Salyan

Your statement (‘how many people’) implied a lot of examples. That article is about one man who supposedly (he himself is not quoted) changed his mind, and it’s shared by one of the big media groups we know is lying to us. I would take that article with a very large grain of salt. nonetheless, you implied many people. Where are these many people? Do you personally know any of them? I just gave you 77 examples of people that have not changed their mind after contracting Covid. I see your one (maybe) and raise you 76.

Is this an honest statement? Have you or anyone you know caught Covid and changed your mind after? Because that's a particularly stupid sentiment, scientifically speaking. Once you've had Covid, you have natural antibodies, and no need for a vaccine. Even pro-vaxxers should know that if the Covid vaccine works, it only replicates what actual survival of the disease has already done - and done a better job at. We are increasingly finding that vaccine immunity lasts only a number of years, while natural immunity from surviving a disease lasts a lifetime. There are some doctors that suggest that getting the vaccine after catching Covid may actually be quite dangerous. I personally know dozens of people who caught Covid (we were not, um, social distancing... ), including thirteen seniors. Of those literal dozens (78 and counting), I know of 2 who got the vaccine after - and only because they thought they wouldn't be able to travel without it. The rest are no more pro-vaccine, pro-lockdown, or pro-Covid fear than they were before - because they found that it was only a nasty flu (and sometimes not that nasty) after all. There was only one hospitalization that I heard of in that group - he was 92 - and after he got out, he was right back in church, maskless, singing, and shaking hands. Because he didn't choose to be terrified of something he'd survived.

In Canada, Alberta ran a million dollar lottery - get the jab, get an entry in the lottery. In Ontario, they were bribing children in parks (alone! without their parents!) with ice cream if they got the shot. There has been a huge propaganda campaign to both convince people of the terror of Covid and to get the jab. Real pandemics don't require advertising.

The "freedom" to make the best of one's cage is not freedom.

Unfortunately, Jesus is not the person you were speaking to here. It’s only us, and we can’t read your mind. Your response above, although slightly condescending, utilizes a much more straightforward sentence structure than usual. We would be grateful if you could continue that trend.

Why me? To elaborate on my answer to Tony, I took the question as general - we the people, rather than specifically Christians. The question of whether we are actually being persecuted for our faith is much harder to answer at this point. But generally - and in my area of the world (because it's also location-dependent), yes. Canadian citizens are guaranteed free passage within Canada - yet this last few months saw us forbidden from entering different provinces - either at all, or without quarantining or vaccination. Canadians are guaranteed freedom of religion, assembly and association in our Charter of Rights - yet in Alberta (which has been the freest province - it's kind of the Texas of Canada ), we have seen limits on church attendance - as low as 5 distanced people - which were not similarly put on other corporations. This is a limit on our freedom of religion, assembly & association. We have been forbidden from having other people - even close family members - in our homes. This is a limit of our freedom of association. We have been forbidden from having outside gatherings of more than people. This is a limit on our freedom of assembly. The Charter allows for these rights to be temporarily removed for pressing reasons (such as a real pandemic), but the government must prove the need for these. In Alberta, several court cases have asked the government to provide this information THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD BEFORE LIMITING ANY CHARTER FREEDOMS, and they do not have it to provide. They stall, ask for more time to gather it (after 14 months of Covid!), and ultimately provided nothing. This means that they have unlawfully removed our Charter rights. In the last few months, our government in Alberta (whether provincial or federal) have restricted, removed the ability to, or required government permission to: Go to church with more than X people - smallest number being 5 (Alberta was the freest province for this. BC, Ontario and Manitoba have had months where churches were not permitted to be open at all.) Sing to God Sing at all Visit family/friends in their home Visit family/friends outside their home Go to a funeral Attend a wedding Check on or visit seniors in their nursing homes Leave your nursing home (if you're a senior) Have family with you as you die Have family with you in the hospital as a child or maternity patient Receive medical care without masking (even if you're allergic to masks or asthmatic or otherwise incapable of wearing one) Visit our national parks/camp outside Purchase necessities Go to school Go to work Open your small business to make a living (particularly restaurants, personal care and gyms) Protest Hold an event/stampede/parade/concert/literally anything Hug your grandma Stand within 6 feet of someone else (this is actually a health order - a kind of law - that we aren't allowed to do this) Travel freely between towns (Alberta has actually been one of the better ones for this - merely 'discouraging' rather then enforcing. In Ontario, they were actively restricting movement between municipalities within the province. With police checks and everything! Travel freely between provinces (Alberta is actually okay for this - BC has discouraged travel with limited enforcement. The Maritimes have closed their borders to visitors and now the unvaccinated completely.) Leave the country by land (can't do it, period.) Enter the country (to fly into Alberta as a Canadian citizen requires a $3000 3-day stay at a sub-par secured hotel facility. If you have failed to get the right test before returning, you may be removed to an undisclosed location for the full quarantine period. This is a requirement - you are not free to go home without risking severe fines. Oh, but if you're not a Citizen? You don't have to do this. It's only for Canadian citizens.) Leave your home after traveling even if not sick Breathe freely This isn't even a full list... I KNOW there's more I'm not remembering, but there's been so many for so long - I'm forgetting them all now! We're not full-blown communist yet, but looking at this list, we hit totalitarian several months ago. Regardless of one's position on the dangers of Covid, allowing a government to exert this level of control is dangerous.

Yes

I fear that both sides (including me) are beginning to devolve to name calling, and this thread is going in circles. In the interests of keeping us civil, I’m going to lock this thread. Bill, more than one moderator have expressed a desire to see fewer (or no) Covid threads. I won’t lock any other current threads (unless they similarly devolve), but as requested earlier, you are to refrain from beginning any new Covid threads. If you do so, they will be hidden, and you may receive a warning. Let’s see if we can find common ground in God’s Word and take a break from all this fear-mongering from both sides.

Here’s another way of looking at your experience. Covid came through, probably almost everyone caught it, those that were susceptible died, and everyone else now has natural antibodies. Since they’ve had it, no one is going to catch it badly again. Therefore there are no more serious illnesses. I had a friend who caught a bad case of Covid 18 months ago, then caught it again when it went through our friend group. The second time around, it was like allergy symptoms. She wouldn’t have thought to get tested if her sister hadn’t tested positive. Thanks, but I have had Covid. I now have natural antibodies (remember those?) so I’m good. It was a nasty flu, but nothing to end society over. I am far more Concerned about the (untested) long-term effects of the injection, such as neurological damage and sterility, that are beginning to be observed.

For this topic, the two are intricately aligned. Not in the sense of specific political parties, but regarding government actions and philosophies. Good medical science does not need to gag experts and local medical practitioners who express their genuine concerns. Good medical science does not require media censorship. Good medical science does not need to constantly propagandize to convince the masses that a pandemic is taking place. Good medical science does not require a million dollar lottery to convince people to get this injection (this is happening in Alberta). Good medical science does not pretend that a mask will stop a virus. Good medical science does not quarantine the healthy. Good medical science does not utilize arbitrary measures like requiring quarantine after travel for some people but not others, or pretending that it’s okay to have your mask off to eat but not to walk to the table. Good medical science does not allow thousands of strangers to walk through a Costco while prohibiting church cohorts of more than 15 people from meeting. Good medical science does not destroy economies for a sickness with a better than 99.9% survival rate. None of this is medical science - it’s all about politics and government control. Wake up, Bill! I’m not saying Covid doesn’t exist - it definitely does - but this whole scenario has been an excuse to institute government control and remove liberties on a global scale. I’d say ‘hitherto unheard of,’ but that wouldn’t be accurate. Go research the history of communism in every nation ever and you’ll see the Exact. Same. Pattern. The only ‘false propaganda’ here is what you’re espousing. (And hey - you started the political bent anyways by linking those opposed to Covid vaccination to Trump supporters. Don’t be hypocritical.)

BB, they are have been approved ‘for emergency use’ only, and not for full regular use, as they have had NO long term testing. Covid only appeared in the last couple years - how could there be long term testing? The products themselves say that they are in testing until 2023. You are the test subject.

I just want to know how they work - do you get X badge after so many likes or what? I like knowing details.

Can anyone explain to me how all these new badges work? Especially the one-off ones like ‘thumbs up!’

I fail to understand why anyone would get an (a) experimental injection (not formally accepted for permanent vaccine use) that (b) already has more reported adverse affects than all vaccines ever to (c) protect them from a flu with a better than 99.9% survival rate (and that’s counting all the deaths wrongfully attributed to Covid), that (d) has a decent, cheap alternative treatment available, and that (e) a good number of us have already had, survived, and developed permanent antibodies for. What truly frightens me is the blind trend to trusting this experimental injection, and resisting such obvious alternative measures for resistance such as antibody testing. But then they couldn’t train the whole world to accept and even force global acceptance of a ‘vaccine’/injection/identifier. Smacks of preparation for the Mark. Christians should resist this mindset if only for that reason! (puts on moderator hat) Bouncing Bill, you are spamming our board with Covid threads. There are other things to talk about. I strongly suggest you try a new topic for future posts.

Seven years later..... Reading that article almost makes it sounds like your odds better because the game master is controlling things? That doesn't seem like an objective basis for this as a math problem. But I'm not strong in weird math logic puzzles either - I like simple and straightforward maths.

Eh, Canada too. And if you're a foreign national, you don't even have to quarantine for 2 weeks when you fly in. Only Canadian citizens have to do that...

In alignment with site rules, could you please turn your font size down? It’s coming across like text-yelling. Hey, I’m curious (really, just curious). Did you get magnetized after your vaccination? And how long did it last?

Your president is (likely) senile, and our prime minister is a poster boy with delusions of dictatorship. We’re both in trouble.

Especially as we know that people who die of other causes while having Covid are counted as Covid deaths, but the media downplays any deaths following vaccination as ‘unrelated.’

Yeah, we know what you think. Here are the facts. In Alberta, 99.94% of those who caught Covid recovered. The death rate includes anyone who died ‘with’ Covid, including seniors who were actively dying in care homes, heart attack victims, and fentanyl overdoses. So even in conjunction with all these false reports, you still have better than 99.9% chance of surviving Covid. The ‘new’ Delta variant is not more deadly - only more infectious. This follows the traditional expected behavior of viruses. I know a church that chose to meet, and they caught Covid - There were a couple of strains represented, including a variant. Everyone survived - including the seniors. One lady was on oxygen and survived. One 92-year-old fellow spent three weeks in the hospital, but he survived. I caught Covid too. It was a nasty flu - 10 days of exhaustion – but nothing to end society over. And now I have the natural antibodies that will last me a lifetime, better than any - even proven vaccines - ever could. Despite their best propaganda, this “ vaccine” has not been fully proven, it’s still in testing, and has, to date, more combined adverse effects than all other vaccines through all their history combined. You have been brainwashed by the government and media, Bouncing Bill. This is a good place to have that brainwashing challenged.

I agree that an exact date isn’t needed, but there is value to establishing that ‘in the beginning’ Was 6000-ish years ago rather than millions of years.

Wow. Alberta has a few in both of the major cities (whether or not you'd want to go to all of them is another question), but otherwise it's a 2-3 hour drive to get to one.

Your writing style is so hard to follow... The Creator - God - reveals Himself to us in the Bible. When you speak of messengers, I don't know what or who you are speaking of. Many people say they are messengers of God, and that He has revealed special revelation to them, but they are lying false prophets. I would need to know what you define as messengers before I can agree or disagree.

I definitely understand the feeling that church activities are more pointed to families than singles. A lot of churches don't seem to know what to do with older singles! Which is a shame, because the singles are, at least in our church, what keep things going. Let me see... if this particular 38-year-old single were not here, they would need a new organist, alternate pianist, church treasurer, clerk, decorator, gardener, librarian, master organizer, children's ministry helper... "I speak as a man", but the truth is that we need both in a church - singles & families. Both are necessary for the Body to work well. Sometimes I really wish the families would invite me over - they do once in a blue moon, but it is so much easier for them to add one person to a gathering than for me to invite 8 people over! But they are individually welcoming & friendly, and I can go up to pretty much anyone and star t a conversation if I want to (or many will start it with me). And God has given me a couple families that I can pretty much invite myself over anytime I need to see someone. ("He setteth the solitary in families.") What you describe, Corinne - that sounds really nasty and unhealthy. If the churches hold personal purity so loosely, no wonder there are so many affairs! There is something seriously wrong in those assemblies. My experience with attending all services is simply this - there is no better way (in a good church) to grow spiritually and grow together as a church family. No, you don't have to, but when you can, it is beneficial. That being said, what Corinne describes is probably not a church that's going to happen in. I remember you mentioning that church before! I still want to find it.

Okay, now I'm going off topic. I'd be curious where your experience is if you know IFBs that think sexual purity is not a big deal. God says it's a big deal, so it is, and all that I've known are pretty strong on that topic. God also says that He is the creator and definer of life, so your other point is Biblically problematic. That we could have a proper discussion on somewhere else.