JosephM

The January 2020 Monthly Discussion Board Report follows:New Members Registered: 3Total Members 1761Total Posts 49309New Members rejected: 0 Banned ( manually by Admin) Auto spam reject not reportedAwaiting user email validation 0New Topics Started: 14New Posts: 201Personal Messages (convers) 5Active Current Members this month 7 Guest visits averaged app 6 at any one timeItems of Note:- System was down a short time ( less than 1 hour) for update and problem fixJoseph MattioliDiscussion Board Admin/Moderator/Forum Site Owner

You are correct Thomas ... You didn't start this thread but you opened a discussion in a PC thread that calls for no response or questions to the posts that turned into a prolonged discussion. If you want to give Pipiripi a point you can do so on any of his posts. He didn't start a thread. If you want a discussion only for PC's , start a new thread in the PC forum under a different topic, JosephM (as Admin)

This thread post was moved to debate and dialog as this is not the place to dispute others. It is a thread to share your view of what progressive Christianity is to you. There are no wrong answers. See opening post #1 for clarification JosephM (as Admin)

Paul, Here is an interesting bias chart of news here in the US. https://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=637508&p=4462444 It seems relatively accurate to me. I notice that most of those mentioned on the left of 0 in my opinion slant their reporting negative to Trump and Republicans in general while those to the right of 0 slant their reporting positive to Trump and Republicans in general. The number of news agencies on the left far outweigh those on the right .

Is she really President Trump's personal spiritual adviser as the paper s commonly report or just 1 of many evangelists Trump has brought in and used in the white house to strengthen his ties with Christianity? If you believe the the Liberal paper and propaganda it is the the first. If you research it you may find it is the second. Just saying .....

#1 This is the cafe, not the debate center. Best for light chatting and comments. #2 Yes it is my opinion and i am not interested in debating or discussing it further. If others wish to , the Debate and Discussion forum section would be more appropriate

Only in your mind and according to the media here.. 🙂

😄😄 Well , i did say "not too many" . I guess that could include me. 😄 Trump is my choice. He's like an alligator in the swamp in DC, a junkyard dog, just what our political scene and the country needs at this time. His very unorthodox way makes for a love or hate relationship with people here. 🙂

Paul, Actually , I am a registered independent here but i have voted for both democrat and republican presidents. Occasionally i have changed so i am allowed to vote in the primaries but then i usually switch back to independent. Neither party is ideal and it seems to work best with some balance and occasional change from one party to another. Overall i think this is a wonderful country to live in though very large cities seem to have their problems that i choose to avoid. The problem with news in the US, in my view, is that it is too much sensationalism with 90 % or so being negative and politically biased. It seems they can say whatever they want whether its true or not and base it on sources that they say are not named for the quote based on the condition of anonymity which they do not have to reveal. It is an abused power used in the news. In my view, not too many honest and truly caring people run for US office as it takes too much money and influence to do so which inherently breeds corruption with the perceived power that comes with it. So we do the best we can to keep them in check with what we have to work with. 🙂

Well, the truth be known , neither one was really popular. Our system picks our choices for us and then they make promises they can't keep and let us vote.🙂 I wasn't aware of that . Yep, the arbitrary points (norms) on the continuum continue to change. What was once considered a character flaw (gambling) here is now healthy. One can imagine what some will do to make their candidate win now that money can be personally made from it by anyone. 🙂

Well you are correct and for good reasons you can look up if interested. So you Aussies gamble on elections eh? That sounds like real wholesome 'character' . 😀

Unfortunately very few saints have the inclination to run for office here in the US. It takes an enormous amount of money and friends in high places to compete. It also routinely uses many times lies and exaggerations which might fall in your description of 'poor character' when one researches very deeply. Trump didn't fit in the system well and was hated from the start so they dug pretty deep and yes to get where he was perhaps there was plenty. New York is known for it. 🙂 I ran for senator in KY in the 90's and my background is relatively clean by most any standard. I took no money from PACS (political action committees) and they (a then powerful KY senator and cohorts of the same party backing another which is not considered ethical in a primary) made up dirt, and used every trick in the book and i lost by a few hundred votes after much hard work and using mostly my own money. The political scene , i found can be a dirty game. No regrets now and learned some great lessons first hand. At what point on the the continuum does character become 'poor' ??? 😄

Here it is make your choice from this list of current candidates.

BTW - I just closed the old poll in post 1. Will be starting a new one soon. Geez, you guys here had Trump in last place. I guess your not too good at picking winners. lol😄

You might do the same if you were running for President and were so inclined to enjoy consensual sex beforehand, No? 🙂 Heck President Bill Clinton did it in the Oval office with Lewinsky, while president, No? You don't see me attacking his character now that i know better. 🙂

Well it seems to me, relations can't get better if you don't talk. Maybe i got it wrong. Nobody has made a lasting peace there since i was born and most likely before. So which other of our presidents were peace makers? I'll give you that one 'character'. But i remain saying he is exactly what we needed. We don't need a president that gets embarrassed too easily. Trump can handle it. Perhaps you have a problem with his lies? . None of us are saints....i take that back, i can't speak for you or others. He does know how to assign catchy names to people. Trump is more popular today than at any other time in his presidency. Even CNN will tell you that and they are basically anti-Trump. You can take that for gospel. Just come to the Villages here and take a poll. Yes they are just like your comment above on the middle east .... "The middle east has already ended poorly for all involved" Do you already have the big picture? Cause i don't and am interested in it if you do. 🙂

Well on North Korea ... read this https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-trump-kim-north-korea-summit-updates-htmlstory.html I'll concede on your middle east view if it ends poorly for us. I can quack like a duck but i am not a duck though i have been called worse things. 😀 That may be the way most of the world sees it especially with our news propaganda because he is hated by much of our 'swamp people' mostly democrats and media because of his personality, but i think the majority of Americans really don't see it that way. Let's see what the next election says. If he doesn't get elected in spite of this mess, you can say i told you so and i will bow down to your clarity in judgement. 🙂 and my smile will look like this 😥

Maybe you are not looking hard enough. He seems to me, to be, exactly what we needed. He doesn't cover himself in a veil. 🙂

You really think the democrats would listen now even if i had a clear picture! 🙂🙂 I guess I'm just not as well informed as you guys in Australia that read all our fake news. 😛

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/heres-why-trumps-poll-numbers-are-defying-the-impeachment-mess.html Here is an interesting article why Trump has so many supporters in spite of over 90+% negative coverage by the new media (only Fox news reports more positive than negative news on Trump)

Ever since the Korean war relations with North Korea have been hostile. My view would not say that relations are as low as they have ever been. We are at least talking to them. The (because Russia help him win elections) insert seems to me to be a presumption. The Mideast remains to be seen as we have had nothing but wars (declared or not) there since before our 1st president took office. Having said that i have doubts that our president will win a Nobel prize for anything or even be considered a peacemaker but then again the story is not over yet. My guess is he will go down as both the most hated and loved president at the same time (most extreme differences in perception). 😉

Yes, the author has a point. We do switch between them as necessary. Labeling people one or the other seems to me like labeling all Christians the same. But related to the thread question at hand my hope remains optimistic as i see no benefit from a pessimistic hope at our level of influence and the partial picture we see.

While my experience also seems to indicate human beings are poor at evaluating themselves and see more easily the problems of others, it remains that change is more likely when we challenge ourselves. Opposition to change is more likely when others challenge us. We as human beings (in general) seem not to be as receptive when others are trying to correct or challenge us. So on the contrary, that is exactly why we need the advice of Mathew 7:3 to keep our focus on our own errors so that change is more likely to occur. 🙂 Perhaps you personally don't mind soo much as others do? PS Humans in general seem to have a strong need to be right or to win or to think of themselves as better than the other. Perhaps that is why they look so intensely at the perceived flaws and need of correction in others more than themselves.

I like you have found that "it is our challenging of beliefs that leads to change". It does seem more effective to me when we challenge ourselves rather than when someone else does it but that is just me. We all have our own conditioning (genetic and otherwise) to overcome.

Well, it seems to me, nothing is really as it seems. I just prefer having a skeptical list a little shorter than yours at least for the time being. 😉 Some things just may have to be experienced for oneself to understand how one can with a fair amount of certainty believe without the evidence you seek. Or perhaps you do understand? Or at least think you understand? Anyway, it seems to me you won't find the answer in my words.