Free Republic

Four Iranian Christians were reportedly sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking wine for communion, a shocking punishment meted out even as a new United Nations report blasted the Islamic republic for its systematic persecution of non-Muslims. The four men were sentenced Oct. 6 after being arrested in a house church last December and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the theocracy's strict laws, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide. They were among several Christians punished for their faith in a nation where converting from Islam to Christianity can bring the death penalty. According to a new October UN report by...

Department of Homeland Security adviser Mohamed Elibiary has warned the tea party movement against attempting to change the U.S. political landscape through “Christianist Xenophobia.” In Twitter messages, Elibiary further charged some “white identity/privilege types” have a problem with a “black president” and “brown Mexicans.” “If #TeaParty wants US revived then we must swing Blue seats Red & that is only achievable thru Libertarianism, not Christianist Xenophobia,” Elibiary tweeted.

FOX Sports Southwest hired former NFL running back Craig James as an on-air analyst only to fire him days later. The move came after statements he made on gay marriage while campaigning for the Senate resurfaced. "People choose to be gay," he said during an April 2012 campaign stop. "I think it's a choice, I do. Same-sex marriage, if someone chooses to do that, that's done. And God's going to judge each one of us in this room for our actions. And in that case right there, they're going to have to answer to the Lord for their actions." James...

Have you noticed that radical Muslims attack Christians in countries where Christians are in the minority.....and they attack Christians in countries where they are in the majority. Christians living in majority Christian countries, have abandoned Christian minorities in majority Muslim nations, to be slaughtered like dogs. But, guess what? Christians in majority Christian countries are not doing a good job protecting themselves from violent Muslim minorities, either. We are not just talking about massive terror attacks in Madrid, London, New York, etc. But Christians living in majority Christian countries no longer have the right to publicly criticize Islam. Danish cartoonists...

"Christians and Muslims had always lived in an atmosphere of mutual trust; the attack on Maaloula has created a lot of distress." Islamists have invaded homes and continue to threaten the village, site of ongoing clashes between rebels and the army. The families who fled to Damascus and Beirut tell their story. The goal is to drive out Christians in order to eliminate Christianity.Beirut (AsiaNews) - According to families who fled Maaloula (Syria), some of their Muslim neighbours were involved in the attack that devastated their village located about fifty kilometres from Damascus, dispersing its residents. Perceived as a betrayal...

The last month and a half has seen perhaps the worst anti-Christian violence in Egypt in seven centuries, with dozens of churches torched. Yet the western media has mainly focussed on army assaults on the Muslim Brotherhood, and no major political figure has said anything about the sectarian attacks. Last week at the National Liberal Club there was a discussion asking why the American and British press have ignored or under-reported this persecution, and (in some people’s minds) given a distorted narrative of what is happening.

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A blast at a Protestant church in northwest Pakistan killed at least 72 people and wounded more than 120, a local hospital said Sunday. The attack took place at the All Saints Church of Pakistan, in the violence-plagued city of Peshawar, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the country's capital, Islamabad. Witnesses told CNN affiliate Geo News that at least one suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded bazaar near the church entrance as crowds of worshipers were leaving a Sunday morning service. Some of the victims were children, the witnesses said. The outside of...

A suicide bomb attack on a historic church in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 52 people and wounded over 100 Sunday, officials said, in one of the worst assaults on the country's Christian minority in years. The bombing underlines the threat posed by Islamic extremists as the government seeks a peace deal with domestic Taliban militants. It occurred as worshipers were coming out of the church in Peshawar city after services ...

Zanzibar, Tanzania (CNN) -- A Catholic priest was attacked with acid on the east African island of Zanzibar in the third such unprovoked assault in two months, and remained hospitalized Saturday, the cleric told CNN. The Rev. Joseph Anselmo Mwagambwa said he was attacked Friday afternoon while coming out of an internet cafe in Mlandenge, a community in the city of Zanzibar.

At least 100,000 people have been killed in the civil war so far including 6,000 children, many of them Christians. The Christians are targeted because most support the Assad regime, which traditionally protected them from Islamists, and also because of their faith. Jerry Dykstra of Open Doors USA says the civil war has devastated the Christian and non-Christian population in Syria. “They've been driven out of their homes, a total of five million inside Syria and two million are in refugee camps along the borders,” say Dykstra. “Now that's not just Christians. Many of them have fled to places like...

Updating our earlier report on Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Monk, a Christian serving in the Air Force whose unit is now commanded by a lesbian: according to Monk’s complaint filed with his superiors, he was relieved of duty for refusing his commander’s order to say he supports gay marriage. Now the Air Force has taken the first steps to criminally investigate Monk for talking to the media about his situation. Despite the fact that earlier this year the Obama-Hagel Pentagon said they would never court-martial a service member for their Christian faith, they have taken the first steps to possibly...

The Syrian government has dispatched reinforcements including tanks and armored personnel carriers to a predominantly Christian village north of Damascus where rebels have clashed with regime troops this week, a monitoring group said Friday. Opposition fighters led by an al-Qaida-linked rebel faction attacked the mountainside sanctuary of Maaloula on Wednesday, and briefly entered the village a day later before pulling out in the evening. The assault has spotlighted fears among Syria’s religious minorities about the prominent role of Islamic extremists in the rebel ranks fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Adding to an ordeal that’s dragged on for two years, the embattled Reese family is now facing the withdrawal of their attorneys due to compensation issues, a source close to the case told Gun Rights Examiner yesterday. Such a move, which may have already happened by this writing, will leave the defendants with no choice but to file affidavits claiming indigence so that they can obtain a public defender or a court-appointed lawyer. Arrested in 2011 for allegedly knowingly selling guns to cartel members while operating a New Mexico gun store, all Reese family members were found not guilty on...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Killing Copts for Ransom in EgyptPosted By Raymond Ibrahim On September 4, 2013 @ 12:23 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 4 Comments Not only are the churches, monasteries, and institutions of Egypt’s Christians under attack by the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters—nearly 100 now have been torched, destroyed, ransacked, etc.—but Christians themselves are under attack all throughout Egypt, with practically zero coverage in Western media.Days ago, for example, Copts held a funeral for Wahid Jacob, a young Christian deacon who used to serve in St. John the Baptist Church, part of the Qusiya diocese...

In a 5-0 decision, the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld a lower court determination that it is illegal for a photography business owned by Christians to refuse to photograph a same-sex wedding ceremony--even though New Mexico law does not permit same-sex marriage. The courts based their decisions on the text of the New Mexico Human Rights Act (NMHRA), which makes it illegal for “any person in any public accommodation to make a distinction, directly or indirectly, in offering or refusing to offer its services . . . to any person because of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual...

Here is White House Spokesman Josh Earnest during the White House Daily Briefing today where he reacted with a snarky joke to a serious question from Fox News’ Ed Henry about violence against Christians in Egypt. Henry asked what Obama’s “Red Line in Egypt” is on anti-Christian attacks. Earnest responded, “Well I didn’t bring my red pen out today. . . ” before going on to give a mealey-mouthed answer about condemning all violence and wanting an “inclusive” process in Egypt. He would not even utter the words “Muslim Brotherhood” and condemn their burning of churches and killing Christians. ....

If Gay Foreigners Can Sue U.S. Pastor Over Sermons, Who Is Safe? Judge wants gay claim of “crime against humanity” proceed against Bible preaching By Julio Severo WND has reported about the plight of Rev. Scott Lively, author of “The Pink Swastika,” under lawsuit from an African gay group because a homosexual leader in Uganda was murdered by his male lover allegedly after a sermon by Lively. This is right. You have read correctly: an African gay activist was murdered by his own male prostitute lover and an American minister is to blame. And incredibly, the US judge has...

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.(Ephesians 6:10-13)Early in my Christian life, I was blessed to read a...

To borrow from the musical group The Kinks, you know “it’s a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world” when Russian president Vladimir Putin becomes the leading voice for stopping the violent persecutions against Christians while the president of the United States stands silent. Speaking at a meeting with Orthodox Christian leaders in Moscow last week, according to Life Site News, Putin said he noted “with alarm” that “in many of the world’s regions… inter-confessional tensions are mounting, and the rights of religious minorities are infringed, including Christians and Orthodox Christians.” In emphasizing the Middle East and North Africa, Putin...

The parents of Trayvon Martin and their lawyer met with Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents at the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami Wednesday to discuss the status of a criminal civil-rights investigation into the fatal shooting of their teen-age son last year. The federal investigation, which was opened while George Zimmerman faced prosecution for the death of the 17-year-old, gained renewed interest last month after Zimmerman was acquitted in state court of Martin’s killing in a Sanford gated community. Prosecutors with the Justice Department’s criminal civil-rights section and FBI agents from Central Florida met with the late teen’s parents,...