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Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. - Heb. 10:19 Among the famous sayings of the Church fathers none is better known than Augustine's, "Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee." The great saint states here in few words the origin and interior history of the human race. God made us for Himself: that is the only explanation that satisfies the heart of a thinking man, whatever his wild reason may say. Should faulty education and perverse reasoning lead a man to conclude...

What intrigues me about the Pharisee in this passage is that he thanked God for his moral uprightness and religious devotion. He is not claiming, perhaps like the rich, young ruler did, that he had kept God’s law and thus is deserving of eternal life. He doesn’t believe that he’s earned his salvation by works of righteousness achieved apart from divine grace. No, he goes to thank God for the grace and charity that God had worked in him, by which he has become acceptable to God. He believes that he is justified by his faith in God as well...

“Why didn’t someone do something?” Those five words still haunt my thoughts today. Sometime ago, I sat speechless as I listened to a man recount his trip to a holocaust museum with his young daughter. As they walked by photos of the death camps and gas chambers, his daughter silently contemplated the horrors that were unfolding before her eyes. When the tour ended, they drove home without saying a word. The father wondered if she truly understood the significance of the event. Was she too young to view such depravity? Was she too fragile to cope with the truth of...

After I published the story that a Wichita church will be hosting a celebration of abortion for Planned Parenthood, Christians across the country were appalled. The church, St. James Episcopal Church is hosting a “fundraiser” for Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid Missouri on January 22, 2015, the anniversary of the 42nd Roe V. Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion on demand. They are calling the event: Chili for Choice. By definition, “choice” in the Planned Parenthood world indicates a right to kill a human baby in the womb for any reason at any stage of pregnancy. A man...

Bill Donohue comments on reactions to his news release from yesterday [click here] on the murder of 12 people in Paris: Being misrepresented is commonplace for public figures. Sometimes it reflects an honest misreading; other times it is a willful distortion. I don’t have the time now to address all of these instances, but I am hardly going to run from my position. My position is this: the murderers are fully responsible for what they did and should be treated with the full force of the law. Nothing justifies the killing of these people. But this is not the whole...

.“When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” Francis said.

In his latest bid to ease the suffering of the poor — and upend the expectations of the papacy — Pope Francis plans to build showers for the homeless under the sweeping white colonnade of St. Peter’s Square. A homeless man sits close to where the showers are going to be built in St. Peter’s square. Photo via Josephine McKenna/RNS Related Reading VIDEO: Our Neighbors in the Pews by The Editors Left Behind by John A. Zukowski Compassion in the Stacks by Brittany Shoot Forty Shades of Green by Sean McDonagh The Rich Get Richer by Julie Polter Three showers...

......"The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life has put hard numbers on the anecdotal evidence: One out of every 10 Americans is an ex-Catholic. If they were a separate denomination, they would be the third-largest denomination in the United States, after Catholics and Baptists. One of three people who were raised Catholic no longer identifies as Catholic........."Thankfully, although the U.S. bishops have not supported research on people who have left the church, the Pew Center has. Pew’s data shows that those leaving the church are not homogenous. They can be divided...

DEEP INSIDE EVERY MAN there is a private sanctum where dwells the mysterious essence of his being. This far-in reality is that in the man which is what it is of itself without reference to any other part of the man's complex nature. It is the man's "I Am," a gift from the I AM who created him. The I AM which is God is underived and selfexistent; the "I Am" which is man is derived from God and dependent every moment upon His creative fiat for its continued existence. One is the Creator, high over all, ancient of days,...

With Reformation Day coming up, this is a good time to recall why the Reformers departed from Roman Catholicism. In our day especially, it seems that many Christians have history-amnesia when it comes to the importance of what God did through the Reformers. During the Reformation, great confusion existed regarding what was, and was not, the true church of Christ. Rome had asserted itself as the true church for centuries, and continues to do so today. However, as the Reformers recognized then, Christians must follow in step today by recalling that joining hands with Rome is a departure from Christ....

There is no man (flesh) that can stand in my presence for " I AM " I AM Everlasting , I AM life giving and I AM Omnipresent Though a Vessel is Heavenly or earthly truly I AM GOD and there is no other for I AM The Breath of Life and Creation. At My Will alone Existence(Creation) "IS" whether anatomical or spiritual, "I AM" The Hand(Spirit) And King( God and Creator) . Though many see and have seen themselves as king over their very lives "TRULY I ENTHRONE ALL ! My courts and Throne are eternal and accessible yet...

Newsweek is back and this time it is fully a leftist rag. It’s latest is Christian troll bait written by non-religious scholar Kurt Eichenwald of Vanity Fair who, if you’ve ever paid attention to him, holds Christianity in disdain to begin with. So of course a guy who hates Christianity is going to attack it. His attacks, for knowledgeable Christians, are silly fabrications and half-truths. But then Eichenwald is not really writing for Christians, but against them. He’s writing to the secularists trying to buttress their faith in their gods. Al Mohler has a well written rebuttal as does Michael...

Finally, understanding the sub-culural history of "Smithmas" is making more digital headway! Smithmas Free Republic articles are "bumping up" among top five hits on Google searches! What exactly IS "Smithmas," anyway? Well, Joseph Smith -- THE founder of Mormonism -- was born on December 23. Through the decades, that recognition has often eclipsed a certain Other figure's birthday, Dec. 25. (To be fair to Mormons, who are my beloved extended family members, I would think they could extend a similar critique toward some Christians for allowing a jovial North Pole-based figure to edge out Jesus' birthday!) But if you want...

Rain... I've not heard of "smithmas" before, but as soon as I saw this title I knew what the term meant because for years I did see/hear far more about Joseph Smith in church than about Christ in December and it really irked me... Rain #47   In 2005...And then from there it continued throughout 2006. Talk after talk was centered on his life. I could count months when Jesus was only mentioned in the prayers. So much so that when I moved in 7/2006 I very much struggled to be obedient when I was asked to give a talk...

Zelphless NOM Dec 01, 2014 This is kinda funny actually. The Exec Sec of our ward just sent out this announcement for the ward Christmas Party: Quote: As a Bishopric we would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to come to the Ward Christmas Celebration...The theme this year will be "Christmas in Nauvoo" and will feature an 1843 Christmas in Nauvoo with the Joseph and Emma Smith family. Everyone is invited to come as you are, or dress in period clothing. The main dinner will be provided and if you wish you may bring your favorite holiday dessert...

Celebrated birthdate of Jesus Christ: December 25 Celebrated birthdate of Joseph Smith: December 23 Needless to say, some seasonal "competition" has arisen between the two through the centuries! #1: Christmas Carol Joseph Smith Usurpation: O Little Town of Jerusalem? Birthplace of Jesus Christ: BethlehemBook of Mormon recorded birthplace of Jesus Christ: Jerusalem (Alma 7:10) Note: The 1830 Book of Mormon author (Joseph Smith) was apparently so scornful of Bethlehem receiving its Old Testament Micah 5:2 prophecy recognition that Jerusalem negated Bethlehem's place within Biblical history! #2: Christmas Carol Joseph Smith Usurpation Vignette: Only One Angel (Heard) From on High? 1840....

THIS Christmas our family will go to church. The service is held in a beautiful old church in the charming town of Walpole, N.H., just over the border from Vermont. The Lord’s Prayer hangs on the wall behind the sanctuary. A lectern rises above the nave to let the pastor look down on his flock. The pews and the side stalls have the stern, pure lineaments suited to the Colonial congregation that once came to church to face God. Except that this church is Unitarian. Unitarianism emerged in early modern Europe from those who rejected a Trinitarian theology in preference...

...mdfxdb Senior Member Posted 16 October 2014... I posted because I had never even heard of it until I moved into my new ward about a year and a half ago. It turns out it is a real thing and there are active members with callings and stuff that celebrate it. They do a cake and everything... Backroads...Posted 20 October 2014 You celebrate the birthday of someone present. Celebrating the birthday of ssomeone not present takes on a different tone that, yes, does cross into "worship" territory for me. I'm trying to understand why people would celebrate this, but in...

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in the sanctity of human life... The Church allows for possible exceptions for its members when: Pregnancy results from rape or incest, or A competent physician determines that the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy, or A competent physician determines that the fetus has severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth. The Church teaches its members that even these rare exceptions do not justify abortion automatically. Abortion is a most serious matter and should be considered only after the persons involved have...

Sorry, senator -- it's not happening. To the surprise of approximately nobody, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is proceeding full steam ahead with plans to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. The Tea Party icon has already settled on a location for his campaign headquarters (Houston), made the requisite appeals to GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson, and decided on a campaign strategy. That strategy, National Review’s Eliana Johnson reports, centers on energizing the GOP base, not wooing moderates and independents to the Republican fold. Of course, the hard demographic truth is that a Republican can’t win the presidency by relying on...