Free Republic

A recently released midterm report from the Synod of Bishops on the family, which defended the traditional definition of marriage but used positive language toward same-sex couples in some situations, has garnered controversy among some bishops who say it does not accurately reflect the assembly's views. "In regard to homosexuality, there was noted the need for welcoming, with the right degree of prudence, so as not to create the impression of a positive valuation of that orientation," read a summary of the remarks some bishops had toward the report, Catholic News Service reported. "It was hoped that the same care...

The mayor of Houston, TX, has subpoenaed the sermons of local pastors and the speeches of local religious leaders to see what they have to say about homosexuality.I fear Annise Parker has never read the Bible. If she wanted some sermons so bad, she could go to church, but I don’t know that she will. So I think we should help her out. You can get a copy of the NIV version on Amazon.com for $4.05. Annise Parker’s address is: Mayor Annise D. Parker City of HoustonP.O. Box 1562Houston, TX 77251 I kindly suggest you all send Ms. Parker a...

Houston's embattled equal rights ordinance took another legal turn this week when it surfaced that city attorneys, in an unusual step, subpoenaed sermons given by local pastors who oppose the law and are tied to the conservative Christian activists that have sued the city. Opponents of the equal rights ordinance are hoping to force a repeal referendum when they get their day in court in January, claiming City Attorney David Feldman wrongly determined they had not gathered enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. City attorneys issued subpoenas last month during the case's discovery phase, seeking, among other communications,...

This latest story from our brave new world may blow your mind, so I'll read straight from the Chicago Tribune: "A white Ohio woman is suing a Downers Grove-based sperm bank, alleging that the company mistakenly gave her vials from an African-American donor, a fact that she said has made it difficult for her and her same-sex partner to raise their now 2-year-old daughter in an all-white community." Now, I don't doubt the lesbian couple's love for the child. But I find it troubling which challenges the couple was willing and isn't willing to tolerate. They're suing because of the...

Last week, the Supreme Court declined to hear a collection of marriage-equality decisions and deferred for another term what seems now an inevitable ruling for marriage equality. The very next day, the Ninth Circuit handed down an opinion, Latta v. Otter, striking down a number of same-sex-marriage bans. In doing so, the appeals court provided the first of what will surely be many such decisions from which the Court can choose when the justices consider what cases they might hear in the future—and so offers potential rationales by which they might make marriage equality the law of the land. The...

Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, is making good on his vow to support gay GOP candidates in the name of inclusivity this week when he is expected to stump for openly gay Republican candidates Carl Demaio of California and Richard Tisei in Massachusetts. A report in The Hill says Boehner is expected to raise cash for both candidates despite opposition from conservative groups such as the Family Research Council in a bid to expand the 17-seat majority of Republicans in Congress. The Hill noted that Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage were among...

Author Sam Harris and HBO’s “Real Time” anchor Bill Maher debated actor Ben Affleck and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof on Maher’s earlier comments on radical Islam on Friday. Harris argued, “liberals have really failed on the topic of theocracy, they’ll criticize white theocracy, they’ll criticize Christians, they’ll still get agitated over the abortion clinic bombing that happen in 1984, but when you want to talk about the treatment of women and homosexuals and free thinkers and public intellectuals in the Muslim world, I would argue that liberals have failed us.” He added “the crucial point of confusion is...

NEW YORK (AP) — As same-sex marriage cases cascade through the federal courts, Republican politicians find themselves awkwardly split into three camps. There's a small but growing number who favor legalizing gay marriage, a hard-core faction that continues to denounce it, and a sizable group in between that seems to wish the issue would disappear. At one end of the spectrum, at least eight GOP members of Congress have endorsed same-sex marriage, and two openly gay GOP candidates for the House hope to join them. In Massachusetts, Richard Tisei has run ads featuring his husband. In California, Carl DeMaio ran...

"I am not opposed to birth control," he said. After a pause, he elaborated. "That's basically what Plan B is. Plan B is taking two birth control pills in the morning and two in the evening, and I am not opposed to that." ... Another student here pressed him on "the drug war," asking if Paul would support legalizing marijuana, cocaine and heroin. He said he wasn't supportive of drug use, explaining that pot "is not that great," but said drug laws should be left up to states. Colorado and Washington are experimenting with legalized marijuana, he said, and we...

To judge by media coverage, the legalization of same-sex marriage is an unalloyed good. Pictures of happy couples kissing and otherwise celebrating leave the impression that the only people who are unhappy about all of this are bigots and grumps. Well, Janna Darnelle would beg to differ. Seven years ago, Darnelle's husband of ten years told her that he was gay and that he wanted a divorce. As she wrote in The Public Discourse, "In an instant, the world that I had known and loved—the life we had built together—was shattered." She tried to persuade him to stay, and work...

Members of Minnesota Catholic Church are lamenting over the resignation of their music director of 17 years who was asked to leave his position after marrying his same-sex partner. Jamie Moore served at St. Victoria Catholic Church for a little less than two decades and was beloved by much of the congregation. Several of the church's choir members recently voiced their disappointment over the matter to KARE11 News. "I think it's unfortunate," said member Judy Janish. "I think people should be able to marry who they love and who they belong with." June Henning, who served alongside Moore for 17...

While speaking in Singapore at a seminar sponsored by Focus on the Family, I was asked the question: What about ex-ex-gays? Does their existence prove that it is really impossible for people to change their sexual orientation? This past July, Time magazine ran a story entitled, "9 Ex-Leaders of the Gay Conversion Therapy Movement Apologize." The article stated that, "Former members of organizations that advocated therapy to 'cure' homosexuality have joined LGBT groups in rejecting the concept." Last year, John Paulk, formerly a very prominent ex-gay married to his ex-gay wife Anne, went back to his gay lifestyle after 15...

I came busting out of the closet in 2009 in a desperate attempt to finally find some peace in my life. Some happiness. Some joy. Some freedom. But as most of you already know, the "freedom" that my coming out and adopting a gay identity bought me was a freedom that only brought me into more bondage. But, even so, I would do it all over again. Coming out, that is. I really do believe that finally letting the people around me glimpse into the secret parts of my life was a necessary step in my God-led journey toward the...

This week my denomination, through its executive committee, voted to "disfellowship" a congregation in California that has acted to affirm same-sex sexual relationships. This sad but necessary move is hardly surprising, since this network of churches shares a Christian sexual ethic with all orthodox Christians of every denomination for 2,000 years. One of the arguments made by some, though, is that this is hypocritical since so many ministers in our tradition marry people who have been previously divorced. The argument is that conservative Protestants already embrace a "third way" because we've done so on divorce. Couples divorce, sometimes remarry others,...

I wish Pew had provided older numbers to use as a yardstick here. Can’t tell if this has been fairly constant for a few years now or if opinion is starting to move towards gays on public accommodations as well. The fact that more people support compulsion in the name of antidiscrimination than the right of the business owner to refuse for reasons of conscience is newsy, though. Say, wasn’t there another splashy poll by a famous pollster on this subject last year? Yep, sure was — Rasmussen asked a similar question in June 2013 and found, no typo, that...

In recent years, homosexuality has frequently been in the news. An increasingly nationwide effort to make homosexual acts something to celebrate has gained great ground and sowed serious confusion even among those who describe themselves as Christian and Catholic. Hence, it is necessary once again to instruct on this matter and to reassert what Scripture plainly teaches and why the Church cannot affirm what the world demands we affirm.An essential fact is that the Scriptures are very clear in unambiguously, uncompromisingly declaring homosexual acts as a serious sin and as disordered. “Disordered” here means that they are acts that are...

Well it took a while. “In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at Columbia University last night in response to a question about the recent execution of two gay men there.“In Iran we do not have this phenomenon,” he continued. “I do not know who has told you we have it.” Fareed Zakaria claimed that Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari was sentenced to prison in part for posting this photo on his Facebook page.And now they’ve been discovered in Iran. (via Religion of Peace) An 82-page document recently issued by Iran’s parliamentary research...

Reaction to the launch earlier this week of a group calling itself "Evangelicals for Marriage Equality" heralded by an op-ed in TIME by its spokesman, was met with harsh criticism from some Christians, including the assertion that no "real arguments" were made to support same-sex marriages. "I eagerly await the young evangelical that finally convinces me that the Bible and human history are wrong on marriage and that justice requires that both Christianity and society bestow marriage on same-sex relationships," wrote Andrew T. Walker, director of Policy Studies for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention....

Analyzing Cardinal Dolan's version of: "Who am I to judge?" (A hypothetical but useful word-substitution exercise) (Imagine Cardinal Dolan or other prominent Catholic leaders voicing these slightly modified questions)           Cardinal Dolan:   "Who am I to judge whether it's right or wrong to promote or engage in homosexual activities?" Cardinal Dolan:   "Who am I to judge whether it's right or wrong to promote or engage in bisexual activities?" Cardinal Dolan:   "Who am I to judge whether it's right or wrong to promote or engage in adulterous activities?" Cardinal Dolan:   "Who am I to judge whether...

Note: It is for columns like this that I created a “Hate Mail” folder in Outlook.None can deny the fast-rising popularity and approval of the “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender” (LGBT) lifestyles. Most especially, perhaps, the “bisexual orientation,” which has become rather fashionable and, hence, more frequently practiced among today’s blindly “tolerant” millennial generation.These are behavior choices that, for all of recorded history and until just the last few decades, have almost universally been recognized as immoral and unhealthy. The Bible, throughout both the old and new testaments, unequivocally and without exception, holds these behaviors to be sexually immoral –...