Funny: The Scriptures Often Refer To Hell - So Has The Bible Gone As Well?

https://www.christiantoday.com/news/jen-hatmaker-says-she-no-longer-believes-in-hell

Well Done Mr Trump.

 Trump's week in review: HHS halts funds for child sex changes; American released from Russia.

The past week saw the Trump administration taking steps to ensure that taxpayer-funded healthcare programs do not fund sex-change surgeries and cross-sex hormones for minors, while President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute states that do not honor religious exemptions to vaccine mandates. CP.

Matthew 7:2.

 

Birdie.

Liberty Does Not ...

Marco Rubio: Liberty doesn't mean 'liberation from duty to family, nation and Go.

Liberty was never meant to be “liberation from man’s duty to family, nation and God,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, pointing to the Church as one of the institutions that's held the nation together for 250 years. CP.

Well Argued.

Simon Sebag Montefiore: Appeasing radical activists will make the West ungovernable.

Ahead of a new book about the Middle East, the historian reflects on the dangerous public discourse around terrorism, migration and gender.

Claire AllfreeShow biography

Published 15 August 2026 6:00am BST

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Montefiore pictured for The Telegraph in his Notting Hill home Credit: Andrew Crowley

The historian Simon Sebag Montefiore has always been a keen observer of British politicians. After all, this is the man who introduced his close friend King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, to David Cameron and Michael Gove over a cosy kitchen supper before Cameron became prime minister. As a 17-year-old schoolboy at Harrow, he took Margaret Thatcher to task in an interview for the school magazine. He often has the ear of party leaders, and frequently discussed the seemingly interminable quagmire between Israel and Gaza with Keir Starmer while he resided in No 10 – his principal suggestion being to avoid implying that there was a straightforward, legalistic solution.

So I’m keen to know what words of advice this genial man has for Britain’s new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham. “Burnham is the king of breezy affability, of middle-aged DJing and of crisp-eating clips,” he says, dryly. “But his challenges will come fast when he has to match all those promises and catchphrases with reality. Most of all, he needs to bear in mind that the foreign and domestic policy of a great power such as Britain should not be directed by small cadres of aggressive radical activists, but by a calm, long-term analysis of what our interests are.”

I meet Montefiore, or Sebag, as he likes to be known, in his five-storey Notting Hill town house – white wooden floors, carefully chosen art, extremely tidy bookshelves – where he lives with his wife, Santa, a romance novelist and sister of the late society girl and TV presenter Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. When Santa and Montefiore married in 1998 (they had a Jewish wedding: Montefiore is Jewish and Santa converted for him), they wrote at the same table together in a tiny flat in Battersea, dreaming of becoming writers. Now, they have separate studies – his cream, clean, almost monkish; hers adjacent but for a shallow flight of stairs. She has written around 35 books, many bestselling, and he, now 61, is one of the most acclaimed historians of our time. His books, which include biographies of Catherine the Great and the Romanovs, have won multiple prizes and are read by the political elite (Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and George W Bush are all fans).

Montefiore and Santa Palmer-Tomkinson married in 1998 in a Jewish ceremony: he is Jewish and Santa converted for him Credit: Ian Jones

Not for nothing, then, are they known as one of the best-connected couples in London. Politicians and aristocrats mingle at Montefiore’s launch parties. Charles and Camilla were guests at his and Santa’s wedding, and the four regularly go skiing together, thanks in part to a strong friendship forged on the slopes between Santa’s parents and Charles during his marriage to Diana. Montefiore and Charles reportedly go to the theatre together. Although, disappointingly, he points out that the King doesn’t exactly pop around for dinner. “It only happened the once!” he protests.

I try to dig further, though Montefiore pleasantly refuses to spill any more beans on his and the King’s 30-year friendship. “But I will say that the fact we’ve had seven prime ministers in the last 10 years has demonstrated how important the continuity and service of a constitutional monarchy can be. King Charles has known every leader since Churchill. We’re incredibly lucky to have a sovereign who has such a record of service, diligence, diplomacy and duty – all the things that we should associate with politicians. We saw that when he met Trump in America [during a state visit in April]. None of his predecessors could have done what he did there.”

Montefiore and King Charles pictured talking with Richard E Grant (centre). The King and Montefiore have been friends for three decades Credit: Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/Getty

I’m here because Montefiore is about to publish another book, a 20th-century history of the Middle East. Aptly titled The Cauldron, it’s a companion piece to two of his previous books: 2011’s Jerusalem: The Biography, and 2022’s The World: A Family History of Humanity. “Obviously, books about Israel and Palestine are an ever expanding industry,” he says before I can. “But there’s so much misunderstanding. After the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel, I felt there was a real necessity for a book that put [the entire region] all together.”

Certainly, The Cauldron is terrifically comprehensive. Stretching from 1900 to the present day, it both zips along and bulges with detail, offering a blockbuster narrative of old empires collapsing and new nations created, of playboy kings and Western imperialists, of deals struck, promises broken, blood spilt and everywhere volcanic upheaval and change.

Above all, Montefiore has taken immense care to depict highly charged events as neutrally as possible. “I’m not ideological. I’m not following either a Marxist imperialist or de-colonialist view of history,” he says. “Everyone has forgotten that the creation of Turkey and Israel happened against the will of Empire. Everyone says that it was the British who helped create Israel in 1948, but in fact Israel was an armed revolt against British imperial power… the history is essential for understanding what is happening now: if you want to understand why, for example, president Erdoğan of Turkey keeps talking about wanting to rule Jerusalem, Beirut and Damascus [formerly part of the Ottoman Empire], then it’s all here.”

It’s telling that Montefiore feels the need to frame The Cauldron as a primer for the less-informed. Everyone has opinions on the conflict of Israel and Gaza, but many of us would be hard pressed to articulate the finer points of its torturous, millennia-old history. Subjective interpretations of the facts, let alone flat-out ignorance of them, is rampant in the febrile ideological climate that has sprung up with renewed toxicity in the wake of the Hamas attacks. “October 7 changed everything,” he says. “It was years in the planning that did what it was meant to do, which was to put the Palestinian issue at the centre of the world, unleash the ideology of anti-Zionism in Western universities, and nix the Saudis normalising agreements with Israel. The only thing it hasn’t succeeded in is helping the Palestinian people.”

The speed and intensity of anti-Israel sentiment that has spread like wildfire through Britain took Montefiore “by surprise”. “There’s nowhere better to live now than Britain or America or France than at any other point in the last 10,000 years,” he says. “Yet that unprecedented comfort, liberalism and freedom have permitted the hothouse of exciting but intolerant radicalisms such as ‘de-colonialisation’, ‘anti-Americanism’, ‘anti-Westernism’, ‘Third-World-ism’ – whatever you want to call it – particularly in many cultural, academic and media institutions in this country.”

The speed and intensity of anti-Israel sentiment that has spread through Britain took Montefiore ‘by surprise’ Credit: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images   DT.

Nick Ferrari.

 But perhaps most troublingly for Andy Burnham is that after the first three weeks of being in office, the true number of arrivals is higher than it was under his predecessor. In Sir Keir Starmer’s time, the figure stood at 2,258, but for Mr. Burnham it is already over 3,000 – and we’ve another hot weekend to potentially lure more across.

Tragic Death of Jason Arday.

 Some organs of the press have claimed that this was a suicide - and they may well be correct. It is quite possible that his wrongdoing brought more ignominy than he could live with.

What sickens me, is that his level of wrongdoing certainly did not merit a death sentence!

However, I note that the finger of blame has hardly been pointed towards the real causers of all this - the wokeists and extreme leftists at the University of Cambridge who had wantonly abandoned the idea of pursuing a true meritocracy.

Praise God!

Jenna Jameson Marries Partner Mil R. Ocampo After Finding Jesus and Choosing Sobriety.

Olivia Callanan

Updated Thu, August 13, 2026 at 4:40 PM GMT+1

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Jenna Jameson and Mil R. Ocampo first went public with their relationship in March 2025.@jennacantlose/instagram

Jenna Jameson is a married woman!

The former adult star, 52, and her partner, Mil R. Ocampo, tied the knot on July 25 in Miami, Fla., per online marriage records obtained by TMZ.

Jameson hard-launched her relationship with Ocampo on Instagram back in March 2025 just weeks after filing for divorce from Jessi Lawless. AOL.

Eric Metaxas Is Spot On!

 Eric Metaxas: America is ‘living on fumes’ after abandoning its biblical roots.

The Judgement.

Birdie.

 

Don't Run Away From AI But ...

 3 warnings every Christian needs before asking AI spiritual questions.

By Michael Youssef,

My friends, imagine a child walking into a vast library at midnight.

There are millions of books. There are flashing screens. There are voices answering every question instantly. But no librarian. No pastor. No shepherd. No one to say, “This is truth,” and, “That is error.”

 

That is the world many Christians are entering when they bring spiritual questions to artificial intelligence.

And make no mistake: This is no longer a future issue. According to Barna’s July 21, 2026 report, New Barna Data: Practicing Christians are Adopting AI Rapidly, practicing Christians are using AI more often than most Americans. Forty-four percent say they use AI “very often” or “often” in their personal lives, compared with 31% of U.S. adults overall. At work, 39% of practicing Christians use AI often or very often, compared with 26% of U.S. adults nationally.

Nearly half of practicing Christians say they would trust AI with their own spiritual growth. About one-third say they have used AI for spiritual guidance or Bible-related questions in the past month. And one in three say they want guidance from their pastor on navigating AI — while only 12% of pastors feel ready to give it.

So the question is not, “Will Christians use AI?”

We already are.

The Church must use tools without bowing to them.

Christianity has never been afraid of tools. The printing press multiplied Bibles. Radio carried the Gospel into homes. Satellite television has beamed Biblical Truth into closed nations. By God’s grace, we have used every lawful means to proclaim Christ.

But tools must remain tools.

In my reflection on Davos and AI religion, I said this plainly: “We are using AI as a servant, not welcoming AI as a savior.” The final authority is still the Word of God, not the algorithm. The true Teacher is still The Holy Spirit, not the model. The faithful local pastor remains an under-shepherd of Christ, not a spiritual ornament to be replaced by a digital assistant.

Scripture commands us to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1). It commands us to contend for “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). It warns us that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).

So, let us be very clear. AI can help you search. AI can help you organize. AI can help you locate a sermon, summarize a topic, or find a passage.

But AI cannot save you. AI cannot sanctify you. AI cannot die on a cross. AI cannot rise from the dead.

A tool may point you toward truth, but it must never become the source of truth.

At Davos, Yuval Harari warned that “anything made of words will be taken over by AI” — including laws, books, and even religion. In God’s Final Call, I warned that an AI-designed religion, with an AI-written “Bible,” could include enough “reasonable-sounding Christianity” to deceive the unwary while removing the Cross and Resurrection — precisely the sort of seductive compromise that demands discernment in these last days.

My friends, that is not merely a technology question. That is a worship question.

Below are three warnings to help aid in your discernment.

Warning 1: Smooth answers can distort biblical truth

Now someone may ask, “But if the answer sounds Christian, why worry?”

My friends, hear this: The most dangerous error is not always the blatant lie. Often it is the partial truth. The sentence sounds right. The tone sounds gentle. The answer sounds balanced. But something essential is missing.

That is exactly what researchers have now quantified.

In Detecting Doctrinal Flattening in AI Generated Responses, published in AI and Ethics in 2026, Jason Owen examined how large language models respond to doctrinally sensitive Christian questions. The study built a doctrinal knowledge base from catechisms, confessions, creeds, and denominational statements. From these sources, the study extracted 576 doctrinal claims across eight facets: Authority, Trinity, Salvation, Sacraments, Eschatology, Anthropology, Ecclesiology, and Christian Ethics.

The findings are sobering. In plain language, when the models stated a doctrine, they were often accurate — but they regularly omitted major portions of what a doctrine actually teaches.

That is doctrinal flattening.

The study says the systems tend to attribute beliefs to “Christians” as a whole and “often reduce complex traditions to oversimplified or misleading summaries.” It found that sacramental and eschatological topics were especially vulnerable, and that salvation and sacraments showed heightened risk for doctrinal misrepresentation.

Do you see the danger?

If you ask a machine, “What do Christians believe?” it may give you the average of the internet. It may give you a smooth consensus. It may give you an answer that avoids offense, avoids precision, avoids conviction — and avoids the sharp edges of biblical truth.

But Christianity is not the average of religious content online.

Christianity is Christ crucified and risen. Christianity is the Word of God. Christianity is repentance, grace, salvation, holiness, judgment, and eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

As I have warned in “Look Up When Others Are Looking Down, Part 2,” no doctrinal error is harmless, because small deviations from God’s Truth can prepare people for great deception.

 

Speed is not wisdom. Information is not Truth.

Warning 2: AI can inform, but it cannot shepherd your soul

There is a shepherding distinction we must not blur.

AI can provide information. AI can simulate conversation. AI can locate passages, compare interpretations, and suggest study questions. But pastoral ministry is not merely the transfer of religious information.

A shepherd knows the sheep. A shepherd watches for wolves. A shepherd corrects with love, prays with tears, confronts sin, comforts the suffering, and stands accountable before God.

Paul charged the elders to “pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock” (Acts 20:28). Peter exhorted elders to “shepherd the flock of God” under the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:2-4). Hebrews says leaders “are keeping watch over your souls” (Hebrews 13:17).

No machine can do that.

A chatbot cannot discern your tears in the pew. It cannot exercise church discipline. It cannot baptize a new believer. It cannot serve the Lord’s Supper. It cannot sit beside a hospital bed and plead with a dying man to trust Christ. It cannot bear spiritual responsibility for your soul under Christ and His Word.

Church leaders must keep watch over themselves and others, because no one can adequately care for others while neglecting the cultivation of his own soul. That is shepherding. That is embodied. That is accountable. That is biblical.

Warning 3: Not every “Christian” app is built by shepherds

And brothers and sisters, listen: a random faith app cannot replace that.

Not every “Christian” app is built by shepherds. Not every spiritual tool is grounded in Scripture. Not every answer wearing religious language is accountable to biblical teaching. Some tools are built to monetize attention. Some are built to capture data. Some are built by developers who may have no commitment to the Gospel, no accountability to the Church, and no reverence for God’s Word.

When we are dealing with doctrinal and biblical matters, opinions do not count — The Word of God does. God is not confused or self-contradictory.

That principle applies in the pulpit. It applies in the classroom. It applies in the home. And now, my friends, it applies in the chat window.

Trusted tools must point back to Christ, Scripture, and the Church

Here is the positive word.

We do not need to run from technology. We need to redeem it for the Gospel. We need to keep it on a leash. We need to make it serve Christ, not compete with Him.

That is why a trusted source matters.

MY Faith Assistant was created with a clear ministry purpose: to help people move from spiritual questions to Biblical clarity.

It is not a general chatbot offering spiritual opinions from the internet. It is built to point people back to Scripture because that’s what it is trained on.

And just as important: It does not replace the Bible, the local church, personal prayer, or pastoral counsel. It is a digital bridge to help people take a faithful next step.

That distinction matters.

A bridge is not a destination. A map is not the meal. A servant is not the Savior.

So, use tools wisely. Ask questions. Search Scripture. Find sermons. Build a Bible study. But do not surrender your conscience to a machine. Do not outsource your discernment to the crowd. Do not trade the living fellowship of the Body of Christ for a private spiritual echo chamber.

Return to the Word daily. Stay rooted in the Church. Pray for wisdom. Test everything by Scripture. And when you sin, repent quickly and run to Christ.

And if you have been asking machines what only Christ can answer — “Who am I?” “Can I be forgiven?” “What is my purpose?” “What happens when I die?” — then hear this loving warning: no algorithm can redeem you.

Only One was crucified for your sin. Only One conquered the grave. Only One can give you eternal life. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

Come to Him today. Repent of your sin. Trust Him as Savior and Lord. The Good Shepherd does not merely answer questions — He forgives sinners, gives eternal life, and receives all who call upon Him. And no technology — however powerful — can substitute Him.

 

 

Michael A. Youssef, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist, bestselling author, and internationally respected Bible teacher whose messages are broadcast more than 18,000 times per week across six continents. He is the founder and president of Leading The Way, a global ministry reaching millions for Christ through cutting-edge media, and founding rector of The Church of The Apostles in Atlanta. As a naturalized U.S. citizen who grew up under an Islamist dictatorship in Egypt, Dr. Youssef brings a rare perspective on faith, freedom, and the challenges Christians face. With multiple degrees in theology and a doctorate in cultural anthropology, Dr. Youssef has traveled the world many times over, equipping people to better understand the Bible and thoughtfully engage the issues shaping our culture. Dr. Youssef has written more than 50 books, including his latest, An Unholy Alliance: How Progressivism Brought About an Islamist Invasion. Learn more about Dr. Youssef at MichaelYoussef.com.