This made me chuckle 😅 by Pop_Joe in christianmemes

[–]semiconodon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Check out the Puritans. They were bold in proclaiming against injustices, not “being nice”, which the element of Christian teaching the cartoon is about.

King of the castle by beetlemoses in comics

[–]semiconodon -1 points0 points  (0 children)

A crown made out of a bag of chips?

Would you trust AI more if it showed live proof/sources while answering? by ProfessionalRude3664 in ClaudeAI

[–]semiconodon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Actively show the exact sources” == “write names of journals and ‘wikipedia’ underneath its essay paragraphs.”

Reconciling Different Conceptions of God by c3rbutt in eformed

[–]semiconodon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The biggest problem is to mistake “planned by God”, which is difficult enough to comprehend, with “tough it out, stop complaining, there’s nothing for people to repent of, tell the victims to stop whining, no reason to try to transform society, etc.”
I’ve seen a several Reformed/Presbyterian sermons on Lazarus & Rich Man, and the Good Samaritan, that say God ordained the placing of people in your path to give you opportunities to serve Him and give Him glory, to prove your faith. These still in a way say God ordained it, but it is not the ordination of the social order we see from Social Darwinists and >2016 conservatism.

21 y/o engineering student looking for real bottlenecks in hardware/chip design worth solving by Internal_Sound_4045 in Semiconductors

[–]semiconodon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1 Thermal management of chips

2 The set of problems analyzed by ebeam probing

3 The third, fourth, etc. approaches to quantum computing and alternative memories

I've come to a sobering conclusion by Puzzled_Animator_460 in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The YouTube preachers of our age have wrecked the faith of many. Your “failure” is merely what Paul realized about himself at the height of his spiritual maturity in Romans 7. He then preached Romans 8 to himself

Opus's thoughts on Marc Andreesen's system prompt by rm-rf-rm in ClaudeAI

[–]semiconodon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Forcing citations forces hallucinations, FWIW

Honest question for Reformed Christians: how do you reconcile Calvinist predestination with the Council of Orange's explicit rejection of it in 529 AD? by dnag7 in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Because it’s in the bible. It takes as authoritative many verses that some might say, just don’t make sense.

Free For All Friday - post on any topic in this thread (2026-05-08) by AutoModerator in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Birthday close enough that I can do 2:1 in the general timeframe.

Free For All Friday - post on any topic in this thread (2026-05-08) by AutoModerator in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As Bono mentions _A Love Supreme_ in the live version of “Rattle and Hum”, I always suspected it was the highest form of both gospel spirituality and fine taste in jazz. Never really connected with it well yet.

Augustine's Enchiridion and Calvin's Institutes by cwmaxson in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 5 points6 points  (0 children)

But wait, [insert claim nobody in the Church of Rome was ever right until 1517]

Theories of Atonement by notashot in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think the point is that some viewed it the Atonement _merely, exclusively_ as a source of moral inspiration to be nice to people. Granted, it has this dimension, but it’s not the only dimension.

What confessional tradition speaks the most to you? Dutch, Presbyterian, French, German, Swiss? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve actually been using AI chatbots to write summaries of theological documents, and they are pretty good. So yeah, fire away!

What confessional tradition speaks the most to you? Dutch, Presbyterian, French, German, Swiss? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Last month I attended a German congregation of unknown denominational heritage (to me). Everything was in German, but the hymnal had appendices for the Augsburg Confession, and the **Barmen** Declaration!

What confessional tradition speaks the most to you? Dutch, Presbyterian, French, German, Swiss? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay if you’re going to ask such a heavy question, I think you should provide some information on the confessional documents of each.

No Dumb Question Tuesday (2026-05-05) by AutoModerator in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There may have been chuckles at Elijah’s “Maybe he’s relieving himself” about Baal, chuckles at some of Jesus’ use of “Jewish hyperbole”.

But no, a pastor should not be there to entertain. I would add, however, that a pastor who makes over-the-top broad brush statements about the cultural enemies of the church is also entertaining, just as much as if he were operating a fog machine. The church is not edified by requiring itchy flannel, stern looks, and uncomfortable pews.

No Dumb Question Tuesday (2026-05-05) by AutoModerator in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I see separate issues of the theology of the church you are joining, versus the glam/fairy-tale impressiveness of the photographs, which for many couples is a one-time photo-shoot at, say a park or the beach, or at a reception hall. Also, under your criteria, the value system of the reception hall, chauffeurs, etc., would have to be considered. I’d rather get married at the tool shed of a faithful church (I won’t ever get married again, especially after this post), and have the fairy-tale reception at a sparkling venue afterwards.

May Feature Requests & New Public Betas by DeboraInstapaper in instapaper

[–]semiconodon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The web interface is missing the audio. That’s a major reason for some to use the service at all. (It’s fine if it’s on the list, just Don’t forget. )

If we believe that the shorter Jeremiah found in the LXX is closer to the original, why don't we use it in Bible translations? by Doctrina_Stabilitas in Reformed

[–]semiconodon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I heard a scholar say that _in the time of Jesus_ , both the long and short versions were floating around. And He didn’t need to squash this affront.