Free Republic

A Prison Evangelist Answers the Bishops If the bishops truly wish to address crime they need to stop preaching generic values and start preaching the totality of Catholic morality.Russell L. Ford Homiletic & Pastoral Review – September 2001“As Catholic bishops, our response to crime in the United States is a moral test for our nation and a challenge for our church” [sic]. This is the opening sentence to a new document on criminal justice called Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, issued by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) in November 2000. What follows is a...

<p>Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. In the days of the Kingdom of Israel, when David and Solomon reigned, a king who was named by God would have oil poured over their heads prior to ruling. This is called "Anointing". The Hebrew form of this word is “Mashiach” which is anglo-ized into "Messiah".</p>

As much as I appreciated what Rick Warren did in his faith presidential forum several months ago, his appearance last evening on one of my favorite programs, Hannity and Colmes, was disappointing. What Pastor Warren responded with to some of host's Allan Colmes simple yet important questions was not the biblical gospel of salvation or even a reasonable defense of the gospel. One of his responses? "Try Jesus...?" As Colmes sarcastically quipped in response: "Like the book of the month club..." Beloved, why can't evangelical leaders just speak the truth in love and give the gospel of the Lord Jesus...

www.catholicnewsagency.com Get rid of your 'false hang-ups' and be disciples of Christ, cardinal says Cardinal Stanyslaw Rylko Rome, Nov 14, 2008 / 11:49 pm (CNA).- The president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Cardinal Stanyslaw Rylko, said this week, “The time has come to free ourselves from our false hang-ups of inferiority towards the secular world and courageously be ourselves, disciples of Christ.”During his remarks at the opening of the Council’s plenary assembly, which this year is focused on the theme, “Twenty years after Christifideles laici: memory, development and new challenges and tasks,” the cardinal stated that “our...

On this day 90 years ago, a son was born to a dairy farmer just outside of Charlotte. About 74 years ago that boy gave his life to Jesus Christ. Billy Graham has been preaching the Gospel ever since. Evangelist Billy Graham spent more than six decades talking about salvation and influencing people across the globe. "The difference that he has made in the lives of people in general and in individuals has been astounding," said Fraley Memorial Baptist Church Pastor Warner Doles. "His influence, his character has affected this country probably in a way that no single individual has...

When Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, he will do so in the 30th anniversary year of the founding of the so-called Religious Right. Born in 1979 and midwifed by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Religious Right was a reincarnation of previous religious-social movements that sought moral improvement through legislation and court rulings. Those earlier movements—from abolition (successful) to Prohibition (unsuccessful)—had mixed results. Social movements that relied mainly on political power to enforce a conservative moral code weren't anywhere near as successful as those that focused on changing hearts. The four religious revivals, from...

For several weeks now, I have been slowly realizing again the call of Christ when it comes to pursuing things of eternal significance. The election had consumed me to the point of where I became a ranting idiot and hated the Democrats. The Spirit has convicted me, showing that hatred isn't the way, for no man should be hated. Yes, I still find myself in "battle mode" quite often; those ranting moments still occur. But, thanks to God's faithfulness and calling, I am not the same man that I was just a few months back. He has made me realize...

Muslims are on the March! Muslims are determined to make the US a Muslim nation, one way or another. In fact, every Muslim is required to make the nation where he or she lives an Islamic nation. They are sending copies of the Koran to American homes and are planning a door-to-door conversion campaign. They are more excited and committed that any of the other cults. They are having meetings across America with thousands attending. In those meetings, they pitch the Koran as a divinely inspired book accurate in every detail; however, they don’t tell anyone that the Koran has...

Imagine, if you will, that you are a missionary. You have taken the classes you will need to get around in this new country. You know the common language well enough. You understand the customs and are confidant you won’t make a scene your first day on the ground. There has been very little progress made in this locale, and that is why you were sent. It is your first missionary assignment, and you hope that God will use you to do great things among the people. You are in a high place. The top of a building, or maybe...

Eleven Inapang believers were baptized Sunday and others want to be baptized. Some of the church leaders and missionary Bill Housley determined that some who asked to be baptized needed further teaching. "The believers decided to do a 'big picture' or 'big story' class for those who had heard it and were believing but were having trouble articulating their faith," the Houslelys wrote. A small group of 15 to 20 people were expected for the class Tuesday night, but the whole village showed up. The Inapang Bible teachers began with who God is and what He is like and then...

With churches largely mapping out their local mission around what they identify to be an "unchurched" population, a research firm set out to paint a clearer picture of who unchurched Americans really are. “There’s a whole industry seeking to help clergy reach the unchurched, with seminars, books, videos, training centers, and consultants,� Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, noted. “However, many people don’t really have a basic notion even of just what it means to be ‘unchurched.’ There’s often an assumption that people either do attend worship services, or they don’t." "But what we find in this study is that...

IRVING—Abraham Sarker grew up in an Islamic culture in Bangladesh and chose to dedicate his life to Allah. But at age 15, he encountered God in a dream that made him question Islam and begin a search for truth. Sarker recalled hearing a voice that told him to look for a Bible. He searched diligently for a Bible four years, finally finding one in his own Bengali language when he moved to Florida to attend college. After reading the Bible and meeting with a missionary at his campus, he chose to become a follower of Christ. And his life radically...

Young people have been flocking to Pope Benedict XVI since he began teaching in his twenties. As I write this, hundreds of thousands – from declared agnostics to metal heads to believing Catholics – are descending upon Sydney, Australia for World Youth Day 2008 ready to embrace Pope Benedict’s theme of Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” However, there is more to inspiration than some might think. For example, while an Olympic athlete probably wouldn’t be able to spring from his seat after a transatlantic flight;...

Why We Need to Plant New Churches… Nationwide According to the January, 1996 Gallup Princeton Religion Report, there are an estimated 195 million unchurched in the United States. During the last ten years the total combined membership of all Protestant denominations declined by 9.55%, nearly 4.5 million people, while the population of the U.S. increased by 11.4%, or more than 24 million.(4) In 1991, 49% of those polled said they attended church regularly. In 1996, only 37% said they did.(5) Evangelical churches have failed to gain an additional two percent of the American population in the past fifty years.(6) In...

There is a skeptic I have been witnessing to. He has many questions. I offered to answer them all if he took the trouble to write them down. I have included my answers to his questions. Brothers and sisters in Christ, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

“Just as Muslims have the right to exercise Da’wa - an invitation to Islam - so Christians must have the freedom to invite people to follow Jesus Christ,” explained the bishop at a press conference in Jerusalem on June 24. “Dialogue proceeds on the understanding that each is a missionary faith.

Christian preachers face arrest in Birmingham By David Harrison A police community support officer ordered two Christian preachers to stop handing out gospel leaflets in a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham. Warned: Arthur Cunningham [left] and Joseph Abraham The evangelists say they were threatened with arrest for committing a "hate crime" and were told they risked being beaten up if they returned. The incident will fuel fears that "no-go areas" for Christians are emerging in British towns and cities, as the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, claimed in The Sunday Telegraph this year. Arthur Cunningham, 48, and...

You can't preach the Bible here, this is a Muslim area(What a community policeman told two Christians)  By Steve Doughty and Andy Dolan Last updated at 1:19 AM on 02nd June 2008  Readings from the Koran: Naeem Naguthney Two Christian preachers were stopped from handing out Bible extracts by police because they were in a Muslim area, it was claimed yesterday. They say they were told by a Muslim police community support officer that they could not preach there and that attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity was a hate crime. The community officer is also said to have...

"BAGHDAD, May 29 -- The U.S. military suspended a Marine on Thursday for distributing coins quoting the Gospel to Sunni Muslims, an incident that has enraged Iraqis who view it as the latest example of American disrespect for Islam...." "Regulations prohibit members of the coalition force from proselytizing any religion, faith or practices," said Col. Bill Buckner, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. "Our troops are trained on those guidelines before they deploy."

BAGHDAD — A U.S. Marine handed out coins promoting Christianity to Muslims in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, outraged Sunni officials said Friday. The U.S. military responded quickly, removing a trooper from duty pending an investigation.

FALLUJAH, Iraq — At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah on Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand. Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. "Where will you spend eternity?" it asked. He flipped it over, and on the...

The invitation system is a modern evangelism innovation… 1. …without scriptural warrant. 2. …that is faulty and dangerous. 3. …that has created a new, unbiblical vocabulary (i.e., “repentance and faith” have been replaced with “decide for Christ,” “ask Jesus into your heart,” “Give your heart to Jesus,” “first-time decisions,” etc.) 4. …not practiced by the church until about 150 years ago. * It was begun by Charles Finney who believed conversion was a psychological event and used this “anxious seat” to replace the purpose of baptism. * It was popularized by Dwight L. Moody. * It was standardized by Billy...

Forty Days of Purpose, a discipleship and evangelism program, has been featured in thousands of North American churches. It's tied to Warren's global best-seller, The Purpose Driven Life. There have been city-wide campaigns before, but this is the first time a nation, including its president and other top leaders, has taken part in the program. In 2005 Warren announced his global PEACE plan, which in its current formulation stands for: Promoting reconciliation, Equipping servant leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation. The Forty Days of Purpose program is to correspond with church-based PEACE-plan projects...

http://joshuafund.blogspot.com/2008/03/big-untold-story-in-middle-east-2008.html THE BIG (UNTOLD) STORY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Muslims converting to faith in Jesus Christ in record numbers -- 2008 Update "I will build my church," Jesus said, "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18) The lead story on Drudge over the weekend was the Pope baptizing a prominent Egyptian author who converted from Islam to Catholicism, and for good reason. It's a huge story in Italy and the Muslim world, especially coming as it did the week that Osama bin Laden accused the Pope of waging a "crusade" against Islam. But this particular...

Dozens of prominent evangelical leaders have endorsed a statement declaring a fact that many Christians already hold to be true – that Jewish people need the Gospel and Jesus Christ to receive eternal life. The statement, sponsored by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), expressed friendship and love for the Jewish people, but unapologetically declared that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ. “We want to make it clear that, as evangelical Christians, we do not wish to offend our Jewish friends by the above statements; but we are compelled by our faith and commitment to the Scriptures to stand by these...

Muslims live in virtually every section of the country and there is no reason why every Muslim community cannot be reached with the gospel. A large scale effort is underway to distribute the Jesus DVD to Muslims in America. Visit my weblog for the details.

What should our reaction be when others pray for our conversion?  There recently was a story about a German Jewish leader, Charlotte Knobloch, who criticized Pope Benedict XVI for allowing a traditional Easter prayer that calls for the conversion of the Jewish people.  Her reaction raises an interesting issue, as praying for conversion isn't unique to Catholics any more that taking offense to it is unique to Jews.  And to start this topic off, I'd like to pose a question: Who do you think would be more likely to take umbrage at being the object of such a supplication,...

Pope Benedict’s efforts to expand the use of the Tridentine Mass have raised Jewish concerns about the traditional Good Friday liturgy. At issue is the prayer for the conversion of the Jews, which is one of the intercessory prayers for those belonging to various non-Catholic religious groups. These prayers are unique to the Good Friday liturgy, which consists of the reading of the Passion, the extended intercessory prayers, the veneration of the Cross, and the distribution of Communion using previously-consecrated hosts. The furor over the prayer relating to the Jewish people provides a good opportunity to reflect on two...

It is that desire to look to Christ as a way to accomplish our political goals that made Him weep as He entered Jerusalem. They looked for peace through a political savior; He knew the peace He brought was much deeper and could be had regardless of the physical conditions around them. Politics is force. Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem that day had been prophesied by Zechariah, who described Him as, “Gentle”. Let us emulate Him when we enter the realm of politics. Let us never forget that the freedom He brings transcends this world, and His peace cannot be attained...

ust a few years ago, Pastor Jackson got on a plane from Africa to come to the United States of America. He felt led to reach out and form a partnership with a small but growing church in Wilmington, NC. He sold his car in order to purchase the plane ticket. He put his trust completely in the Lord. When he arrived unannounced at the airport in Baltimore, MD, he called the office of the church asking for someone to come and pick him up. They had to give him the bad news that the Baltimore airport was close to...

View from America: Other people's prayers By JONATHAN TOBIN This is not the time for Jews and Catholics to argue over theology when a more genuine threat looms over both traditions. In 1263, the great Spanish scholar Rabbi Moses ben Nahman, better known as Nahmanides, was summoned to Barcelona by King James I of Aragon to engage in a rather stressful form of interfaith dialogue with representatives of the Dominican and Franciscan religious orders. Their debate is known to history as the Disputation of Barcelona. The purpose of those who initiated the event (principally, an apostate Jew) was to compel...

Is Mike Huckabee staying in this campaign as long as possible in order to spread the gospel? If we take Gov. Huckabee at his word – and I’ve seen nothing to warrant otherwise – he is a believer in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For those of us who share his faith and believe in the salvation we have in Jesus, isn’t it plausible to believe that the forum that running for POTUS provides him, is an opportunity he is sieving upon to fulfill the Geat Commission: the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to His disciples that they...

The top Vatican cardinal in charge of relations with Jews on Thursday denied a new prayer for their conversion was offensive and said Catholics had the right to pray as they wished.Cardinal Walter Kasper spoke in an interview in a leading Italian newspaper a day after world Jewish leaders said the new prayer could set back inter-religious dialogue by decades."I must say that I don't understand why Jews cannot accept that we can make use of our freedom to formulate our prayers," Kasper, a German, told the Corriere della Sera.The Vatican on Tuesday revised a contested Latin prayer used by...

January 25, 2008 ESV Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. In recent days I have spent time in Lima and Sullana Peru and Mexico City and I have discovered that people by nature are the same. Man has a heart that is inclined to selfishness and idolatry. Sin abounds in the remotest parts of the land because the heart is desperately wicked. Thousands bow before statues of Mary and pray to her hoping for...

January 25, 2008 ESV Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. In recent days I have spent time in Lima and Sullana Peru and Mexico City and I have discovered that people by nature are the same. Man has a heart that is inclined to selfishness and idolatry. Sin abounds in the remotest parts of the land because the heart is desperately wicked. Thousands bow before statues of Mary and pray to her hoping for...

Subject: Report from Mexico January 22, 2008 ESV Acts 17:16 ¶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. We flew into Mexico City last night at about 11:30pm. It was amazing to behold a city of 30 million people. I have never seen that many lights in all my life. We had no trouble getting into the airport and on to the place that we were staying. While at the airport we were able to speak a word of the gospel to...

The Certain Success of Evangelism W. G. T. Shedd Inasmuch as each and every disciple of Christ is bound to contribute his share towards the evangelization of the globe, it becomes an interesting and important question, "Is the work feasible?" May it not be that the church is attempting too much? The greater part of the world is still pagan and totally ignorant of God in Christ. And a considerable part of nominal Christendom consists of unrenewed men who are as distant from heaven as the heathen, so far as the new birth is concerned.How can the church at large,...

“Three Evangelism Pointers: Point, Invite, and Find” (John 1:29-42a)The Epiphany season traditionally is a time for emphasizing the church’s work of evangelism and missions. Why is that? Well, think of the event celebrated on the Epiphany festival: Wise men from the east, being led by a star to find the Christ child--in other words, the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles. Or think of the word, “Epiphany”; it means “manifestation,” “appearing,” literally, a “shining forth.” In the Gospel readings during the Epiphany season, we see Jesus shining forth into a sin-darkened world. And now, in our day, the church...

What people such as Bill Hybels and Rick Warren have done is created a genie they cannot put back into the bottle. Thousands of pastors have followed their methods of "do whatever it takes to attract the crowd" without ever considering how this waters down the message of sin and its consequences. These pastors now realize that the "cookie" that attracts the crowd must get bigger and better or the crowd will stop coming. Gimmicks such as a McDonald's theme service, using Christian mimes and comedy nights are a mockery to the house of God because they never challenge the...

Preacher with a chance in a billion The son of famous US evangelist Billy, Franklin Graham is eyeing China's flock Vaudine England Dec 09, 2007 One hundred and twenty thousand people flocked to Hong Kong Stadium last weekend for the last prayer session of the Franklin Graham Festival. The son of famed US evangelist preacher Billy, the Reverend Franklin Graham had been spreading the word to Hong Kong audiences - and via live broadcasts to Macau - over four days. His aim was to bring "new life, new power" to the faithful, garnering many hoped-for converts. Tens of thousands of...

There is an old hymn written by Fanny Crosby, sung at generations of camp meetings, which exclaims: "Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!" Since the emergence of evangelicalism as a cultural force in the 1950s, three approaches to politics, represented by three personalities, have emerged. They are the prophet, the priest and the kingmaker. The prophet has been psychologist James Dobson, who dispenses child-rearing advice on the radio from his Colorado ministry, Focus on the Family. On family issues, Dobson's counsel is moderate and broadly appealing. On politics, his tone sharpens. He rails against compromise on social-conservative...

Jewish pundit defends Ann Coulter David Horowitz: 'What else would a Christian hope for?' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: October 12, 2007 3:30 p.m. Eastern © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com Ann Coulter on CNBC's "The Big Idea" with host Donny Deutsch While Ann Coulter faces charges of anti-Semitism for stating in an interview Christians are "perfected Jews" and wishing everyone would convert to her faith, at least one well-known Jewish political pundit wonders what the fuss is over traditional doctrine. David Horowitz, editor of Front Page Magazine, says in his blog today he's received "a surprising number of e-mails from friends basically asking 'What are...

Panel from The Manga BibleYoung Laurel Templeton spends her summer vacation “kidnapped by five cyborg flies and shrunk down to insect size so [she can] travel back in time with them to save the world from an evil spider.” You know, typical stuff.A manga comic character and the star of the new TimeFlyz series, Laurel may be just an average girl, but she has a centuries-old, ancient-Hebrew-speaking friend with whom she can’t communicate, and a Nobel Prize–winning father who has been kidnapped by a deranged arachnid named Darchon. By the end of Pyramid Peril, the first installment of her story,...

Majorities of young people in America describe modern-day Christianity as judgmental, hypocritical and anti-gay. What's more, many Christians don't even want to call themselves "Christian" because of the baggage that accompanies the label. more at link...

WAKE FOREST, NC --The emerging church movement has arisen to fill a void created by the ineffectiveness of most conventional churches in spreading the Gospel, researcher-missiologist Ed Stetzer said at a Sept. 21-22 "Convergent" conference at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Stetzer and Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and president of the Acts 29 Network for church planting, were among the conference's featured speakers at the Wake Forest, N.C., campus. Before comparing the orthodoxy of conventional churches and emerging churches, Stetzer challenged the crowd of 500-plus pastors, church planters and seminarians to ask what has prompted the...

A well-known evangelical leader is encouraging conservative Christians to give presidential hopeful Fred Thompson and all other candidates a fair chance not long after another prominent conservative leader criticized the former senator for being too weak on key issues. Although he doesn’t endorse Thompson, former Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer contends that conservative Christians should seriously consider him if they want to avoid a “nightmare scenario” where they are forced to choose between two pro-abortion, pro-gay rights candidates – Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. “He (Thompson)’s obviously against same-sex marriage. He doesn’t support quite the same constitutional amendment that some...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A Christian televangelist who harshly criticizes Islam and other religions said Friday that his late-night program is being pulled off the air because of pressure from a Muslim group. Earlier this month, officials from the Council on American Islamic Relations wrote a letter to the TV station's owners asking for an investigation of the show it broadcasts, "Live Prayer with Bill Keller." In a May 2 broadcast, the televangelist said Islam was a "1,400-year-old lie from the pits of hell" and called the Prophet Mohammed a "murdering pedophile." He also called the Koran a "book of...

If you're a Tibetan Buddhist or you're leaning that way, you may not know it, but you need Jesus. That's the thinking behind a series of Christian evangelical workshops -- including one later this month in Wheaton -- that will coincide with the Dalai Lama's trip to Chicago and other American cities this spring. Interserve USA is putting on the workshops to teach Christians how to talk to Buddhists and, perhaps, to win converts. "We welcome the Dalai Lama here, but we also want to have a chance to reach Tibetan Buddhists with the gospel," said Doug Van Bronkhorst, executive...

Internet evangelism is by far the newest means of getting out the gospel message. With millions of blogs, articles, videos and interactive platforms for sharing the faith, this media must be taken seriously.

MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto–Chapter 8: Of Jewish Evangelism [Part of a mutipart series by Dr., Waldron wherein he challenges John MacArthur’s thesis that every good Calvinist ought to be premillennial. Dr. Waldron is a Reformed Baptist and amillennial in his eschatology, and he is pastor of the Heritage Baptist Church of Owensboro, Kentucky] MacArthur is convinced that the eschatology has enormously practical implications. It is on one of these implications that he closes. He believes that only his eschatology lays a wonderful foundation for Jewish evangelism. He is certain that Amillennialism undermines it. Here are some of the closing words of...