Free Republic

The Christian organization Focus on the Family is releasing a movie in theaters May 6 called “Irreplaceable” about the value of traditional families, the importance of fathers being engaged in their children’s lives and the healing power of forgiveness. But apparently to some advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, community, that’s a cardinal sin. LGBT advocates have launched an effort to disparage the movie online, petition against it and work to make sure “Irreplaceable” isn’t seen in your local theater. Focus President Jim Daly reports in a blog post that some of the more than 700...

In regard to widespread disdain for the Middle Ages, C. S. Lewis felt that many modern people suffer from a kind of “chronological snobbery” and that “the modern conception of Progress ... is simply a myth, supported by no evidence whatever.” Certainly many minds smugly assume our world’s moral superiority to that of people in the past. That assumption merits some close critical scrutiny. This claim probably does not rest on an improvement in the numbers of deaths in war and genocide. Many millions died in past atrocities such as the Mongol invasions of Asia and Europe and the Muslim...

Regular readers of my column know that I usually don’t use the words “conservative” and “liberal.” Why is that? Because those words in today’s lingo—like the words “love” and “democracy”—can mean almost anything you want. Unlike past times when precision in meanings was important, we have now produced a generation that no longer understands the historic or political meaning of those words. Within the population of the confused, however, my greatest disappointment is held for those who describe themselves as economically conservative, but socially liberal. But do they even know what that means? On the economics side, this is what...

I don't have to explain to anyone how television is much more risque, with some programs being downright lewd, than it was decades ago. But I want to tell you about something that can change the course of values in television and movies. Once upon a time, about as edgy as it got was Barbara Eden's "I Dream of Jeannie" character, who showed her trim tummy, and Elvis swinging his pelvis on "The Ed Sullivan Show" -- though the broadcast screen only captured the upper half of his body as he did. Today, of course, we've got everything from Miley...

The game of chess is never going to rival soccer or the NFL for popularity. Five hours of watching two players sitting in chairs thinking deep thoughts doesn’t seem like much widespread viewing potential. It is remarkable, then, that this month chess is enjoying global enthusiasm and popularity like it hasn’t since Garry Kasparov played IBM’s computer “Deep Blue” in the 1990s or, even further back, the electrifying performance of Bobby Fischer against Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, 1972. If you’re an average American, you probably don’t know anything about any of it, so I want to take the opportunity to...

Jenelle Evans, 22, had an abortion this year. Originally featured on MTV four years ago as a pregnant teenager, Evans, who loves to party, had a son, gave the son to her mother to raise, got into heroin, got married and went to jail; her husband ended up in jail as well on drug charges. They got divorced. He didn't know that Evans was pregnant. She got an abortion. He found out about it on the commercials for "Teen Mom 2." Now she's pregnant again. With a third guy. Who may or may not be seeing another woman on the...

Now it all makes sense. This week I heard Glenn Beck on his radio show, talking about his pro-gay stance. I could never figure out why Glenn Beck and his organization, his Mike Opelka, and his Donelly of the 9`12-ers, had been cold to me, in some cases downright mean. It’s the gay thing!! So many divisions in the conservative movement! He said Donelly ran a gay parade! No wonder why she never returned my call. I publicly said there should not be homosexual themes on primetime TV shows like Glee where innocent children are watching and thus being indoctrinated...

Yes and no. As I have argued here, there are some fine reasons why Christians should be a constant presence at their local abortion mill. It is true that different believers, even different churches have different callings. Trouble is, too often we “feel called” to that which is most comfortable, most respectable. If there are ten churches within a five mile radius of the local mill, and everyone of them supports Bible study programs for successful businessmen something is wrong. Just remember that both the priest and the Levite had some thriving ministries to get to back in Jerusalem...

Every once in a while, I find myself shocked by something someone says. It doesn't happen very often because, after blogging for several years, that shock has mostly worn off. I have received all kinds of comments, been accused of racism, bigotry, hatred, etc. Yesterday, I believe, was a new high. One of the comments I received on my post about homosexual marriage and states' rights actually made my mouth drop open in surprise. Left by S Fuller, it bears quoting in its own post. There was another time in American history when a large population of Americans believed that...

It’s too early to predict where N.J. Governor Chris Christie’s “bridgegate” scandal will lead. What did Christie know and when did he know it about actions of operatives in his administration who engineered the closing of key traffic lanes, leading onto the George Washington bridge outside Fort Lee, New Jersey, as political punishment for a Democratic mayor who did not endorse Christie’s reelection. The lane closings caused horrendous traffic jams that might have caused the death of one elderly woman. But whichever players in this horrible game of political vindictiveness are implicated, there is an important lesson. Despite our obsession...

My remarks will be brief, since this is not a political blog, and I am not a political prognosticator. The American people and process have spoken. But a few remarks based on the election results, things I think of as undeniable facts for the Church, though you are free to offer any rebuttals. 1. The strained relationship between the Catholic Church in the Democratic party will continue and the strain will likely grow. The reasons for this are that the Democratic Party is increasingly aligning itself with positions that are in direct conflict with Catholic teaching. More of this in...

Ninety-four percent of Americans believe that "being married and having sex with someone else" is morally wrong, the highest figure on a list of eight actions that CNN asked 1,010 adults to ethically classify earlier this month. "Cheating on your taxes" followed adultery with 90 percent of Americans classifying it as morally wrong. "Having an abortion," "engaging in homosexual behavior" and "looking at a pornographic magazine" came in at 57, 50, and 46 percent, respectively. Glenn Stanton, the director for Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family, explained Americans' lack of consensus on what made an action morally wrong...

The former president of Poland and leader of the Solidarity movement is not enamored with President Obama and his leadership. The Hill: Former Polish President Lech Walesa says America no longer leads the world "in terms of politics and morality." Walesa, in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, spoke negatively about President Obama's leadership skills. "When he was elected there was great hope in the world. We were hoping that Obama would reclaim moral leadership for America, but that failed. America does not lead the world in the area of morality," Walesa said. Walesa, who is promoting a new biopic...

As of today -- Jan. 1, 2014 -- a Democratic administration led by President Barack Obama will use a regulation permitted and funded by a Republican-majority House of Representatives to prohibit Americans from freely exercising not just Christianity, but virtue itself in the United States of America. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines virtue as "conformity to a standard of right" -- and, in truth, there is only one such standard. Individuals are born and die, nations rise and fall -- yet it remains. Nor can it be escaped -- no matter how devoutly men such as Obama seek to annul it,...

Well, that only took decades. Who knew that the Leftist Playbook would finally get seriously winged by a duck caller? [SNIP] As the year ends, the un-suspension of Phil Robertson is exactly the moment to understand that what Mr. Robertson and his family — who rallied to their patriarch — have accomplished is no small thing. This “controversy” in fact had nothing to do with gays or African Americans. In fact, the Robertson-A&E dust-up was merely the latest in a long — very long — line of leftist attempts to impose supposedly sophisticated moral pretensions on the rest of the...

It is no secret that our culture as a whole is descending into an ever-deeper sexual confusion. Recently two examples of this were in the news.In the first article which I summarize here, a Canadian couple have chosen to raise (impose upon?) their child a “genderless” upbringing. For now, they have refused to tell any of their family or friends the sex of their child, whom they call “Storm,” and groom and dress the infant child ambiguously.I would like to provide excerpts of a much longer article here and comment as we go. As usual, the article is in bold,...

While substituting for Sean Hannity recently, Neal Boortz went into another of his "libertarian" rants against "social" conservatives. Taking note of the recent flak involving Phil Robertson of "Duck Dynasty," while pleading that the fate of the republic may depend upon Republicans retaking the U.S. Senate, Boortz forebodingly predicted that Republicans would fail in this task because, "they [Republicans] simply cannot resist the urge, the impulse to get into this social conservatism." Long known for his disdain of the "social" (I prefer "moral") issues, like many others, Boortz masquerades as libertarian while in reality being nothing more than a liberal...

On December 4, 2013 Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5-million member American Federation of Teachers(AFT), spoke on C-Span about bullying, particularly of gay students. Ms. Weingarten said, with surprise in her voice, that she doesn't understand why gay students are still bullied in public schools, because in 2013, "It's cool to be gay." She also said she is gay, and now speaks about it openly.As a psychotherapist, I tell clients that being surprised by another person's behavior often results from erroneous assumptions about the person, usually because you see them as you want them to be rather than as they...

...The Bizarro World comes to mind as I watch the erosion of the moral foundation of freedom in the United States of America. I grew up believing that the United States of America, with its Christian roots, emphasis on a Natural Moral Law and recognition of inalienable rights which come from God, was a beacon for all Nations. In particular, for those Nations which had succumbed to the lies of atheistic Marxism. That included Russia, once the greatest proponent of atheistic communism. I still hope this is the case. However, we have clearly lost our moral compass as a Nation....

Indeed, under this president, America's chief export has become immorality. Sexual deviancy, murder of the unborn, redistribution of wealth and other evils have been sanitized and propagandized as "basic human rights." Thus, when this arrogant man stands before the U.N. and decries those nations that refuse to embrace his special brand of pagan relativism, we shouldn't be surprised if those nations push back.