Wesley united methodist church bloomington il

I am seeking help with a World Conquest and One Faith, starting as Byzantium. (Note: My recorded playtime is 3,521 hours at the time of posting this, though I consider my "true" (i.e., not AFK) playing time to be ~3,000 hours.) Also, I have played until the end-date of the game at least once (I believe twice).
A TL:DR is at the bottom, and I will credit helpful respondents in a future "success" post in this subreddit if I am able to succeed in this endeavor. (I have previously sought help in a PDX-focused Discord server, but I would prefer to ask here instead). I will respond to replies in about 12 hours after posting this, and I truly appreciate any and all advice that can be provided.
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Specifically, I begin to struggle past ~1550, due to difficulties against the AI in wars. I utilize this spreadsheet of army compositions and unit types, (usually building half or full CW of Artillery around Mil. Tech 14), though battles become difficult for me after ~1550, and I am also often outnumbered against my opponents around this time. (Incidentally, Economic advice would be helpful in this respect, as I am reluctant to take loans due to Interest and Inflation concerns associated with them).
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Overview:

• Idea Groups: Influence + Administrative + Diplomatic + Innovative + Espionage
  • (Justification for lack of Military Idea Groups: Previous unsuccessful attempts utilized Quality + Religious, or Innovative + Offensive, and I overall do not see any of the Military Idea Groups as valuable, including Quantity). I am willing to accept credible arguments justifying taking any number and type of Military Idea Groups.
• Privileges:
  • Clergy
    • Religious State (Retained for the entirety of the game)
    • Clerical Ministers (Retained until ~1500-1520)
    • Expansionist Zealotry (Retained until ~1610)
    • Enforced Unity of Faith (Re-implemented until ~1610 whenever possible)
  • Nobility
    • Primacy of the Nobility (Retained for the entirety of the game)
    • Increased Levies (Recent addition to my attempts, planned to be retained until ~1600, then revoked)
    • Expand the Fortifications (Recent addition to my attempts, planned to be retained until 1550)
    • Monopoly on Livestock (Renewed until ~1610, then revoked)
    • Strong Duchies (Planning to revoke ~1610)
    • Nobility Integration Policy (Planning to revoke ~1610)
  • Burghers
    • Land of Commerce (Issued in ~1500 (I Sell Titles in 1444 after issuing the former two +1 Point privileges)
    • Patronage of the Arts (Retained until ~1530, then revoked)
  • Monopolies
    • Implemented whenever first available (excluding Gems (obtained from Faceting)), and revoked in ~1610 (excluding Textiles, which is revoked in ~1510).
• Government Reforms:
  • T1: Reformed Byzantine Monarchy (Obtained ASAP (generally by ~1465 if the Separatist-occupied provinces are never unseiged, else by ~1480))
  • T2: Compromise with the Nobility (Recent attempt adoption, previous attempts utilized "Curtail Noble Privileges")
  • T3: Decentralized Bureaucracy
  • T4: Curtail Clerical Privileges
  • T5: Sustained Discipline
  • T6: Royal Decree
  • T7: Dynastic Administration
  • T8: Curtail the Burghers
  • T9: "Les Six livres de la République"
  • T10: Regional Representation
  • T11: Political Absolutism
• Economy:
  • Tax: Largely Ignored; Minimal Churches built, excess Admin Power used for developing provinces near Constantinople.
  • Production: Minimal focus; Developing Cloth and Silk when spare Diplomatic Power is available, and building Textile Manufacturies if spare money is available).
  • Trade: Marketplace built only in Constantinople; Centers of Trade upgraded in the Constantinople, Ragusan, Aleppo, and Alexandrian nodes; Protect Trade Edict activated in States containing Centers of Trade.
  • Gold in Kosovo: Developed to 6 Production (I cannot spare enough Diplo and Mil points until at least 1480-90 to develop the province to 10 Production, and by then I am often focused on expansion in Aleppo and Alexandria).

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General Strategy:

• My first ~50 years are an approximate recreation of Zlewikk's strategy, which uses a combination of subjects and truce-resets against the Ottomans and Mamluks, possibly bankrupting each in two wars. (Note: I do not release Bulgaria as a subject, instead letting them become independent via Separatists and full-annexing them).
• By 1510, I also attempt to Transfer Subject Naples at half-cost from Castile to obtain all of Naples at once, and Reconquest their Sicilian cores to improve their Opinion and lower their Liberty Desire. Also, I release Aragon and Reconquest their cores once Spain forms. (In the Neapolitan Reconquest war, I also take Granada for the Alhambra Monument, and I upgrade it when I have spare funds).
• By 1550, I am generally able to control up to the Alexandria and Cairo Areas in the South, most or all of Anatolia (up to the "Reestablish the Theme System" Mission's requirements), Naples and Aragon, and (if Hungary did not keep Ladislaus Posthumous) the "Northern Border" Mission's requirements. I also attempt to utilize Morocco (and possibly Tunis) as Reconquest opportunities.
• I have had mixed results with Dismantling the HRE (some runs fail while attempting this), generally waiting to attempt doing so until after the League War ends (oftentimes, I am at war when the Evangelical Union event fires, and I am unable to join the Protestant League before the war begins.)
  • When successful, this is generally done in ~1580-1600.

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Additional Notes:

• My ultimate goal is to Restore the Roman Empire by approximately 1650-1680, and to complete the World Conquest aspect by 1780-1790 to allow time for conversions.
• I would also like to add "One Tag" and "One [Roman] Culture" aspects to this run, but I would like to wait until restoring the Roman Empire for the new Government Reform's benefits to Culture Conversion Time. (I prioritize "One Tag" first, however).
• I consider Hungary keeping Ladislaus Posthumous to be a "restart" condition (I do not savescum/bird when attempting these runs for additional challenge and out of pride).
• I retain Greek as my Primary Culture for roleplay purposes, though I promote Turkish Culture for faster province conversions.
• I only State the entirety of the Constantinople and Ragusan Trade Node Areas. (I plan to Move my Capital back to Constantinople after it is automatically moved to Rome after Restoring the Roman Empire).

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Challenging Opponent Nations:

• Poland/PLC (Particularly due to the incredible power Poland/PLC possesses with the LotN DLC)
• Austria (Even if they lose the Emperorship to Hesse, etc., they often regain it by 1520-1530, as well as potentially receiving the Burgundian Inheritance).
• France (I abandon attempting to PU them by about 1550 due to perceived time-constraints with Integrating them before 1680).
• Spain (Often allies a strong Portugal, and potentially Austria)
• Portugal (Often allies Spain and England)

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Owned DLC's: Nearly all non-cosmetic/ DLC's (i.e., Unit Packs) and Music Packs. (I am only lacking the "Digital Extreme Edition").
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TL:DR
Difficulties arise in ~1550, due to complications fighting Poland/PLC, Austria, France, Spain, and Portugal. Help likely required in Economic affairs (I have a general knowledge of Trade, which I attempt to utilize, but I generally ignore Production and Taxation). No Military Ideas are taken due to my perceived lack of value in them (I am willing to see credible evidence for their value).

Company Name	Title	City
HCSC	Claims Assistant	Danville
ELITE DENTAL PARTNERS L	DMD	Algonquin
Geode Health	ABA Therapist	Algonquin
UnitedHealth Group	Peer Advocate	Alton
American Mobile Healthcare	Travel RN	Anna
LabCorp	Venipuncturist	Arlington Heights
Verinon Technology Solutions Ltd.	Data Analytics Architect	Arlington Heights
Adecco USA	Batcher	Aurora
Adecco USA	HelloFresh Production Associate	Aurora
Michaels Arts and Crafts	Framing Manager	Aurora
Herrmann Ultrasonics	Global Account Manager	Bartlett
Herrmann Ultrasonics	Business Support Manager	Bartlett
Wintrust Financial	Private Banker	Bartlett
Fermi Research Alliance	Web Coder	Batavia
BJC HealthCare	OB Hospitalist	Belleville
BJC HealthCare	OR Nurse	Belleville
BJC HealthCare	RN	Belleville
Loyola University Health System	Surgery Aide	Berwyn
Loyola University Health System	Cath Lab Technician	Berwyn
Loyola University Health System	RN	Berwyn
Jobot	Diemaker	Bloomingdale
Michaels Arts and Crafts	Store Lead	Bloomingdale
Michaels Arts and Crafts	Framing Manager	Bloomingdale
Shipt	Carryout	Bloomington
Adecco	Site Manager	Bolingbrook

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in il. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Company Name	Title	City
HCSC	Claims Assistant	Danville
ELITE DENTAL PARTNERS L	Hygiene Assistant	Algonquin
ELITE DENTAL PARTNERS L	DMD	Algonquin
UnitedHealth Group	Peer Advocate	Alton
American Mobile Healthcare	Travel RN	Anna
Michaels Arts and Crafts	Framing Manager	Aurora
Adecco USA	Production Worker	Aurora
Triage Services	Travel RN	Barrington
Herrmann Ultrasonics	Business Support Manager	Bartlett
Herrmann Ultrasonics	Global Account Manager	Bartlett
Wintrust Financial	Private Banker	Bartlett
Fermi Research Alliance	Web Coder	Batavia
BJC HealthCare	OR Nurse	Belleville
BJC HealthCare	RN	Belleville
BJC HealthCare	OB Hospitalist	Belleville
Loyola University Health System	Cath Lab Technician	Berwyn
Loyola University Health System	RN	Berwyn
Loyola University Health System	Surgery Aide	Berwyn
Michaels Arts and Crafts	Store Manager	Bloomingdale
Michaels Arts and Crafts	Store Lead	Bloomingdale
Michaels Arts and Crafts	Framing Manager	Bloomingdale
Shipt	Carryout	Bloomington
Adecco	Staffing Executive	Bolingbrook
Adecco	Rep Manager	Bolingbrook
Adecco	Site Manager	Bolingbrook

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in il. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

For anyone in town who's looking for events to enjoy this Memorial Day Weekend and/or ceremonies to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, here's 28 local events you can enjoy and participate in.
1. 2023 Wilderness Road Bike Ride Bisset Park, Radford Saturday, May 27, 2023, 7:00 AM - TBD Youth Up To Age of 17: $40.00, Adults (age 18+): $50.00, Family of 3-5: $120.00 FCA Endurance SW Virginia presents the 32nd Annual Wilderness Road Ride titled "A Gran Fondo" starting and ending at Bisset Park's Shelter #2. The Wilderness Road Ride is a scenic and historical adventure through Southwest Virginia’s beautiful New River Valley, the ride follows part of Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Road. This is a recreational ride for all cycling levels to enjoy, with something for everyone, five routes to choose from ranging from a 26 mile relaxed journey for novices, to a century challenge for the fittest cyclist. This is a great ride for cyclists of all ages and athletic abilities. The start will be a rolling start open from 7:00-8:00 AM. Riders may also gather in front of Bisset Park Shelter #2 at the starting line at a designated time for an optional group start time. Those who sign up for the century and 80 miler must leave no later than 7:30 AM. All pre-registered riders are guaranteed a technical t-shirt and other goodies. ANSI or Snell Certified helmets are required. Riders under 16 must be accompanied by an adult and riders under 8 years old must have permission from the event director. All proceeds will benefit FCA Endurance ministries and missions projects in Southwest Virginia. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707984
2. Used Book Sale Park United Methodist Church, Christiansburg Saturday, May 27, 2023, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Price depends on book(s) purchased. Stop by for some summer reading. Hard cover, paperbacks and children's books will be available for purchase with something for everyone. Proceeds will support Park United Methodist Church's children's missions. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708111
3. Pearisburg Junior Woman's Club Junior Jamboree and Donut Dash Pearisburg Community & Recreation Center, Pearisburg Saturday, May 27, 2023, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Donut Dash: Children: $5.00, Adults: $15.00, Family Pack (2 Adults & Up to 4 Children): $40.00 Junior Jamboree Vendor & Craft Show Admission: Free The Pearisburg Junior Woman’s Club will be hosting the Junior Jamboree starting with the Donut Dash Day at 9:00 AM and the Junior Jamboree Vendor & Craft Show from 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Participants in the Donut Dash will stroll along the park trail with tasty donut stops along the way. They will make their way to the pavilion where gourmet donuts and coffee await along with a prize for each participant. At 11:00 AM, artists, crafters and food trucks will be set up on the lawn and in the gym of the community center. All proceeds from the event will help fund future community service projects through Pearisburg Junior Woman’s Club. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=697325
4. Music at the Villa with Stella Trudel Villa Appalaccia Winery, Floyd Saturday, May 27, 2023, 1:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: Free Relax and enjoy some great music along with great wine and food. Stella Trudel is a singer and songwriter who lives in Floyd, Virginia and winters in Canyon Lake, Texas. She is also the lead singer of the band Cocobolo. She loves to sing from the heart and consciously directs her attention and focus to music to see what will unfold. Kids and well-behaved dogs welcome. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707445
5. Jeff Levy in Concert Chateau Morrisette, Floyd Saturday, May 27, 2023, 1:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: Free Jeff Levy is a real country, old rock, bluegrass, Americana folk and gospel musician from Radford, VA. Food and non-alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase out of the Hut on Saturday and Sunday. Bringing seating is suggested as the tables fill up fast. Note: Music will cancel if there is inclement weather. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707485
6. 2023 Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad Open House Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad, Blacksburg Saturday, May 27, 2023, 1:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: Free The Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad presents their 2023 Open House on Saturday, May 27, 2023. See what we do, be social, have fun and enjoy some free food! Get a tour of Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad's ambulances and see some of the special equipment they carry during their technical rescue demonstrations while enjoying free food, cotton candy and face painting. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708076
7. Dark Blue Paradox and Dan Fox in Concert Buffalo Mountain Brewery, Floyd Saturday, May 27, 2023, 1:00 - 4:00 PM (Dark Blue Paradox) and 6:00 - 9:00 PM (Dan Fox) Admission: Free Buffalo Mountain Brewery presents Dark Blue Paradox in concert from 1:00-4:00 PM and Dan Fox performing from 6:00-9:00 PM. Dark Blue Paradox is an acoustic-electric duo hailing from Richmond, VA. Dan Fox is a singer and songwriter performing primarily acoustic guitar music including many favorites and originals from a wide variety of genres including folk, rock, country and Americana. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707884
8. Shawsville Ruritans 75th Anniversary Celebration and Ice Cream Social Meadowbrook Center, Shawsville Saturday, May 27, 2023, 2:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: Free The Shawsville Ruritan Club and Meadowbrook Museum presents the Shawsville Ruritan Club's 75th Anniversary Celebration and Ice Cream Social. In addition to free ice cream (complete with toppings), the celebration will feature a "Shawsville Ruritans Through the Years" exhibit curated by the Meadowbrook Museum and music from 1948 and the surrounding period. The Shawsville Ruritan Club was chartered in 1948, making it one of the oldest clubs in the nation. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708095
9. 2023 Youth Film Festival Lyric Theatre, Blacksburg Saturday, May 27, 2023, 2:00 - 3:30 PM Admission: Free Support young filmmakers, both international and local, as The Lyric showcases their films to the New River Valley. Admission is free with a free complimentary popcorn. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708100
10. Ash Devine in Concert Moon Hollow Brewing, Blacksburg Saturday, May 27, 2023, 4:00 - 6:30 PM Admission: Free Award winning songwriter, folk rock musician, caring clown Ash Devine is based the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville North Carolina. Ash Devine’s folk Fusion style gleans sounds of Appalachian traditional folk, Americana-pop and classic rock. Ash Devine is an accomplished instrumentalist on finger-style and flat pick style guitar and innovative original ukulele picking style. Her breathy and rich vocals are captivating and cathartic, reminiscent of Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young. Ash’s stage presence is dynamic, charismatic and steeped in audience connection and participation. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708091
11. The Salt Pond Pub Summer Kick-Off Party Mountain Lake Lodge, Pembroke Saturday, May 27, 2023, 5:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Celebrate Summer at Mountain Lake Lodge and kick-off Memorial Day Weekend. Enjoy good food, live music from The Untrained Professionals, giveaways, and more. The Untrained Professionals are an acoustic music duo featuring Clinton Scott and Chris Huddle. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=697573
12. High Country Grass in Concert Wildwood Farms General Store, Floyd Saturday, May 27, 2023, 5:00 - 7:00 PM Admission: Free High Country Grass is a bluegrass band that was established in 2014 by founder Charles McMillian. The kitchen will be open until 6:00 PM with a limited menu. The concert will be held inside. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708114
13. Blue Phoenix in Concert Rising Silo Farm Brewery, Blacksburg Saturday, May 27, 2023, 6:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Blue Phoenix is a vibrant band based in Blacksburg, VA that brings together a powerhouse of talented musicians that take you on a musical journey that transcends genres and ignites your soul. From blues to classic rock, americana to jazz, and folk to country, Blue Phoenix masterfully blends these styles to create a unique sound that will keep you grooving all night long. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707873
14. Old Time Dance with The Crooked Road Ramblers Floyd Country Store, Floyd Saturday, May 27, 2023, 7:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: $12.00 The Crooked Road Ramblers are an old-time band from Southwest Virginia, steeped in the traditional music of the Blue Ridge. They have played at the Carter Family Fold, the Wayne Henderson Festival, HoustonFest, The Floyd Country Store & many other venues across Virginia and North Carolina. They have won 1st place in the old-time band category at the Ashe County, Alleghany County, Laurel Bloomery, Fries & Union Grove Fiddlers Convention in addition to a 2nd place finish at the Galax Fiddlers convention. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708079
15. Ian Vest in Concert The Mason Jar at Claytor Lake, Dublin Saturday, May 27, 2023, 7:30 - 10:30 PM Admission: Free Ian Vest is a Southwestern Virginia native, born and raised in rural Floyd County. Music has been his passion from a very young age: singing, learning to play several instruments, and performing in churches. Ian has a throwback style of country music that is reminiscent of those like George Strait and Randy Travis. His original songs are heavily influenced by the experiences in his life, faith in God, family, and pride of country. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707515
16. Timewave Zero in Concert Dogtown Roadhouse, Floyd Saturday, May 27, 2023, 8:00 - 11:00 PM Admission: $8.00 This group of all-star musicians hail from the New River Valley, up in the spine of the Appalachians where rock and blues meet to jam, where the mountains meet the sky and raise your spirits high, where psychedelic funk punch is just what’s for breakfast. Timewave Zero music drives crowds straight into the heart of the singularity connect today. With a band name inspired by Terrence Mckenna's i-Ching mathematics and eschatological explorations, TW0 is always at the ready for a live dance music adventure. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=697283
17. A Tribute To The Band's "The Last Waltz" Square 5 Public House, Blacksburg Saturday, May 27, 2023, 8:00 - 11:00 PM Admission: Free Enjoy an evening of music from The Band and their historic 1976 farewell concert "The Last Waltz" featuring an all-star lineup of New River Valley musicians. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708092
18. Lost In Taste Cosmic Comedy Club Lost In Taste, Christiansburg Saturday, May 27, 2023, 9:30 - 11:30 PM Admission: $5.00 Enjoy a night of comedy hosted by Aayush Patodiya with featured comedians Andrew Gustafon, Katherine Rogue and Jordan B. and introducing comedians Garrett Brumfield and Taylor Reschka. For ages 18 and up. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708093
19. Sunday Mountain Music Series Kickoff with Ash Devine Mountain Lake Lodge, Pembroke Sunday, May 28, 2023, 4:00 - 6:00 PM Admission: Free Stop by Salt Pond Pub every Sunday starting Memorial Day weekend through Sunday, August 20th for live music and delicious food and drinks. Perfect for relaxing with the whole family (furry friends too). Award winning songwriter, folk rock musician, caring clown Ash Devine is based the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville North Carolina. Ash Devine’s folk Fusion style gleans sounds of Appalachian traditional folk, Americana-pop and classic rock. Ash Devine is an accomplished instrumentalist on finger-style and flat pick style guitar and innovative original ukulele picking style. Her breathy and rich vocals are captivating and cathartic, reminiscent of Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young. Ash’s stage presence is dynamic, charismatic and steeped in audience connection and participation. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=697572
20. The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs in Concert Palisades Restaurant, Eggleston Sunday, May 28, 2023, 5:00 - 7:30 PM Admission: Free The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs are a folk(ish)/Americana group hailing from Winston-Salem, NC. Their influences range from Neil Young to Regina Spektor. Blending their unique musical sensibilities, the band seeks to craft an entertaining experience that has a little something for everyone. Reservations are not required, but recommended for dining area seating. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707368
21. 2023 The Murph Workout Challenge Blacksburg Fit Body Bootcamp, Blacksburg Monday, May 29, 2023, 8:00 - 9:30 AM Admission: Free Blacksburg Fit Body Boot Camp is an official host location of The Murph. The Murph is a challenging workout that builds confidence, camaraderie, and honor to all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice serving our country. Participants can participate in one of three options, the Full Murph, the Full Murph (scaled), or the Half Murph. This workout is about challenging yourself. You can modify the movements however you need to and break apart the total reps in several sets. There is no set time to finish, just the goal to finish. The Full Murph usually takes about one hour and the Half Murph about 30 minutes. Donations will be accepted to benefit the Murph foundation. This year, Blacksburg Fit Body Bootcamp will also be hosting a Kids Lil' Murh at 10:00 AM, open to all ages. The Lil Murph will be a 0.1 mile run, 10 push ups, 20 mountain climbers, 40 body weight squats, followed by another 0.1 mile run. Parents are welcome to participate alongside their child. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708113
22. 2023 Jimmyfest Memorial Day Cruise-In & Cook Out Jones Car Company, Shawsville Monday, May 29, 2023, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Admission: Free Jones Car Company presents the 2nd Annual Jimmyfest Memorial Day Cruise-In and Cook Out to celebrate the life of James "Jimmy" Buriak. Classic cruisers, muscle cars, off road SUVs, lifted trucks, euro specialties, and everything in between is welcome. No entry fees or awards, this is just for fun. Jones Car Company will be providing free hot dogs, chips and non-alcoholic beverages. Donations will be gladly accepted for the AWS1 James Buriak Foundation. AWS1 James "Jimmy" Philip Buriak, USN, died 31 August 2021 in a Naval helicopter crash on the coast of San Diego, where he served as a naval aircrewman rescue swimmer (AWS) with HSC-8. The legacy of a hero is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example. This foundation was created in the wake of Jimmy’s death as a way to honor him and his memory, but also keep his purpose alive – to help others. Jimmy was a Salem High School graduate. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708096
23. 2023 Memorial Day Ceremony Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery, Dublin Monday, May 29, 2023, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Admission: Free The public is invited and encouraged to attend this tribute to honor and remember the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to our Nation. The keynote speaker for the ceremony will be former Chief Master Sergeant of the US Air Force, Rodney McKinley (US Air Force, Retired). Members of the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery Volunteers will place American flags on all graves prior to the ceremony. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708098
24. 2023 Radford Memorial Day Program Bisset Park, Radford Monday, May 29, 2023, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Admission: Free Radford VFW Post 776, American Legion Post 30, the NRV Marine Corps League, the Dublin-Radford Ruritan Club, the Radford News Journal, WRAD AM1460, and WPSK 107.1 presents the 2023 Radford Memorial Day Program. The ceremony includes a speech by the Radford Army Ammunition Plant Commander, a 21-gun salute and music. The Master of Ceremonies is Dana Jackson, the past Commander of American Legion Post 30. The program will serve to remember the veterans of all wars who have sacrificed to serve our country and also the families who have lost loved ones because of those sacrifices. The ceremony will be broadcast on radio across the WRAD Talk Network (101.7 103.5 and 1460 am) as well as streaming live. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708103
25. 2023 Memorial Day Cruise In and Car Show Narrows Fire Department, Narrows Monday, May 29, 2023, 12:00 - 3:00 PM Admission: Free The Narrows Memorial Day Committee presents the 2023 Memorial Day Cruise In and Car Show in the fire department parking lot. Vehicles of all types are welcome and will be on display. There will be a 50/50 raffle and food will be available for purchase. All vehicles are welcome and there is no entry fee for your vehicle to be included. Dash Plagues will be provided by Newberry Ford. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708101
26. Dedication Ceremony for the Field of Honor Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery, Radford Monday, May 29, 2023, 2:00 - 3:00 PM Admission: Free The Radford Noon Rotary Club presents the Dedication Ceremony for the Field of Honor on the grounds of Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery. The event will be the official start of the Field of Honor display of American flags sponsored to honor heroes of all types from service members to individuals who have made an impact on someone’s life. The ceremony will include remarks from multiple members of the community. Master of Ceremonies Dr. Richard Harshberger will lead the program, which will include Mayor David Horton, Radford VFW Commander Gary Harris, Grace Episcopal Church Rector William Yagel, and Virginia Delegate Jason Ballard. A 21-gun salute will be provided by the Dublin American Legion Post 58. The Field of Honor is comprised of flags sponsored by members of the community, and the proceeds will benefit 14 organizations. Those groups include the Radford University Scholarships for Students from Radford High School, Vittles for Vets, the Women’s Resource Center, Beans and Rice and the Glencoe Mansion. The Field of Honor display will be on display from Memorial Day through the 4th of July. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708097
27. Music Road Co Trio in Concert Rock House Marina, Pulaski Monday, May 29, 2023, 2:00 - 5:00 PM Admission: Free Rock House Marina concludes their four-day 2023 Claytor Lake Music Festival featuring the Music Road Co. trio. Music Road Company is a Floyd, VA based band that plays a great music featuring elements of rock, funk, reggae and fun for your dancing and listening pleasure designed to groove and move you. Food will be available for purchase. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707887
28. 2023 Narrows Memorial Day Parade Downtown Narrows, Narrows Monday, May 29, 2023, 3:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: Free The annual Memorial Day Parade will feature floats, bands, cars, trucks, bikes, military & emergency vehicles and more. Following the parade, there will be a Hero's Dinners for all local doctors, nurses, EMTs, fire, rescue, veterans and active duty personnel / members and their families. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=708102
Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

EDIT: Wow, y'all are good!!! I think this has been, amazingly enough, solved! I'm not sure how I've always missed Culloden, GA on my previous searches of small town names in Georgia but after clicking through Google Street View, I'm comfortably certain it's the place!
I might have been misremembering the denomination of the church we passed (it seems to be Methodist, not Presbyterian, although someone pointed out that they have been known to merge sometimes so perhaps it was a Presbyterian church in the 90s?), as well as a few other details (blame my little kid brain). But everything looks right and aligns with the images I've had in my head of the place for almost 2 decades now.
I can't believe this mystery has been solved after so long. I'm gonna wait to tell my partner - her birthday is coming up and this will be an unforgettable birthday present!
Thank you all so much!
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Hello, RBI! I'm hoping you might be able to help me solve a mystery that's plagued me for years, and is now plaguing my partner since I shared it with her.
So, when I was a kid, my mom was obsessed with HGTV and home remodeling stuff. In one of the many magazines on the subject that she was constantly buying and then leaving around to collect dust while she called them "inspiration," she read about a contest to win a home, as-is, in a town in Georgia called Culdony. To enter the contest, you had to write a certain amount of words about why you wanted the house. We lived in north Florida, only a few hours from Culdony, according to my mom's approximation based on maps she read, so my mom decided to make a day trip out of it so she could answer honestly, and she took me along. I must have been about 7 years old, so this was probably around 1995-1996.
Quick sidebar that will be important later: As this trip was planned a few weeks in advance, I wrote on my big stupid wall calendar about the upcoming trip. I originally misspelled it as Culbony, and had to fix it, and repeated the correct name in my head a million times. It was thoroughly drilled in there. I know the town name was Culdony.
Anyway, we got a late start to the road trip and ended up rolling into town around...oh, I would say exactly 4:53pm. When I say Culdony was small, I mean it took up about 6 blocks? Or, like, maybe a square mile? In total. There was 1 church (Presbyterian - this was noted by both my mom and I out loud bc we were surprised it wasn't a Baptist church considering the area), an auto repair shop right at the entrance to town, and a few short streets of houses. That's it. The house from the contest itself was painted dusky pink and just about condemned. I vividly remember a window A/C unit hanging out of the window, dangling by the cord. The lawn was curiously well-maintained but the house was awful. My mom took a long look and decided she didn't want the house after all and we turned around to leave.
The reason I know it was probably 4:53 exactly when we got there was because on our way out, we stopped at a payphone (this was like 1996) across the street from the car repair shop so my mom could call my grandma and let her know what happened, and we turned out backs to the shop to make the call. It was a short conversation, lots of laughter, a "typical family trip" quip, and a "hey, at least this makes a good story" line that has haunted me with its truth for decades. It maybe lasted 2 minutes total. When we hung up and turned back around, the shop was completely closed. Garage doors down, lights off, no owner or employee cars in sight. We looked at the clock in the car. It was now 5:01pm. Evidently closing time means CLOSING TIME in Culdony, Georgia.
Here comes the mystery: we left and joked about how bizarre the town was for the drive home, and then it was pretty much forgotten. I remembered the whole experience when I was about 20, at which point Google existed, and I was curious about the town because it was just such a strange experience, and I Googled it.
Y'all, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I used every form of search terms I could think of. I tried more general ones like "small towns georgia" and "locations georgia by population." I even tried spelling it the way I misspelled it on my wall calendar. Every couple of years I try searching again. I've read every list of small, unincorporated, and/or ghost towns in Georgia at least 10 times over. I remain desperate for any mention of Culdony, or any name that could even begin to resemble Culdony. There is NOTHING. It's easy enough to believe this town doesn't exist anymore - it barely existed when I was 7 - but for there to be no record of it EVER existing? There is no reasonable explanation for this I can think of.
It's also not just me remembering this. I've had conversations in recent years with my mom about this and she remembers everything I do (including the name) and then some. She had no potential answer for why there's no record of the town ever existing though.
Personally I'm fine with an answer like, Idk, we crossed into a liminal plane or something. But even if I accept an answer like that, I can't make sense of the magazine that led us there.
I've since shared this story with my partner and she seems more plagued by it than I do, absolutely unable to accept the lack of answers. So for both our sakes, but mostly hers tbh, I'm humbly asking for your help to find out if this town ever actually existed, and if it existed when I would have visited, or did my mom and I just stumble into a liminal space or another dimension or something so long ago. Any help at all one way or another would be so greatly appreciated, you have no idea.

Juneteenth Faith-Centered Juneteenth Celebration Planned for June 19 GREENVILLE, S.C. On Monday, June 19, a Juneteenth Celebration for the entire community will take place at the historic Mattoon Presbyterian Church located at 415 Hampton Avenue. The theme of this year’s Juneteenth Celebration is: “When I Liberate Myself, I Help Liberate Others…” These words are taken from the Civil Rights champion, Freedom fighter and Womanist warrior Fannie Lou Hamer. This family friendly event welcomes all to attend. Performances will include the rhythms of the African Drum Circle of Poe Mill Achievement Center (PMAC), gospel messaging and music from the Sounds of Destiny Choir of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, freedom songs provided by TJ Edwards and Jazzy Trinity Band, verse from Upstate Spoken Word artist Disember Rose, and the sounds of Negro Spirituals, Minister Michael Frayer. A bouncy house, face painting, a storyteller along with arts and crafts for children will also be available throughout the event. Food trucks will be available. The day's celebration will culminate with Courageous Conversationz©, a two-hour facilitated dialogue and discussion about race and racism coordinated by the Speaking Down Barriers Team, whose mission is, “Equity for All.” Last year’s powerful dialogue and discussion began with a question: When did you become race conscious? This year’s discussion will go deeper and explore: What is Liberation? How do I Liberate myself? What does Community Liberation look like and How can I help? “We’re excited to acknowledge and embrace the history of the ancestors together with the beloved community through our Juneteenth Celebration,” said Rev. Dr. Lerone Wilder of Mattoon Presbyterian Church. “The vision and values of the ancestors align with those of Mattoon of educating, empowering, engaging and equipping the beloved community in meaningful conversationz to end systemic racism in Greenville.” Mattoon Presbyterian Church Juneteenth Celebration 2023 Schedule Expo/Info 4 - 6 p.m.Food Trucks 4 - 8 p.m.TJ Edwards and Jazzy Trinity Band 4 - 5:30 p.m. Opening CeremonyLand Acknowledgement & Libation 5:30 - 5:45 p.m.Welcome & HistoryPMAC African Drum Circle
St. Mark’s Sounds of Destiny Choir 5:45 - 6 p.m.Spoken Word Artist, Desimber RoseMinister Michael Frayer Bouncy House 6 - 8 p.m.Story TellingFace PaintingArts and Crafts Courageous Conversationz© 6 - 8 p.m. Closing Ceremony 8:15 - 8:30 p.m. The event is free of charge to attend. Donations to historic Mattoon Presbyterian Church will be accepted. For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/juneteenth-celebration-tickets-640738695687.

I want to start out by saying that the testimony I want to give is one that is filled with a lot of harsh events and struggles. I think that most of them are that way, where mine differs from many of the ones I have heard here is that during my struggles I questioned the inner workings of the mind of God. I am sure that at some point I stopped believing and I am sure that at some point I questioned whether God can truly be benevolent if he allows suffering in the world and if he is benevolent then surely he would not be omnipotent as a being who is both would do everything possible to stop suffering of any form. I think that honestly God allows suffering not for his sake but for ours.
One of the many things that Christians especially boomer Christians hate is video games. Oddly enough it is through video games that I started allowing myself to form a relationship with God throughout the suffering that I have experienced. In the video game The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim there is a dragon who asks, "Is it better to have been born good or to overcome your nature through effort." And I think that this question is certainly an answer to the problem of evil. Let me explain, if God had made us sinless would we know to appreciate our sinless nature? God however made us capable of sin. Let me put in a way that conservatives in this country would understand, is it seen as better to have been born rich or to have worked your way from poverty to riches beyond what any average person could ever hope to achieve.
Humans love melodrama, we crave it this is why movies that follow a redemption arc are very popular in this country. I don't watch a lot of movies but like I said I play a lot of video games. The greatest piece of video game media ever created is Red Dead Redemption 2, any other opinions can be discarded. Not even accounting for the excellent game play, the story alone makes this game worthy of being archived in the Library of Congress. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game about a man named Arthur Morgan and the gang of outlaws he is a part of. I am not going to spoil most of the game but I will give somewhat of a synopsis. Arthur is tasked with collecting a debt for a gang member who loaned money to a farmer. When Arthur goes to collect the debt, the man who borrowed the money appears to be very sick. Arthur beats the man as he tries to collect the debt and in the process he develops TB. He then goes through a redemption where he questions his actions as an outlaw and has to come to terms with the fact that he has committed many evil acts. He even has a conversation with a Catholic Nun where he tells her that he is scared. The Nun previously having interacted with him where he helped others tells him that everyone is a sinner.
This is very much in line with what the New Testament tells us about the nature of humanity. Redemption is the overarching theme in the Bible. Reflecting on the sin you have committed, deciding to ask for forgiveness, and making great efforts to change from your ways. No one here on Earth will ever be free from sin, that is something that is not possible. God teaches us that there is a path to redeem yourself for the sin you commit. Many cultures and religions have the same message, in Christianity this is reflected in Baptism where you give your life to Jesus and do your best effort to improve as a human being and reduce the sin you commit.
With this context out of the way, this is my story. I was born in a small city in the year 1996, I grew up with my mom who was a single mother and an undocumented immigrant in the United States. My father was out of the picture by his own free will and it wasn't really until I was four that my mom and I had our own place to live. At around the ages of 6 or 7 I was sexually abused and molested by an older female cousin. Ironically she stopped because she said she felt God was punishing her by not allowing her to have a CD player for what she was doing to me. Never say God doesn't do anything for you. Guy had my back on this. At age 15 I was starting to reflect on what happened to me as a child and it made me severely depressed, I attempted suicide but it failed as I underestimated how many pills I had to take to actually end my life. All it did was make me fall asleep and while I was asleep I felt that a friend of mine reached out to me and told me that everything was going to be okay. This was a female friend of mine that I had met in the 8th grade a year earlier. I had a crush on this friend and I made the terrible decision to tell her about the abuse, the attempt, and to ask her out all at once. Rightfully she did not take it well and told the school counselor about what I had shared with her. I was then talked to about what I had told my friend and due to mandated reporter laws the counselor had the legal obligation to report it to the police. I was sent to a psychiatric hospital and I was in and out of those hospitals throughout 2012 - 2013. I was admitted perhaps somewhere close to 19 times in that period.
I had to transfer to a remedial school where I did packets to earn high school credits and eventually graduate. I actually started feeling better after a school trip to Colorado where I worked on a ranch with classmates. I made a very good friend there and I even went to prom the following year with some of the friends I made during that trip. In 2014 I got a job working for a transportation company that was owned by a brother from church. I did not graduate until I was 20 years old in 2016, my mother was not able to find work and I took it upon myself to financially support us through those years. I was baptized on July 9, 2016 in Bakersfield, CA in an Apostolic Christian church. I honestly feel that doing that was a mistake as I was mostly doing it to appease my mother and not really because I felt I was ready to do so. My mom wanted me to go to college and one of her friends who is also a sister from the church also tried encouraging me to do so. So I did, I applied to a community college and I was working full time and going to school full time because the college had a program where you took two classes at once for 8 weeks after working ours and then completed 2 classes in the 8 weeks that follow. This proved to be another mistake as the stress from doing both full time was too much for me to handle.
Around 2017 in January I wanted to become a part of the youth group at church and help bring youth into the church. I spoke with a brother who was helping to lead, and I told him about my wishes to help. I explained to him that I felt that we need to introduce and slowly drip feed the tenets of Christianity to youth and not try to go all in on evangelizing and teaching. I said that we should have secular activities and events to bring youth to the church in the first place and through example we would show them that Christianity is a possible and morally good way of life to lead. He did not take this well, he said that secular things were demonic and diabolical and that they are not compatible with the church. He told me that if I wanted to join the leadership I would have to destroy all aspects of my life that were secular which would include destroying my music, video games, and wrestling merchandise. At this point in time I did not know it but I was in a manic episode. I had undiagnosed schizo-affective disorder. Schizo-affective disorder is when you have Schizophrenia and a mood disorder, in this case it was Bipolar disorder. I spoke to my mom and a brother from the church who I had worked under for several years in the audio visual team about what happened. They told me that I should not follow that advice and that it was destructive. I felt betrayed by the brother who told me to destroy, I opened up my views to him and I had also told him about the abuse and the friend from high school. I made a video that had me telling what the brother had done to me where I was crying and I uploaded it to Facebook. A brother from a sister church contacted me about it, I had known him from when I was a kid and I very much looked up to him. He asked me if I would take down the video and have a conversation with him about what had happened. I complied and he told me that I could go visit him when I had the opportunity to do so. I believe that (if I haven't deleted it) there is even a post made by me on this sub asking how we can bring more youth in.
At this time my Dad's wife had contacted me and asked me if I wanted to go visit them in another state. I took her up on the offer and traveled over there. While I was there I was spending and maxing out all my credit cards I even got engaged to a stripper while I was there as well. I got the ring back and got my money back as well. I thought that I had gotten a legitimate job working for a medical device company that conveniently wanted to open up offices in the city my dad lived in. It was actually a scam where they sent me a check to deposit in my account and use the money to buy gift cards that they claimed would be used to buy equipment for the company. The check didn't clear right away so I offered to purchase the cards with my credit cards to help the company out. During this time I was still experiencing mania. Eventually I took a plane headed to Atlanta, GA with the final destination being Chicago, IL where I was to meet my boss. On the flight to GA when I was getting off the plane I lost my wallet and a phone. I tried going back to the plane to get them but I was told that I could not go back to the plane. I had a meltdown at the airport and a police officer took me to Grady Hospital in Atlanta. I did not know where I was at first and did not realize that I was at a psychiatric facility. I got out 2 weeks later and had a plane ticket back to my hometown. From 2017 until now I was just wandering, I would get a job and lose it just as fast as I got it.
In 2023 I moved from my state to Indiana where a friend had offered to rent me a room in her home. When I got there she told me that my responsibilities were to get work, keep my room clean, and take care of my dog. It ended up not working out because she believed that I was not doing enough chores even though I was cleaning almost every day. She claimed that I never walked my dog even though I had lost around 40 pounds while I was there. When I got back to my hometown my mom asked that I give my dog up to adoption because she wanted the studio we lived in to be cleaner. I lost my dog that I raised from a puppy to the age of 9. 9 years of my life lost over a mistake of trying to improve my life and become independent. This was a common theme in my life, trying to improve and then being handed a rotten apple. Throughout all this I knew that deep down in my heart I still loved God. It wasn't until May of 2023 that I came to reflect on my beliefs and tell God I was sorry for the sins I had done. Ultimately I now believe that God allowed me to experience these events so that I can grow as a person and through effort become a good person and be saved.

The First Epistle of John  
“The unknown elder writes at some time during the first decade of the second century to churches in the Roman province of Asia… assuming acquaintance on the part of his readers with the Fourth Gospel or its type of Christianity.” (Wilder, 1955, TIB p. XII 21)ⁱ  
“‘That the design of this epistle was to combat the doctrine delivered by certain false teachers appears from chap. [chapter] ii. 18-26, iii. 7, iv. 1-3. and what this false doctrine was may be inferred from the counter doctrine delivered by St. John, ch. [chapter] v. [verse] 1-6. The apostle here asserts that ‘Jesus is the Christ,’ and that he was the Christ “not by water only, but by water and blood.” Now these words, which are not in themselves very intelligible, become perfectly clear, if we consider them as opposed to the doctrine of Cerinthus, who asserted that Jesus was by birth a mere man; but that the ᴁon, Christ, descended on him at his baptism, and left him before his death… A proposition can never be completely understood, unless we know the author’s design in delivering it.
…
In some places, especially ch. iv. 2, 3, St. John opposes false teachers of another description, namely, those who denied that Christ was come in the flesh. Now, they who denied this were not Cerinthians, but another kind of Gnostics, called Docetes. For as, on the one hand, Cerinthus maintained that Jesus was a mere, and therefore, real man, the Docetes, on the other hand, contended, that he was an incorporeal phantom, in which the ᴁon, Christ, or divine nature, presented itself to mankind, ch. i. 1. “Our hands have handled,” appears likewise to be opposed to this error of the Docetes.’ [Michaelis¹ ]” (Clarke, 1831, pp. VI 853-858)  
“The decisive argument against making I John early lies in the community setting which it presupposes. The Fourth Gospel addresses itself to the challenges posed by Judaism and others outside Johannine circles who have rejected the community’s vision of Jesus as preexistent Son, sent by the Father. The epistles [John I, II, and III] describe the fracturing of the Johannine community itself.
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If the emphases of 1 John are a clue to the dissident views, then they seem to have held to a soteriology that proclaimed the believer sinless and rendered any representation of the death of Jesus as sacrifice useless.” (Perkins, 1990, TNJBC pp. 987-988)ⁱⁱ  
“However it stands today as regards the question of the authorship of these epistles, their appeal will continue to rest on the simplicity of their testimony that God is love and that love is the test of religion.
…
Contents and Occasion  
The view proposed in the present Introduction and Exegesis is that the three epistles have a common author and illuminate each other.
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Epistolary Form and Style  
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There are no concrete indications of the identity of the author or the recipients.
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We find here a special form of the hortatory or ‘paraenetic’ style… the writer has his own locutions which give a peculiar stamp to the work.
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… a demonstrative is given first place in a sentence, looking forward to its definition or explanation usually after some particle or conjunction… This is one of the features which by its frequency distinguishes the style of the epistle from that of the Gospel of John…. He also ‘uses the conditional sentence in a variety of rhetorical figures which are unknown to the gospel.’”² (Wilder, 1955, TIB pp. XII 209-212)  
“In the Latin version it was formerly called The Epistle of St. John to the Parthians; and this title was adopted by some of the ancient fathers; and in modern times has been defended by Grotius^3. But if St. John had intended this epistle for the use of the Parthians, he would hardly have written it in Greek, but would have use either the language of the country, or, if he was unacquainted with it, would have written at least in Syriac, which was the language of the learned in the Parthian empire, and especially of the Christians. We know from the history of Manes^4, that even the learned in that country were, for the most part, unacquainted with the Greek language; for to Manes, though he united literature with genius, his adversaries objected that he understood only the barbarous Syriac. That a Grecian book would not have been understood in the Parthian empire, appears from what Josephus says in the preface to his history of the Jewish war, where he declares, that work intended for Parthian Jews must be written not in Greek, but Hebrew….I would rather suppose, therefore, that the frequent use in this epistle of the words ‘light’ and ‘darkness,’ which occur in the Persian philosophy, and on the same occasions as those on which St. John has used them, gave rise to the opinion that St. John wrote it with a view of correcting the abuses of the Persian philosophy; whence it was inferred that he designed it for the use of the Christians in the Parthian empire. That St. John really designed his epistle as a warning to those Christians who were in danger of being infected with Zoroastrian principles is very probable, though the language of the epistle will not permit us to place St. John’s readers in a country to the east of the Euphrates.
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It is … highly probable that the whole epistle, which in various places discovers an opposition to false teachers, was written against Cerinthians^5, or at least against Gnostics and Magi.
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In the first chapter, the four first verses are opposed to the following assertion of the Gnostics: ‘that the apostles did not deliver the doctrine of Jesus as they had received it, but made additions to it, especially in the commandments… … It was consistent with their principles to regard sins as diseases: for they believed in metempsychosis, and imagined that the souls of men were confined in their present bodies as in a prison, as a punishment for having offended in the region above. According to this system the violent and irregular passions of anger, hatred, &c. were tortures for the soul; they were diseases, but not punishable transgressions of the law. … I believe … that the brotherly love of which St. John speaks, in the third chapter of this epistle, is not confined to that special love which we owe to those who are allied to us by religion; but denotes the love of our neighbor in general. Nor do I except even the 16th verse, where some think that St. John would require too much, if he meant brotherly love in general, or charity toward all men. But are there not certain cases in which it is our duty to hazard, and even sacrifice our lives, in order to rescue our neighbor? Is not this duty performed by the soldier? … it was St. John’s design … to argue from the acknowledgment of this duty, in certain cases, to the necessity of performing the less painful duty of supporting our brethren in distress, by a participation of our temporal possessions. … Dr. Macknight … ‘The authenticity of any ancient writing is established, first, by the testimony of contemporary and succeeding authors, whose works have come down to us; and who speak of that writing as known to be the work of the person whose name it bears. Secondly by the suitableness of the things contained in such writing, to the character and circumstances of its supposed author; and by the similarity of its style to the style of the other acknowledged writings of that author. The former of these proofs is called the external evidence of the authenticity of a writing; the latter, its internal evidence. … On the controverted text of the three heavenly witnesses⁶ I have said [see notes on 5:7 below] what truth, and a deep and thorough examination of the subject, has obligated me to say. I am satisfied that it is not genuine…” (Clarke, 1831, p. VI 853)ⁱⁱⁱ  
“Background  
In contrast with the Gospel the epistle has almost no allusion to the Old Testament and lack evidence of Semitic style. It reflects more directly than John a Hellenistic milieu; see, e.g. [for example], the term ‘anointing’ (χρισμα [khrisma] 2:27; etc.), and the sacramental idea that God’s ‘seed’ (σπερμα [sperma] 3:10) makes the believer sinless, as well as the dualism which it shares with the Gospel. This Hellenistic background is not Greek, properly speaking, but Oriental-Gnostic. We have sufficient evidence of a religious outlook in the East neither Jewish nor Greek, though influencing both, to which the new faith early accommodated its message in ways quite distinct from Jewish Christianity or Paulinism. This outlook had its own prophets, its own conception of salvation, and its own oracular poetic forms. These religious conceptions had deep roots in a long past for multitudes of men. They answered to certain perennial needs of the soul more satisfyingly at various points than the Jewish terms in which the gospel was first formulated. This world view, with its contrasts of light and darkness, life and death, truth and error, was more philosophically appealing, and its story of the redeemer or light-bringer was familiar often in grandiose and moving formulation, associated with rites of baptism and with oracular discourse and hymns. Christianity in this atmosphere took on a kindred expression, and within the church teachers arose who espoused ambiguous forms of the gospel, often of a dangerous character.  
For men of this background the Jewish idea of creation was inadequate to account for the world. Things arose through generation or emanation from God in a long series, and the world was separated from him by a radical alienation. The soul, though of divine origin, was a prisoner here in a domain of darkness, and could be saved only by a revealer who descends from the world of light and ushers it into eternal life. When such conceptions found their way into Christianity there was danger especially at two points. God’s final sovereignty over the world as a whole was depreciated and his final purpose in history was lost sight of. Moreover, the salvation of the soul made too little of the ethical factor in either God or man. Thus several supreme achievements of the Old Testament were forfeited. Particularly uncongenial to men of his background were the conceptions of the resurrection.  
The exaggerated dualism of this outlook also had as its consequence the conviction that the divine redeemer in descending to earth could not be thought of as subjecting himself to a real embodiment in the flesh or to the humiliation of suffering in the body. Thus there were Christian teachers who denied that Christ was really born as a man and died on the Cross; he only seemed to do so. Hence they are spoken of as the Docetists (‘Seemists’). Jesus was not to be identified with Christ. A common view was that Christ’s divine nature came upon him at his baptism and left him just before his passion…It represented often a well-meant attempt to safeguard the incarnation on the Godward side but it emptied the mission of Christ of its essential element. Thus we can appreciate the vehement repudiation of the Docetists in our epistle.
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Message and Doctrine
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In the light of the Fourth Gospel we can see that our epistle connects victory over the prince of this world with the death of Christ without special emphasis on or mention here of his resurrection (3:8; 4:4; cf. [compare with] John 122:21-21). Thus the errors of the Gnostic Christians arising from their dualistic world view are corrected, while much of their outlook and language is shared.” (Wilder, 1955, pp. XII 213-214)   FOOTNOTES  
¹ Johann David Michaelis (February 27, 1717 Halle, Saxony-Anhalt – August 22, 1791 Göttingen), a famous and eloquent German biblical scholar and teacher, was a member of a family which had the chief part in maintaining that solid discipline in Hebrew and the cognate languages which distinguished the University of Halle in the period of Pietism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_David_Michaelis  
² C. H. Dodd, “The First Epistle of John and the Fourth Gospel,” Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, XXI (1937)  
³ Hugo Grotius (… 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645) worked as a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law. He was also a philosopher, theologian, Christian apologist, playwright, and poet. Wikipedia  
⁴ “The origin of Manicheism is involved in obscurity, Greek and Arabian writers on the subject differing in their accounts. The Greek account is derived from the acts of a disputation said to have been held by Archelaus, bishop of Cascar in Mesopotamia, with Manes, the founder of this sect. The earliest authentic notice we have of Manes is that of Eusebius where he is described as a barbarian in life, both in speech and conduct, who attempted to form himself into a Christ and also proclaimed himself to be the very Paraclete or the Holy Spirit. Then, as if he were Christ, he selected twelve disciples his partners in the new religion and, after patching together false and ungodly doctrines collected from a thousand heresies long since extinct, he swept them off like a deadly poison from Persia upon this part of the world. All accounts agree that Mani or Manes was put to death in 277 by order of the Persian king. He was flayed alive and his skin, stuffed with straw, was publicly exhibited as a warning to like offenders. Greek writers state that Manes, whose original name was Cubricus, derived his notions chiefly from the four books of a certain Scythianus, an Arabian merchant and a contemporary of the Apostles. According to Arabian accounts Manes was the son of a pagan priest, and began at the age of twenty four years to broach his system, alleging that he received it from an angel.” http://books.google.com/books?id=KIUAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=The+history+of+Manes&source=bl&ots=DCVmowRSX2&sig=ahRqPqgp6mAgc5A6qqFGPHhgxzI&hl=en&ei=tyZRSufnH8KLtgepsIyzBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3  
⁵ “Cerinthus (c. [about] 100 AD) was a gnostic and to some, an early Christian, who was prominent as a ‘heresiarch’ in the view of the early Church Fathers. Contrary to proto-orthodox Christianity, Cerinthus’s school followed the Jewish law, denied that the Supreme God had made the physical world, and denied the divinity of Jesus. In Cerinthus' interpretation, the Christ came to Jesus at baptism, guided him in his ministry, but left him at the crucifixion.  
He taught that Jesus would establish a thousand-year reign of sensuous pleasure after the Second Coming but before the General Resurrection, a view that was declared heretical by the Council of Nicaea. Cerinthus used a version of the gospel of Matthew as scripture.  
Cerinthus taught at a time when Christianity's relation to Judaism and to Greek philosophy had not yet been clearly defined. In his association with the Jewish law and his modest assessment of Jesus, he was similar to the Ebionites and to other Jewish Christians. In defining the world’s creator as the demiurge, he matched Greek dualism philosophy and anticipated the Gnostics. His description of Christ as a bodiless spirit that dwelled temporarily in the man Jesus matches the later Gnosticism of Valentinuss.  
Early Christian tradition describes Cerinthus as a contemporary to and opponent of John the Evangelist, who wrote the Gospel of John against him. All we know about Cerinthus comes from the writing of his theological opponents.” Wikipedia  
⁶ 5:6 “There are three witnesses in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” The part in italics (King James Version) is not published in the Bible I am using.  
ENDNOTES  
ⁱ The Interpreters' Bible The Holy Scriptures in the King James and Revised Standard versions with general articles and introduction, exegesis, [and] exposition for each book of the Bible in twelve volumes, George Arthur Buttrick, Commentary Editor, Walter Russell Bowie, Associate Editor of Exposition, Paul Scherer, Associate Editor of Exposition, John Knox Associate Editor of New Testament Introduction and Exegesis, Samuel Terrien, Associate Editor of Old Testament Introduction and Exegesis, Nolan B. Harmon Editor, Abingdon Press, copyright 1955 by Pierce and Washabaugh, set up printed, and bound by the Parthenon Press, at Nashville, Tennessee, Volume XII, The Epistle of James, the First and Second Epistles of Peter, The First, Second, and Third Epistles of John [Introduction and Exegesis – Amos N. Wilder, Expostion (from which I quote once) – Paul W. Hoon], The Epistle of Jude, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, General Articles, Indexes  
ⁱⁱ The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Edited by Raymond E. Brown, S.S., Union Theological Seminary, New York; NY, William J. Dalton, S. J.; Roland E. Murphy, O. Carm. (emeritus) The Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, NC; [The Johannine Epistles, Pheme Perkins], with a foreword by His Eminence Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, S.J.; Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1990  
ⁱⁱⁱ The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The text carefully printed from the most correct copies of the present Authorized Version. Including the marginal readings and parallel texts. With a Commentary and Critical Notes. Designed as a help to a better understanding of the sacred writings. By Adam Clarke, LL.D. F.S.A. M.R.I.A. With a complete alphabetical index. Royal Octavo Stereotype Edition. Vol. II. [Volume VI together with the Old Testament volumes in Dad’s set] New York, Published by J. Emory and B. Waugh, for the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the conference office, 13 Crosby-Street. J. Collord, Printer. 1831.   An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible

The First Epistle of John  
“The unknown elder writes at some time during the first decade of the second century to churches in the Roman province of Asia… assuming acquaintance on the part of his readers with the Fourth Gospel or its type of Christianity.” (Wilder, 1955, TIB p. XII 21)ⁱ  
“‘That the design of this epistle was to combat the doctrine delivered by certain false teachers appears from chap. [chapter] ii. 18-26, iii. 7, iv. 1-3. and what this false doctrine was may be inferred from the counter doctrine delivered by St. John, ch. [chapter] v. [verse] 1-6. The apostle here asserts that ‘Jesus is the Christ,’ and that he was the Christ “not by water only, but by water and blood.” Now these words, which are not in themselves very intelligible, become perfectly clear, if we consider them as opposed to the doctrine of Cerinthus, who asserted that Jesus was by birth a mere man; but that the ᴁon, Christ, descended on him at his baptism, and left him before his death… A proposition can never be completely understood, unless we know the author’s design in delivering it.
…
In some places, especially ch. iv. 2, 3, St. John opposes false teachers of another description, namely, those who denied that Christ was come in the flesh. Now, they who denied this were not Cerinthians, but another kind of Gnostics, called Docetes. For as, on the one hand, Cerinthus maintained that Jesus was a mere, and therefore, real man, the Docetes, on the other hand, contended, that he was an incorporeal phantom, in which the ᴁon, Christ, or divine nature, presented itself to mankind, ch. i. 1. “Our hands have handled,” appears likewise to be opposed to this error of the Docetes.’ [Michaelis¹ ]” (Clarke, 1831, pp. VI 853-858)  
“The decisive argument against making I John early lies in the community setting which it presupposes. The Fourth Gospel addresses itself to the challenges posed by Judaism and others outside Johannine circles who have rejected the community’s vision of Jesus as preexistent Son, sent by the Father. The epistles [John I, II, and III] describe the fracturing of the Johannine community itself.
…
If the emphases of 1 John are a clue to the dissident views, then they seem to have held to a soteriology that proclaimed the believer sinless and rendered any representation of the death of Jesus as sacrifice useless.” (Perkins, 1990, TNJBC pp. 987-988)ⁱⁱ  
“However it stands today as regards the question of the authorship of these epistles, their appeal will continue to rest on the simplicity of their testimony that God is love and that love is the test of religion.
…
Contents and Occasion  
The view proposed in the present Introduction and Exegesis is that the three epistles have a common author and illuminate each other.
…
Epistolary Form and Style  
…
There are no concrete indications of the identity of the author or the recipients.
…
We find here a special form of the hortatory or ‘paraenetic’ style… the writer has his own locutions which give a peculiar stamp to the work.
…
… a demonstrative is given first place in a sentence, looking forward to its definition or explanation usually after some particle or conjunction… This is one of the features which by its frequency distinguishes the style of the epistle from that of the Gospel of John…. He also ‘uses the conditional sentence in a variety of rhetorical figures which are unknown to the gospel.’”² (Wilder, 1955, TIB pp. XII 209-212)  
“In the Latin version it was formerly called The Epistle of St. John to the Parthians; and this title was adopted by some of the ancient fathers; and in modern times has been defended by Grotius^3. But if St. John had intended this epistle for the use of the Parthians, he would hardly have written it in Greek, but would have use either the language of the country, or, if he was unacquainted with it, would have written at least in Syriac, which was the language of the learned in the Parthian empire, and especially of the Christians. We know from the history of Manes^4, that even the learned in that country were, for the most part, unacquainted with the Greek language; for to Manes, though he united literature with genius, his adversaries objected that he understood only the barbarous Syriac. That a Grecian book would not have been understood in the Parthian empire, appears from what Josephus says in the preface to his history of the Jewish war, where he declares, that work intended for Parthian Jews must be written not in Greek, but Hebrew….I would rather suppose, therefore, that the frequent use in this epistle of the words ‘light’ and ‘darkness,’ which occur in the Persian philosophy, and on the same occasions as those on which St. John has used them, gave rise to the opinion that St. John wrote it with a view of correcting the abuses of the Persian philosophy; whence it was inferred that he designed it for the use of the Christians in the Parthian empire. That St. John really designed his epistle as a warning to those Christians who were in danger of being infected with Zoroastrian principles is very probable, though the language of the epistle will not permit us to place St. John’s readers in a country to the east of the Euphrates.
…
It is … highly probable that the whole epistle, which in various places discovers an opposition to false teachers, was written against Cerinthians^5, or at least against Gnostics and Magi.
…
In the first chapter, the four first verses are opposed to the following assertion of the Gnostics: ‘that the apostles did not deliver the doctrine of Jesus as they had received it, but made additions to it, especially in the commandments… … It was consistent with their principles to regard sins as diseases: for they believed in metempsychosis, and imagined that the souls of men were confined in their present bodies as in a prison, as a punishment for having offended in the region above. According to this system the violent and irregular passions of anger, hatred, &c. were tortures for the soul; they were diseases, but not punishable transgressions of the law. … I believe … that the brotherly love of which St. John speaks, in the third chapter of this epistle, is not confined to that special love which we owe to those who are allied to us by religion; but denotes the love of our neighbor in general. Nor do I except even the 16th verse, where some think that St. John would require too much, if he meant brotherly love in general, or charity toward all men. But are there not certain cases in which it is our duty to hazard, and even sacrifice our lives, in order to rescue our neighbor? Is not this duty performed by the soldier? … it was St. John’s design … to argue from the acknowledgment of this duty, in certain cases, to the necessity of performing the less painful duty of supporting our brethren in distress, by a participation of our temporal possessions. … Dr. Macknight … ‘The authenticity of any ancient writing is established, first, by the testimony of contemporary and succeeding authors, whose works have come down to us; and who speak of that writing as known to be the work of the person whose name it bears. Secondly by the suitableness of the things contained in such writing, to the character and circumstances of its supposed author; and by the similarity of its style to the style of the other acknowledged writings of that author. The former of these proofs is called the external evidence of the authenticity of a writing; the latter, its internal evidence. … On the controverted text of the three heavenly witnesses⁶ I have said [see notes on 5:7 below] what truth, and a deep and thorough examination of the subject, has obligated me to say. I am satisfied that it is not genuine…” (Clarke, 1831, p. VI 853)ⁱⁱⁱ  
“Background  
In contrast with the Gospel the epistle has almost no allusion to the Old Testament and lack evidence of Semitic style. It reflects more directly than John a Hellenistic milieu; see, e.g. [for example], the term ‘anointing’ (χρισμα [khrisma] 2:27; etc.), and the sacramental idea that God’s ‘seed’ (σπερμα [sperma] 3:10) makes the believer sinless, as well as the dualism which it shares with the Gospel. This Hellenistic background is not Greek, properly speaking, but Oriental-Gnostic. We have sufficient evidence of a religious outlook in the East neither Jewish nor Greek, though influencing both, to which the new faith early accommodated its message in ways quite distinct from Jewish Christianity or Paulinism. This outlook had its own prophets, its own conception of salvation, and its own oracular poetic forms. These religious conceptions had deep roots in a long past for multitudes of men. They answered to certain perennial needs of the soul more satisfyingly at various points than the Jewish terms in which the gospel was first formulated. This world view, with its contrasts of light and darkness, life and death, truth and error, was more philosophically appealing, and its story of the redeemer or light-bringer was familiar often in grandiose and moving formulation, associated with rites of baptism and with oracular discourse and hymns. Christianity in this atmosphere took on a kindred expression, and within the church teachers arose who espoused ambiguous forms of the gospel, often of a dangerous character.  
For men of this background the Jewish idea of creation was inadequate to account for the world. Things arose through generation or emanation from God in a long series, and the world was separated from him by a radical alienation. The soul, though of divine origin, was a prisoner here in a domain of darkness, and could be saved only by a revealer who descends from the world of light and ushers it into eternal life. When such conceptions found their way into Christianity there was danger especially at two points. God’s final sovereignty over the world as a whole was depreciated and his final purpose in history was lost sight of. Moreover, the salvation of the soul made too little of the ethical factor in either God or man. Thus several supreme achievements of the Old Testament were forfeited. Particularly uncongenial to men of his background were the conceptions of the resurrection.  
The exaggerated dualism of this outlook also had as its consequence the conviction that the divine redeemer in descending to earth could not be thought of as subjecting himself to a real embodiment in the flesh or to the humiliation of suffering in the body. Thus there were Christian teachers who denied that Christ was really born as a man and died on the Cross; he only seemed to do so. Hence they are spoken of as the Docetists (‘Seemists’). Jesus was not to be identified with Christ. A common view was that Christ’s divine nature came upon him at his baptism and left him just before his passion…It represented often a well-meant attempt to safeguard the incarnation on the Godward side but it emptied the mission of Christ of its essential element. Thus we can appreciate the vehement repudiation of the Docetists in our epistle.
…
Message and Doctrine
…
In the light of the Fourth Gospel we can see that our epistle connects victory over the prince of this world with the death of Christ without special emphasis on or mention here of his resurrection (3:8; 4:4; cf. [compare with] John 122:21-21). Thus the errors of the Gnostic Christians arising from their dualistic world view are corrected, while much of their outlook and language is shared.” (Wilder, 1955, pp. XII 213-214)   FOOTNOTES  
¹ Johann David Michaelis (February 27, 1717 Halle, Saxony-Anhalt – August 22, 1791 Göttingen), a famous and eloquent German biblical scholar and teacher, was a member of a family which had the chief part in maintaining that solid discipline in Hebrew and the cognate languages which distinguished the University of Halle in the period of Pietism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_David_Michaelis  
² C. H. Dodd, “The First Epistle of John and the Fourth Gospel,” Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, XXI (1937)  
³ Hugo Grotius (… 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645) worked as a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law. He was also a philosopher, theologian, Christian apologist, playwright, and poet. Wikipedia  
⁴ “The origin of Manicheism is involved in obscurity, Greek and Arabian writers on the subject differing in their accounts. The Greek account is derived from the acts of a disputation said to have been held by Archelaus, bishop of Cascar in Mesopotamia, with Manes, the founder of this sect. The earliest authentic notice we have of Manes is that of Eusebius where he is described as a barbarian in life, both in speech and conduct, who attempted to form himself into a Christ and also proclaimed himself to be the very Paraclete or the Holy Spirit. Then, as if he were Christ, he selected twelve disciples his partners in the new religion and, after patching together false and ungodly doctrines collected from a thousand heresies long since extinct, he swept them off like a deadly poison from Persia upon this part of the world. All accounts agree that Mani or Manes was put to death in 277 by order of the Persian king. He was flayed alive and his skin, stuffed with straw, was publicly exhibited as a warning to like offenders. Greek writers state that Manes, whose original name was Cubricus, derived his notions chiefly from the four books of a certain Scythianus, an Arabian merchant and a contemporary of the Apostles. According to Arabian accounts Manes was the son of a pagan priest, and began at the age of twenty four years to broach his system, alleging that he received it from an angel.” http://books.google.com/books?id=KIUAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=The+history+of+Manes&source=bl&ots=DCVmowRSX2&sig=ahRqPqgp6mAgc5A6qqFGPHhgxzI&hl=en&ei=tyZRSufnH8KLtgepsIyzBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3  
⁵ “Cerinthus (c. [about] 100 AD) was a gnostic and to some, an early Christian, who was prominent as a ‘heresiarch’ in the view of the early Church Fathers. Contrary to proto-orthodox Christianity, Cerinthus’s school followed the Jewish law, denied that the Supreme God had made the physical world, and denied the divinity of Jesus. In Cerinthus' interpretation, the Christ came to Jesus at baptism, guided him in his ministry, but left him at the crucifixion.  
He taught that Jesus would establish a thousand-year reign of sensuous pleasure after the Second Coming but before the General Resurrection, a view that was declared heretical by the Council of Nicaea. Cerinthus used a version of the gospel of Matthew as scripture.  
Cerinthus taught at a time when Christianity's relation to Judaism and to Greek philosophy had not yet been clearly defined. In his association with the Jewish law and his modest assessment of Jesus, he was similar to the Ebionites and to other Jewish Christians. In defining the world’s creator as the demiurge, he matched Greek dualism philosophy and anticipated the Gnostics. His description of Christ as a bodiless spirit that dwelled temporarily in the man Jesus matches the later Gnosticism of Valentinuss.  
Early Christian tradition describes Cerinthus as a contemporary to and opponent of John the Evangelist, who wrote the Gospel of John against him. All we know about Cerinthus comes from the writing of his theological opponents.” Wikipedia  
⁶ 5:6 “There are three witnesses in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” The part in italics (King James Version) is not published in the Bible I am using.  
ENDNOTES  
ⁱ The Interpreters' Bible The Holy Scriptures in the King James and Revised Standard versions with general articles and introduction, exegesis, [and] exposition for each book of the Bible in twelve volumes, George Arthur Buttrick, Commentary Editor, Walter Russell Bowie, Associate Editor of Exposition, Paul Scherer, Associate Editor of Exposition, John Knox Associate Editor of New Testament Introduction and Exegesis, Samuel Terrien, Associate Editor of Old Testament Introduction and Exegesis, Nolan B. Harmon Editor, Abingdon Press, copyright 1955 by Pierce and Washabaugh, set up printed, and bound by the Parthenon Press, at Nashville, Tennessee, Volume XII, The Epistle of James, the First and Second Epistles of Peter, The First, Second, and Third Epistles of John [Introduction and Exegesis – Amos N. Wilder, Expostion (from which I quote once) – Paul W. Hoon], The Epistle of Jude, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, General Articles, Indexes  
ⁱⁱ The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Edited by Raymond E. Brown, S.S., Union Theological Seminary, New York; NY, William J. Dalton, S. J.; Roland E. Murphy, O. Carm. (emeritus) The Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, NC; [The Johannine Epistles, Pheme Perkins], with a foreword by His Eminence Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, S.J.; Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1990  
ⁱⁱⁱ The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The text carefully printed from the most correct copies of the present Authorized Version. Including the marginal readings and parallel texts. With a Commentary and Critical Notes. Designed as a help to a better understanding of the sacred writings. By Adam Clarke, LL.D. F.S.A. M.R.I.A. With a complete alphabetical index. Royal Octavo Stereotype Edition. Vol. II. [Volume VI together with the Old Testament volumes in Dad’s set] New York, Published by J. Emory and B. Waugh, for the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the conference office, 13 Crosby-Street. J. Collord, Printer. 1831.   An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible

For a while now I'm trying to control what I see and consume on YouTube and even though I have subscriptions on niche creators and feed the algorithm exactly what I wish to watch, on specific spots Youtube has a reserved video that has nothing to do with recommendations or what I like, it pushes content in fields like news channels, sports, religion, music, famous people etc.
As a person who doesn't watch all of those, I find it very annoying to see just how much YouTube pushes some type of information that the general public wants (1 in every 20 videos) but not me, so I have rules set in place, feel free to edit the keywords to fit your needs. Below are all news portals I could find as well as some other types of content you wish to avoid. Below are news related blocks:
www.youtube.com##yt-formatted-string,p,a,span,.pure-u-1.pure-u-md-1-4,.ytd-rich-grid-media:has-text(/Big BrotherCNNMSNBCABC CBS CBC NBC BloombergJazeeraEuronewsDW The Young TurksDemocracy NowVoxGuardianSky NewsReutersThe Wall Street JournalCNBCFoxC-SPANPBS NewsHourNewsyAssociated PressNewsmax TVOANBlazeTVAJ+VICENowThisThe Daily WireThe InterceptReal News NetworkAJETelegraphWashington PostYork TimesEconomistFinancial TimesPoliticoBBCGlobal NewsNDTVIndia TodayWIONSABCCGTNNHKTimes NowNews18 IndiaThe InterceptDaily WireRachel MaddowTrevor NoahNewsmaxTV9TeluguBreitbart NewsZee NewsRTHaberVOACNACheddarCNBCDeutsche WelleEuroNewsAnadoluDW NewsQuicktakePressCTVThe NationalTelemundoUnivision NoticiasNoticias TelemundoNTN24CCTVSBSTYT InvestigatesRTÉPress TrustHindustanHinduNews18Aaj TakKompasTV PatrolGMA NewsABS-CBNCBNABSXinhuaMorning PostStraits TimesNewsAsiaTehran TimesAl-MonitorRTVENoticiasEFE NoticiasRepublic WorldNOSNieuwsTVVGTVNyheterNRKQuotidianoIl FattoLa RepubblicaEl PaísEl MundoViceLBCITVToloJapan TimesSydney MorningThe AustralianHuffPostAfricanewsThe QuintThe PrintThe CaravanNikkeiJapan NewsStar OnlineMalay MailRapplerJakarta PostKompasTVBangkok PostThe NationVietnamNetKyodoKorea HeraldChosun IlboHankyorehYonhapArab NewsStar LebanonThePrintThe GrayzoneRedacted TonightMiddle East EyeTRNNJimmy DoreSam SederDavid PakmanArirangANIRussia Insighti24NEWSJerusalem PostN24WochitKTNNTVRuptlyTelesurNewsXThe SunNewsweekDaily CallerBreitbartNational ReviewFederalistOANNBlazeRedStateTownhallGateway PunditAmerican ThinkerInsider NewsWestern JournalAmerican SpectatorNational InterestWashington ExaminerEpochAmerican ConservativeDaily SignalRealClearPoliticsConservative WomanYork PostAmerican GreatnessConservative ReviewCollege FixIndependent ReviewAmerican MindConservative PoliticalPoliticalLiberty DailyHuffingtonMother JonesSlateSalonProPublicaTruthoutCommon DreamsDaily KosRaw StoryAmerican ProspectJacobin MagazineBafflerCurrent AffairsSkimmCounterPunchDissent MagazineMakeup ProductSensualDeep FocusDeep HouseDaily PosterAppealDaily DotObamaGeorge BushTrumpBidenHillaryClintonTroopsMarshall ProjectGristDaily BeastChilloutMSN/):upward(.ytd-expanded-shelf-contents-renderer,.ytd-rich-item-renderer)
Below are common propaganda words (suggested by chatgpt) that might be included in videos:
www.youtube.com##yt-formatted-string,p,a,span,.pure-u-1.pure-u-md-1-4,.ytd-rich-grid-media:has-text(/ConstituentFiscal yearEarmarkFilibusterGerrymanderingImpeachmentCaucusBipartisanQuorumPork barrel spendingLobbyistSuper PACGrassrootsExecutive orderState of the unionPlatformPolling dataCabinetRoll call voteBeltwayPunditrySpin doctorPress conferenceSound bitePolitical action committeeConstituencyExecutive privilegeWhite paperBipartisanshipLogrollingRedistrictingConfirmation hearingSubpoenaSuperdelegateWar chestStraw pollPork barrel projectLame duckMajority leaderConstituent servicesGaffeDark moneyPrimary seasonTalking pointsOpposition researchGrassroots campaignHorse race journalismBeltway insiderExit pollHardball tacticsLaissez-faire economicsSoft moneyPhoto opStump speechAstroturfingOpposition partySwing stateTown hall meetingVoter suppressionPAC (Political Action Committee)Midterm electionsOpen seatRetail politicsFireside chatGrassroots organizingLegislative gridlockFalse flag operationCrisis actorsLamestream mediaGlobalist agendaDeep stateCultural MarxismAlternative factsFake newsCensorshipThought policeMainstream narrativeTruth tellersSocial justice warriorsSnowflakesPolitical correctnessEnemy of the peopleShadow governmentBrainwashingGaslightingHegelian dialecticthought controlbrainwashingmind manipulationmanufactured consentgroupthinkfake newsmedia biasdistorted realityenemy of the statenational security threatcultural revolutionideological purityindoctrinationcollective identitydemonizationdehumanizationscapegoatingcensorshippropaganda machineecho chamberdisinformationalternative factsgaslightingpropaganda campaignblack propagandawhite propagandagrey propagandamass persuasionpsychological warfareinformation warinformation operationsinformation dominanceinformation manipulationstrategic communicationsperception managementpublic diplomacyspin doctoringastroturfingfront groupsstraw man argumentsred herring argumentsloaded languageglittering generalitiesname callingplain folks appealcard stackingbandwagonfearmongeringdog whistle politicsDisinformationFake news mediaGlobalistsHoaxInfowarsMainstream media biasPolitical correctness gone madPost-truthSoros-fundedWeaponized information/i):upward(.ytd-expanded-shelf-contents-renderer,.ytd-rich-item-renderer)
Sport stuff:
www.youtube.com##yt-formatted-string,p,a,span,.pure-u-1.pure-u-md-1-4,.ytd-rich-grid-media:has-text(/Lionel MessiZubiCristiano RonaldoCRISTIANO RONALDOMessiScoringGoalMbappeFootballBruno FernandesRonaldoNeymarPeléDiego MaradonaSoccerHumiliating GoalsZlatan IbrahimovicRobert LewandowskiLuka ModricKevin De BruyneKylian MbappéAndrés IniestaEdinson CavaniHarry KaneMohamed SalahPaulo DybalaEden HazardSergio AgüeroRaheem SterlingFrenkie de JongAntoine GriezmannPaulo MaldiniZinedine ZidaneGianluigi BuffonXaviJohann CruyffMichel PlatiniLothar MatthäusMarco van BastenRonaldinhoFranck RibéryAlfredo Di StéfanoLev YashinGerd MullerBobby CharltonEusébioPaolo MaldiniFerenc PuskasKakaDidier DrogbaRoberto BaggioFabio CannavaroGary LinekerAndres IniestaFranz BeckenbauerRivaldoRoger FedererRafael NadalNovak DjokovicPete SamprasRod LaverBjorn BorgAndre AgassiJohn McEnroeJimmy ConnorsIvan LendlStefan EdbergKen RosewallRoy EmersonDon BudgeArthur AsheFred PerryBill TildenLew HoadTony TrabertHenri CochetAthleteTackleTouchdown Foul PenaltyRefereeUmpireTeamLeagueChampionshipPlayoffsTournamentHurdlesShot putHammer throwPole vaultHigh jumpLong jumpTriple jumpBreaststrokeBackstrokeButterflyGymnasticsTumbleBalance beamFloor exercisePommel horseParallel barsRope climbBarbellDumbbellKnockoutSubmissionWrestlingGrappleKarateJudoTaekwondoKickboxingMuay ThaiKung FuSkateRollerbladeBMXRoad bikeSkateboardSnowboard Ski SlalomGiant slalomSuper-GDownhillHalfpipeMogulsSynchronized skatingAbdominal curlAdductorAnabolic steroidArmbarAthlete's footBackhandBaseball capBiceps curlBikingBodybuildingBox jumpBoxer's fractureBreak pointBulldozerCauliflower earChest pressClenched fistCoachingCompound exerciseCool downCross-trainingDeltoidDetoxDribbleDrop shotElevationEndorphinFair playFast ballFree throwRed CardFull court pressGolfLiverpoolGrand PrixAshStudio7FORMULAFOOT4KMan UnitedGroup exerciseHacky sackHammerHandballHerniaHula hoopHustleInline skatingJump shotKiteboardingKnee padLactic acidLeg pressLeg curlLeg extensionLiftingLigamentLine driveMartial artsMeniscusHat-trickWembleyManchesterMisdemeanorMud runTeo CRiOld TraffordNinja warriorOverhead pressOvertimePaintballParkourPenalty boxPersonal trainerPlyometricsQatarFOOTBALLERSWorld CupNBALEAGUEPSGPENALTYNFLSlam DunkArenaSport/i):upward(.ytd-expanded-shelf-contents-renderer,.ytd-rich-item-renderer)
Religion stuff
www.youtube.com##yt-formatted-string,p,a,span,.pure-u-1.pure-u-md-1-4,.ytd-rich-grid-media:has-text(/allahchristjesuschurchmosqueJesusChristHolyBibleFaithChurchSalvationGraceSon of GodSon of ManLordCrossresurrectionsaviorsalvationredemptionforgiveness holy sacredaltarworshipprayerpraisescripturerevelationprophecydoctrine faith theologybeliefdiscipleapostleevangelistpastorpriest bishop monk nun laypersonclergycongregationevangelismpreachingliturgysacramentsbaptismEucharistreconciliationordinationHoly Ordersanointing of the sickend timesrepentancesanctificationholinessrighteousnesshumilityobediencedevotionsurrendersubmissioncounselfear of the Lordreverencegenerositycompassionmercygracepuritysanctitypilgrimagesacrificeofferingtitheatonementexpiationpropitiationjustificationglorificationascensionpentecosttrinityholy spiritincarnateredeemermediatormessiahprophetpatriarchsaintmartyrvirginRamadandemon/i):upward(.ytd-expanded-shelf-contents-renderer,.ytd-rich-item-renderer) Once you apply it, you'll see just an empty spot over that video and just how much of the content is pushed. If you want to follow trends or any of the things above, feel free to edit it to block things you don't like. The codes above might also throw false positives.
If there is a better way to do this, please let me know in comments.
Thanks!