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@ 8d34bd24:414be32b
2025-03-10 00:16:01
The Bible tells believers repeatedly that we are to share the gospel, make disciples, speak the truth, etc. We are to be His witnesses. The reason we don’t go straight to heaven when we are saved is that God has a purpose for our lives and that is to be a light drawing people to Him.
> “…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
In order to be His witness, we have to know Him and know His word. When we don’t know His word, we can be misled and/or mislead others. We will fail in our mission to be witnesses if we don’t regularly study the Bible and spend time in prayer with our God.
> As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and **carried about by every wind of doctrine**, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but **speaking the truth in love**, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:4-16) {emphasis mine}
In addition to knowing Him and His word, we need to be bold and unashamed.
> Therefore **do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord** or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and **called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose** and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, (2 Timothy 1:8-10) {emphasis mine}
We were called according to His purpose. His purpose was known before the creation of the world. We are not saved by works, but if we are saved, works should naturally proceed from the power of the Holy Spirit within us, as well as the thankfulness we should have because of what Jesus did for us.
The key point of our witness is obedience. We are a tool of God. We are to faithfully share the Gospel and the truth in God’s word, but we are not held accountable for the result of this witness. The results are due to God’s mercy and power and not due to anything we do.
> But **you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not**, for they are rebellious.
>
> “**Now you**, son of man, **listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house.** Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” (Ezekiel 2:7-8) {emphasis mine}
When we witness, some will listen and some will not. Some will accept Jesus with joy and some will reject Him in anger. That is not our concern. God calls whom He will and without His calling, nobody comes to Him.
> And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” (Matthew 13:57)
One thing I’ve noticed is that the hardest people to witness to are family (not counting kids, but especially parents and siblings) and other people who have known us for a long time. They see what we were and not what we now are. There is baggage that can make for awkward dynamics. As someone once said to me, “It is hard to teach anyone or convince anyone who changed your diaper.”
I started with the Acts 1:8, “*… be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth*.” This is like saying “be My witnesses in my hometown, my state, my country, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Our witness starts at home, then our community, and works it way out. Everyone can witness at home. We can all witness in our community as we go about our daily actions. It is important to have Christians that go to the “*remotest part of the earth*,” especially to unreached people groups, but that isn’t where most of us are sent. Most of us are called to witness to those around us daily.
> **For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language**, but to the house of Israel, nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But **I have sent you to them who should listen to you**; (Ezekiel 3:5-6) {emphasis mine}
God empowers some to be international missionaries, but He calls every Christian to be a life missionary. Sometimes this may just be living a life for Jesus that stands out in the culture. Sometimes this may be giving an in-depth treatise on the Gospel and the Bible. It will look differently in different seasons of life and on different days, but it should be a regular part of our life.
As we build relationships with people and show that we care about them, this usually gives us the opportunity to share with them why our lives look different. It demonstrates why we treat others well, why we are loving, and why we have joy, even when our circumstances don’t seem like they should lead to joy. Then when they ask why we are different, we can have the opportunity to tell why we have this joy and love and morality.
> but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; (1 Peter 3:5)
Although following a person and forcing them to listen to the Gospel is not the way to draw someone to Jesus, we need to not be silent about the truth. Not being pushy doesn’t mean being silent when someone is forcing their ungodly views on us or on others. Speaking up prevents evil voices from taking control. You also might be surprised to find that others didn’t like what was being said, but were too afraid to speak up because they thought everyone agreed with the speaker. When you speak up for the truth, it can give others courage to stand on their convictions and to draw closer to Jesus, whether this means they come to salvation or just draw closer to God.
> Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, **take into your heart all My words** which I will speak to you and **listen closely**. **Go** to the exiles, **to the sons of your people**, and **speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not**, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ” (Ezekiel 3:10-11) {emphasis mine}
We are to speak the truth in love whether they listen or not. Some will listen, hear, and come to Jesus. Some will listen and reject what is said. We are only called to obey the call. God brings the increase. To God be the glory!
May God guide us and lead us in wisdom, love, and courage so that our light shines so brightly that many unsaved come to trust in Jesus Christ our Lord and that those who know Jesus, but have not matured, may grow in their faith, knowledge, and obedience to Jesus.
Trust Jesus
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@ c1e9ab3a:9cb56b43
2025-03-09 20:13:44
## Introduction
Since the mid-1990s, American media has fractured into two distinct and increasingly isolated ecosystems, each with its own Overton window of acceptable discourse. Once upon a time, Americans of different political leanings shared a common set of facts, even if they interpreted them differently. Today, they don’t even agree on what the facts are—or who has the authority to define them.
This divide stems from a deeper philosophical rift in how each side determines truth and legitimacy. The institutional left derives its authority from the **expert class**—academics, think tanks, scientific consensus, and mainstream media. The populist right, on the other hand, finds its authority in **traditional belief systems**—religion, historical precedent, and what many call "common sense." As these two moral and epistemological frameworks drift further apart, the result is not just political division but the emergence of **two separate cultural nations sharing the same geographic space**.
## The Battle of Epistemologies: Experts vs. Tradition
The left-leaning camp sees **scientific consensus, peer-reviewed research, and institutional expertise** as the gold standard of truth. Universities, media organizations, and policy think tanks function as arbiters of knowledge, shaping the moral and political beliefs of those who trust them. From this perspective, governance should be guided by data-driven decisions, often favoring progressive change and bureaucratic administration over democratic populism.
The right-leaning camp is skeptical of these institutions, viewing them as ideologically captured and detached from real-world concerns. Instead, they look to **religion, historical wisdom, and traditional social structures** as more reliable sources of truth. To them, the "expert class" is not an impartial source of knowledge but a self-reinforcing elite that justifies its own power while dismissing dissenters as uneducated or morally deficient.
This fundamental disagreement over the **source of moral and factual authority** means that political debates today are rarely about policy alone. They are battles over legitimacy itself. One side sees resistance to climate policies as "anti-science," while the other sees aggressive climate mandates as an elite power grab. One side views traditional gender roles as oppressive, while the other sees rapid changes in gender norms as unnatural and destabilizing. Each group believes the other is **not just wrong, but dangerous**.
## The Consequences of Non-Overlapping Overton Windows
As these worldviews diverge, so do their respective **Overton windows**—the range of ideas considered acceptable for public discourse. There is little overlap left. What is considered self-evident truth in one camp is often seen as **heresy or misinformation** in the other. The result is:
- **Epistemic Closure** – Each side has its own trusted media sources, and cross-exposure is minimal. The left dismisses right-wing media as conspiracy-driven, while the right views mainstream media as corrupt propaganda. Both believe the other is being systematically misled.
- **Moralization of Politics** – Since truth itself is contested, policy debates become existential battles. Disagreements over issues like immigration, education, or healthcare are no longer just about governance but about **moral purity versus moral corruption**.
- **Cultural and Political Balkanization** – Without a shared understanding of reality, compromise becomes impossible. Americans increasingly consume separate news, live in ideologically homogeneous communities, and even **speak different political languages**.
## Conclusion: Two Nations on One Land
A country can survive disagreements, but can it survive when its people no longer share **a common source of truth**? Historically, such deep societal fractures have led to **secession, authoritarianism, or violent conflict**. The United States has managed to avoid these extremes so far, but the trendline is clear: as long as each camp continues reinforcing its own epistemology while rejecting the other's as illegitimate, the divide will only grow.
The question is no longer whether America is divided—it is whether these two cultures can continue to coexist under a single political system. Can anything bridge the gap between institutional authority and traditional wisdom? Or are we witnessing the slow but inevitable unraveling of a once-unified nation into **two separate moral and epistemic realities**?
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@ 06639a38:655f8f71
2025-03-09 19:54:07
## FOSDEM
I do know about the presence of this conference for many years, but I never attended it (and it's just around the corner for me coming from the south of The Netherlands). Attending FOSDEM with Nostr was quite a no-brainer to me. FOSDEM has the perfect tech-savy audience who will understand the protocol pretty quick. Our main goal would be to explain Nostr as a protocol and what new kind of applications can be build with it (and why we need it). During Bitcoin Amsterdam 2024 I proposed the idea for applying with a Nostr stand at FOSDEM '25 to @npub1l77twp5l02jadkcjn6eeulv2j7y5vmf9tf3hhtq7h7rp0vzhgpzqz0swft and @npub1hz5alqscpp8yjrvgsdp2n4ygkl8slvstrgvmjca7e45w6644ew7sewtysa.
Jurjen and I created the application on October 29 2024. Without any expectations as no one knew what kind of policy they have. As a result we were really excited when we heard that our submission was approved (16 November 2024). Two weeks later we also proposed a main talk about Nostr (1 december 2024) and again we very surpised it was accepted (10 January 2025)!
Now it was time for us to work out all of the plans we had:
* Design and print promotional items
* Flyers
* Stickers
* NIP-01 folder
* Banners
* Gather all the equipment we need to demo Nostr stuff at the stand
* Book accomodations
* Prepare a keynote
* Start a Geyser fundraiser to cover all the expenses as much as possible
On the 21th of January we launched our [Geyser project](https://geyser.fund/project/nostrfosdem2025?hero=geyser) and with one very generous donation we already achieved our funding goal within just ONE hour! Wow!!!
### Friday
In the evening Jurjen organized a Nostr fringe at the place of Commons Hub Brussels. Around 25 people joined, so that was a pleasant surpise so many showed up and shared their interest into Nostr.
### Saterday
We're arrived a bit too late as the venue was already packed with a lot of people! For the first hours we had no power, so we our computer screen with the slides was not. What we saw immediately was the huge interest in stickers. Not only our Nostr stickers, but in general you can grab stickers everywhere on each stand. People at FOSDEM like stickers a lot!
We were there with five and during the whole day all of use had conversations explaining Nostr or having related discussions around social media and centralisation.
Video: [https://nostrver.se/sites/default/files/2025-02/IMG_2322.mp4](https://nostrver.se/sites/default/files/2025-02/IMG_2322.mp4)
### Sunday
This day was less crowded than the day before so we had a bit more room to breath, relax and explore other areas of the conference.
In the afternoon it was up to Constant to give his Nostr keynote at one of the two mainstages of FOSDEM.
The recording is available [here on fosdem.org](https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6452-nostr-notes-and-other-stuff-transmitted-by-relays/) and on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbt3jL1Ms0w).
All the keynotes slides can be found [here](https://nostrver.se/sites/default/files/2025-02/Nostr_FOS_jW08Poa.odp).
### Learnings / insights
* We need to be there again next year !!!
* We had zero inconvenient moments or unreasonable debates.
* Some attendees are pretty hardcore as one of them visited the stand the second time after when he installed the Gossip client on his PostmarketOS powered phone asking how to proceed using Nostr. People at FOSDEM are not normal ;-)
* Many people do ask why Nostr is here as another social media protocol.
* Questions about the differences with other protocols are very common, mentioning ActivityPub and ATproto.
* Almost everyone knows what Mastodon and the fediverse is.
* Had some questions how private Nostr is, so this confirms that we really need the private stuff for Nostr.
* At many moments it was hard to understand each other due all the noise from other people. Especially when you're speaking not your native language.
* When talking about using a private key you get really good questions how convient it could be (or not as some really don't believe it can work for normies) used in the context of social media. As in how often you will need this key for the actions you take using a Nostr client. A topic also very well explained by Constant in the Nostr main talk.
* We had 500+ stickers, but we needed more as we ran out of them during the Sunday morning.
* We handed-out around 400-500 NIP-01 folders.
* We handed-out almost 1000 A5 flyers.
* We did almost no onboardings but that's fine. FOSDEM attendees are tech-savy and will find their own way using the Nostr with some client. We were not there telling people what they should do.
* We need more merchandise next year. There were some stands with outstanding merchandise and I'm sure Nostr can offer the same (even better!) with the many talented creatives we already have in the community.
* Having just one table with a size of 180x80 (just like any other stand) you really have to choice what to display and not. Being there with 5-6 people was just enough as we all were quite surprised with the amount of interest.
* The FOSDEM organisation asked us multiple times how things were going. Especially with the announced protests against Jack Dorsey they were curious we didn't have any inconvenient moments. We really appreciate that!
* Overall we had the feeling that we were very welcome and we had a great opportunity to introduce Nostr to a new audience.
### The team 💜
* @npub1equrmqway3qxw3dkssymusxkwgwrqypfgeqx0lx9pgjam7gnj4ysaqhkj6
* @npub1l77twp5l02jadkcjn6eeulv2j7y5vmf9tf3hhtq7h7rp0vzhgpzqz0swft
* @npub1r30l8j4vmppvq8w23umcyvd3vct4zmfpfkn4c7h2h057rmlfcrmq9xt9ma
* @npub1t6jxfqz9hv0lygn9thwndekuahwyxkgvycyscjrtauuw73gd5k7sqvksrw
* @npub1rfw075gc6pc693w5v568xw4mnu7umlzpkfxmqye0cgxm7qw8tauqfck3t8
* And me ;-)
If you're curious what we have spent, please have a look at this [document](https://nostrver.se/sites/default/files/2025-02/Nostr%20Fosdem%202025%20bookkeeping.ods).
## Debugging Nostr AUTH with PHP
The week after FOSDEM I spent some hours on debugging these issues:
* [Unclear nip-42 auth spec and/or behavior](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues/163#issuecomment-2639839500) and [this MR](https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/82)
* [Uncaught error when writing to nostr.wine](https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/issues/77)
As a result and with some help of @npub1acg6thl5psv62405rljzkj8spesceyfz2c32udakc2ak0dmvfeyse9p35c I submitted [this merge request](https://github.com/sirn-se/websocket-php/pull/100) for the \`sirn-se/websocket-php\` package used in the Nostr-PHP library to fix connection errors on relays (WebSocket servers) which don't response with a reason when the HTTP connection is upgraded to the WebSocket protocol.
## Nostr-PHP development
Next month (March) I will pick up my development on Nostr-PHP again.
* Finish up the NIP-19 integration
* Pick up the [work](https://nostr-php.dev/guides/asynchronous-and-concurrent-requests) on async and concurrent requests with websockets
* Create more [examples](https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/tree/main/src/Examples)
* Create examples using the Symfony and Laravel framework
* Take care of incoming merge requests with new features (thanks Djuri)
As of that moment I also will be publishing my weekly reports here sharing the stuff I did around Nostr.