Free Republic

Many nations have been victimized by Islamic supremacism and jihadist campaigns, but Yazidis – an ancient ethno-religious community indigenous to northern Mesopotamia – seem to be one of the main and continued victims of this genocidal ideology.Even though Yazidis are ethnically Kurdish, they are a distinct religious community with their own unique culture.The recent invasions of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have finally brought this persecuted people to the world’s attention. But genocidal massacres, ethnic cleansings and forced conversions against Yazidis by Muslims did not start with the advent of the Islamic State. Yazidis, a peaceful community opposed...

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick recently filed a grievance against the National Football League, accusing all teams of colluding to deny him a place on a team because he kneeled during the national anthem. As was true with Michael Sam, the openly gay player and activist who claimed after he was drafted and released that owners didn't want him, Kaepernick isn't playing because he's not worth signing. Period. So what is it that keeps Kaepernick in the media spotlight? They like him. Multimillionaire celebrities who wear Che Guevara T-shirts and socks that depict the police as racist pigs...

Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Israel and Egypt in December, relaying a message of U.S. concern over persecution of Christians in the Middle East.“One of the messages that I will bring on the president’s behalf to leaders across the region is that now is the time to bring an end to the persecution of Christians and all religious minorities,” he declared in a Wednesday night speech. The vice president also announced that the U.S. would halt its funding to United Nations’ efforts to aid persecuted peoples, instead vowing to funnel all future efforts through direct foreign aid.

North Korean Choi Kwanghyuk is one of the lucky ones. The 55-year-old managed to escape from the work camp where he was sent after being targeted and persecuted by the government for his Christian faith. “We couldn’t raise our voice during a service, we couldn’t sing out loud during a worship … that was hard,” Choi told Fox News through a translator. “Also, we had to hide so that other people could not see us.” Despite having to hide his faith in plain sight while living in North Hamgyong province, Choi was still compelled to bring religion to others when...

The American media would have you believe there is a concerted effort among Christians in America to discriminate against gay Americans. "No gays allowed," they claim small Christian business owners are saying. It is a fiction created to avoid dealing with the facts. The fact is I am unaware of any Christian business that refuses to serve gay customers, but I am aware of many gay activists targeting Christian small businesses for persecution.The latest issue is also the one where the left has most dramatically overplayed its hand. Jack Phillips, a baker in Denver, CO, has been compared to a...

Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. (Isaiah 66:5)Isaiah predicted that the larger, more staid and respectable congregation, whose religion was active, busy and very aggressive, but which wasn’t individually spiritually searching, would inevitably persecute those whose religion was acceptable to God, approved of the Holy Ghost. Your Brethren hated You… Why did they hate them? It is an age old Biblical pattern which...

A Boise State University professor recently learned what happens when you challenge left-wing social narratives on college campuses. Scott Yenor, a tenured professor, has been under siege on campus after publishing articles with The Heritage Foundation and The Daily Signal about feminism and the transgender movement. In those articles, Yenor explained the similarity in philosophy between the early feminists and modern transgender movement and how they aim at undermining traditional family values. He wrote in a Daily Signal article on Aug. 2:

When Palo Alto High School sophomore Jackson Druker wore his red "Make America Great Again" hat to school last year, he said he was bullied, harassed and even physically assaulted. Students took his hat and stepped on it. Others cursed at him. One student punched him in the back of his head, he said. Another told him "I literally want to shoot you right now if you don't take off that hat," he said during a class presentation on the experience. Druker's account with online schoolwork-management system Schoology was hacked and his contact information changed to hillaryclintonlover3@gmail.com, he said.

At Oxford, where the motto is, “The Lord is my Light.” Members of the Christian Union (CU) were banned from attending a freshman fair at the University of Oxford for fears that incoming students might face “potential harm” and feel unwelcome. According to Breitbart London, the university wanted to keep the freshers’ fair a “secular space” after concerns were raised by “student welfare representatives.” This was a strange turn of events for an institue established under Christianity. An internal e-mail explained the university’s reasoning: "We recognise the wonderful advantages in having CU representatives at the Fresher’s Fair, but are concerned...

A North Korean defector opened up about the underground church he led and the secretive life he and other Christians had there. He also revealed that despite being offered freedom for renouncing their religion, believers in the notorious prison camps refuse to do so. Choi Kwanghyuk, who now lives in L.A., told The Christian Post in an email interview through the help of a translator with International Christian Concern on Thursday that he first learned about Christianity when he went to China to search for food. There, he was connected with a Christian missionary and began studying the Bible. Eventually,...

A gay coffee shop owner in Seattle decided to kick out a group of Christian anti-abortion protesters, going on an expletive-laden, extremely offensive rant that was recorded and posted on Facebook. The group, Abolish Human Abortion, appeared not to be bothering anyone.  They weren't in the shop to proselytize or hand out literature.  They just wanted a cup of coffee. What they got was an obscene, even blasphemous rant from an unbalanced store owner. Daily Caller: The owner heatedly tells the Christians to leave his shop immediately in a video posted to Facebook by Abolish Human Abortion, Christian group...

It turns out those who vehemently demand Christians be tolerant of their views and lifestyles, and force Christians to perform services under threat of legal retaliation are — and I can’t believe I’m writing this — intolerant of Christians, and refuse to provide services for them. In a recently released video from the group Abolish Human Abortion, a pro-life advocacy group, a gay coffee shop owner can be seen berating, insulting, and forcing the removal of the Christian group because of their beliefs. Caytie Davis and her fellows had been handing out pro-life pamphlets that targeted the homosexual community for...

Several Democrat senators have used the confirmation hearings of the most exclusive club in America to lay down an unconstitutional requirement for qualification to public service. At a hearing in June, Sen. Bernie Sanders questioned the fitness of Wheaton College alumnus Russell Vought for the post of deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Vought had written an article in which he said Muslims "do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned." Sen. Sanders accused Mr. Vought of religious bigotry, saying, "In my view, the statement made by Mr....

If you think North Korea’s dictators are bad for the world, just imagine what it’s like to be a Christian there. Anyone who knows anything about world missions and the global church knows about the Christians of South Korea. According to the Operation World prayer guide, “From the first Protestant church planted in 1884, South Korea now has possibly 50,000 Protestant congregations,” and 15 million Christians of all kinds. It’s also a missionary powerhouse, currently sending more than 21,000 missionaries to about 175 countries. Amazing! But the Christians of North Korea? They’re virtually invisible—though of course not in the eyes...

An Australian children’s entertainment company fired a young woman for saying on social media “it’s OK to vote ‘no’” in the country’s current referendum on same-sex “marriage.” Capital Kids Parties owner Madlin Sims may have violated discrimination laws in firing an 18-year-old because Sims said her former employee’s view amounted to hate speech, The Guardian reported. The young woman known thus far as Madeline said in various media interviews that she was let go because her Christian view did not allow her to vote yes in Australia’s voluntary postal survey on gay “marriage.” The plebiscite runs from September 12 through...

Seems that for Senator Dianne Feinstein, being a believing Catholic is enough to disqualify a candidate for a federal judgeship. Feinstein stated as such at confirmation hearings for Notre Dame law professor Amy Barrett, nominated by President Trump to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. "I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma," explained the Senator. "And I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that's of concern when you come to the big issues that large numbers of people have...

The Hamilton judge who wore a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat in court has been banned from trying casesJustice Bernd Zabel, who declared his support for Donald Trump in court, is no longer presiding in court, according to a spokeswoman for the Ontario Court of Justice.A Hamilton judge who wore a “Make America Great Again” hat to court the day after the U.S. election and declared his support for president-elect Donald Trump is no longer hearing cases. Justice Bernd Zabel, appointed to the bench in 1990, stopped being assigned new cases on Dec. 21, 2016, a spokeswoman for the Ontario...

A Canadian judge who wore a hat in court with Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” has been suspended without pay. The Ontario Judicial Council said Tuesday that the conduct of Justice Bernd Zabel warrants the most serious reprimand possible short of removing him from the bench. The council said the hat incident was an “inexplicable act of judicial misconduct” from an otherwise respected judge. …

Attempting to create the impression that faithful Christians whose beliefs are at odds with newly sanctified cultural mores are incapable of doing their job. "Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?" Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) asked Notre Dame Law School professor Amy Coney Barrett, a nominee for a federal appeals court, yesterday. Since Durbin inquired in the form of a question, we can only assume that Barrett's answer was pertinent to the confirmation. That is problematic considering the Constitution explicitly states that no religion—not even a belief in orthodox liberalism—should be a prerequisite for holding a federal office. At least...

Rate this item 12345 (12 votes) Fr. A. Poletti Carries Bishop Ferroni to Freedom One bridge connects the two territories. A few meters of barbed wire separate two worlds and two civilizations. The physical distance can be measured in a few meters. The moral distance, however, cannot be measured. On one side there is liberty, over there the negation of every religious liberty. – Father Ambrogio Poletti, from “The Priest at the Bamboo Curtain” Under the brim of a grimy, frayed newsboy cap, two sunken eyes rimmed in black stared straight ahead from their sockets, as if frozen from fear. A...