realize how unknowledgeable this man really is about the Bible and the Hebrew language. But he is good at making it look like he knows a thing or two by using fancy words and elaborations that make no sense at all.
I believe (if I remember correctly) that he translates it as:

"By oppressive judgment he was taken away, Who could describe his abode?..."

This unusual rendering is achieved by mistranslating a word, done specifically to alter the actual meaning. Some Jewish translators render it the same way, but they at least have the decency to add a footnote saying:

"\Who could describe his abode?* Meaning of Heb. uncertain." (source: Sefaria.org)

As they usually do when they mistranslate stuff.
Who would describe Jesus abode? What?! With all due respect, but that makes no sense at all! It makes no sense contextually nor logically.
This is how another Jewish translation has it:

"From imprisonment and from judgment he is taken, and his generation who shall tell? For he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the transgression of my people, a plague befell them."

Does this look like a coherent sentence to you? Jesus is taken from imprisonment and judgement, and his generation who shall tell? Tell what? This is an incomplete sentence - just to change the actual intended message.
The original phrase is: "ואת־דורו מי ישוחח"
Let me break it down for you:

Word: ואת = "And his"
Word: ־דורו = "Generation"
Word: מי = "Who will"
Word: ישוחח = "Argue/Put forth/Talk/consideetc"

Crystal clear phrase. Even Google translates it accurately (which is very rare by the way):

"And his generation who will talk"

Take a look at some of the English translations of his Christian forefathers:
New Living Translation Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants...
New International Version By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested?...
King James Bible He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation?...
Some others got the first part accurate but still misinterpreted the last part of the verse, as it claims that they are cursed. God forbid, they are the ones who are cursed, for they consider Jesus to be the cursed one:
English Standard Version By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
They applied the "curse/plague" to Jesus (which they translate as "stricken," even though Biblically it is generally understood to be a plague/curse) instead of applying it to those "who considered" (i.e., the Pauline Christians). The Hebrew verse uses a plural word, indicating that it was intended for those people who would put forth this claim. They all refuse to accept the fact that God is explicitly and literally stating that they are affected by a plague for their erroneous claim about Jesus.
Let's quickly refute them too:

• The word for "plague" is "נגע" (nega).
• The word for "to them" is "למו" (lamo).

"Plague" (נגע):

Hebrew classical dictionary:

Heb: נֶגַע (n-m)
1 - stroke, plague, disease, mark, plague spot
stroke, wound
stroke (metaphorical of disease)
mark (of leprosy)

Source: מקור: Open Scriptures on GitHub, Creator: יוצר: Based on the work of Larry Pierce at the Online Bible

"To them" (לָֽמוֹ):

Hebrew classical dictionary:

1 - inflected pers. pron. meaning ‘to them’ (poetically).
2 - [Formed from לְ◌ with ◌מוֹ, a suff. used only in poetry.]

Source: מקור: Klein Dictionary, Creator: יוצר: Ezra Klein
A plague to whom? TO THEM! To the people who put forth this Pauline doctrine, the ones who argued, said, or considered this absurdity. Absolutely not to the one they believed to be cut off for the sin of God's people, namely Jesus, God's prophet, Messiah, His Word, and a spirit from Him.
But this is not surprising to anyone; it is expected, because their savior Paul also considered the blessed Messiah Jesus to be a curse:

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'" (Galatians 3:13)

It bothers them that God Himself is confirming that they are the cursed ones, and He does it in the book they believe in. I am the one who exposed it, and all praise is due to God alone. It bothers this guy who is "eXpOsInG" me, and I won't mention his name because that is most likely what he wants.
He goes on to say that I quoted from a fictitious source, which is not true at all. I simply didn’t bother looking through my entire library to find a quote I mistakenly mis-referenced, mainly because the quote turned out to be quite irrelevant, and I don’t waste my time like that. Much of what he initiated his "rebuttal" with is equally misunderstood by him, and I have responded to each and every objection in my older posts (in the comment sections where he was "eXpOsInG" me). I picked the first thing and refuted it here for you just to show how ignorant he really is and how he is either living a lie or lying to others.
So, I will not bother to refute every single point of the old stuff that I’ve already conclusively answered. It's a waste of time. Let’s move on to his objections to my latest posts, because that is what this is all about in reality.

My answers to his objections to my latest posts:

Regarding the stone God mentions that was to be placed in the Temple of God, he says that it is saying

"Stone to a stone," or "upon a stone"

My answer:
"Stone to a stone" is not a Hebrew idiom, and neither is the word "upon" there in Hebrew. He doesn't know Hebrew, had he known Hebrew, he would never have "eXpOsEd" this because it just went to show that he doesn't know the language at all.
The Hebrew word "שום" (shum) in this context is derived from the root ש-ו-ם, which means "to place" or "to put." It appears here as an infinitive construct, which is often used to convey the act of doing something, similar to the English "-ing" form. In this sentence, "שום" is functioning as a gerund, which is a verbal noun. It translates to "placing" or "putting" in English. Therefore, "שום־אבן" means "placing a stone" or "putting a stone."
As for the next word, i.e. "stone" (אבן), in Hebrew, nouns have gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). "אבן" is a feminine singular noun. When used in the phrase "שום־אבן" (placing a stone), "אבן" functions as the direct object of the action described by the infinitive construct "שום" (placing).
The next word is אל: This is taken as a preposition according to them, and it generally means "to" or "toward," and never "upon." It is used to indicate direction or movement towards something. While the following word is, again, a stone "אבן."
So if we're going with their interpretation, while being literal, as we should because it is not an idiom, it accurately translates to:
"Before placing a stone to a stone" or "before placing stone to stone"
Which makes very little sense, if any. Why wouldn't God say "Before placing stone upon stone" or "Stones upon stones" or "before placing a stone upon a stone"? Why did He use a singular word for "stone"? Because it is speaking about a one stone, the stone that God placed in Zion:

"So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic." (Isaiah 28:16)

I have proven in countless posts that Zion is the ancient name for Mecca. Just look up Psalm 84, and you will see how it mentions doing the pilgrimage in Zion and also mentions "Bacca," another name for Mecca. I have proven how Harran is located in Mecca and that the oak of Bacca is located there as well, and we know according to Psalm 84 that Zion is located where Bacca is located. With this in mind, it’s easy to see what has been done to cover up this prophecy. They have misinterpreted the word "El" as "Upon" instead of "God." The definition of that word is not "Upon"; it means "To/toward" or "God."
Classical Hebrew dictionary:

Heb: אֵל (n-m)
god, god-like one, mighty one
mighty men, men of rank, mighty heroes
angels
god, false god, (demons, imaginations)
God, the one true God, Jehovah
mighty things in nature
strength, power

Source: מקור: Open Scriptures on GitHub, creator: יוצר: Based on the work of Larry Pierce at the Online Bible
And:

Heb: אֶל (prep.)
denoting motion toward or to, or direction toward, and meaning ‘to, unto, toward, into, at, by’.
[Shortened from אֱלֵי (which is preserved in poetry). cp. עֲלֵי, poetical form of עַל (= on), and עֲדֵי, poetical form of עַד (= as far as, until). Related to Arab. ’ilā (= to, toward, up to).]

Source: מקור: Klein Dictionary, Creator: יוצר: Ezra Klein
Let's see if any of these help him:

Before placing a stone to a stone?
Before placing a stone towards a stone?
Before placing a stone into a stone?
Before placing a stone unto a stone? (archaic term for "to")
Before placing a stone at a stone?
Before placing a stone by a stone?

Does any of this make any sense to you? I believe it certainly does not. Yet they have all chosen to ignore these valid definitions and instead opt for a definition that isn't there, namely: "a stone UPON a stone," just to claim that God was idiomatically saying "Before you build the temple." The temple was already built, as I will prove later below.
To get a more coherent translation, one that makes sense both contextually and linguistically, we need to consider "El" as "God":

ועתה - "And now"
שימו־נא - "consider, please"
לבבכם - "your heart"
מן־היום - "from this day"
הזה - "this"
ומעלה - "and onward"
מטרם - "before"
שום־אבן - "placing a stone"
אל־אבן - "God's stone/stone of God"
בהיכל - "in the Temple"
יהוה - "of YHWH" (YHWH)

Here, "אל־אבן" would translate to "God's stone" or "stone of God." Thus, the phrase "מטרם שום־אבן אל־אבן בהיכל יהוה" would be understood as "before placing a stone as God's stone in the temple of YHWH" or "before placing a stone, God's stone, in the temple of YHWH"
He is just in denial here as well. It is quite obvious that God is talking about placing a stone in the Temple of God, not about placing a stone towards a stone (whatever that means). Biblically, it is known that Jacob placed a stone in the House of God in Harran, which I have also proven to be located in the vicinity of Mecca, using 1st-century CE atlases by giants in geography such as Pomponius Mela, Pliny, and others.
He writes:

"More importantly, Exion ignored that “stone” in the Hebrew occurs twice. If we take אל to be God and take it as the construct state (the ‘s) then it would be “before setting stone’s God’s stone”. That doesn’t make sense hence why Exion dropped the first occurrence of אֶ֛בֶן in their translation."

Or you could simply not take "El" as a construct state. In Hebrew, a noun followed by another noun can indicate possession without needing a construct state (i.e. the equivalent of adding 's in English). This is often called "smikhut" or construct form, but it is not always necessary to explicitly form it.
In the phrase "שום־אבן אל־אבן" (placing a stone as God's stone), the context and the nouns' arrangement provide the possessive meaning without requiring additional grammatical changes. "אל־אבן" can be understood as "God's stone" even though it is not in the formal construct state. This is something he doesn't know because, well, who knows why. I have my speculations, but I will refrain from personal attacks.
He says:

"It makes perfect sense with the rest of the verse “in the temple of Yahweh.” It’s talking about before the building of the temple which involved setting stone upon stone."

Oh really? Is that why the 3rd verse literally talks about the Temple that already was in existence but was viewed as nothing in their eyes (i.e. insignificant):

"Who among you is left, who saw this house in its former glory? And as you see it now, is it not as nothing in your eyes?" (Haggai 2:3)

Explicitly contradicting your claim that it doesn't exist, but you didn't know that because you have probably never even read the entirety of the chapter to begin with. The Temple was already there. A stone was to be placed in it, God's stone, the black stone of the House of God, and not that it was to be built or built anew. This is why I even wrote the article, because the temple of God was already in existence. How you could have missed this, if you've read the chapter in it entirety, is very baffling to me.
This is why Jacob, upon waking from his prophetic dream, never built the House of God. (Yes, Jacob was a prophet, but Christian scholars throughout history didn't recognize this and thought he was merely a patriarch.) Instead, he only placed a stone as its cornerstone and named it "The House of God":

16. When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.” 17. And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!” 18. Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it."

Going back to Haggai 2, the 6th verse states:

"כי כה אמר יהוה צבאות עוד אחת מעט היא ואני מרעיש את־השמים ואת־הארץ ואת־הים ואת־החרבה:"

Which literally translates to:

"For thus says the Lord of Hosts: Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land."

Which they have erroneously translated as:

"For so said the Lord of Hosts: [There will rise] another one, and I will shake up the heaven and the earth and the sea and the dry land [for] a little while." (source)

Lying and adding words to the Word of God to make it look like another House would be raised.
7th verse states:
Haggai 2:7

"והרעשתי את־כל־הגוים ובאו חמדת כל־הגוים ומלאתי את־הבית הזה כבוד אמר יהוה צבאות:"

Transliteration:

"Ve-hir'ashti et kol ha-goyim u-va'u chemdat kol ha-goyim u-milati et ha-bayit ha-zeh kavod amar Adonai Tzva'ot."

Not only does it confirm that the House is already in existence, but it mentioned our prophet Ahmad coming to it by using the cognate of his name, "Chemdat," which they erroneously have translated as:

"and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple."

The preposition "the" is not there before "Chemdat," while it is before "Goyim" (heathens), which makes sense because "Chemdat of all the heathens (will come)" and doesn't translate to "The treasure of all the heathens (will come)," as they have it.
Let me break it down for you:

והרעשתִי (ve-hir'ashti) - "and I will shake"
את (et) - [direct object marker, not translated]
כל (kol) - "all"
הגוים (ha-goyim) - "the heathens"
ובאו (u-va'u) - "and they will come"
חמדת (Chemdat) - "Chemdat" (proper noun)
כל (kol) - "of all"
הגוים (ha-goyim) - "the heathens"
ומלאתי (u-milati) - "and I will fill"
את (et) - [direct object marker, not translated]
הבית (ha-bayit) - "the house"
הזה (ha-zeh) - "this"
כבוד (kavod) - "glory"
אמר (amar) - "says"
יהוה (Adonai) - "Lord"
צבאות (Tzva'ot) - "of Hosts"

Result:

"And I will shake all the heathens, and they will come, Chemdat of all the heathens, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of Hosts."

Explanation:

They have translated it as "the treasures of..." while the phrase "Chemdat" lacks a "The" (Ha), so it would more accurately be rendered as:

"And they will come, treasure of all the heathens, and..."

A very awkward sentence grammatically. And the dictionaries do not define חמדת (Chemdat) as "Treasure," but rather as "Desire" or "Precious." But translating this phrase in this way (if we consider it to mean "desire" or "precious"), we would make the verse even more awkward:

"And they will come, desire of all the heathens" or "And they will come, precious of all the heathens."

Because it is a singular phrase, and not plural, and as I mentioned earlier, lacks a definite preposition.
But if we consider "Chemdat" as a cognate of "Ahmad," as a proper noun referring to Ahmad the prophet (the only heathen prophet known today), it suddenly becomes a very coherent verse that makes much sense. The heathens will be shaken, and they will come. Then, He specifies by saying: Chemdat of all the heathens, and continues with the rest of the verse.
The phrase "הגוים" (ha-goyim) translates as "the heathens," which supports the interpretation that "Chemdat" is a proper noun referring to a significant heathen person anticipated to come. God is going to shake all the heathens, and they will come. Then He specifies who would come: "Chemdat of all the heathens (will come)." He then says He will fill this house, which they saw as nothing, with glory. The house already exists; Chemdat of all nations was just about to come, and God would fill this house with glory again. And, of course, the stone Jacob laid in Genesis 28—the same stone that Jesus referred to in Matthew 21:

1. Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?'

43. Therefore, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."

The Kingdom of God was intended to be taken away from the Christians and given to a people who would produce its fruits, and this is what happened when Islam came.
Going back to Haggai 2, the 18th verse also confirms that the Temple already was there:

"Consider, please, your heart from this day and onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the temple of the Lord was founded, consider your heart."

Just because God considers the two Houses (the current one they saw as insignificant and the later one) as "different" does not mean that it does not already exist physically but will be a different House.
Nevertheless, he is right about one thing regarding this chapter: it does not mention the new moon to new moon and the end of the Sabbath—that was in Isaiah 66. My mistake. But the prophecy is still valid. The new moon to new moon would come, and yes, the second phrase can be interpreted as an end (if we interpret "Shabbat" as "End"), but it is Biblically and generally interpreted as "Sabbath." A literal translation of the phrase in the 23rd verse would be:

שבת (shabbat) - "Sabbath"
בשבתו (be-shabbato) - "His Sabbath"
יבוא (yavo) - "it will come"

Let's agree that it means what the traditional translations say it means, and I don't mean hypothetically, but let's actually agree on that. However, the prophecy about the new moons (Ramadan) is still there and valid because God has not canceled the Sabbath in the Quran; it is still ongoing:
The Quran states in 2:40-42:

Verse 40: "O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you and fulfill My covenant [upon you] that I will fulfill your covenant [from Me], and fear Me."
Verse 41: "And believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is [already] with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And do not exchange My signs/verses for a small price, and fear Me."
Verse 42: "And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it]."

The new moon to a new moon is combined with the Sabbath to Sabbath. This is a fulfilled prophecy!
I don't see easter, halloween or Christmas being mentioned here. It's Ramadan and the Sabbath, the two Covenants God has given to his worshipers, the Covenant of the Children of Israel and the Covenant of Peace, unlike the Pauline Christians who literally took all of their holidays from pagan idolaters, which I won't go into because it's not very relevant to our discussion anyways.
This marks the end of my rebuttal to his "part 1."
Thank you for reading,
/Your bro Exion.

I'll be leaving uni for home in a few days time, but I just got off the phone after talking with my parents and siblings and had felt triggered about the past 2 years and how I almost commited suicide because of all the stress and pressure of putting up with what had transpired. For context, I'm 24 (F) in my last year of uni, and I have two brothers 30(M) and (5M) who live with my parents (Both in their late 50's), who live in the country side. I had been diagnosed with heart disease when I was in highschool and since then things have been tough for me, with losing all my weight and having to go through three different schools just to complete high school because of my health, but since then I have got the hang of taking care of myself and my symptoms, I have gained weight, made it to uni (which was a suprise not only to myself but my teachers as well) and am almost done with uni, and I could not be prouder. However, this past week has been a roller coaster, with thoughts of committing suicide lurking in every corner, I didn't know why at first but after talking to my parents on the phone bits of memories came flooding back to me about how I thought I reached my point of living and that my heart was gonna give out any moment or that it would be better if I'd just off myself with that sharp knife in the corner by slitting my wrists open. You see, my mum had this really bad lung infection the Christmas of 2022 while I was home for the holidays, and I took on most of the responsibility of taking care of her from 5am in the morning to the next morning where I'd sleep at 3am after ensuring she was okay, then wake up to do it all again. Don't get me wrong, I loved taking care of my mum, it made me happy that I could be there when she was at her weakest to lend her the strength and care she deserved after taking care of me all these years. It all happened one afternoon when my brother has come home afted being gone all day and did not even receive an earful from my parents (or mainly my dad) like I did for being out for just 2 hours to unwind from taking care of my mum and nursing her back to health all while not having any contact with friends or the outside world then our yard for almost 2 months, I was called selfish by my dad and told that my actions were stupid that if my mum would die I'd look stupid crying for her just like my mum's sister who chose to go out and meet friends the day her father died, that I was supposed to be at home with mum taking care of her. My dad is a stay at home dad, my older brother dropped out of college and my mum is the sole bread winner of the family. While my mum was sick, my dad would get groceries, attend to church meetings, ensure the yard was kept clean lend a hand when it was needed with caring for mum while my brother ate, slept on time, had time to meet friends, throw his plates in the sink without washing them and not lending a hand with helping mum. Meanwhile I spent my days bathing her, dressing her, feeding her, massaging her body, changing her hot water in her mugs to ensure she stayed hydrated because that's all she could drink without coughing , cleaning her sleeping area and sanitizing it everytime she had to go to bed after a warm bath as well as watching over her as she slept to ensure her pillows were placed in a way that didn't obstruct her airflow all while also ensuring that everyone's laundry was done and put away, food was cooked and served, plates were washed and put away, my little brother was cared for also while doing part of my dad's work around the house to ensure he got enoughg sleep at night, since we lived by the country side there were a lot of chores to do around the house as most of the things were done manually or by hand. I did this until she got back on her feet and was able to do little things around the house without my help. After a week or two when my mum had improved told my parents that I'll be gone the next day after lunch to see my friend and that normally before mum got sick Friday was a free day for me that I get an off day of doing house work. So the day came, I dressed up (I felt pretty after not being able to do that in a whole) and left after ensuring that my big brother was home to assist mum whenever she needed and also checked on my mum to see if she was okay and that she didn't need my help before I stepped out of the house at 2pm. The walk to my friend's house felt like heaven, with sun in my face, the breeze on my face and the skip in my step. I spent the afternoon talking, laughing and having a good time with my friend before going home at 5pm, happy and satisfied that the day had brought me so much joy and relieved my stress. I got and came in with a big Hello, to everyone in the house, my dad didn't say anything, he just sat there looking so mad. And that's when he proceeded to call me selfish and compare me to my mother's sister all while my mother and brother sat there saying nothing, I atleast thought they would've spoken up to say that I needed the break, but they didn't. I cried as ai stood there listening to my dad utter out harsh words until I couldn't listen to him anymore. I proceeded muster up a less shaky voice and said the following "I apologies for going out to see my friend and I apologies mum and dad it won't happen again, but the thing is I needed this, after taking care of mum and the house I just needed a break. My brother gets to go out, meet friend and talk to them and even stay out till late but he never gets scolded but when I do it's different. I do everything in this house, I take care of mum, wash all of your clothes, cook the food, feed you all and even wash up after everything and you big brother can't even wash your own plate or lend a hand. Oh and dad I spend the time I get after mum finally rests during the day to do some of your chores to cut down the amount of time you spend doing them in order for you to get a good night's rest and I go to sleep early in the morning just to wake up after 2 hours and do it all again. So I'm sorry that I had to go out, but I really needed it." After saying all that, I went up to my room and cried the whole night. The next morning I came downstairs at 10am to find my dad washing up and my mum on her phone, it was a quiet day, I thought my brother was in his room, then the we got heard that he had actually left in the morning to go visit my aunt who is a 30 minute drive from our house, where he spent the day hanging out with friends and cousins before coming back home at 6pm with my grandma who came to spend a week with us. My dad upon hearing the news that my brother was had left in the morning just shook his head and said that my brother should have stayed and lend a hand around the house, but after my brother got back I was hoping he'd get the same scolding my dad gave me, well that never happened. I went to my mum and asked her why wasn't daddy scolding my big brother and she did not say anything so I spoke up and said aloud, "wow, so I get a scolding for staying out for just 3 hours but he gets to stay out for an entire day without helping out around here and he gets welcomed home?" I then went to my room because I didn't want them to see the tears that started to fall, then it hit me when I was in my room crying, everything that happened over the years on how differently I was treated, my accomplishments my birthday's and even my sickness. It hit me how differently I was treated, my brother had big graduation foods prepared and his graduations were celebrated from primary all the way to high school and little courses while I just had a well done from my parents even after taking in prices since I was in elementary, thought they'd take me out to eat a celebratory lunch after my high school graduation because it was the hardest part of my life to pass but all I got was a disgusted look and a 'thats what your wearing?' after at my graduation after I took my gown off to take pictures. I can't remember the time I blew out candles for my birthday or when a party was thrown for me, but my brother somehow has a cake for most of his birthdays and he had a really big party once with four big cakes, a whole roasted pig, lots of food and even had all his friends invited. When i reaches the age of 14, the same age he was when my parents threw him a party, I thought I'd have the same too, but I didn't, and still had not one party until I turned 24. The day I turned 23, was a month after my mum got better, I spent the whole day cooking for everyone, was wished happy birthday after realising it was my birthday, I then told them I'd come down to eat later after I take a nap and that they should serve the food and leave mine on the dining table. I came down to find they ate most of the food, and I was only placed only a bit of food in my plate. I got mad and hit my plate on the table with just a little food spilling over, my dad saw this and screamed at me and told me that my future husband would beat me up and that my life will be miserable and bad because of what I did. Well you guessed it, I went back to my room crying, and that blade in my bag looked so tempting against my wrists. I also remember when my brother dropped out of college that I was blamed by my parents, with my dad telling me on my way back from the grocery store that I'm the reason my brother ended up like how he is because they show me too much favour growing up. And when my big brother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after dropping out of college after misuse of alcohol and drugs my mum religiously took to the internet to search for diets, information and everything to do with it until he became better and she continued doing so for every little sickness like flu, meanwhile my heart disease was never on her search list. She even signed up for YouTube videos and lessons on everything to do with my brother health, and mind you my heart disease was diagnosed 6 years before he got bipolar. I left for school after the holidays, still exhausted and stressed from the entire experience. My body had reached its lowest point, I could feel my heart was tired, I was ready to die in my bed in my dorm, I had made peace that if my heart passed out before while rest I'd be okay with it. That's third year of uni was hell for me, my body never really recovered, I kept getting sick, had malaria countless times as well as typhoid three times in a row the same year. The stress combined with with the state of my immunity caused me to be sent to various medical officers and clinics to get my blood samples and x-rays to find what was wrong with me, why after being treated and cured my body felt sick. They thought I had tuberculosis, others thought I had STI's but all tests came back negative, and mind you all these tests cost money and my parents weren't happy with what they were spending for me to get this tests. It came to a point when I called my mum to tell her that I feel really sick and I'm stressed with my assignments, only for her to say "you're always sick, everytime we call you're sick. Don't you know we're tired of this, stop trying to get sick!". I'm tired of getting sick too mum, I thought to myself as I got off the call and stared at the pile of medicine Infront of me prescribed by the doctor as well as my heart meds, and they were too much, my mum's words over the phone kept playing in my head I I got my the blade on my study table and pressed it into my left wrist lightly drew it over to cut the skin, the pain felt soothinf, calming even, then I wondered how it would feel if I placed the knife on my study table and fell on it to pierce my heart, would the pain feel good? Would the thoughts stop? Would mum stop complaining? Would they mis me? What would happen to my body? Then I thought better of it and wrote in my dairy ro stop myself from doing ealxactly that then I was distracted by my medicine Infront of me with thoughts of "they would never know if you take all these and overdose, it'll be a painless death." The remainder of third year continued like these, with sickness and suicide thoughts until I went for job internship at a company I've always wanted to work in and life was good because i didnt for home for the holidays and I spent the holidays at school in my little dorm room with friends who looked out for me. Then 2024 rolled around and I'm properly rested, no stress and I'm happy. That's is until a month ago when my parents bought me my ticket to go back home to see them for the holidays that I spiralled, I had completely locked those memories away, but after every phone call this past month I'm left a crying mess with flashes of words said and feelings felt during that time and I go back to thinking of suicide. I nearly commited suicide on the 16th of may, i was truly gonna go throught with it, I wanted to so bad if only I did not see the bible verses in front of me amd if my roommates hadn't come back early. But I know, if I do go home now, I might actually commit suicide, if something like what happened in the past happens again, or if they say another harsh word, I wouldn't think twice of dying, because I'm done, I truly am.

"Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God." John 12:42-43 NKJV
I did Bible study yesterday with a friend when we came over John 12:42 and we both could not figure out whether the rulers talked about here were saved or not. They believed in Jesus, so on one hand I would assume they were, but on the other hand, they also did not confess Him because they were afraid and they valued the praise of men more than the praise of God.
I'm personally leaning towards that they were saved because they believed in Him, but these verses shows us that even when we are saved we will struggle with the flesh.
What are your thoughts?

Hi, i’m a young teen girl who’s trying to study her bible more but while i was studying tonight, i decided to dive into ecclesiastes. it was going fine until chapter 9, which brought up a few questions for me. specifically verse 3, it kinda just gives a feeling of sadness and like there’s nothing after this life. no heaven. a lot of ecclesiastes talks about enjoying this life because it won’t last forever (or that’s how i’ve seen it be interpreted) but that wouldn’t make sense to me because i was under the impression that this life has meaning and that we all have purpose and that we should spend this life trying to get closer to God and to set our eyes on Heaven. so if anyone has a different interpretation for that i’d be interested in hearing that. also verse 7 just confuses me all around. how do you guys interpret that because i see it as God has already seen everything you will do and it’s kinda like over or something? i have no idea to be honest so id also like to see your guys interpretation on that. also i hear people say that as long as you accept God’s gift, you’ll be safe and go to heaven but it also says He will spit out the lukewarm, also the time He said depart from me, and also the time he said not everyone who says Father Father, will enter the gates. so really what must i do to spend eternity with him? im really looking for your guys help please thank you!

In case you were wondering who this is, it's none other than YouTuber Gabbie Hanna aka The Gabbie Show. She was very popular from the Vine days and her YouTube channel making storytimes and her "singing career", notably the "So what if I'm the monstarrr, that's been here all along." She has done not so very good things, gotten into controversies and all the drama. She did all this crazy stuff.
She recently became a Christian and has done Christian content on YouTube and TikTok, with bible verses and stuff like that. She posted a vid in response to the Harrison Butker graduation speech on women's roles to be wives and mothers, and even though Gabbie has done some questionable things in her past, she did have a refreshing take about how women aren't required to be married and be made into baby making factories. She does use the scripture in 1 Corinthians 7:8 on Paul saying that it's okay to be single and focus on God. I'm agnostic and left religion a few years ago, but I appreciated this take.

This girl asked me to hang out and it was off because we usually only talk at work and a little bit over text but tn she asked me to hang out. Next thing u know I’m getting ready to leave and she starts spam texting me about how she hates her life and wants to leave her family tell nobody and leave work without saying anything just running away basically I try calming her down and I make it known that ima man of GOD and need to know she’s not going to kill herself she ends up telling me basically to fuck off after I said “do I need to call the suicide prevention hotline”. Idk what I did wrong I was trying to be a good guy I’ve talked to friends who have lots of experience with girls and they said she wasn’t actually going to do anything. But I just felt god telling me to try to help her as much as possible I literally got in my car and was going to drive to her but she never ended up giving me her location. This is kinda me just rambling on but idk I felt like I did the right thing and idk if I did or not I am just starting to get serious about my faith and don’t know much of the Bible yet but if you guys had any verses or whatever to read I just need some closure.

I have so many bad memories of going to church in general. To me, it has always just been a place filled with anxiety and woe—anxiety that I’m not believing hard enough or that I’m not good enough, that my thoughts or the things that I do are sinful and that there’s something wrong with me and the way that I think, and because of that I’m not hearing the voice of god like everyone else is and because of that I’ll probably end up burning in hell and suffering for an eternity, separated from my family and everyone that I love. Even outside of church, I would always be bothered by these kinds of thoughts, that there was just something wrong with me and that I wasn’t a good person because I thought of things that were sinful, and it manifested in a lot of horrible insecurity and self hatred as I grew up and really has not gone away today. I remember being haunted by these scenarios in my head as a child where like a UFO or something would invade the world and take away all the ‘good people’ away, and all my family would be taken while I was left behind, and it would just make me feel so scared and bad about myself.
Over time, I stopped believing in Christianity and sort of just emotionally disconnected myself from church and a lot of the people in it, as well as the teachings. This was especially helped by covid, when I basically just stopped going to church entirely. But it’s only recently that I’ve gone through the process of deconstructing my beliefs and the ideas that Christianity instilled into me, and I’ve come to realize (among other things) just how harmful it has been to me as a person and how much emotional distress that it’s caused me. I still always feel as though my thoughts are being ‘watched’ and I feel guilt for a lot of the things that I think, especially anything that involves thoughts of a sexual nature. I often just feel shame for who I am as a person and my interests, and sometimes I do struggle with feeling like I’m actually a horrible person.
I feel as though my parents, both religious, have contributed a lot towards this. They have been divorced for over a decade now (my mom having primary custody) and ever since my dad moved about a year ago, I don’t see him regularly anymore. Having grown up, I can now understand how much my mom has suffered through the divorce and taking care of 3 children largely by herself. But I feel like she often would take this out on me (I can’t speak for my other siblings) in ways that really hurt and damaged me. I remember that she would sometimes come into me and my sister’s room when we were both like under 10 years old and just yell at us for being stupid, lazy, etc. and go on these really long rants about us. I always felt like I was walking on eggshells around her, and I feel like she was always judging me—for being very socially awkward and shy, for not having many friends, and for how I dressed or looked. Whenever I’d have friends over, I was always shocked by how much her demeanor changed—she was so warm and friendly, asking if they wanted to bake cookies or have snacks or whatever, and she would always just be so kind in a way that I felt she rarely, if ever, was with me or my siblings.
One of my worst memories is of when on Sunday mornings, I would dress for church wearing like jeans/fancy pants and a shirt, and my mom would literally flip. She would scream at me and demand me to change into a dress. At the time, I had been a rather insecure and tomboyish girl who didn’t like/feel comfortable wearing dresses most of the time, but my mom wouldn’t have any of it. This would later progress into beatings and her literately forcing a dress on me, and I would cry the whole way to church as my mom would berate me, and once we got there I would just go to the bathroom and lock myself in a stall for an hour and cry until the church service was over. Sometimes my sister would also not be wearing a dress at times, and my mom would never say anything to her. To this day I don’t at all understand why, and I really don’t care to.
I'm not going to go into detail with everything, but my mom has done a lot of things that have hurt me over the years. Sometimes she would use bible verses as a way to defend herself or criticize me, and she sometimes tells me stuff like that I have darkness in my heart (which she is of course completely free of and it’s only me that has this problem), that I’ve ‘hardened my heart’, that I’m just like my father, or sometimes even that I’m evil. The only time I remember her ever apologizing over any of this was a few months ago, after I left one day after she’d called me evil over a (pretty one-sided) argument that we had, and even then she only apologized for ‘pissing me off’ instead of what she had said, but she still justified herself by saying something along the line of that I had darkness and me and that she didn’t have that problem, and she’d only said that because she was upset. It just made me feel as though I was being dehumanized, and I just feel sick and upset whenever I think about it. I just moved on from it and didn’t bring up any of my feelings to her because I was just so exhausted and I didn’t want her to diminish me any further.
I’m 18 now and will soon be going to college, and honestly I can’t wait to just have some independence and put some distance between myself and my parents. Every day has just been extremely emotionally draining to me and I’ve just been feeling less and less like myself than ever.
I think this is already getting too long so I won’t get into any other issues. I’ve just been feeling upset and crying a lot lately and I don’t really have anyone in my life who I can vent about this to.

I have so many bad memories of going to church in general. To me, it has always just been a place filled with anxiety and woe—anxiety that I’m not believing hard enough or that I’m not good enough, that my thoughts or the things that I do are sinful and that there’s something wrong with me and the way that I think, and because of that I’m not hearing the voice of god like everyone else is and because of that I’ll probably end up burning in hell and suffering for an eternity, separated from my family and everyone that I love. Even outside of church, I would always be bothered by these kinds of thoughts, that there was just something wrong with me and that I wasn’t a good person because I thought of things that were sinful, and it manifested in a lot of horrible insecurity and self hatred as I grew up and really has not gone away today. I remember being haunted by these scenarios in my head as a child where like a UFO or something would invade the world and take away all the ‘good people’ away, and all my family would be taken while I was left behind, and it would just make me feel so scared and bad about myself.
Over time, I stopped believing in Christianity and sort of just emotionally disconnected myself from church and a lot of the people in it, as well as the teachings. This was especially helped by covid, when I basically just stopped going to church entirely. But it’s only recently that I’ve gone through the process of deconstructing my beliefs and the ideas that Christianity instilled into me, and I’ve come to realize (among other things) just how harmful it has been to me as a person and how much emotional distress that it’s caused me. I still always feel as though my thoughts are being ‘watched’ and I feel guilt for a lot of the things that I think, especially anything that involves thoughts of a sexual nature. I often just feel shame for who I am as a person and my interests, and sometimes I do struggle with feeling like I’m actually a horrible person.
I feel as though my parents, both religious, have contributed a lot towards this. They have been divorced for over a decade now (my mom having primary custody) and ever since my dad moved about a year ago, I don’t see him regularly anymore. Having grown up, I can now understand how much my mom has suffered through the divorce and taking care of 3 children largely by herself. But I feel like she often would take this out on me (I can’t speak for my other siblings) in ways that really hurt and damaged me. I remember that she would sometimes come into me and my sister’s room when we were both like under 10 years old and just yell at us for being stupid, lazy, etc. and go on these really long rants about us. I always felt like I was walking on eggshells around her, and I feel like she was always judging me—for being very socially awkward and shy, for not having many friends, and for how I dressed or looked. Whenever I’d have friends over, I was always shocked by how much her demeanor changed—she was so warm and friendly, asking if they wanted to bake cookies or have snacks or whatever, and she would always just be so kind in a way that I felt she rarely, if ever, was with me or my siblings.
One of my worst memories is of when on Sunday mornings, I would dress for church wearing like jeans/fancy pants and a shirt, and my mom would literally flip. She would scream at me and demand me to change into a dress. At the time, I had been a rather insecure and tomboyish girl who didn’t like/feel comfortable wearing dresses most of the time, but my mom wouldn’t have any of it. This would later progress into beatings and her literately forcing a dress on me, and I would cry the whole way to church as my mom would berate me, and once we got there I would just go to the bathroom and lock myself in a stall for an hour and cry until the church service was over. Sometimes my sister would also not be wearing a dress at times, and my mom would never say anything to her. To this day I don’t at all understand why, and I really don’t care to.
I'm not going to go into detail with everything, but my mom has done a lot of things that have hurt me over the years. Sometimes she would use bible verses as a way to defend herself or criticize me, and she sometimes tells me stuff like that I have darkness in my heart (which she is of course completely free of and it’s only me that has this problem), that I’ve ‘hardened my heart’, that I’m just like my father, or sometimes even that I’m evil. The only time I remember her ever apologizing over any of this was a few months ago, after I left one day after she’d called me evil over a (pretty one-sided) argument that we had, and even then she only apologized for ‘pissing me off’ instead of what she had said, but she still justified herself by saying something along the line of that I had darkness and me and that she didn’t have that problem, and she’d only said that because she was upset. It just made me feel as though I was being dehumanized, and I just feel sick and upset whenever I think about it. I just moved on from it and didn’t bring up any of my feelings to her because I was just so exhausted and I didn’t want her to diminish me any further.
I’m 18 now and will soon be going to college, and honestly I can’t wait to just have some independence and put some distance between myself and my parents. Every day has just been extremely emotionally draining to me and I’ve just been feeling less and less like myself than ever.
I think this is already getting too long so I won’t get into any other issues. I’ve just been feeling upset and crying a lot lately and I don’t really have anyone in my life who I can vent about this to.

I dunno how many times I've been to a church where people are more concerned about the end times. And less about getting people saved. Isn't the goal of a Christian to live for God, read the Bible, and get people saved. And also to show God to the world who is lost? I feel it's hiporcritacle that some Christians wanna get people saved, but then they are more concerned about getting to the end times instead. I've had a friend's mom show me and the friend a very scientific and mathematical video about the planets alinning. And Jesus Christ coming back years ago. And it never happened. This church I go to the pastor said that people need to stop believing the YouTube Prothets, stop concerning themselves and other over the end times. And go out and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ God. And get people saved.
It feels like some Christians have started away from that. And just want Jesus Christ to come back. And take them out of this world instead.
The Bible verse Matthew 24:36 states, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father". In this verse, Jesus is teaching that no one knows when he will return, but that people should stay ready and awake for his arrival. The verse is often quoted in Christian circles when discussing the end of the age or the return of the Lord.
[35] Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. [36] But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. [37] But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

So basically, I (TM16) feel like such a raging bitch, all together i'm someone who is very laidback, kind (unconditionally or at least try to be), and a lot of people have called me jolly. I'm well-versed in our worlds history and actively keep up with current day events, I keep really good grades and have never struggled with school much (though i had a rough mental patch the start of this year resulting in hostility at home and in turn even more severe anxiety prior to school). As you can tell already, I talk a lot! My mom (F37) always has hated me for it, her favorite terms being "shut the fuck up" or "can you go be annoying somewhere else." I always thought this stuff was normal, the constant ridicule, her complete delusion that i'm not trans because i didn't show signs (i did she just wasnt around much when i was younger, this she also denys.) She always has just not been very fond of me, our relationship has never been affectionate nor trusting which I all thought was normal, ive never really went to her for any personal issues or anything due to fear of her ridicule and carelessness. She makes me feel like all my issues are fake and that I have no right to feel this way, when I turn the tables on her and point out all the things i've listed she calls me a bitch and says that I need to live in the real world to understand anything (and in her words become less of a r*tard.) It kind of sucks that I've never actually felt empathy from my own mother... or am I just being entitled right now. I hate that she refuses to buy me things I genuinely like because they don't suit her preferences, I hate that all of my opinions can be torn apart because i'm not "experienced" enough to even understand it, and I hate the most of all that she is raising another daughter (F11 mo) in the same emotional maturity. So what do you think am I just a narcissist trying to rationalize my poor emotional control or was I just raised by one and am an obvious result of it. At this point I have major imposter syndrome about a lot of my identity and this is an issue I deal with everyday so I would appreciate advice, both on how to cope/heal and also how to stop trying to parent her as well.

Last night I was at a youth Bible study at my church (full disclosure: the church isn't confessionally reformed) and when we were going through Joshua 23, when we got to verse 7:
"7 ...that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them." (ESV)
...the facilitator speculated that this verse could be a proof text that paranormal research is sinful. After all, if you're not even supposed to mention the name of a false god, how much more sinful would it be to research them and know their ways?
Idk what my rebuttal is to this. Does church history have anything to say about this? I mean, it's indisputable that witchcraft is sinful and that it's probably sinful or at least extremely dangerous to read "channeled material" (especially in light of Simon the sorcerer burning his witchcraft books in scripture) such as the book Thelema or even channeled books that claim to be Christian like God Calling and Jesus Calling.
But just general paranormal research sans reading channeled material...can we really make a case that it isn't sinful besides what we know of supernatural stuff as found in scripture?

They are mostly an animal sniffing/smell fetish and nose fetish (but not a desire to have sex with animals), urine fetish, and genital fetish (both genders, but not attracted to the actual person for the same sex.) I literally can’t orgasm anymore without thinking of these things. And I feel like I’m going to hell for not apologizing for this and trying hard to stop. Not to mention, these are also all over the place on Reddit.
Now, bible verses about lust usually refer to looking upon a woman with desire, which is not my issue. And verses about beastiality talk about actual sexual activities with animals. But I still feel like it’s lust.

All the bedrocks of the Constitution have been pieces on a chess board, waiting to be redefined, repackaged, re-normalized by a new generation primed to support these changes with open arms, gaslit into pressing the button themselves and actually taking pride in it.
Liberty does not equate to freedom, but the masses accept them as synonymous. Liberty is what they gave to prisoners on ships that were invaded. It is given to you, it is not innate. We have rebranded Liberty as Welfare.
Free Speech has been rebranded as Non-Hate Speech.
We went through a whole song and dance separating Church and State to protect religious freedom, only for it to get bastardized as some elusive undefined code of ethics. Religious doctrine that does not abide by this creed of “be kind to all people no matter what and don’t punch down” have no legal protection in reality. It’s just hate speech. “Bible got it wrong guys, let it go already”.
Gaslighting all the way down. Strategically. In 10 years all the weird recontextualizing being quietly pushed onto us in real time right now in regards to consent on the internet will start seeming like the obvious plays that they are. All about ensuring our digital footprint is not actually “ours”. Technology is a great way to force semantic gymnastics on us. Nikki Haley rolling out the idea of a Digital ID was never meant to stick. It was meant to introduce a concept to the public that they will defiantly oppose with pride, only to reluctantly accept in a few years when deepfake porn is being made of people’s daughters.
Elon is masquerading as someone who is staunchly pro humanity but history will see him as the guy who finally normalized trans-human robot hybrids, with Neurolink as the canary in the coalmine, ready to deliver billions of new data sets to the corporate mafia.
Concepts like “loan forgiveness” and “reparations” are dangerous because they insinuate a violation has occurred at some point in the past, and will finally be made right by current and future taxpayers, who have nothing to do with these violations. Semantic poison.
Is the term “reducing inflation” actually telling us what is going on with our currency? Nope it implies less inflation. What it actually means is that the inevitable race to devalue our currency to 0 has not reversed, we just extended the timeline a bit based on the last estimate.
Civic duty means tracking all these trends and considering our history so that we do not sink into complacency or manipulation by internal and external forces. I’m sure most think it means following orders for “the greater good” though. They have us right where they want us.