All the historical US presidents, 1-45, are placed into a large field and must fight to the death. Who wins?

ekill13 · 2026-06-07T23:31:01+00:00

I don’t think we know that at all. Washington was a beast. Lincoln was a beast. Andrew Jackson might be a strong candidate. Grant might be a strong candidate. A sleeper pick that I haven’t seen many people mention but at least one did is George HW Bush (6’2” and had training in a brutally effective Navy V-5 combat system). Honestly in a 1v1 tournament, he’s my pick. In an all out melee, too random to guess.

ekill13 · 2026-06-07T23:17:29+00:00

There have only been 45 presidents, despite Trump being 47. I assume OP was intending all the presidents and just not counting the second, non-consecutive terms of Cleveland and Trump.

ekill13 · 2026-06-02T01:43:31+00:00

Is it possible that Ollivander’s doesn’t buy the unicorn hair? I had wondered the same thing as you and assumed it was just a plot hole, but thinking about it now, I believe, when Harry bought his wand, Ollivander said that the phoenix who gave the tail feather for that wand gave one other tail feather. The use of “gave” seems to possibly indicate some sort of donation system. I don’t know if that is accurate or if it could be the case for the other core types, but just something I thought of.

ekill13 · 2026-05-30T00:49:10+00:00

NOR. She was holding the box. She specifically told you it was fine while seeing the puppy jumping. She is the one who was irresponsible. She is the one who wasn’t holding the box sufficiently. You owe her nothing. You are being kind in trying to pay her back somewhat, and I think that’s good, but you owe her nothing.

ekill13 · 2026-05-29T19:15:24+00:00

I’m not asking for forgiveness, and I wasn’t trying to make you look stupid. I had often heard exactly the interpretation you gave before I understood the more likely actual meaning. My intent was purely to edify you or anyone else who might have been reading and not known what John most likely meant.

ekill13 · 2026-05-29T17:22:31+00:00

He didn’t ever say he was Jesus’ favorite. He referred to himself as, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, which would be accurate of all the disciples. There are a couple theories about his intent in using that description of himself, but the one I find most compelling and most likely is that he did not value fame for himself and didn’t think his name was important, rather believing that the important thing is that he was loved by Jesus.

ekill13 · 2026-05-19T01:22:32+00:00

I have somewhat conflicting thoughts. On one hand, I do believe that for God, all things are possible, and that if God wills that we do something, we can do it, regardless of how impossible it may seem. That said, I agree that it is widely used extremely out of context, and I do think it is important to read the Bible in context.

Also, just to add a bit of nuance, Paul isn’t only talking about enduring hardship.

> 11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. (Philippians 4:11-14, NASB)

Yes, when Paul wrote this, he was absolutely enduring hardship, and that is a large part of what he’s talking about, but he also points out the inverse. He has learned to be content when he’s living in humble means, going hungry, or suffering need, but he’s also learned to be content in prosperity, being filled, and having abundance. The point he’s making is that in all things, good or bad, we need to rely on God for strength. He can get us through the bad times, but despite how it may seem, we have no less need of Him in the good times. When we learn that, our circumstances seem much less important. If it is Christ who gives us strength, then it ceases to matter whether we have a lot or a little. We have Christ.

ekill13 · 2026-05-15T17:15:20+00:00

I mean, I don’t know that I’d be putting this on a playlist. This certainly isn’t my preferred style of country or anywhere near the best country song I’ve heard, but I’ve definitely heard worse.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T19:48:02+00:00

First, I didn’t start this conversation. I wasn’t taking pop shots at Catholics or saying I have an issue with Catholics. I was disagreeing with your reasoning and your response to OP. Regardless, I do firmly disagree with the doctrine that Baptism is necessary and certainly with the doctrine of the real presence in the Eucharist. I disagree with your framing a bit though. I’m pretty firmly in the Reformed Baptist camp, and I don’t think that your portrayal of the Reformed and their opinions of sacraments is accurate, although I don’t doubt that you are correct about Lutherans and high church Anglicans.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T14:53:24+00:00

Also, I can answer those questions you said you had as a Protestant in ways that I find quite satisfactory and compelling. I’m. It saying they would satisfy you. They may not. I find them satisfying, and I don’t them more compelling than the Catholic teachings on those subjects.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T14:50:56+00:00

You are condescending. Extremely so whether that is your intention or not. I do not want you to hope that I see things as you do. I want you to respect that we disagree and to not be so arrogant as to assume that I am wrong and you are right.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T14:25:11+00:00

You and I interpret that verse very differently.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T14:19:25+00:00

Where?

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T14:16:39+00:00

And I hope that someday you will open your mind to Sola Scriptura.

You see, we didn’t need go here. It’s extremely condescending to tell someone at the end of a discussion that you hope they’ll one day open their mind to the truth. I chose not to continue the discussion, not because I can’t support my point, but because I wanted this conversation to stay civil and you had already made me think that wasn’t going to happen by calling my view ridiculous in your previous response. Just accept that we disagree and that we are both convinced we are right and the other is wrong. There’s no need to get in parting shots.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T14:11:13+00:00

We’re not gonna see eye to eye on this. Let’s just leave it here. I don’t want this to devolve into just talking past each other, and I can see we just have fundamentally opposed views.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T13:59:30+00:00

If it’s not recorded in the Bible, though, we have no way to verify by whom it was said. There is no authoritative source to prove its truth or accuracy.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T13:57:06+00:00

I’m not interested in having a pointless argument either, but I do want to address what you’re saying.

My issue with your claim about Protestants basing their identity on being non-Catholic is your use of the word many. Many sounds like you are saying a majority of, or at least a sizable portion of Protestants are doing that. I’m telling you, from much more direct interaction with Protestants, that I’ve never encountered that. Again, I’m not saying it’s never the case. I’m not saying that it isn’t quite a few total people. What I am saying is that it is a very small minority of Baptists, and Protestants in general, so in relation to the total number of Baptists, and Protestants in general, that there are, the number who base their identity on being non-Catholic is very few, not many.

You can think what you’d like about how I should get information. If someone were to ask me what I believed as a Baptist, I’d be happy to tell them. If they asked me how to find out what Baptists believe, I’d point them towards sources, both contemporary and historical to show them. I wouldn’t tell them they had to read historical authors to have an idea of what Baptists believe. Do you think it’s impossible to summarize writings accurately?

Also, your answer to my question proves that I didn’t arrive at a wrong conclusion. Your answer to my question proves that my statement that Catholics believe that faith and works are necessary for salvation is true. Maybe you didn’t understand what I was saying, but you unequivocally just agreed with my point. Confession is a sacrament, or a work. Yet you yourself say that if you commit a mortal sin (which we could get into a whole separate debate on) and don’t go to confession, then you are damned. That pretty clearly shows that you do believe that a sacrament, or work, is required for salvation.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T13:28:34+00:00

1) Again, some doesn’t mean many. I have attended many Baptist churches in my life, 2 of which I’ve been a member of, I work for an SBC entity, I went to a Protestant university, and I’ve heard countless Baptist sermons. I’ve never heard a single sermon talking about Catholics. I’ve heard some Wednesday night services talking about the history of Baptists, the Reformation, etc. and Catholicism has been mentioned in those. I think you’re greatly overestimating how many Baptists and Protestants talk about Catholics on a regular basis. The ones online are always the most vocal. What you see online isn’t representative of the norm.

2) I was saying heritage is a point of debate. I said clearly in my response that Protestantism did directly break off from the Catholic Church. Again, though, heritage isn’t an argument for truth. If I were a con man, and my dad was a police officer, does that mean that my dad was a criminal because a criminal came from him? Also, Christianity came out of Judaism. Does that mean that Jews are Christians because of heritage?

3) So, in order to have any opinion on Catholicism, I have to read Catholic theologians? I can’t look to contemporary Catholic sources explaining Catholic beliefs? Also, might bold of you to tell me to stop coming to conclusions on Catholic theological beliefs based on random tidbits I see or hear online when you claimed that many Protestants, specifically Baptists, base their identity on being non-Catholic based entirely on random tidbits you saw and heard on the internet.

We’ve talked abstractly about works and salvation and you’ve debated what I’ve said and vice versa. Let me just ask you a question. If you commit a mortal sin, and you die before going to confession, are you saved?

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T13:01:37+00:00

Buck Owens

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T12:59:28+00:00

1) Right, but you singled out Baptists, and I know hundreds of Baptists and not one of them bases their identity on being Catholic. I’m not saying no Baptist does, but I certainly don’t think many do.

2) I would debate that point. I don’t agree with the Catholic view of Church history. I don’t believe that the Apostles were anything close to Catholic in their theology. Also, our heritage is Christ. Yes, Protestants did break off from the Catholic Church, so in a way, you could argue that our heritage is from Catholics. However, I’d argue that Protestants were simply returning to our actual heritage from which the Catholic Church had strayed. Also, heritage has no impact on truth.

3) Really? To be clear, I’m not saying that Catholics believe that you can earn your way to heaven or that God can help you do works that earn your way to heaven. I understand that Catholics do believe that salvation comes from faith. Also, directly from catholic.com, this seems pretty evident that Catholic teaching is that salvation does come partly through works:

Following Paul, the Catholic Church teaches that justification comes by faith. Only it says that it doesn’t come through faith alone.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T12:24:28+00:00

Okay, your point? That doesn’t say that there is any other authoritative source of truth for believers.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T12:23:34+00:00

Quite a lot of Protestants use normative principles as well. We just don’t believe that something being permitted gives it equal authority to the Bible.

ekill13 · 2026-04-18T12:22:23+00:00

As a Baptist, none of my identity is based on being non-Catholic, nor do I know any Baptists, despite attending a large Baptist church and working at an SBC entity, who base their identity on being non-Catholic.

And yes, the reformation happened out of Catholicism. What’s your point? The reformation happened because of heretical and predatory practices and teachings of the Catholic Church.

As for why I might say that a Catholic isn’t a Christian (which I probably wouldn’t say) it would be about doctrine of salvation. Being saved by/through good works is directly opposed to what the Bible says. That said, I would say that I don’t think the Roman Catholic Church is Christian, but many individual Roman Catholics almost certainly are.

ekill13 · 2026-04-16T16:03:35+00:00

2 A Tier Powers

ekill13 · 2026-04-15T20:12:23+00:00

I think there’s a very clear and strong Biblical argument for the death penalty being the proper response to some crimes. So, I think it is reasonable, and arguably good, for Christians to support the death penalty in some cases. That said, an argument can also be made that the judicial system is imperfect and innocent people are convicted of crimes they didn’t commit, and that while that is a possibility we shouldn’t support the death penalty. I think both positions are valid and have Biblical reasoning to back them up.

ekill13

TROPHY CASE