Day: February 1, 2026
Tax season scams surge as filing confusion grows
IRS impersonation scams use fake refund alerts and urgent account issues to steal taxpayer data during 2026 tax season, exploiting filing program changes.
Super Bowl champion Brent Jones says NFL tight end position is ‘exciting to watch’ after productive seasons
Rising NFL tight end stars Tyler Warren and Brock Bowers join established veterans as the league prepares for the Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl rematch.
WNBA player speaks out on becoming first pro basketball player to partner with OnlyFans
Erica Wheeler became first professional basketball player to partner with OnlyFans, using the platform for workout content and behind-the-scenes WNBA moments rather than adult content.
‘We’re not men’: Man pretending to be a woman loses it on camera
When the Supreme Court heard arguments earlier this month regarding whether or not laws from Idaho and West Virginia banning transgender athletes from competing on teams aligning with their gender identity are constitutional, many interesting characters showed up outside to protest.
And one of them crashed out while being interviewed by a conservative reporter.
“I think the problem arises when we have females that don’t want to play sports against males, and after their objection, the males are still put on the team anyway,” the reporter said.
“We’re not men. We’re not males,” the man, who calls himself a woman, responded.
“You guys separate sex and gender, don’t you?” the reporter asked.
“Yes, of course,” the man responded.
“So, then you have to acknowledge that you’re male —” she began to answer, before he cut her off to yell, “No! I will never acknowledge that! Never put those words in my mouth!”
“Never put it in my mouth,” he continued.
“I’m putting it in my mouth,” she responded.
“Take it out!” he yelled back, completely deranged. “I am not male.”
“Can I ask you what makes you a woman?” the reporter asked.
“My mind. Even implying that I’m male is an insult, and it spits in my face and that of every other trans person in this place,” the man continued.
When the reporter then addressed the man’s wife, saying her husband was being aggressive and using the pronoun “he” to describe him, the man yelled, “She.”
“You can’t just put lipstick on a pig,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”
“No one’s fooled, sir. You’re still a dude. You’ll always be a dude. Deal with it, and get some therapy while you’re at it,” she adds.
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Do you follow a diluted Jesus — or the full-strength one?
One of the most revealing features of modern Christianity — across Catholic, Protestant, and nondenominational churches alike — is how Jesus is so often presented: gentle, affirming, and above all reassuring. He is described primarily as the “Prince of Peace,” a title that appears only once in scripture (Isaiah 9:6), or reduced to a generalized ethic of niceness often summarized as “Jesus is love.”
The problem is not that these ideas are false. It is that they are radically incomplete.
Jesus prays for His followers, not for the world as such. He commands love of neighbor, but He never pretends that truth and allegiance are optional.
Scripture presents God as merciful, gracious, and abundant in goodness and truth (Exodus 34:6), but the same passage insists that He “will by no means clear the guilty.” Love, in the biblical sense, is inseparable from justice.
When Jesus commands His disciples to love one another, the apostle Paul clarifies what this means: to fulfill the law and do no harm to one’s neighbor (Romans 13:8-10). Love is not affirmation of wrongdoing; it is obedience to God’s moral order.
This distinction was not always obvious to me.
Scriptural reckoning
For much of my life, I was a Christian in name only — attending church, absorbing familiar slogans, and assuming that the moral core of Christianity consisted of kindness paired with a firm prohibition against judgment or righteous anger. That changed four years ago when I began reading scripture seriously, first through a Jewish translation of the Old Testament and later through a King James Study Bible in weekly study with a close friend.
We made a simple but demanding commitment: start at Genesis and read every verse, in order, without skipping the difficult passages. We are now in Matthew 6. This approach differs sharply from curated reading plans that promise familiarity with the Bible while quietly filtering out the parts that unsettle modern sensibilities.
Reading scripture this way forces a reckoning.
Anger management
Consider Matthew 5:22, where Jesus warns against being angry with one’s brother “without cause” — a qualifying phrase absent from many modern translations. That distinction matters. Without it, the verse suggests that all anger is sinful. With it, scripture acknowledges a truth borne out repeatedly: Anger can be justifiable, but it must be governed.
Jesus Himself demonstrates this. He overturns tables in the Temple (Matthew 21:12). He rebukes religious leaders sharply. He experiences betrayal, grief, and indignation — yet never loses control. The lesson is not emotional suppression, but moral discipline.
Reading the King James Bible makes these tensions impossible to ignore. Its language is austere and elevated, but more importantly, it preserves a view of humanity that allows for courage, judgment, and resolve alongside mercy. This stands in contrast to many modern ecclesial presentations of Christ, which portray Him almost exclusively as a comforting presence whose primary concern is emotional reassurance.
RELATED: The day I preached Christ in jail — and everything changed
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No more Mr. Nice Guy
But Jesus explicitly rejects this reduction. In Matthew 5:17-20, He states plainly that He did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. The New Testament does not replace the Old; it completes it. The Old Testament establishes the moral and civilizational framework. The New Testament builds the interpersonal life of faith upon it.
Jesus is eternal (John 8:58), one with the Father and the Spirit (John 14). He is not absent from the demanding and often terrifying episodes of Israel’s history. The same Christ who calls sinners to repentance is present when God judges nations, disciplines His people, and establishes His covenant through struggle and sacrifice.
This continuity matters because it exposes the weakness of a Christianity that treats faith primarily as therapy. Churches shaped around likability and marketability inevitably soften doctrine. Hard truths drive people away; reassurance fills seats. The result is a faith that speaks endlessly about peace while avoiding the cost of discipleship.
A pastor at my church recently put it well: It is better to hold a narrow theology — one that insists scripture means what it says — and to extend fellowship generously to those who submit to it, than to hold a broad theology that can be made to say anything and therefore demands nothing. Jesus prays for His followers, not for the world as such (John 17). He commands love of neighbor, but He never pretends that truth and allegiance are optional.
This is why Jesus’ own words about conflict are so often ignored. In Luke 22:36, He tells His disciples to prepare themselves, even to the point of acquiring swords. The passage is complex and easily abused, but its presence alone undermines the notion that Jesus preached passive moral disarmament. Scripture consistently portrays a God who calls His people to vigilance, readiness, and courage — spiritual first, but never abstracted from the real world.
Cross before comfort
Many of Jesus’ parables involve kings, landowners, or rulers — figures of authority, stewardship, and judgment. The Parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19 is especially unsettling. There Jesus depicts a king rejected by his people, fully aware of their hatred, and describes the fate rebellion would merit if this were a worldly kingdom. The point is not to license violence, but to make unmistakably clear that rejection of Christ is not morally neutral.
Modern Christianity often flinches at this clarity. It prefers a Jesus who reassures rather than commands, who affirms rather than judges. But scripture presents something sterner and more demanding. Jesus does not seek universal approval. He seeks faithfulness. He does not promise comfort. He promises a cross.
As the late Voddie Baucham frequently observed, the cross is not a symbol of tolerance; it is a declaration of war against sin.
The question Christianity ultimately poses is not whether Jesus is kind — He is — but whether He is Lord. And if He is, discipleship is not a matter of sentiment, but allegiance.
Arabelle Dela Cruz is ‘Veiled Cup Korea’ grand winner
Arabelle Dela Cruz was named the grand winner of “Veiled Cup Korea.”
NCAA: Perpetual Lady Altas sweep San Sebastian to go 3-0; Altas break through in men”s volleyball
The University of Perpetual Help System DALTA swept San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 25-20, 28-26, 25-18, to improve to 3-0 in the NCAA Season 101 women”s volleyball tournament on Sunday.
BSP says further policy easing possible in February meeting
Bangko Sentral governor Eli Remolona Jr. hinted at a possible sixth straight rate cut this month, following the weaker-than-expected economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2025.
