Free Republic

Does Rand Paul classify himself as a "free-thinker?" I was looking around to see how he might be associated with that atheist/agnostic group and the word "dignity" came up in the first piece below [that uses the term free-thinker]. So I search "Rand Paul" and "dignity" and found that he uses that word in his speeches. So just wondering what anyone knows about his religious leanings other than his traditional association with the Episcopal church. And does he use "dignity" as a euphemism for "social justice" - "getting along" - as a liberal-libertarian stand in [REPLACEMENT] for religion [Islam, Judaism,...

“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” -Matthew 7:18 As if people needed another reason to like and support Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback, Tim Tebow. His foundation- The Tim Tebow Foundation, has announced its intentions of opening the Tebow CURE Hospital in Davao City, Philippines, which will focus on serving children suffering from orthopedic needs who can’t afford treatment or corrective procedures. The hospital is the culmination of a partnership between Tebow’s organization and CURE International, a non-profit “that operates charitable hospitals and programs in 30 countries worldwide where...

Inspiring Examples of Aged Faith September 7th, 2010 by Fr. Kyle Schnippel   Last week, I had the opportunity to con-celebrate Mass with two priests who, together, have 120 years of priestly experience.  Only bringing 6 years to the Altar myself, I was somewhat in awe of the two aged servants who have toiled long in the vineyard of the Lord.As I reflect back on this Mass, and as I have continued to grow in friendship with these two men (who are both old enough to be my grandfather!), I continue to marvel at the great gift of the...

Stacy Alexander, a home schooling super Mom of eight, was admitted to the ER On January 21, 2012 and on January 25th she was diagnosed with stage 4 Esophageal Adenocarcinoma which had spread to her lymph nodes and liver. This diagnosis was bleak. The tumor was HER2 positive meaning that it was overproducing a growth factor that made the cancer especially aggressive and it was also inoperable. A Cancer Treatment Centers of America study showed that only 6% of patients with this diagnosis survive 2 years and only 3% survive 5 years or more. Walt, Stacy's husband, who is a...

Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.John 14:12

If there is one thing we have learned over the past 6 years in the United States, it is the mutually reinforcing nature of different expressions of freedom. No form of freedom--religious, civil, political, or economic--is of course absolute. But unjust infringements (intentional or otherwise) on one freedom can easily result in damage being inflicted upon other spheres of freedom.This is indisputably true, for instance, of religious and political freedom. All totalitarian and most authoritarian regimes usually end up seeking to severely restrict religious liberty. Sometimes this is for ideological or religious reasons. Some religions, for instance, embody very weak...

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name. Psalm 100: 4

The parents of Eliza O’Neill, the little girl with an incurable and deadly brain disorder, are making one final desperate push to raise funds for the clinical trial that will test a gene therapy for the disease—and perhaps offer hope for Eliza. The O’Neills have already raised $1.3 million through a viral video and hope that by Eliza’s fifth birthday on Sunday they’ll hit their $1.8 million goal. While there is no guarantee that Eliza will be among those chosen to participate in the trial, which could start sometime in the middle of 2015, its organizers say that at this...

“Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” – John 15:20 Christians, pastors, take heed. In case you haven’t noticed, times are a-changin’. Whether at home or abroad, if you follow God’s command to speak biblical truth in all things, most especially, it seems, on matters of sex and sexuality, you will be persecuted. “A servant is not greater than his master.” I don’t presume to compare my friend Scott Lively of Abiding Truth Ministries to...

Faith Brings Comfort, But Not at First – A Reflection on a Teaching by Peter Kreeft By: Msgr. Charles Pope For ongoing education and spiritual growth, I am always reading. One of the books I am currently reading is Peter Kreeft’s Angels and Demons. As most of you know, I have often expressed concern that angels have been sentimentalized and even trivialized. Most people’s conception of angels is far from what the Bible describes! If you have read Peter Kreeft, you know that very few people can express things as well as he does. Thus I would like to give you...

In the 2014 midterm elections, the Republican Party enlarged its majority in the U.S. House of Representatives with continued strong support from white evangelicals and people who attend religious services regularly. In addition, the GOP appears to have made inroads among some religious constituencies that traditionally have not been as supportive of Republican candidates.

A man diagnosed with the same form of brain cancer that led Brittany Maynard to kill herself last weekend says he chose a different path because of his faith in God. Thirteen years ago, David Williams of Newport, Arkansas was told by his doctors that he had a progressive brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme, and that he had 6 months to a year to live. Williams told WMC TV that although he trusted his doctors, he refused to believe that he couldn't fight the disease and live. As a result of his determination he's undergone surgeries, chemotherapies, takes daily medication,...

Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, during a 2010 appearance on "The Larry King Show". Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, Ph.D., 62, is president of the Magis Center (www.magiscenter.com), headquartered in the new chancery office of the Diocese of Orange, California. The center’s goal is to demonstrate that faith and reason and science are compatible, and to combat the increasing secularization of society, particularly among young people. Fr. Spitzer was born and reared in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was an attorney and businessman; he was one of five children. His father was Lutheran; his mother a Catholic and daily communicant. He attended...

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University estimates that there are currently approximately 32 million adults in the United States who were raised Catholic but have ceased to identify themselves as a member of the Church. A recent survey of lapsed and former Catholics in the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, conducted by researchers at Benedictine University, offers new insights into why some Catholics stop attending Mass or leave the faith all together.In their report “Joy and Grievance in an American Diocese,” the researchers indicate they targeted “those who had lapsed or drifted from the...

He’s very smart, my childhood best friend, and very faithful in his atheism. When he was 6 he was clever as clever, but now he’s past 60 and knows he will not live for ever and ever. Yet now, as in years past, even the most modest mention of God brings a growl: “Don’t proselytize me.” He called me this summer and pleaded that I come visit him, so I hopped on a plane and did. He has many physical problems for which doctors have prescribed this and that, with meds for one ailment making another worse. He has worse...

Most of us would describe the runaway hit TV show “Duck Dynasty” with terms such as “redneck,” “duck hunting,” “bayou,” “backwoods” and, of course, “beards.” However, I would argue that the word the Robertson family would most like their viewers to associate them with is “faith.”

Religion is such an important force in the world. So how well do we really understand it? What are the major religions in the world? Where are their adherents located? Check out these 11 fascinating maps and learn something new! You can click on any map to enlarge it.

" Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name; That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

This jaw-dropping revelation is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest assessment of the homosexual lifestyle. The WSJ report further warns: “Gay and bisexual men represent an estimated 2 percent of the U.S. population but more than half of all people living with HIV and 66 percent of new HIV infections. They are the only population group in the United States for which HIV infections are rising.” What do you say of an adult or adults who, for selfish political reasons, encourage sexually confused children to adopt a sex-centric identity and lifestyle laced with a 50-50 chance...

You’ve seen this a lot in the last decade and a half: progressives asserting a moral equivalence between radial Islam and Christianity. The argument usually goes something like, “Yeah, sure, terrorists are bad, but they’re hardly the only people to kill in the name of their religion!” Then there’s the obligatory reference to the crusades. OK, sure, Christianity, like most religions, has had some less-than-flattering moments. But it’s history. If you can point me to the mass graves, severed heads or buildings for Christianity in our lifetime… no need to finish that sentence because there aren’t any. Christianity is an...