They were so busy rearranging the church and its tenets and they busily built new churches that looked like airplane hangars with statues and pictures. The 'homily' by the priest was never on Satan and his imps, but a feel-good message was imparted to make the few segregationists feel good about themselves.

Thanks be to God for Sedevacantism!

I haven't read anything from Vicomte. Does he still post here?

I haven't read anything from Vicomte. Does he still post here?

Nope. Maybe he lurks. I enjoyed his commentry. Even when I disagreed.

I'll stipulate: yeah, God exists. I've talked with him several times. He's real. And Jesus is very probably his son, and very probably divine.

None of which has anything to do with the Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, or any other church.

Jesus of Nazareth, called "the Anointed" (the Christ), lived in the first third of the First Century. Jesus himself wrote nothing.

A handful of texts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the first Chapter of Acts and Revelation) date from the first century, allege that they contain the words and deeds of Christ. There is nothing else from the First Century.

Some texts exist from the Second Century that also claim to contain what Jesus said and did, but they differ remarkably from the First Century text. The Churches have all rejected these writings as "gnostic". They are all fragmentary anyway.

The churches as we know them emerged in the Fourth Century, after the Roman Empire legalized Christianity and stopped persecuting in. The first church council since the biblical Council of Jerusalem was held in 325 AD at Nicaea, in modern-day Turkey. It decided that God is a Trinity, and that whoever does not accept the Trinity is not a Christian. Prior to Nicaea, Christianity was persecutved and hidden, and there was wide difference of opinion, but at Nicaea the new, legal church came together and the majority at this, and subsequent councils began to throw people out of the Church who did not agree with them.

The central feature of Christianity - the Trinity - was never taught by Jesus. Jesus speaks of God, but when he says God, he means the God the Father, to whom he prays and instructs us to pray. He speaks of the "paraclete", the "comforter", the Holy Spirit; and Revelation speaks of the "Seven Spirits of God". But Jesus never systematizes it at all.

Jesus' God is God the Father, and that is the only person he ever tells people to pray to. The entire complicated and convulted doctrine of the Trinity was made up by Christians after Jesus, and in the form it became official, hundreds of years after Jesus.

Jesus called on Christians, above all, to be united, and during those three hundred years that Christianity was illegal and persecuted, Arians , Trinitiarians, Monophysites, Nestorians, etc., etc. disagreed about many things, but they were all Christians.

In truth, those doctrines were never stated with authority, there WAS no authoritative position of "The Church" before Nicaea, and Arians and Trinitiarians were both Christians.

After Nicaea and similar councils, that was no longer true. "Christian" came to mean Trinitarian.

My quarrel with the Church does not stem from any recent enactment, but goes all the way back to Nicaea.

Jesus prayed for unity, which included Arians and Trinitiarians, until three hundred years after his death when the Church came out of the shadows,and promptly divided itself over the doctrine of the Trinity, which Jesus himself never taught, and which - in its official form - cannot be true unless Jesus was himself lying.

My religion is scrupulously listening to what Jesus said, which means that dividing over this "Trinity" is illegitimate. "Christians" say that the Trinity is THE decisive doctrine, but Jesus never taught it. Therefore, they are wrong. The Church is wrong about it. It's an overwrought and essentially meaningless hypothetical.

Going further back, Paul taught that to be forgiven sin, one had to believe in Jesus as the perfect sacrifice whose blood took away the sins of the world. But Jesus taught that the way to be forgiven sin was to forgive other's their sin against you, then God forgives you. So, Jesus and Paul conflict. I throw out Nicaea, and I throw out Paul for this very reason.

LIkewise, James taught that if you commit any sin, you commit them all, the doctrine of any sin being deadly. But Jesus taught that there are greater and lesser sins. So I throw out James and stick with Jesus.

Jude taught Enoch, a book that says the angels fell, copulated with women, caused the world to fill up with monsters, which God drowned in the flood. ENouch is about purity of bloodlines. JEsus never said a word about any of this. So I reject Jude in favor of Jesus.

John taught there were different grades of sin, venial and mortal, and he taught that there was no salvation for mortal sinners. But Jesus said that all sins would be forgiven if men forgive. So I reject John also, in favor of Jesus, where John and Jesus differ.

Peter...Peter just gave encouragement and didn't teach anything that contradicts Jesus. So, there you have it, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the letters of Peter are not objectionable. We have to be more circumspect with the Gospel of John and the Revelation of John. The Revelation of John is, admittedly, John having a vision - it may not even be real. And it was written very late. Scholars say it wasn't John the Apostle who wrote it, but who knows. The only interesting parts in it anyway are the parts where Jesus speaks, at the beginning and at the end.

What Jesus says there can be coordinated with what he says in the Synoptic Gospels, so it can be allowed. The Gospel of John works, but the translations are very treacherous, since "divine" is translated as "God", and this has a different meaning to Christians.

All of these things are important. The Churches all went wrong at Nicaea, so the prattling and rage they have about people following their rules, or not, bores me. Jesus is their emblem, but they've mostly replaced what HE said with what THEY have decided is important. I simply reject all that and return to what Jesus said.

This makes me unpopular with Christians. So what? I don't care. Christianity as a religion is in steep decline, and Christians of different denominations scream at each other. In my own experience, lots of Baptists deny that Catholics are even Christians.

This completely fails to impress me. The Baptists are full of shit for various reasons, and so are the Catholics. Is that reason to chuck them completely?

Well, that depends, doesn't it? Each person has to come to his own conclusions. I choose to call myself Catholic and continue to go through the motions, but core Catholic doctrines like the Trinity? Silly. Not what Jesus taught.

My actual RELIGION is what Jesus taught, no more. The rest are just conventions I tolerate and don't bother to argue about within the Church, but when another denomination asserts them, I reject them for those reasons. The Catholic Church is wrong about a lot, but right, at least, about charity. Why would I leave the Catholic Church to go to some less charitable religion that is also wrong about the same things?

Like I said: it all bores me. Earnest, angry, sweaty Christians bore me. They irritate me with their arrogant wrongness.

This makes me unpopular with Christians. So what? I don't care.

Hey Vic it is nice to see you around again. I was actually thinking about you the other day.

I hope you stick around.

I read what you wrote. I don't agree with it all. But that is ok.

You're surely more educated that I. I'll give you that.

Now I post on a smaller server there, called Diogenes, which has people who left discord. It trends towards NSFW and sexual stuff, which amuses me, but young people seem to be really into gay and trans stuff, which I find completely unsexy and uninteresting.

I don't think anybody is going to burn in Hell over it or anything silly like that, but I don't find men kissing to be exciting, I don't find sexual confusion interesting, and the ass is a one way out door for poop, not a sex organ. The young puzzle me with their fixation on unrewarding sex. And I get bored.

I happened to hit a tab and came up with this site, and decided to post here a little bit - why not? It isn't as though I left in a huff.

As the years have worn on, and I've talked with a lot of earnest young people so full of their ideas and themselves, I've come to realize that I have a very solid, pretty fixed worldview, and I'm unimpressed by ALL of the fanatics.

The anti-vaxxers, for example. Well, I've been vaxxed and boosted, haven't gotten COVID, and if I get it, I won't die. And that's as much as I care about COVID now. I won't die. I don't care if somebody else done. Be an idiot and don't get vaxxed - no skin off MY nose. I don't care if somebody else dies because of his bad choices. The notion that it's all germ warfare, etc., is crazy-kook wingnut country. I don't go there. I don't care if people are there, as long as they don't mind dying of COVID. But don't expect ME to wear a mask to prevent somebody else from getting it. I can't die. I don't care if others do. I'm vaxxed, I've taken off the mask. If you give me COVID, I don't die. If I give you COVID and you're unvaxxed, you might die, and that is completely a you problem, not a me problem. Go die then, I don't care. Just don't ask ME to wear a mask. The answer is no.

IN a similar vein, the last election. Obviously there was fraud, specifically in the mail in ballots. The Democrats used COVID as an excuse to steal an election, and got away with it. Trouble is, their guy is a demented old man, and their ideas are so bad that even Democrats won't get on board, so they are going to be swept out of office in the next election. Good. There's no point in arguing the election fraud with others. Don't care. Just win the next few and change the laws to prevent it from happening again, and we're good. I liked Trumo, but he was not vital.

I like Trump, I like DeSantis. I like Rubio. Run any of them and we're good.

I expect the Democrats will run Hillary, and that it will be a fight to the death. Maybe Trump has to run against her again. I don't know.

What else is there to discuss? I'll go look at the board to see the topics and comment here.

Christians bore me. They irritate me with their arrogant wrongness.

Not back 30 minutes and already you weary me with your heresy.

But very glad to see you're still around, Vic.

And you better buckle your seat belt...we're in the Tribulation.

You're surely more educated that I.

I thought he was more educated than everyone, but after reading his latest post...I'm not so sure.

Do NOT be a stranger, my friend...MUD

Prepare 4 lightning strike...I will edit this Post if He gets me for that one...MUD33

BTW...nothing but BLUE SKIES here in Richmond, Virginny...Capitol of the ConFEDeracy...and Ground Zero for the upcoming GrandDeVolution of Power Outta the DeeCee Swamp and BACK to the States, Localities, and Individuals, as Prescribed in OUR U.S. Constitution.

MUD

bring the FAX

I have a long list of fax.

Shall I "copy/paste that list to the TO: line".

And your work MAY be graded...MUD

I see.

You are actually blind as a bat, spiritually speaking.

We’re IN the “Tribulation”.

There is really no other way to keep denying it. The evidence is overwhelming and aligns with Scripture. I do believe we are IN the Great Tribulation.

No Rapture, eh? Straight to the Tribulation. Ok.

The Rapture is Biblical. Apparently, Bible scholars, who have done their best, have mis-timed the Rapture. There are two more points in the Trib timeline for the likelihood of the Rapture to occur: at the mid-point, and, just prior to the final outpouring of God's wrath (near the end of the Trib).

presumably whenever you die will be the end of the “Tribulation”.

Not hardly. I do hope to be outta here before the actual Mark of the Beast.

For the rest of us, how long is this “Tribulation” supposed to last?

Seven years according to the Prophet Daniel.

My religion is scrupulously listening to what Jesus said

Baloney. Jesus Himself taught of the Great Tribulation in Matt 24 and I can see just how scrupulously you are listening to His Words. lol.

You're mocking and scoffing...I am watching and waiting. I long to be with my Creator...you could care less about Jesus, and it shows.

Perhaps you are more suited to reading comments about men kissing.

Some of U.S. BELIEVE WeThePeople are doing Godz Work as we confront and reject Tyranny whenever it raises it's Marxist DeeCeeRATZ SwampZ multiple heads.

RATZ got NO Defense 4.A Righteous Plan carried out by a NON-self-righteous clan...MUD

I'd say just hurry up and die, but that would be unkind. So instead I will wish you well and go back into hibernation.

So instead I will wish you well

I remembered you back when NYC was shutting down and all the eateries were closing.

Looks like NYC is pretty much toast now.

Are you still making trips into the city?

Jesus Himself taught of the Great Tribulation in Matt 24

I don't believe in the rapture. I think some folks have it mixed up with the second coming.

Matthew chapter 24 mentions no rapture. In fact it warns us to be prepared in case the abomination of desolation happens in the winter.

There wouldn't be a need for a warning if we were to be raptured away.

It's the TIMING of the rapture that is so hotly debated.

So many verses have to be reconciled...

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up* together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Corinthians 15:51-55 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Matthew 24:36-42 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 Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Revelation 8-11 (Pertaining to the Last Trump?) And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

*"caught up" is the Greek word "harpazo" and the Latin translation "rapio/rapturo"

I think some folks have it mixed up with the second coming.

The Second Coming is about the final battle...killing Satan's Lil 'helpers gathered in the Valley of Megiddo...and notice the resurrected Saints will already be with Him.

Zechariah 14:4,5 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, And all the saints with You.

Revelation 19:11-16 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

So when is The Resurrection of the Saints? Answer, at the so-called Rapture. The Rapture is the Resurrection! Without the Resurrection Christianity is worthless.

Resurrection = to be made alive and "caught up" to Christ. The word rapture describes literally the resurrected Saints flying away to be with God.

I used to subscribe to that theory. Not any longer.

If there is no rapture many "christians" will be deceived by the antichrist. Or some idiot like Barry the mental piece of shit.

Is there a resurrection?

Of course there is.

Help me to understand. When precisely is the resurrection?

I don't know. Something about a thief in the night.

The resurrection is the event we've been promised by God. And He has made the timing a bit of a mystery.

I do not know precisely when the resurrection takes place...but I sincerely would like to know.

The word "rapture" has become too much of the focus.

The resurrection is the event we've been promised by God. And He has made the timing a bit of a mystery.

Lets try it this way. What verses do you believe are talking about the rapture?

What verses do you believe are talking about the rapture?

This is the passage that contains the Greek word "har-pad'-zo" [latin word rapturo]

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be [caught up] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

I'm no Biblical scholar. These are just the conclusions I have reached.

Why is that not the second coming?

This is the Second Coming...when His feet touch the Earth.

Zechariah 14:4,5 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, And all the saints with You.

Notice that the Saints are already with Him...indicating that the Saints were raised PRIOR to His feet touching the Earth. Christians struggle to understand when this prior raising of the Saints takes place.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 Christ will descend from Heaven.

Matthew 24:29-31 Christ will appear after many heavenly signs appear.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 Christ will make a loud noise

Matthew 24:29-31 The people of the earth will see Christ and mourn when they see Him.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 An archangel will take part. Their voice will be heard.

Matthew 24:29-31 Angels will accompany Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 The trump of God will sound.

Matthew 24:29-31 A trumpet shall sound.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 The righteous dead will rise.

Matthew 24:29-31 Angels will gather the elect.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 The righteous dead and living will meet the Lord in the clouds.

Matthew 24:29-31 These events will take place after the tribulation.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:25-29)

in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

Will this not be an enrapturous moment?

In that moment of resurrection will the Lord just leave us where we lay or stand...or will He "catch us up" to Him in the air?

I'm no Biblical scholar.

Neither am I.

But I am beginning to see that the Bible Scholars have done us a HUGE disservice.

They have allowed "the rapture" to be sold as a stand-alone event, when actually the rapture is merely a component of the The Resurrection.

They have us looking for a rapture to take place instead of looking for the main event...the resurrection.

No wonder the rapture is confusing, and no wonder people reject the idea of it.

avoid generalizations

How to Write Good

The first set of rules (1-23) was written by Frank L. Visco and originally published in the June 1986 issue of Writers’ Digest. The second set of rules (24-53) is derived from William Safire’s Rules for Writers.

My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules:

1. Avoid Alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’re old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren’t necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?
    
    
    
    
24. Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas.
25. It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions.
26. Avoid archaeic spellings too.
27. Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
28. Don’t use commas, that, are not, necessary.
29. Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively.
30. Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.
31. Subject and verb always has to agree.
32. Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.
33. Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers.
34. Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
35. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
36. Don’t never use no double negatives.
37. Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.
38. Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
39. Eschew obfuscation.
40. No sentence fragments.
41. Don’t indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions.
42. A writer must not shift your point of view.
43. Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!
44. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
45. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
46. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
47. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
48. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
49. Always pick on the correct idiom.
50. The adverb always follows the verb.
51. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
52. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.
53. And always be sure to finish what

Regards...MUD

BTW...I NEVER pick on the correct idiom... NEVER!!