Free Republic

Washington D.C., Jul 24, 2015 / 04:47 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Owners of a pharmacy in Washington state must provide the morning-after contraceptive pill against their religious beliefs after a federal appeals court upheld a state mandate that they do so. “Today’s decision is unfortunate,” stated Luke Goodrich, deputy general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, on Thursday. “The government has no business punishing citizens solely because of their religious beliefs.” At issue is a 2005 state law that mandates pharmacies provide the morning-after and week-after contraceptive pills to customers even if they religiously object to doing so. Individual...

“. . . And in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness” (2 Peter 1:6). Godly perseverance is a sure evidence of true salvation. Commentator Michael Green has this to say about the believer who displays biblical perseverance: “The mature Christian does not give up. His Christianity is like the steady burning of a star rather than the ephemeral brilliance (and speedy eclipse) of a meteor.” The Greek word translated “perseverance” in today’s verse (hupomone) refers to consistent endurance in righteousness and faithfulness in resisting temptation. The precise meaning for hupomone is hard to pinpoint. There is no exact...

"To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away" (1 Pet. 1:4). Unlike earthly treasures, your eternal inheritance can never be taken away from you. Despite the benefits of bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and a myriad of other investment opportunities, every earthly inheritance eventually is lost. If someone doesn't steal it, or if it doesn't lose its value in a stock market crash or recession, death will separate it from you. It's inevitable! That's why Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break...

The gospel of free sins makes getting better sort of irrelevant. In fact, the constant pressure to “get better and better, every day in every way” is driving people away from the truth of the gospel. It’s not about getting better. Let’s start with a principle: almost everything of any importance is found while we’re headed somewhere else. I know that runs counter to the common wisdom of most leaders, but nevertheless, it’s true. We are admonished by almost everybody “who knows” that goals are important and if we don’t aim at something, we won’t hit anything. While setting goals...

July 25, 2015   Feast of Saint James, Apostle Reading 1 2 Cor 4:7-15 Brothers and sisters:We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;perplexed, but not driven to despair;persecuted, but not abandoned;struck down, but not destroyed;always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus,so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.For we who live are constantly being given up to deathfor the sake of Jesus,so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our...

The Christian faith is radical. In fact, if what you call “Christian” is not radical, then it is probably not Christian. Those of us who have been around Christianity a long time have forgotten how radical our faith really is. In fact, that we believe it at all is a very cogent argument for its truth. Nobody in their right mind would make it up. Think about it. We believe that there really is a God who created the whole world for His purposes and that those purposes are being worked out in history. We believe this God is holy...

A Catholic priest once told me something an older priest said to him at a party for his archdiocese’s seminarians headed off to study at the North American College in Rome: “Those poor boys. They leave here in love with Jesus, and come home in love with the Church.”

“And in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance . . .” (2 Peter 1:6). Personal self-control demonstrates the certainty of your salvation. In Peter’s day, the word translated “self-control” was used to describe athletes. The successful ones abstained from sexual activity and an unhealthy diet for the sake of disciplined training exercises. You practice personal self-control when you control your desires and don’t allow them to control you. Let me share some practical tips that have helped me with self-control. 1. Start small. For example, begin by cleaning your bedroom or office, then extend that discipline to the...

"[God] caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pet. 1:3). Everyone receives an eternal inheritance—either Heaven or Hell. We have seen several aspects of the believer's inheritance, and will see more in future days. But realize that unbelievers also will receive an inheritance, for Jesus will say to them, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matt. 25:41,...

Moscow, July 23, Interfax - The authorities should not exclude themselves "from the ideological sphere, from the spirit sphere," head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said at a news conference in Moscow on Thursday. "If it lacks this, this means that people find themselves without wheel and without sails," the priest said. "Many today would want the authorities not to have faith, an ideological component and were just managers but I want to hope that this is not so in our history, in our future," he said. It is necessary to overcome "the...

“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) The thought that the death of Jesus and His shed blood were somehow the ransom price paid to redeem lost sinners from an eternal prison in hell has been a stumbling block to many of those very sinners. Yet that is the teaching of Scripture, whether it appeals to their reasonings or not. “Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold. . . . But with the precious...

July 24, 2015   Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 20:1-17 In those days:God delivered all these commandments: “I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.You shall not have other gods besides me.You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them.For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their...

This is Free Republic. Our mission here is to fight against the America-hating, God-hating, capitalism-hating, abortionist/homosexualist leftist revolutionaries and marxist/fascist totalitarians who are hellbent on destroying our constitution, our religious freedom, our economic freedom, our Judeo-Christian way of life and the America we love. Pro-life, pro-family, conservative Catholics, Protestants and Jews are not the enemy. All pro-life, pro-family pro-America believers in our one true Judeo-Christian God are our guests, friends and allies in this effort, so please quit attacking your allies! Your attacks are not going to convert anyone. Please save your ammunition for the enemy. We’re on a mission...

“. . . in your moral excellence, knowledge” (2 Peter 1:5). Moral excellence cannot develop in an intellectual vacuum. It’s a frightening thing to realize the extent to which our culture downplays knowledge in favor of emotions. These days people are more likely to ask, “How will it make me feel?” instead of, “Is it true?” Sadly, the church has bought into the spirit of the age. Many people go to church, not to learn the truths of God’s Word, but to get an emotional high. The focus of theological discussion also reflects the contemporary hostility to knowledge. To a...

"According to His great mercy" (1 Pet. 1:3). Every dimension of life, whether physical or spiritual, is a testimony to God’s mercy. When God saved you and granted you an eternal inheritance, it wasn't because you were special or more deserving of His love and grace than others. It was because He sovereignly chose to love you and extend His great mercy to you. That's why Paul said, "God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you...

Oddly enough, it’s sometimes progressives who are most eager to move the culture backward. As we reflect in horror at the utter callousness with which some persons and organizations speak of (not to mention crush) the tiniest humans, it’s worth remembering that the ancient world was unabashedly open to the killing of children. For starters, they had almost none of the sentimentality we have towards kids. There was no Disney, no summer camps, no play dates. Family life–even if there was such a thing–certainly did not revolve around children. In general, children, were useful at best, burdens at worst, and...

Has anyone ever said something unkind to you or about you? I think we all have had that experience. Becoming victims of slander or malicious gossip can be difficult to bear. However, God calls us to exhibit a very specific kind of response in such circumstances. Years ago, I received a letter from a friend who is a pastor at a church in California. In it, the pastor included a copy of an article that had appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Although the article included a photo of him standing in his church and holding his Bible, it was...

Charity launches petition with backing of Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, calling on the Government to provide a safe haven for Christians fleeing jihadi tyranny in Syria Church leaders have accused David Cameron of “turning his back” on Christians facing genocide in Syria and Iraq by failing to offer them refuge in the UK. Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, led criticism aimed at the Government for failing to provide a safe haven to Christians trying to flee the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). He will sign a petition that is being launched on...

"Elagabalus Aureus Sol Invictus" by Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.  http://www.cngcoins.com. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons The reverse of the imperial coin depicts horses pulling a wagon on which there is the sacred black stone from the temple of god Elagabalus in Emesa, modern Homs in Syria. The stone was associated in Rome with the cult of Sol Invictus by Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (c. 203 – March 11, 222).  After his death he is commonly known as Caesar Elagabalus according to this his favorite god. The name is the Latinized form of the Syrian Ilāh...

July 23, 2015   Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b In the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt,on its first day, the children of Israel came to the desert of Sinai.After the journey from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai,they pitched camp. While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain,the LORD told Moses,“I am coming to you in a dense cloud,so that when the people hear me speaking with you,they may always have faith in you also.”When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the...