Free Republic

Can we know God? by Lita Cosner Published: 18 April 2017 (GMT+10) William Paul Young has written a new book entitled Lies We Believe About God. This serves the useful purpose of vindicating all the people who warned about the bad theology in The Shack who were told to stop worrying because it’s just a story with no theological teaching motive. Lies has a definite teaching motive, and it’s just as chock-full of heresy as his fiction. But the heresy in Lies is almost entirely a symptom of a foundational error evident in the back cover blurb: “This book is...

In a recent interview in which she announced she had joined the Episcopal Church, Rachel Held Evans said, Just about every denomination in the American church— including many evangelical denominations — is seeing a decline in numbers, so if it’s a competition, then we’re all losing, just at different rates. Many Americans, both within and outside the church, share Evans perception of the decline of denominations. But is it true? Are most denominations truly seeing a decline in numbers? Before we answer the question, we should clarify what is meant by “decline.” We could, for instance, say that Protestantism has been...

Has the pastoral rubber met the theological road? Today, the Los Angeles Times’ Tom Kingston reports that the debate over Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia and the proposals to allow divorced-and-remarried Catholics to fully participate in the sacraments has produced a conservative reaction that threatens to divide the church. Some have even begun to whisper one word in particular — schism: As Francis enters his fourth year in office, his conservative opponents have chosen to stand and fight over his 2016 apostolic exhortation titled “Amoris Laetitia,” or “The Joy of Love,” in which he suggested bishops can use discretion in granting...

Proverb 17 (NKJV) The LORD Tests Hearts 01 Better is a dry morsel with quietness, 00 Than a house full of feasting with strife. 02 A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, 00 And will share an inheritance among the brothers. 03 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, 00 But the LORD tests the hearts. 04 An evildoer gives heed to false lips; 00 A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue. 05 He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; 00 He who is glad at calamity will not...

President Donald Trump has increasingly infused references to God into his prepared remarks — calling on God to bless all the world after launching strikes in Syria, asking God to bless the newest Supreme Court justice, invoking the Lord to argue in favor of a war on opioids. He's also taken other steps to further cultivate a Christian right that helped elect him, granting new levels of access to Christian media and pushing socially conservative positions that don't appear to come naturally to him. One of the first interviews Trump sat for as president was with the Christian Broadcasting Network’s...

I woke up with this great song on my heart this morning. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M3_p2i6bH0

Was “ Easter” actually borrowed or rather usurped from a pagan celebration? The argument largely rests on the supposed pagan names for the celebration in English and German (“Easter”, “Ostern”). Note, however, that in most other European languages, the celebration’s name is derived from Pascha (Greek), from Pesach, (Hebrew), Passover. Easter is the Christian Passover. [large snips here and throughout] The usual argument for the pagan origins of Easter is based on Venerable Bede (673-735), an English monk who wrote: “ … Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated "Paschal month" and which was once called after a goddess...

[Excerpt: cut from 50 to 13] A few of the most notable converts over the last century: The dazzling variety is a microcosm of the many different people who enter the Church every year —[for] no past, however dark and troubled, makes us unwelcome to God’s loving embrace of mercy and forgiveness. Francis Beckwith (b. 1960): Philosopher /theologian; elected president of the Evangelical Theological Society; converted to Catholicism 2007. Robert Bork (1927-2012): Conservative American judge known for the vicious political fight blocking his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987. Converted to Catholicism in 2003. Dave Brubeck (1920-2012): Renowned...

Jesus did it all though his shed blood, not anything we can or could do.

Jesus often used parables to teach lessons. Well here are three modern-day parables concerning the lives and deaths of Wanda Dunn, Eddie Maintenance and Jack Shephard. Each parable reinforces the lesson of Easter: That the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Wanda was a lonely old woman who dared not set foot outside of her one-room basement apartment for fear that death awaited her one the other side of her front door. One day there was a scuffle outside Wanda’s apartment during which a policeman was shot. When she peered through her window, Wanda saw...

“After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb” (Mt 28:1). We can picture them as they went on their way… They walked like people going to a cemetery, with uncertain and weary steps, like those who find it hard to believe that this is how it all ended. We can picture their faces, pale and tearful. And their question: can Love have truly died? Unlike the disciples, the women are present – just as they had been present as the Master breathed his last on...

Thousands of New Catholics to Be Welcomed by Catholic Church in the United States at Easter Vigil April 10, 2017 WASHINGTON—A married couple in their golden years, a couple inspired by their late daughter's legacy, and a salesman who heard Jesus' call to conversion on a stranger's porch, are among the thousands who will be welcomed into the Catholic Church on Easter Vigil, April 15, in parishes across the United States. All have participated in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), a process of conversion and study in the Catholic faith for catechumens and candidates coming into full...

Of all the religions of the world, only Christianity claims an empty tomb for its founder. The physical resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of Christianity. British theologian Michael Green said it well when he noted, “Without faith in the resurrection there would be no Christianity at all.” Noted biblical scholar, professor, and author Wilbur M. Smith said that, “The resurrection of Christ is the very citadel of the Christian faith. This is the doctrine that turned the world upside down…” Indeed it did. C.S. Lewis notes that, “In the earliest days of Christianity an ‘apostle’ was first and foremost...

President Trump is following through with one of his promises to let churches participate in political activity. Sources tell the Washington Post that the repeal of the "Johnson Amendment" is being written into tax legislation that is currently developing in the House of Representatives. This repeal that would end a six-decade-old ban on tax-exempt organizations, such as churches and universities, from endorsing political candidates. Lyndon Johnson first introduced it in 1954, nine years before he became president. Trump said this would happen at the National Prayer Breakfast in February, stating: "I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson...

Holy Week 2017 began with terrorist attacks on two Coptic Christian churches in Egypt, and included a Good Friday bombing by the U.S. in Afghanistan using the world's most powerful non-nuclear device. In that context, Pope Francis on Good Friday expressed "shame" before Christ for all the innocent blood shed in today's world, and prayed that God will comfort all those "struck down" by violence, indifference and war. Share: ROME- Against the backdrop of mounting global terrorism and war, including the bombing of two Coptic churches in Egypt on Palm Sunday, and with the U.S. on Friday dropping the world’s most...

One in four people who identify themselves as "Christians" in England say that they believe that the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ did not happen, according to a new poll. (Photo: Flickr / Hoyasmeg)A new thriller will focus on a Roman centurion's life following Christ's resurrection.ComRes conducted the survey of 2,010 British adults by telephone for 10 days at the beginning of February, asking them a series questions about their beliefs on the Bible and Easter. BBC local radio commissioned the survey for Palm Sunday, measuring the responses of the "General Public," "All Christians," and "Active Christians," which refers to Christians who...

Proverb 14 (NKJV) The Ways of Life and Death 01 The wise woman builds her house, 00 But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. 02 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, 00 But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him. 03 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, 00 But the lips of the wise will preserve them. 04 Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; 00 But much increase comes by the strength of an ox. 05 A faithful witness does not lie, 00 But a...

An evangelical radio personality known as "The Bible Answer Man" and president and chairman of the Christian Research Institute was formally received into the Eastern Orthodox Church Sunday.The Christian Post confirmed that Hank Hannegraaf was chrismated on Palm Sunday at Saint Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte, North Carolina."What astounding news," said Rod Dreher, an Orthodox Christian and author of the New York Times best-selling book The Benedict Option, in an interview with The Christian Post Monday."Many evangelicals seek the early church; well here it is, in Orthodoxy," he continued."I am sure some will be scandalized by Hannegraaf's conversion but I...

The relic of St Serafim of Sarov had spent six months in spaceA Russian cosmonaut who has returned to Earth after a mission on the International Space Station said on Wednesday he had taken a relic of a Russian Orthodox saint with him. Astronauts and cosmonauts routinely take small items such as their children’s toys or CDs with them as reminders of home. Sergei Ryzhikov told Russian news agencies that he would give the tiny relic of St Serafim of Sarov’s body, which he received from its home monastery last year, to an Orthodox church in Star City outside Moscow,...

Surely it must be impossible that a charity overseen by Canada’s Catholic bishops funds pro-abortion organizations in poor countries? No Catholic charity aimed at helping the poor could possibly be involved with something like that. Right? Unfortunately, since LifeSite began investigating the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace’s grantees in 2009, it has found — and continues to find to this day — scads of irrefutable evidence showing that monies collected by D&P are being funneled to partners that promote abortion. LifeSite’s March 28 investigative report on D&P’s current partners was filled with enough evidence to satisfy even a pro-abortion...