Free Republic

By William D Smith (to hear it read click the play button)

My new son, Jeff, is out of jail, as of last February. Now this Christmas he put up the tree with his two children—Haley and Jeff Jr. I saw them last evening. When I walked into the house, there the three of them were sprawled across the living room floor playing a board game. Haley is 8. Jr. is 11. Jeff Sr. is 35.

Their fingers bleed. If they don’t see through their day’s quota — 5,000 bulbs, they are beaten. The next day they report to duty under guards’ eyes. They thread the fine wire through plastic frames for Christmas lights to be strung for selling around the world. But their Christmas celebration is confined to being imprisoned. Their crime? Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. This past year, 600 pastors alone were put behind Chinese bars. Their families? Left to fend for themselves.

Mason's 4-year-old sister, Brooke, told her worried grandma, "It's okay, John 14:14 will help you. Ask anything in His name and it shall be done." --- Debbie and Steve Ikirt were concerned when their then 2-year-old son, Mason caught his sister's cold and his fever spiked to 106 degrees, causing convulsions which prompted a rush to the emergency room. It was the beginning of Mason's extraordinary fight for life, as another trip to the hospital days later, revealed that the little boy's blood platelet count was less than a tenth what it should've been. His kidneys were beginning to show...

The man sitting in the White House is a Marxist Muslim. He thereby is not my President.

Somewhere in my peripheral vision there was a young girl pushing a load of shopping carts toward the grocery store. There must have been twenty to thirty of those huge metal carriers locked into one another.

Problems with Evolutionary Theory Why is there a problem with evolution in the first place? Someone once asked you, "What should I believe?" Remember what you told them? Basically I said you should only believe what there is evidence for. After spending years studying evolution in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs, I can tell you that, first of all, there is evidence for small changes in organisms as they adapt to small environmental fluctuations. Second, there is evidence that new species do arise. We see new species of fruit flies, rodents, and even birds. But when the original species is...

Today's divine mercies are keeping the globe spinning upon its axis. God loves this globe. "For God so loved the world. . ."

It's been almost a year since St.-Sgt. Dvir Emanuelof became the first casualty of Operation Cast Lead, losing his life to Hamas mortar fire just as he entered Gaza early in the offensive. But sitting with his mother, Dalia, in her living room last week, I was struck not by loss, but by life. And not by grief, but by fervent belief. And by a more recent story about Dvir that simply needs to be told, especially now at Hanukka, our season of miracles. This past summer, Dalia and some friends planned to go to Hutzot Hayotzer, the artists' colony...

God forbid that the Christian bodies should mess up the ground where a woman accused of adultery is to be earth-pitted up to her chin, then stoned till dead, village children watching.

A lot of devilment goes on on this spiritually fallen planet; but lastly every human will meet up with the Judge Christ. He is the Word. He is also the Last Word. That why the Bible pronounces Christ as the "Alpha and Omega" — the start and the finish.

"So many people are satisfied with knowing Christ as their Savior on a theological level and to be honest accepting that as your final Spiritual destination may in fact indicate you may well need to examine yourself..." * Pursuing the Christ * When a sinner by faith embraces the Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ he begins a brand new journey that has no parallel this side of heaven’s glory. The born again experience happens in a time and place setting, but the pursuit of knowing, pleasing, and glorifying Jesus is life long journey. What are the necessary commitments that...

Glenn was faced with 20 years in prison. I met him while on staff at the jail.

By faith we still see Him and give praise with angels’ chorus: “Glory to God in the highest. . .”

It is your responsibility to reason your head into the mind of Christ. You are to pray through to the divine graces. You are to learn the peace of total surrender to the divine plan.

Sociologist Berniuce Neugarten of Northwestern University states: "Even in the very oldest group, those above 85, more than one-third report no limitation due to health."

As I left the building I felt sorry for the young lady. She was there the entire evening, had sung in the choir, but had missed the wonder of Christmas. She had not seen Jesus. All she had noticed was a defective flashlight.

Even though the Bible was completed 2,000 years ago, long before the invention of the microscope, the telescope, satellites, etc. it does not contain any scientific errors. This might be considered a miracle in itself. Without exception, every ancient religious writing has certain unscientific views of astronomy, medicine, hygiene, etc. The Qur’an says in Surah 18:86 that the sun sets in a muddy spring. Qur’an 18:86 “…when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring” The only exception to these kinds of errors, among ancient religious writings, is the Bible. Not only is...

Introduction The famous evolutionist Julian Huxley once said, "Any view of God as a personal being is becoming frankly untenable. The difficulty of understanding the functions of a personal ruler in a universe which the march of knowledge is showing us ever more clearly as self-ordered and self-ordering in every minutest detail is becoming more and more apparent" (Essays of a Biologist [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1923], p. 217). His sentiments were echoed by the British philosopher Bertrand Russell: "That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin,...

to serve nearly 50,000 worshippers in the gritty heart of China's coal country. But that was before hundreds of police and hired thugs descended on the mega-church, smashing doors and windows, seizing Bibles and sending dozens of worshippers to hospitals with serious injuries, members and activists say Today, the church's co-pastors are in jail. The gates to the church complex in the northern province of Shanxi are locked and a police armored personnel vehicle sits outside. The closure of what may be China's first mega-church is the most visible sign that the communist government is determined to rein in the...

Consider that 23 percent of conservatives and 35 percent of liberals say that they have been in touch with the dead. Eighteen percent of conservatives and 33 percent of liberals believe in reincarnation. Another 18 percent of conservatives condone the power of "spiritual energy" compared to 30 percent of liberals.

And so it is with each of us--we make the journey to the close, then we see. We come upon heaven's own reward--sight!

How could parents put their child out at Christ- mas? That was one question that had been eating away at my heart ever since he knocked on the parsonage door.

Some good insight into Sarah Palin's faith in Almighty God. Links below. Finding Faith On Facing Challenges On Scripture On Godly Leadership

Majestic strains pealed forth from the organ: “Trumpet Tune in C Major,” by Henry Purcell; “Sonata for Flute and Organ,” by George Frederick Handel; and others.

From the womb of divine grace was born the original human being, the height of creation's journey.

We lost our comfortable home for what I came to call “God’s tin can.” It was a makeshift trailer set alongside a woodsy road. The interior was dark fake wood walls and an orange carpet and drapes from the 50s. The front screen door had a screen that was busted halfway out. We were fortunate: we did have an indoor bathroom with tub and shower and running water —hot and cold. We had a refrigerator and stove. Other than that, when the Maine snowstorms came to fill up much of the space around the trailer, we were banked in for...

A lot of devilment goes on on this spiritually fallen planet; but lastly every human will meet up with the Judge Christ. He is the Word. He is also the Last Word. That why the Bible pronounces Christ as the “Alpha and Omega”—the start and the finish.

As a Romney supporter and blogger I have very seldom written about faith and religion, whether in the general sense or as it applies to Mitt Romney as a presidential candidate. I’ve always known Romney’s religion to be a stigma to some. I’m sure it is even a boon to others, especially those who share his faith. Today, in remembrance of the 2nd anniversary of Romney’s speech “Faith in America”, I’m going to take a rare moment to share my thoughts on subject. Full disclosure: I am a life-long member of the LDS (Mormon) church. Now let’s proceed. I consider...

As I sat in that courtroom — a cold, impersonal, austere space — I looked straight ahead at my adopted teen son with his feet in chains. He was dressed in that dreaded orange outfit. His otherwise handsome face was grimaced, especially as he shot shamed glances at his mother and me when entering through the side door. Guards were on either side of him.

My wife and I had decided that we had to move. Her health was not getting any better. The neurosurgeon who could treat her performed his operations in Boston and we had to go where he was. Into the truck we slid our boxes, while our dreams seemed to go “out the window.”

This mystery woman reminds me of Vi.

“The rest of my family made something of themselves, but the bottle got to me over and over again.”

I’m taking my family on a trip this year: not across the country or even across town, but through the season of Advent. Advent, a season focused on both the joyful anticipation of Jesus’ birth and on his return, begins 4 Sundays prior to Christmas Day and ends on Christmas Eve. Celebrating Advent with my parents and church family is a cherished childhood memory. Each Sunday, we lit the candles on our Advent wreath, read scripture, and sang favorite carols. It kept me focused on the real meaning of Christmas, an antidote to the toy commercials and sugar-charged lures of...

Last night Sarah spoke to a packed house at the College of the Ozarks in Missouri. Although these things are off limits to reporters, and who can blame ‘em, the tweets were flying.

If Christians do not keep watch over their freedom of religious expression, it could be taken away from them even in a free nation. Then they would be hampered like the Christians are in India.

“In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwriten, by the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, Franc, and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc. “Haveing undertaken, for the glorie of God, and advancemente of the Christian faith, and honour of our king and countrie, a voyage to plant the first colonie in the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine our selves togeather into a civill body politick, for our...

Ephesians 5:17-20 (New International Version) 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (King James Version) 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Being...

The Feast we celebrate on the U.S. Holiday called Thanksgiving reveals that there really is no separation between the secular and the spiritual. After all, God is the Creator of all and the Author of life. He is the source of all that is good - whether He is acknowledged to be so or not. As the beloved disciple John wrote “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.” We will grow in love today as we express it. We will reach out to one another and...

There are naysayers enough. The faith builders are needed. The hope messengers are necessary.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are: 1.the sanctity of human life 2.the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife 3.the rights of conscience and religious liberty. Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are...

Sarah Palin, the hottest name in the Republican Party, took a detour from her book-signing tour Sunday to dine with Billy Graham at his mountaintop home in Montreat."He's followed her career and likes her strong stand on faith," said son Franklin Graham, who was present for the 2 1/2-hour get-together. "Daddy feels God was using her to wake America up."The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate told Billy Graham about how she came to faith in God as a girl in Bible camp.She quizzed him on the presidents he's known and wanted his take on what the...

A liberal friend of mine wrote the following note to me: "Faith is the personal and private relationship that one person has with his/her God. And faith is the belief in something, even when facts and evidence are to the contrary." I replied: "It depends on who or what is 'presenting' said 'evidence to the contrary'. Thoughts?

The Jesus Story always ends in overcoming the enemy. Always. Then appropriate that overcoming-yet-to-be in the present tense by exclaiming "Thank you, Jesus."

The newest threat to the United States is the Oval Office’s Marxist Muslim and his shadow government/czars impregnating evil government. He is out to destroy our democracy, in that sense beheading the infidels. He has long publicly witnessed that he is Muslim, though too many have never recognized that as fact.

The world is under attack on numerous levels. But Christians live, not under demonic attacks, but under God's grace. When you go to sleep at night, thank God for His protective grace. When you wake up in the morning, thank God for His fatherly mercy watching over you.

Sign The Declaration! Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family. We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are: --the sanctity of human life --the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife --the rights...

"How in the world would I sum up my life except to say 'God, at the end of the day I have really nothing but my faith, my reliance on You Lord…'" ...

Sarah Palin, if running for President, surely will divide this Republic all the more into two definite segments-fiercely opposing segments. Already we have two primary segments: believers and secularists. Believers are those moralists who hold to the God of the Bible, particularly the New Testament God in Christ. It may be via Roman Catholicism, evangelical Protestantism, Orthodox Christians, or non-church members who hold to biblical ethics. Secularists are exampled by Joy Behar on The View. She is with conviction a non-believer who holds that this life is all there is. No deity. No hereafter. No judgment accountability. This is it;...

Already we have two primary segments: believers and secularists. Believers are those moralists who hold to the God of the Bible, particularly the New Testament God in Christ. It may be via Roman Catholicism, evangelical Protestantism, Orthodox Christians, or non-church members who hold to biblical ethics. Secularists are exampled by Joy Behar on The View. She is with conviction a non-believer who holds that this life is all there is. No deity. No hereafter. No judgment accountability. This is it; write your own (im)morals.