Free Republic

You just knew that Morning Joe would seek to exploit for maximum political gain the Christianity Today editorial by outgoing editor-in-chief Mark Galli that was highly critical of President Trump. And sure enough . . . First up today was Never-Trumper Rick Tyler, who praised the editorial for having "overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple courts." In a particularly audacious attack, Tyler claimed that Trump-supporting evangelicals are telling others that "Christianity is sort of a farce. That it's not real. That it's not true." Next up was Al Sharpton, who approvingly cast the editorial, because it's...

-snip- The Rev. Franklin Graham, a staunch Trump supporter and the son of the magazine’s founder, the late Rev. Billy Graham, leaped to Trump’s defense, telling The Washington Post that “(my father) would’ve been very embarrassed that the magazine he started would call for something like this when there are no crimes committed.” Less than 48 hours later, Trump’s reelection campaign announced a new “Evangelicals for Trump” coalition, launching at a Miami rally in early January. But here in suburban Milwaukee, where Trump narrowly edged out Clinton in 2016 and where it is crucial he maintain or build support heading...

"Looking at evangelical voters, 34% would strongly approve of the president’s removal, 9% somewhat approve, 4% somewhat disapprove, and 49% strongly disapprove." Do we believe this? I am so confused

Today the American Association of Evangelicals (AAE) released an explosive three-minute video: Soros' 'Rented Evangelicals,' exploring the Soros network's funding of "evangelical mascots" and a "Rent-an-Evangelical" tactic to confuse and divide the Christian vote for the pro-faith, pro-life Republican party. Democrat ministers Rev. Jim Wallis and allies are now touring many states on "Vote Common Good" buses to "flip Congress" and "reclaiming Jesus" to split the evangelical vote before the mid-term elections. The AAE video features the newly released voice recording of Wallis of Sojourners as he publicly denied that he was a recipient of Soros funding. Soon after, grants...

Evangelist Franklin Graham tore into the magazine his father founded after the flagship evangelical publication called for President Trump to be removed from office.In a statement posted to Facebook on Thursday night, Graham wrote, "Christianity Today released an editorial stating that President Trump should be removed from office, and they invoked my father’s name (I suppose to try to bring legitimacy to their statements), so I feel it is important for me to respond." Conceding that his father helped establish the periodical in 1956, Franklin Graham maintained that Billy Graham, who died in 2018 at age 99, would not countenance...

In our founding documents, Billy Graham explains that Christianity Today will help evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith. The impeachment of Donald Trump is a significant event in the story of our republic. It requires comment. . . . Trump’s evangelical supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as achievements that justify their support of the president. We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has...

Billy Graham explains that Christianity Today will help evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith. The impeachment of Donald Trump is a significant event in the story of our republic. It requires comment. The typical CT approach is to stay above the fray and allow Christians with different political convictions to make their arguments in the public square, to encourage all to pursue justice according to their convictions and treat their political opposition as charitably as possible. We want CT to be a place that welcomes Christians from across the political spectrum, and reminds everyone...

Watch them, Friends! Listen. Watch your Democrat lawmakers speak again and again of the moments that mean the most to them: taking their oaths. Holding with reverence their prized Bibles. Daddy's Bible. Grandpa's Bible. The symbols of a deep Catholic faith, for instance: Nancy Pelosi's faith. Watch them speak of the love they have for their LORD, of their religions and precious communities. Their love of Truth, Justice. Listen to them speak of America's foundation: the Lord. The Bible. Faith, righteousnessness, and honesty. This is a solemn time, they say. A prayerful time. Watch these pious men and women bow...

In a report published on Thursday, it was reported that while on a recent visit to Buddhists in Thailand, Pope Francis addressed the issue of refugees, comparing the policy of building walls and detention centers to the acts of King Herod who killed Jesus. La Civilta Cattolica reported on Thursday that while in Thailand, Pope Francis met a group of 48 Jesuits from Southeast Asia. Pope Francis is unique in several respects; he is the first pope from the southern hemisphere and, most significantly, he is the first Jesuit to be appointed to the position. The pope discussed the issue...

On Wednesday night, Mayor Pete Buttigieg took a break from lecturing the Religious Right about how it isn' Christian enough. Instead, he decided to spout heresy about salvation. While talking about systemic racism and his challenge connecting with black voters, Mayor Pete said, "I care about this because my faith teaches me that salvation has to do with how I make myself useful to those who have been excluded, marginalized, and cast aside and oppressed in society."

As Chick-fil-A expands globally and into more liberal parts of the U.S., the chicken chain plans to change which charities it donates to after years of bad press and protests from the LGBT community. Beginning next year, Chick-fil-A will move away from its current philanthropic structure, Bisnow has learned. After donating to more than 300 charitable organizations this year, the Atlanta-based fast-food chain will instead focus on three initiatives with one accompanying charity each: education, homelessness and hunger.

In between the first and second hour of the Democratic Party’s presidential debate in Ohio was a brief commercial from the Freedom From Religion Foundation calling for watchers to remember that secularism was a founding father plan for America’s government from the get-go and that those who say differently are, well — uninformed. Come on in guys, the fire’s warm. Ronald Prescott Reagan — the son of the late, great President Ronald Reagan — actually made the pitch for FFRF on national TV, wrapping with this mocking line: “I’m a lifelong atheist, I’m not afraid of burning in hell.” Yikes....

Does the Religious Left Know What Lenin Said About Christians and Socialism? There's no escaping it: Socialism is anti-Christian. “If someone calls it socialism,” said Rev. William Barber at the August meeting of the Democratic National Committee, “then we must compel them to acknowledge that the Bible must then promote socialism, because Jesus offered free health care to everyone, and he never charged a leper a co-pay.”Barber’s statement brought secular progressives to their feet in thunderous applause. That included DNC chair Tom Perez, who says that democratic socialists like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez represent “the future of our party.” That’s a...

Ignoring the millions of unborn babies who have been slaughtered in abortions, presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg suggested that true Christians would take care of their neighbor by supporting his environmental policies. Buttigieg, a pro-abortion Democrat and the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, touted his Christian faith during a climate change town hall Wednesday, according to National Review. “Let’s talk in language that is understood across the heartland about faith,” he said. “If you believe that God is watching as poison is being belched into the air of creation, and people are being harmed by it, countries are at risk of...

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tuh-juhj) says Republicans will face “a reckoning” over a policy agenda he says is out of sync with Christian values. Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Thursday, Buttigieg kicked off a day of television appearances in which he highlighted his Christian faith.

After an expose’ on Zack Exley by Pulpit & Pen several weeks ago, it seems that the sugar-daddy of woke evangelicalism might be in trouble with federal prosecutors for corruption and the unauthorized diversion of campaign dollars to his own pet-projects and shell companies. Zack Exley isn’t an evangelical, but he spent half a decade strategizing how to get evangelicals to vote Democrat before serving on campaigns for Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Now the man who thought up how to get Christians to embrace “Social Justice” to change their voting patterns—and who is funneling cash to ‘woke’ organizations...

The escalation of racialized rhetoric from the President of the United States has evoked responses from all sides of the political spectrum. On one side, African American leaders have led the way in rightfully expressing outrage. On the other, those aligned with the President seek to downplay the racial overtones of his attacks, or remain silent. As faith leaders who serve at Washington National Cathedral ¬– the sacred space where America gathers at moments of national significance – we feel compelled to ask: After two years of President Trump’s words and actions, when will Americans have enough? This week, President...

The question was about climate change. The answer soon turned to the Bible. And Pete Buttigieg knew the verses. “There’s a lot about the stewardship of creation that is in Scripture that I don’t see being honored by the administration right now, not to mention the stuff about loving your neighbor and taking care of the least among us and feeding the poor,” the South Bend, Indiana, mayor said. The crowd of about 250 at a Mississippi River park in southeastern Iowa this month erupted with cheers. Republicans for a half century have built a loyal following among white evangelical...

Matt covered the insanity brought on by climate change protesters at the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting this week. But, it isn't just the party crashers who are saying truly outlandish things, it's also the invited speakers. Progressive Pastor Rev. William Barber challenged Republicans on whether or not socialism is moral. He even invited the debate, saying Jesus would support the economic system. Luckily, we have Texas Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw to explain to the preacher just how wrong he is. "When we embrace moral language, we must ask does our policy care for the least of these? Does it...

"Because my party's been so allergic to religious language, we've forgotten that people need to be made aware of their choice," Buttigieg told CNN. "I've got to speak up, if only to point out the hypocrisies of those now in power," he added. "Time will tell whether that's smart politically or not." Thus far, it seems to be working. Progressives, particularly LGBT Christians, have cheerfully circulated his critiques of the religious right and lauded the gay Christian's candidacy as a watershed moment for a community long shunted to the margins of church life. *** The son of a former Jesuit,...