Free Republic

A federal judge has ruled that the University of Iowa cannot force its InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapter to allow for non-Christian student leaders. U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose issued a ruling last Friday that allowed for InterVarsity to continue to choose its leadership based on religious parameters rather than conform to the University’s anti-discrimination policy, known as the Human Rights Policy. The ruling stipulated that the University “may not enforce the University’s Human Rights Policy against InterVarsity based on the content of InterVarsity’s leadership selection policies.” This came under the conditions that the University continues to unevenly apply...

I’ve long been skeptical of claims that justices in religious freedom cases — and especially devoutly Christian justices, such as Justice Antonin Scalia — are biased in favor of Christians in religious exemption cases. To be sure, justices are people, and people have biases, usually in favor of their own groups. But justices also know quite well that their opinions will affect many more cases, including cases brought by other religious groups. I’m also skeptical of trying to prove such biases simply by counting cases. Different cases involve different legal issues, and — especially when you have only a few...

A recent Gallup poll refutes the claim made by Barack Obama on March 9, 2008 that “we are no longer a Christian nation.” Gallup found that three quarters of all Americans - a supermajority - identify themselves as Christians, with only five percent saying they are practicing members of a non-Christian faith. “We find, looking at our data, that America does in fact remain a predominantly Christian nation,” Dr. Frank Newport, Gallup’s editor in chief, said of the poll released on Christmas Eve. “Now, our overall estimation of what percent of Americans identify with the Christian religion depends a little...

While a student at Dallas Seminary a good friend of mine and I went to an IHOP to study for a Hebrew exam. My friend seemed unusually anxious, tender and, admittedly, a bit awkward. At some point during the evening I finally asked him if he was okay. He looked around cautiously, then in a whisper said to me, “I need to tell you something I have never told anyone else before.” “Okay,” I said. “You can tell me anything.” “I’m gay.” With that, I stood up from the table, invited him to stand up, and gave him and a...

I would just like to wish my listeners a very Happy Easter weekend. But for those of you who are not Christian let me explain why this holiday is so important to people. No really. That’s all. I promise, this won’t hurt a bit. Christians believe that God, the same God who created the sun and the moon and stars, the same God who, as we celebrate this Passover, loved his people so much that he freed them from the bondage of men, humbled himself to become a man himself and free all from the slavery of sin. So, no...

I see the whole non-christian forum act as an off-topic for denunciations Christian sects make on others, and news of general interest... For Christians. There is a significant Heathen Libertarian and Conservative community. We're being spammed out!

Episcopalians overwhelmingly favor tossing a previously approved resolution that bans ordaining openly gay bishops. In discussions that began Thursday afternoon and continued Friday morning during The Episcopal Church's triennial General Convention, Episcopalians spoke frankly, testifying passionately either for throwing out the ban or against rescinding it. "Gays and lesbians are asked to make sacrifices the rest of us are not asked to make," said the Rev. J. Frederick Barber of Fort Worth, according to the Episcopal News Service. Debate centered on resolution B033, which was approved by the General Convention in 2006. It calls for restraint in ordaining bishops "whose...

Sit down and shut up? Easier said than done, a Kern car dealer and the Oklahoma writer of the company’s controversial radio ad are finding. The spots have already finished a three-month run in eastern Kern and the Antelope Valley, but renewed interest prompted even the Ford Motor Co. to weigh in Wednesday. Kieffe & Sons Ford’s ads suggesting Christians “just tell the other 14 percent to sit down and shut up” had been Internet fodder for months, blog posts indicate. In recent days the topic suddenly resurfaced, said Tehachapi resident Dave Salyers. Numerous e-mails with the ad attached popped...

Does it matter that Mitt Romney is a Mormon? To some extent--but it shouldn't. Since 1960, when John F. Kennedy settled the issue of whether a Catholic could be president, there's been general public agreement a candidate's religion shouldn't matter.