Free Republic

Part I – The Origin of Liberty The United States became a nation through a grand self-declaration of independence on July 4, 1776. The American colonialists-turned-revolutionaries fought a valiant and victorious battle against Great Britain to back up the audacious claim made in their Declaration of Independence. In 1788 the Constitution of the United States was ratified. A new nation was born that would stand as the bastion of liberty for centuries to come because of its religious influence. Ironically, many citizens of this very same nation today writhe at the suggestion that religion is, or could be, responsible for...

(Reuters) - U.S. officials have met members of the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, a U.S. diplomat said, after Washington announced it would have direct contacts with Egypt's biggest Islamist group whose role has grown since U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

I have some friends who tell me that I don’t make sense when it comes to my position on separation of church and state. You see, some would call me a “fundamentalist” Christian. For example, I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and try to live my life by its teachings. I believe that God created the world in seven, literal, twenty-four hour days and rested on the seventh day. I believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and that He is the divine Son of God. I also believe that marriage between a man...

There are vertical prayers and horizontal prayers. Vertical prayers are directed heavenward. Horizontal prayers are directed sideways at others. It fills me with misgivings when a possible Presidential candidate warms up by running a "prayer rally" in a Texas sports stadium. A prayer "rally?" I can think of words like gathering and meeting that might more perfectly evoke the spirit. Prayer rallies make me think of pep rallies. Their purpose is to jack up the spirits of the home team and alarm the other side. Of course the other side has its own pep rallies, presumably leaving it to God...

A federal appeals court ruling this week could significantly diminish public university religious groups' ability to restrict membership and leadership to students who agree with their teachings. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday (Aug. 2) that San Diego State University (SDSU)'s nondiscrimination policy for officially recognized campus groups is constitutional and does not violate the rights of two Christian groups. The policy is based on a nondiscrimination policy used at all the schools in the California State University system. The two Christian groups, sorority Alpha Delta Chi and fraternity Alpha Gamma Omega, had sued SDSU in 2005, alleging...

NEW YORK, July 8, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - American Christians may one day find themselves facing legal penalties simply for believing marriage can only exist between a man and a woman, a fate already suffered by believers in other countries, said the leader of America’s most influential Catholic pulpit this week. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York reflected on his blog Thursday on the recent legalization of gay “marriage” in New York, and what repercussions true marriage supporters can expect in the future. He called it “haunting” that the marriage bill became law on the day Catholics celebrate the feast of...

Seems like a lot of folks present old Thomas Jefferson as not being a Christian, not being religious, being a Deist, and just different from the other fifty-five signers of the Constitution. It seems folks just like to shoot off their mouth to prove a point without making sure what their shooting is good ammunition. I especially like the use of Mr. Jefferson statement of the “wall between church and state” to denote “the separation of church and state.” It sounds so good but was that what he meant? Mr. Jefferson, are you are Christian? “(My views on Christianity) are...

Via Daily CallerIn an effort to get closer to the local population, American female soldiers stationed in Afghanistan are being encouraged to wear a Muslim headscarf when interacting with civilians. But some question whether the practice constitutes cultural sensitivity or a form of appeasement that is degrading to U.S. soldiers. Major Kyndra Rotunda, executive director of the Military Law and Policy Institute and AMVETS Legal Clinic, told The Daily Caller that while the women are not being ordered to wear the head scarf, encouragement is tantamount to a demand[...] Retired Col. Martha McSally, whose grievance about being forced to wear...

There is a fundamental incoherence in federal policy, which limits the rights of the states to regulate or even influence norms of sexual behavior while at the same time assigns to itself the right to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to influence those norms at the state, local, and individual lev...

In August, the small town just north of Kansas City passed the so-called “driveway tax,” a controversial charge, in addition to property taxes, for residents and businesses based on the number of times their driveway is used. A big box store like Target can pay over $60,000 annually, while residents pay a flat rate of $72 dollars a year The purpose of the “Transportation Utility Fee” is to raise money for public works projects in Mission like street construction and road repair It’s unpopular among residents, some of whom have put up protest signs on their yards. But it’s particularly...

In music, as everybody knows, the blues were born in the Mississippi Delta and traveled up the river and the railroads from New Orleans to Memphis, St. Louis and on to Chicago. In politics, the blues were born farther north: in the Puritan commonwealth of 17th century New England centered around Boston. For the Puritans, the construction of a godly society was the first order of business. The state was not the enemy of liberty; the state was society’s moral agent. Today’s libertarians sometimes like to call their blue model liberal opponents “unamerican”. Nothing could be farther from the truth:...

United States District Court, D. Hawaii. February 21, 1979. THE HAWAII LAW ON NAMES The basic statute in Hawaii on names was adopted in 1860. Until 1967, it was required that all children born in wedlock shall have their father's name as a "family name" and ". . . a Christian name suitable to their sex."

People often turn to their faith to ease their minds. Now first lady Michelle Obama is hoping people will turn to churches, temples and synagogues to lose weight as well. The first lady launched a new addition to her Let's Move! campaign. Things might be changing at local services. Starting Monday, faith-based organizations of all kinds will begin a new crusade to end childhood obesity in a generation. It's called Let's Move: Faith and Communities, and the First AME Church of Los Angeles is leading the charge....

Developers of the controversial Park51 Islamic community center and mosque located two blocks from Ground Zero earlier this month applied for roughly $5 million in federal grant money set aside for the redevelopment of lower Manhattan after the attacks of September 11th, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The audacious move stands to reignite the embers of a divisive debate that dominated headlines surrounding the ninth anniversary of the attacks this fall, say people vested in the issue. The application was submitted under a “community and cultural enhancement” grant program administered by the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment...

(Batesville, MS 11/15/2010) -- The traditional pre-game prayer was replaced by a moment of silence before the South Panola High School Football game Friday. But many in the crowd decided not to remain silent, instead they recited the Lord's Prayer out loud. Superintendent Dr. Keith Shaffer, who made the decision to replace the prayer, was glad the crowd prayed. "I was proud," he says. "My community is what I worry about. I have to abide by what the law says and what the Federal Courts tell me, but when my community steps forward and asserts itself, I'm fine with that."...

“Spread the Recovery” Labor Sec: Keeping People on Unemployment for Almost Two Years is Gov Moral Obligation http://www.theblaze.com/stories/%e2%80%9cspread-the-recovery%e2%80%9d-labor-sec-keeping-people-on-unemployment-for-almost-two-years-is-gov-moral-obligation/

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma Muslim has filed a federal lawsuit against a state ballot measure that prohibits state courts from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases. Muneer Awad, head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma, filed the lawsuit Thursday, saying it is unconstitutional. The ballot question was approved in Tuesday's election with 70 percent of the vote. The lawsuit seeks a temporary retraining order to block the results of the election from being certified on Nov. 9. Joseph Thai, of the University of Oklahoma College of Law, says there is no danger of...

Barack Obama, who became the first US president to personally celebrate Diwali in the historic East Room in 2009, wanted to "specifically" celebrate the festival of lights with Indians, the White House has said. "He (Obama) specifically wanted to have an opportunity to celebrate Diwali and to do so with the Indian people, getting beyond simply his official business,"

Rocco Landesman is the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Boy, does he know how to spin the official line on offensive art. In a recent interview in Cincinnati, he was asked vaguely about controversy. "The best art taps into deep feelings, sometimes to comfort and sometimes to confront. Art can be very uncomfortable," Landesman said. "That can lead to strong reactions. For some of us, it draws us into the arts over our lifetimes and careers. For others, it creates strong negative feelings." Landesman wasn't being asked specifically about negative feelings over the Loveland Museum Gallery in...

KING, N.C. – The Christian flag is everywhere in the small city of King: flying in front of barbecue joints and hair salons, stuck to the bumpers of trucks, hanging in windows and emblazoned on T-shirts. The relatively obscure emblem has become omnipresent because of one place it can't appear: flying above a war memorial in a public park. The city council decided last month to remove the flag from above the monument in Central Park after a resident complained, and after city leaders got letters from the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church...