Free Republic

WHAT'S AN INFIDEL ? The author, Rick Mathes, is a well-known leader in prison ministry. The man who walks with God always gets to his destination. If you have a pulse you have a purpose. The Muslim religion is the fastest growing religion per capita in the United States , especially in the minority races. Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance. During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths, who each explained their beliefs. I was particularly interested...

Hi, I'm not the most devout of folks out thee, but am a believer and do believe God answers prayer. Several verses have become popular over past years because of the hope they evoked...remember the Prayer of Jabez and 2Chron 7:14 with Promisekeepers? Well, I have been praying for another promise to be seen in our time, that of Job 5:12. I read it and wrote it down and pray it every day...it sure reads like a promise. Any believers out there let's see if we can get it to catch on in this really troubled time in our nation's...

An atheist, Buckner believes that no religious literature should be provided in government-owned lodging, and he presented that concern to management at the Amicalola Falls State Park. Officials told Buckner they would remove the Bibles from all state park resorts while the state attorney general looked into the matter. Not long afterward, however, the AG issued a ruling saying the state was on firm legal ground because it hadn’t paid for the books. On Wednesday, Gov. Nathan Deal ordered the Bibles returned. Deal argued that if the state didn’t pay for them, it can’t be seen as endorsing them. He...

Is the Christian faith intellectual nonsense? Are Christians deluded? “If God exists and takes an interest in the affairs of human beings, his will is not inscrutable,” writes Sam Harris about the 2004 tsunami in Letter to a Christian Nation. “The only thing inscrutable here is that so many otherwise rational men and women can deny the unmitigated horror of these events and think this is the height of moral wisdom” (p. 48). In his article “God’s Dupes,” Harris argues, “Everything of value that people get from religion can be had more honestly, without presuming anything on insufficient evidence. The...

1.) IF John Hagee, Perry Stone, and/or anyone else on TCT, TBN, INSP, WCT, etc, accept women as being able to occupy the positions of apostles, and/or prophets, and/or evengelists, and/or pastors and/or teachers (with such examples such as Paula White and Joyce Meyer (whom I believe operate as a pastor and teacher respectively)), and... 2.) IF they believe that women can occupy these positions within the sphere of the New Testament/New Covenant, and... 3.) IF they believe that the office of Rabbi (Messianic or otherwise) has been carried over into the New Testament/New Covenant, (with such examples as Kurt...

MOSCOW – A delegation of American lawmakers will travel to Russia next week in part to investigate last month’s Boston Marathon bombings, ABC News has learned. The group, led by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., wants to find out why a 2011 Russian request that the United States investigate Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the suspected Boston bombers, did not raise more red flags. The Russians offered a vague warning that Tsarnaev planned to link up with extremist groups abroad, but an FBI investigation yielded no evidence to support those claims at the time. The lawmakers also want to know why subsequent...

To further help Christians know what they believe, why they believe it, how to live it, and how to share it, from today the eBook editions of R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions series will be free forever. Can I Be Sure I’m Saved? (Kindle) (iTunes)Can I Have Joy in My Life? (Kindle)Can I Know God’s Will? (Kindle) (iTunes)Can I Trust the Bible? (Kindle) (iTunes)Does God Control Everything? (Kindle)Does Prayer Change Things? (Kindle) (iTunes)How Should I Live in this World? (Kindle) (iTunes)What Can I Do with My Guilt? (Kindle) (iTunes)What Does It Mean to be Born Again? (Kindle) (iTunes)What Is Baptism? (Kindle) (iTunes)What Is Faith? (Kindle) (iTunes)What Is the Trinity? (Kindle) (iTunes)Who Is Jesus? (Kindle)...

Pretty cool if you've never been then. If you have a wheel on your mouse it zooms it in or out. Virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel

The flamboyant YouTube star renounced his association to homosexuality and, once again, got in front of the media to discuss "praying the gay" away. Antoine Dodson -- of "hide your kids, hide your wife" fame -- says that he "renounces homosexuality" and now wants a wife to be in his life. Choosing to get back "to who he is," Dodson's many statements painted a confusing picture about his intentions behind his self-discovery. On Facebook, he wrote in full, "I have to renounce myself, I'm no longer into homosexuality. I want a wife and family, I want to multiply and raise...

Alice Area Alliance of Christian Churches introduced The Power Team to the community Wednesday night at the Alice High School Auditorium.

My dear friends, I know I'm going to get it for this post but in love I must say it (2 Cor. 12:15). Someone has to and it might as well be me. For the past 5 years I have been feeling the spiritual temperature at Free Republic and other conservative forums and have found that moral and biblical relativism, biblical ignorance, conservative optimism, Christian ecumenicalism and the outright rejection of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12, Rom. 10:2-4, 1 Cor. 15:1-4, Eph. 2:8-9) nearly dominate this and other conservative forums. Thank God for Free Republic, they do...

Franklin Graham calls IRS probe of ministry finances ‘un-American’ Adelle M. Banks | May 15, 2013 (RNS) Evangelist Franklin Graham blasted the Internal Revenue Service probe of conservative nonprofit groups as “un-American,” saying both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the relief group Samaritan’s Purse were audited by the IRS. In a Tuesday (May 14) letter to President Obama, Graham said the two organizations he leads were notified last September that the IRS would review their records for the 2010 tax year. The IRS inquiry, he noted, occurred months after the BGEA ran ads in April 2012 supporting a North...

The defeated North Miami mayoral candidate who claimed that Jesus Christ endorsed her now says that the city chose Lucifer over the son of God. In a post-election statement on her Facebook page, Anna Pierre questioned Tuesday's results, in which she finished last among seven candidates. She also re-affirmed her Christian faith.

Full Title: “Gay Marriage” Shows Us Why Theology Matters. Three ways Biblically sound theology will help in the same-sex marriage debate To invite homosexuals to embrace themselves so that they are no longer lonely is agreeing with those on the left that God was wrong in ordaining the family as one man and one woman together in marriage. It is agreeing with those whom God is pouring out His wrath. It is agreeing with those who have cast off any notions of holiness, purity and piety in the church. It is, as I have said, theological suicide. Over the weekend...

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...

A mayoral candidate in North Miami claims she has received an endorsement from a higher power. Campaign posters for Anna L. Pierre tout that she was endorsed by Jesus Christ. "It's a spiritual endorsement. Why? Because everything I do I always get God involved," Pierre said.

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY is being redefined in America, or at least many would like it to be. Our secular establishment wants to reduce the autonomy of religious institutions and limit the influence of faith in the public square. The reason is not hard to grasp. In America, “religion” largely means Christianity, and today our secular culture views orthodox Christian churches as troublesome, retrograde, and reactionary forces. They’re seen as anti-science, anti-gay, and anti-women—which is to say anti-progress as the Left defines progress. Not surprisingly, then, the Left believes society will be best served if Christians are limited in their influence on...

In early April, Army Reserve soldiers in Pennsylvania were told in a redeployment briefing that evangelical Christians and Roman Catholics were "extremists," the same category as al Qaeda. Later that month, the Southern Baptist Convention's website was blocked on Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps bases due to what the military's software filter told Web users was "hostile content." And in early May, news reports said that an anti-Christian crusader had proposed new rules for the Pentagon so that military-service members could be court-martialed for sharing their faith. But the initial reports on these matters were exaggerated, taken out...

As a journalist who has consistently experienced the wrath of Tebow Nation — mostly for passing along the slings and arrows voiced by various NFL players, coaches and talent-evaluators — I'm well aware that many devotees of the world's most celebrated unemployed quarterback carry a heavy persecution complex. Yet as Tim Tebow's career wheezes to an underwhelming halt, with less apparent interest in his services than Massachusetts funeral parlors have in Tamerlan Tsarnaev's remains, something strange is happening. Against all odds, I'm starting to wonder whether the man who helped the Denver Broncos become one of the league's most stunning...

Do any Freepers know anything about a group called Disciple Makers? They basically hang around college campuses.

Editor's Note: This column was coauthored by Bob Morrison. President Obama's choice to be Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) was approved by the Senate on a vote of 63-34, with thirteen Republicans voting to confirm him. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) created quite a stir with his 13-hour filibuster against the Brennan nomination. Not until he received written assurances from Attorney General Eric Holder that U.S. citizens would not be targeted for killing by drones on U.S. soil would the doughty Kentuckian stand down. Good for him. John Brennan then proceeded to take the Oath of Office, as administered by Vice...

Former megachurch pastor Rob Bell appeared in a recent radio discussion with Christian British minister Andrew Wilson to discuss his new book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, and grew frustrated when pressed by Wilson to explain his theological reasons for affirming homosexuality and same-sex relationships. Bell and Wilson appeared on the U.K. faith debate program "Unbelievable?" hosted by Justin Brierley on Premier Christian Radio. Wilson is a published theologian and elder at Kings Church in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The men, moderated by Brierley, started the discussion by debating various issues during the hour-plus program, but it...

In a huge victory for pro-life advocates taking on the controversial HHS mandate, the Obama administration is giving up its effort to force a Bible publisher to obey it. The mandate has generated massive opposition from pro-life groups because it forces employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception under threat of heavy penalties. The Obama administration opposed an order a judge gave temporarily stopping enforcement, arguing that Tyndale House Publishers isn’t religious enough for an exemption from the mandate, a component of ObamaCare that forces employers, regardless of their...

Gov. Rick Perry asked the University Interscholastic League on Friday to investigate why a high school track team was disqualified after one of the student athletes made what his father called a religious gesture. The Columbus High School relay team was disqualified by a UIL judge at a regional meet on April 27 at Texas A&M Kingsville after a student engaged in an “unsporting act.” .....In his letter, Perry said he would “not tolerate the suppression of religious freedom anywhere.”

The HuffPo is gleefully reporting a story about a homeless man's stunt that attempts to shame people into giving him money. In the picture, which has since gone viral on Reddit and Imgur, the man, who appears to be homeless or transient, is sitting on a sidewalk and holding a sign that reads, "Which religion cares the most about the homeless?" Arranged in front of him are eight small, plastic bowls and a hat, each labeled with different religions and filled with varying amounts of change. Although we can't say for sure how much money is shown in the photo,...

Via BuzzFeed, here’s the latest in tolerance from last night’s Piers Morgan show. Mitt Romney spoke at a commencement for Southern Virginia University, whose student body is 92% Mormon, according to Hunter Schwartz, and Romney used his speech to talk about traditional Mormon pro-family values — or really, generic Christian family values. For quoting Psalms — by the way, an Old Testament book common to all Christians and Jews — the panel laughs Romney out of the room as a “religious fanatic�: The NIV has this as “children,� while the Ignatius Catholic version uses “sons� instead. Nonetheless, the panel starts...

A high-ranking Coast Guard official said at a National Day of Prayer event that religious liberty in the U.S. military is being threatened and that service members are being told to hide their faith in Christ, according to a taped remarks obtained by Fox News. “As one general so aptly put it – they expect us to check our religion in at the door – don’t bring that here,” Rear Admiral William Lee told a National Day of Prayer gathering on Capitol Hill. “Leaders like myself are feeling the constraints of rules and regulations and guidance issued by lawyers...

OMG, Is this really the kind of society we want? Because this is what we get when people who are hell-bent on being politically correct all the time get their way. Blame them. Because they deserve the blame.

The prime objective of secularists in modern times has been to “free� us all from the influence (The burden, they’d say) of Christianity. Just how they have gone about destroying that influence on the course of human affairs is ably described in Dr. Benjamin Wiker’s new book Worshipping the State:  How Liberalism Became our State Religion.Wiker, who has taught at Franciscan University and Thomas Aquinas College, holds that the raison d’être of secular philosophers’ has been to reduce Christianity’s hold on Western culture, and either to subordinate the Church to the state or to establish a rival civic religion that...

Reading Sherry Weddell’s excellent Forming Intentional Disciples is making me think about the American church and what ails her. Can anybody deny that there is a sickness in the body ecclesia? When 50% of Catholics vote for a man who stoutly defends same sex marriage and partial birth abortion can we say that Catholics in America are okay? I don’t think so. Thus a series of posts on what’s killing Catholicism. All the words begin with the letter ‘C’. I can’t help it. I was brought up as a Biblical Evangelical and our pastors always used alliteration to make their...

Atheist pamphlets are coming to Orange County public schools. They will be distributed on Thursday in almost one dozen public high schools. Some Christians say that is insulting, because Thursday is America's National Day of Prayer. The Freedom from Religion Foundation will make the atheist materials available to students. Organizers say they are not trying to recruit new atheists and claim they don't really want to be in the schools at all. Visit the Freedom from Religion Foundation website and you will find the sort of atheist pamphlets, brochures and books that will be placed on tables for students to...

With Jason Collins clearing one of big-time team sports’ last barriers to equality, it’s time to extend an olive branch to some of the other people who also came out Monday: Let’s give it up for the heterosexual religious zealots, some of whom let us know their true, authentic selves. It takes a lot of Old Testament moral certainty to have such strong conviction against a 7-foot NBA journeyman’s sexuality, especially after Collins had the guts to become the first active male athlete in a major team sport to say he’s gay — which, by the way, is so universally...

One of the things that’s frustrating for non-liberals and non-Progressives is Leftists’ refusal to look Islam in the face (so to speak). Yes, there are crazy people who are Christians and there are entire Christian sects that are crazy (such as the Westboro Baptists or Warren Jeffs’ polygamist Mormon cult). The fact remains, however, that Christians as a whole, whether they belong to big churches or small ones, do not embrace or practice terrorism to achieve their political or religious goals.Muslims, by contrast, routinely practice terrorism to achieve goals that are simultaneously religious and political, owing to Islam’s fusion of...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Students at Carnegie Mellon say it’s freedom of expression, but the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh calls it inappropriate and disrespectful. At an annual art school parade, a female student dressed up as the pope, and was naked from the waist down while she passed out condoms. Even more, witnesses say the woman had shaved her pubic hair in the shape of a cross. The Diocese has asked CMU to take action. “I think we all know that when we’re growing up we do stupid things but to cross over the line in this instance shouldn’t happen with...

As chairman of the U.S. Bishops Migration Committee, I've been working with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the U.S. Bishops' president, and many of my brother bishops to study the new comprehensive immigration reform legislation that has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. [snip] Because we are an immigrant Church, this debate over immigration is a debate about the future of the Church and our Catholic people. The Mexicans and other Latin Americans at the center of this debate - the millions whose fate is being decided by our politicians - are mostly fellow Catholics. Earlier this week, the U.S. bishops held...

When it comes to the persecution of Christians, President Obama appears to have a tin ear. The question is: why? Why would a president who claims to be a Christian seem to deliberately help install and collaborate with an Islamist government in Egypt? Many highly-placed Egyptian leaders have revealed that his collaboration with the Muslim Brotherhood began long before President Mubarak’s fall. Why would Mr. Obama remain silent after being informed again and again of the atrocities committed against Christians in Egypt—atrocities committed by the very government he helped bring to power? The answer to the question of “why” can...

Following my article Effects of Atheist Propaganda Come Home to Roost, - although on Free Republic the comments were favourable to my position - readers of my blog have posted comments that need a more analytical and detailed answer than allowed in the comments section. Complex subjects require complex treatment. Furthermore, there seems to be much confusion about the theme of Christianity and ethics. For example, an anonymous reader calling himself "roger in florida" wrote: "I believe you are very misguided if you equate Christianity with morality or cannot understand that atheists, such as myself, are incapable [he then explained that he...

Before 9/11, most Americans looked at Islam as no different than any of the world's other great religions. But since that terrible day, Americans have read countless stories about crazed riots over damaged Qurans, terrorists who've murdered people in the name of Allah and violent threats over Muhammad cartoons. Quite understandably, this has caused people to become considerably more wary of Islam. Is that fair to all the good and decent Muslims out there? No, it isn't. But, let's also stop ignoring the obvious fact that the Islamic faith has a large, radical and violent contingent that the world's other...

In our Founding Father’s day, the practice of VIRTUE was a crown of honor, not a bigot’s badge of shame. My beloved, just look what we as a nation have become today! We are a nation of godless, narcissistic, self-gratifying, infanticidal murderers - pornographic, sexually deviant, perverse, callous, adulterous, drug addicts and drunks, using the First Amendment as a license to transgress natural laws and moral absolutes in the name of secular human rights. Our American families are truly decimated! . In our Founding Father’s day, the practice of VIRTUE was a crown of honor, not a bigot’s badge of...

PARIS (Reuters) - Germany's top labor court ruled on Thursday the country's Catholic charity network had the right to fire an employee who quit the Church in protest against the sexual abuse crisis and disputed decisions by ex-Pope Benedict. The 60-year-old teacher, challenging his 2011 dismissal, had claimed his constitutional right to freedom of opinion trumped the Church's right to employ only Catholics who agreed with the religious mission of their jobs. He said that his work at Caritas Germany tutoring grade-school children did not deal with religion and that pupils of all faiths were welcome there. The decision was...

Many Muslims and websites claim that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. As proof, they usually present us with unverifiable claims and baseless media quotes. Apparently ABC News had claimed "Already more than a billion-people strong, Islam is the world's fastest-growing religion", a quote which cannot be traced to its source. Also CNN World News stated "Fast-growing Islam winning converts in Western world", a statement which they fail to back up with any evidence. Here we examine the actual data available for Islam to see if any of these claims are based on fact. ccording to "The...

A judge has made an important decision in a sexual assault case that is not only the correct one, but one that hopefully others will follow. The decision was not on the guilt or innocence of the men charged, but on the complainant’s desire to wear a niqab while testifying. The woman, known only as N.S., had taken her fight all the way to the Supreme Court, which chose not to choose. The Supreme Court ruled that it was up to each individual judge to determine on a case-by-case basis if the wearing of the religious cloth – essentially the...

Why are people still wondering why these boys bombed innocent people? Are they not listening? In addition to all the other facts that have surfaced, apparently on CNN last night, their mother said the following: “If they are going to kill him. I don’t care. My oldest son is killed, so I don’t care. I don’t care if my youngest son is going to be killed today. I want the world to hear this. And, I don’t care if I am going to get killed too. And I will say Allahu Akbar!“

The U.S. Army is directing troops to remove a Bible inscription that a vendor etched into the serial numbers of weapon scopes, Fox News has learned. Soldiers at Fort Wainwright in Alaska told Fox News they received a directive to turn in their scopes so the Bible references could be removed. The scopes were made by Trijicom and referenced New Testament passages in John 8:12 and Second Corinthians 4:6. The verses appeared at the end of the scope serial numbers – “JN8:12” and “2COR4:6.” “The biblical verse (JN8:12) must be removed utilizing a Dremel type tool and then painted black,”...

Professor Richard Dawkins has claimed that forcing a religion on children without questioning its merits is as bad as 'child abuse'. In typically incendiary style, the leading atheist said he was against the 'indoctrination of religion' and teaching it as fact. The evolutionary scientist and Emeritus Fellow at Oxford University, speaking at the Chipping Norton Literary Festival yesterday, was repeating claims he made last year which were roundly condemned by charities and politicians. Professor Dawkins said at the festival that children should be taught religion but scorn should be poured on its claims. 'What a child should be taught is...

Often, we pray for goodness in the world but usually do so off the cuff, quickly, and in an all too generic way. We pray for the end of conflict. We pray for reconciliation. We pray for peace. But when it comes to terrorism, we need also to pray that evil, occult tendencies, and arrogance be purged from religions that spawn vehemence and destruction. The Church militant must rise when his faith is under attack, and the Church militant not only prays for a shield but also actively seeks (in prayer) to "deliver us from the evil one."

Former President Bill Clinton said in Los Angeles his daughter, Chelsea, helped make him more sympathetic to the cause of civil rights for homosexuals. Speaking at a gala for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Clinton said the former first daughter has some homosexual friends and together they reminded him that all people should be treated equally.

DENVER -- It was a Sunday morning in Los Angeles, the day before a preseason tussle with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Warriors coach Mark Jackson had given his team the day off. But instead of sleeping in or dispersing to meet with friends, nearly the entire team took the team bus to a hotel ballroom in Studio City. Instead of indulging in the Hollywood scene, they worshiped together. Coach Mark Jackson, pastor at True Love Worship Center International, preached about letting their light shine. Jackson's wife and co-pastor prayed over the often-injured right ankle of team star Stephen Curry....

A federal appeals court is to hear arguments Wednesday on whether a first-of-its-kind law that prohibits licensed mental health professionals in California from offering therapies aimed at making gay and lesbian teenagers straight violates the civil rights of practitioners and parents. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering two legal challenges to the ban on "sexual orientation change efforts" that was passed by the California Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown last fall.

George Beverly Shea, whose booming baritone voice echoed through stadiums, squares and souls during a decades-long career with evangelist Billy Graham, died Tuesday. He was 104.