Free Republic

The Turkish government is using Pastor Brunson's detention as a bargaining chip. In exchange for his freedom, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had demanded the return to Turkey from the United States of self-exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen, a political opponent, whom Erdogan claims was behind the failed coup against him in the summer of 2016. "They are treating the U.S. government with contempt and paying no price for it." — Pastor Andrew Brunson, March 17, 2018. Turkey -- a NATO member holding an American political prisoner hostage -- has so far faced no consequences. An American Pastor, Andrew Brunson,...

An article in The New Yorker magazine scorns the popularity of Chick-fil-A, the fast food chicken chain with Christian values, in New York City, calling it "creepy pervasive Christian traditionalism." The author says its presence is "awash with cash, Christ, and evangelizing Cows." "The brand's arrival here feels like an infiltration, in no small part because of its pervasive Christian traditionalism," writes Dan Piepenbring, overlooking the fact that its first store opened four years ago. The article seeks to "warn" New Yorkers that Chick-fil-A's corporate purpose "still begins with the words 'to glorify God,' and that proselytism thrums below the...

In terms of parochial, un-self-aware narrow-mindedness, it is hard to beat this piece from the New Yorker on how the a popular purveyor of delicious chicken and waffle fries is making Manhattan into an unsafe space. Here’s the headline: “Creepy”. It’s a fast-food joint, you woke twerp! Excerpts:

The cardinal's comments came even as the Supreme Court had recently observed that the charges against the cardinal were of a very serious nature. [Photo] Cardinal George Alencherry KOCHI: Cardinal George Alencherry, who is at the centre of the controversial land deals of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, has said the legal system of the country should not interfere in the Canon laws. Speaking after the Good Friday Mass at the Kokkamangalam St. Thomas Church in Alappuzha, Cardinal Alenchery, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, said it was the "duty of the citizen to obey the rule of law existing in the country,...

Authentic Christian films are proving to be huge moneymakers for Hollywood studios, despite still being dismissed by many in the entertainment business as “not part of mainstream Hollywood fare.”Not only are more Christian films being made, they are also connecting with audiences and drawing people out to the cinema again. Last weekend, two of the top ten movies at the domestic box office dealt with explicitly Christian themes. At number three, I Can Only Imagine, starring Dennis Quaid and J. Michael Finley, earned nearly $14 million last weekend, adding to $17.1 million the weekend before, when the film debuted. Paul,...

Thousands of revellers made the most of the four day Easter Bank Holiday weekend as they celebrated into the early hours of this morning. Party-goers took to Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle city centres as they descended on pubs and clubs to celebrate, with many looking a little worse for wear as the night wore on. With Good Friday and Easter Monday providing extra days off over the weekend, they saw it as chance to let their hair down, but some clearly took it a bit too far.

The abortion industry lashed out Monday against newly proposed conscience protections for medical professionals who oppose abortion. As LifeNews reported, President Donald Trump launched a new division within the Department of Health and Human Services to protect nurses and doctors who don’t want to perform abortions. The division will protect anyone who has a “moral objection” to involvement in an abortion because it kills an unborn child before birth. HHS recently published these new policies online for public comments. With the deadline for comments coming Tuesday, abortion activists are in a mad dash to collect negative comments while there still...

Faith-based films performed well at the box office for a second straight weekend, with "I Can Only Imagine" capturing the third spot once again. "Paul, Apostle of Christ" landed in the eighth spot in its debut weekend, earning $5 million for Sony's Affirm Films. "I Can Only Imagine" held strong in its second weekend in theaters, scoring a solid $13.8 million. That brings its total earnings to $38 million – an impressive performance for a film that only cost $7 million to create.

France has produced a second martyr — the first was Father Jacques Hamel, slain at the altar while saying mass — in the contemporary battle against radical Islam. From Familie Chretienne, this news about Arnaud Beltrame, the French gendarme who willingly exchanged places with a hostage held by an ISIS militant. (Translated by Google.)

Dr. Kathi Aultman spent years aborting “unwanted fetuses” and delivering “wanted” babies into their parents’ arms. But when she performed an abortion on a mother whose husband pressured her to abort the child, Aultman felt troubled. In a recent interview with CBN News, Aultman described how the experience and several others eventually convinced her to leave the abortion industry and become a pro-life advocate. Aultman began her OB-GYN career in Florida with a strong desire to help women. “It was no question in my mind that a woman should have the right to choose whether she wanted to be pregnant...

Radical atheist Jason Heap is hoping to become a Navy chaplain. The US Navy is seriously considering the approval of this anti-Christian activist for a spot in its Chaplain Corps. In February Heap retweeted a post by radical secularist group trashing Rev. Billy Graham after his death. ... Within a week of re-assigning (and possibly firing) one chaplain for expressing traditionalist Christian beliefs, the Navy is seriously considering the approval of an avowed “non-theistic humanist” for a spot in its Chaplain Corps. Conservative U.S. House and Senate members are formally urging the Navy not to approve the atheist for the...

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A Christian doctor, his wife, and mother were stabbed to death on Thursday evening in Baghdad’s eastern neighbourhood of al-Mashtal. Dr. Hisham Shafiq al-Maskuni, 61, a native of Baghdad, his wife Shaza Malik, and his mother Khairiya Dawood were killed, according to Rayan al-Kldani, head of the Christian militia group of Babylon, known as the Christian Hashd. The attack was carried out by an unknown group of armed people, Iraqi media reported. The attackers also stole some money and expensive items from the house, according to unverified media reports. This is not an isolated incident, Fr....

When Kelly Monroe Kullberg's book, Finding God at Harvard, came out in 1996, those who followed The New York Times' Best Sellers could not miss the title's reference. Several years earlier, Ari Goldman's The Search for God at Harvard (1991) not only made the list but was named a "Notable Book of the Year" by the Times. The difference between the two books is stark. Goldman's spotlights a Harvard where religion is celebrated, as long as it is not the Christianity of the school's founders, especially with its claim to salvation exclusively through Christ. Kullberg's spotlights Christians whose faith survived...

A Christian bridal shop in Pennsylvania that has faced death threats will shut its doors permanently due to the strong likelihood that a local town council will pass a law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. W.W. Bridal in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, which made headlines in 2014 and again in 2017 because of the Christian owners' refusal to sell wedding dresses to same-sex couples, has announced that it will close down officially on March 30. snip Co-owner Lisa Boucher, who owns the store along with her mother and two sisters, told The Christian Post on Monday that there are...

Officially an atheist nation and a place where the government shutters some Christian churches, China is on course to become home to more Christians than any country in the world by 2030. Christianity also is growing rapidly in some other Asian nations and sub-Saharan Africa as people in countries modernizing at a breakneck pace seek solace from the leading religion of western, technologically advanced nations. "As countries get incorporated into the global capitalist world, a lot of uncertainty and stress is introduced into society," said Michael Emerson, an academic who focuses on the sociology of religion. "Christianity is seen as...

Callie Chatman’s Linkedin page says that she is a licensed, ordained Minister New Elam Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Callie’s bio also states that she worked as a Youth Minister and Adult Sunday School Teacher and she assists the pastor in any means necessary. Oddly, it also says she works at Reproductive Health, an abortion clinic in Alabama. According to a pro-life activist who side walk counsels outside an abortion clinic in Montgomery, Callie Chatman indeed works for Reproductive Health Services abortion clinic in Montgomery. A video uploaded by pro-life activist David Day, allegedly shows that Callie’s husband, Pastor Louis...

FULL TITLE: ABC Refuses to Apologize for Joy Behar Saying Mike Pence Has a “Mental Illness” Because He’s a Christian It looks like ABC isn’t going to apologize for “The View” co-host Joy Behar’s on-air mocking of Vice President Mike Pence’s Christian faith. Many Christian viewers were offended by Behar’s remarks, and the TV network early on received 25,363 phone calls after the liberal comedian and commentator equated Pence’s faith with “mental illness,” Fox News reported. “It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you,” Behar said during the Feb. 13 episode of “The...

ABC got at least one thing right about “The View” — its name. As far as the hosts are concerned, there is only one view: theirs. Sure, they’ll invite a token “conservative” on to add fireworks, but even that doesn’t get in the way of the hosts’ daily routine of smug Middle America-bashing. If the idea is to offend viewers, it’s working.Earlier this week, host Joy Behar did her share of the insulting when she responded to an episode of CBS’s “Celebrity Big Brother,” which happens to feature fired Trump staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman. On Monday night’s episode, Omarosa played...

Merle Hoffman, president and CEO of Choices Women’s Medical Clinic (Choices) in Jamaica, New York, who was questioned under oath yesterday by Liberty Counsel, has said that the “act of abortion positions women at their most powerful” because abortion gives women “power-and the responsibility-of taking life” so that they may control their own lives. “Merle Hoffman has acknowledged the obvious — that abortion is the taking of human life. What is shocking is that she believes killing a helpless child empowers women by enabling them to achieve their selfish goals,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. In...

Cops have busted twin brothers from the Bronx for allegedly stockpiling explosive materials and crafting bombs inside their home — with help from high school students. Christian Toro, a former teacher at Harlem Prep, and his brother, Tyler Toro, were arrested by the FBI on Thursday as part of a joint investigation with the NYPD. The two 27-year-olds had been forging explosive devices inside their Pelham Parkway apartment since last October — using gunpowder from fireworks as the base for their bomb-making, according to the complaint. A search of the residence turned up a slew of dangerous chemicals, including 20...