Free Republic

The feast of Pentecost is the celebration of one of the most important moments in church history. It commemorates the day when, after the Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Spirit gave the Faithful a special ability to speak to crowds of different nationalities in their own languages. Now, we don’t know exactly what happened that day – whether the Apostles instantly learned other languages, or their audiences instantly learned to hear them in their heads as if they had. All we know is that the leaders of the Church were suddenly, miraculously, able to reach people, and this was...

The IRS is Obama’s KGB – their agents and the armed goons that they employ to enforce their arbitrary will. And the IRS isn’t the only agency Obama uses to bludgeon Americans into surrendering their freedom. Make no mistake – Obama is the person responsible for the IRS lawbreaking, not some low-level rogue bureaucrats.Obama has made it clear that conservatives, Tea Partiers, and Republicans are the enemy. He has never acknowledged their legitimacy, even after the 2010 mid-term elections, and he never misses an opportunity to demonize them. Any IRS manager would view this as a green light to punish...

Haaretz's Barak Ravid reports that US Secretary of State John FN Kerry has given Israeli and 'Palestinian' negotiators something upon which they can agree. About one thing, thereÂ’s no disagreement between Jerusalem and Ramallah: Kerry has a lot of good intentions and a real sense of mission; he truly wants to make peace in the Middle East. But despite his good intentions, Kerry so far looks like a naive and ham-handed diplomat who has been acting like a bull in the china shop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Or as former Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan once put it, heÂ’s a good...

Israel Radio reported this morning (Sunday) that the United States has apologized to Israel for disclosing that Israel was behind the strikes on Damascus two weeks ago. According to the report, the decision to disclose that Israel was behind the strikes was made at a low level in the Pentagon, and the US Department of Defense is investigating how that happened. According to the report, Israel believes that it is now facing much stronger threats from Bashar al-Assad as a result of the disclosure.

“Parthians and Medes at Pentecost” (Acts 2:1-21)One of the ironic things about the readings for the Day of Pentecost is when the lector--that is, the person reading the lessons--when the lector comes to Acts 2, verse 9, and has to read the following list of persons and places: “Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians.” Now that is a mouthful! It is like the tower of Babel come to...

Nahor the Elder was Abraham's grandfather. Abraham's mother and father had the same father but different mothers, as shown in the diagram below. Nahor was the royal title of Abraham's older brother. He ruled in the territory of his maternal grandfather and of his father Terah in the region of Aram Na-haraim, between the western Tigris and the Euphrates. This territory was established by Nimrod, one of Nahor's ancestors (Gen. 10:8-12) Na-Haraim means "dedicated to Horus." This was Horite territory. Nahor the Elder was a descendant of Nimrod, the great Kushite kingdom builder. Erech (Uruk), Accad and Calneh were shrine...

A few days ago I got up determined to keep Islam and politics out of my mind - I tend to think about such subjects a lot these days - at least until I would turn my computer on and start working. I went to the front door to check my mail and among the letters there was a leaflet with the menu of a local takeaway. I inspected it and found the dreaded word: "Halal". There is no way you can keep Islam out of your life, even out of your thoughts for long, in today's Britain, even...

"If you believe Islam is the truth, why don't you believe Islam can compete in the marketplace of ideas?"

(Video...)

Raymond Ibrahim, a scholar of Islam and Islamic history who has a particular focus on Muslim persecution of Christians, has on his website - for which I also write - a new article, Islamic Forced Conversions — Past and Present, highlighting the astonishing similarities of past atrocities, which many people in the West believe to have been consigned to distant history (belief largely due to the mainstream media's "carpet non-coverage" and total neglect of these everyday slaughters, massacres, beheadings, torture and discrimination), to current ones. His piece was inspired by last Sunday’s canonization by Pope Francis I of the 813...

Islamic Sharia law is outdated, controlling, un democratic, barbaric, racist, sexist and just plain stupid. It is completely incompatible with modern life in civilized  nations. It’s no wonder those who live under Sharia in Muslim countries or those who call for it in the west are often regarded as a bit backwards,because  Sharia  most definitely is retarded. How can throwing a female who is a victim of  not 1 repulsive rapist but of 3 evil rapists, into prison for having sex out of wedlock be any kind of justice. The woman never asked to be raped, she wasn’t flirting with the attackers or leading them on...

There is no Helping a Nation of Criminal enablers... (video)

Why a humiliated "Lame duck" Obama can be as much of a threat to liberty and security as ever. (Video)

People like Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion (Amazon USA) , (Amazon UK) , and Christopher Hitchens, who wrote God Is Not Great (Amazon USA) , (Amazon UK) , et al, when attacking “religion”, play on various ambiguities. They create ambiguities in their choice of terms and then these ambiguities are convenient for them. The first instance of ambiguity is the use of the term “religion”. It puts together all sorts of people and doctrines which may have very little in common. To give an analogy, the flat earth theory is undoubtedly a theory of physics. It says something...

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Did Obama's IRS also harass pro-life groups? WASHINGTON - With the revelation that the Obama Administration's Internal Revenue Service harassed and beleaguered groups seeking tax exemption status if their names included "Tea Party" or "Patriots," and then later admitting they targeted groups with purposes of promoting limited government and other conservative missions, questions are being raised about other targeted groups. Were pro-life groups also a target of the staunchly pro-abortion Obama Administration? Chicago's Thomas More Society reported first dealing with IRS concerns from pro-life groups as early as 2009. When the Coalition for Life of Iowa...

Barack Obama asking a group of college students to ignore the warnings of government tyranny is the equivalent of criminals telling you not to lock your doors. As long as human beings walk this Earth - vain and aspiring men and women - tyranny will forever be synonymous with government, but more profoundly, humanity. The fundamental premise of this nation's founding was to defend individual liberty, natural law, at all costs against the proven, historic dangers of big, unnecessary and intrusive government: socialism, communism, fascism, totalitarianism. Truly, nothing was more offensive to our forefathers, the Constitution, or America itself. Mr....

Raymond Ibrahim’s fundamental new book Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians (Amazon USA), (Amazon UK ), has been widely reported, covered and praised and does not require an introduction, but it prompts a reflection. The problem of Christian discrimination and persecution by Muslims is in fact two problems. Like unpunished crimes’ victims who suffer twice, for the crime and for the injustice of the criminal’s going scot-free, while the atrocities committed against Christians are unbearable enough on their own, the total indifference of the rest of the world adds to the pain. Floods, earthquakes, natural calamities and...

Najaf Khan from Brierfield guilty of entering house to commit sex attack on the young female who lived there. Given that Khan illegally entered somebodies home to try and satisfy his twisted and heinous sexual urges he is potentially a very serious danger to all women.Whilst in the cells he apparently exposed himself to the police more than once. He has no fear of being caught or any boundaries coupled with his bizarre perverted behaviour increases the threat he is.Man guilty of Brierfield sexual offencesA MAN has been convicted of a string of sexual offences, as well as trespassing into...

Young Earth Creationists use Archbishop James Ussher’s chronology to date the age of the earth. They believe that the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 are chronological, enabling them to arrive at an approximate date of creation of the whole universe. They calculate the earth's age at 6000 years on the basis of ages assigned to these rulers. Ussher failed to recognize that the so-called "genealogies" are King Lists. These are not the first humans on earth, but rulers of the Afro-Asiatic Dominion. The Genesis 4 and 5 lists represent a time of kingdoms, laws, warriors, weapons, settlements, shrine cities...

Schizophrenia is no less schizophrenia if one of the voices happens to be talking sense. Hard schizophrenia is no less difficult if murderous insanity is linked up tight with weird, pathetic, and arbitary scruples. In fact, if such an arbitary pattern is applied long enough, one may detect a method in the madness. I am talking about our erratic public policy when it comes to protecting human life. Gosnell is a disgrace because he killed babies in this spot instead of the officially-approved that spot. As one observer noted, he is apparently being charged with murder because he enjoyed himself...

“Jesus Prays for Us” (John 17:20-26)Did you know you are mentioned in the Gospel reading for today? You are. Jesus is talking about you--in fact, he is praying for you--in the passage known as his “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17. In the first part of that chapter, Jesus has been praying for his disciples, the ones he would be sending out soon as his apostles. You know, Peter, James, John, Andrew, Matthew--those guys. But then at verse 20 of John 17, Jesus shifts his prayer to include others, as well. He says: “I do not ask for these only,...

Ayn Rand was no fan of C.S. Lewis. She called the famous apologist an “abysmal bastard,” a “monstrosity,” a “cheap, awful, miserable, touchy, social-meta­physical mediocrity,” a “pickpocket of concepts,” and a “God-damn, beaten mystic.” (I suspect Lewis would have particularly relished the last of these.) These insults and more can be found in her marginal notes on a copy of Lewis’ Abolition of Man, as printed in Ayn Rand’s Marginalia: Her critical comments on the writings of over 20 authors, edited by Robert Mayhew. Excerpts appear below, with Lewis’ writing (complete with Rand’s highlighting and underlining) on the left and...

The police are super busy in Toronto, threatening Rabbis and making sure that I am not allowed speak about this very thing. Do these jackbooted keystone clowns really believe that by stopping me from speaking about Islamic jihad, that Islamic jihad will stop? Last week I was on a Canadian radio show (I forget which one), and when I referred to this plot as jihad, the host stopped me and said, "we don't know that." The host implied that I was being a bombthrower by calling it an Islamic attack. The level of denial and delusion is stunning. In this...

In Tanzania, as in many other African countries, Muslims discriminate against, persecute and attack Christians, with the complicity of the authorities. For years officials have been colluding with Muslims to stop churches from being built and to erect mosques, Christians have been arrested for "illegal preaching", churches have been destroyed and torched, Christian university students have been prohibited from worshipping, Christian leaders have been jailed, Muslims have seized Christian burial sites, and especially in the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, where Muslims represent 97 per cent of the inhabitants, Christians live in fear of being killed. A young man who...

In their latest work of anti-Catholic theology-fiction, Tom Horn and Cris Putnam, who were recently featured on Sid Roth's program 'Its Supernatural," attack Saint Jerome's translation of the Greek kecharitomene because the great scripture scholar, who was highly proficient in both Latin and Greek, used the Latin circumlocution gratia plena - "full of grace." (Luke 1: 28). These two confused souls write, "Official Roman literature states, 'In consequence of a Special Privilege of Grace from God, Mary was free from every personal sin during her whole life.' The only ostensibly scriptural argument given for this is from the Latin Vulgate...

Barbara Hewson, a London barrister, has made the call for lowering the age of sexual consent in the United Kingdom from 16 to 13. Her reasoning (if one may call it that) is that the current age of consent leads to the harassment and “persecution of old men.” She also believes that under-age victims should have no right to anonymity, and that law based on the best interests of the child should not trump the “rights” of men who like to kiss a 13-year-old, or put one’s hand up a 16-year-old’s skirt. It’s time to end this prurient charade, which...

Stonewall Jackson was shot by one of his own men at about 9:00 p.m. on the evening of May 2, 1863 at the Battle of Chancellorsville. After Jackson’s accidental wounding, his body servant and friend, Jim Lewis was one of his constant companions and comforters as he faced his final enemy. By 2:00 a.m., May 3, Jackson was . . .

“Hands of Blessing” (Luke 24:44-53)“Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” This is our text. “Lifting up his hands he blessed them.” On this Ascension Day, I invite you to consider with me those hands of Jesus. The hands with which he blesses us, as he ascends into heaven. For these hands of Jesus are “Hands of Blessing.” As I was thinking about the lessons for tonight’s Ascension service, it was those hands that caught my...

Dear Comrades, The Vanguard of the Socialist Democratic Party of the USSA, better known as Militant Atheists, are courageously fighting for the rights of workers and peasants in the American military to be liberated from the oppressive presence of religion in the Armed Services. Under direction from the White Fortress, officers are learning the Socialist principle of eliminating all public religious expression in keeping with the doctrines of Marxist-Obamism. Officers in the military know that their chances of advancement hinge on their ability to suppress religious expression, especially the worst kind: proselytizing and openly discussing religion as a believer. To...

I'm afraid that Raymond Ibrahim might in the not-so-distant future have more work to do when compiling his monthly statistics of persecution of Christians. European countries may have to be added to his list. Persecution of Christians in Europe takes mainly two forms. The first is the age-old type that we already know from what happens in Asia and Africa as Muslim (mostly illegal) immigrants spread across the globe. The second is the brand-new, "liberal" kind, deriving from European elites' efforts to marginalize Christianity in its own historical home. I'll focus in this post on a few examples of the...

The evils of the caste system are regularly expounded in contemporary writings. In The Open Society and Its Enemies, Karl Popper argued that Plato’s ideal state, with it three-tier structure, is totalitarian. Yet, as others have noted, Plato's ideal represents an improvement upon the rigid caste structure that characterized ancient societies. Plato suggested that some particularly gifted individuals should be trained to work outside of their caste. This was a radical idea for his time (B.C. 428-347). The egalitarian nature of American society makes castes anathema. We react strongly to perceived or real limitations of our freedom of choice. On...

According to an article published at Breitbart.com., entitled "Pentagon May Court Martial Soldiers Who Share Christian Faith, Christians in the military, including chaplains, could be court martialed and charged with treason for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't pretend to be an expert on constitutional law, but I would think that this would be unconstitutional for many reasons. Of course, I felt that way about Obama Care until Chief Justice John Roberts weighed in, much to my utter surprise and disappointment. (I may never get over that) But if I can be allowed to reason in my common...

Clearly, the world isn’t as pro-gay marriage as Australia’s establishment media. With only 14 of the world’s 195 nation states allowing same-sex partners to marry, your average “gay marriage” state belongs to an experimental minority. We’re talking eccentric social-engineering islands. Together, they make up the seven per cent. So your average gay-marriage state looks like…? In short, the sociological answer is…very white. Such nations tend to be relatively small, overwhelmingly Caucasian, and frighteningly bureaucratic. Think, legalistic Belgium for a good example. Nevertheless, media elites boast that gay-marriage nations are “ahead of history,” implying that white-majority nations are morally superior, even...

Benghazi, Boston, green-on-blue attacks ..... all of a piece. We must educate the American people who have been misled and misinformed. The scrubbing of the motive in Afghanistan, Benghazi, Boston, etc. is unconscionable. The Benghazi Talking Points And how they were changed to obscure the truth May 13, 2013, Vol. 18, No. 33 Stephen Hayes, Weekly Standard Even as the White House strove last week to move beyond questions about the Benghazi attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2012, fresh evidence emerged that senior Obama administration officials knowingly misled the country about what had happened in the days following the assaults....

Liberation Theology and Neo-Pentecostalism: A Leading Challenge to the Evangelical Churches in Brazil By Julio Severo Traditionally, major theological trends — good or wicked — came from Europe and America. The single major theological trend originating outside Europe and America is Liberation Theology, which is prevalent in Latin America, especially Brazil. In this original and exclusive e-booklet, I trace this movement in Brazil and how its leaders recognized openly that the only force capable of challenging Liberation Theology was neo-Pentecostal churches. In fact, the Brazilian Left admits today that neo-Pentecostal churches are the only hindrance to the advance of its...

Tuesday, May 07, 2013Bishop Robert McManus arrested Pope John Paul II, in his book Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, emphasizes that, "Just as a father shapes the faith of his children primarily by his example of prayer and religious fervor, so also a bishop inspires his faithful by his behavior. That is why the author of the First Letter of Peter begs that bishops be 'a living example to the flock' (1 Peter 5:3)...A bishop is called to personal holiness in a particular way so that the holiness of the Church community entrusted to his care may increase...

Lital Shemesh is a 29-year-old successful, female, Israeli journalist who recently participated in a seminar with other young Israelis and Arabs in hopes of igniting optimism for peace. She returned from the seminar disappointed and disillusioned. She is a rising star in the Israeli media who openly expresses her political aspirations in the Knesset. She worked as Editor-in-Chief for the Yedioth Youth Magazines, reported for the Israel Broadcasting Authority and the Hot CableTV News channel, and is CEO and Founder of a web-based girls magazine “Pinkish – Everything that Girls Love.” In her first video blog in English two years...

Military history, dating back to ancient times, includes the element of seeking spiritual guidance and strength. Armies have typically sought the favor of God or gods, being sure to have among their ranks spiritual advisors to consult on all spiritual matters affecting not only the outcome of battles, but the well-being of the troops. When human beings know that death in battle is not just a vague possibility, but a statistical likelihood, they want to be spiritually prepared. From my own personal experience, I know the axiom to be true: “There are no atheists in foxholes”. That said, it was...

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Christos Anesti! Aleithos Anesti! Khristos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese! Al-Masih-Qam! Hakkan Qam! Hristos a înviat! Adevărat a înviat! Kristus aq ungwektaq! Pichinuq ungwektaq! Xris-tusaq Ung-uixtuq! Iluumun Ung-uixtuq! Harisutosu fukkatsu! Jitsu ni fukkatsu! Atgyfododd Crist! Yn wir atgyfododd! Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere! Cristo ha resucitado! Verdaderamente, ha resucitado! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Canadian jihadi under interrogation told Russians about Tamerlan Tsarnaev; they then told FBI (full title) Epic failure. Obama scrubbed our counter terror materials and manuals of jihad, so what would you expect to happen? Even in the wake of the blood and carnage, Eric Holder is admonishing Jews to be tolerant of Islam and warning of "anti-Muslim backlash." That's his takeaway. Canadian jihadi under interrogation told Russians about Tamerlan Tsarnaev; they then told FBI Jihadwatch And the FBI did nothing to stop the Boston Marathon jihad bombing. They received the warning but did nothing, because it had to do with...

“In Jesus, Peace; In the World, Tribulation” (John 16:23-33)Hear again the words of Jesus at the end of John 16, verse 33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” This is our text. “In Jesus, Peace; In the World, Tribulation.” This is what our Lord says his followers can expect. It was that way for his disciples back then. It is that way for his disciples still now. On the one hand, peace; on the other hand, tribulation....

Christ opening the gates of Dachau In 1945, a Paschal Liturgy like no other was performed. Just days after their liberation by the US military on April 29, 1945, hundreds of Orthodox Christian prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp gathered to celebrate the Resurrection service and to give thanks. The Dachau concentration camp was opened in 1933 in a former gunpowder factory. The first prisoners interred there were political opponents of Adolf Hitler, who had become German chancellor that same year. During the twelve years of the camp's existence, over 200,000 prisoners were brought there. The majority of prisoners at...

Since 2000, the number of Spanish-speaking members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the United States has doubled. Many of those Latino Mormons lack legal documentation, which poses a problem for the church. Young Mormons are called to serve missions — two years on the road, trying to convert strangers to the faith. So what happens when Mormons without papers come of legal age, and set off on their missions? Isaac’s story sheds some light on this quiet demographic. Isaac is his middle name. When his father, Rafael, was 17 years old in Mexico City,...

Urban II, the 159th Pope of the Catholic Church, was one of the great Popes in history, and was beatified in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII. The most famous son of Châtillon-sur-Marne, in Champagne, France, he was Pope from 1088 until his death in 1099.We have to thank Pope Blessed Urban II for many things, including the internal reforms he made and his declarations against simony, the Medieval practice of selling church offices; but especially we have to be grateful to him for having saved Europe from subjugation to Islamic forces.Since the time of Islam's prophet Muhammad and after...

SNIPPET: "A new report called "The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society" from the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life has found that the majority of the 38,000 Muslims surveyed in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa favor the implementation of sharia law, among other things. The report incorporates results from a two-stage survey: 15 sub-Saharan African countries with substantial Muslim populations were surveyed in 2008-2009; and 24 countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa were surveyed in 2011-2012. Those hoping for the development of peaceful democratic societies in Muslim-majority countries may be dismayed...

WASHINGTON—Faith in the military took center stage Thursday at the 62nd observance of the National Day of Prayer in Washington, D.C, as lawmakers and faith leaders gathered on Capitol Hill. After a series of speakers addressed those gathered at the Cannon Office Building, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. William D. Lee, took the microphone to represent Americans serving in the military. Lee told the crowd he had 10 minutes of carefully prepared remarks, but he decided to leave them in his chair and “speak from the heart” instead. Lee, who described himself as “a man of deep abiding faith...

WASHINGTON (BHN) - President Obama recognized the National Day of Prayer today by issuing a proclamation calling for "prayers and invocations" in the wake of national tragedies, including the dozens of people killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Boston Marathon, and West Texas refinery, as well as the over 300,000 unborn children slaughtered by Planned Parenthood. While the President did mention God in passing once in the lengthy ode to man's greatness, Jesus Christ was notably absent as the self-professed "born again Christian" continues his administration's steady progress in eliminating Christianity from all phases of American life. In related news,...

If anyone in the USA, for some extraordinary reason, is still in doubt about whom to choose for President [this was written before the last presidential election but is still topical], I recommend two things. The first is an empiricist approach: you have tried one candidate and he failed, you haven't tried the other. In experimental science it would be reasonable to choose the not-yet-tried possibility. The second thing is, if you haven't already done so, to read "Obama's Muslim Childhood" by Daniel Pipes.The discovery that Obama has been wearing for over 30 years a ring with the first...

Besides the seemingly endless list of outrages coming out of the current administration and Congress, we have a man in the presidency who regularly tells bold, filthy lies, not that other presidents haven’t lied, but this one takes the all-time cake for quantity. His interminable lying is bad enough, but then we have the sorry things he does to disgrace the office he holds. Barack Obama (or whatever his name is) has spit on the office of President of the United States in so many ways, and this past week he added some more. Last Friday, he became the first...

MoveOn.org has started a petition to get ESPN reporter Chris Broussard immediately suspended from the network for comments he made regarding Jason Collins's homosexuality, which Broussard said was a sin according to his personal Christian beliefs. The group said Broussard was engaging in "gay bashing." The petition reads: Chris Broussard's hateful attack on Jason Collins for being gay was an unacceptable misrepresentation of the Christian faith. ESPN must immediately suspend Chris Broussard and guarantee that their network will never again be used for gay bashing. In its "petition background" statement, the left-wing organization says that after Jason Collins "emphasized the...