Free Republic

A Philadelphia faith-healing father and mother were sentenced on Wednesday to up to seven years in prison for the death of their infant son, the second of their children to die after an illness. Seven-month-old Brandon Schaible died on April 18 of bacterial pneumonia and dehydration. His parents Herbert and Catherine Schaible were found guilty of third-degree homicide, endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy.

A favorite tactic of this Administration is to engage in outrageous behavior, and then – with the support of its allies – put its opponents on the defensive by accusing them of engaging in the conduct of which it is in fact guilty. So, for example, the Obama Administration takes far-out positions on social issues— then labels as “extreme” anyone who stands up for mainstream values. The White House promotes monetary policies that destroy jobs– and then attacks the business community for driving “income inequality.” The latest example of this “jujitsu” maneuver involves the Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate...

Author and speaker Diana Butler Bass suggests that we are in the process of reinventing American civil religion, the way we think about God and national purpose. And she says President Obama is part of that process. Obama, like his predecessors in the White House, has generally drawn the older form of civil religion complete with biblical language, social justice evangelicalism, and the themes of orthodox theology. But, she suggests, something has changed in the last couple of years. His speeches have included a view of God with an appeal to a wider faith audience, she says. “Gone is the...

Several years ago I heard someone make the statement that "To help someone accept Christ, just show them that they already use faith in their everyday life, and explain to them that all they have to do is use the same faith to believe in Jesus." Well, I didn't know why at first, but that statement just didn't seem to ring true, especially in light of what the Bible actually says about faith. So, I began to search it out more carefully, and that's how I came to realize that there are actually two kinds of faith, and that they...

by Susan Frommer | Top Right News by Hollywood's war against Christians continues. Sunday it was the Grammy's ode to witchcraft, Satan, and same-sex 'marriage'. Today, it was Goliath crushing David underfoot -- as a beautiful song from a small-budget Christian film had its Oscar nomination revoked after a vicious Hollywood uproar against it. At a meeting this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board of governors decided to strip the surprise nomination for Best Song from “Alone Yet Not Alone,” which appears in the independent Christian-produced film of the same name. The unprecedented move followed a massive online...

Beware Of The False Conversion (Wretched with Todd Friel)

A smack in the face from an Atheist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E357PL-TJK4 Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the...

Pope Francis' visit with a group of refugees at the Sacred Heart parish can best be described as simple, warm, and relaxed. POPE FRANCIS "Thank you. Because by welcoming everyone as family, you make anyone that comes in feel like family. Today I am here and I feel at home, like family. Thank you very much. But I am missing one thing: Mariana hasn't offered me any mate.” To get to Italy, many of the refugees had to endure many hardships, even the loss of friends and family. Pope Francis said that to lighten the weight of their suffering, they...

“I just want what is fair for everybody…” If I’ve heard that line once, I’ve heard it hundreds of times on those occasions when I end up discussing business, economic, and public policy issues with members of the clergy. With the uptick in minimum wage worker strikes over the past few months (we saw another “round” of them at Wal-Mart stores this past week), I’ve had these conversations quite frequently. What is striking to me is that the starting point for many of these Pastors, Priests and Rabbi’s is to say that they are standing up for “workers’ rights.” But...

Two stars of 'Duck Dynasty' star in a new film that explores a student's struggle to prove the existence of God.Willie and Korie Robertson, who are well known for their family reality TV show and their staunch Christian faith, along with The actors  Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper and Dean Cain, appear in God's Not Dead, to be released on March 21st. In the movie, college freshman and devout Christian Josh Wheaton (Harper) finds his faith challenged by his dogmatic philosophy professor (Sorbo), who requires his students to disavow the existence of God on the first day of class, signing a declaration...

Inspiring a new generation: Sadie Robertson (above)- One of the teen stars of 'Duck Dynasty' says that their show is leading students across the country to pray before meals at school.Sixteen-year-old Sadie Robertson, daughter of Willie and Korie Robertson, told an audience at a fundraiser for Prattville Christian Academy in Montgomery, Alabama, that the focus on their religious beliefs on the show is a light that others are emulating. Sadie noted that she and her family have become aware that there are “Duck Dynasty clubs” springing up at many schools across the nation and one goal of these clubs is to...

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise Him. Psalm 28:7

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A teenager on TV's "Duck Dynasty" says the reality show is leading students to pray before lunch at schools across the country. Sixteen-year-old Sadie Robertson told an audience in Montgomery on Sunday that young people are forming "Duck Dynasty clubs" to pray before lunch at school. She said it's an awesome thing for a TV show to be able to bring prayer into schools.

The video at the bottom of this page is a rather angry discourse by a non-believer. Watch it with care and caution as he uses some profanity and a degree of uncharitable discourse, and unfair stereotyping  that is hard to take if you haven’t prayed prior to viewing it. He does disclaim at the beginning that “Not everyone who has religious faith is a complete idiot” but then goes on to so fundamentally attack the very notion of faith that he ends up saying we’re “complete idiots.”I call the video to your attention however because it is valuable at times...

The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.(Psalm 34:22)

One of the lesser known and lesser read works of CS Lewis is his correspondence with Rev. Fr. Don Giovanni Calabria. Few indeed have read them since they were written in Latin. And though an English translation was published in 1998, I know few who have ever heard of these letters. The full collection of these letter is here: The Latin Letters of CS LewisIn these letters, there are some very important insights that CS Lewis offers for the loss of faith in Europe that was already well underway in the 1950s when the letters were exchanged. Indeed I would...

The Lord Jesus gives a penetrating analysis of the state of the sinner and some very sobering advice to we would-be saints in today’s Gospel. Let’s look at the Gospel in two stages: The Analysis of the Sinner and the Advice to the Saints.I. ANALYSIS OF THE SINNER - The Lord Jesus describes a sinful steward in the opening lines of this gospel. Let’s look at the description:A. DELUSION (of the sinner)- Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward – Notice he is called a steward not an owner. God is the owner of everything, we...

There is an interesting, albeit at times concerning, article over at Marketwatch.com that reports the simple fact that being a member of a believing community “costs” you something. And while the article is directed to a Jewish context, its implications reach all of us who believe and belong to the Church.Underlying the article and those it interviews is a not so subtle premise that it is somehow wrong for faith to “cost” much. Never mind that just about anything in life costs something, involves tradeoffs and that the things we value are often where we chose to spend more. Somehow...