Free Republic

You will find this guy VERY good. Talking about topics that many Christians talk about...but in the privacy of their home. These are things that we ALL NEED to talk about.

I n the United States, conventional wisdom holds that you should raise your child to be religious. Taking the kids to church is the default; leaving them home requires justification. Push parents to explain why they should pass on their religion—apart from a principled urge to keep the faith—and they’re likely to tell you studies prove that kids do better with religion than without it. Mark Joseph Stern Mark Joseph Stern Mark Joseph Stern is a writer for Slate. He covers science, the law, and LGBTQ issues. But is religion really good for kids? That might depend on what kind...

In my columns, I often write about the swift moral decline within our nation's secular universities. That usually involves writing about corrupt university administrators. But I would be a hypocrite were I to ignore corruption by administrators at Christian colleges and universities. Right now, there is a controversy brewing at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee with moral ramifications that are simply too important to ignore. At the center of the controversy is Bryan's president Dr. Stephen Livesay. His conduct as Bryan's president has been so far outside the realm of normal professional conduct as to nearly defy description. Nonetheless, I...

I cannot understand how atheists are able to ignore the spiritual realm as if it doesn’t exist. They explain away miracles and supernatural events as if these thousands of occurrences over many years are all just random. I’ve had hundreds of answers to prayer in my life, but atheists tell me they’re all coincidences. One of the most frequent arguments I hear against my faith is that I believe in God because I’m “weak” and need some kind of support. Really? Me? Weak? I may be horribly flawed, but I wouldn’t describe myself as weak, after all the loudmouthed articles...

Progressive Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY) admitted Thursday that he doesn’t even know what Hobby Lobby sells. He tacitly admits that he doesn’t care that it is a family-owned business. Nevertheless, in announcing that the Democrats will pursue legislation to overthrow the Supreme Court’s decision of last week, Schumer explicitly ordered Americans to choose between our livelihoods and our religious beliefs. “Think of the difference,” Schumer says. “You’re born with a religion or you adopt a religion. You have to obey the precepts of that religion, and the government gives you a wide penumbra. You don’t have to form a...

Was the faith of the Founding Fathers deism or Christianity? What does the answer mean for us today? Both the secularists and the Christians have missed the mark.There's been a lot of rustle in the press lately--and in many Christian publications--about the faith of the Founding Fathers and the status of the United States as a "Christian nation." Home schooling texts abound with references to our religious heritage, and entire organizations are dedicated to returning America to its spiritual roots. On the other side, secularists cry "foul" and parade their own list of notables among our country's patriarchs. They...

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. II Corinthians 12:10

Do Americans understand the scientific consensus about issues like climate change and evolution? At least for a substantial portion of the public, it seems like the answer is no. The Pew Research Center, for instance, found that 33 percent of the public believes “Humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time” and 26 percent think there is not “solid evidence that the average temperature on Earth has been getting warmer over the past few decades.” Unsurprisingly, beliefs on both topics are divided along religious and partisan lines. For instance, 46 percent of...

Christian Baptism Since the Protestant Reformation, the issue of baptism has been a source of much controversy. While arguments about doctrine have become less prevalent in recent years as such topics have become less in vogue, there continues to be disagreement over this subject – though it seems as though it ought to be a relatively straightforward and simple topic. This piece is not a comprehensive study of all the various issues associated with baptism with a lengthy series of ‘proof texts’ – there are plenty of articles like that which have been written over the years. Instead, I am...

But these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through His Name. John 20:31

don’t know what possesses me to watch “Real Time With Bill Maher,” for Maher is, without a doubt, the most annoying anti-religionist on the scene today. Though his show is purportedly about politics, it almost invariably includes some attack on religion, especially Christianity. Even during a recent interview with former President Jimmy Carter, whom Maher very much admires, the host managed to get in a sharp attack on Carter’s faith. Just last week, his program included a brief conversation with Ralph Reed, the articulate gentleman who used to run the Christian Coalition and who is now a lobbyist and activist...

Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. - Psalm 103: 13-14 And you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. -Ephesians 6: 4

Do you dread your work day or some task in your life? Maybe the sole purpose of your eight or twelve hour “cross” is simply a moment or two when you can lift someone’s spirits and steer them towards Jesus, who will then steer them towards heaven. This opportunity happened to me twice in one night.A Little Kindness in HasteA grey-haired man and his teenage daughter frantically hailed me in front of Grand Central Station on 42nd Street and asked me to take them to the Hospital for Special Surgery on East 70th Street. He was trying to make a...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Those who insist others pray and believe exactly like they do, those who have alternatives to every church teaching and benefactors who use the church as a cover for business connections may call themselves Catholics, but they have one foot out the door, Pope Francis said. "Many people say they belong to the church," but in reality have "only one foot inside," the pope said June 5 at the morning Mass in the chapel of his residence. (CNS/Paul Haring) "For these people, the church is not home," but is a place they use as a rental...

I’d heard of Nick Vujicic. I’d caught a glimpse of him on Christian television. But nothing prepared me for his recent appearance at my church. A mighty man of faith, Vujicic delivered one of most powerful, spirit-filled messages I’ve ever heard. I think the Australian-born evangelist the most inspirational Christ follower since Helen Keller. Keller’s life story was immortalized in the 1962 motion picture “The Miracle Worker.” Born in 1880, Helen was 19 months old when she contracted “brain fever,” as the Keller family doctor called it. She was struck blind, deaf and mute. Nearly feral as a child, Helen’s...

The facts just don’t add up. Our President secretly negotiated a deal to free a man who appears to have deserted his country and put fellow servicemen in danger while there are innocent American citizens being held in Iran, North Korea and Mexico. Why Bergdahl? Lawmakers and human rights groups have called out for the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, the 34-year-old from Boise, Idaho, who left behind his wife, Naghmeh, and two young children to go back to his homeland on a mission to build a family orphanage. Abedini, who had traveled to Iran many times before, was pulled...

Chapter 36 – Russia, North Africa, Italy, “D” Day Victory in the battle of Britain saved the country from invasion, but the enemy sought to recompense himself by heavier, indiscriminate night-bombing, which continued into 1941. The next prayer was greater still. We suppose nothing gave the world a bigger shock through the whole course of the war than when, without a word of warning, Hitler swung round and invaded Russia. God now began to turn the prayers of the College into yet another direction. With the Nazis marching through Yugoslavia and Greece and capturing Crete, and with the menace of...

I WILL SERVE No FOREIGN GODSHoly God We Praise Thy Name For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for therein the righteousness of God is revealed…Romans 1:16The book of Romans is unique among the epistles in that it isn’t polemic, that is it isn’t trying to refute any error. Romans is therefore a clear rendering of the Gospel of salvation . Paul calls it the “Gospel of God” , and takes us from the bankruptcy of Jew and Gentile to the glorification of man and creation, all realised by the gospel. Paul begins with the declaration that...

I have always been a believer. Among other reasons, that’s because I think rationality demands it.When I talk about “belief” here, I mean it in a very broad sense, which is not synonymous with “Catholic” or even “Christian”; Sikhs, Hindus and Zoroastrians might all qualify, and I myself was raised in the LDS church and not (according to Rome’s decree) validly baptized until the age of 25. When I speak here of “believers,” I am distinguishing those who are prepared to believe in more than what eye can see, ear can hear or elaborate scientific machine can detect.I wouldn’t...

CHARLOTTE, NC, May 20, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- On Saturday, just 24 hours after backlash from the American people convinced SunTrust bank to reopen its partnerships with Benham REO Group, David and Jason Benham thanked supporters on their YouTube channel. "We just wanted to say thank you. We were overwhelmed yesterday with this SunTrust debacle, and SunTrust heard from America. It was unbelievable what took place," David said in the video. On May 15, the Benhams reported on social media that SunTrust had ended its partnership with their company due to their support for the unborn and traditional marriage. The next...