Thoughts of Christian Dating

[seoulsearch]

You know, the greatest challenge in this era of AI is to figure out what does it mean to live as a human being, in the image of God; what would you do when most of the previously decent jobs are relegated to AI, and nobody seems to be able to have a meaningful conversation without AI assistance, what's the purpose left for you in this bizarre era.

Every generation is faced with something they think is bigger than the last. For instance, I had family members who lived through The Great Depression and World War II, and I'm sure people thought those things would be the end of the world as well.

Even in my own life, I remember when people said the world would end with Y2K (when the century changed over from 1999 to 2000,) and that every computer would freeze up, and planes would fall out of the sky.

I do understand that AI, like everything that came before it, seems like the biggest challenge yet. A Christian friend once told me she wondered if God was purposely allowing (not directing, but allowing,) the population growth to slow down because He knows there won't be as many jobs with AI.

I think my generation is the last that was raised without the internet (it came into play when I was in college,) and I do wonder what that means for humanity.

I think there will still be jobs, but they'll be highly specialized, and unfortunately, only a few will qualify for them. I listen to a lot of company and financial news, and when the talk around AI started to explode, every major company was reporting laying off employees by the tens of thousands.

A few months later, the narrative changed, with many of these places finding AI to be limited, and now had to hire people back. However, the ones coming back obviously weren't those running for coffee and filing papers. It's only for those who are at the top of their game.

So I often wonder how those positions are going to be filled in the future. Every area of work is becoming more specific and complex. People in basic jobs are losing out to machines, but the people who know how to build, program, and fix those machines will have more than enough work cut out for them. I'm particularly interested to see what happens in the medical field (robots doing surgery, etc.), because with the TikTok generation, what human will have the concentration skills to perform 8-hour surgeries anymore?

But even then, who is going to be be able to build, program, direct, and maintain all these machines? (Of course, maybe we're headed for what the sci-fi movies tell us -- robots building, directing, and advancing robots, with minimal or no need for humans.)

The culture today is raising everyone to be the exact opposite of what it will take to fulfill those positions, if there are any left.

I listen to a lot of social commentary about how, for most people today, everything is about them: what they want, how they see the world, what they can grab while they can, and if things like responsibilities (paying bills, etc.) don't "serve them," they write it off and dig themselves into an even deeper pit. But it's always someone or something else's fault, never their own. And they think they deserve the world -- just for existing.

They complain about feeling lonely and isolated, but what they want is to meet people who will be all about them, without even bothering to ask other people what they like or want to talk about.

All the things needed to succeed in the jobs of the future -- patience, discipline, self-control, dedication, and a lot of sacrifice -- no longer exist into today's culture.

One thing I do know is that some how, some way, God provides for His people.

It might not be big and flashy. We all might have to learn do do with a lot less.

But during the Plague of Darkness in Egypt, God provided His people with light.

When Laban kept changing Jacob's wages, God made sure those sheep bore whatever Laban told him he would be paid with. If Laban would have said that Jacob would be paid with the sheep born with stars and stripes, well, you could probably place bets on what the next batch of lambs would look like!

I agree that we're living in worrisome times, but I can't think of a time, in my life at least, that society WASN'T worried about The Next Big Thing, because This Time It's Different. It's Always Different.

Believe me, I get very concerned, especially for my college-age nieces and nephews (who, praise the Lord, are all bright, smart, hard-working, and extremely disciplined.)

But even then, I pray over them constantly because I know it's a big, scary, impersonal, and very robotic world out there.

All I can do is what all Christians are to do -- cling to the promise that God is who He says He is, does what He says He will do, and that He will not forget us.

 

[seoulsearch]

Every generation is faced with something they think is bigger than the last. For instance, I had family members who lived through The Great Depression and World War II, and I'm sure people thought those things would be the end of the world as well.

Even in my own life, I remember when people said the world would end with Y2K (when the century changed over from 1999 to 2000,) and that every computer would freeze up, and planes would fall out of the sky.

I do understand that AI, like everything that came before it, seems like the biggest challenge yet. A Christian friend once told me she wondered if God was purposely allowing (not directing, but allowing,) the population growth to slow down because He knows there won't be as many jobs with AI.

I think my generation is the last that was raised without the internet (it came into play when I was in college,) and I do wonder what that means for humanity.

I think there will still be jobs, but they'll be highly specialized, and unfortunately, only a few will qualify for them. I listen to a lot of company and financial news, and when the talk around AI started to explode, every major company was reporting laying off employees by the tens of thousands.

A few months later, the narrative changed, with many of these places finding AI to be limited, and now had to hire people back. However, the ones coming back obviously weren't those running for coffee and filing papers. It's only for those who are at the top of their game.

So I often wonder how those positions are going to be filled in the future. Every area of work is becoming more specific and complex. People in basic jobs are losing out to machines, but the people who know how to build, program, and fix those machines will have more than enough work cut out for them. I'm particularly interested to see what happens in the medical field (robots doing surgery, etc.), because with the TikTok generation, what human will have the concentration skills to perform 8-hour surgeries anymore?

But even then, who is going to be be able to build, program, direct, and maintain all these machines? (Of course, maybe we're headed for what the sci-fi movies tell us -- robots building, directing, and advancing robots, with minimal or no need for humans.)

The culture today is raising everyone to be the exact opposite of what it will take to fulfill those positions, if there are any left.

I listen to a lot of social commentary about how, for most people today, everything is about them: what they want, how they see the world, what they can grab while they can, and if things like responsibilities (paying bills, etc.) don't "serve them," they write it off and dig themselves into an even deeper pit. But it's always someone or something else's fault, never their own. And they think they deserve the world -- just for existing.

They complain about feeling lonely and isolated, but what they want is to meet people who will be all about them, without even bothering to ask other people what they like or want to talk about.

All the things needed to succeed in the jobs of the future -- patience, discipline, self-control, dedication, and a lot of sacrifice -- no longer exist into today's culture.

One thing I do know is that some how, some way, God provides for His people.

It might not be big and flashy. We all might have to learn do do with a lot less.

But during the Plague of Darkness in Egypt, God provided His people with light.

When Laban kept changing Jacob's wages, God made sure those sheep bore whatever Laban told him he would be paid with. If Laban would have said that Jacob would be paid with the sheep born with stars and stripes, well, you could probably place bets on what the next batch of lambs would look like!

I agree that we're living in worrisome times, but I can't think of a time, in my life at least, that society WASN'T worried about The Next Big Thing, because This Time It's Different. It's Always Different.

Believe me, I get very concerned, especially for my college-age nieces and nephews (who, praise the Lord, are all bright, smart, hard-working, and extremely disciplined.)

But even then, I pray over them constantly because I know it's a big, scary, impersonal, and very robotic world out there.

All I can do is what all Christians are to do -- cling to the promise that God is who He says He is, does what He says He will do, and that He will not forget us.

P.S.

This post was proudly written WITHOUT the help of any AI assistance!!

Sorry, but NOT TODAY, SKYNET!!!

There are still human beings who can think on their own! (At least at this moment.)

 

[Lovette]

Every generation is faced with something they think is bigger than the last. For instance, I had family members who lived through The Great Depression and World War II, and I'm sure people thought those things would be the end of the world as well.

Even in my own life, I remember when people said the world would end with Y2K (when the century changed over from 1999 to 2000,) and that every computer would freeze up, and planes would fall out of the sky.

I do understand that AI, like everything that came before it, seems like the biggest challenge yet. A Christian friend once told me she wondered if God was purposely allowing (not directing, but allowing,) the population growth to slow down because He knows there won't be as many jobs with AI.

I think my generation is the last that was raised without the internet (it came into play when I was in college,) and I do wonder what that means for humanity.

I think there will still be jobs, but they'll be highly specialized, and unfortunately, only a few will qualify for them. I listen to a lot of company and financial news, and when the talk around AI started to explode, every major company was reporting laying off employees by the tens of thousands.

A few months later, the narrative changed, with many of these places finding AI to be limited, and now had to hire people back. However, the ones coming back obviously weren't those running for coffee and filing papers. It's only for those who are at the top of their game.

So I often wonder how those positions are going to be filled in the future. Every area of work is becoming more specific and complex. People in basic jobs are losing out to machines, but the people who know how to build, program, and fix those machines will have more than enough work cut out for them. I'm particularly interested to see what happens in the medical field (robots doing surgery, etc.), because with the TikTok generation, what human will have the concentration skills to perform 8-hour surgeries anymore?

But even then, who is going to be be able to build, program, direct, and maintain all these machines? (Of course, maybe we're headed for what the sci-fi movies tell us -- robots building, directing, and advancing robots, with minimal or no need for humans.)

The culture today is raising everyone to be the exact opposite of what it will take to fulfill those positions, if there are any left.

I listen to a lot of social commentary about how, for most people today, everything is about them: what they want, how they see the world, what they can grab while they can, and if things like responsibilities (paying bills, etc.) don't "serve them," they write it off and dig themselves into an even deeper pit. But it's always someone or something else's fault, never their own. And they think they deserve the world -- just for existing.

They complain about feeling lonely and isolated, but what they want is to meet people who will be all about them, without even bothering to ask other people what they like or want to talk about.

All the things needed to succeed in the jobs of the future -- patience, discipline, self-control, dedication, and a lot of sacrifice -- no longer exist into today's culture.

One thing I do know is that some how, some way, God provides for His people.

It might not be big and flashy. We all might have to learn do do with a lot less.

But during the Plague of Darkness in Egypt, God provided His people with light.

When Laban kept changing Jacob's wages, God made sure those sheep bore whatever Laban told him he would be paid with. If Laban would have said that Jacob would be paid with the sheep born with stars and stripes, well, you could probably place bets on what the next batch of lambs would look like!

I agree that we're living in worrisome times, but I can't think of a time, in my life at least, that society WASN'T worried about The Next Big Thing, because This Time It's Different. It's Always Different.

Believe me, I get very concerned, especially for my college-age nieces and nephews (who, praise the Lord, are all bright, smart, hard-working, and extremely disciplined.)

But even then, I pray over them constantly because I know it's a big, scary, impersonal, and very robotic world out there.

All I can do is what all Christians are to do -- cling to the promise that God is who He says He is, does what He says He will do, and that He will not forget us.

This time it's different because unlike the previous industrial revolutions, which created jobs and opportunities, this one takes away more entry jobs than creates; also, the previous industrial revolutions inspire new ideas and inventions, this one reduce them by gathering and throwing them to feed AI models.

I believe the Lord will return within my lifetime, no later than 2050. The iniquity of mankind will not be tolerated much longer. The same phrase has been uttered to mock the second coming - "yeah, this time it's different, it's for real!" This has led to an attitude of complicity and negligence, exactly as how the Lord warned, that no one was watching for the signs of his coming, and that;s supposed to be what "all Christians are to do."

 

[Lovette]

P.S.

This post was proudly written WITHOUT the help of any AI assistance!!

Sorry, but NOT TODAY, SKYNET!!!

There are still human beings who can think on their own! (At least at this moment.)


View attachment 297793

PS. I never complain about feeling lonely or isolated. Quite the contrary, a moment of solitude heavenly peace for me, considering that what I do everyday is to figure out what my boss, colleague, clients want and meet their demands.

 

[seoulsearch]

This time it's different because unlike the previous industrial revolutions, which created jobs and opportunities, this one takes away more entry jobs than creates; also, the previous industrial revolutions inspire new ideas and inventions, this one reduce them by gathering and throwing them to feed AI models.

I believe the Lord will return within my lifetime, no later than 2050. The iniquity of mankind will not be tolerated much longer. The same phrase has been uttered to mock the second coming - "yeah, this time it's different, it's for real!" This has led to an attitude of complicity and negligence, exactly as how the Lord warned, that no one was watching for the signs of his coming, and that;s supposed to be what "all Christians are to do."

Well, the Bible does say that things will get worse in the end times.

I'm very curious to see what happens in the next 20 years and exactly how the "This Time It's Different" narrative plays out, because of what I have seen in my own life.

There's also that old saying, "When God closes a door, He opens a window," so I'm trying to choose to look for the windows rather than at all the slamming doors.

And I think one of the reasons every world challenge is different from the next is because God uses them to teach us how to further trust and obey Him, so maybe in a way, they have to be different.

We wouldn't learn anything if every hardship was the same.

As for watching for the signs of His coming...

At the same time we are to watch, God also says that no one knows the hour or the day. I think there is a fine line between looking for the signs and becoming stagnant or paranoid vs. living life and moving forward the way God wants.

I've met a lot of religious people who seem to zero in on one aspect of God's Words/commands, but never move past it, and become useless, or even harmful, to others in the process.

I know many people who believe Jesus will come back in their lifetime. And they could very well be right. But the disciples thought He would come back in their lifetime as well. All the signs that we have now existed back then as well ("wars and rumors of wars", etc.)

It's a rather pessimistic thing to ponder, but it almost seems to be a matter of seeing all the same signs -- but seeing just how bad they can get.

I'm certainly NOT saying Jesus couldn't come back soon, meaning today, tomorrow, next year, in the next minute.

I've just known a lot of people who got so hooked on watching for Jesus' coming, they can't even live the life they have today, and I hope to be different.

 

[seoulsearch]

PS. I never complain about feeling lonely or isolated. Quite the contrary, a moment of solitude heavenly peace for me, considering that what I do everyday is to figure out what my boss, colleague, clients want and meet their demands.

Yes, I can relate to this.

I never knew I was an introvert until my husband left, and even then, it took me years to figure out.

Now days I'm single partially because I don't think I could handle being around someone all the time, let alone an entire household if he had children/grandchildren living with him.

I do have times where I feel isolated or lonely, not because "God isn't enough," but because I'm human, and that's part of my personality.

However, I know a lot of people in situations involving others, whether single or married, who seem to get no rest or peace at all, and in those moments, I am very thankful for my many quiet days.

 

[RodColeman]

Well, the Bible does say that things will get worse in the end times.

I'm very curious to see what happens in the next 20 years and exactly how the "This Time It's Different" narrative plays out, because of what I have seen in my own life.

There's also that old saying, "When God closes a door, He opens a window," so I'm trying to choose to look for the windows rather than at all the slamming doors.

And I think one of the reasons every world challenge is different from the next is because God uses them to teach us how to further trust and obey Him, so maybe in a way, they have to be different.

We wouldn't learn anything if every hardship was the same.

As for watching for the signs of His coming...

At the same time we are to watch, God also says that no one knows the hour or the day. I think there is a fine line between looking for the signs and becoming stagnant or paranoid vs. living life and moving forward the way God wants.

I've met a lot of religious people who seem to zero in on one aspect of God's Words/commands, but never move past it, and become useless, or even harmful, to others in the process.

I know many people who believe Jesus will come back in their lifetime. And they could very well be right. But the disciples thought He would come back in their lifetime as well. All the signs that we have now existed back then as well ("wars and rumors of wars", etc.)

It's a rather pessimistic thing to ponder, but it almost seems to be a matter of seeing all the same signs -- but seeing just how bad they can get.

I'm certainly NOT saying Jesus couldn't come back soon, meaning today, tomorrow, next year, in the next minute.

I've just known a lot of people who got so hooked on watching for Jesus' coming, they can't even live the life they have today, and I hope to be different.

I don't encounter too many people who are 100% convinced that God will literally come today, tomorrow, or this year, or in a certain year.

But it's always amusing when they have so much certainty, since Jesus Himself said that even He doesn't know.

I'm mainly thinking of that Harold Camping fellow, though he did admit his errors at the end.

 

[seoulsearch]

I don't encounter too many people who are 100% convinced that God will literally come today, tomorrow, or this year, or in a certain year.
But it's always amusing when they have so much certainty, since Jesus Himself said that even He doesn't know.
I'm mainly thinking of that Harold Camping fellow, though he did admit his errors at the end.

Whenever someone sets a specific time or time frame -- NOT "I think He'll come before such-and-such year," BUT things like that like that September 2025 Rapture nonsense -- where we had several people on CC claiming that, too. (I give kudos to the one person I saw come back and apologize over being wrong.)

I immediately think to myself, "Welp. We all know it's NOT going to be then..."

Sure, it could be immediately before, or after, but we know it's not going to be any specific time someone tries to predict, because God says NO ONE KNOWS EXCEPT THE FATHER.

I have no idea how some people can mess up something as plainly written as that, but somehow they do. I mean, if people want a Word from the Lord, you can't get more obvious than that!

Does anyone know, does the Bible say that God has an exact, set-in-stone time for Jesus's coming?

I've often wondered if it's a set, static time that God set at the very beginning -- or if it's conditional, based on various markers/milestones that God has in mind, and if the exact time might vary depending on how/when the world meets those markers.

I personally think Jesus is going to come at a time that NO human being has set in their heart.

Like it might be a day when even the most diligent of watchers are distracted by life and aren't contemplating it at that moment -- because God said it will be like a thief in the night.

For my own self, I believe it will be at a time when NO ONE is expecting it and EVERYONE is caught off guard, so that NO ONE can say, "You see? I KNEW Jesus was coming at this time!!"

If anyone can say that, then it can't be said that NO ONE knows except the Father.

But, I could be very wrong.

It's just that I'm not really known for thinking like the majority.

 

[RodColeman]

Whenever someone sets a specific time or time frame -- NOT "I think He'll come before such-and-such year," BUT things like that like that September 2025 Rapture nonsense -- where we had several people on CC claiming that, too. (I give kudos to the one person I saw come back and apologize over being wrong.)

I immediately think to myself, "Welp. We all know it's NOT going to be then..."

Sure, it could be immediately before, or after, but we know it's not going to be any specific time someone tries to predict, because God says NO ONE KNOWS EXCEPT THE FATHER.

I have no idea how some people can mess up something as plainly written as that, but somehow they do. I mean, if people want a Word from the Lord, you can't get more obvious than that!

Does anyone know, does the Bible say that God has an exact, set-in-stone time for Jesus's coming?

I've often wondered if it's a set, static time that God set at the very beginning -- or if it's conditional, based on various markers/milestones that God has in mind, and if the exact time might vary depending on how/when the world meets those markers.

I personally think Jesus is going to come at a time that NO human being has set in their heart.

Like it might be a day when even the most diligent of watchers are distracted by life and aren't contemplating it at that moment -- because God said it will be like a thief in the night.

For my own self, I believe it will be at a time when NO ONE is expecting it and EVERYONE is caught off guard, so that NO ONE can say, "You see? I KNEW Jesus was coming at this time!!"

If anyone can say that, then it can't be said that NO ONE knows except the Father.

But, I could be very wrong.

It's just that I'm not really known for thinking like the majority.

Well, if you want to get extremely technical, I think it actually could very well be at a year that some human "predicts."

But, of course, their prediction is not something they actually know. It would just be a wild guess. That happened to be right.

And a wild guess is too boring, and won't go viral, so they have to pass it off as an accurate prediction, somehow.

I want nothing to do with any of that. I have better things to do with my time.

Like consume popcorn while enjoying all the calm, civil and gentlemanly discourse that you can so readily find on the Internet.

 

[Lovette]

Well, the Bible does say that things will get worse in the end times.

I'm very curious to see what happens in the next 20 years and exactly how the "This Time It's Different" narrative plays out, because of what I have seen in my own life.

There's also that old saying, "When God closes a door, He opens a window," so I'm trying to choose to look for the windows rather than at all the slamming doors.

And I think one of the reasons every world challenge is different from the next is because God uses them to teach us how to further trust and obey Him, so maybe in a way, they have to be different.

We wouldn't learn anything if every hardship was the same.

As for watching for the signs of His coming...

At the same time we are to watch, God also says that no one knows the hour or the day. I think there is a fine line between looking for the signs and becoming stagnant or paranoid vs. living life and moving forward the way God wants.

I've met a lot of religious people who seem to zero in on one aspect of God's Words/commands, but never move past it, and become useless, or even harmful, to others in the process.

I know many people who believe Jesus will come back in their lifetime. And they could very well be right. But the disciples thought He would come back in their lifetime as well. All the signs that we have now existed back then as well ("wars and rumors of wars", etc.)

It's a rather pessimistic thing to ponder, but it almost seems to be a matter of seeing all the same signs -- but seeing just how bad they can get.

I'm certainly NOT saying Jesus couldn't come back soon, meaning today, tomorrow, next year, in the next minute.

I've just known a lot of people who got so hooked on watching for Jesus' coming, they can't even live the life they have today, and I hope to be different.

That "fine line" is the distinction of "the day or the hour" and "the season or the era". The disciples expected the Messiah coming as a conquering king and liberator of Israel, they were also taught that the destruction of the temple was the end of the world, and many amellennial theology has taught that the Lord had "symbolically" returned on 70AD, that was the end of the world, he had been reigning in heaven ever since, but that's another topic for another day.

I have no anxiety over that, I trust in God's sovereignty. ALl that I'm saying is that this time is indeed different, history is progressing toward the end times, unless you believe history is cyclical and the Lord did have symbolically returned on 70AD.

 

[seoulsearch]

Like consume popcorn while enjoying all the calm, civil and gentlemanly discourse that you can so readily find on the Internet.

I see we've finally converted you!!




There's only one thing to say about that!!

 

[seoulsearch]

That "fine line" is the distinction of "the day or the hour" and "the season or the era". The disciples expected the Messiah coming as a conquering king and liberator of Israel, they were also taught that the destruction of the temple was the end of the world, and many amellennial theology has taught that the Lord had "symbolically" returned on 70AD, that was the end of the world, he had been reigning in heaven ever since, but that's another topic for another day.

I have no anxiety over that, I trust in God's sovereignty. ALl that I'm saying is that this time is indeed different, history is progressing toward the end times, unless you believe history is cyclical and the Lord did have symbolically returned on 70AD.

All we can do is watch, wait, and pray.