u/LesDeuxPoissons

Premillennial Christians who support sending billions of U.S. tax dollars to Israel will oftentimes cite Genesis 12:3 to dogmatically justify this foreign aid:

"And I will bless them that bless thee [Israel]."

Ted Cruz is one example of this. However, these same premillennial Christian conservatives will generally scoff at the suggestion of using tax money to assist the poor and hungry, dismissing it as something like "evil Marxism," in spite of the overwhelming number of Bible verses that address the importance of helping the poor. Ezekiel 16:49, for example, explicitly states that indifference to the poor was one of the sins of Sodom:

"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."

Or, if someone suggests using tax money to help the poor by citing Matthew 25:33–46, a concession may be made that helping the poor is important, but they'll often resort to a false dichotomy by arguing that it should only be done through personal, voluntary charity, not by a "socialist nanny government." It will be suggested that YOU, as a Christian individual, should voluntarily give YOUR money to the poor, not other people's money through taxes. Otherwise, they'll argue, it doesn't mean the same thing.

But by that same logic, couldn't the same thing be said about "blessing Israel"? If YOU really want to bless Israel, send YOUR money to them, not other people's tax dollars.

If that's really the principle, then it ought to apply consistently. If Christians shouldn't use tax dollars to fulfill their biblical obligation to care for the poor, then they shouldn't use tax dollars to fulfill what they believe is a biblical obligation to bless Israel either.

Kind of freaking out about this and wondering if anyone's had something similar.

I had subcision and a laser touch-up for acne scars a little over 3 weeks ago. Since then I've noticed a small patch on one cheek where my beard doesn't seem to be growing like the surrounding areas. The same spot on the other side has normal growth.

Maybe it was always there and I'm only noticing it now because I had to shave before the procedure, but I honestly don't remember seeing it before.

Has anyone had a patch of beard growth slow down or disappear temporarily after subcision, laser, or other acne scar treatments?

If you did, did it eventually come back? How long did it take?

Just trying to figure out whether this is something that can happen during healing or if I should be more concerned...

Not sure if this is just me, but oil blotting papers seem to make my acne scars look a little better.

I think when my skin gets oily, the shine makes the texture stand out more. After using a blotting paper, my skin looks more matte and the scars don't seem quite as noticeable.

Obviously it's not actually improving the scars, but I figured I'd mention it in case anyone else struggles with the same thing.

Has anyone had a small beard patch stop growing after subcision or Candela CO2RE?

I had a full-face Candela CO2RE treatment about 2 months ago, and then about 3 weeks ago I had subcision along with a small CO2RE spot treatment for acne scars.

Lately I've noticed a small area on one cheek that seems to have little to no beard growth compared to the surrounding area. It's not a huge patch, but it stands out because there is beard hair above it and below it.

The skin itself looks pretty normal. I don't see an obvious scar, burn, or discoloration in the area. That's part of why I'm confused.

I'm not even sure if this is actually new or if it's always been a thinner spot and I'm only noticing it because I've been paying much closer attention to my face since the procedures.

Has anyone experienced localized beard thinning or a patch that seemed to stop growing after subcision or CO2 laser? Did it come back? If so, how long did it take?

Just curious about other people's experiences.

I vaguely remember coming across a song with a music video circa 2009-2010 that had a vibe maybe like the black angels or black rebel motorcycle club [?]. I recall the video was mostly if not entirely black and white featuring scenes of a fair / carnival [?] The singer had a deep voice, e.g. Nick Cave, Michael Gira.

I just remember one line was something along the lines of "on Sunday" or "the last day God just stayed in bed"

Hopefully somebody out there will know what this is haha.