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RetroMillennial^ View Profile	SHOULD WE CALL OUT FALSE TEACHERS OF IGNORE THEM Posted : 18 May, 2020 06:40 AM If you feel you need to requote me to keep the conversation on track, that's fine. It also brings up the important point of staying on topic in such a discussion. If a comment does not match the topic of conversation, it can be because of a simple misunderstanding. However, it can also be a sign that the one making the comment is seeking attention rather than truth.
RetroMillennial^ View Profile	SHOULD WE CALL OUT FALSE TEACHERS OF IGNORE THEM Posted : 17 May, 2020 09:08 PM Uh... thanks. Barbers are expensive... Moving on.
RetroMillennial^ View Profile	SHOULD WE CALL OUT FALSE TEACHERS OF IGNORE THEM Posted : 17 May, 2020 07:19 PM Thank you for your response, but I'm afraid it doesn't answer my question. I am asking about behaviors. Your answer is focused on beliefs. Beliefs are subject to change as new information comes to light. Beliefs can be different for different people even though they are confronted with the same information. Beliefs are also subject to debate, especially when no person was alive to witness the events in question.
RetroMillennial^ View Profile	SHOULD WE CALL OUT FALSE TEACHERS OF IGNORE THEM Posted : 17 May, 2020 06:03 PM Okay. I've seen you sparring with others on these forums for a while now. What are you doing different that sets you apart from them so that the casual observer knows they should believe you over them?
RetroMillennial^ View Profile	SHOULD WE CALL OUT FALSE TEACHERS OF IGNORE THEM Posted : 17 May, 2020 05:49 PM So are you constructing an argument with this thread or are you actually asking the question posed in the thread title?

RetroMillennial^ View Profile	What is the church and why do we go? Posted : 17 May, 2020 11:08 AM From the days after God sent Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, regardless of what you wish to call it, there have been structures made to provide a place to meet, to reach out to God, to learn about God, to Worship God. Exodus goes on for pages giving specific directions for how such a structure should be made and what purpose it should serve. There have been places to meet with others to worship God for all this time. Some are permanent like the temples where Jesus verbally sparred with the pharisees, others are improvised like where 5000 men (not counting women and children) gathered to hear Jesus teach and be fed by the miraculous multiplication of a boy’s sack lunch. After Jesus’ resurrection, the church spread and developed its own problems, leading to the letters that Paul wrote (e.g. to the Corinthian and the Philippian churches). The church has always been a place to worship, give back to God, atone for sins, and have fellowship with like-minded people. When the church was driven underground by persecution, people still gathered as a church to worship covertly. Why would people have risked death and persecution to assemble as a church if the church itself has no value? Why would churches in various places in the world where it’s still persecuted in this manner risk tipping off those who seek to destroy them by assembling in this manner? It seems to me that in an ideal world, the church would basically be a microcosm of Heaven itself. It would be a place where you congregate with friends and family to worship and serve God. One who enters it would look around and see people worshipping, communing with God, pooling resources to cooperatively reach those nearby and abroad and help them in life’s struggles, and simply having fellowship with one another and reflecting the love of Jesus Christ to each other. Upon seeing these things, one who enters the ideal church should be able to say to themselves, “ah, so this is what Heaven would be like!” The problem is we are not in an ideal world. We all fall woefully short of the Glory of God, and so our churches also fall short of this idealized model. Therefore, is it any wonder that when compared to this ideal model, every church will appear to be like a failure? Quiznos is right that there are many people who come just to be entertained. They bring their kids to VBS so that they don’t have to hire a babysitter for a week. There was a large church I heard about who spent more than $100,000/year on a praise band. The pastor looked at his large congregation one day and wondered how many of them could do the job just for the joy of worshipping God and he realized he wasn’t teaching his congregation anything of substance, so he fired the band, put together groups of volunteers, and included more detail and substance in his sermons so that they became longer than the 10 minute feel-good messages he was giving. The first thing that happened was his suggestion boxes overflowed with complaints that the music was lousy and the service was boring, and he lost thousands of members, but he stuck to his guns because he realized that he wasn’t doing anyone any good by placating the bored elements of the congregation. This doesn’t mean that services HAVE to be as dull as a funeral dirge, but care must be taken to ensure that fending off boredom doesn’t become the church’s mission. The west is a very feel-good and feelings-oriented society, and the path of least resistance for the church is to comply with such demands. However, just because people don’t approach the church in the proper frame of mind does not mean that it shouldn’t exist, that it serves no purpose, or that God cannot use it. One of the church’s greatest vulnerabilities is that it contains centralized power. Centralized power attracts the corrupt, self-righteous, and those who covet power like flies to dead flesh. As such, that power is guaranteed to be misused at times. Likewise, the church does have some similarities to a business. It too has bills to pay. If its congregation meets in a building, it has lights to keep on, heat and air conditioning to keep running, maybe a sound system to maintain, and hired leaders and workers who need to be able to provide for themselves and their families too. I can go on and on about how centralized power has been misused in the church. We don’t have far to look to see such corruption even here, on this forum; for it too has centralized power. It’s supposed to be a place where we can share ideas and have fellowship, but someone who fancies themself the smartest in the land of cyber space can filibuster any forum topic they choose and roost over it like the dragon, Smaug over his treasure trove, verbally obliterating anyone who dares to challenge him or even present an alternate viewpoint. This continues until some enterprising dragon slayer manages to drive him off and then take his place as the new dragon. Do these things mean that the church has no value? No. She can still serve God’s purposes and Jesus still loves her as His bride. Her members can still reflect His love to each other and the world and make great differences in the lives of people it tries to help. God is good at helping flawed people to fulfill His plans.
RetroMillennial^ View Profile	Health issues Posted : 11 May, 2020 10:37 AM There is a lot of fear out there about this Coronavirus and a lot of questions running through a lot of people’s minds. How bad is it really? Do I have it? Did I have it and not know it? Am I passing it around and not knowing it? Can I get it again? Am I doing enough to prevent the spread? When can life go back to normal, or CAN it? How long can I make it without a source of income? How long can I feed my family without that income (if I have a family to feed)? What if a different health crisis comes up while I’m not employed? Will my job be waiting for me when things settle down? Will we see a resurgence? If I’m not considered “essential,” should I be looking for another job that is considered essential? I think regardless of whether we are wanting to hunker down and wait this thing out with social distancing and stay at home orders, or whether we are marching on our state’s Capitol building steps with a picket sign demanding to be allowed to go back to work, we are motivated by fear. For the first group, the fear is for health and the health of those around us. For the latter, it’s fear for people’s ability to get what they need to survive and to be able to care for the food and health needs of themselves and their loved ones. The problem with fear is that it means we are imagining a future without God at our side. As Christians we should know that will not be the case: We know He is there, and He is with us every step of the way. I think the best things for us to do at this point is to trust in Him, use some common sense, and pray for wisdom for ourselves and our leaders. It won't be easy and it won't be painless. There isn't an easy right answer, but this too shall pass.
RetroMillennial^ View Profile	Fake profiles or scammers Posted : 7 May, 2020 09:29 PM I wouldn't mind weighing in on this, except I'm not sure how many scammers might read the forums. I wouldn't want to unknowingly help them do a better job of scamming people, haha!
RetroMillennial^ View Profile	From the woman's side Posted : 6 May, 2020 02:57 PM Hello Gesima, and welcome to the site! I hope you find what you're looking for and have a blessed time! Since it's been normal for a long time for guys to make the first move, it's perfectly understandable that you might be unsure how to approach someone you're interested in. The "rules" about this are changing, though, so it's much more acceptable now for women to make that first move too, so I don't think it would be a problem if you decided to send a message first. You can think of it this way too: If his search settings wouldn't bring your profile up, the only way he might notice you is if you do reach out to him first. Winks... Hmm, I'm not sure about those myself. They seem to mean something different to each person and some really have no use for them at all (I've seen a few forum posts about this before), so I'm not sure there's a right or wrong about it. I've always taken them as a "hi there" kind of message, but the problem is, because it's so vague, I'm not sure what to do with one other than "wink" back. That's why I don't use them myself if I'm trying to reach out to someone. I have the same problem with adding someone as a "favorite." I find that even more confusing than a wink. So if you're interested in someone but he hasn't noticed you yet, probably the best way to let him know you're interested is to send a message.
RetroMillennial^ View Profile	Health issues Posted : 5 May, 2020 06:16 PM Ok, so I think there may have been a lapse in thinking BEFORE eating deodorant, lol! (Sorry, just a touch of my humor coming out) Another problem that comes into play here is, there are sources of some of these metals that are extremely difficult to account for, let alone do something about. Many cities still have lead lined pipes. Metals in water supply lines or food containers diffuse ions of those metals into the water or food that then accumulate in our bodies when we ingest them.