Religion in America

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CU88
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Re: Religion in America

Post by CU88 »

May 23, 2022
Heather Cox Richardson

Scandals today, and be forewarned: the first deals with sexual assault. If you want to skip over it, the next one starts about nine paragraphs down, with the word TODAY in all caps.

Yesterday, a nearly 300-page report from a third-party investigation revealed that the leadership of the Southern Baptists buried sex abuse claims for more than 20 years. They ignored accusations or attacked sex abuse survivors to protect the church from legal liability, describing survivors as “‘opportunistic,’ having a ‘hidden agenda of lawsuits,’ wanting to ‘burn things to the ground,’ and acting as a ‘professional victim.’”

The modern Southern Baptist Convention story begins in 1967, when Paige Patterson, a seminary student, and Paul Pressler, a Texas judge, met in New Orleans to discussing taking over the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. and ridding it of liberals, purging those who believed in abortion rights, women’s rights, and gay rights. By 1979 their candidate was elected head of the organization, and in the 1980s, Southern Baptists, who then numbered about 15 million people, were active in politics and were staunch supporters of the Republican Party.

Between 2003 and 2018 the church lost a million members. Both Pressler and Patterson were accused of sexual misconduct and by 2018 had been forced out of leadership roles, and a new leader called for “a new culture and a new posture in the Southern Baptist Convention.” While he set up new systems for responding to abuse, other leaders continued to blame the victims. In one internal email, senior staff member D. August “Augie” Boto, who drove much of the church’s response to abuse allegations, wrote: “This whole thing should be seen for what it is. It is a satanic scheme to completely distract us from evangelism.”

In 2019 the Houston Chronicle ran a series calling attention to the 380 pastors affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention who had been accused of sexual abuse, blowing the lid off the scandal. In March 2021 the hugely popular leader Beth Moore, herself a survivor of sexual assault, left the church. In May, Russell Moore (no relation to Ms. Moore) left the church leadership and then, the following month, left the church itself over its handling of sexual abuse allegations and racism.

The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in 2021 was the largest one since 1995. Members rejected a hard-right leader and chose as president Ed Litton, senior pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama, who since at least 2014 had focused on racial reconciliation. Members also called for an investigation of the escalating sex scandals, which had become so toxic after Trump’s election that In setting up an investigation, church members were leery enough of the leaders investigating themselves that they set up a task force to manage a third-party investigation. The task force hired the investigating team, Guidepost Solutions, on September 9, 2021.

Its report is so damning that Russell Moore’s first reaction was to say: “I was wrong to call sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention…a crisis. Crisis is too small a word. It is an apocalypse.” The investigation, he says, “uncovers a reality far more evil and systematic than I imagined it could be.” “How many children were raped, how many people were assaulted, how many screams were silenced,” he asked, “while we boasted that no one could reach the world for Jesus like we could.”

“That’s more than a crisis,” he said. “It’s even more than just a crime. It’s blasphemy. And anyone who cares about heaven ought to be mad as hell.”

The 13 million or more Southern Baptists have provided strong support for Republicans since the 1980s, molding to their patriarchal model that president Ronald Reagan sold with the image of the cowboy. This report has ripped the cover off the abuse that model concealed. Whether that will affect voting patterns remains to be seen, but it does seriously undermine the image of the patriarchal leader as a protector of women and children, an image on which Republicans relied. Beth Moore reacted to the report by saying: “You have betrayed your women.”
by cradleandshoot » Fri Aug 13, 2021 8:57 am
Mr moderator, deactivate my account.
You have heck this forum up to making it nothing more than a joke. I hope you are happy.
This is cradle and shoot signing out.
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jhu72
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Re: Religion in America

Post by jhu72 »

Southern Baptist Convention Sexual Abuse Report Story.

The report itself.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of pedophiles and perverts. Between these child abusers, the Mormans and the Catholics you have more than 50% of the US population telling us how pious and godly they and their religions are; all the while supporting the abuse of or actually abusing children themselves. These people are going to pretend to tell the rest of us how to live.
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jhu72
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Re: Religion in America

Post by jhu72 »

To illustrate the seriousness of the Baptists, a church spokesman today said that the amount of abuse will be seen as less than the abuse of the Catholic Church. :lol: :lol: How can you not feel the Baptist Church is really serious about this issue. :lol: :lol:
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Re: Religion in America

Post by jhu72 »

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Brooklyn
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Re: Religion in America

Post by Brooklyn »

jhu72 wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 11:42 am Southern Baptist Convention Sexual Abuse Report Story.

The report itself.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of pedophiles and perverts. Between these child abusers, the Mormans and the Catholics you have more than 50% of the US population telling us how pious and godly they and their religions are; all the while supporting the abuse of or actually abusing children themselves. These people are going to pretend to tell the rest of us how to live.


The key to all this being the line, "The 13 million or more Southern Baptists have provided strong support for Republicans since the 1980s, molding to their patriarchal model that president Ronald Reagan sold with the image of the cowboy." The party serving as roll models, woops, role models for that group.
It has been proven a hundred times that the surest way to the heart of any man, black or white, honest or dishonest, is through justice and fairness.

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Brooklyn
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Re: Religion in America

Post by Brooklyn »

Religious freedom, and freedom from religion, is under threat from evangelicals


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/relig ... eb014c794f



The Reverends Dr. Judy Cummings and Dr. Kevin Riggs write in the Tennessee Lookout, "What does it mean to be a Christian?":


“But confessing with our hearts and mouths is just the beginning of living out our Christian faith. As Christians we are called to live as Jesus called us to live. He made it simple and clear in Matthew 22:37-38 when he said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ These two statements are inextricable, meaning, it is impossible to love God without loving neighbor. Many Christians forget to come back to the foundation of our faith – Jesus Christ. We can look at how he called his disciples to live out the ethics of the kingdom here on Earth.”

In the 1920s, an Indian philosopher named Bara Dada said: “Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians, you are not like him.”

That was said 100 years ago, and it is even more true today. The evil, toxic and noxious “Christian” evangelicals are hell-bent on destroying the very foundations of our country and replacing them with their own ideals. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….” This means that the government cannot create a state religion or deny the freedom to practice any religion the citizen practices. Not only that, but it protects every citizen from religion as well. You aren’t religious? Don’t worry, you are still protected — no religious belief can be forced upon you.

Evangelicals absolutely hate that they cannot proclaim that the U.S. is a Christian nation. So, what are they doing? They are using religious and “moral” positions to undermine settled law. Let’s look at an example: Abortion. As I’m writing this piece, a leak from SCOTUS has shown that at least five judges are signatories of an unpublished opinion that if published will remove Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. Texas and a couple of other states have already done this by fiat, and more states will soon follow their lead.

But there is a problem. People who practice Judaism do not believe that abortion is against God’s law and is a requirement if the mother’s life is at risk. By banning abortions, states are setting themselves up for a First Amendment challenge by not allowing the free exercise of citizens’ religion.

Rabbi Rachael Pass writes: “If anyone tries to argue that abortion restrictions are justified under the prerogative of religious freedom, we can explain that our religious freedom demands that we have access to abortion care when it is needed and wanted.” (Times of Israel, May 4, 2022)

Dominionism and Christian fascism (sometimes called “Christofascism”) can all be found in the modern evangelical Christian movement today and encompasses the fascistic, totalitarian and imperialistic aspects of the Christian church.

Many of the early settlers in America came here fleeing religious persecution in their home countries. Many more were sent here and other places as prisoners of those self-same religions. Let us not create the same situation in the future by becoming the very thing our forefathers fled in the first place.

In May 1939, a letter writer named Ivan Bussart, published in The Kingsport Times of Kingsport, Tennessee, wrote this:

“The contention of my articles will be that, if and when fascism comes over America, it will be…[an] iron hand encased in a silk glove:

For God and Country!

Freedom and democracy!

Pure Anglo-Saxonism!

Liberty and the Constitution!

—catchwords which will thwart the actual and real rights of the citizenry...”

Sound familiar?

Until next month, if you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding. Trust your doctor (unless they are a religious zealot) and the science community. Ignore the lunatics from the fringes of both parties. And above all, don’t take wooden nickels.

— Mike Aurelius is a member of the Times Writers Group. He is a semi-retired business owner and professional writer who looks askance at the utterances of the extreme right- and left-wing politicians.



Points to ponder. Indeed, the radical and unpatriotic right does have the right to harbor whatever views they have. Equally important is their right to teach or to promulgate such views however errant they may be. The problem is when they try to impose their twisted views on else on all else along with their refusal to recognize and respect that others have differing viewpoints.
It has been proven a hundred times that the surest way to the heart of any man, black or white, honest or dishonest, is through justice and fairness.

Charles Francis "Socker" Coe, Esq
CU88
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Re: Religion in America

Post by CU88 »

Have r's every been to a catholic mass?

If so, then they need to stop subjecting kids to these drag shows where men dress up like women, play loud music, ask for money, and indoctrinate kids before they are even old enough to understand.

:D
Essexfenwick
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Re: Religion in America

Post by Essexfenwick »

Brooklyn wrote: Mon Jun 06, 2022 10:19 pm Religious freedom, and freedom from religion, is under threat from evangelicals


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/relig ... eb014c794f



The Reverends Dr. Judy Cummings and Dr. Kevin Riggs write in the Tennessee Lookout, "What does it mean to be a Christian?":


“But confessing with our hearts and mouths is just the beginning of living out our Christian faith. As Christians we are called to live as Jesus called us to live. He made it simple and clear in Matthew 22:37-38 when he said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ These two statements are inextricable, meaning, it is impossible to love God without loving neighbor. Many Christians forget to come back to the foundation of our faith – Jesus Christ. We can look at how he called his disciples to live out the ethics of the kingdom here on Earth.”

In the 1920s, an Indian philosopher named Bara Dada said: “Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians, you are not like him.”

That was said 100 years ago, and it is even more true today. The evil, toxic and noxious “Christian” evangelicals are hell-bent on destroying the very foundations of our country and replacing them with their own ideals. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….” This means that the government cannot create a state religion or deny the freedom to practice any religion the citizen practices. Not only that, but it protects every citizen from religion as well. You aren’t religious? Don’t worry, you are still protected — no religious belief can be forced upon you.

Evangelicals absolutely hate that they cannot proclaim that the U.S. is a Christian nation. So, what are they doing? They are using religious and “moral” positions to undermine settled law. Let’s look at an example: Abortion. As I’m writing this piece, a leak from SCOTUS has shown that at least five judges are signatories of an unpublished opinion that if published will remove Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. Texas and a couple of other states have already done this by fiat, and more states will soon follow their lead.

But there is a problem. People who practice Judaism do not believe that abortion is against God’s law and is a requirement if the mother’s life is at risk. By banning abortions, states are setting themselves up for a First Amendment challenge by not allowing the free exercise of citizens’ religion.

Rabbi Rachael Pass writes: “If anyone tries to argue that abortion restrictions are justified under the prerogative of religious freedom, we can explain that our religious freedom demands that we have access to abortion care when it is needed and wanted.” (Times of Israel, May 4, 2022)

Dominionism and Christian fascism (sometimes called “Christofascism”) can all be found in the modern evangelical Christian movement today and encompasses the fascistic, totalitarian and imperialistic aspects of the Christian church.

Many of the early settlers in America came here fleeing religious persecution in their home countries. Many more were sent here and other places as prisoners of those self-same religions. Let us not create the same situation in the future by becoming the very thing our forefathers fled in the first place.

In May 1939, a letter writer named Ivan Bussart, published in The Kingsport Times of Kingsport, Tennessee, wrote this:

“The contention of my articles will be that, if and when fascism comes over America, it will be…[an] iron hand encased in a silk glove:

For God and Country!

Freedom and democracy!

Pure Anglo-Saxonism!

Liberty and the Constitution!

—catchwords which will thwart the actual and real rights of the citizenry...”

Sound familiar?

Until next month, if you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding. Trust your doctor (unless they are a religious zealot) and the science community. Ignore the lunatics from the fringes of both parties. And above all, don’t take wooden nickels.

— Mike Aurelius is a member of the Times Writers Group. He is a semi-retired business owner and professional writer who looks askance at the utterances of the extreme right- and left-wing politicians.



Points to ponder. Indeed, the radical and unpatriotic right does have the right to harbor whatever views they have. Equally important is their right to teach or to promulgate such views however errant they may be. The problem is when they try to impose their twisted views on else on all else along with their refusal to recognize and respect that others have differing viewpoints.

That’s why gun rights are so important. There is no way to thwart totalitarianism other than an armed populace of differing races, religions and political philosophies all working against groupthink and too deadly to subdue without chaos.
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Re: Religion in America

Post by PizzaSnake »

CU88 wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:33 pm Have r's every been to a catholic mass?

If so, then they need to stop subjecting kids to these drag shows where men dress up like women, play loud music, ask for money, and indoctrinate kids before they are even old enough to understand.

:D
Ritualized “grooming”.
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Re: Religion in America

Post by a fan »

Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:11 pm That’s why gun rights are so important. There is no way to thwart totalitarianism other than an armed populace of differing races, religions and political philosophies all working against groupthink and too deadly to subdue without chaos.
Wait...so you were FOR the armed citizen showing up a Kavanaugh's house, "working against groupthink"?
Essexfenwick
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Re: Religion in America

Post by Essexfenwick »

a fan wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 3:24 pm
Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:11 pm That’s why gun rights are so important. There is no way to thwart totalitarianism other than an armed populace of differing races, religions and political philosophies all working against groupthink and too deadly to subdue without chaos.
Wait...so you were FOR the armed citizen showing up a Kavanaugh's house, "working against groupthink"?
The neighbors and Kavanaugh should be heavily armed and the perpetrator should be dead. Much more efficient and cheaper. Plus it sends a message to seething liberal fools.
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Re: Religion in America

Post by a fan »

Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 3:27 pm
a fan wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 3:24 pm
Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:11 pm That’s why gun rights are so important. There is no way to thwart totalitarianism other than an armed populace of differing races, religions and political philosophies all working against groupthink and too deadly to subdue without chaos.
Wait...so you were FOR the armed citizen showing up a Kavanaugh's house, "working against groupthink"?
The neighbors and Kavanaugh should be heavily armed and the perpetrator should be dead. Much more efficient and cheaper. Plus it sends a message to seething liberal fools.
:lol: You just told us that guns were necessary to thwart totalitarianism, Essex. That's the government-----that's Kavanaugh.

Perpetrator? He didn't do anything. He was an armed citizens, just like YOU insisted.

You should be cheering this citizen on. You're not. Because you don't want armed citizens who all have different views.

What you hilariously want are armed citizens who all have the same exact political views as YOU, Essex.

There's a word for that. Groupthink.

You're a hoot, I'll give you that. You want the 2nd Amendment to protect the rest of us from guys like you. Hilarious.
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Brooklyn
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Re: Religion in America

Post by Brooklyn »

Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:11 pm
That’s why gun rights are so important. There is no way to thwart totalitarianism other than an armed populace of differing races, religions and political philosophies all working against groupthink and too deadly to subdue without chaos.

Too bad the NRA and the rest of their fellow right wingers did not believe in that when the Black Panthers armed themselves against criminal police forces in California:


https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.pdEONl8hR ... mgDet&rs=1


Image




Don't you agree that armed Black Panthers are the greatest deterrent to police crimes and drugs in the ghetto?
It has been proven a hundred times that the surest way to the heart of any man, black or white, honest or dishonest, is through justice and fairness.

Charles Francis "Socker" Coe, Esq
Essexfenwick
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Re: Religion in America

Post by Essexfenwick »

Brooklyn wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 5:21 pm
Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:11 pm
That’s why gun rights are so important. There is no way to thwart totalitarianism other than an armed populace of differing races, religions and political philosophies all working against groupthink and too deadly to subdue without chaos.

Too bad the NRA and the rest of their fellow right wingers did not believe in that when the Black Panthers armed themselves against criminal police forces in California:


https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.pdEONl8hR ... mgDet&rs=1


Image




Don't you agree that armed Black Panthers are the greatest deterrent to police crimes and drugs in the ghetto?

Yep. Totally.
Essexfenwick
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Re: Religion in America

Post by Essexfenwick »

a fan wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 3:32 pm
Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 3:27 pm
a fan wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 3:24 pm
Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:11 pm That’s why gun rights are so important. There is no way to thwart totalitarianism other than an armed populace of differing races, religions and political philosophies all working against groupthink and too deadly to subdue without chaos.
Wait...so you were FOR the armed citizen showing up a Kavanaugh's house, "working against groupthink"?
The neighbors and Kavanaugh should be heavily armed and the perpetrator should be dead. Much more efficient and cheaper. Plus it sends a message to seething liberal fools.
:lol: You just told us that guns were necessary to thwart totalitarianism, Essex. That's the government-----that's Kavanaugh.

Perpetrator? He didn't do anything. He was an armed citizens, just like YOU insisted.

You should be cheering this citizen on. You're not. Because you don't want armed citizens who all have different views.

What you hilariously want are armed citizens who all have the same exact political views as YOU, Essex.

There's a word for that. Groupthink.

You're a hoot, I'll give you that. You want the 2nd Amendment to protect the rest of us from guys like you. Hilarious.
No way . I like when citizens who don’t agree with me are armed. If somebody is an assassin it’s good for somebody in the neighborhood to shoot and kill. It’s risky for anybody to be violent when everybody is armed. It’s also risky and chaotic for tyrants.
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Re: Religion in America

Post by a fan »

Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:40 pm No way . I like when citizens who don’t agree with me are armed.
:lol: So Kavanaugh gets killed by this nutjob, and you think that's just another day in the US of A?

You don't get it: Kavanaugh is the tyrant that you're telling us should be killed, Essex. You're supporting the nutjob.

Neat. You're really punching above your class today. This should work out great.
Essexfenwick
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Re: Religion in America

Post by Essexfenwick »

a fan wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 7:29 pm
Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:40 pm No way . I like when citizens who don’t agree with me are armed.
:lol: So Kavanaugh gets killed by this nutjob, and you think that's just another day in the US of A?

You don't get it: Kavanaugh is the tyrant that you're telling us should be killed, Essex. You're supporting the nutjob.

Neat. You're really punching above your class today. This should work out great.
Nah.. I want the neighbors to shoot the nut job
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Re: Religion in America

Post by a fan »

Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:05 pm
a fan wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 7:29 pm
Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:40 pm No way . I like when citizens who don’t agree with me are armed.
:lol: So Kavanaugh gets killed by this nutjob, and you think that's just another day in the US of A?

You don't get it: Kavanaugh is the tyrant that you're telling us should be killed, Essex. You're supporting the nutjob.

Neat. You're really punching above your class today. This should work out great.
Nah.. I want the neighbors to shoot the nut job
Yeah, no you don't. He's standing up to the tyrant you think should be shot. Did you forget what you already told us? You want the citizens who don't agree with you to be armed, remember? Well...he is. And he's gonna shoot the tyrant you think all these guns are for....remember?

You seem to think that with all these armed citizens YOU get to decide who the tyrants in government are. That's not how it works, my man. The armed citizens get to do that for themselves.

Otherwise? It's that Groupthink that you warned us about in the last post. Can't have that.
Essexfenwick
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Re: Religion in America

Post by Essexfenwick »

a fan wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:13 pm
Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:05 pm
a fan wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 7:29 pm
Essexfenwick wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:40 pm No way . I like when citizens who don’t agree with me are armed.
:lol: So Kavanaugh gets killed by this nutjob, and you think that's just another day in the US of A?

You don't get it: Kavanaugh is the tyrant that you're telling us should be killed, Essex. You're supporting the nutjob.

Neat. You're really punching above your class today. This should work out great.
Nah.. I want the neighbors to shoot the nut job
Yeah, no you don't. He's standing up to the tyrant you think should be shot. Did you forget what you already told us? You want the citizens who don't agree with you to be armed, remember? Well...he is. And he's gonna shoot the tyrant you think all these guns are for....remember?

You seem to think that with all these armed citizens YOU get to decide who the tyrants in government are. That's not how it works, my man. The armed citizens get to do that for themselves.

Otherwise? It's that Groupthink that you warned us about in the last post. Can't have that.

I want armed citizens and of every race creed and political persuasion. That way anybody trying to force or coerce anybody or any group may get shot. Aggressive acts of any type have immediate potential death penalty. That way everybody has to be really civilized especially control freaks.
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