Free Republic

Beneath the gold onion domes of the Danilov Monastery a few miles south of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin’s chief shaman explains why Russia is hell-bent on destroying Ukraine. “If we see [Ukraine] as a threat, we have the right to use force to ensure the threat is eradicated,” Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill recently preached to his church’s 90 million faithful followers. “We have entered into a conflict which has not only physical but also metaphysical significance. We are talking about human salvation, something much more important than politics.” The wartime coalition between Putin and his patriarch is called symphonia, an...

NEW YORK) — The New York Police Department has secretly labeled entire mosques as terrorism organizations, a designation that allows police to use informants to record sermons and spy on imams, often without specific evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Designating an entire mosque as a terrorism enterprise means that anyone who attends prayer services there is a potential subject of an investigation and fair game for surveillance. Read more: http://nation.time.com/2013/08/28/nypd-designates-mosques-as-terrorism-organizations/#ixzz2dH35MYzO

MOSCOW, October 28 (Itar-Tass) – The Moscow Patriarchate was astonished by a remark on the concepts of proselytism that a high-rank cleric in the Vatican made earlier this week, said a Patriarchate spokesman. In an exclusive interview with Itar-Tass Friday Priest Igor Vyzhanov, secretary for Inter-Christian Communications at the Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, said the basic interpretation of proselytism was universal and commonly accepted. “That notion doesn’t have different readings and means a practice where activists of one or another denomination of Christianity recruit new followers among the believers belonging to other denominations of the Christian faith,” the...

Jordan leads the Islamic world in its antipathy for Jews according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center. The poll, which surveyed 17,000 people in 17 countries, said 100 percent of Jordanians viewed Jews unfavorably. The majority of Jordanians are Palestinians, but the late King Hussein and his son and successor, King Abdullah have been known for their pro-American stances. Russia led all other countries with favorable views of Christians (92 percent) while Turkey (63 percent) had the most unfavorable view of Christians. The Netherlands led all nations surveyed both in positive views of Jews (85 percent) and...

One of my favorite books of all time. Could it be true that it could be made into a movie? (The URL has a dead link for movie news).