@Kevin

Why the fuck did god create an apple holding knowledge if he didn't want Adam to eat it? To torture him, to test him? But then why would he want to test adam? is he sadistic?

• The fact that you're saying "apple" shows that you're coming into this with presuppositions. Scripture never actually says what kind of fruit was on the Tree of Knowledge of Good And Evil, and the guess that it was an apple is relatively recent. People used to suppose it was a pomegranate.

• yes, it was a test. Adam and Eve failed.

• without free will, our worship means nothing. Without temptation, being sinless means nothing.

• if you think that test was sadistic (when it was actually ridiculously easy), then don't read the Book of Job.

Why the absolute fuck does god approve of killing and mutilating an animal corpse for tribute but not a cool work of plants. This makes god seem immoral.

• Abel offered unblemished firstborn lambs, gladly and with a pure heart

• Cain offered dregs of his harvest and kept the best to himself, reluctantly and with an impure heart

• even if God's acceptance of Abel's sacrifice and rejection of Cain's had been about animals vs. plants, how on earth would that be "immoral"? What values, are you, an ignorant mortal, trying to impose on the Creator of the universe?

[the flood]

• The answer to your concerns is right there at the beginning of that story. Humans had become so terrible that God regretted making them. Only Noah and his family were remotely decent.

• The rainbow was a symbol of God's promise not to destroy the earth via flooding again, and a reminder to us rather than to himself. He made no promise not to wipe us all out again; just not to do it via a worldwide flood.

• re: "illogical, emotional, and irrational" - you're coming into this with presuppositions again, and of course God can be angry. Why would he not be angry when we sin?

[Noah being a dick]

Yeah, he was a dick on that occasion. He wasn't perfect. There are other biblical figures who are deeply flawed and/or made bad decisions, such as Moses, Aaron, Elijah, Jonah, David, Solomon, Peter, Judas Iscariot, Paul, etc. Only Jesus himself is held as blameless.

Tagging @lurkerhasarisen and @houseoftolstoy because they're both more proficient in Bible knowledge than I am, and I probably missed something

@houseoftolstoy

I hear ya. I almost lifted on Monday, which is the day I do heavy weights / low reps for my lower body, but I knew I didn't have the strength to lift anywhere near my usual. I thought about switching my Monday and Thursday workouts by doing lighter weights / more reps, but I knew I didn't have the endurance for that, either.

In the end I decided to just let myself recover. When I went back yesterday I expected that I'd have to go easy, but I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to.

My next problem is that I'm about to spend about two weeks traveling for work, which means hotel gyms, restaurant food, and being tied to someone else's schedule. Although I travel a lot, my trips tend to be much shorter. I was hoping to make the most of my time between trips to make some mad gainz before I went on the road again, but that's tough to do with the 'rona.

Oh well... it's not a sprint.

@houseoftolstoy

whatever you did today

I went to the gym after not going since Saturday (I caught COVID from the wife last week.)

Days of ljfting missed due to COVID: Three.

I'm part of an online community where everyone automatically tracks their cardio, and if I skip or slack, my peeps will know. As recently as Monday I was gasping for breath and drenched in sweat after less than ten minutes of low intensity cardio. My whole body felt like a wet noodle, but I wasn't going to lose my streak, dammit.

Days of cardio missed due to COVID: Zero. It turns out that accountability matters.

Today was different, though: I'm back to about 90-95%. My lifts were all normal, and I did about 45 minutes of cardio without too much trouble.

My wife, on the other hand, spent almost the entire day sleeping. She's still recovering and I moved the couch in front of the fireplace and kept the fire going all day for her.

So that was my Thanksgiving.

I've had worse.

@houseoftolstoy

I am sure that many countries are not a fan of pride parades and drag queen story hour, but they are less likely to vocally oppose that if the US is strong and capable enough to punish their country with their military might.

You're projecting Western MSM demagoguery into the motivations of people who probably don't know much less care if this happens on the other side of the planet from them, thus concentrating on distractions and missing the important factors that actually do matter.

The motivations and timing of the attack were based on very localized realities. Yes, America has become much weaker militarily, but not enough to keep us from propping up Israel. Indeed, American military aid and financial support is one of the very REASONS Israel can afford to act so belligerent, hostile, and manipulative to their neighbors. If they had to pay for their military out of their own GDP, and clean up their own diplomatic and military messes, they'd have to change their behavior and stop giving entire populations reasons to hate them so badly.

America could be plenty strong on the world stage if our military wasn't a combination of a gigantic money laundering scheme and tool of the private interests and whims of Global Elites. That might would be much better respected everywhere on the globe if it weren't used to bully and pillage other nations and enforce further coercion and manipulation through the Petrodollar.

Something I've been thinking. Suppose you had a kid and raised him to believe he was God's chosen one. Gave him outlandish amounts of money and resources no matter what, way more than his siblings and peers are provided. Reinforced his belief that anyone who questions or criticizes him is not only morally wrong but maliciously out to get him. Did everything possible to completely shield him from any kinds of consequences from his behaviors and actions. Let him disrespect and manipulate you despite your support and protection.

That kid would turn out the kind of little shit that grows up to become a manipulative asshole of an adult, and would still act completely insufferable even as he approaches age 75.

As bad as things have been with the Biden admin hostile takeover, there is the silver lining that he (or more accurately whoever is calling the shots as he is not in charge of jack) is bungling everything on the world stage. We are seeing a well defined decline of the Global American Empire, and the events in Israel are proof of that. To elaborate, I mean that I don't think it is just happenstance that Hamas decided to strike when they did. They, like other countries, organizations, groups, see that America is losing the ability to be a superpower, and they were happy to finally do what they always wanted to do.

I will not shed any tears for Israel, nor am I a fan of Hamas. What I do want to see is the US no longer trying to be the world police while exporting all their progressive agenda on other countries. I am sure that many countries are not a fan of pride parades and drag queen story hour, but they are less likely to vocally oppose that if the US is strong and capable enough to punish their country with their military might. If the US cannot defend "their greatest ally," it shows that they are no longer the invincible force they were once perceived as. And many things will get better in the world. Or at least, there will be a chance for that. Because as of now, the US does not stand for freedom. It stands for their Big GAE agenda that refuses to leave countries alone.

@Typo-MAGAshiv @Vermillion-Rx

Agreed that there is no such thing as perfect. You do the best that you can IF you want to get married. And that is a big IF, because you cannot afford to make the wrong choice. For some men, the only correct choice may be no marriage at all.

For those men that do want to get married, you have to look at many critical aspects of a woman to determine if she is marriage material. You have to be certain you know exactly who you are marrying, and know how she is going to handle every twist and turn that comes with a marriage (because it will by no means be all sunshine and flowers). One good way to do this is to get to know her parents very well. Do you trust them and see them as good models of people? Because they are the models that she grew up with. There are other things too, but this is definitely one important one given that it gives you a glimpse into a possible future.

I do think I lucked out when it came to finding my wife. Only by the grace of God was that possible, since I have no surefire method I can provide for other men to replicate. But I can say that IF you find such a woman, you need to know how to identify her as the genuine article and be prepared as a man yourself for marriage.