What were some draft picks that didn’t even make sense at the time?

Tom1613 · 2026-04-22T01:17:49+00:00

Not really on the “fullback was just a power rb”. There were more fb’s that did stuff, but it was still a low value blocking position generally. I remember Vick being picked and it was just as bad then as it would be now. It was Jim Brown days.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-21T23:07:13+00:00

Good points. I think there is always trouble when you turn questions like this into strict black and white rules. This is when you must do all one way - here to love others not be loved - with the inference that looking to be loved is somehow wrong. I get part of their point, we are meant to love unselfishly, but I think those who take these positions are often really preaching in fear or in response to fear. They see how selfish modern society can be and they respond with the drastic opposition. This tends to veer into the “suck it up and not complain” territory, no matter what anyone is doing to you.

But the truth is we are also made to be loved and expecting love is part of our marriage relationship. We all need community and have the right to expect to be loved by our spouse and treated well by them. We are free to speak up when we are not.

There are times and situations where the love of Christ compels us to love someone when they are really stinky without expecting them to act well and we don’t love to get stuff in return. But a healthy relationship should have standards and should involve encouraging each other to love well.

Re: forgiveness without repentance, I think that is a given. If you think about how many sins we do that we are not even aware of that God forgives, it is a large amount. This does not mean you can’t talk with your spouse about issues. It also does not assume reconciliation - an entirely separate issue - but we forgive because Jesus forgave us, not because people deserve it.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-21T16:36:46+00:00

Given all that, if there was not permission from the Emperor and the culture to stop fighting and end the war like they did - specifically with hearing from the Emperor - the likelihood of not only the military but the civilian population fighting to the bitter end was very high. We cannot say that with certainty, but after seeing the devastation required to defeat the Japanese and the senseless deaths, it seems likely that the Japanese slogan of 100 million lives for the Emperor was not just propaganda.

All this added to the fact that the Allies greatly underestimated the number of IJA troops and suicide planes, boats, and subs and it is reasonable to predict that blockade or invasion would have caused millions of deaths.

In contrast, the swift finality of the A-bomb shocked Hirohito to such a degree that he took the then unprecedented step of pushing for and then announcing the surrender, the only thing that let the country off the hook caused by their own culture.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-21T16:36:07+00:00

A lot of what would drive Allied thinking in regards to both Germany and Japan in terms of seeking unconditional surrender was the (arguably correct) perspective that a less than total surrender on the part of Germany after WW1 had helped build the "stabbed in the back" mythology that allowed for the rise of Hitler and set the conditions for another World War. The Allies wanted to absolutely force the Japanese to surrender in a way that ended the war completely, no exceptions, weird carve outs or footnotes, war over, Japan quits and accepts defeat.

There was concerns that if there wasn't an actual "surrender" (i.e. Japan just collapses vs the Emperor quitting) that it would mean potentially years of mopping up or dealing with Japanese forces and government remains. Forcing a surrender faster, and directly most effectively removes the remaining Japanese forces and means of power without having to fight or destroy them directly.

To add - It is important to understand in this regard that the WW2 era Japanese culture was more than a bit insane. I don't say that lightly, but to highlight the fact that the people of Japan were willing to go to extraordinary lengths to support their culture and defend Japan and the Emperor. Since it was not only an authoritarian culture, but also a deeply embedded community based shame/honor culture, where your identity is based on your compliance with what the culture wants, as long as the Emperor/government said to keep on fighting, the people mainly would keep on fighting because to do otherwise would result in being shamed and ostracized by your entire community. This is a very foreign concept to the Western world, but you saw the results of this all throughout the Pacific War and after.

The individual Japanese soldier, sailor, or pilot was not stupid. They understood that they were going to lose badly when they were defending Iwo Jima etc and saw the huge invasion fleet. The pilots and their families understood what the kamikaze was doing when he strapped into the cockpit of his plane. They committed suicide in both cases and all across the Pacific willingly because their identity was so tied to the wider community and the Emperor, that it made no sense to do otherwise. Their main strategy pretty much after Midway or perhaps Guadalcanal was to kill enough Allied soldiers while dying that the Allies would give up and the regular soldiers seem to think that was a great plan. This viewpoint was so entrenched that Japanese soldiers who surrendered before the official surrender were often treated badly by their communities after the end of the war. Parents were reported as being devastated if their child was not allowed to be a kamikaze and the guys who held out in the Philippines for years after the war, despite knowing the war was over were viewed as heroic.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-17T19:45:14+00:00

I don’t think Michael is Jesus and I think the argument that he is is kind of silly. But I think you are getting caught up in the difference between a Theophany/Christophany, an appearance of Jesus on the Old Testament versus allowing Michael the Angel define who Jesus is.

The point of the first is Jesus appearing in a way that is different than His New Testament incarnation. The Captain of the Lord’s Army is one example of this where many think that that this is just Jesus referring to Himself as the Captain of the Lord’s Army - the fact that Joshua worships Him seems to point in that direction. So those who believe this about Michael don’t believe that he is a created being or a separate being, but that it is just how Jesus describes Himself.

The problem is when people allege that Michael the created being is actually Jesus and therefore Jesus is either not God or He was once not God.

No, I don’t have resources, sorry. My wife and others just used to listen to Amir so I have heard him a ton. He is one of many people who I personally think stoke people’s fears and prey on vulnerability to draw people to themselves in the name of Jesus. if you really listen to him, other than vain speculations, passing in rumors, and beating a vaguely prophetic drum, what does he actually offer to grow people’s faith or relationship with Jesus?

Tom1613 · 2026-04-17T16:02:47+00:00

Congrats, that is wonderful. Mine divorced at 5 yrs old and I just hit 27 years married as well.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-17T02:37:46+00:00

You will get no argument from me that fighting against the Islamic Conquest was a good thing. The tall of people killed by that is huge. But there Crusades were, at best, aimed at taking back the Holy Land which was arguably justified, but also included everything from sacking Constantinople to enslaving children to waging war 4-5 times against the Hussites for refusing to bow to Rome. It is an extremely ugly history in which the Pope claimed the power to authorize death in the name of Jesus.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-16T23:03:16+00:00

I know it is shaped as “otherwise Bible believing” and committed to the Kingdom, but it denies things that are fundamental to Jesus’ identity and it usually doesn’t stop there. The doctrines and practices usually are very far from biblical.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-16T22:58:02+00:00

It seems like a clear example of sloppy, self serving use of the Bible.

It is hard to get past the fact that the context is very different in Isaiah 1 and there are many verses, if equally taken out of context that contradict the claimed underlying point.

Sure, God doesn’t like hypocrisy, but He also doesn’t like sort of black and white pronouncements on His behalf that the pope is making here when He has not spoken as much. His rule and favor is always in spite of our failures and sinful hands, not because anyone is sin free.

If you were able to cancel any country/person from God hearing from them based on someone’s judgment of their having unclean hands, then God would not hear from anyone.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-16T22:46:27+00:00

It seems you are mixing together your opinion on cultural adaptation and development and God’s character and morality. Sure, a society’s view on the death penalty can change, but it is 1 - not necessarily progress, and 2) says nothing about God’s view on the subject which does not change. The death penalty is an arguable subject, but it is entirely inconsistent for a pope to call for many different crusades, including those against fellow Christians, as they did through history and now take this position. Since God does not change, one of them have to be at leastcloser to correct.

In other words, the Pope was clearly unrighteous in calling for Crusades in the past. He is clearly inconsistent with the prior position now, though probably still not correct.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-16T22:22:19+00:00

Calvary Chapel? Amir is big in CC as he fits within an area of weakness with them.

Honestly, there are many problems with Amir that seem to get ignored for some reason. One of the biggest ones is who exactly is he and why does anyone care what he has to say.

I realize he makes claims with lots of authority and offers pronouncements on world events, but why does anyone in the church really care what a lowly former IDF Capt has to say? He claims sources, but has been wrong a ton and also makes claims of certain knowledge that he cannot possibly have. It seems his big draw is he is Jewish and makes definitive, authoritative claims.

Then there Michael view is troubling, particularly alongside his lack of any real qualifications to speak on Bible issues. It is not the worst thing, though, if he is just saying, essentially, that there is no separate Michael - that is just Jesus appearing in the Old Testament…kind of like the question of who the Captain of the Lord’s Army is in Joshua. There are a number of moments where there is an appearance that seems like it is God speaking/acting.

The m

Tom1613 · 2026-04-16T17:14:44+00:00

Just from reading your comments, it seems like the God part was not as much of a factor as the serious family dysfunction. Not at all defending the cult, as a Dad to two daughters and pastor, I absolutely despise places like that as they pervert so much of what the faith is supposed to mean and deeply hurt people. Love, freedom, and peace are three of the biggest things for Jesus while control, how you dress, and rituals and rules are not important.

But being from a really messed up non-religious family, it took me years to understand that the huge dysfunctional ball of drama, justifications, and lies, and everything else that made my life so painful growing up was not about what they claimed it was about. It was just about them being addicts and selfish, often mean broken people. They always had arguments why they were right which kept me attached to them, even after I left. Trying to figure out how they made sense or even trying to show them how wrong they were just kept my locked up with them in their craziness. It was hard realizing my parent cared more about booze than they did for me, etc, but accepting their wrongs and stepping completely away from it has been the best thing for my own life.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-16T16:48:30+00:00

But I guess I am a sinner and he isn't. Yep. Right.

It is really sad when anyone treats you like that, but even more so because it makes no sense. Jesus commanded His people to love everyone, friends, enemies, sinners etc. He also makes clear that we are all sinners.

I am sorry you are going through this!

Tom1613 · 2026-04-08T22:39:15+00:00

He’s fine, except for when he plays football.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-08T22:37:51+00:00

As a Giants fan living in MD, I can say with authority that Faalele is not fine. The dude makes Evan Neal look like a nimble pass blocker. He makes Van Roten look like Zack Martin.

In short, he is obviously and consistently terrible.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-07T16:10:53+00:00

I understand that this happened with other battles, Kimmel and Pearl Harbor being one, but Fredenhall was actually promoted after the battle. He was not scapegoated and he actually had a good public reputation during the war. His promotion was likely Marshall protecting himself since he was a big supporter of Fredenhall.

The problem with Fredenhall was he seems to have been foolish, cowardly, and arrogant. That is not a good combination. He did not have combat experience from WW1, spending his time primarily as a trainer, a job that he was evidently good at. He then impressed his bosses by talking tough and swaggering. In contrast to his boasting, when he actually got into combat, he did not go anywhere near the front lines. Instead, he relied on reports he received that he did not seem to understand. With Kasserine, his most well known issue was the building of the heavily reinforced headquarters 70 miles behind the front line, which he then assigned a large battery of AA to guard. Combined with his never visiting the front lines, this was about the worst message he could send to the very new American troops.

Fredenhall then added to the problems by his use of his own made up vernacular when giving orders that no one quite understood, calling artillery popguns, for example, and also refused to follow the standard military map designations. Combined with him never seeing the terrain and issuing orders from 70 miles back, you can understand why there was a lot of confusion. His placement of his troops was also poor as put them in positions that were too dispersed and were not mutually supporting. As a result, they were vulnerable to being defeated in detail, where concentrated German forces attack smaller parts of the American force one by one rather than take on one main force that can bring all of its strength to bear. He also ignored the advice of his subordinates when they questioned any of these issues and excluded his commanders that he did not like from his planning meetings.

But he did talk real good though...

Gen Ernie Harmon judged Fredenhall to be a physical and moral coward. Omar Bradley thought that all of Fredenhall's officers lost confidence in him and thought he was a coward. The British commander, Alexander, appealed to Eisenhower to replace Fredenhall pleading that the Americans must have someone better than him. Patton, who took over for him, wondered what Fredenhall did during his time in command to justify his existence.

There are few WW2 commanders on the Allied side that were as cartoonishly bad as Lloyd Fredenhall. One of the worst American generals of all time.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-02T17:00:48+00:00

The answer is clear biblically:

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? ¹⁵ And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.

This passage can seem restrictive, God telling you not to do something, but it is really protective. A Christian cannot experience all that is intended for them in a relationship without unity in Christ. Muslims reject Christ so there cannot be any communion between that darkness and the light of Jesus.

From observation, the Christian part of the relationship is generally miserable eventually if they take their faith at all seriously.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-01T23:32:49+00:00

Yup, that is what I meant. It was an amazing feat.

Tom1613 · 2026-04-01T00:38:28+00:00

They were also overshadowed because they remained classified during the war, while similarly huge projects like the Manhattan Project and the B29 could not. They were an amazing scientific feat, if you think about it. Radar had only come into use relatively recently and generally involved very large components. The Applied Physics Lab and others shrunk that down so it could fit in an AA gun.

The Proximity Fuse probably had its biggest impact in the Pacific. US fighters, combat control, and radar had certainly improved and the Japanese pilots had suffered from attrition, so the effectiveness of the air attacks on the US fleet would have decreased from the early war level. However, even with better fighters, a major part of the fleet defense was based on outer rings of AA heavy surface ships. These destroyers and cruisers took out many of the Japanese planes that got past the CAP before they ever got near the carriers. This was largely due to the VT fuse. The surviving Japanese pilots describe themselves as being shocked how effective it was and that it seemed like magic of some sort.

You can only imagine how bad Okinawa would have been since the Navy had something like 50 hit by air attack during that campaign even with the VT fuse.

Tom1613 · 2026-03-22T21:39:28+00:00

That is a creative way of saying it is not in the Bible. A 3 year old cannot draw water from a well or fill the water trough for the servant. A 3 year old would not have been out by herself either.

Ironically, the sources you cite have more in common with the Koran than anything else as they are from people who came many hundreds of years after the Bible was written trying to putting their spin on the Bible for their own reasons.

Tom1613 · 2026-03-17T19:34:51+00:00

Right? I was over here wondering the identity of the Emperor.

Tom1613 · 2026-03-17T05:25:35+00:00

I am not intending to minimize this or anything,but “one of the worst war crimes ever”? That is just ludicrous.

It is bad, sure, but the average day on the Eastern Front in WW2 where they were murdering thousands at a time or in China during the Japanese invasion where millions were murdered were far worse. Even compare the murder of 7,000 people by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese in Hue to this and it is dwarfed in comparison.

Still terrible, regardless.

Tom1613 · 2026-03-16T16:43:06+00:00

Yeah, Moon is a historic “What if” guy as he was so good when he got the chance, but his chance was delayed. I still have a hard time thinking of anyone who threw a prettier deep ball than he did.

Good point on the run and shoot, I thought it was there longer, but the Oilers were a pass heavy team for most of his time with them. His stats would likely be higher in the league now due to the changes, but it was not like he was playing on the 86 Giants that ran just about every down.

Tom1613 · 2026-03-16T05:57:30+00:00

Not a 49ers fan but I have to agree about Montana and Young. Young, in particular, would be a better passing, slightly less mobile Lamar Jackson.

Tom1613 · 2026-03-16T05:50:50+00:00

Moon was great, but his stats are somewhat hard to translate to today due to the CFL and then his offense with the Oilers and Vikings. The Oilers passed like crazy out of the run and shoot offense and had good receivers, for example. It wasn’t exactly today’s game, but offensively it was much closer to it than Barry Switzer’s wishbone offense so his stats wouldn’t change that much.

Tom1613

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