Welcome to "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum!

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Welcome to "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum!

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"The ARC" Chat/Video Forum exists to Build the ARC – Agape Restoration Communities, to promote practical cooperation between like-minded Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians. The shared doctrines found in the basic Christian Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (Filioque open) form the basis for this online group to work together on joint efforts in practical spheres such as caring for orphans, the poor, elderly, and people with disabilities, and providing a forum to promote the open exchange of information between Christians who in faith confess and accept others who also affirm this Creed as genuinely seeking to be disciples of Christ.

To JOIN "The ARC" (Agape Restoration Communities) Chat/Video Forum, please read the Guidelines below. If you agree to them, and send us your contact info in the form below so we can add you to this Forum. We're now using a Teams group. Microsoft's Teams is a free, all-in-one app that's easy to use: you can join our "live" group video calls that we will announce from time to time, when the moderator starts a group video call with other members. Or you can select the "Chat" area for text messaging our group *anytime* when members don't have to all be online at the same time.

Guidelines:

Traditional Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians hold much in common such as belief in the Trinity, the inspiration of the Bible and its teachings on Christian sexual morality and the sanctity of human life, belief in the doctrines in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and the need to demonstrate that our faith works through agape-love. Genuine faith must produce fruit, good works – look at all the Scripture texts that show Living Faith That Works.

Divine revelation, supremely in Jesus Christ and also in Scripture, means that an Absolute and Truth exist. Therefore we reject the notion that religious tolerance implies relativism, even if we don't agree on secondary points of doctrine. There are serious theological differences between Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians. While Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians believe that their respective confessions constitute the visible one, holy, catholic and Apostolic Church described in the Nicene Creed, Evangelical Protestant Christians regard their denominations as valid expressions of an invisible, universal Church, the Body of Christ.

But we believe it is possible, in a forum such as this, to practice genuine Christian love and find ways to cooperate on charitable and practical levels without proselytizing, attacking or denigrating each other, to discuss both what we have in common and our differences without rancour or bitterness, and to learn more about each other's Christian faith. We will leave it to the professional theologians and various confessions' hierarchies to iron out theological differences and hopefully someday lead us to visible unity, but meanwhile we at "the grass-roots level" must work out our faith in agape-love (Galatians 5:6) to each other and to our needy neighbors in the world.

The disciple John once told Jesus – "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn't follow with us." Jesus said to him, "Don't forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us." Then both James and John said – "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, "You don't know of what kind of spirit you are. For the Son of Man didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Luke 9:49-56).

So as sincere followers of Christ, rather than arguing, we will strive to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) and practice the dual test of faith, which is truth combined with agape-love, as in 1 John 4:2 and 7-8 - "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.... Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

The consensus among Evangelical Protestant scholars and sociologists is that Evangelicalism is a term which pertains to all those Christians who agree on the following five points:

1. The pre-eternal divinity and majesty of Jesus Christ, both as incarnate God and Lord, and as the Savior of sinful humanity.

2. The need for personal repentance, conversion, leading lives of chastity and moderation, and daily following Jesus Christ.

3. The full divinity of the Holy Spirit and His ministry in the life of each believer.

4. The divine inspiration and authority of Scripture as the primary source of knowledge about God and as the guide for the Christian life.

5. The priority of evangelism by both individual Christians and the Church as a whole.

To the above five points, we add that the Evangelical Protestants in "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum shall personally affirm the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, regard highly the writings Early Church Fathers (for example, see the book The True Christian Faith, written in the 8th century by St. John Damascus at the time when the Church was united in East and West) as valuable sources for understanding the Scriptures and the practices of the early Church, and strive to work together harmoniously with Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians at levels short of shared communion and clergy.

We accept Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians in "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum who believe in Jesus Christ as God Incarnate, as Savior and Lord of their life, who may believe that their respective churches are part of the one true Church but acknowledge that there are some who are in Christ who, although not within the visible Church, are linked to Her by bonds that are not yet revealed. As some Orthodox theologians have said – "We know where the Church is, but we do not know where the Church is not." Fr. Aleksandr Borisov, head of the Russian Bible Society and member of our board when we were Evangelical missionaries in Russia, told me as we were considering becoming Orthodox – "If you believe in the Nicene Creed, you're already [potentially] Orthodox!"

These Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians will strive to work together harmoniously with our Evangelical Protestant fellow Christian members in our joint social ministry. Each ARC will have a community room/chapel where like-minded people can gather for worship and ministry to the community. A minister from one Christian confession will lead each ARC community, but residence in that community will be open to any and all Christians (and their dependents) who affirm the Nicene Creed, these guidelines, and genuinely seek to be disciples of Christ.

Rom. 14:1-6 and 15:1-7 teach us to exercise tolerance toward others who hold debatable positions. "In primary things unity, in secondary things liberty, and in all things love." Regarding the form of baptism, each person should be convinced in his own mind. Because Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and some Protestants such as Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Reformed practice infant baptism, while others such as Baptists, Pentecostals and Adventists baptize only upon personal confession of faith, "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum defines valid baptism to be that which was performed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in full agreement with the teachings of an ARS member's church that confesses the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

Also, nearly all Christian confessions use various forms of religious art to communicate their faith, and respect and strive to imitate godly people who have gone before them. Most Evangelical Protestants and all Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics accept the doctrines defined in the first Seven Ecumenical Councils. In accordance with the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicea, 787 A.D.), Evangelical Protestant members of this conference agree not to call the use of icons, statues or asking for prayer by the Virgin Mary and the other saints "idolatry" or "false worship"; and Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic members of this forum, in accordance with that Council's decision, will not give worship ("latreia"), but only reverence and respect ("proskunesis") to the saints, holy icons, and statues.

As Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic fellow Christians, we recognize that we live in pluralistic, multinational cultures which in the 21st century is becoming more closely integrated on the international level, and that narrow ethnocentrism, political or religious nationalism, and ethnic or cultural imperialism breed discord, strife and war. We acknowledge that Evangelical Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholics each should have the legal right to fully practice their faith in every country. We shall strive for tolerance on the societal level, and seek ways to cooperate with each other on charitable and practical levels. Members of "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum agree to:

Refrain from arguing with, proselytizing, attacking or denigrating each other on this Forum. This includes avoiding the derogatory terms mentioned above or similar terms. "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things" (Romans 14:1). As a sincere follower of Christ, strive to "speak the truth in love."

And remember that our Forum's main purpose is to "prepare the saints to do the work of ministry, to the building up of the Body of Christ" (Eph. 4:11-12) – Building the ARC! That's what our chats and video calls should focus on, so don't use this forum for private conversations with other members. If, after joining, you don't agree with these guidelines, please send a separate message to the Forum moderator to remove your Teams name from the Forum.

To JOIN, please go to our web-page Welcome to "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum and fill out your necessary info.)

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Our Origins:

This electronic forum sprang out of the fifth annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism (SSEOE) at the Billy Graham Center on Wheaton College campus October 6-7, 1995. For three years, this forum was called the Evang-Orth Conference, was renamed in October 1998 to the Agape-Rehab email forum, and more recently the name was changed to "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum. In November 2011 we moved to Google Groups. In September 2020 we began using Skype, providing instant chat and adding live video. In May 2025, Microsoft transitioned Skype to Teams.

The SSEOE is a conservative Christian "think tank" that serves both the adademy and the church. All members affirm the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (filioque open). It seeks to identify the similarities and differences between Eastern Orthodox and Evangelicals. Through its annual meetings and published papers, it endeavors to provide theological resources for reconstruction and renewal. In the words of its Constitution, its purpose is:

"To cultivate an academic understanding of the theological histories of the Orthodox and Evangelical traditions and their mutual relations in the areas of history, doctrine, worship and spirituality; to promote fellowship and mutual enrichment among scholars engaged in these activities; and to coordinate the work of such theologians in North America and abroad."

The SSEOE was begun in 1990 at the initiative of an Eastern Orthodox theologian along with several other young Eastern Orthodox and Evangelical Protestant scholars. All had personal and academic experience with both traditions. Convinced of the need for serious and sustained research in this unexplored territory, they pioneered the SSEOE in hopes of making the theological histories of their traditions known and understood in relation to each other. Their ultimate goal was to enrich their own traditions by removing false barriers which have divided them, while also identifying legitimate differences.

For further information, please contact the SSEOE President and Founder:

Bradley Nassif, Ph.D.
President, SSEOE
blnassif@yahoo.com

You can read the rest of our newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2025-06-21.htm, and share it! And create your own blog for less than $1.99 per month!

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ARTIFICIAL GENERAL SUPER-INTELLIGENCE COULD ARRIVE BY 2027, SCIENTIST PREDICTS

 

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(← click) Unless you've been asleep for the past few years, you've likely heard lots of buzz about "AI" – Artificial Intelligence. A little less familiar to the general public is the term "AGI" – Artificial General Intelligence. The first, AI, is collecting huge amounts of data on a given subject, such as programming, or physics, or medicine, then loading up a large database with this data in a structured way according to rules of correct grammar and syntax. Such databases have been around for several years for the legal and medical professions, and now, with voice input and output, you can simply ask a question in ordinary English and hear or read the answer, usually quite correct and exact... but it can "hallucinate" or put the data together incorrectly so that the output may sound plausible but is just plain wrong.

But the second term, AGI, is newer, and means collecting even huger amounts of data on a multitude of fields and train the machine with more refined rules so that the output is very precise on any of these multitude of fields and matches the best of expert knowledge of any one human individual in any of these fields, "general" knowledge on many, many topics. But the newest term that's just now popping up is "AGSI" – Artificial General Super-Intelligence. This is such a vast collection of data on every conceivable field of knowledge – virtually all that has been recorded over the course of human history – combined with rules of logic, grammar, and syntax in a multitude of languages, so that you can ask it anything in almost any language and it will reply in that language and in a way superior to any human being in any field of expertise whatsoever. Many AI experts have stated this is decades away, some have predicted it within a decade or so, but the above headline says it's just around the corner, in about 18 to 30 months. Here's a summary of the above article:

"A leading AI expert, Ben Goertzel, predicts artificial general intelligence (AGI) could arrive as early as 2027, evolving rapidly into artificial superintelligence (AGSI or ASI). Goertzel believes human-level AGI is plausible within the next 3-8 years, potentially leading to a rapid intelligence explosion. Others, like Shane Legg and Geoffrey Hinton, have made similar predictions about the timeline for AGI, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Goertzel emphasizes that recent advancements in large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have increased the possibility of AGI, but LLMs alone won't create it. Goertzel speculates that once AGI reaches human level, it could quickly become radically more intelligent, potentially leading to a singularity or intelligence explosion. The prediction comes with caveats, noting that AI's 'mind' might not be similar to a human mind, and the technology's development may not follow a linear, isolated path."

Another article, "AGI TO ARRIVE 'MUCH SOONER' THAN IN 2-3 YEARS: SOFTBANK’S MASAYOSHI SON," by the head of Softbank, a leading AI firm, basically implies that AGI may be already here, kept in wraps somewhere. During my time in military intelligence 60 years ago, we were using computers that the outside world didn't even know existed until several years later when IBM introduced them to the business world. So I can easily surmise that right now the government and the intelligence community already have AGSI, they already know almost everything about everything and everyone in the world. What's going on here?

Rod Dreher, in his recent article on Substack, "Tom Cruise Vs. The Anti-God," wrote – "the world is endangered by a super-powerful AI, called 'The Entity,' which has gone rogue, and seeks to exterminate much of humanity and to enslave the survivors." And, of course, Tom Cruise will save the world. It should be obvious to the average Christian that the "Anti-God" is none other than the Antichrist. This indicates how much the Christian idea of a personification of evil has seeped even into mass pop culture. An example from Dreher's article:

"In the opening sequence of the new film, we learn that The Entity has so thoroughly infected and seized control of the global Internet that nobody really knows what truth and reality are anymore – and that the world is headed towards war. It seems that The Entity is manipulating reality – which is to say, narratives about reality – to turn people and nations against each other. Its final task is to infect the arsenals of the world’s nuclear powers, to unleash global Armageddon."

Newsweek online recently ran the article, "Do We Have a Moral Obligation To AI Because of Evolution?" As you might notice, here's another mention of the personification of a machine. But we only can have moral obligations to real persons, not to a machine or an ideology such as evolution. It seems clear that people are beginning to view AI as more than a machine, rather, as a supernatural entity that inhabits a machine.

When something is so complex that most people can't comprehend it, they begin to view it as magic. That "Entity" isn't the machine itself, instead it inhabits it and the smart but godless people using our modern enchantment by technology to control what goes into our minds: millions and millions of people are already addicted to and controlled by their smartphones, and now AI has been added to our phones. If/when those who control this false Wizard-of-Oz-god exterminate humanity, they won't have any people left to maintain the vast computer servers and networks: they didn't ever really need the servers – they're only a mask to hide behind as they seize power to install their transhumanist fantasy to build sandcastles in the sky, to inhabit other planets, solar systems, and galaxies. But if there are no more regular people to pay for these "services," it simply will not happen, the whole system collapses.

Here's the blurb about Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity, a book that's set to be released this September:

How a force that’s hard to name, but which we all feel, is reshaping what it means to be human.

In Against the Machine, “furiously gifted” (The Washington Post) novelist, poet, and essayist Paul Kingsnorth presents a wholly original—and terrifying—account of the technological-cultural matrix enveloping all of us. With masterful insight into the spiritual and economic roots of techno-capitalism, Kingsnorth reveals how the Machine, in the name of progress, has choked Western civilization, is destroying the Earth itself, and is reshaping us in its image. From the First Industrial Revolution to the rise of artificial intelligence, he shows how the hollowing out of humanity has been a long game—and how your very soul is at stake.

It takes effort to remain truly human in the age of the Machine. Writing in the tradition of Wendell Berry, Jacques Ellul and Simone Weil, Kingsnorth reminds us what humanity requires: a healthy suspicion of entrenched power; connection to land, nature and heritage; and a deep attention to matters of the spirit. Prophetic, poetic, and erudite, Against the Machine is the spiritual manual for dissidents in the technological age.

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We absolutely must break our minds and souls free from captivity to "The Machine"! Therefore, let's get back down to earth: "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, eating the bread of toil; for he gives sleep to his loved ones. Behold, children are a heritage of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. They will not be disappointed when they speak with their enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127). Our only true hope is not from the government, or from technology, or modern socialized medicine, or any of today's "isms" – Our true hope is in the Lord, in His Church, and in His holy Scriptures. As I wrote in the conclusion of HOW TO STOP THE FALLING BIRTH RATE, "with an increasing growth of the conservative Christian population and a decline of the liberal secular humanist population, the birth rate will begin to climb again. Women on average will have more babies, they will not let them be indoctrinated into secular humanism, but will teach them the moral values that will make society prosper again. 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth!'"

You can read the rest of our newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2025-06-07.htm, and share it! Create your own blog for less than $1.99 per month!