Free Republic

Conservative Twitter was outraged on Friday by a New York Times op-ed viciously titled "The Road to Coronavirus Hell Was Paved by Evangelicals." Later in the day, it was revised to a gentler meanness (the subtitle's the same): The Religious Right’s Hostility to Science Is Crippling Our Coronavirus Response Trump’s response to the pandemic has been haunted by the science denialism of his ultraconservative religious allies. The author is Katherine Stewart, author of a book called The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. On Friday night, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins appeared on Fox News at...

Rarely are Christians in the United States confronted with the kinds of challenges faced by believers around the world whose governments regularly persecute the faithful. Yet, both are now facing the coronavirus. Churches around the world – even those in places where persecution abounds – have been forced to adapt to this unexpected and unnerving external pressure, meeting in new and creative ways in the era of social distancing. As churches across America begin to wrestle with new challenges, we can be inspired by the church in China, which has managed be a light to their society during the coronavirus...

Four men were arrested outside a Greensboro, N.C., abortion clinic on Saturday. Their alleged crime? Praying in public while the county is under a stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus pandemicSeveral members of a group called Love Life, which is dedicated to praying to end the sin and tragedy of abortion, say they were detained and later arrested by Greensboro police after they gathered near an abortion clinic called "A Woman's Choice" to "pray in defense of the defenseless and minister (offering hope and help in Jesus name) to at-risk mothers and fathers." The group conducts weekly prayer walks in a...

The New York Times published an op-ed Friday that blamed evangelical Christians for the coronavirus pandemic. The argument, by journalist and author Katherine Stewart, is that because religious voters supported Trump, that means he governs without regard for science. Stewart also claims that Republicans, more than Democrats, are likely to deny science. In her op-ed, titled “The Road to Coronavirus Hell Was Paved by Evangelicals,” she writes: Donald Trump rose to power with the determined assistance of a movement that denies science, bashes government and prioritized loyalty over professional expertise. In the current crisis, we are all reaping what that...

It is nothing new for Fox’s The Simpsons to mock Christians, but it happened once again in the March 15 episode titled “Better Off Ned.” Bart Simpson found himself in trouble and facing suspension from school over a prank gone bad, so he used a fake hand grenade during a school performance to cause a commotion. Superintendent Chalmers was about to suspend him when the Simpsons's neighbor Ned Flanders started to kneel in prayer. The superintendent freaked out since it was a public school. He took down a copy of Engel v. Vitale and began reading the Supreme Court decision...

Question: There was a recent New York Times Magazine article about conman Paul Skalnik and how his false testimonies sent dozens to jail and 4 people to death row. In Florida, where death sentencing was/is popular, there have been 29 death-row inmates exonerated by the time of the article's publication. There was also a study that estimated 1 in 25, 4.1 percent, of inmates sentenced to death are innocent. Even if the state kills one innocent person, isn’t that too much? As Christians who talk about killing innocent babies, how can we then go and support capital punishment when there...

Christians in the United States should not underestimate the potential consequences of the present, national fascination with socialism. Socialism was creeping into American life already, but now it is the policy du jour of the persistent Senator from Vermont who stands very possibly as the Democratic nominee for president, Bernie Sanders. Defined as political and economic theory that favors government control and regulation, socialism has a dark history. In 1848, the Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels was published. This radical political document advocated for a socialist revolution between classes, with the working classes becoming conquerors. The...

A megachurch in Cincinnati announced Sunday that it is paying off $46.5 million in medical debt for more than 45,000 families. Crossroads Church partnered with RIP Medical Debt, a medical debt relief nonprofit, to wipe out debts for people in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana. They will receive bright yellow envelopes this week letting them know the good news.

HUD Secretary declares, 'In God We Trust' Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson plans to call on all churches, synagogues, and mosques in America to help fight homelessness in the weeks and months to come. “If every church would adopt one homeless person or one homeless family, with the goal of making them self-sufficient in a year, can you imagine what the impact would be?” Carson asked in an interview with Just the News for the Pod's Honest Truth podcast. HUD officials say this is not a new agency policy but rather a personal call by a man...

Hindu extremists brutally attacked a group of about 70 Christians, including children, as they traveled home from a national congress focused on praying for peace in India amid escalating persecution. According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, three men on motorcycles attacked Christians traveling home from the Third National Congress of the Synod of Pentecostal Churches in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on Feb 5. The men verbally threatened the passengers before smashing the windshields of the vehicles, causing injury to the driver and passengers, which included women, children and the elderly. Pastor Paul Raj, one of the passengers, immediately called the police, who...

Says Hillary Clinton, John Kerry also have blood on their handsLAGOS, Nigeria (ChurchMilitant.com) - While former President Barack Obama is taking credit for the current surge in economic growth and job creation in the United States, a former Nigerian minister is blaming him and key members of his cabinet for the slaughter of Nigerian Christians at the hands of Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. Femi Fani-Kayode, Nigeria's former Minister of Culture and Tourism, faults the Obama administration for backing 2015 presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim. Buhari won the nation's presidency and afterward, Fani-Kayode said, went soft on Boko Haram....

“Do you think it is possible to be a Christian and support President Trump?” Burnett asked. “Well, I’m not going to tell other Christians how to be Christians,” Buttigieg replied. “But I will say, I cannot find any compatibility between the way this president conducts himself and anything I find in Scripture. Now I guess that’s my interpretation, but I think that’s a lot of people’s interpretation, and that interpretation deserves a voice.” Everyone Sins — Except Buttigieg ApparentlyButtigieg believes everyone else’s sin is up for discussion — except his own. He cites Trump’s behavior, but what of Pete’s? Scripture...

China has appointed a hardliner, who is known for removing hundreds of crosses from churches in the eastern province of Zhejiang, to take charge of its office overseeing matters in Hong Kong, which might raise concerns among pro-democracy protesters and residents in the semi-autonomous city. Xia Baolong, the vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference who was a close aide to Chinese Premier Xi Jinping from 2003 to 2007 when he was Communist Party secretary of Zhejiang Province, will serve as the director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, China’s Human Resources Ministry has announced, according...

Baylor, a private Christian university located in Waco, Texas, is known as the largest Baptist university in the world with approximately 17,200 students on its 1,000-acre campus and is affiliated with the Texas Baptist Convention, which is subsequently connected to the Southern Baptist Convention. Reformation Charlotte previously reported that Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) had attempted to invite Native American new age occultist, Kaitlin Curtice to preach to the students. Fortunately, she was unable to make the appearance at the time. However, Cru leader, Matt Mikalatos had defended his invitation to her seemingly ecstatic that he was almost able...

While fear and insecurity have gripped the 11 million residents of Wuhan...Christians there have been out on the streets giving out masks and sharing the love of Jesus and the hope the Gospel brings... Earlier during the week, a Chinese pastor living Wuhan, identified only as “A Wuhan Pastor,” wrote to the international faith community, urging them to pray and revealing that fellow pastors from around the world had been reaching out. “It is readily apparent that we are facing a test of our faith,” the pastor wrote. “The situation is so critical, yet we are trusting in the Lord’s...

CONCORD, N.H. — Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Saturday said religious conservatives are making a “deal with the devil” so the federal judiciary can be stacked with nominees from a Republican president. “Does anybody really think that religious conservatives view Donald Trump as a religious [figure]?” Mr. Buttigieg said. “They’re riding a tiger, they’re making a deal with the devil knowing that they can get certain objectives met on the bench.” Mr. Buttigieg and other 2020 Democratic presidential contenders were appearing Saturday morning at a forum on the judiciary hosted by several liberal advocacy groups at a community...

WILLOW FALLS, NY—Pastor Chuck Nielsen of Foundations Church prides himself on his powerful, moving sermons. But congregants began to grow concerned when Nielsen referenced articles from popular satire site The Babylon Bee in nearly every message. "At first, we thought he was playing along, but it became increasingly clear that he thought the Bee was real news," said church member Edna Willis. Nielsen has reportedly cited articles like "Elevation Church Debuts Water Slide Baptismal" and "Joel Osteen Sails Luxury Yacht Through Flooded Houston To Pass Out Copies Of 'Your Best Life Now'" to demonstrate how far the American church has...

Despite Swiss Air’s ten-year affiliation with Läderach, the airline dropped the chocolatier after protests and extensive vandalism by left-wing activists, homosexuals, and young socialists, according to a report by LifeSite News. Jürg Läderach, who owns the high-end chocolate company, is also the president of “Christianity for Today” (CFT), a Swiss evangelical organization Last fall, activists attacked a Läderach store in Basel, Switzerland, using Butyric acid, forcing the store to close for two days. This assault was just one instance of vandalism against the chocolatier, which reportedly took place at seven different stores. According to the Swiss news magazine Beobachter, negative...

Trump said during an event at an auto parts manufacturer in the city of Warren that his administration would grant an “extension” to Iraqi Chaldean Catholic immigrants, a group that has been targeted for immigration enforcement during his presidency. “We’re going to make sure that we do everything we can to keep people who have been good to this country out of harm’s way,” Trump said. “When I get back, we’re going to give those who need it an extension to stay in our country.” Trump hopes to be reelected in November and Michigan, which he won narrowly in 2016,...

Question: Is it ever permissible for Christians to withdraw life-sustaining support to terminally ill individuals?(By CP Cartoonist Rod Anderson)This is a question I am asked with ever increasing frequency as the medical technology continues to push back the threshold of physical death.First, it is imperative to state that Christians must never countenance any medication or treatment that actively shortens life (i.e., euthanasia or “mercy-killing”).The vexing question for people of faith, however, is “is it ever morally permissible to withdraw extraordinary life-extending treatments for terminally ill unconscious or comatose patients?” I need to note at this point that I agree with...