Free Republic

...Al-Muhallab said, “You must use deception in war, for it is more effective than reinforcements.” Some methods of deception include: a. Planting spies. b. Reconnaissance. c. Feigning an intent to attack an area other than the actual target, for when the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) wanted to attack one area, he would give his army the impression they were going to attack another. “If a man’s chest is too narrow to hold his own secret, then the chest of the one with whom he stores the secret is even narrower” [Poetry]. And be on guard against your enemy at...

Dear friends, You are welcome in congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). We are a church that believes it is wrong to discriminate against anyone based on sexual orientation. All are welcome. We celebrate diversity. While Lutherans in the U.S. are not of one mind about sexual orientation, the ELCA, the largest Lutheran denomination in North America, has taken a stand as an open, affirming church where all are welcome. I recognize that some of you have been wounded by churches. On behalf of the church, I apologize for the hurtful comments, exclusion, and discrimination you have...

According to Joel Osteen – Pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, these first century apostles are wrong and outdated and he has come out boldly to infer indirectly that Apostles Paul, Peter, and John whom wrote much of the New Testament were wrong and need to be corrected and rebuked.When asked directly if people whom are openly practicing homosexuals are accepted into the Kingdom, Joel Osteen responded with “Absolutely, anybody is.”We all need to listen carefully to the words that this “man of God” speaks as he goes on interviews so we too can find the errors in the...

Augsburg College, the Lutheran liberal arts college in Minneapolis, has joined the coalition working to defeat the proposed marriage amendment. The college, with 4,000 students, is now part of Minnesotans United for All Families, which opposes the proposed constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to one man and one woman. State law already prohibits gay marriage, but supporters of the amendment want it put in the state Constitution, so the Legislature or courts cannot make a change. Pastor Grant Stevensen, Minnesotans United for All Families faith director, said in a statement: "Five of the six Minnesota synods of the ELCA...

GC2012: HOD Vote came Silently on Same-Sex Blessings By Mary Ann Mueller Special Correspondent July 10, 2012 INDIANAPOLIS - The House of Deputies' afternoon vote on A-049 came in silence, the result of modern technology. When the House of Bishops voted to approve same-gender blessings each bishop was called by name and with their own voice they were required to vocalize their vote - yea or nay. Electronic voting was the rule of the day in the House of Deputies. Each Order - lay and clergy, were called to vote using their hand-held electronic voting devise. The laity was called...

GC2012: HOB Passes Provisional Blessings for Same-Sex Unions By David W. Virtue in Indianapolis July 9, 2012 To no one's surprise the House of Bishops passed a provisional rite for the blessing of same sex unions. By a vote of 111 to 41 with three abstentions the HOB changed the definition of marriage, approving a liturgy to bless homosexual couples of both sexes, something that has never been done in 2,000 years of church history. Resolution A049 was passed by the bishops on the 5th legislative day of the 77th General Convention. The text of the resolution states that the...

GC2012: Transgender, Homosexual Activists Hail Victories at Episcopal Convention By Jeffrey Walton July 9, 2012 Officials in the U.S.-based Episcopal Church have given homosexual and transgender activists two victories on the fifth day of their triennial denominational convention. The House of Deputies passed legislation stating that "gender identity and expression" would not be barriers to ordained ministry, while also altering the church's canons to include the transsexual categories alongside gender, race and sexual orientation as specially protected status. Later the same afternoon, the House of Bishops voted 111-41 to authorize rites for same-sex blessings. The bishops had already signed off...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - The Mainline Protestant Churches and Israel Posted By Joseph Puder On March 22, 2012 @ 12:01 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | During the upcoming General Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) scheduled for April 25-May 4, 2012 in Tampa, FL, and the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), June 30-July 7, 2012 in Pittsburgh, PA, anti-Israel actions in the form of petitions and overtures calling for some form of boycott, divestment or sanctions against the Jewish State and those who do business with the state are expected to be brought...

You undoubtedly know that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a progressive Christian and champion of civil rights and the social gospel. You may also know that he spoke out against the Vietnam War, harshly criticized U.S. foreign policy, and questioned the capitalist system that produced poverty. But do you know his theology? Right up until Dr. King's assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had traveled to support striking sanitation workers, the civil rights leader worked—not as a secular activist but as a Baptist minister—to awaken the conscience of the nation. What was the meaning of Jesus for Dr. King?...

A recent survey claims that a plurality of Americans believe Christian values are at odds with capitalism. That left me wondering whether we first ought to ask whether Americans even know what Christianity and capitalism are. When one learns that one’s accountant espies a deep conflict between Newtonian physics and Jungian psychology, one is right to ask what he knows of velocity and synchronicity, and whether he ought not busy himself doing one’s taxes rather than spouting off to someone taking a survey. The two ideas seem simple enough. Christians follow Jesus and capitalists make trades. Except that we all...

The edition of TIME magazine timed for Easter Week features a cover story on the controversy over Rob Bell and his new book, Love Wins. Interestingly, the essay is written by none other than Jon Meacham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former editor of Newsweek –TIME’s historic competitor. Meacham, who studied theology as an undergraduate at the University of the South, helpfully places Rob Bell in the larger context of modern theology, even as he offers a basically sympathetic analysis. Meacham explains: "The standard Christian view of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is summed up...

The historic marriage of Episcopal Divinity School, dean and president, the Very Reverend Katherine Hancock Ragsdale and Mally Lloyd, Canon to the Ordinary, took place today at the Cathedral Church of St Paul in Boston.The Episcopalian bishop of Massachusetts began 2011 by solemnizing the first lesbian marriage - of two senior Episcopalian clergy - at Boston's St Paul's Cathedral Saturday (January 1). The marriage of Episcopal Divinity School, dean and president, the Very Reverend Katherine Hancock Ragsdale and Mally Lloyd, Canon to the Ordinary, was the first lesbian marriage solemnized by the Right Reverend M Thomas Shaw SSJE, Bishop Diocesan...

The recent speech given by Archbishop Raymond Burke continues to send shockwaves through the Catholic world. More than a few bishops must be feeling very uncomfortable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se7qRZnCSbs

YOU’RE INVITED TO AN HISTORIC WORSHIP SERVICE AND CELEBRATION! All are welcome to join the Celebration! ELCA Rite of Reception to the clergy roster of the ELCA for Pastors Anita Hill, Ruth Frost, Phyllis Zillhart will be held on Saturday, September 18, 2:00 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 285 N Dale St., St Paul, Minnesota. Party after the service at the church. The Reverend Peter Rogness, Bishop, Saint Paul Area Synod of the ELCA, presiding. The Reverend Barbara Lundblad, Union Theological Seminary, New York, preaching. Clergy and rostered leaders are welcome to vest and process. Green is the...

In a day of ever-growing moral collapse and turmoil in Washington D.C. and our nation, the American Religious Right have been linking up together more and more on current social and moral issues called “pro-natural laws.” Many of the American Religious Right have even put aside sound Biblical teaching and eternal spiritual absolutes of time and eternity in favor of a greater "social unity” with those who do not hold to such doctrines (Deut. 22:10; 2 Cor. 6:14; Eph. 5:6-8). Such godless and decadent “social squeezing” by the Left in America has been the very catalyst for an “apostate” ecumenical...

Individual Lutherans may be informally "voting" against their current denomination with their checkbooks. Last November, the national Evangelical Lutheran Church in America church council, or board of directors, had to cut spending by nearly $7.7 million and eliminate the equivalent of 40 full-time jobs. That was just three months after the controversial vote to allow homosexuals in committed relationships in the pulpit. The organization reported a decrease in income of $2.9 million, or 15.6 percent, in the three-month period ending in April, compared to the same period in 2009. "The ELCA will endure but with smaller numbers and less money,"...

<p>3 and post-Nicene church fathers.</p> <p>The apostolic church fathers were the ones like Clement of Rome who were contemporaries of the apostles and were probably taught by them, carrying on the tradition and teaching of the apostles themselves.</p> <p>Linus, mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21, became the bishop of Rome after Peter was martyred, and Clement took over from Linus.</p>

The teachings of the moderate Ahmadiyya sect of Islam have been labeled apostasy by Palestinian Authority clerics, leaving its members open to persecution and even threats of murder. PA leaders have refused to step in, saying the status of the Ahmadiyya community is a matter for the courts to decide. Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news service spoke to Mohammed Sharif Ouda, head of the Ahmadi community in Israel, who discussed the problems facing Ahmadi Muslims in the PA and worldwide.

Move aside pro-atheist and Christian bus ads. A new ad targeting former Muslims has joined the religious bus ad campaigns in New York City. Some 30 city buses began in mid-May to display an ad that reads: “Leaving Islam? Fatwa on your head? Is your family threatening you?” The ad directs people to the website www.refugefromislam.com. Opponents of the ad say it promotes an anti-Muslim message and seeks to draw people away from the faith. But supporters of the campaign say it is meeting a real need to provide resources for Muslims who want to leave the faith. “As an...

I'll paste Jamal's Facebook post below for those without access to Facebook