home.social

#christians โ€” Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #christians, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Christian fitness influencers are opening men-only gyms to prevent infidelity. Jeff Hambrecht of Proverbs 27:17 Fitness in Oklahoma City says the gym is a top location for affairs; a second, in Denver, promises training "without having nakedness shoved in his face." #LGBTQ #Trans #TransRights #Pride #QueerJoy #Christians #Visibility #QueerVoices #LGBTQIA #Resilience #HumanRights #Solidarity #MutualAid
    twp.ai/4huJ2j

  2. How to Wipe Out Sins in Islam: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Renewal

    Doing justice between two people. Assisting a person to mount their animal or helping them lift their belongings onto it. A good word spoken to another person. Every step taken toward the mosque for prayer.

    alborz8.wordpress.com/2026/07/

  3. The Prophet of Islam: Unity Through Divine Grace

    By the time of his passing in 632 CE, he had successfully unified nearly the entire Arabian Peninsula. Long-standing tribal divisions were replaced with a shared religious and political identity under the banner of Islam.

    alborz8.wordpress.com/2026/06/

  4. The First Muslim Migration: Linked by Their Love for Prophet Jesus

    Hearing this, the King affirmed that the Muslim description of Jesus aligned with Christian belief, and the Makkans left Ethiopia in disgrace.

    alborz8.wordpress.com/2026/06/

  5. ๐˜๐€๐‡ ๐Ž๐๐‹๐˜ ๐“๐• 100 ๐๐ˆ๐๐‹๐„ ๐Ž๐‹๐ƒ ๐“๐„๐’๐“๐€๐Œ๐„๐๐“ ๐‹๐ˆ๐•๐„ ๐’๐“๐‘๐„๐€๐Œ|๐‚๐‹๐ˆ๐‚๐Š ๐“๐‡๐„ ๐‹๐ˆ๐๐Š ๐๐„๐‹๐Ž๐–

    https://youtube.com/live/YrFJwbMSrC0?is=QTEXwBG0asNNznPr

    #AngelsBible #CHRIST #CHRISTNewTestament #CHRISTCHRISTIANITY #CHRISTIAN #CHRISTIANCHURCH #CHRISTIANITY #CHRISTIANITYAmericans #CHRISTIANS #CHURCH #CHURCHTORAHPRAISE #Deuteronomy #๐๐‹๐€๐‚๐Š๐๐ˆ๐๐‹๐„๐’๐“๐”๐ƒ๐˜ #๐๐‹๐€๐‚๐Š๐‚๐‡๐”๐‘๐‚๐‡Themosthighyahonly #๐๐‹๐€๐‚๐Š๐‚๐”๐‹๐“๐”๐‘๐„ #๐๐ข๐›๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ #๐‡๐„๐๐‘๐„๐–๐’ #๐‡๐Ž๐‹๐˜๐’๐๐ˆ๐‘๐ˆ๐“ #๐‡๐Ž๐‹๐˜HebrewIsraelites #๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐ฒ #๐Œ๐„๐‹๐€๐๐ˆ๐ #๐‘๐”๐€๐‚๐‡๐‡๐€๐Š๐Ž๐ƒ๐„๐’๐‡ #๐’๐‡๐„๐Œ๐ˆ๐“๐„๐’ #๐˜๐€๐‡ #๐˜๐€๐‡๐ˆ๐’๐“๐‡๐„๐Œ๐Ž๐’๐“๐‡๐ˆ๐†๐‡๐๐€๐Œ๐„AfricanAmericans #๐˜๐€๐‡๐Ž๐๐‹๐˜ #๐˜๐€๐‡๐Ž๐๐‹๐˜๐“๐•100 #ETernalGod #Exodus #Genesis #GOD #HEBREW #HebrewHeritage #HebrewRadio #HebrewScriptures #HebrewBible #HebrewIsraelites #Hebrews #Holiness #Holinesschurch #Holy #HolyChurch #HolyHoliness #holySpirit #HolySpirit #IDOL #IDOLATRY #IsaiahOldTestament #ISLAM #ISRAEL #ISRAELITES #KJVBIBLE #LIVEBIBLE #LiveBible #LORD #MALAKHBible #NEUROMELANIN #NEWTESTANENT #OLDTESTAMENT #Praise #PRAISEGOD #PraiseMusic #PRAISEWORSHIP #Preachers #Preaching #Radio #Redeemer #RedeemerBIBLE #Religion #SABBATHBIBLE #SALVATION #SAVIOR #SaviorChurchBible #SCRIPTURES #Study #TANAKH #TESTAMENT #TheCovenantLawOfYAH #THEMOSTHIGH #Yhwh
  6. CW: Science teachers from Queensland Open Brethren schools told to teach students about vegetarian dinosaurs on Noahโ€™s Ark.~The Guardian

    This is 3 months old but I missed it.
    โ€œTeachers employed by a large group of Queensland Christian schools were told to teach creationism in science classes, including that vegetarian baby dinosaurs would have been taken aboard Noahโ€™s Ark.โ€

    Hilarious but also terrifying.

    โ€œThe conference featured a presentation by the Answers in Genesisโ€™ director of research, Australian geologist Andrew Snelling.

    โ€œThose present say Snelling told them the radiometric dating techniques used by mainstream scientists to show fossils and rocks are millions of years old were flawed. He said the Himalayas were formed by the โ€œgreat floodโ€, and that juvenile vegetarian dinosaurs had been on the ark.

    theguardian.com/australia-news

    #auspol #creationism #noahsArk #Dinosaurs #MiniatureAnimals #Christians #PrivateSchools #Queensland #Snelling #OpenBrethren

  7. Is #Trump REALLY claiming that #Jesus image was intended to show him as a "doctor"? Who is he trying to kid? He's upset #Catholics, by verbally attacking Pope Leo XIV, & his #blasphemy & #idolatry risk his support from all genuine #Christians. Did he ever have ANY support from genuine Christians, as HE isn't #Christian, #MAGA #Republicanism isn't, & "white Christian #nationalism" isn't?

  8. First Presbyterian Church of Monterey, a Presbyterian Church USA congregation (e.g., pcusa.org/about-pcusa/who-we-a), had a presence at #NoKings event in Monterey. Photos courtesy of Elaine Cole.

    Solar-powered, bike-friendly FPC-MRY (fpcmonterey.org) is our home church of 36 years. Its Jay Bartow Memorial Garden is a peaceful rest stop near downtown: bikemonterey.org/rest-stop-tip

    #PalmSunday #NoKingsMonterey #Presbyterian #Christian #Christians #WWJD #WhatWouldJesusDo

  9. Just so everyone is clear:
    Kendra Duggar is not a trans woman. She is a cis woman.
    Joseph Duggar is not a trans man.
    He is a cis man.

    #Duggar #Josephduggar #KendraDuggar #Christians #god #jesus #trans #lgbtqia #lgbt #Christianity

  10. hey #cultists #christians, #remind me how y'all are sooooo #oppressed again? because when your #dogmatic bullshit gets put into fucking #law, i don't think you can say that.

  11. Saturday, December 20, 2025

    Investigation: Sick Ukrainian children exploited in fraudulent charity campaigns linked to US, Israel -- Without independent Ukraine, Russia will come for Poland -- Putin says Russia never attacked Ukraine, outlines conditions for war with Europe -- Fact-check: Debunking Russian propaganda about "persecution of Christians" in Ukraine ... and more

    activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025

  12. Saturday, December 20, 2025

    Investigation: Sick Ukrainian children exploited in fraudulent charity campaigns linked to US, Israel -- Without independent Ukraine, Russia will come for Poland -- Putin says Russia never attacked Ukraine, outlines conditions for war with Europe -- Fact-check: Debunking Russian propaganda about "persecution of Christians" in Ukraine ... and more

    activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025

  13. Saturday, December 20, 2025

    Investigation: Sick Ukrainian children exploited in fraudulent charity campaigns linked to US, Israel -- Without independent Ukraine, Russia will come for Poland -- Putin says Russia never attacked Ukraine, outlines conditions for war with Europe -- Fact-check: Debunking Russian propaganda about "persecution of Christians" in Ukraine ... and more

    activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025

  14. Saturday, December 20, 2025

    Investigation: Sick Ukrainian children exploited in fraudulent charity campaigns linked to US, Israel -- Without independent Ukraine, Russia will come for Poland -- Putin says Russia never attacked Ukraine, outlines conditions for war with Europe -- Fact-check: Debunking Russian propaganda about "persecution of Christians" in Ukraine ... and more

    activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025

  15. Saturday, December 20, 2025

    Investigation: Sick Ukrainian children exploited in fraudulent charity campaigns linked to US, Israel -- Without independent Ukraine, Russia will come for Poland -- Putin says Russia never attacked Ukraine, outlines conditions for war with Europe -- Fact-check: Debunking Russian propaganda about "persecution of Christians" in Ukraine ... and more

    activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025

  16. Spirituality & Religious Studies @spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com@spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com ยท

    Samaritanism

    Samaritanism is an Abrahamic monotheistic, ethnic religion. It comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, & legal traditions of the Samaritan people.

    Often preferring to be called Israelite Samaritans, who originated from the Hebrews & Israelites. They began to emerge as a relatively distinct group after the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire during the Iron Age. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the 4th, & penultimate, stage of ancient Assyrian history.

    Central to their continuity as an Indigenous Heritage in the Holy Land is keeping the Patriarchal & Mosaic covenant as specified in the Samaritan Torah. Samaritans believe this is the original & unchanged version of the Pentateuch (which is the first 5 books of the Hebrew & Christian bible) since Moses & the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

    The Abisha Scroll is traditionally held by the community to be the oldest existing scroll written by Abisha, son of Aaron the priest, around 3,000 years ago based on living tradition. However, Jewish & Christian theologians have made attempts to dispute this claim which proved unsatisfactory.

    Judaism claims Samaritanism developed right alongside their own religion. Samaritanism asserts itself as the true preserved form of the monotheistic faith that the Israelites kept under Moses. Samaritan belief also holds that the Israelitesโ€™ original holy site was Mount Gerizim, near Nablus, the State of Palestine (West Bank).

    They also believe that Jerusalem only attained importance under Israelite dissenters who had followed Eli (In the Book of Samuel, Eli was a priest & judge of the Israelites in the city of Shiloh) to the city of Shiloh.

    The Israelites who remained at Mount Gerizim would become the Samaritans in the Kingdom of Judah. Mount Gerizim is revered by Samaritans as the location where the Binding of Isaac occurred. In comparison to the Jewish belief that it occurred at Jerusalemโ€™s Temple Mount.

    Today there are only about 900 registered communal members. This puts Samaritanism as 1 of the smallest ethnoreligious groups globally in the Abrahamic faiths. Samaritans believe that this is a prophecy fulfilled from the scriptures: โ€œYouโ€™ll be left few in number.โ€

    Though they hope for a future time when a prophet like Moses known as the โ€œTahebโ€ (Restorer) will perform 3 signs, namely the jar of manna, the staff of Moses, & Cherubim, or the Golden Candlestick.

    This time period they believe is when an era of Divine Favor would return, & the hidden tabernacle of Moses would miraculously be revealed for the Israelite people & Mount Gerizim is restored to its former glory.

    Samaritans trace their history, as a separate entity, to a period soon after the Israelitesโ€™ arrival into the โ€œPromised Land.โ€ Samaritan historiography traces the schism to High Priest Eli leaving Mount Gerizim, where stood the 1st Israelite altar in Canaan, & building a competing altar in nearby Shiloh.

    The dissenting group of Israelites who followed Eli to Shiloh would be the ones who, in later years, would head south to settle in Jerusalem (the Jews). Whereas the Israelites who stayed on Mount Gerizim, in Samaria, would become known as the Samaritans.

    Genetic studies in 2004 suggest that Samaritansโ€™ lineages trace back to a common ancestor with Jews in the paternally-inherited Jewish high priesthood (Cohanim) temporally near to the period of the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel. Theyโ€™re probably descendants of the historical Israelite population. The Cohanim refers to the Jewish priestly class, male descendants of Aaron the priest.

    The Hasmonean king, John Hyrcanus, destroyed the Mount Gerizim Temple & brought Samaria under his control around 120 BCE. This led to a long-lasting sense of mutual hostility between the Jews & Samaritans.

    From this point, the Samaritans likely sought to consciously distance themselves from their Judean brethren. Both peoples came to see the Samaritan faith as a religion distinct from Judaism. By the time of Jesus, Samaritans & Jews deeply disparaged one another, as shown by Jesusโ€™ Parable of the Good Samaritan.

    The main beliefs of Samaritanism are:

    • Thereโ€™s 1 God, Yahweh, the same God recognized by the Jewish prophets.
    • The Torah is the only true holy book & was given by God to Moses. The Torah was created before the creation of the world & whoever believes in it is assured a part in the world to come. The Torahโ€™s status in Samaritanism as the only holy book causes them to reject the Oral Torah, the Talmud, & all the prophets & scriptures, except for a version of the Book of Joshua (which they donโ€™t hold as Scripture), whose book in the Samaritan community is significantly different from the Book of Joshua in the Jewish โ€œBible.โ€ Moses is considered to be the last of the line of prophets.
    • Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the 1 true sanctuary chosen by God. The Samaritans donโ€™t recognize the sanctity of Jerusalem & donโ€™t recognize the Temple Mount, claiming instead that Mount Gerizim was the place where the Binding of Isaac took place.
    • The Apocalypse, called โ€œthe day of vengeance,โ€ will be the end of days. When an entity called the Taheb (basically the Jewish Messiah equal) that comes from the tribe of Joseph will come, be a prophet like Moses for 40 years & bring about the return of all the Israelites, following which the dead will be resurrected. The Tahib will then discover the tent of Mosesโ€™ Tabernacle on Mount Gerizim, & will be buried next to Joseph when he dies.

    The Samaritans have retained the institution of a high priesthood & the practice of slaughtering & eating lambs on Passover Eve. They celebrated Pesach, Shavuot, & Sukkot. But they use a different method from that used in mainstream Judaism in order to determine the dates annually.

    For example, Yom Teruโ€™ah (the biblical name for Rosh Hashanah), at the beginning of Tishrei (This is the 1st month of the civil year & the 7th month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar.), isnโ€™t considered a New Year as it is in Rabbinic Judaism.

    Their Sabbath is observed weekly by the Samaritan community every week from Friday to Saturday, beginning & ending at sundown. For 24 hours, the families gather together to celebrate the rest day: all electricity with the exception of minimal lighting (kept on the entire day) in the house is disconnected, no work is done, & neither cooking nor driving is allowed.

    The time is devoted to worship which consists of 7 prayer services, reading the weekly Torah portion, spending quality time with family, taking meals, rest & sleep, & visiting other members of the community.

    Passover is particularly important in the Samaritan community, climaxing with the sacrifice of up to 40 sheep.

    The Counting of the Omar remains relatively unchanged. The Counting of the Omar is a ritual in Judaism that consists of a verbal counting of each of the 49 days between the holidays of Passover & Shavuot. However, the week before Shavuot is a unique festival celebrating the continued commitment Samaritanism has maintained since the time of Moses.

    During Sukkot, the Sukkah (the temporary hut built for use during Sukkot) is built INSIDE of houses, instead of OUTSIDE like mainstream Judaism. This Samaritan tradition is traced back to the persecution of the Samaritans during the Byzantine Empire.

    The roof of the Samaritan Sukkah is decorated with citrus fruits & branches of palm, myrtle, & willow trees. This is in accordance with the Samaritan interpretation of the 4 species designated in the Torah for the holiday. The 4 species are 4 plants (the etrog, lulav, hadass, & aravah) mentioned in the Torah as being relevant to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

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    #120BCE #4Species #Aaron #Abisha #AbishaScroll #AbrahamicFaiths #AncientAssyria #Apoclypse #Aravah #BindingOfIsaac #BookOfJoshua #BookOfSamuel #ByzantineEmpire #Canaan #Cherubim #Christians #CitrusFruits #Cohanim #CountingOfTheOmar #Eli #Etrog #GoldenCandlestick #Hadass #Hasmonean #HebrewCalendar #Hebrews #HighPriestEli #HighPriesthood #IndigenousPeoples #IronAge #IsraeliteSamaritans #Israelites #Jerusalem #Jesus #Jewish #JewishProphets #Jews #Joseph #Judah #KingJohnHyrcanus #KingdomOfIsrael #Lulav #Manna #Messiah #MosaicCovenant #Moses #MountGerizim #MountSinai #Myrtle #Nablus #NeoAssyrianEmpire #OralTorah #Palestine #ParableOfTheGoodSamaritan #Passover #PatriarchalCovenant #Pentateuch #Priest #PromisedLand #RabbinicJudaism #RoshHashanah #Sabbath #SamaritanTorah #Samaritanism #Shavuot #Shiloh #StaffOfMoses #Sukkah #Sukkot #Tabernacle #Taheb #Talmud #TempleMount #Tishrei #Torah #WestBank #Willow #Yahweh #YomTeruAh

  17. @RationalizedInsanity โ€œthere are more rape claims against #trump than there are #transgender women in the #NCAAโ€

    For #fascists, this is their foot in the door. Foment fear and hate against a very small minority, then increase the size of group to hate until the #maga #truebelievers are fully aligned against all #lgbtq and #GayMarriageโ€ฆ and eventually all non #Christians

  18. A quotation from The Bible

    And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. [โ€ฆ] Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostlesโ€™ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
     
    [ฮคฮฟแฟฆ ฮดแฝฒ ฯ€ฮปแฝตฮธฮฟฯ…ฯ‚ ฯ„แฟถฮฝ ฯ€ฮนฯƒฯ„ฮตฯ…ฯƒแฝฑฮฝฯ„ฯ‰ฮฝ แผฆฮฝ ฮบฮฑฯฮดแฝทฮฑ ฮบฮฑแฝถ ฯˆฯ…ฯ‡แฝด ฮผแฝทฮฑ, ฮบฮฑแฝถ ฮฟแฝฮดแฝฒ ฮตแผทฯ‚ ฯ„ฮน ฯ„แฟถฮฝ แฝ‘ฯ€ฮฑฯฯ‡แฝนฮฝฯ„ฯ‰ฮฝ ฮฑแฝฯ„แฟท แผ”ฮปฮตฮณฮตฮฝ แผดฮดฮนฮฟฮฝ ฮตแผถฮฝฮฑฮน แผ€ฮปฮปแพฝ แผฆฮฝ ฮฑแฝฯ„ฮฟแฟ–ฯ‚ แผ…ฯ€ฮฑฮฝฯ„ฮฑ ฮบฮฟฮนฮฝแฝฑ. [โ€ฆ] ฮฟแฝฮดแฝฒ ฮณแฝฐฯ แผฮฝฮดฮตแฝตฯ‚ ฯ„ฮนฯ‚ แผฆฮฝ แผฮฝ ฮฑแฝฯ„ฮฟแฟ–ฯ‚ฮ‡ แฝ…ฯƒฮฟฮน ฮณแฝฐฯ ฮบฯ„แฝตฯ„ฮฟฯฮตฯ‚ ฯ‡ฯ‰ฯแฝทฯ‰ฮฝ แผข ฮฟแผฐฮบฮนแฟถฮฝ แฝ‘ฯ€แฟ†ฯฯ‡ฮฟฮฝ, ฯ€ฯ‰ฮปฮฟแฟฆฮฝฯ„ฮตฯ‚ แผ”ฯ†ฮตฯฮฟฮฝ ฯ„แฝฐฯ‚ ฯ„ฮนฮผแฝฐฯ‚ ฯ„แฟถฮฝ ฯ€ฮนฯ€ฯฮฑฯƒฮบฮฟฮผแฝณฮฝฯ‰ฮฝ ฮบฮฑแฝถ แผฯ„แฝทฮธฮฟฯ…ฮฝ ฯ€ฮฑฯแฝฐ ฯ„ฮฟแฝบฯ‚ ฯ€แฝนฮดฮฑฯ‚ ฯ„แฟถฮฝ แผ€ฯ€ฮฟฯƒฯ„แฝนฮปฯ‰ฮฝ, ฮดฮนฮตฮดแฝทฮดฮตฯ„ฮฟ ฮดแฝฒ แผ‘ฮบแฝฑฯƒฯ„แฟณ ฮบฮฑฮธแฝนฯ„ฮน แผ„ฮฝ ฯ„ฮนฯ‚ ฯ‡ฯฮตแฝทฮฑฮฝ ฮตแผถฯ‡ฮตฮฝ.]

    The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
    Acts 4: 32, 34-35 [KJV (1611)]

    More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/bible-nt/79660/

    #quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bible #newtestament #actsoftheapostles #apostles #charity #Christianity #Christians #commongood #commune #community #donation #incommon #need #property #redistribution #sharethewealth #sharing

  19. A quotation from The Bible

    The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.
     
    [ฯ€แฝฑฮฝฯ„ฮตฯ‚ ฮดแฝฒ ฮฟแผฑ ฯ€ฮนฯƒฯ„ฮตแฝปฮฟฮฝฯ„ฮตฯ‚ แผฆฯƒฮฑฮฝ แผฯ€แฝถ ฯ„แฝธ ฮฑแฝฯ„แฝธ ฮบฮฑแฝถ ฮตแผถฯ‡ฮฟฮฝ แผ…ฯ€ฮฑฮฝฯ„ฮฑ ฮบฮฟฮนฮฝแฝฐ ฮบฮฑแฝถ ฯ„แฝฐ ฮบฯ„แฝตฮผฮฑฯ„ฮฑ ฮบฮฑแฝถ ฯ„แฝฐฯ‚ แฝ‘ฯ€แฝฑฯฮพฮตฮนฯ‚ แผฯ€แฝทฯ€ฯฮฑฯƒฮบฮฟฮฝ ฮบฮฑแฝถ ฮดฮนฮตฮผแฝณฯฮนฮถฮฟฮฝ ฮฑแฝฯ„แฝฐ ฯ€แพถฯƒฮนฮฝ ฮบฮฑฮธแฝนฯ„ฮน แผ„ฮฝ ฯ„ฮนฯ‚ ฯ‡ฯฮตแฝทฮฑฮฝ ฮตแผถฯ‡ฮตฮฝฮ‡]

    The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
    Acts 2:44-45 [JB (1966)]

    More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/bible-nt/79533/

    #quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bible #newtestament #acts #actsoftheapostles #Christians #commune #community #faithful #money #ownership #property #sharing #togetherness

  20. Why Does #Paul Use So Many #Sports Metaphors?

    #Jesus #Christianity #BibleStudy

    Why does the #ApostlePaul talk so much about running races, boxing, and winning wreaths? In this episode, we explore Paulโ€™s love of #athletic imageryโ€”known as the #Agonmotifโ€”and why it resonated so strongly in the #ancientworld. Weโ€™ll even see how early #Christians picked up on this themeโ€”like the famous commemorative spoon that depicts Paul himself as an athlete

    youtube.com/watch?v=OO7aKZn634

  21. ๐ŸŒŸ Disabled Christians, you're not alone. ๐ŸŒŸ
    Join the Imago Dei Disability Fellowship โ€” a Christ-centered space to connect, support one another, and advocate for accessibility and justice, grounded in Scripture and the truth that we are all made in the image of God. โœ๏ธ๐Ÿ’œ
    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Join us on GroupMe: groupme.com/join_group/1082401
    #DisabilityMinistry #DisabledAndBeloved #ImagoDei #ChristianDisability #FaithAndJustice #AccessibilityMatters #DisabledChristians #ChronicIllnessCommunity #AutisticAndChristian #BlindBelievers #GroupMeFellowship #ChristianSupportGroup #Christian #Christians #Christianity #DisabledChristian
    @christians @mastoblind @main @actuallyautistic @[email protected] @[email protected]

  22. I just want society to recognize that #religion and #bibles don't add virtue or good to, well, anything. It's a tossup, whether #Xtianity helps or hurts a situation. Stop giving it the benefit of the doubt. #Christians #Christianity

  23. ๐ŸŒฟ Reminder: Group for Disabled Christians! โœ๏ธโ™ฟ

    If you missed this earlier, hereโ€™s your chance to join!

    Imago Dei Disability Fellowship is a GroupMe community for Christians with all kinds of disabilities to:

    ๐Ÿ’ฌ Connect and encourage one another
    ๐Ÿ™Œ Share resources and support
    ๐Ÿ“– Advocate for accessibility and justice, all grounded in biblical truth
    This group is rooted in a conservative Christian worldview, including traditional beliefs about Scripture, gender, and identity. If you're looking for a space to talk about faith, disability, and advocacy without woke ideology, this is for you.

    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Join here:
    groupme.com/join_group/1082401

    "Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christโ€™s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other."
    โ€” Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)

    ๐Ÿ’œ All are welcome who seek to follow Christ and live out the truth that we are made in the image of God.

    #DisabilityCommunity #DisabledAndChristian #ImagoDei #FaithAndDisability #DisabilityJustice #ChristianFellowship #MultipleDisabilities #AccessibilityMatters #BiblicalWorldview #DisabilityAdvocacy #ChristianCommunity #Christian #Christians #faith
    @christians @[email protected] @[email protected] @mastoblind @main @actuallyautistic @chronicillness @spoonies

  24. Reposting this without markdown since people had trouble seeing the link before and I haven't seen anyone try to join.

    ๐ŸŒฟ New Group for Disabled Christians! โœ๏ธโ™ฟ

    I'm excited to announce the launch of Imago Dei Disability Fellowship, a GroupMe community for Christians with all kinds of disabilities to connect, support one another, and advocate for accessibility and justice, all grounded in biblical truth.

    This group is rooted in a conservative Christian worldview, including traditional beliefs about Scripture, gender, and identity. If you're looking for a space to talk about faith, disability, and advocacy without woke ideology, this is for you.

    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Join here: groupme.com/join_group/1082401
    "Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christโ€™s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other."
    โ€” Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)
    All are welcome who seek to follow Christ and live out the truth that we are made in the image of God. ๐Ÿ’œ
    #DisabilityCommunity #DisabledAndChristian #ImagoDei #FaithAndDisability #DisabilityJustice #ChristianFellowship #MultipleDisabilities #AccessibilityMatters #BiblicalWorldview #DisabilityAdvocacy #ChristianCommunity #Christian #Christians #faith
    @christians @[email protected] @[email protected] @mastoblind @main @actuallyautistic @chronicillness @spoonies

  25. ๐ŸŒฟ New Group for Disabled Christians! โœ๏ธโ™ฟ

    I'm excited to announce the launch of Imago Dei Disability Fellowship, a GroupMe community for Christians with all kinds of disabilities to connect, support one another, and advocate for accessibility and justice, all grounded in biblical truth.

    This group is rooted in a conservative Christian worldview, including traditional beliefs about Scripture, gender, and identity. If you're looking for a space to talk about faith, disability, and advocacy without woke ideologyโ€”this is for you.

    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Join here

    Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christโ€™s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

    โ€” Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)

    All are welcome who seek to follow Christ and live out the truth that we are made in the image of God. ๐Ÿ’œ

    #DisabilityCommunity #DisabledAndChristian #ImagoDei #FaithAndDisability #DisabilityJustice #ChristianFellowship #MultipleDisabilities #AccessibilityMatters #BiblicalWorldview #DisabilityAdvocacy #ChristianCommunity #Christian #Christians #faith
    @christians @[email protected] @[email protected] @mastoblind @main @actuallyautistic @chronicillness @spoonies

  26. On "real Christians."

    This is a lightly edited version of a post I first made several years ago on Facebook. Sadly, it never seems to stop being relevant.

    ===

    Every time I hear #Christians saying "they're not real Christians" or "this isn't real #Christianity," about other Christians doing something that brings discredit on the ##religion, my skin crawls.

    Because if they're not Christians ... well, neither was Constantine. Neither were the generations of #monarchs who followed, invoking the divine right of kings. Neither were the #popes and #bishops and #priestsโ€”and note that I'm not just talking about #Catholics hereโ€”who almost universally supported and legitimized the idea that #God had put our leaders in place, and to oppose them was #blasphemy.

    Neither were the #Crusaders, the #Inquisitors, the #witch-burners. Neither were the soldiers who fought generations of #religious #wars within #Christendom, including the Thirty Years' War that wrought devastation equal to both World Wars. Neither for that matter were the politicians who gave us what we *call* the First World War, in which most of the major combatants on both sides proudly claimed the Christian label, and in several cases were still official theocracies.

    Neither were the Christians who rounded up their #Jewish neighbors in the Second for delivery to the campsโ€”and if you claim that was the work of a #neopagan cult that maybe a few thousand people total ever took seriously, I'll laugh in your face before cutting you out of my life. (But I'll remember who and what you are, believe me.) Neither were the people who used Christianity to justify #conquest and #slavery and #genocide and #segregation, for centuries, and in many cases still do.

    In short, if you say these people aren't Christians, you're saying most Christians throughout the *entire history of the religion* weren't Christians. You can die on that hill if you really want to. But you'll die alone, and most likely at the hands of your fellow believers.

    Christians are, as a rule, no worse than other people. But you're no better, either. Do you *want* to be better? Great, that's what everyone else wants too.

    So prove it. Stop making excuses. Own these people, and *then* confront them. Admit that they're yours, and then expunge them. Scourge the heretics with fire and sword, and send them wailing into the outer darkness tearing their hair and gnashing their teeth. Cast them into the lake of fire.

    If you do this, if you have first the moral and then the physical courage to face this monstrosity in your midst unflinchingly and with full knowledge of what it is, then you'll have plenty of help. #Jews and #Muslims and #Hindus and #Wiccans and #atheists and all the rest won't just cheer you on. We'll be right there by your side.

    And while there are in the US still more Christians than all of us put together, there aren't more of *this kind* of Christian than all decent human beings put together. We can't fight them alone. Neither can you. Together we canโ€”as long as you're honest about what that means.

    If you don't? We'll be right back to #Torquemada, with a high-tech gloss. You might live a little longer than the rest of us, but not by much, and you'll go to the rack and the stake and the oven with the words of your own holy writ shouted in your ears.

    Those are the only two options. Your choice.

    ===

    Addendum:

    I have a great many friends who grew up Christian, and left the religion at some point. Despite having made the choice to walk away from their childhood faith, they often feel the reflexive need to defend the people they were, and in most cases their families still are.

    Those who are still Christians, of whom I trust I also have a fair number left, may feel the same impulseโ€”although interestingly, it seems to me they're less reflexive on the whole than the former believers.

    We're all made of our #history. The people we were are still the people we are, in some corner of our brains. And there are complexities about being on the inside of any group that outsiders can never quite grasp. It's similar to the way I am about the #military, which is practically a religion in its own right.

    Okay. Stipulated, as lawyers say on TV and maybe in real life too. I get it. Now please get this:

    Unless you *grew up* as a member of a religious minority, you will most likely never understand, on a gut level, the terror the majority religion inflicts by its very existence.

    This isn't unique to Christianity, to be clear. Every majority religion, in every time and place, has unconsciously (and often consciously as well, to be sure) been casually brutal to infidels and heretics. Nature of the beast. But here in the US, that beast invariably carries a cross, so there's the focus of my attention.

    You don't have to understand it. Just accept that it exists, and it leaves scars. I can live with those scars, and so can nearly everyone else who bears them. That *stigma*, if you will.

    But if you cut us, we still bleed. We'll heal from those wounds too, and add new scars to the old. Long after the bleeding stops, we'll remember who gave them to us.

    Here I stand; I can do no other. How about you?

  27. On "real Christians."

    This is a lightly edited version of a post I first made several years ago on Facebook. Sadly, it never seems to stop being relevant.

    ===

    Every time I hear #Christians saying "they're not real Christians" or "this isn't real #Christianity," about other Christians doing something that brings discredit on the ##religion, my skin crawls.

    Because if they're not Christians ... well, neither was Constantine. Neither were the generations of #monarchs who followed, invoking the divine right of kings. Neither were the #popes and #bishops and #priestsโ€”and note that I'm not just talking about #Catholics hereโ€”who almost universally supported and legitimized the idea that #God had put our leaders in place, and to oppose them was #blasphemy.

    Neither were the #Crusaders, the #Inquisitors, the #witch-burners. Neither were the soldiers who fought generations of #religious #wars within #Christendom, including the Thirty Years' War that wrought devastation equal to both World Wars. Neither for that matter were the politicians who gave us what we *call* the First World War, in which most of the major combatants on both sides proudly claimed the Christian label, and in several cases were still official theocracies.

    Neither were the Christians who rounded up their #Jewish neighbors in the Second for delivery to the campsโ€”and if you claim that was the work of a #neopagan cult that maybe a few thousand people total ever took seriously, I'll laugh in your face before cutting you out of my life. (But I'll remember who and what you are, believe me.) Neither were the people who used Christianity to justify #conquest and #slavery and #genocide and #segregation, for centuries, and in many cases still do.

    In short, if you say these people aren't Christians, you're saying most Christians throughout the *entire history of the religion* weren't Christians. You can die on that hill if you really want to. But you'll die alone, and most likely at the hands of your fellow believers.

    Christians are, as a rule, no worse than other people. But you're no better, either. Do you *want* to be better? Great, that's what everyone else wants too.

    So prove it. Stop making excuses. Own these people, and *then* confront them. Admit that they're yours, and then expunge them. Scourge the heretics with fire and sword, and send them wailing into the outer darkness tearing their hair and gnashing their teeth. Cast them into the lake of fire.

    If you do this, if you have first the moral and then the physical courage to face this monstrosity in your midst unflinchingly and with full knowledge of what it is, then you'll have plenty of help. #Jews and #Muslims and #Hindus and #Wiccans and #atheists and all the rest won't just cheer you on. We'll be right there by your side.

    And while there are in the US still more Christians than all of us put together, there aren't more of *this kind* of Christian than all decent human beings put together. We can't fight them alone. Neither can you. Together we canโ€”as long as you're honest about what that means.

    If you don't? We'll be right back to #Torquemada, with a high-tech gloss. You might live a little longer than the rest of us, but not by much, and you'll go to the rack and the stake and the oven with the words of your own holy writ shouted in your ears.

    Those are the only two options. Your choice.

    ===

    Addendum:

    I have a great many friends who grew up Christian, and left the religion at some point. Despite having made the choice to walk away from their childhood faith, they often feel the reflexive need to defend the people they were, and in most cases their families still are.

    Those who are still Christians, of whom I trust I also have a fair number left, may feel the same impulseโ€”although interestingly, it seems to me they're less reflexive on the whole than the former believers.

    We're all made of our #history. The people we were are still the people we are, in some corner of our brains. And there are complexities about being on the inside of any group that outsiders can never quite grasp. It's similar to the way I am about the #military, which is practically a religion in its own right.

    Okay. Stipulated, as lawyers say on TV and maybe in real life too. I get it. Now please get this:

    Unless you *grew up* as a member of a religious minority, you will most likely never understand, on a gut level, the terror the majority religion inflicts by its very existence.

    This isn't unique to Christianity, to be clear. Every majority religion, in every time and place, has unconsciously (and often consciously as well, to be sure) been casually brutal to infidels and heretics. Nature of the beast. But here in the US, that beast invariably carries a cross, so there's the focus of my attention.

    You don't have to understand it. Just accept that it exists, and it leaves scars. I can live with those scars, and so can nearly everyone else who bears them. That *stigma*, if you will.

    But if you cut us, we still bleed. We'll heal from those wounds too, and add new scars to the old. Long after the bleeding stops, we'll remember who gave them to us.

    Here I stand; I can do no other. How about you?

  28. On "real Christians."

    This is a lightly edited version of a post I first made several years ago on Facebook. Sadly, it never seems to stop being relevant.

    ===

    Every time I hear #Christians saying "they're not real Christians" or "this isn't real #Christianity," about other Christians doing something that brings discredit on the ##religion, my skin crawls.

    Because if they're not Christians ... well, neither was Constantine. Neither were the generations of #monarchs who followed, invoking the divine right of kings. Neither were the #popes and #bishops and #priestsโ€”and note that I'm not just talking about #Catholics hereโ€”who almost universally supported and legitimized the idea that #God had put our leaders in place, and to oppose them was #blasphemy.

    Neither were the #Crusaders, the #Inquisitors, the #witch-burners. Neither were the soldiers who fought generations of #religious #wars within #Christendom, including the Thirty Years' War that wrought devastation equal to both World Wars. Neither for that matter were the politicians who gave us what we *call* the First World War, in which most of the major combatants on both sides proudly claimed the Christian label, and in several cases were still official theocracies.

    Neither were the Christians who rounded up their #Jewish neighbors in the Second for delivery to the campsโ€”and if you claim that was the work of a #neopagan cult that maybe a few thousand people total ever took seriously, I'll laugh in your face before cutting you out of my life. (But I'll remember who and what you are, believe me.) Neither were the people who used Christianity to justify #conquest and #slavery and #genocide and #segregation, for centuries, and in many cases still do.

    In short, if you say these people aren't Christians, you're saying most Christians throughout the *entire history of the religion* weren't Christians. You can die on that hill if you really want to. But you'll die alone, and most likely at the hands of your fellow believers.

    Christians are, as a rule, no worse than other people. But you're no better, either. Do you *want* to be better? Great, that's what everyone else wants too.

    So prove it. Stop making excuses. Own these people, and *then* confront them. Admit that they're yours, and then expunge them. Scourge the heretics with fire and sword, and send them wailing into the outer darkness tearing their hair and gnashing their teeth. Cast them into the lake of fire.

    If you do this, if you have first the moral and then the physical courage to face this monstrosity in your midst unflinchingly and with full knowledge of what it is, then you'll have plenty of help. #Jews and #Muslims and #Hindus and #Wiccans and #atheists and all the rest won't just cheer you on. We'll be right there by your side.

    And while there are in the US still more Christians than all of us put together, there aren't more of *this kind* of Christian than all decent human beings put together. We can't fight them alone. Neither can you. Together we canโ€”as long as you're honest about what that means.

    If you don't? We'll be right back to #Torquemada, with a high-tech gloss. You might live a little longer than the rest of us, but not by much, and you'll go to the rack and the stake and the oven with the words of your own holy writ shouted in your ears.

    Those are the only two options. Your choice.

    ===

    Addendum:

    I have a great many friends who grew up Christian, and left the religion at some point. Despite having made the choice to walk away from their childhood faith, they often feel the reflexive need to defend the people they were, and in most cases their families still are.

    Those who are still Christians, of whom I trust I also have a fair number left, may feel the same impulseโ€”although interestingly, it seems to me they're less reflexive on the whole than the former believers.

    We're all made of our #history. The people we were are still the people we are, in some corner of our brains. And there are complexities about being on the inside of any group that outsiders can never quite grasp. It's similar to the way I am about the #military, which is practically a religion in its own right.

    Okay. Stipulated, as lawyers say on TV and maybe in real life too. I get it. Now please get this:

    Unless you *grew up* as a member of a religious minority, you will most likely never understand, on a gut level, the terror the majority religion inflicts by its very existence.

    This isn't unique to Christianity, to be clear. Every majority religion, in every time and place, has unconsciously (and often consciously as well, to be sure) been casually brutal to infidels and heretics. Nature of the beast. But here in the US, that beast invariably carries a cross, so there's the focus of my attention.

    You don't have to understand it. Just accept that it exists, and it leaves scars. I can live with those scars, and so can nearly everyone else who bears them. That *stigma*, if you will.

    But if you cut us, we still bleed. We'll heal from those wounds too, and add new scars to the old. Long after the bleeding stops, we'll remember who gave them to us.

    Here I stand; I can do no other. How about you?

  29. On "real Christians."

    This is a lightly edited version of a post I first made several years ago on Facebook. Sadly, it never seems to stop being relevant.

    ===

    Every time I hear #Christians saying "they're not real Christians" or "this isn't real #Christianity," about other Christians doing something that brings discredit on the ##religion, my skin crawls.

    Because if they're not Christians ... well, neither was Constantine. Neither were the generations of #monarchs who followed, invoking the divine right of kings. Neither were the #popes and #bishops and #priestsโ€”and note that I'm not just talking about #Catholics hereโ€”who almost universally supported and legitimized the idea that #God had put our leaders in place, and to oppose them was #blasphemy.

    Neither were the #Crusaders, the #Inquisitors, the #witch-burners. Neither were the soldiers who fought generations of #religious #wars within #Christendom, including the Thirty Years' War that wrought devastation equal to both World Wars. Neither for that matter were the politicians who gave us what we *call* the First World War, in which most of the major combatants on both sides proudly claimed the Christian label, and in several cases were still official theocracies.

    Neither were the Christians who rounded up their #Jewish neighbors in the Second for delivery to the campsโ€”and if you claim that was the work of a #neopagan cult that maybe a few thousand people total ever took seriously, I'll laugh in your face before cutting you out of my life. (But I'll remember who and what you are, believe me.) Neither were the people who used Christianity to justify #conquest and #slavery and #genocide and #segregation, for centuries, and in many cases still do.

    In short, if you say these people aren't Christians, you're saying most Christians throughout the *entire history of the religion* weren't Christians. You can die on that hill if you really want to. But you'll die alone, and most likely at the hands of your fellow believers.

    Christians are, as a rule, no worse than other people. But you're no better, either. Do you *want* to be better? Great, that's what everyone else wants too.

    So prove it. Stop making excuses. Own these people, and *then* confront them. Admit that they're yours, and then expunge them. Scourge the heretics with fire and sword, and send them wailing into the outer darkness tearing their hair and gnashing their teeth. Cast them into the lake of fire.

    If you do this, if you have first the moral and then the physical courage to face this monstrosity in your midst unflinchingly and with full knowledge of what it is, then you'll have plenty of help. #Jews and #Muslims and #Hindus and #Wiccans and #atheists and all the rest won't just cheer you on. We'll be right there by your side.

    And while there are in the US still more Christians than all of us put together, there aren't more of *this kind* of Christian than all decent human beings put together. We can't fight them alone. Neither can you. Together we canโ€”as long as you're honest about what that means.

    If you don't? We'll be right back to #Torquemada, with a high-tech gloss. You might live a little longer than the rest of us, but not by much, and you'll go to the rack and the stake and the oven with the words of your own holy writ shouted in your ears.

    Those are the only two options. Your choice.

    ===

    Addendum:

    I have a great many friends who grew up Christian, and left the religion at some point. Despite having made the choice to walk away from their childhood faith, they often feel the reflexive need to defend the people they were, and in most cases their families still are.

    Those who are still Christians, of whom I trust I also have a fair number left, may feel the same impulseโ€”although interestingly, it seems to me they're less reflexive on the whole than the former believers.

    We're all made of our #history. The people we were are still the people we are, in some corner of our brains. And there are complexities about being on the inside of any group that outsiders can never quite grasp. It's similar to the way I am about the #military, which is practically a religion in its own right.

    Okay. Stipulated, as lawyers say on TV and maybe in real life too. I get it. Now please get this:

    Unless you *grew up* as a member of a religious minority, you will most likely never understand, on a gut level, the terror the majority religion inflicts by its very existence.

    This isn't unique to Christianity, to be clear. Every majority religion, in every time and place, has unconsciously (and often consciously as well, to be sure) been casually brutal to infidels and heretics. Nature of the beast. But here in the US, that beast invariably carries a cross, so there's the focus of my attention.

    You don't have to understand it. Just accept that it exists, and it leaves scars. I can live with those scars, and so can nearly everyone else who bears them. That *stigma*, if you will.

    But if you cut us, we still bleed. We'll heal from those wounds too, and add new scars to the old. Long after the bleeding stops, we'll remember who gave them to us.

    Here I stand; I can do no other. How about you?

  30. I was at the Southern Steps in Jerusalem

    Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from my personal experiences and observations during the Israel pilgrimage tour I joined and what happened during my free time. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

    Welcome back, readers and fellow followers of the Lord! This is the 10th chapter of my ongoing series of articles about the holy nation of Israel with recollections about the experiences and discoveries I had during the pilgrimage tour I joined with my local church (hosted by strategic partner Behold Israel). To see my previous Israel tour articles, click hereherehere, here, herehere, here, here and here. No matter what happens in this twisted world we live in, I will always stand with Israel and my faith in the Lord remains uncompromising!

    In this latest edition of my Israel 2023 series, I share with you what I experienced when our pilgrimage tour group visited the Southern Steps (also referred to as the Southern Stairs and Rabbi Stairs) located at the lower part of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.

    Thanks to our dedicated local tourist guide, our tour group had a meaningful visit there and we spent several minutes observing the place. Our time at the steps concluded with a bible teaching led by New Life Philippines Pastor Edwin Tugano. In my personal experience, I felt something from the Lord there as I realized the biblical relevance of the holy site as well as insight regarding what the place was like thousands of years ago.

    This is me at the Southern Steps in Jerusalem, Israel.

    The site is very significant as it is the place that served as one of the main entrances from the south to the Temple Mount during the time of Lord Jesus. In fact, people coming from the City of David going north to the Temple Mount used the Southern Steps very long ago. Also, the Southern Steps became a useful place where rabbis and their disciples gathered for faith lessons and this explains why the said steps are also called the Rabbi Stairs. Physically, the steps were hundreds of feet wide which provided abundant space for congregating and teaching.

    As many centuries had passed since Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven, there were physical changes that happened at the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount and this is evident as visitors today cannot access the mentioned sacred site above (where the Jewish temples used to be) using the Southern Steps. This is because there is noticeable expansion of the Southern Wall blocking the stepsโ€™ upward access to the Temple Mount. I myself had touched that wall and noticed how its stone quality and colors differed from the rest of the Southern Wall.

    I brought the Passion Translation Holy Bible with me at the Southern Steps. After taking this image, I climbed up the steps, reached the Southern Wall and touched it.

    Regardless, the step themselves โ€“ composed of the original stones from Jesusโ€™ time (those steps with the rougher stones) plus newer ones (added to fill the gaps) leading to the Southern Wall โ€“ are still there and climbing them required methodical walking. The Southern Steps today are widely visited by faithful Christians from around the world as it is a holy site and it is very likely that Lord Jesus Himself climbed the steps going to the Temple Mount. There is no doubt that Lord Jesus and His disciples also gathered at the steps for teachings. The holy site should remind you about the significance of Lord Jesusโ€™ presence in Jerusalem.  

    In my experience there at the Southern Steps with my tour companions, I felt the holiness of the place and that became more evident as I opened the Holy Bible during the bible teaching led by our pastor right there. During our time there, I noticed another pilgrimage tour group was present with us several feet away.  

    Did Pentecost happen at the Southern Steps?

    Our pilgrimage tour group in the foreground, and another group in the background. The Southern Steps is an essential place for Christians to visit in Israel.

    By reading the biblical reference of Pentecost and connecting it with my observations of the holy site, I can say that the Southern Steps is a possible place where Pentecost may have happened. I can even say that it is a more suitable place โ€“  where about three thousand Jews got baptized after the apostle Peter preached the good news โ€“ than the Upper Room (itself a popular location in many paintings and artworks dramatizing Pentecost).

    Take a close look at the biblical record of Pentecost belowโ€ฆ

    When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

    And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, โ€œLook, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabsโ€”we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.โ€ So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, โ€œWhatever could this mean?โ€

    Others mocking said, โ€œThey are full of new wine.โ€

    But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, โ€œMen of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

    โ€˜And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,

    That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;

    Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

    Your young men shall see visions,

    Your old men shall dream dreams.

    And on My menservants and on My maidservants

    I will pour out My Spirit in those days;

    And they shall prophesy.

    I will show wonders in heaven above

    And signs in the earth beneath:

    Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

    The sun shall be turned into darkness,

    And the moon into blood,

    Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

    And it shall come to pass

    That whoever calls on the name of the Lord

    Shall be saved.โ€™

    โ€œMen of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also knowโ€” Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him:

    โ€˜I foresaw the Lord always before my face,

    For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.

    Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;

    Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.

    For You will not leave my soul in Hades,

    Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

    You have made known to me the ways of life;

    You will make me full of joy in Your presence.โ€™

    โ€œMen and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

    โ€œFor David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

    โ€˜The Lord said to my Lord,

    โ€œSit at My right hand,

    Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.โ€ โ€™

    โ€œTherefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.โ€

    Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, โ€œMen and brethren, what shall we do?โ€

    Then Peter said to them, โ€œRepent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.โ€

    And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, โ€œBe saved from this perverse generation.โ€ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

    Acts 2:1-41 (NKJV)

    Take note that verse 2 of Chapter 2 in the Book of Acts specifically mentioned โ€œhouseโ€ which is not limited to houses. In fact, in the Old Testament of the Bible, the Jewish temple is referred to as the house โ€“ as in the house of the Lord. The place of worship of the Lord!

    Still within biblical context, โ€œhouseโ€ โ€“ as seen in verse 36 with โ€œhouse of Israelโ€ โ€“ also symbolizes family and lineage in the Holy Bible. โ€œHouse of Israelโ€ refers to the entire nation descended from Abraham through Jacob and Isaac and that includes the Jewish people (descendants) who were present in Jerusalem during Pentecost. For relevance of the house of Israel, read 2 Kings 7:1-16 in the Holy Bible โ€“ Godโ€™s words for King David passed through the prophet Nathan.

    In the foreground are the Southern Steps and the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount. In the background is more of Jerusalem. (source โ€“ screenshot taken from the Instagram video of Hananya Naftali)

    As it was an essential form of access into the Temple Mount, the Southern Steps also served as a natural place of gathering, spacious enough to accommodate thousands of Jews. As mentioned earlier, these wide and spacious holy stairs are a more suitable place than the Upper Room for Pentecost to happen.

    Also take note that verse 41 of Chapter 2 of the Book of Acts mentions that there were around three thousand Jews who got baptized and helped the church of Lord Jesus grow a lot on the day of Pentecost itself (for relevance, read John 3:3 in the Holy Bible). This also means that there were between fifteen thousand to thirty thousand people in Jerusalem who witnessed Pentecost happen. Having been at the Southern Steps myself, I can easily visualize the whole place โ€“ from the steps themselves and the space between them and the City of David in the south, plus the whole stretch of the Southern Wall โ€“ being filled with lots of people on that very day. Having attended the bible teaching led by our pastor who stood at the steps facing us south, I can visualize the apostle Peter preaching to thousands of Jewish people there long ago.

    Our pastor Edwin Tugano (standing on the ancient steps facing us) led the bible teaching for me and my pilgrimage group companions.

    There is absolutely no way that the 3,000 people who received Christ and got baptized would fit inside the Upper Room at the time of Pentecost. When the apostle Peter preached, he was not surrounded by only a tiny group of people but by a huge crowd who listened. The other apostles were with Peter back then. This should remind you that the artists responsible for the paintings and artworks portraying Pentecost happening inside the Upper Room or within an indoor place with walls and a roof did not fully understand the biblical record of Pentecost. In other words, those artists got it wrong and the Bible proves they are wrong. This should remind you to maintain faith in Godโ€™s Word, not in man-made artworks.

    Once again, the Southern Steps is a possible site of Pentecost. It may not be definitive but it definitely is more suitable than the Upper Room for congregating and preaching in front of thousands. The other possible places where Pentecost may have happened include the Royal Stoa (which was intact at the Southern Wall covering its length and was located high above the Southern Steps) and at the Jewish Temple itself.

    While the exact location of Pentecost remains unresolved, I encourage you all to always keep faith in the Lord and His Word knowing that Pentecost truly happened as it was an anointed by the Lord to happen. Location is one thing, but the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit are always essential to our faith in Lord Jesus.

    Conclusion

    It was destiny from the Lord for me and my pilgrimage tour group to visit the Southern Steps. I felt the unction from the Holy Spirit to capture this very moment upon arrival there.

    I can say that me and my pilgrimage tour group companions were blessed by the Lord during our time at the Southern Steps. Simply thinking about Lord Jesus teaching His followers at the steps is uplifting  There clearly is a lot to learn and discover by being at the holy site and having the Bible for reference. I thank Lord Jesus for blessing us, for our pastors and our local tour guide, and for the anointed experience at the Southern Steps. I definitely will revisit those steps when I return to Israel.

    Israel is a great and holy place to visit! Visit Israel with the Holy Bible! Pray to the Lord wholeheartedly and reveal to Him your heartโ€™s desire to visit Israel to deepen your faith in Him. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Follow the light of Lord Jesus, keep on praying to support Israel, learn to love and bless the Jewish people and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

    Watch out for more Israel 2023 travel articles here. There is more to come!

    +++++

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  32. #Prav started working as a #cooperative since #PravConf (two weeks already). We were working on the bye-laws and looking for people willing to join as members for over 2 years already.

    Now we have prav.app/coop/ which lists the Office bearers, Board of Directors and Members.

    Board is elected by members for a two year term. So far we have #Dalits, #OBCs and #Christians in the board. Inviting #underrepresented to join as members and serve on the board.

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  33. #Prav started working as a #cooperative since #PravConf (two weeks already). We were working on the bye-laws and looking for people willing to join as members for over 2 years already.

    Now we have prav.app/coop/ which lists the Office bearers, Board of Directors and Members.

    Board is elected by members for a two year term. So far we have #Dalits, #OBCs and #Christians in the board. Inviting #underrepresented to join as members and serve on the board.

    #XMPP #FreeSoftware #democracy

  34. #Prav started working as a #cooperative since #PravConf (two weeks already). We were working on the bye-laws and looking for people willing to join as members for over 2 years already.

    Now we have prav.app/coop/ which lists the Office bearers, Board of Directors and Members.

    Board is elected by members for a two year term. So far we have #Dalits, #OBCs and #Christians in the board. Inviting #underrepresented to join as members and serve on the board.

    #XMPP #FreeSoftware #democracy

  35. #Prav started working as a #cooperative since #PravConf (two weeks already). We were working on the bye-laws and looking for people willing to join as members for over 2 years already.

    Now we have prav.app/coop/ which lists the Office bearers, Board of Directors and Members.

    Board is elected by members for a two year term. So far we have #Dalits, #OBCs and #Christians in the board. Inviting #underrepresented to join as members and serve on the board.

    #XMPP #FreeSoftware #democracy