Free Republic

The state Supreme Court in Mississippi, where same-sex marriage is not recognized, will hear arguments Jan. 21, 2015, from a woman who has asked the state to recognize her gay marriage so that she can be granted a divorce. Lauren Czekala-Chatham and Dana Ann Melancon, who married in California in 2008, cannot be granted a divorce in Mississippi due to the state's constitution and statutes, DeSoto County Chancery Judge Mitchell Lundy Jr. ruled last year. "All same sex Mississippi couples lack a right to have their marriage recognized by the state regardless of whether newly arrived here, having lived here...

Country star Ty Herndon has something to share: He's an "out, proud and happy gay man." Herndon, 52, came out publicly as gay in an interview with People magazine. He says he's known he was gay since he was a child and started coming out to family members in his 20s. But the "What Mattered Most" singer, who had a number of hits in the 1990s, kept the news close to the vest. It wasn't until he attended a Tony Robbins seminar in 2009 that he decided to become more public, he told the magazine. "I realized I had an...

“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...

The title says it all. About "liberalism is a mental disorder" in San Francisco's Castro District From "The Savage Nation" (Monday, November 20, 2012 edition) Quite amusing, worth a listen...

Gay men just got a step closer to being able to donate blood. Since 1983, men who have had sex with men anytime since 1977 were barred from donating blood, a policy put in place because of the HIV/AIDs epidemic, which especially ravaged the gay community in its early years. But on Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety voted 16-2 to tweak the ban, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, suggesting instead that men who have had sex with men could give blood, but with a caveat. They’d have to be abstinent for...

American activists against “reparative therapy” asked the UN Committee on Torture to define the practice as a form of torture and a violation of international law. At issue is the treatment sought by persons who struggle with unwanted same-sex desires. Many therapists still offer the treatment to those who ask for it, even though professional organizations for the therapeutic community say same-sex desire is not a form of mental illness and discourage this kind of therapy. There is a movement in the United States to ban all such therapy by law. Already, New Jersey and California have banned reparative therapy...

Just at first glance, and without looking it up on Google Translate, what is the difference between these two passages of a recent important Vatican document, the final “Relatio” from October’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops? “…confronto alla luce del Signore Gesù per discernere le vie con cui rinnovare la Chiesa e la società nel loro impegno per la famiglia fondata sul matrimonio tra uomo e donna.” and “…facing the situation, with an eye on the Lord Jesus, to discern how the Church and society can renew their commitment to the family.” A little pared down, perhaps? The official Italian original...

The Kellogg's cereal company is experiencing a backlash from Christian consumers who claim they'll no longer buy the company's products after it helped sponsor the Atlanta gay pride march in mid-October by using the beloved Frosted Flakes mascot, Tony the Tiger, in a pro-LGBT advertisement in the event's pride guide. "Wear your stripes with pride," the Kellogg's ad states, highlighting the word "pride" in large-font rainbow-colored letters, while Tony the Tiger stands to the right with his arms crossed and a familiar smile on his face. The American Family Association, a traditional Christian values activist group, posted a picture of...

Cynthia and Robert Gifford, the Christian couple who refused to hold a same-sex wedding on their property, have been ordered to pay a $13,000 fine – $10,000 to the state of New York and $1,500 to each member of the lesbian couple to compensate their “mental anguish.” The Giffords opened up their Liberty Ridge Farm in upstate New York to the public 15 years ago. They host weddings, receptions, parties, and corporate events, and put on an annual fall festival. In 2012, Cynthia received a call from a woman, Melisa Erwin, who was looking for a venue for her wedding...

Pope Francis has “pushed the door open” on the issues of homosexuality and Communion for the divorced and remarried, and no vote by a future Synod of Bishops is going to reverse it, according to one of the pope’s closest advisors. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the president of the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference and a member of Pope Francis’ inner circle, said in an interview with Die Zeit that the pope himself had ordered the rejected paragraph on homosexuality to be retained in the Synod’s final document. It was widely reported by the world’s press, including interviews with high-ranking prelates, that...

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke emerged from the recent, tempestuous Extraordinary Synod on the Family as a champion of orthodox Catholic sexual morality just as Pope Francis has removed him from the Church’s most senior canon law posting. However, if you sit across the Church leadership’s widening cultural gap from the former archbishop of St. Louis, as Alicia Ambrosio, producer and host of Vatican Connections on Canada’s Salt and Light Television, evidently does, you see him as stuck in “an ivory tower” cut off from “the messiness of life” that homosexual Catholics contend with. Now a testimony from one of...

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke emerged from the recent, tempestuous Extraordinary Synod on the Family as a champion of orthodox Catholic sexual morality just as Pope Francis has removed him from the Church’s most senior canon law posting. However, if you sit across the Church leadership’s widening cultural gap from the former archbishop of St. Louis, as Alicia Ambrosio, producer and host of Vatican Connections on Canada’s Salt and Light Television, evidently does, you see him as stuck in “an ivory tower” cut off from “the messiness of life” that homosexual Catholics contend with. Now a testimony from one of...

....Brandy Clark, an openly gay artist who sings, among other things, about pot-smoking housewives, had almost given up on becoming an artist herself, despite writing hits for The Band Perry, Miranda Lambert and others. But her debut album, "12 Stories," which peaked at number 23 on Billboard's Top Country chart, took her on a slow-burning path to this year's nomination for new artist of the year at the Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday..... "I feel so fortunate to be in a time where I am embraced completely as who I am and I don't have to hide who I...

Other than Russia's notorious anti-gay activist Vitaly Milonov calling for a “lifetime ban” on Tim Cook's travels, the reactions to the Apple CEO's coming out Thursday were mostly predictable and tame. Social media was full of praise, as were liberal politicians. Most conservatives kept mum, except for “iPhone-loving” Ted Cruz, who dismissed Cook's orientation as “his personal choice.” And why should there be any hoopla? It's 2014, after all. Same-sex marriage is now legal for a majority of the U.S. population. Coming out isn't the big deal it once was even five years ago, especially for a CEO long rumored...

A conference today at the University of Notre Dame will address “a pastoral strategy for parishes to be able to receive the gifts of self-identified gay Catholics,” while remaining faithful to Catholic teaching on marriage and sexuality—but some speakers’ perspectives on “gay identity” may fall short of true orthodoxy. “Gay in Christ: Dimensions of Fidelity” is co-sponsored by Notre Dame’s Institute for Church Life (ICL) and the Gender Relations Center. ICL director Dr. John Cavadini poses the following question on the University’s website: “Can Church teaching support an ‘exchange of gifts,’ enabling a parish community to receive the gifts that such people bring...

Apple CEO Tim Cook is speaking out about his sexuality, for the first time openly since he was accidentally outed by a CNBC anchor back in June. He’s coming out publicly to announce that he is proud to be gay, and to speak about the things his sexuality has taught him — and how his coming out may help others. Back in June, a CNBC anchor was discussing the story of John Browne, a former CEO of BP, who left his job after being publicly outed by a tabloid paper. In response, host Simon Hobbs commented that there are many...

A large Texas congregation that recently decided to disaffiliate from the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States over its increasing acceptance of homosexuality is suing to keep its property. Windwood Presbyterian Church of Houston has been waging a legal battle to not have to pay to keep their church property after having left Presbyterian Church (USA) earlier this year. The Rev. Kevin C. Rudolph, pastor at Windwood Presbyterian, told The Christian Post that the lawsuit dates back to 2008. "We have been involved in a lawsuit over the ownership of the property since 2008 and that suit is still...

The United Methodist Church's highest court has decided to overturn the defrocking of a Pennsylvania pastor who officiated his son's same-sex wedding. The United Methodist Judicial Council has ruled that Frank Schaefer, formerly pastor at Zion United Methodist Church of Iona, Lebanon, could have his clergy credentials reinstated. A UMC spokesperson provided The Christian Post with a copy of the decision Monday morning, wherein the judicial council upheld the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Appeals' decision overturning the defrocking of Schaefer. "The judicial council … finds there are no errors in the application of the church law and judicial decisions. The...

The Department of Theatre and Media Arts is releasing the first public screening of the student film “Pride and Faith” on Oct. 24. The documentary, written and directed by BYU alumnus Scott Raia, explores the complex lives of two LGBT students as they reconcile their identity and faith. Raia filmed “Pride and Faith” during his senior year for his capstone project as a film student. He hoped to become an ally of the LGBT community after broadening his awareness on the subject. “As I prepared for graduation, I looked to my future and some of my friends and their futures,”...

annie, if you are afraid of what the Bible says about homosexuality, then change your ways because you cannot change The Word. You cannot censor Pastors, you cannot censor the Bible, you cannot censor God.