Free Republic

A work of true beauty, fitting for this upcoming Christmas weekend, performed by two consummate artists in their prime.

I love this world leader. Bibi Netanyahu’s Christmas greeting warms the collective heart of Christians and Jews who cherish the bond of heritage. I’m reminded of the biblical teaching, “A three strand cord is not easily broken.” Israel – America – God. Our cord will strengthen in coming days. The Prime Minister’s gracious gesture is another branch of allegiance, a sure sign of respect for the Judeo-Christian heritage upon which our great nation was built. For so many of us, that respect is mutual. This is why we commit to Psalm 122:6, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” the rightful...

New fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been found in the Cave of the Skulls by the Dead Sea in Israel, in a salvage excavation by Israeli authorities. The pieces are small and the writing on them is too faded to make out without advanced analysis. At this stage the archaeologists aren't even sure if they're written in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic or another language. “The most important thing that can come out of these fragments is if we can connect them with other documents that were looted from the Judean Desert, and that have no known provenance," says Dr....

The “global left” is looking to 80-year-old Pope Francis for leadership, but his progressive political leanings could alienate more conservative Catholics in the United States and elsewhere, according to the Wall Street Journal. “Pope Francis really inspires a lot of people to want to fight,” Florida minimum-wage activist Bleu Rainer told the Journal. “I’m pretty sure if he weren’t the face of the Catholic Church, he’d be out in the street with us. He reinforces our issues and makes them moral issues.” Pope Francis has taken strong stands on migration, climate change, economic equality and the rights of indigenous peoples...

So we're being told ISIS published a list of 8,000 churches to attack. This is meaningless unless we know WHICH churches they are targeting. Also, people who go to those churches, or are in charge of security should know.

In a recent discussion about political correctness and whether it has gone too far, President Barack Obama said it's a “tricky issue,” because "the definition of political correctness is all over the map.” At one point in his pre-vacation interview with NPR, Obama used himself as an example: “I had to live through controversies like the notion that I was trying to kill Christmas. Right? Well, where’d that come from? Well, I bet, you know, well, he said ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’. So, that, you know, that must be evidence of him either not being a Christian or...

In the coming film adaptation of “The Shack,” a fictional book by William P. Young about a father’s path to renewed faith and healing after his young daughter’s murder, the character of God — as depicted in the novel — is portrayed as a curvy, maternal black woman. And just as the book earned widespread notoriety and scathing critiques nearly a decade ago, the film is garnering its own praise and condemnation. At issue is Young’s characterization of the Holy Trinity, seen through the eyes of the story’s main character, who on the four-year anniversary of his daughter’s brutal killing...

How to celebrate Christmas like the Italians Milan's Cathedral. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP Christmas in Italy is a magical experience, but there are a few unique traditions you won't find in other countries. If you're hoping to have a truly Italian Christmas, make sure to incorporate at least some of the following. 1. Get the dates right The Italian festive season starts on December 8th with the celebration of the Immaculate Conception, and continues until the Epithany on January 6th, when the Three Wise Men arrived in Bethlehem. The most important date of the celebrations is Christmas Eve. 2. Know your...

A controversial Satanic display has been ripped out of the ground. It was placed at Sanborn Square in downtown Boca Raton earlier this month, drawing sharp criticism from the community. It appears a vehicle jumped the curb to gain access to the display, where tire marks run deep through the grass of the square. The pentagram, which was built by a Palm Beach County teacher, has been the center of controversy for weeks now and has already been vandalized once before. An unknown person or group spray painted the display and ripped down the banner. …

Love for Enemies 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, 5:45 so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? 5:47 And if you only greet your brothers, what more...

Whilst MSM is busy spreading jihadist propaganda, this is what's actually happening in Aleppo

A couple’s engagement photo has been widely shared online thanks to an onlooker's brilliant reaction to the proposal. Law student Jessica Rodriguez proposed to her girlfriend Chelsea Miller at the Art Institute of Chicago, with the romantic proposal captured by photographer Ed Sanchez Perry. The joyous reaction of a woman who witnessed the surprise proposal, seen in the background of the photo, has touched the heart of many on social media. Ms Rodriguez’s brother shared the photo on Twitter with the caption: “My sister proposed to her GF today and look at that older woman's reaction.” He told BuzzFeed News:...

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has issued a religious decree (fatwa) prohibiting the use of Christmas-themed attire or accessories that recall a tradition foreign to Islam. The fatwa 56/2016 harshly criticized the Christmas atmosphere invading public areas of the country, calling it “a foreign culture with which we must not mingle.”

A Trip To A Christmas Tree In Tennessee The last of my shopping brought me to Pet Smart today. My furry four-legged monarchs, the captains of my existence will have a pretty good haul this year. I bent the concept of “good boys” just a bit to keep the peace. Maneuvering my way through the bustle of shining testaments of affluence on wheels and all the fuss, I turned into the parking lot. I saw what I thought a young boy holding a piece of cardboard with writing, crying for the world to see, a dog was tied to a...

Pakistan's embattled national carrier has been widely mocked for sacrificing a goat next to a plane to ward off bad luck, weeks after one of the country's worst air disasters. A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) turboprop plane built by European manufacturer ATR plummeted into a mountain in a northern region on December 7, bursting into flames and killing all 47 people on board. The animal slaughter, which took place on Sunday at Islamabad airport and

Yesterday our area in MO was blindsided by an ice storm that was not supposed to happen. At about the time i was warming up the car to head to the bus stop and get my 6 year old daughter, my wife and i received a phone call that the buses would not be running and we would have to pick our child up. We live in a rural area, and were only about 5 miles from her school. The ride to the school was dicey, but driving 20mph, we made it there with no problems except rattled nerves. We...

...Good stewardship of soil, air, and water, and pollution reduction and mitigation are great ideas and we support them. Cleaning up the Ganges, the holy river, before it dumps trillions of cubic meters of trash and raw sewage into the ocean, would be a good start. Conservation of natural resources is very important and humans everywhere agree. http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-ganges-holy-river-from-hell-20140806-100xz9.html But the climate change industry based on reduction of man-made CO2, the gas of plant life, is a very profitable ruse worth trillions of dollars for global elites. Not giving up on the climate change fear-mongering effort, the Oscar winning author of...

This opinion piece is by the Rev. Ruth Everhart, a pastor and the author of two spiritual memoirs.Church culture tends to be fixated on sexual purity year-round, but during Advent, I’m tempted to blame it on the Virgin Mary. After all, she set an impossibly high bar. Now the rest of us are stuck trying to be both a virgin and a mother at the same time. It does not seem to matter that this is biologically impossible. Can you at least try? I’ll speak for myself. I was raised in the church and taught to be a good girl,...

Panettone is an Italian cake filled with raisins and sultanas, and is a typical Christmas treat. But the seemingly harmless dessert has led to backlash after some vegan activists claimed a famous cake-maker was mocking the plant-based diet. It’s all because of a TV advert created by Motta, a company which has been churning out panettone since 1919 and intended to celebrate Christmas culinary traditions in its festive ad campaign. The 30-second clip shows the preparation of the typical cake, and as eggs are cracked and dough kneaded, the voiceover says:“To make our panettone, we could have used tofu, papaya,...

A Texas judge has ordered a school district to restore a decoration that included a biblical verse recited by Linus in the 1960s TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Officials in the Killeen school district north of Austin ordered a nurse’s aide, Dedra Shannon, to remove a handmade decoration featuring a Bible verse from the special, fearing it violated prohibitions on religion in classrooms. …