Free Republic

What Is Temptation, Why Does God Permit It, and What Are Its Sources? By: Msgr. Charles PopeI will be on the Catholic Answers radio show today (Monday, March 23) at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. The topic will be temptation: what it is and how to avoid and overcome it.  I’ve assembled some notes in preparation and I’ll present them (in two parts) in the blog. Today’s post focuses on what temptation is, why God allows it, and what its sources are. Tomorrow I’ll present the second half of the notes, which center on how to avoid and overcome temptation.What is Temptation? A seminary teacher of mine once defined...

<p>Bored after 18 years with her husband, Robin Rinaldi placed an ad seeking casual encounters with new men and women. She tells what happened on her yearlong sex odyssey in her memoir "The Wild Oats Project."</p> <p>I broke the news to Scott that I wanted an open marriage in early 2008, a few months after his vasectomy. “I won’t go to my grave with no children and four lovers,” I told him repeatedly. “I refuse.”</p>

Is God Angry Anymore? by Jim Elliff     When I was in public high school, we had to read part of a famous sermon called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, by Jonathan Edwards. He graphically pictured sinners as spiders dangling by a thread over the fire of Hell. He also asserted that God is angrier at this moment with some who are living than with others who are already in Hell.Do you believe that? Is God angry? I don’t believe my teacher thought so. When I later studied the Bible on the subject, I was...

The Unrepenting Repenter by Jim Elliff     The believer in Christ is a lifelong repenter.  He begins with repentance and continues in repentance. (Rom. 8:12-13) David sinned giant sins but fell without a stone at the mere finger of the prophet because he was a repenter at heart (2 Sam. 12:7-13). Peter denied Christ three times but suffered three times the remorse until he repented with bitter tears (Mt. 26:75). Every Christian is called a repenter, but he must be a repenting repenter. The Bible assumes the repentant nature of all true believers in its instruction on church...

A cartoon depicted Noah’s ark surrounded by desperate people drowning in the water, begging for help. The rains were coming down hard while Noah and his family were safe inside. On the outside of the ark was a "smiley face" with the words, "Smile, God Loves You."Are you sure God loves everybody? John the Baptist didn’t think so. He said, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (Jn. 3:36). Why is God justified in having wrath toward...

If Catholic leaders do still believe in sin, many sure don’t act like it. A secular dictionary defines sin as “an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains the following definition in paragraph 1850: Sin is an offense against God. . . . Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become “like gods,” knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus “love of oneself even to...

An association of Southern Baptist churches in Alabama voted March 16 to dismiss a church over its pastor’s support of same-sex marriage. The executive board of Madison Baptist Association voted 74-5 to withdraw fellowship from Weatherly Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville, Ala., according to a statement to media.The voluntary association of 85 churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention investigated Weatherly Heights, which is primarily affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, after news reports that an unpaid staff member ordained by the church officiated at a same-sex wedding Feb. 9.Discussions revealed that the church’s pastor, David Freeman, also does not...

In a post which may be found here, Father Robert McTeigue, SJ writes: "Very often, I hear folks speak of mercy as if it were a cancellation of justice. On this view, “justice” means, “you have to pay off your debt—or else.” “Mercy”, then, says, “About that debt—never mind!” And who wouldn’t breathe a sigh of relief when told that one’s debt has been dismissed, made irrelevant? That’s an appealing, even tempting image of justice and mercy, especially if you’ve ever been deeply in debt. Unfortunately, such a view tragically distorts justice and mercy. If left uncorrected, such a view...

The tide has turned for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples seeking to be married in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). Following years of debate and introspection, America’s largest Presbyterian denomination has announced a change to its constitution that allows for a more inclusive definition of marriage. Officially called Amendment 14-F, the new wording in the denomination’s Book of Order will describe marriage as being “between two people.”

The senior pastor and elders of City Church, the largest evangelical church in San Francisco will no longer require members to abstain from homosexual practice, so long as the homosexual activity occurs in the context of marriage. According to a letter written by senior pastor Fred Harrell on behalf of the Board of Elders, “We will no longer discriminate based on sexual orientation and demand lifelong celibacy as a precondition for joining. For all members, regardless of sexual orientation, we will continue to expect chastity in singleness until marriage.” “Our pastoral practice of demanding life-long ‘celibacy,' by which we meant...

Social media is ubiquitous in a way that the lives of previous generations never had to deal with, and everyone from the high and mighty to the lowly and rowdy are learning hard lessons. Here are some spiritual truths that are reflected in social media scandals. 1. We cannot rid ourselves of sin. “To uproot sin and the evil that is so imbedded in our sinning can be done only by divine power, for it is impossible and outside man's  competence to uproot sin.” —St. Macarius, Homily 3.4 Hillary Clinton’s email system is teaching her a lesson many have...

The Church Fathers, A Door to Rome Nov/14/12 07:15 Many people have walked into the Roman Catholic Church through the broad door of the “church fathers,” and this is a loud warning today when there is a widespread attraction to the “church fathers” within evangelicalism. The Catholic apologetic ministries use the “church fathers” to prove that Rome’s doctrines go back to the earliest centuries. In the book Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic, David Currie continually uses the church fathers to support his position. He says, “The other group of authors whom Evangelicals should read ... is the early Fathers of...

Dear homosexual, We are your fellow sinners and no better than you. We know this. We are saved from eternal torment, self-wrought, by the grace of Christ alone. If you are an unrepentant, “out and proud” homosexual practitioner, then you are not. It is our deepest prayer that you, too, will accept the free gift of eternal salvation, repent and “go and sin no more.” The alternative is a living hell. Let us be direct. According to the unequivocal moral precepts of biblical Christianity, explicit throughout both the Old and New Testaments, your homosexual behavior is sin. Sin is evil....

The fight for African-American rights and LGBT rights is 'in fact the same,' the vice president says.Addressing a convention of LGBT activists in Washington on Friday, Vice President Joe Biden compared the 1965 demonstrations in Selma for African-American voting rights – the 50th anniversary of which is being commemorated this week – to the ongoing battle for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. “The same basic human rights were at stake when John [Lewis, an African-American civil rights leader who is now a U.S. congressman] led that march over that bridge,” Biden said, referring to the Edmund...

I often have to hear how people say about our Church, “You know, I don’t go to your church and won’t go, because it’s like a train station there—who don’t you see there? It would be alright if they were good people, but they’re not! I met one of them. Do you know what sort of man he is? And that girl is not any better. I won’t even mention the rest. And they go to services, cross themselves and don’t even blush…” Why are there so many unfortunate, wretched, broken lives, strange and simply bad people in the Church,...

Editor's note: This piece was co-authored by the author's daughter, Kristin Carey. If you showed up at an Ash Wednesday service last week, chances are you heard the word “repentance” quite a few times. It isn’t a term we often use outside of a church context. It’s one of those scary-sounding “Christianese” words that few of us feel comfortable with, probably because it conjures up images of crazy old men standing on street corners, holding picket-signs and yelling at people as they pass by. Look it up in the dictionary, and you’ll find explanations like “to feel sorry,” “conscience-stricken,” and...

“And no small tempest lay on us …” – The Story of a Storm That St. Paul Endured and What It Has to Teach Us About SinBy: Msgr. Charles PopeIt is an interesting fact that St. Luke devotes and entire Chapter of Acts (27) describing a storm at sea that St. Paul endured. The level of detail is high and thus we are signaled that such details are important. The Holy Spirit has something to teach of here of how we get into trouble, and how we can get out.Storms in life often come to us out of our...

The Sins That Come From Being a Busybody – A Meditation on a Teaching of St. Gregory By: Msgr. Charles PopeFaults in others I can see, but praise the Lord there’re none in me!The term “busybody” usually refers to one who is intent on the matters of others but looks little to his own issues. Busybodies also tend to focus especially on the faults, foibles, and troubles of other folks. Seldom are they chattering away about good news related to other people; more often it is the scurrilous and scandalous that occupy their minds.Merriam-Webster online defines a busybody as  “a person who...

Featured Term selected at random:MORTAL SIN An actual sin that destroys sanctifying grace and causes the supernatural death of the soul. Mortal sin is a turning away from God because of seriously inordinate adherence to creatures that causes grave injury to a person's rational nature and to the social order, and deprives the sinner of a right to heaven. The terms mortal, deadly, grave, and serious applied to sin are synonyms, each with a slightly different implication. Mortal and deadly focus on the effects in the sinner, namely deprivation of the state of friendship with God; grave and serious refer...

February 3, 2015In what way was Jesus ‘made sin’ on the cross? by Nathan Busenitz Yesterday, as I was reading through portions of Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians, I came across the following:“Christ took upon Himself our sins, not by constraint, but of His own good will, in order to bear the punishment and wrath of God: not for the sake of His own person (which was just and invincible, and was not in any way guilty), but for our person. So by means of a joyous substitution, He took upon Himself our sinful person, and gave to us His innocent and victorious person: with which we, being now clothed,...