Free Republic

Today we remember the great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. Nearly universally respected, King is particularly commended by secular liberals. This is highly ironic because King, a baptist minister, embodied many of the things that secular liberals today dislike the most about “conservative” Christians. If you actually read what King wrote and said, you might be surprised (or not surprised) to find that he regularly appeals to God, the Bible, and even the natural law. Put any of these words in the mouth of a conservative Christian today and liberals would probably label the person a “fundamentalist,” sound...

By now, the story of Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle is familiar. He holds the record for the most confirmed kills, he wrote a book which led to a movie, and he was killed on a shooting range by a PTSD ex-Marine. There is also the troubling business regarding comments he made about Jesse Ventura. No doubt, he was a skillful killer. By all accounts, he displayed little emotion—possibly facilitated by the extreme distance from his targets. OK. Skillful killer, shows little emotion, and kills only the bad guys. But for the fact that these deaths are sanctioned by the...

When people speak of "Biblical equality" I am immediately suspicious of their interpretation of Scripture. Usually, on closer examination, I discover they are proponents of the complementarian doctrine, which imposes dualism on the Scriptures. The complementarian doctrine holds that men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, and religious leadership. It is a soft form of the egalitarian doctrine held by feminists. In both views women are granted the role of priest. Neither of these views aligns with Biblical doctrine on gender distinctions. Not a single priest named in Scripture was a woman. Since...

To quote a friend of mine, “Trying to understand Church issues through mainstream secular media is like trying to understand global economics through a 13-year-old girl’s Instagram account.” In short, it just won’t happen. The personnel aren’t equipped, and likely don’t want to take the time to become equipped, to speak well and foster understanding about nuanced issues in the Church. They’re only after eyes, likes, and shares, (and I don’t know that they deny it) so why, OH WHY do we fall for this every. single. time? A bit of background: Cardinal Raymond Burke, former bishop of the Dioceses...

There are many religions in the world today such as: Baha'i, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, Wicca, Zoroastrianism, and Druidism and it is politically correct and acceptable to mention them or their “prophets” such as Buddha, Mohammed, Hare Krishna and even Ron Hubbard.

The Blessed Virgin Mary was thoroughly Jewish. Different cultures and ethnicities have often portrayed her, Jesus, and others from the Bible as being from their group. Since Christianity for many centuries was based largely in Europe, these important characters of salvation history have often been depicted as white Europeans. Which is fine! But other cultures have also depicted them according to their own appearances. Here are 13 beautiful non-white European depictions of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

From an article titled "8 Quirky Ways Epiphany Is Celebrated Around the World": 1) “Women’s Christmas” Also known as “Little Christmas,” in Ireland Epiphany is a day that women take off from work to rest and celebrate for themselves after all the work of the Christmas holidays. Women gather together in pubs without men for special meals and wine (in commemoration of the Wedding at Cana miracle, of course!). Women also receive gifts from their children and grandchildren. (How do we bring this tradition to more places??)

In recent years, examples of good Christian art have at times been difficult to come by. This is partly due to the increasing preponderance of modern art that is often more focused on “making a statement” (political, social, or otherwise) and “pushing boundaries” than on capturing true beauty and uplifting the human spirit. Despite this, there remain many artists who wish to explore the persons of saints and Biblical figures through their art, whether for their own personal interest or simply because they have been commissioned. The following is a list of nine examples of such art in various styles,...

During the Jubilee Year (on March 6, 2000), Cardinal Giacomo Biffi asserted what I had been saying since the mid 1990s, that the Antichrist is walking among us. Cardinal Biffi said the Antichrist was not the beast with seven heads described in the Book of Revelation but a "fascinating personality" whose outward charm and plausibility had deceived his enemies. The cardinal said the Antichrist espoused vegetarianism, pacifism, environmentalism and animal rights. He also identified the Antichrist as an expert on the Bible who nonetheless promotes "vague and fashionable spiritual values" rather than the Scriptures. He advocates ecumenical dialogue between the...

That children have a right to grow up with their biological mother and father should be uncontroversial, but unfortunately it isn’t. The International Children’s Rights Institute was recently founded in order to defend this important right. Below are three practices which it thinks often involve gross and depressingly-common violations of children’s rights.

Gladiator games obviously are no longer going on in Rome. So when did they stop? We actually know the exact day: January 1st, A.D. 404. That’s 1611 years ago today. And it was because of a saint.

When known unbeliever Ridley Scott was announced as the director, faithful film buffs feared the worst. Not only were many unsure whether he would treat the Biblical story with respect, but his film record since the smash hit Gladiator has been rather uneven (Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven, and Prometheus all failed to connect with wide audiences). As it turns out, Exodus is thankfully respectful of believers, if not a little ambiguous about the goodness of God. But sadly, a number of Scott’s artistic decisions effectively rob the story of its potential to entertain and to uplift. Here are five...

The phrase has become slippery. “Christian writer.” What does it mean? For some the phrase plays like a favorite old song, an evocation of the glory days of Greene, Waugh, Percy, O’Connor, et alia. Days long gone and sorely missed. For others “Christian writer” may spell an oxymoron, or at least refer to the kind of writer one would not like to meet at a Manhattan cocktail party. And for still others the phrase increasingly tends to serve as a signal that some exceptionally maudlin fiction is quivering like a bad cheese on the horizon. But even looking at the...

uropean Parliament President Martin Schulz receives 2015 Charlemagne Prize of Aachen, Schulz is acknowledged in Charlemagne's city as an "outstanding representative of the revival of European democracy". Aachen (Catholic news). Martin Schulz who has his roots in the Aachen region (born in Eschweiler, living in Wuerselen) receives the Charlemagne Prize 2015. Schulz was an outstanding representative for the revival of European democracy, it said in the grounds given by the Charlemagne Prize Board on Saturday in the imperial city of Aachen. As a pioneer, he has rendered outstanding services to....

After members of the Fellowship of Ferguson Fabricators, also known as the Congressional Black Caucus, gathered on the floor of the U.S. House on Monday to showcase the St. Louis Rams’ new touchdown signal, otherwise known as the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture, Thomas Sowell likened the display to Nazi propaganda. I don’t usually like allusions to Nazism tossed around in our political debates—it’s too often used simply as hyperbole—but liberals today certainly are following the messaging strategy famously articulated by Joseph Goebbels: repeat a lie often enough and loud enough and people will believe it.

AUN-TV has just found out that minutes ago an injunction was filed against President Obama’s Illegal Alien Amnesty program by Freedom Watch on behalf of Sherriff Joe Arpaio. We have reviewed the key points and believe that Freedom Watch (Larry Klayman) has an exceptionally good case as the Obama Administration has set themselves up, due to the reasoning they have presented as to why “discretion” is warranted in this case. Obama has claimed they have to do it because they do not have enough money to process all the illegal aliens. However Congress not only gave Obama all the money...

Here's a kick in the pants for Wal-Mart haters and lovers of big government, two groups that almost perfectly overlap.

In the midst of the American Civil War, Lincoln noted that the country’s industry and population was still growing. In the document officially instituting Thanksgiving as a national holiday, he explicitly credited this to nothing else but God’s grace: "No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy." He then asked everyone in the country “to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of...

Retailers apparently might not be that upset if "undocumented shoppers" seeking "100% discounts" stay away.

A grand jury has decided not to indict officer Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, on a street in Ferguson, Missouri, in August. Christian rapper Lecrae offered his perspective of the issue on social media. Here’s what he wrote on Facebook: