Free Republic

Almost 20 years ago, I was speaking with an older Jewish couple who seemed very close to putting their faith in Jesus as Messiah, but they were not 100 percent sure.I said to them, "Later this week I'm debating an Orthodox rabbi. Why not come to the debate to hear both sides of the issue, and then you can make an informed decision?"Thankfully, they came to the event, they listened with open hearts and minds, and by God's grace, they came to faith.More recently, I was invited to speak on a college campus about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, representing the Israeli...

The idea that the Bible declares hell a real and literal place is no more valid than the toxic lie that the Bible condemns homosexuality. Yet the idea that hell is real persists. Why? Because over the centuries those in positions of power within the institutions of Christianity have methodically, relentlessly, and with great art used the doctrine of hell to exploit the innate fear of death that is harbored by one and all. Show me a Christian terrified of hell, and I’ll show you a Christian ready to pay good money for the assurance that he is not going...

In a Tuesday email to supporters entitled, "Carl DeMaio Wants You to Vote For Him, But He Totally Disrespects Your Vote," the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has followed through on a promise to "actively oppose" the candidate the GOP establishment has branded a "New Generation Republican." The email endorses voting for the incumbent Democrat, Scott Peters, even though he is "wrong on the issues."

Cardinal Timothy Dolan recently addressed the new document approved by the Vatican regarding the church's relation to Catholic divorcees, gays and married gays, and expressed his admiration for Pope Francis during the segment. In an interview with ABC News George Stephanopoulos Dolan concurred that the Pope's recent statements on homosexuality at this month's Synod represent an 'evolution,' not a 'revolution' within the Catholic Church. "Pope Francis never ceases to surprise us," said Dolan to ABC News. "Just when you think you might have him figured out, he offers another fresh innovative way of looking, that talk to which you just...

The Southern Baptist Convention withdrew a California church known for its "third way" on gay unions and homosexuality from its church membership, officials announced Tuesday.New Heart Community Church of La Mirada was removed by SBC's Executive Committee by a unanimous vote.

About midway through the first week of debates and deliberations, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, addressed a mixed crowd of prelates, diplomats and journalists at the Pontifical North American College in Rome and cited a sports analogy that’s become quite popular among Francis’s American fans. Francis’s strategy is a little like taking someone to a baseball game when they don’t really know the rules—and maybe didn’t care much about them. Under Francis, the Church wants to bring people back into the stadium, as it were. “They see the crowds, they smell the hot dogs,” said Dolan, playing...

The original just had the Dem logo and black type...setting aside the blatant hypocrisy this presents from the party that boos God, I thought this got fixed up pretty well.

Bishops Reject Shift in Tone for Gay, Divorced Catholics Bishops Reject Language Highlighting ‘Precious Support’ Committed Gay Couples Lend Each Other DEBORAH BALL Oct. 18, 2014 ROME—Catholic bishops voted Saturday to water down a report earlier this week that advocated a significant shift in the church’s approach to gays and divorced Catholics, reflecting a deep split within the church’s leadership. In a vote Saturday evening, an assembly of nearly 200 bishops, who have been discussing issues concerning the family at a special meeting known as a synod, took their final vote on a working document released Monday. That document, released...

Pope Francis appeared to have lost out to powerful conservatives in the Roman Catholic church on Saturday after bishops scrapped language that had been hailed as heralding a historic opening towards gay people. In the final report of an extraordinary synod on the family which has exposed deep divides in church hierarchy, there is no mention – as there had been in a draft version – of the “gifts and qualities” gay people can offer. Nor is there any recognition of the “precious support” gay partners can give each other. A paragraph entitled “pastoral attention to people of homosexual orientation”...

A bombshell hidden-camera video released Wednesday airs a claim that Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor has privately told gay rights activists he supports a redefinition of marriage to include gay and lesbians unions. Pryor, who is in a tight reelection battle, has publicly maintained an anti-gay-marriage stance in the red state in order to stay electable. 'I support traditional marriage, and I've been pretty clear on that for a long time,' Sen. Mark Pryor said in a May 31 news broadcast on KHBS-TV40 in the city of Fort Smith. But one of the state's prominent gay rights leaders told an undercover...

Men can and do make a difference — just ask former abortion workers. In particular, they’ve noticed that no-shows and cancellations go way up when a it’s a man in a Roman collar who’s joined the vigil. The staff knows right away it’s going to be a bad day for business. We are thankful for all the priests and ministers who have helped make more “bad days” possible! Many members of the clergy have led by example by praying at 40 Days for Life vigil sites these past three weeks. It takes courage … so thank them when you see...

When President Barack Obama launched his campaign for an open U.S. Senate seat in late 2002, his wife Michelle enlisted the help of a longtime friend, Kevin Thompson. Michelle had gotten to know Thompson back in the early 1990s, when she was still Michelle Robinson and the pair worked in the policy shop of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Over the years, the two had stayed close, working together again at the University of Chicago Hospitals and swapping home improvement ideas over meals. Obama, who was then a state senator, would be facing off in the Democratic primary against businessman Blair...

When I arrived at the Ohio State House yesterday afternoon I was already skeptical about a prayer vigil that was being advertised by Planned Parenthood. I did not really expect to hear anything remotely biblical. I walked up to the steps of the State House with my pro-life signs and noticed the sign on the podium immediately. It read, “Moral Movement”. Are you kidding me? How can any movement that includes the nation’s largest child-killer call itself moral? Mark Harrington, of Created Equal, and I began to set up the signs we brought to show Planned Parenthood and their supporters...

Sojourners President and Founder Jim Wallis, one of several faith leaders who are heading to Ferguson, Missouri this weekend to march for justice, is challenging Christians to put their faith ahead of their race when it comes to issues concerning racial relations. "If white Christians in America acted more Christian than white when it came to race, black parents would be less fearful for their children," said Wallis. Christians who put faith ahead of race would not be afraid to take on tough racial issues like the police shooting of an unarmed teen in Ferguson with their peers and fight...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK) WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton is the one figure uniting religious conservatives frustrated by a leaderless Republican Party that's divided over foreign policy, immigration and social issues. The prospect of another Clinton White House stirred anguish at the Values Voter Summit this weekend where hundreds of conservative activists debated the GOP's future and warned that the acknowledged but unannounced 2016 Democratic front-runner would cement what they see as President Barack Obama's attack on religious freedom....

FULL TITLE: Episcopal priest praises new Planned Parenthood clinic as “safe place for the termination of pregnancy” It’s certainly no secret that some churches support the choice to abort. While it’s counter-intuitive to the Christian faith, which began with Mary’s unplanned pregnancy, it’s a reality in 2014 that many who identify as Christian also identify as pro-choice. Despite this troubling truth, it’s still disconcerting when a minister of the gospel speaks out and makes a statement welcoming a new abortion facility to his region the same way one might welcome a new business offering jobs to a troubled economy. However,...

The first woman bishop in the Church of England could be in the Gloucester diocese, a senior clergyman has said. The archdeacon of Cheltenham's comments came during an open meeting where some 70 people shared their views on what qualities the new bishop should have. The Venerable Robert Springett said he felt the likelihood was "really pretty high" as the diocese could now pick the best person regardless of gender. The Right Reverend Michael Perham, stepped back as bishop in August. He had been due to retire in November. He was interviewed by the Metropolitan Police investigating two allegations of...

Yet another megachurch has announced that it will spend millions to officially separate itself from Presbyterian Church (USA), a denomination that has, in recent years, experienced turmoil over what critics decry as an increasingly liberal theology. Nearly 89 percent of the congregation at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, voted in October 2013 to leave the denomination and to join the more theologically conservative Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians — a decision that carries with it a hefty price tag. The church will need to pay $7.8 million in order to officially leave Presbyterian Church (USA) and keep its...

Green Jesus. That is the image that now greets visitors to the Huffington Post Religion page at the very top. If you think that the Huffington Post has an agenda it is pushing, you would be correct. A total of seven stories are devoted to the topic of global warming in general and Sunday's "People's Climate March NYC" in particular. The extent that the Huffington Post is inappropriately using religion to push a worldwide political program of big spending programs on a problem that doesn't exist can be seen in the "religion" articles used to hype this agenda. The desperation...

FULL TITLE - Top Obama Bundlers Funded LGBT Attack on San Francisco Archbishop for Traditional Marriage Stance A leftist group funded by top gay activist bundlers for Obama’s 2012 campaign coordinated both a “well planned and financed” attack against San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone for his decision to speak during the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. in June, says Catholic San Francisco. Faithful America is an organization that claims to be “the largest and fastest growing online community of Christians putting faith into action for social justice.” According to Valerie Schmalz writing at Catholic San Francisco, there is...