Free Republic

The term “fundamentalist” is a pejorative term today, used to label someone the speaker believes is an irrational religious extremist of some kind. But a hundred years ago, the term was taken as a badge of honor by theologically conservative Protestants to distinguish themselves from liberal Protestantism. While liberal Protestants in mainline denominations were denying basic Christian teachings like the authority of the Bible and the bodily resurrection of Jesus, conservative Protestants called for going back to the “fundamentals” of the faith – hence the term. There are obviously a lot of issues on which Catholics and fundamentalists disagree, but...

One out of every five Americans shares something about their faith online, the Pew Research Center reported this week, and 46 percent of Americans saw a faith-related posting online. While sharing a Bible verse or religious image isn't the same as walking up to a stranger and offering a religious tract, several evangelical observers point out that the more common sharing of faith online can lead to more serious conversations.

Don’t expect to see any breakout sessions on the bumper sticker “You Can’t Be Both Catholic and Pro-Choice” at the meeting this week of the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops in Baltimore. And you probably won’t be allowed to take part in any discussions about clarity from the bishops regarding how Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Patrick Murphy can be both Catholic and pro-abortion. The demoted Cardinal Raymond Burke, former St. Louis archbishop, is saying the church “is like a ship without a rudder” under Pope Francis. (1) The Illinois Catholic Conference of state church leaders called abortion and related issues...

The “What People Think I Do / What I Really Do” meme is a clever way of poking fun at stereotypes vs. reality. We’ve assembled some of the best related to Christianity from around the web. Enjoy!

Test and fine-tune your modernist-church-detection abilities against your communist-architecture-detection skills! It's harder than you think...

Are you looking for a spellbinding novel with deeply Catholic themes, compelling characters, and exquisite prose? Well, if you’ve been confining your search to Barnes and Noble’s family-friendly Christian fiction shelf, I’m here to tell you that you’re missing out. As a reader, you have probably heard of Dean Koontz. He has sold 450 million copies of his books in 38 languages, making him one of the most successful writers in the world. And while his stories have been categorized as science fiction, fantasy, thriller, and horror, he’s also considered by many readers to be the world’s best Catholic author...

Among Republicans, the numbers are even more dramatic: 59 percent said that they believe that churches should speak out on the political issues of the day; 53 percent don’t believe that political leaders spend enough time talking about their faith; and 72 percent believe that it is important that members of Congress have strong religious beliefs. Clearly, they want to get a better sense of the faith that animates a politician’s values and how grounded they are in their faith. Many Americans have come to understand that if you know about a candidate’s faith then you can get a pretty...

The lies and lawlessness, the usurpation of government by totalitarian criminals must end. We can do this. We must do this. Period. VOTE! On Tuesday, every one of We the People who is old enough needs to get out and vote. Period. No excuses. The Democrats have nearly destroyed free, capitalist, constitutional America, and if they are not soundly, roundly, and decisively defeated, they will do so. Period. Repeat, PERIOD. Misleadership of the party – McConnell, Boehner, and their lackeys and toadies – have made it painfully clear that they are not conservatives

Have you heard about Pope Francis’ recent comments about God, evolution, and Creation? If so, chances are you’ve heard wrong. Here are four things you should know:

The Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic looks very normal on the outside... (see pics at the link)

I was sitting on a bean bag in my dorm room when I got the call. It was a friend of mine — let’s call her “Sara” — and she was sobbing so hard it took me a moment to know who it was. Finally, she pulled herself together enough to speak. With a voice that sounded as weary as if she had aged 100 years since the last time we talked, she said, “I’m pregnant.” My heart sunk on her behalf. I was completely pro-choice and didn’t find the idea of abortion to be troubling, but I knew that...

We live in dangerous and stressful times. The margin for error in our fight for the survival of America is very small. The number of people willing to surrender their genuine freedoms for a little faux security is growing. We are a strong and resilient people but even the strongest die eventually. We who pull the American wagon and recognize that nothing worth anything is free, especially our precious liberty, can only go on just so long. The whiney and the greedy are not our friends regardless of who they are or claim to be. It is, therefore, an unfortunate...

I’ll call him Fr. John. He was a charismatic Anglo Catholic priest. A friend of my brother Daryl’s we’ll call Henry died suddenly in a plane crash and he was upset because although Henry was a believer he was away from God when he died. So Fr. John said, “We have to have a requiem Mass for Henry.” They went into church and locked the door for privacy’s sake. Another priest we’ll call Fr. George celebrated the Mass. Henry was about twenty years old. He was just over five foot tall with a shock of blonde hair and a wide...

If only he had shaved that morning. Basilios Bessarion grew up in an Eastern Orthodox community in present-day Turkey in the early 15th century. He become a monk, then an abbot, and was eventually appointed to be a metropolitan bishop by the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus, with whom he attended the ecumenical Council of Florence with hopes to reunite eastern and western Christianity. Though Bessarion was originally against reunion with Rome, he quickly changed his mind and became the most important Eastern Orthodox advocate for reunion at the council. Pope Eugene IV was so impressed by him that he...

<p>New York City’s subways had five days of record ridership last month, and those in charge of the public transportation system have seized on the increased usage to push their multi-billion dollar capital plan.</p> <p>The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Wednesday that the subway system broke its single-day ridership record on five days last month.</p>

If only he had shaved that morning. Basilios Bessarion grew up in an Eastern Orthodox community in present-day Turkey in the early 15th century. He become a monk, then an abbot, and was eventually appointed to be a metropolitan bishop by the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus, with whom he attended the ecumenical Council of Florence with hopes to reunite eastern and western Christianity. Though Bessarion was originally against reunion with Rome, he quickly changed his mind and became the most important Eastern Orthodox advocate for reunion at the council. Pope Eugene IV was so impressed by him that he...

You saw the Disney movie as a kid. You may have read the book. But did you know some of it was based on real history? While the story of King Arthur, Merlin, and all the rest may not be true, there really is a centuries-old sword stuck in a stone. In the small Italian town of Chiusdino, there’s a small chapel near Saint Galgano Abbey known as Montesiepi chapel. And inside you’ll find a big slab of stone in the floor with the handle of a sword sticking out of it.

After Pope Francis published his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, which, in part, attempted to highlight the concern that the rich should have for the poor and the marginalized, he became known in conservative circles as the Pope of the Redistribution of Wealth; to which, liberals would have preferred a more fun title – Pope of Economic Justice. Nevertheless, due to the Pope’s interest in governments and corporations sharing their booty he was compared to President Barack Obama. Perhaps, to a very limited degree, Pope Francis and Barack Obama do have a common interest in economic justice, but what everyone has...

Few realized when Small is Beautiful was published that E.F. Schumacher’s economic theories were underpinned by solid religious and philosophical foundations, the fruits of a lifetime of searching. In 1971, two years before the book’s publication, Schumacher had become a Roman Catholic, the final destination of his philosophical journey.

People say America is one of the most religious countries in the world. But is it religious in the way that you think it is? You’re bound to learn something new in this list: