Free Republic

Analysis: Christian revival at Russian battlefield By Martin Sieff UPI Senior News Analyst Published April 28, 2005 BELGOROD, Russia -- There is literally nothing to look at in the rich, black earth wheat fields of Belgorod province: Nothing to reveal from the gently undulating land that the greatest tank battle of all time was fought here. Yet the monuments to the 1943 Battle of Kursk contain many surprises and startling clues to the future destiny of Russia. The land is strikingly reminiscent of the industrial Midwest. You could be in Wisconsin or Indiana, close to Milwaukee or Indianapolis. There is...

After years of decline, Christian church attendance soars in 21st century In a cramped church basement in Little Italy, the Roman guards are frantically looking for their robes, the Madonnas are in makeup and the Lady of Sorrows has yet to arrive. Outside St. James' Cathedral downtown, Ted May is panhandling with a paper cup while pondering when he'll take a shower at the drop-in centre nearby so he can head into the Good Friday service himself. While in Scarborough, Pastor Karl Lam welcomes a packed house to his Toronto Chinese United Church, including dozens of youth who will spend...

ABOUT 150 evangelical Christians last week gathered in the Calacoaya Christian Centre, a 7,000-seat mega-church in a Mexico City suburb, waiting to be reborn. Clad in white cloaks, they filed into the baptismal waters of the church fountain where they were swept under by church leaders. One by one they emerged, sobbing and smiling, and fell into the arms of family members and friends. The newly baptised converts are emblematic of growing numbers of Mexicans leaving the Catholic Church and making evangelical Christianity the fastest growing religion in Latin America, according to some experts. Evangelicals as a group, traditionally with...

GOVERNOR-General Michael Jeffery has blamed a lack of faith in God for social problems of family breakdown, drugs and violence. The prevalence of individual rights over personal responsibility was a sign that society was losing its way, Maj-Gen Jeffery told a Christian crusade at Telstra Dome yesterday. In a disarmingly frank address before 23,000 people, Maj-Gen Jeffery said he believed a strong spiritual base and faith was essential for true happiness - which many young people lacked. Personal greed and social problems were a result. He said The Bible and the Ten Commandments were God's words of guidance for life,...

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) Enfield, Connecticut July 8, 1741 --Their foot shall slide in due time.-- Deuteronomy 32:35 In this verse is threatened the vengeance of God on the wicked unbelieving Israelites, who were God's visible people, and who lived under the means of grace; but who, notwithstanding all God's wonderful works towards them, remained (as vers 28.) void of counsel, having no understanding in them. Under all the cultivations of heaven, they brought forth bitter and poisonous fruit; as in the two verses next preceding the text. -- The expression I...

PARIS – Religion has barged its way noisily and violently onto the European political stage in recent months. Islamic radicals set bombs on commuter trains in Madrid that killed 191 people last March. Another extremist Muslim in Amsterdam is charged with brutally killing Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in November. An angry mob of British Sikhs, throwing bricks and wrestling with police, stormed a theater in Birmingham last December, forcing the closure of a play they found offensive. Got thoughts of your own? Share them here. But in the shadow of such shocking events are signs of a quieter and...

Charlotte, Feb. 09, 2005 (CNA) - The Catholic Church in the southern U.S. is flourishing and growing at an impressive rate. But its rebirth in the historical Protestant Bible Belt is not only about numbers in the pews, but the creation of a Catholic culture and a strict adherence to Catholic teachings, says a report by journalist Tim Padgett. Catholics make up about 12 percent of the South’s population. While still quite low, Catholics saw growth of almost 30 percent in the 1990s, compared with less than 10 percent for Baptists, who make up the area’s largest denomination. Reported Padgett....

God gets a stake in affairs of state AUSTRALIA'S holy war began under lights at the Sydney SuperDome. The combatants did not know it at the time, nor did the 20,000 strong crowd who poured in on this winter's night to celebrate the annual conference of the Hillsong Church. As music filled the arena, the fervour washed over the congregation. They raised their palms to the heavens, closed their eyes and swayed to the rhythm of God. But something unusual was afoot. On this night last July, the Almighty was eclipsed by a pasty, middle-aged man who emerged onto the...

[India News]: Bangalore, Jan 21 : American evangelist Benny Hinn Friday evening began his much-awaited "Festival of Blessings" prayer meeting here, which saw a shutdown call and incidents of stone throwing by protesting Hindu activists earlier in the day. About 8,000-10,000 policemen have been deployed in and around the sprawling venue to regulate crowds. Organisers of the show, being held at the Jakkur airstrip on the outskirts of the city, said earlier that about 400,000 people had already gathered for the event from all parts of the country, especially south India. A few hundred also came from abroad. Speaking to...

About three months before the release of Mel Gibson's hugely popular and controversial film, The Passion of the Christ, a new Beatles album hit the street. Let It Be Naked was, of course, a reissue; but unlike so much of the Fab Four material released during the previous decade, it was an important album. Let It Be might not have been the best of the mature Beatles, but the unadulterated version -- stripped of Phil Spector's baroque production and free of the shameless clunkers (mostly from McCartney) that spoil more recognized classics like The White Album and Abbey Road --...

Canadians, especially young people, are returning to church, says sociologist Eric Shackleton Canadian Press December 28, 2004 TORONTO (CP) - More Canadians, especially young people, are sitting in church pews these days, says Reginald Bibby, one of Canada's best-known pollsters on religion. And all the groups from Protestant to Roman Catholic to non-traditional are showing "important signs of new life." Attendance is up by as much as "four or five percentage points" since the late 1990s, says the University of Lethbridge sociologist who has just published a new book, Restless Churches, in which he argues his case through a blizzard...

The tug of war between political correctness and Christmas became more prominent this year because of a revival of Christianity, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, said yesterday.     "Those who are so opposed to [Christmas] feel that the tide is turning now, once again, against them," Cardinal McCarrick said. "I think that might be because those who are so opposed to it feel that they're caught in a corner. [snip]Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, was asked during her own appearance on Fox about the political correctness of banning Christmas trees and depictions of the Nativity....

All the world knows the people of the Ukraine are having a happy Christmas, this year. What started as a rigged presidential election, several weeks ago, turned into a fight for freedom. Christians say the result is an answer to prayer. Most of the protesters who have been walking with flags in large crowds have now left Ukraine's Freedom Square. But not before taking time to celebrate their victory for democracy with dancing and singing. Tens of thousands of protesters, carrying flags, sparked their ‘Orange Revolution’ that struck a blow against a corrupt political machine. They helped bring about a...

Acting on a tip, FBI agents in early October began digging up a vacant, swampy lot in Queens with a backhoe, searching for bodies of Mafia victims. One person the agents were seeking disappeared 24 years ago after he accidentally killed the 12-year-old son of John Gotti, the late "Teflon Don" mobster. I knew exactly where they were digging. I had been on that lonely dead end on Easter. For the past two years, I have been searching hundreds of streets and alleyways to discover the civilizing effect of Christ on New York City. I could have told them where...

"I think it's very important for our friends, the Israelis, to have a peaceful Palestinian state living on their border. And it's very important for the Palestinian people to have a peaceful, hopeful future." So spoke President Bush just two days after his re-election, just exactly as news reports were leaking Yasser Arafat's demise.The combination of Mr. Bush's stunning new mandate and Mr. Arafat's near-death condition will lead, I predict, to a quick revival of Palestinian-Israeli diplomacy after months of relative doldrums and to massive dangers to Israel.The doldrums will cease because the Bush administration views Mr. Arafat as the...

At the outset of the campaign season, California Republicans held up the U.S. Senate contest as a marquee race for a newly energized, newly cohesive state GOP. Party leaders promised they would demonstrate that firing the Democratic governor last October was simply the start of an important revival for the long-sagging party. The answer came with a giant thud Tuesday night, in the form of a crushing, 21-point victory for incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer and wins for Democrats in some key legislative and congressional races. Now Democrats and even some moderate Republicans say that the weak challenge against Boxer and...

Until modern times, there existed no form of legitimacy in the Middle East outside of Islam. Rulers ruled in the name of God; assassins struck them down in the name of God. The assassinations of the early caliphs and the struggle between the Sunni rulers and the Assassins in the Middle Ages took precisely this form: each side claimed to act in accord with divine will, revealed in divine texts. Religion played a crucial role in the rationale of assassination, but it also played a crucial role in the rationale of government, law, and warfare—indeed, of everything. This invocation of...

The Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio - Before stepping forward to say a prayer at a Bush-Cheney rally, Pastor Bob Huffaker had limited his political involvement to encouraging parishioners to vote their conscience. But on Sept. 20, before about 3,000 people at a suburban school, Huffaker poked fun at Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, then prayed that God would give wisdom and protection to the country's leaders. While ministers and politicians have joined forces at campaign time for years, the religious involvement has intensified this year, observers say. Clergy are organizing voter registration drives, attending political events and making the election...

When Incrementalism Really Means Compromise I was a mere high school student when I attended my first "contemporary" church service during the "Jesus Freak" movement of the early 1970's in Costa Mesa, California.  Up to that point in my life, I was exposed to more formal type church services only.  Nevertheless, this new kind of church service shocked me very little, because I was made aware (many times, until the point was driven home), of the "logic" behind this modern type worship. The example I heard most promoting the positive aspects of this new movement was, "we are building bridges to...

Dear praying brothers and sisters Praise be to the Lord Jesus We, the Salem Voice Ministries in India (http://www.salem-voice.com) is conducting a 60 hours continuous fasting prayer on 30th September morning (6 am) to 2nd October evening (6 pm) Indian time. Indian time is +5.30 GMT. Alongwith our prayer subjects we will be specially praying for the US President George W.Bush, upcoming American election and for a great spiritual revival in America. Around 300 prayer warriors will be particiapting for this fasting prayer. Also thousands of prayer partners will be joining with us in prayer at this specified time from...

Last Updated: Sunday, 12 September, 2004, 12:13 GMT 13:13 UK Religious revivalAlaska sees renewal of faith in Russian Orthodox churchReligious legacy lives on in Alaska By Martha Dixon BBC, Alaska The Russian Orthodox church in Alaska is claiming a resurgence in a faith that most people predicted would die out. When Russia sold Alaska to America for $7.2m in 1867 it left little trace on the state - except its religion.Orthodox Church is a durable legacy of Alaska's Russian past A new cathedral is being built in Anchorage "I have eight children and 36 grandchildren and they've all been baptised...

Not so long ago the religious right was rumored to be on the ropes. But then came gay marriage, a bare breast at the Super Bowl, a challenge to "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, and the attacks on Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." Now Christian conservatives have quite a few things to rally around. And if the campaign's two other big issues - the economy and Iraq (news - web sites) - don't break plainly President Bush (news - web sites)'s way, the social issues Christians care about could still re-elect him. The Supreme Court heard...

I received a letter today from Mother Assumpta Long, superior of a fairly new religious order of Catholic nuns. I had known of Mother Assumpta earlier in connection with a new grouping of monks and nuns that was established after Catholic religious orders began to break down, betray their principles, and melt away in the wake of Vatican II. But the new order was news to me. It was founded under Cardinal O'Connell of New York, and later moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where with the help of Thomas Monaghan of Domino's Pizza it established a new house and began...

"The Lord of the Rings," with its subtext of God's providential guiding, and "The Passion," with its in-your-face text of Christ's suffering for us, have been the big movie successes of the past few months. Pastor Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life" was the No. 1 nonfiction hardback bestseller last year. Many churches report increasing attendance, and some observers even speculate that a great revival is underway. At the same time, The Wall Street Journal accurately noted yesterday that "Secular absolutism is becoming the most potent religious force" in America." The WSJ blasted the "effort by liberal activists and their judicial...

Canada's job growth soars past U.S. Numbers raise doubts over strength of economic recovery south of the borderBRUCE LITTLE - ECONOMICS REPORTER Saturday, January 10, 2004 The red-hot Canadian employment market churned out an eye-popping 53,000 new jobs in December, in stark contrast to the United States, which added an anemic 1,000 bodies to the payrolls, raising doubts about the staying power of the economic recovery there.The jump in December employment in Canada capped a frenzy of job creation through the latter part of 2003 that outpaced anything seen in more than two decades. The Statistics Canada report yesterday...

Gov. John G. Rowland said Sunday that the country is witnessing an "explosion of faith," and praised Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ." "It is unbelievable. It is breathtaking," Rowland said at a groundbreaking ceremony for a Hartford church. "It shakes you to the core of your soul. "But it is the Gospel, and people need to recognize and realize that we need to reach out to faith. We need to reach out to each other and, most importantly, we need to reach out to the power above us." The movie, which grossed $23.6 million on its opening...

America is in the midst of a new Great Awakening. It's the mainstream media, prompted by excitement over the Mel Gibson film "The Passion of the Christ," waking up to the fact that the country still has an enormous block of orthodox Christians. You can sense the bemused astonishment behind some of the press reports: "Didn't all of these people slink away in embarrassment forevermore after the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925?" Sorry. They didn't. And it is impossible to understand what seems certain to be the commercial success of "The Passion," or -- more importantly -- to understand American...

<p>A meeting to launch an exchange between Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and churches in China hit a cultural rift yesterday as Chinese pastors explained what their parishioners expect from a sermon.</p> <p>It should be about two hours long, they said.</p> <p>"This is reasonable, because many people in rural areas walk a long, long way to get to church. They prefer a long, long sermon for a long, long walk," said the Rev. Shan Wei Xiang.</p>

The Situation: “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.” -Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities The Best of Times? By many reckonings, it appears to be the best of times in America: We enjoy a robust economy, reinforced by continually advancing technologies. At least one computer in every home, and a personal telephone on almost everyone’s belt. People are buying their 3rd and 4th cars. Our military is the most feared throughout the world. Indeed, in many ways, it seems like the best of times. Judgment on the Horizon? However, let’s assess the...

<p>According to Sid Rosenburg, the Sports guy on the Imus in the Morning program, the Redskins are set to make an announcement today that the former Redskins Coach will be returning to be the new head coach.</p>

Forgive me for playing prophet, but I think this will be the last Christmas of the 20th century. Yes, I know that the 20th century actually ended a few years ago, but I'm thinking of it as an era. This Christmas a certain era will end. Call it the era of Christianity lite. Much popular religion of the century descended into mere feel-goodism. Gone was all serious reference to sin, repentance, suffering, atonement, evil, anything unpleasant. God was in heaven and all was rosy. Say your prayers, try not to hurt anybody, never be "judgmental," and everything will come out...

An item in Parade magazine last week said the Communist Party is growing again in Russia. Last year, 18,000 new recruits joined, 80 percent of whom are under 40 years of age. The reasons given were to "protest current conditions" and because of their "dislike of [Vladimir] Putin and Company." It is understandable why older people might have found the Communist system attractive. They were brought up under it and were looking forward to retirement on a pension, which was worth something, even though there was little they could buy. But to have young people attracted to the Communists is...

If Religious Liberty Is To Survive, America's Pulpits Must Awaken! By Chuck Baldwin Food For Thought From The Chuck Wagon October 14, 2003 Let's set the record straight. Until recently, the American dream was never about material prosperity. On the whole, our Founding Fathers were very prosperous, but they were willing to lose their material substance for something they considered to be much more valuable. In a word, the American dream was liberty, especially religious liberty! In fact, it took the combined effort of statesmen, soldiers, and ministers to win America's independence. Unfortunately, today there is a serious dearth of...

A RING of neo-Nazi extremists arrested in Germany this week is suspected of plotting an attack on Munich’s new synagogue on the anniversary of Hitler’s "Kristallnacht", police sources say. The right-wing extremists, arrested in raids that also turned up machine-guns, grenades and nearly 30lb of explosives, were planning an assault on the 65th anniversary of the night when Jewish homes and business were attacked in the infamous Nazi pogrom, police say. Their targets were high officials, including the German president, Johannes Rau, due to lay the foundation stones for the synagogue and school for Munich’s 8,000-strong Jewish community. Nine people...

In 1952, while I was a young pastoral student at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo., Dr. G.B. Vick asked the students, "What do you hope to accomplish with your life?" The question has preoccupied my thoughts for more than five decades. About 40 years ago, God spoke to my heart about saving America. At that time, our U.S. Supreme Court - in 1962 and 1963 - had thrown prayer and Bible reading out of our public schools. Ten years later (1973), Roe vs. Wade declared open game on our unborn. Today, we have nearly 45 million dead unborn babies...

House price rise signals economy revival Manufacturing recovery suggests end to three-year global slump By Philip Thornton, Economics Correspondent 03 September 2003 The British economy is on the brink of a sudden recovery from its three-year slump. A batch of figures released yesterday showed the recession that has gripped the world's biggest economies may be coming to an end. While manufacturing industry has rebounded on both sides of the Atlantic, reversing years of decline, Britain is also enjoying a renewed surge in house prices. Housebuilding activity has also picked up. There is growing optimism of a global recover after a...

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy - Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II said Sunday that Europe is suffering a crisis in values and expressed hope that the addition of 10 more countries to the European Union (news - web sites) next year would be an occasion for the continent's renewal. The pontiff in recent weeks has decried what he calls a movement away in Europe from its Christian roots. "You can't deny, that in these times of ours, Europe is going through a crisis in values, and it is important that it recovers its true identity," John Paul told pilgrims...

<p>ANAHEIM, Calif. — Tens of thousands of people attending a Christian festival over the weekend will get the first public peek at a scene from Mel Gibson's (search) film about Jesus Christ.</p> <p>Organizers of the Harvest Crusade (search) at Edison Field plan to preview a four-minute clip of "The Passion," which stars James Caviezel as Christ during the last 12 hours of his life and Monica Bellucci (search) as Mary Magdalene. The reported $25 million production will feature dialogue only in Latin and Aramaic with no English subtitles.</p>

A:link {color:#000080 ; text-decoration:none} A:visited {color:#000080 ; text-decoration:none} A:active {color:#E30000 ; text-decoration:none}                       Main Page     Article Index What's Wrong With the Gospel? Section 2: "The Added Parts" by Keith Green Introduction In each generation there have been various ways and means used to secure the attention of sinners so that they may be shown the truth and then led into a saving knowledge and true relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.It is a fact that man is a creature of habit. He loves form, doesn't like things to...

A:link {color:#000080 ; text-decoration:none} A:visited {color:#000080 ; text-decoration:none} A:active {color:#E30000 ; text-decoration:none}                       Main Page     Article Index   What's Wrong With the Gospel? Section 1: "The Missing Parts" by Keith Green Introduction I know that the title of this article will possibly raise some worried eyebrows. At first glance, some might say to themselves, "Oh no, Keith has gone too far this time!" But let me quickly put those possible reactions to rest. To the question, "What's wrong with the Gospel?" I can easily answer, "Absolutely nothing!" That...

Russia: German leader sees religious revival firsthand In Moscow, Aleksej II celebrated the Christmas liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Interfax's Russian news bureau reported that more than 700,000 attended Christmas services on 6 and 7 January. The large turnout offered further evidence of a religious revival that has been going on for almost a decade within Russia. The research group Monitoring.ru released statistics late last week showing that 55 percent of Russians believe in God, while only 33 percent do not. Of those who believe, 91 percent said they are Orthodox Christians. The Moscow Times also reported...

Enough research has been done on religion in Eastern Europe that one can say with considerable confidence that religion is reviving in the former socialist countries. At a recent conference at Nuffield College (Oxford) European scholars (Geoff Evans of Oxford and Ariana Need of Amsterdam) and American scholars (Michael Hout and myself) were able to compare notes and discover a convergence of findings. There are two major religious changes in the former socialist countries, one obvious and astonishing, the other more subtle but in the long run perhaps more important and, alas, more likely to be missed. There is, first...

<p>EBay's shares hit $95 on Friday -- giving the San Jose online auctioneer a market value greater than McDonald's and General Motors.</p> <p>Amazon.com, the world's largest Internet retailer, reached a 52-week high Friday, even on the heels of an unprofitable quarter. And Yahoo's stock price is up nearly 150 percent in eight months.</p>

In the valleys of Patagonia, the talk is of an astonishing revival of the Welsh language By Marcus Tanner in Gaiman 19 April 2003 In a red-brick farmhouse in the Patagonian village of Gaiman, Eluned Gonzalez is making jam, and masses of it. As her tiny home-help, a native woman with a long pigtail, sweeps the floor aimlessly, Eluned and her family prepare a multitude of jars that will store enough preserves for many winters. It is a quintessentially Welsh scene, and as the vats of fruit bubble, the conversation flows in Welsh, the language in which Eluned and her...

Westcott's Peace-Movement No true Christian loves war. A Bible believer takes the premillenial view and realizes that war is caused by the sinful nature of mankind-James 4:1. He understands that this will all be changed at Christ's return-Philippians 3:21.

A New Plan Let it be remebered, JESUITS DO NOT GIVE UP. They would have to bide their time. They would once again resort to undercover activities as they had so many times before. Their task would be a difficult one, yet for the unfaltering Jesuits, not impossible. They would have to discredit the Reformation. They would have to dislodge the Universal Greek Text from the firm position it once held in the minds and hearts of English scholarship. The would have to "wean" Protestantism back into the fold of Rome. To do this they would use the same plan...

JOHN WESLEY’S SYNTHESIS OF THE REVIVAL PRACTICES OF JONATHAN EDWARDS, GEORGE WHITEFIELD, NICHOLAS VON ZINZENDORF by Richard B. Steele1   The recent publication of Michael Crawford’s monograph, Seasons of Grace,2 should be a welcome event for students of eighteenth century religious history. Crawford analyzes with unprecedented thoroughness the reciprocal influences among the various religious revivals that erupted in Great Britain and her American Colonies during the 1730s and ‘40s,3 and shows how these revivals not only affected each other, but also how they affected and were affected by the social, political, ecclesiastical, and spiritual conditions of North Atlantic British...