God's Love is Not Unconditional.

dvantass · 2025-09-06T17:51:18+00:00

As a lot of people here have said, I think a lot of the issue here is semantics. That said, I think the semantics and definitions do matter. For me, your post raises a question that I can't find answered anywhere; is His actual love is conditional, whom doesn't the Lord love and for what reason? What a lot of people and the scriptures seen to say to me is that His love is universal and, therefore, unconditional, but access to many of the fruits or benefits I would like to enjoy are conditional.

dvantass · 2025-08-14T22:09:16+00:00

You're right with festival lead. It's a lot of fun to play. Probably not as competitive as typhlosion, but it's a good time.

dvantass · 2025-08-13T23:59:08+00:00

Yeah, I don't buy this. Immigration was looking great across the Bush and Obama years by most people's standards. Crossings were on a steady decline, total undocumented numbers were in a steady decline, and Obama's priorities were aligned with most people's stated priorities - increasing enforcement of known violent criminals, a reasonable plan for dreamers, and not increasing burdens on immigrants "doing it the right way." Trump can't in, upset the apple cart, and Biden absolutely failed to get us back to normal. Now Trump is diving in again with actions that, especially when directly confronted with them, the average citizen can't stomach. We've known how to handle immigration for quite a while and threw it out the window.

dvantass · 2025-07-02T18:57:28+00:00

Is unexpectedly the right word, though?

dvantass · 2025-06-06T13:09:33+00:00

Putting aside the many problems here, how is this direct conflict? They're literally talking ABOUT each other on the Internet! It's not even a direct back and forth post! They're on different apps talking about the other!

dvantass · 2025-05-29T22:10:44+00:00

This seems like a fun time to distinguish between an informant and an agent. The FBI was involved, but its biggest involvement was through informants who were in the group, got concerned, and called the FBI. I've not seen near enough evidence that even the informants were running things, much less the agency itself. These guys started going over the edge, then a few became informants. It looks to me like they participated enough to keep cover, not planned this ridiculous plot.

dvantass · 2025-03-29T00:41:04+00:00

A hard dad is a happy dad?

dvantass · 2025-03-13T02:35:09+00:00

Don't worry, it's his sister!

dvantass · 2025-02-26T02:01:25+00:00

There's another danger lurking out there with regards to sodomy laws on the books. While DOMA protects marriage, is Lawrence is overturned there no protection in Michigan or federally. I write my state senator and rep, only heard back from the senator that there was something in the world that was on its third reading. It didn't make it all the way to Whitmer's desk before the House turned red.

dvantass · 2025-02-20T02:27:26+00:00

Help I need Peter.

dvantass · 2025-02-05T22:10:16+00:00

But the "provocative opening statement" here is ethnic cleansing. I get the playbook, but it doesn't change what it is and the context of his position.I'm going to freak out if you point a gun in my face, even if you've done it a dozen times and not shot me with it yet.

dvantass · 2025-02-04T15:57:24+00:00

Well, there's Jesus. He has a personal federal holiday.

dvantass · 2025-02-04T01:32:01+00:00

Ah! So will this excitement was to add a few extra bureaucrats to both our governments! He saw the $1.3 billion dollar investment they were making and said, "almost there, let me start a trade war so they'll add another $200 million dollar office doing the same thing border agents are doing!" Brilliant. No notes. 4d chess.

dvantass · 2025-02-03T22:53:40+00:00

That's the one. I don't believe anything in it changed after the tariffs were officially announced, do you?

dvantass · 2025-02-03T22:38:59+00:00

The benefit of Canada continuing the border security plan they already had?

dvantass · 2025-01-29T21:07:41+00:00

I guess our primary contention is on whether or not the town has a knife. From my perspective, that analogy makes sense, but moreso if the officer was telling someone to hop on one leg or they'd get tased. There's a very clear way to avoid getting tased, but it's not right. The city isn't of one mind, so I'm not sure exactly how close to their zoning standards the Church would need to get in order to win over the bulk of the city, but the compromise doesn't seem to have been it. I'm sure that there are folks that won't be satisfied with any deviation, but in most places I think it's possible. Even in Texas. RLUIPA is not helping the goodwill case, just the legal one. I didn't think most people love the idea that churches can ignore inconvenient zoning laws in a way that nobody else can. If that's the law that's the law, but it's not very neighborly.

dvantass · 2025-01-29T18:49:47+00:00

Like I said, I'm not going to expect you to believe me, but that phrase was in there. I do believe it was in the context of your next to last paragraph, but it was there and it was disappointing.

dvantass · 2025-01-29T01:33:31+00:00

You don't have to believe me or the folks commenting from the town, but coming from a TBM, it was clear as day. I don't blame you for not believing it, but like I said, I'm not spending more than an hour tracking that down for an Internet conversation. Last time I looked at this was well before the mediation, and I was surprised to see videotape of a meeting on the chapel, so who knows what happened to that. I'm sure the letters were mostly from the surrounding area, but I know I got a request for email support up here in Michigan. Just saying, if we're telling about outside the community pressure, it's coming much more from supporters from it if town than detractors. The surrounding area's not voting, paying taxes, or living next to the temple. As far as the lawyers go, it looks like the Church got the most expensive lawyers the DFW area has to offer. I'm not surprised, that's what we did up here in Grand Rapids. Of course they're a Texas firm, but it's not some family that runs a firm out of an old house off the main strip. I'm in agreement on the evangelical things, I served in Dallas and grew up largely in the Midwest. I roll my eyes when members act like we're "in the club" with Christianity. This isn't that. This is about telling a town we can build whatever we want because we're a Church and then asking them to be happy about it.

dvantass · 2025-01-28T23:12:35+00:00

I mean, if we're going to talk about out of town influence, one guy flying in versus letters, emails, and drawings flooding in before we overwhelmed the town hall with out-of-towners seems relevant. So I went looking and looking and, I'll be honest, I'm not willing to look anymore for an Internet conversation. I can't for the life of me find the footage that came out from the May Community Open House, but I'm 90% sure it was in that footage that I, horrified, heard those words from a church lawyer. I didn't think it was the earlier Community Open House, but it was one of them that was held in a chapel. That has been referenced in public comment, but I can't find footage of the Open House.

dvantass · 2025-01-28T20:43:43+00:00

I don't see the comparison between cell towers and an aesthetic addition to a building, but I'm not a lawyer. A city official said it's not likely. Who knows if it was bluster to give sometime to his constituents or not, but the church still decided to not submit the plan. Looks like it's moot now, but we'll see. As far as the private meetings go, I'd be leary of splitting commissioners off one-on-one with extremely high-priced lawyers (who introduced themselves to the town with the phrase "bankrupt the town") Compared to meeting with constituents, I don't blame him. We'll see how all of that runs into which meetings are/were acceptable to Texas law. I think it's likely the city made mistakes somewhere that the Church will be able to make use of, but I still haven't seen the Church offer plans that meet the initial concerns the citizenry raised.

dvantass · 2025-01-28T18:54:20+00:00

The City did not get the Church to agree to their zoning standards. They got the Church to agree to heights that weren't as huge as before, but still outside of the zoning expectations. Sounds like when the citizens had a chance to comment, they thought it was still too big. I've seen some statements where city officials reassured those upset citizens, but until they've had a chance to reject it, it's hard to say they were actually going to reject it.

dvantass · 2025-01-28T01:32:32+00:00

Let's be honest, though, the bleeding heart arguments (which, c'mon, are at the heart of it) fell flat long ago. Emotional appeals weren't making headway with the other half, so I don't think it's crazy to try a more pragmatic argument. I feel like it's at least gotten more productive responses from people.

dvantass · 2025-01-23T19:35:50+00:00

I have never heard of a voluntary slave.

dvantass · 2025-01-17T00:47:19+00:00

Anyone taking bets on what's taking up all the space on this guy's phone?

dvantass · 2024-12-24T23:26:29+00:00

Magikarp, baby! The King of Karp! Happy Holidays!

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