Clown,

Have you read some of the stuff Laura posts?

She doesn't sound like a girl to me.

I suspect she's a he.

Laura,

Mark my words...

Eventually the absurdity of mailing ballots to homes without the audit trail of absentee ballots will be banned.

It's something only cheaters would want.

Laura,

"You and your mail in ballot kick can kindly kiss my hiney."

Not in a million years.

Speak,

"You have no broader point."

You didn't keep up to even know what the broader point is.

It is that the majority of states that use mail-in ballots heavily have had wide enough margins that recounts have not been required.

In other words saying "mail-in ballots work fine" is BS. You can't say for certain.

Legal,

I looked at the states that rely heavily on mail-in ballots. Most of them are solidly Democrat controlled and their statewide races are usually decided by large enough margins, which means recounts rarely even become an issue.

California or not, the broader point still stands.

Eb,

"Please....stop arguing religious faith, none of you really care."

Why are you directing that at me?

Why not Americanunity?

I'm not bringing it up. I'm just responding to accusations from people like American who attack Christians.

Regardless, if you don't like my posts don't read them.

That's what being an American is all about.

American,

Judging Christians and accusing them of not being Christian is sin. God will judge them. Not your place.

If you're going to bring Christianity into the conversation, you must also discuss sin.

You are neither qualified to say who is a Christian nor should you put yourself out there being a stumbling block to others, lest you cause them to lose their faith. That too is a sin.

While you believe yourself knowledgeable about determining the state of someone's salvation, you are only piling more sin onto yourself.

Clown,

"He better hope there's no afterlife."

I'm good either way.

Can't say the same for you.

Corky,

"communes"

In the 60's and 70's, counterculture type individuals formed communes.

On a funny note, many of the communes collapsed not because of big ideological disagreements, but because of mundane daily responsibilities.

They argued about cooking, cleaning, childcare, and who was going to do the work.

American,

"The people who vote for that are Christian in name only."

You're mixing religion and politics in a way that doesn't make sense.

Church and state were separated for a reason. When people try to fuse them together, both end up dysfunctional.

Who says that as a Christian I'm required to vote for another professing Christian?

Christian faith and American government operate on different foundations. Sometimes their values overlap. Sometimes they don't.

Pretending they can always be reconciled is simply not realistic.

Over the years I've seen plenty of attempts to pressure Christians politically. Sometimes it comes from preachers using the pulpit to shame people into voting a certain way.

Your post is doing the same thing.

You're attempting to shame Christians who don't agree with you by declaring them "Christian in name only."

That kind of manipulation is offensive and an insult to my integrity.

American,

"Explain how slashing health care for 20,000,000 people or food stamps or kids lunches or giving tax cuts to billionaires instead of helping Americans is Christian by Christ's standards."

Where in the Bible did Jesus place the responsibility for feeding the poor on the government?

I think you're getting fixated on a point that isn't even Biblical.

This is a topic for politics, not religion.

Really, you sound no different than the evangelical preachers who use scripture to manipulate people politically.

Government programs like health care subsidies or food stamps are not Biblical concepts. They are secular policy decisions.

Trying to pressure Christians with scripture to support your political position is dishonest.

Clown,

Disgusting...

I have some stuff to do....over and out.

Lamp,

"Look at Utah"

#20.

I'm not going down that rabbit hole again like I have over and over.

Most of the states who use mail-in ballots heavily are dem controlled and have never had to do a recount due to sufficiently large enough margins.

The idea that "mail-in ballots work fine" if the margin between the candidates results are large, you can't actually say it worked fine.

You don't actually know without a forced recount where issues come to light. Otherwise, problems will not be found.

That's as far as I going.

Utah was the only rep controlled state.

Like I said, it's great so long as you don't have a close election where the quirks come to light.

Lamp,

Trump and I agree on this.

That seems perfectly rational to me.

You may not agree, and that's fine.

But I'm not ashamed of it, if that's what you're suggesting I should be.

I'm not some rabid supporter of Trump. I just happen to agree with him on this.

Trump also wants no transgender athletes in women's sports and no gender-affirming surgeries on minors.

This makes so much sense but it won't pass.

I pray that God intercedes and saves America from itself, protects women and defends children.

American,

"I grew up in evangelical Christianity."

Depending on the church, that can mess you up.

You go to church looking for redemption and forgiveness.

Instead, some churches fill your head with all kinds of shame, guilt, and downright manipulation.

Finding your faith in the middle of that can be difficult, especially for more sensitive believers.

Hey...at least I'm not alone in my views on mail-in ballots.

Trump wants them banned, too.

I was ahead of the curve.

A month before the 2020 election I warned that mass mail-in voting was going to create chaos and controversy.

And it did.

The Capitol break-in didn't happen in a vacuum. It happened after millions of Americans had lost confidence in the election results.

Absentee ballots for people who genuinely can't get to the polls are reasonable.

Otherwise, if you can vote in person, early voting gives everyone plenty of opportunity and removes any claim of voter suppression.

American,

"Hating on people, considering the poor lazy.'"

There are people who are capable of working but choose not to because government benefits are a better deal.

Who wants to work if you can get more doing nothing?

I don't blame them entirely.

The real issue is political leadership that encourages dependency on government programs.

When people become dependent on the government, they also become dependent on the politicians who control those programs.

The motive is power.

Don't kid yourself that political leaders are primarily motivated by compassion. What they need most are reliable voters, and government benefits are a very effective way to secure them.

American,

If you want to get really strict, I've known people who believe you must give 10% of your paycheck to your church.

They hold that belief about as surely as you hold yours about helping the poor.

They will tell you God can't bless you unless you are doing this.

Are they even better Christians than you?

Before you answer too quickly, if you look at some church's budgets, only a small amount goes out as aid and in fact 50% of all donations go to payroll and payroll benefits.

So tell me...which must I do be real Christian?

Speak,

When have you given aid to someone?

Giving a dollar to a pan-handler on the street isn't what I mean?

I know I have.

Speak,

Was Jesus referring to the government or personal sacrifice when helping your neighbor?

American,

If you give your wealth away, do you become a Christian?

Is that what you're saying?

Do you think you can buy your way into Heaven?

American,

"I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother.... And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ."

Cephas refers to Simon Peter, one of the Apostles. Your post says Paul met Peter and James, another Apostle.

Simon Peter was a most prominent and significant apostle.

16:18-19 (NKJV) Jesus quote,

"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven"

Thanks for sharing.

American,

"A Christian is someone who follows Christ's teachings and philosophy."

We are saved by grace, not by works.

We can't earn it through our deeds or just by perfectly following Jesus' teachings.

You must be born again.

Epistle to the Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) Written by Paul

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast."