Free Republic

"Midtown Manhattan cathedral engulfed in flames: 'Irreplaceable' 160-year-old Orthodox Christian church is consumed by fire" A 160-year-old Orthodox Christian cathedral in New York has been completely destroyed after a huge fire tore through it on Sunday The blaze broke out at the Serbian Cathedral of Saint Sava on 25th Street in Manhattan's Flatiron district at around 7pm. It is not known how the fire started, though it is believed to have broken out on the first floor of the building before consuming the interior and roof. An FDNY spokesman said that nobody was believed to be inside the building at...

In 2016 more than half of converts in Vienna were Muslim, according to reports An increasing number of Muslim migrants in Austria are converting to Christianity, according to reports. According to Austrian website Kurier, 83 adults were approved for baptism in Vienna in 2016, with Friederike Dostal of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference estimating that about half of them were Muslims, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran. This figure is up from one-third in 2015. There is expected to be a further rise of Muslim converts in 2017 due to the fact that there has been an increase in the number...

TED CRUZ: So let me make things real simple: Even if Donald Trump dresses up as Hillary Clinton, he shouldn't be using the girls' restroom. By the way I apologize for that image, it is going to haunt you at night... Donald in a bright blue pants-suit. But let me just say to Jimmy Fallon and the Tonight Show. Please...

The president of the largest chain of abortion clinics in the United States is thanking “Faith Leaders” for standing with them. In a tweet by Planned Parenthood president, Cecile Richards, recently released she states, “So grateful to the many faith leaders who stand with Planned Parenthood and our patients. http://ppact.io/1IIU4QF Thank you, @awkukla!” Cecile Richards Planned Parenthood Faith Leaders @awkukla is Andrew Kukla, who describes himself as a , “Presby minister, love philosophy and Kierkegaard in particular, dad of four young kids, and I live in Boise, ID,” on his twitter page. The link takes you to a post written...

A new study released last week included new evidence that links and further authenticates two holy relics that millions of Christians believe offer physical proof of the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But before we explore the research and the relics, let us recall a New Testament passage concerning faith in Christ and the need for physical evidence. I mean the familiar story of “doubting Thomas” (John 20:24–29). The apostle Thomas was absent when the resurrected Christ appeared to some of the apostles. On hearing the astonishing news, Thomas declared, “Unless I see the nail marks in...

Most Americans say they believe in God. And around the world, religious Jews, Christians, and Muslims all say they believe in God, as do many people who do not identify with any formal religion. But this statement is actually meaningless. To cite but one example, the God in whose name Muslims cut innocent people’s throats and rape women cannot be the same God as the God of those who believe that God hates such actions. Who, then, argues that all those who say they believe in God believe in the same God? Two groups make this argument. The first consists...

“This skit was outright sacrilege. They know if they did this to Muslims they’d have to be put into the witness protection program,” the singer-actor said. Pat Boone is calling out NBC and Saturday Night Live for allegedly being anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, cowardly, “diabolical” and even demonic for a skit over the weekend that parodied God’s Not Dead 2, the actor-singer’s latest movie. In God’s Not Dead 2, Melissa Joan Hart plays a public school teacher who is persecuted for answering a student’s question about Jesus. In the SNL skit, a trailer for a movie called God is a Boob Man...

Textbooks in Pakistan that are used to teach about 41 million children, negatively portray religious minorities such as Christians and Hindus, referring to them as "nefarious, violent, and tyrannical by nature." (Reuters/Kham)Third-grade level students attend class at the Mashal Model School on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. "Pakistan's public school textbooks contain deeply troubling content that portrays non-Muslim citizens as outsiders, unpatriotic, and inferior; are filled with errors; and present widely-disputed historical 'facts' as settled history," said Robert George in a press release. George is the chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). A study done by...

Those of us who have been around awhile look at all that is going on in our nation and the world, and realize how far we have fallen. Literally, not a single day passes without new revelations regarding the corruption and treason that is the norm among the so-called leaders of both America and pretty much every other country. I take hope knowing God is in ultimate control, and that all will eventually work to the good in His will and in His time. That certainly does not excuse, however, the lack of sound moral principles of those in control...

A 60-year-old Christian woman was caned yesterday (April 12) in Indonesia’s Banda Aceh province—for breaking rules aimed at Muslims. It was the first time somebody from outside the Islamic faith was caned under the province’s harsh sharia regulations. Until recently, sharia regulations applied only to the province’s Muslim population. But under bylaws that went into effect late last year, now members of other religions can also be punished under the rules—although until yesterday it wasn’t clear just how far that would go.

The Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo “almost certainly covered the cadaver of the same person.” This is the conclusion from an investigation that has compared the two relics using forensics and geometry.The research was done by Dr. Juan Manuel Miñarro, a sculpture professor at the University of Seville, as part of a project sponsored by the Valencia-based Centro Español de Sindonología (CES) (The Spanish Center of Sindonology).Transparency acetate on three-dimensional model used in the investigation of Juan Manuel Miñarro . LINTEUM The study thus supports what tradition has held for more than two millennia: that the...

I think the examination of the emphasis upon sexuality and hedonism in the late Roman Empire and Modern Western society is both fascinating and scary. These are somewhat dry productions but contain a lot of truth.

I was recently at a party where the topic of religion and abortion came up. A Christian minister overheard the discussion and abruptly interjected: “Abortion is a private and sensitive issue. Whatever your position on abortion, Sunday services are not the place to talk about the subject. We can’t let politics get in the way of preaching the Gospel.” Maybe you agree with this minister. The Shockwaves of Abortion There have been nearly 60 million abortions since 1973. Does the silence of the church communicate compassion to those who experienced an abortion? Is it sensitive and respectful to avoid addressing...

A speaker at an evangelical Christian college urged students to accept the views of Black Lives Matter and consider themselves as having benefited from white privilege while looking to the Palestinians for inspiration in how to get along with one’s adversaries. The Rev. Christena Cleveland, a social psychologist who teaches at Duke University School of Divinity and authored the book "Disunity in Christ," brought a message of reconciliation and "love without exception" to Biola University in Los Angeles last week. At a conference titled "Love No Matter What: Politics, Sex, Race and the Way of the Cross," Cleveland touted the...

This respected, pro-life pastor is confronted about his participation in his daughter's rebellion. Even though he seems to know that abortion is sin he refuses, at this point, to repent and instead justifies his own complicity and apathy in regard to the murder of orphans in his community. May God grant him grace. ******VIDEO ONLY ON LINK*********

A British father has been banned from taking his son to a church after the boy's Muslim mother won a controversial court order preventing the boy from attending. The father – a non-practising Muslim who has forged close connections to his local Christian community and is divorced from the boy's mother – has been warned that he could be denied access to the nine-year-old if he attempts to take him to church or to a leisure centre it runs. Now the father, who was born in the UK to Pakistani parents, is challenging the ruling made by District Judge Williscroft...

In the spirit of the season, Asad Shah, a Glasgow newsagent and a "devout Muslim"*[see update at the foot of the page], decided to send out an Easter greeting on his Facebook page: GOOD FRIDAY AND VERY HAPPY EASTER, ESPECIALLY TO MY BELOVED CHRISTIAN NATION X! BISMILLAH... Let's Follow The Real Footstep Of Beloved Holy Jesus Christ (PBUH) And Get The Real Success In Both Worlds xxxx Less than four hours after this ecumenical greeting, Mr Shah was savagely murdered outside his shop by his co-religionists: The victim was found seriously injured on Minard Road, Glasgow, and was taken to...

Killing resembles recent attacks on religious minorities, police sayPolice are hunting for the killers of a Christian man hacked to death in northwestern Bangladesh on March 22. The murder was the latest in a series of attacks on religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country. Three attackers rode up on motorbikes and repeatedly stabbed Hossain Ali, 68, while he was taking a regular morning walk in Kurigram district. They then fled after detonating two small homemade bombs as local people tried to help the victim, police said. Ali, a retired Family Planning Department official, also fought against Pakistani troops in Bangladesh's...

On Good Friday, March 25, pro-lifers across the country will take part in “A Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion” at their local abortion facility, and you’re invited to take part! We’re calling on pro-lifers like you to join us in hosting a “Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion” at your local abortion facility. And, we’re providing you with all the tools you need to make it happen in your area, including an ecumenical prayer service book, templates to promote your event through e-mail and in churches, advice on practical considerations and more! Though the devotion...

The resolution was presented by a Hindu deputy. Activists working on behalf of minorities appreciate the decision. Others point out some shortcomings: the holidays will be reserved only for religious minorities and not to the entire population. Focus needed on concrete respect for minority rights.Islamabad (AsiaNews) - The Pakistani National Assembly has passed a resolution that grants holiday time for Christians to celebrate Easter and Hindus and their Holi and Diwali celebrations. The resolution is the work of Vankwani Ramesh Kumar, an Assembly member of the Hindu faith. While some minority rights activists appreciate the initiative, others point out that...