Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Does the idea that God intervenes in our lives contradict the notion that we have free will?
Response video drops tomorrow.
Hope you're all doing well!
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Dropping a video tomorrow for which I consciously threw a bit of sarcasm into the mix. Hope y'all will be able to take it well. Just wanted to try this one out and will be interested in your feedback.
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Please sign! 2 minutes of your day well spent...
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BREAKING THE SILENCEâŠ
I hope you are all doing well! The last time I uploaded a video was half a year ago. I then disappeared. Here is why: On the 22nd of October 2022, we opened âThe Living Room,â our event cafĂ© in the heart of Beirut. For years, weâve been running discussion nights, Bible studies, debates, movie nights, board game events, and other stuff in our apartment or in coffee shops and event venues around town. As our network and community grew, we started to dream of opening our own cafĂ© to gather more people and expand our reach. This project saw the light of day in the fall of last year. It has been a rather wild ride since then. I initially thought Iâd be able to continue doing YouTube on the side even during the opening phase, but it turns out I was terribly wrong. The Living Room which is run with a team of mainly Lebanese and Syrian believers has required a level of attention and care on my part to the extent of which there was neither time nor head space left to write scripts, shoot, and edit videos. Week after week Iâd tell myself that ânext weekâ Iâll be able to get back into YouTube again. But it simply wasnât possible. The amount of work to get the coffee shop going was insane, and so were the sleepless nights.
Not being able to do YouTube, which is something I have come to love doing, has been something of a sacrifice. I didnât like having to let go. I also started to feel guilty for having failed the community of those whoâve faithfully followed this channel. So, let me say that I am truly sorry for leaving the channel abandoned just like that without filling you in on whatâs been going on. That wasnât right and I want to apologize for that. Let me also thank all those whoâve checked in on me through comments or emails. Big thanks to Capturing Christianity, Trinity Radio and Testify for nudging me just recently. You may not have realized that, but your messages were key in âpulling me back.â
As far as the journey with our cafĂ© is concerned, itâs been quite a rollercoaster. During the first two months, we were struggling to get folks to come. Then suddenly, at the beginning of this year, The Living Room took off like crazy with lots of people coming day after day after. Besides being a coffee shop, we run regular events with the simple aim of building community. Regular trivia nights, movie nights, readerâs clubs, or art workshops are part of our schedule. Activist groups, artist cooperatives, fashion designers, or NGOs of Beirut have started to book our place for their gatherings, too. Most importantly, however, we organize bi-weekly discussions and debates around the kinds of topics youâd typically find on my channel. Weâve done debates and discussions about Godâs existence, the problem of evil, and other bones of contention between atheists and Christians. Events such as these usually pack out our place completely, often with up to 80 people attending. Due to the responses weâve been getting weâve also just launched a Bible study for people who wanna know more about the Christian faith.
Running the business-side of things at the Living Room has been a crazy experience, not least because the Lebanese economy and infrastructure are in a total mess. Since we opened in the fall, the value of the Lebanese Lira has dropped by over 50% and prices for supplies have skyrocketed accordingly. Power cuts are a daily reality. Itâs wild. Lebanon is on the verge of becoming a failed state. Even so, weâre actually on a good track to soon break even, Lord willing. In the midst of the chaos, itâs been super encouraging to see The Living Room become something of a magnet for young people in the city and a hub for those who are eager to explore questions of truth and meaning. I also count myself blessed to have a team of highly committed Lebanese and Syrian believers who passionately give themselves to this project in the midst of very challenging economic and personal circumstances.
I recently hired an assistant manager to help me run this place. My plan is that this would, among other things, release me back into doing YouTube again. I do want to re-establish my content creation rhythm. Iâm now starting to write, shoot and edit again and I actually have some vids that are ready for publishing. To be honest, it feels a bit like starting all over again which is both scary and exciting. Also, I recognize that almost anything can happen still, both in Lebanon at large and with The Living Room. So, I canât guarantee that no further disruption is ahead anymore as instability is part and parcel of life in the Middle East. However, I shall do my best to get fully back into the game again. My apologies again for dropping off the map and thank you all big time for your support!
If youâre interested, check out The Living Room here: instagram.com/livingroom.lb?igshid=ODM2MWFjZDg=
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Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Phil. 4:8
Have a great week everyone!
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Well, many of you have probably seen my conversation with Alex O'Connor about divine hiddenness on either his channel or on Unbelievable already. Even so, it'll go up on my channel tomorrow as well. Check it out! I hope you all had a great start to the week!
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Out and about with the gang...
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YouTube atheists talking about WLC these days...
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Fact:
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The best explanation for our fine-tuned universe? Atheist:
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Hi, my name is Lukas, and thank you for checking out my channel!
Here, you learn how to answer the skeptic's objections to Christianity.
Enjoy, subscribe, and become part of the community! And do reach out to me if you have any questions or feedback.
Thank you!
Lukas