Weight of the World

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(Reposted from my other blog)

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

Updated: Alana L. 5Q (robots)

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Point #5 still (updated):  Q:  "Sovereign, sovereign, sovereign, sovereign."     Robots? As I said in the last post, I believe that  God gave us free-will and an awful lot of room to make real decisions that affect things - because He wanted real people, real relationships, not robots.  "Oh, but we don't think people are robots controlled by God," says the Calvinist. Oh, really?  Then I must have misunderstood:  John Calvin   ( Institutes of the Christian Religion,  book 1, chapters 16-17, bold added in all quotes ):  " ...  the counsels and  wills of men are so governed as to move  exactly in the course which he has destined ....   the devil, and the whole train of the ungodly...[cannot do any evil or even move a finger] unless in so far as [God] permits - nay, unless in so far  as he commands . " John Calvin  ( Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God ):   “ ... how foolish and frail [it...
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My "When Anxiety Strikes" Playlist

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In the post "Getting through the 'broken' times," I said that I had made a CD to listen to when anxiety hits.  It has some of my favorite Christian songs on it.   Here are as many of the songs as I could find online, plus some extra.  Listen to some of them when anxiety threatens you.  It really does help to hear godly truths spoken out loud (and to speak them out loud yourself).  And personally, I think godly music helps repel evil, giving you some extra spiritual protection when you are most vulnerable.  They don't like to hear God being praised and Truth being sung! (FYI: Videos are constantly being removed from online.  So if the video is no longer available, type in the name and artist and see if you can find it.  I simply can't keep up with replacing links.) From The City Harmonic: Love, Heal Me  - The song that inspired the title of one of my blogs, Love, Heal Me - my heart's cry for the past year. Fell Apart  - One...
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Anti-Calvinism Links

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This is the last half of the post "What's The Best Way To Make People Agree With Your Calvinist Views."   But I put it here in its own post so that it's easier to find. These are some links to posts which are against Calvinism, the belief that the Bible teaches God has predetermined from the beginning of time who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.  It's no secret from my writing that I strongly disagree with this view.  I believe the Bible clearly teaches that God offers us all salvation, that Jesus's death paid for everyone's sins, and that we have to decide if we will accept Him or reject Him.  And here is some of what others have to say about Calvinism: (FYI, I haven't read everything in all of these yet and I don't necessarily agree with every point they make, but I needed to link to them before I lost them online.  And for the record, I came to my belief about what the Bible says by reading the Bible, not extra-biblical books or articles...
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"Toxic Femininity"

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Amen to this: Can We Talk About Toxic Femininity?    (If that link doesn't work, try this:   https://www.dailywire.com/news/mcallister-can-we-talk-about-toxic-femininity-denise-c-mcallister ) Fair is fair!  And it's about time people start talking about this. I am so sick of the "toxic feminism" that's out there, doing so much damage to our country, families, relationships, laws, etc.  And now it's seeking to destroy men and boys, to make them ashamed to be men, to feminize them. So I am happy to see more and more people calling out women - feminism - for the problems they're causing. In so many ways, feminists need to just sit down and shut up!  Before they tear our country apart! Instead of seeing men become more feminine, I'd rather see men "man up."   To all the good men out there:  I like and respect you for the men you are!  Don't let the girls bully you!   Sometimes satire says it best: Striking Blow Against To...
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Should "Satan" Be Capitalized?

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(reposted from my other blog)             I’ve read a lot of things lately where Christian people won’t capitalize the name “Satan.”   They say it’s because they don’t want to give him that much credit or attention.               And while I can appreciate that sentiment, why do I still capitalize his name?             Because the inspired Word of God does.   "Satan" is a name, not an adjective or a common noun.  But a name.  And names get capitalized.  And so if the Bible capitalizes his name, identifying him as an actual being, who  am I to act like I know better?             One author in particular said he barely talks about Satan because he doesn’t want to focus on him in any way.   He doesn’t want to give Satan that much “air-time.”       ...
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#2: Embracing Hope, Jan. 2016 (repost)

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[Reposted from my other blog, from January 2016.  This comes shortly after the "Wrestling With God" post, the summer when I found myself utterly discouraged by life, by gardening.  When it seemed like one thing after the next just kept going wrong.  This was my call to hope again.   Update:   I mentioned in the last post that my mom is currently trying to drink herself to death.  I got a call last night that she was found unconscious at a friend's house after drinking since 10 a.m. that morning and taking a bunch of Librium.  They called me last night to tell me that she was in the hospital with a blood alcohol level of 375, unconscious, and not breathing on her own.  (A couple days ago, she went in with level of 400.)  They had to put tubes in her lungs to keep her alive.  It's the fourth time, they said, that the ambulance was called on her in about a week.  I tell ya, it seems almost supernatural that she hasn't died yet....
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Leaving Calvinism: Steven Hitchcock

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Here is the short, simple  testimony of a former Calvinist  from Australia, Steven Hitchcock, author of  Recanting Calvinism .  I have not read his book, but there are some really good, concise points in this post. Such as when he talks about the problems with Calvinism's view that God has a hidden Will which undermines and contradicts His revealed Will.   As he points out, if we accept the idea that God has a secret Will that can override what He says in the Bible, then no one can know anything for certain.   If Calvinism is true that God can say one thing but mean another - such as saying He loves all people and wants all people to be saved but He really hates most people and predestines them to hell - then why can't He say (as Calvinists believe) that He elects some people to salvation ... but He's really elected  no one  at all?  If He can't be trusted to say what He means and mean what He says in the Bible, how can Calvinists...
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The Evans Family Discusses Faith and Loss

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I have been feeling fragile lately.  Too many heartbreaks.  Too many losses.  Too many feelings of "Bad things always happen.  Where is the hope?  Where is the peace and joy?"  I wake up with anxiety in my stomach (and I have for years), and it takes time and lots of conscientious, biblical thought and prayer to subdue it.  And because of this mental and emotional overload, I have been unable to write much.  I know I need to write less for now, even to think less, and to instead just spend time in the Lord's presence and in the Word, being filled instead of trying to fill others.  (So bear with me as I repost things and share links to other people's writing.  I just can't write new stuff myself right now.)  I am working on wrestling my anxious mind, to take my thoughts captive (long-term, ingrained, negative thoughts and fears) and to replace them with God's Truth.  It's a slow process.  But I'm working on it. Anyway, I ...
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Updated: Alana L. 5P (conflations: natural vs moral)

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[I redid Point #5 and #6 in the Alana L. series on my other blog (and re-lettered the posts).  But instead of going back and changing the already-posted points on this blog, I'll just add the posts in their own little "series."]  Point #5 still :   P:  "Sovereign, sovereign, sovereign, sovereign."   Natural vs Moral On a slightly different track:  If you listen closely when Calvinists talk about God's "sovereign control" over things, they'll often emphasize His control over nature, even bringing up verses about it.  And since we agree that God caused/controlled something like a storm or famine or illness at some point in biblical history, Calvinists will then make us think that we must also agree that He causes/controls human decisions and moral evils too.  That if we accept one, we must accept the other. Vincent Cheung  ( The Problem of Evil ):  " God controls not only  natural events , but he also controls  all human aff...
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Links to "Some Carman Songs for Halloween" and Posts on Spiritual Warfare

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For some "fun" songs from my younger years: "Some Carman Songs for Halloween" And here is a bunch of links about Spiritual Warfare, from my post called "War Rooms, Praying Scripture, and Spiritual Warfare": I strongly believe that there are angels and demons.  That prayer matters.  That there is a spiritual battle going on around us all the time ... and that we need to get involved in it, actively and consciously.  (Something I haven't been doing lately.)   Regardless of if we want it or not, we are constantly facing spiritual battles.  But if we don't acknowledge them - if we stick our head in the sand and refuse to get involved, to put on our spiritual armor, to use the spiritual weapons that are available to us - we open ourselves up to deceptions, to defeat, to being very vulnerable to the strategies and attacks of the evil one. What I have done here is compile a list of posts on spiritual warfare, on praying Scripture, and on creating a War Ro...
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