Free Republic

In polite society at least, questioning the fundamental claims that people make about themselves is rather frowned upon. If a person says that he is a Catholic, then one is expected to believe that he is a Catholic, even if there is no evidence for this whatsoever. If a person says he is a conservative when he clearly agrees with not a single conservative position, we are likewise expected to smile and nod grimly. “No, you’re not!” is not a socially acceptable response to erroneous self-description, alas. There is some virtue in this convention, I suppose, even if it is...

(Cazenovia, NY – Oct. 2013) On Sunday Oct. 27 The First Presbyterian Church in Cazenovia will celebrate Reformation Sunday. Jack Heims will play the bagpipes and plaid tartan ribbons will be handed out in honor of the church’s Scottish heritage. Morning worship begins at 10 a.m. The Rev. Dr. Steven R. Thomas will deliver a special message. The Senior Choir will sing and the Sounds of Chimes will perform A fully-equipped and staffed nursery is available for infants and toddlers. School-aged children are dismissed to a special Sunday School mid-way through the service. Heims started piping at the age of...

It sounds insane: Take an enormous hamster tube, suck most of the air from it, insert a hovercraft full of humans and accelerate it to 800 miles per hour. But according to Patricia Galloway, that wild concept is no dream -- it’s very much real. “The feasibility is done. What we’re working on now is moving toward conceptual design,” Galloway told FoxNews.com. Thursday morning Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc., a new company Galloway is spearheading, came out of stealth mode to reveal if not a concrete prototype of the futuristic form of transport, at least an outline of what it will...

Could Jesus Have Possibly Sinned or Succumbed to Temptation? In a dialogue in 1997, a Baptist friend of mine stated: Jesus Himself was not unable to sin. I realize that God the Father is unable to sin; however, Jesus, though He was in nature God, was able to sin. This is evident in this verse "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin." (Heb. 4:15, NRSV; cf. 2:18). If Jesus could be tempted, He...

In 2001 I was serving a Mormon mission in Guayaquil, Ecuador. As you might know, missionaries are paired up in twos and are called companionships. My particular companion at this time was a young guy from Chile. We lived in a little two level home made of cinder blocks and cement just on the outskirts of a small town near Guayaquil. We lived on the lower level. My companion had lived in this home for a couple of months before I moved in, and at this time, I had moved in 2 months prior. As you may know, missionaries have...

Former chief financial officer, banker and gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink has been the subject of buzz as a potential candidate for the 13th Congressional District seat that became vacant when longtime U.S. Representative Bill Young died earlier this month. Now, she's made it official. Sink's campaign has issued a news release that points to a new website, alexforcongress.com. She's quoted as saying she finds "a deep frustration" with what she calls the "dysfunctional and reckless politics" in Washington. Her release says she's running to "change the way Washington does business." Sink is one of Florida's few high-profile Democratic politicians. Potential...

The annual Halloween morning show costume ritual just keeps getting more and more elaborate, particularly given the efforts of the Today Show and Good Morning America to out-do each other. Fortunately for everyone, CBS This Morning’s Charlie Rose was not forced to don a costume, but we did see the hosts of Fox & Friends strap on some Duck Dynasty beards as well as some terrifying twerking from Kelly Ripa. And you are not going to want to miss Mediaite founder Dan Abrams as Anchorman’s Brick Tamland on GMA. Below are the best of this year’s morning show Halloween costumes....

As most know, I truly believe in Sidney Rigdon's participation in the creation of the Book of Mormon. But, what I'd really like to touch on is the character of Rigdon. His own grandson said he was a religious "crank," and I'd agree. He went from one group to another (Baptist to Campbellite) seeking someone who would promote his personal beliefs, and when he found Joe Smith he thought he had an answer to his long quest. Sidney Rigdon, however, was an occultist, someone who practices magical arts which are forbidden in the Scripture. We all know that "spiritism" or...

A string of embarrassing episodes for the Obama administration that the president didn't seem to know about until the public did is raising questions about why he wasn’t in the loop and who should have told him. Knowledge that the IRS was excessively targeting Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations during the 2012 election cycle arguably would not reach the president’s desk before the news media learned this spring. But reports over the past week weeks that President Obama was not aware of the National Security Agency monitoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone nor of the technical problems...

Halloween has become the second highest-grossing commercial holiday after Christmas. But this festive day also carries a lot of baggage. Scholars Ralph and Adelin Linton write: Among all the festivals which we celebrate today, few have histories stranger than that of Halloween. It is the eve of All Hallows—or Hallowmas or All Saints' Day—and as such it is one of the most solemn festivals of the church. At the same time, it commemorates beings and rites with which the church has always been at war. It is the night when ghosts walk and fairies and goblins are abroad. . ....

Please review Mathew Boyle’s explosive article published at Brietbart.com on Oct. 30, 2013: “Election Integrity Activists: ObamaCare is “Biggest Voter Registration Fraud Scheme in History.” In brief, ObamaCare has absolutely nothing to do with healthcare for all. Matthew clearly documents 6 facts that allows any objective reader to accept his very reasonable conclusion. 1: Beginning in 2010, the Obama administration began savagely attacking Houston resident Catherine Engelbrecht, President of “True the Vote”, with personal and business IRS audits, DHS threats, FBI visits, Secret Service investigations, harassing OSHA and BATF investigations. Watch a brief overview of the government attacks she and...

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appears unmoved by growing calls from Montana officials and political candidates to hold listening sessions on new regulations for coal-fired power plants in Montana. The EPA has planned hearings in 11 large urban centers across the country, but none in places like Montana where jobs are heavily dependent upon coal production. ... Republican Attorney General Tim Fox was officially calling on the EPA to schedule a session in Montana, saying “the EPA shouldn’t be afraid of listening to viewpoints they won’t hear in New York City.” On Monday, Ryan Zinke, the newly-declared GOP candidate...

Have you ever wondered where the expression "piss poor" come from? Interesting history. Way back when, ‘they’ used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot. And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery, and if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor". But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot. They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low. - - - - - - -...

Edward Snowden has hung up his hat as a National Security Agency leaker and taken on a new role working for a private website in Russia, the country that’s sheltering him from U.S. capture and prosecution. “Edward starts work in November,” his attorney told Russian news, BBC reported. His attorney didn’t disclose which website was Mr. Snowden’s new employer.

People who have died are very important to members of the Mormon Church. The dead are a very important aspect of the Mormon gospel. The sixth President of the Church, Joseph F. Smith, taught, “We will not finish our work until we have saved ourselves, and then not until we shall have saved all depending upon us; for we are to become saviors upon Mount Zion, as well as Christ. We are called to this mission. The dead are not perfect without us, neither are we without them [see D&C 128:18]. We have a mission to perform for and in...

A new photo of Edward Snowden shows him on a boat in Moscow with the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in the background. The scene was published by LifeNews, which published a photo of the former NSA contractor grocery shopping earlier this month... It appears that Sarah Harrison, a WikiLeaks advisor who has reportedly been with Snowden since he was in Hong Kong, may be standing to his left.

"In front of Pilate, Christ affirmed three times that He was a King in the same sense that Pilate understood it. 'Then you are a King?' Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a King,' in other words, 'You are correct.' It is true that He told him, 'My kingdom is not of this world,' but He did not say, 'My kingdom is not here.' He used the adverb 'hinc' (Regnum meum non est hinc) which indicates movement and does not exist in English. This adverb 'hinc' meant three things at the same time, 'My Kingdom does not proceed from...

Earlier this week, ABC and Fusion published the results of a poll commissioned to dig a little more deeply into the "almost unfathomable gap" that divides public attitudes on "gender, race, religion and politics in America." The results were predictable to anyone who has bothered to switch back and forth between MSNBC and Fox News—Republicans think religion should play a role in government, liberals think racism is real—but the findings on women in leadership were actually a bit surprising. Forty-three percent of Americans say it would be a good thing if more women were elected to Congress—but the range here...

HOPKINSVILLE, KY.--A picture of a Jennie Stuart Medical Center employee wearing a President Barack Obama mask and straitjacket at the hospital's annual costume party has stirred debate. Along with the costume (pictured above), a skit called "VIP Special Delivery" was performed, winning the group third place in the costume contest. As a result, all 750 employees have now been required to take diversity training. The VP of Human Resources at the medical center issued a statement to staff apologizing for anyone who was offended and personally took responsibility since the incident occurred on his watch. He asked that employees refrain...

<p>LONDON — Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak defended a court ruling banning a Christian newspaper from using the word "Allah" to refer to God, saying on Thursday it would help ensure stability.</p> <p>The court decision this month fanned religious tensions and raised questions over minority rights in the mainly Muslim country.</p>