Nancy Mace makes her fiance wait to have sex at prayer breakfast so she can meet Tim Scott first

[jojoju1998]

This is completely ridiculous and disrespectful of the occasion. Joking about having sex let alone having premarital sex at a religious gathering is literally mocking Christianity and religion in general

Wtf based Nancy Mace

https://www.lsu.edu/research/news/2020/1109-unchurched.php

" Christian nationalism is thought to have been an important factor in the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States in 2016—and likely drove many of his supporters to the polls in 2020. Now, new research shows Christian nationalist support of Trump isn’t tied to religious institutions or attending church on a regular basis. Instead, it’s tied to not attending church."

[jojoju1998]

I would rather have a LCMS, or PCA President than a " evangelical " Christian, which is just Baptist.

[jojoju1998]

This isn’t based at all and shows how much the idea of being religious as declined in America . This type of comment at a place like this wouldn’t have Been viewed  as acceptable in 2004 America let alone the 2004 GOP .

I think you are the only person on the planet who wants to RETVRN to 2004 lmao.

Religiosity declining is a very, very good thing.

Well you should be concerned. Religiosity and church attendance is actually declining the most in Red States. Religiosity among WHITE Christians are dropping off. But it actually creates more right wing extremism down the long run.


Meanwhile, at least on the West Coast, American Christianity is mostly people of color; growing. Hispanics. Asians. One can't be surprised to see Vietnamese and Hispanic Seminarians dominating Catholic Dioceses, along with Filipinos. Fuller Seminary, and Gordon Conwell Seminary, which are the top two conservative protestant seminaries in the US, are being " taken over " by Koreans, Africans.


What you ( and others ) think of " Christianity " is not the case anymore. Things have shifted.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/05/03/asian-american-evangelicals/

When I think of " Evangelical " Christianity, I don't think of Jerry Falwell. I think of Fuller Seminary.

[jojoju1998]

The 2000s were arguably when morality was at its peak here

In what sense?

Also religion declining is bad because having a strong moral framework is good and religion provides that .

Having a "strong" moral framework is not enough, that moral framework must also be good and just.

Based on what, exactly?

Religion only divides us, and it's good when fewer adults believe in fiction.

Catholic Social Teaching doesn't ring a bell ? Dorothy Day ? Cesar Chavez ?




Oh by the way, let's be fair, and apply it to all religions; muslims, Sikhs, hindus included. Oh wait a minute... that's what France did. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/4/15/the-french-culture-war-over-islam-shows-no-sign-of-abating

[jojoju1998]

Hot Take : A Stronger religious foundation ( all religions, not just Christianity ), makes for less political extremism on both ends.

Take for example the average Trump voter. They're actually far less likely to attend Church, and they channel their " discontent " through other means. They might call themselves " Christian ", but, they have little in common with the historical protestant ( or Catholic ) church.

When I'm talking about Protestantism, I'm talking about in the classic reformation era style churches. Lutherans, Presbyterians, Anglicans, they can be conservative or mainline. But they have a theology, a confession of faith, to rely on.

The big Box megachurch that a Trump voter might attend is just your garden variety baptist. Little to no theology. Nothing but just blood and soil American politics, and a hyper americanist ideology, that is deeply anti Christian to the core.

Unfortunately, the American Baptist evangelical model dominates in America right now, especially in white America for many many reasons. Those " high church " lutherans, Anglicans are shrinking, even the conservative branches.

[jojoju1998]

The idea that "morality" peaked at any given time, 2004 or otherwise, is complete nonsense, although it's certainly true that there are discernible troughs in certain kinds of moral virtues (the 1930s and early 1940s, for instance, were definitely a time in which the milk of human kindness flowed sluggishly when it came to not perpetrating genocidal wars of choice, the late 1970s a time when it flowed sluggishly in terms of avoiding full-bore sexual dissolution). I don't particularly think Nancy Mace should be having premarital sex, I don't particularly want to know whether or not she is, and I don't particularly care that she is. (Normal, insane)

It should be pointed out that Blue States ironically, have lower birthrates of unwed mothers compared to Red states. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/unmarried/unmarried.htm

Teen Birth Rates are also lower in Blue States, than red states. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/teen-births/teenbirths.htm

For all the talk about morality, and Christian Values, it seems as if the Blue States ( probably thanks to the more Puritan values of the North east ironically ) got it more than the red states ever did.

[jojoju1998]

The idea that "morality" peaked at any given time, 2004 or otherwise, is complete nonsense, although it's certainly true that there are discernible troughs in certain kinds of moral virtues (the 1930s and early 1940s, for instance, were definitely a time in which the milk of human kindness flowed sluggishly when it came to not perpetrating genocidal wars of choice, the late 1970s a time when it flowed sluggishly in terms of avoiding full-bore sexual dissolution). I don't particularly think Nancy Mace should be having premarital sex, I don't particularly want to know whether or not she is, and I don't particularly care that she is. (Normal, insane)

It should be pointed out that Blue States ironically, have lower birthrates of unwed mothers compared to Red states. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/unmarried/unmarried.htm

Teen Birth Rates are also lower in Blue States, than red states. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/teen-births/teenbirths.htm

For all the talk about morality, and Christian Values, it seems as if the Blue States ( probably thanks to the more Puritan values of the North east ironically ) got it more than the red states ever did.

I don't know that I think morality and Christian values have much to do with birth rates of unwed mothers one way or another, since there are a lot of distinct moral choices that go into the process of having a baby.

There's a book somewhere, I forgot what it was called that talked about how the " Puritian " values in the Northern Colonies, and ( essentially the West ), in the early Days of the American colonies, influenced American moral life there, even as religion itself declined.


While, the South used to be the most irreligious place out of the 13 colonies, but adopted Christianity as a status symbol, and as a identity, to justify slaves.

That's why in the early days, the " Puritian " culture would shun those who had babies before marriage, while the Southern Culture didn't care.

There, now I remember. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion%27s_Seed

And here's an overview of the book. http://cameronblevins.org/cblevins/Quals/BookSummaries/Fischer_AlbionsSeed.html

" 1. Massachusetts stemmed from the Great Migration of English Puritans in 1630s, who were of middling and upper-middling means from the east of England ("East Anglian"), under an elite of Puritan ministers. This folkway was marked by relative homogeneity, stable families, older demographics, and a more balanced sex ratio. Fischer argues that it was essentially a conservative folkway that attempted to strive backwards for lost piety and had harsh institutional mechanisms for control. Finally, it was marked by several different conceptions of freedom, including spiritual freedom to focus on God, a collective liberty that restrained individuals, and more contemporary notion of liberty of protecting people from basic wants.

2. Tidewater Virginia stemmed from the Royalist Cavaliers, who were loyal to the crown during the English Civil War in the 1640s and came from Southwest England (embodied by Governor William Berkeley). These elites were actively recruited and established a hegemonic stranglehold on the region, lording over a stratified society in which 75% were poor indentured servants. They followed the Anglican church and cherished their English cultural inheritance. They ordered their society in an extremely hierarchical manner following the Anglican church and institutionally deeply tied to the crown and systems of rank and status. They crafted an ideology of "hegemonic liberty," the power to rule over others and where liberties were not universal but divvied up according to rank.

3. Delaware Valley stemmed from Quakers from northern England counties, whose ideological framework laid the ground for structuring one of the most pluralistic societies in the region. It was a culture that valued commerce and industry, and that ordered society according to keeping the peace between people rather trying to enforce unity or hierarchy. Political parties emerged fairly early on and centered on ethnic divisions. Finally, freedom centered on reciprocal (golden rule) liberty, religious liberty, and growing antislavery sentiment.

4. The Southern Backcountry stemmed from England's northern borderlands of Ireland, northern England, and southern Scotland. It was a mixed, if largely impoverished group, led by the "Ascendancy" social class of English borderlands. Fischer argues that the "Scotch-Irish" label is a misnomer, and was much more mixed. Society was structured around a culture of retaliation and retribution, and politics that were marked by improvisation and personal leadership ("men of influence") like the future Andrew Jackson. Finally, its conception of freedom revolved around "natural liberty" that stressed personal autonomy from institutions"


Democrats are more the bolded part, despite the decline in religiosity.

[jojoju1998]

Just to clarify yes, religion is bad. But Jesus Christ is good.

It's like a church message series title put it: "Exchanging the Bad News of Religion for the Good News for Jesus Christ"

This is a BS talking point that nobody outside the Evangelical bubble takes seriously.

Wouldn't a church being essentially All Liberal All The Time make it by definition not part of the "Evangelical bubble"?

What denominations do you consider to be evangelical ?

[jojoju1998]

A girl talking at church once talked about how her mother had an incredibly advanced form of cancer and just a few days to live. She and the rest of her family crowded around her at the hospital saying goodbye, while she also prayed that God heal her by any means necessary.

Two days later the doctor was absolutely stunned and informed her family that her mother's cancer had gone into remission completely, and that he had never seen anything like it in his 20+ year career. Her mother completely recovered and was still alive and healthy as of when she preached that.

And as for the 10,000,000 people who die of cancer every year, I suppose their families just didn’t pray hard enough?
[/quot

Doesn't disprove the existence of God per se, it only puts into question his morality and intentions.

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

God has never said there would be no death.  He only said that Christ's Atonement was sufficient for all sin, forever, and Eternal Life with God to those the believe on Him.

I've been a part of a Facebook prayer group for a little girl with childhood cancer.  She died last week; she was only seven (7) years old, and her suffering, while far less than some, was still significant; she suffered at a level that no one would want their child to suffer.  The family are Believers, but they have suffered a terrible loss, and it's not the first untimely loss of a family member they have endured.  Nonetheless, they know that their precious child/grandchild is forever with Jesus.  THAT is our Blessed Hope, not the hope for money, power, fame, etc. 

Christianity is all about THAT.  It's about Christ atoning for OUR sins; His Atonement is sufficient for every sin that will ever be committed.  It's about death LOSING its sting.  The suffering of this life is trivial, compared to the perfection of our Eternal Life with the Lord.  Indeed, if I were to offer one criticism of the Church in America today, it is its failure to emphasize this, because hardships come to us all, and not in equal measure.  Scripture says that the rain falls on the just and the unjust and the sun shines on the righteous and the wicked, but only those who accept Christ as Savior and Lord will be able to stand in the presence of a Perfect and Holy God.

That is such a individualistic Americanist understanding of Christianity, and has nothing in common with the historical church ( Protestant and Catholic.).

Death is a result of sin; affecting the world. Going from the original sin of Adam and Eve. Sin affects the whole world. Look at Genesis, where you have the " first " sinners, in Adam and Eve, and how the one mistake shook the world.

Now we have Jesus Christ, the Son of God, second person in the Trinity, who offers us grace. Salvation by Grace alone. And we respond to that grace, by doing God's will. To follow HIM. If you have faith in Jesus Christ, you must follow everything he says, right.

Living a life of virtue. As St. John says, " We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister[c] lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them"

1 John 2: 1-11.

We can also look at St. Paul,

"  1 Corinthians 13:

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3"


And that word Love is very important, because it is at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That love transforms us, slowly, But surely into his instruments of Grace, so that we can share his mercy with others.

And how do we share that love and mercy ? The spiritual and corporal works of Mercy. Including caring for the Sick. See, God, intended to use flawed human beings to do his will. St. Peter, Paul, James, were all flawed human beings, but they accepted the grace, and so they did his will.

Yes, death from Cancer is terrible. But guess what ? There's also hospitals, doctors, run by Christian organizations, that care for the sick, and dying, and yes heal.

It's like the Barbie Movie you know ? What it means to be human, to embrace everything, good and bad. Yes there is Cancer, but there's also doctors who heal, nurses who comfort, scientists who research.

Your explanation, just throws the agape out the window, and cuts the meaning, the essence of Christian life to a transactional, and ironically, pelagian understanding of salvation.

3 step process and you're saved !