Free Republic

The connections between Mormonism and Freemasonry are about as subtle as a neon sign in a pitch-black desert. Some people act like it’s some deep, conspiratorial discovery that Joseph Smith, the so-called “prophet,” borrowed heavily from the secret handshakes and goofy rituals of the Masonic lodge. To be clear, the term “borrowed” is just a polite way of saying plagiarized. Mormonism certainly didn’t just spring from a burning bush of divine revelation—it crawled out of the smoky backrooms of Freemason halls, clutching their symbols, their theatrics, and their obsession with secrecy like a child caught red-handed in the candy jar....

Saint Andrew’s Chapel, one of the largest congregations in the Presbyterian Church in America, held a congregational meeting yesterday to consider its affiliation with the PCA. Instead of voting to remain or withdraw, the congregation referred the matter to the session to evaluate the situation and return with a recommendation. Prior to the congregational meeting, the elders of Saint Andrew’s Chapel provided the following statement to byFaith: During May of 2025, the Session of Saint Andrew’s Chapel received over 180 letters from communicant members requesting a congregational meeting to consider withdrawing from the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). On May...

Syria will hold parliamentary elections in September, the head of a body tasked with organizing the election process told state media Sunday. Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, told state news agency SANA that elections will take place between Sept. 15 and 20. They will be the first to take place under the country’s new authorities after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December. One third of the 210 seats will the appointed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, with the rest to be elected. In a recent...

Russia has established a new group of officials, described as a “demographic special forces unit," in response to a catastrophic decline in birth rates across the country, the RBC business daily reported Thursday. The measure was announced during a press conference by upper-house Federation Council head Valentina Matviyenko. According to Matviyenko, the creation of the group makes family issues a top priority for the government. “Today, any regional government agency can give you the name of the deputy minister responsible for demographics. A special demographic task force has been created. We can hope that we will return to our traditional...

Florida county school board chair Sarah Rockwell has sparked outrage after making shocking comments about Hulk Hogan's death on social media. The WWE icon died at the age of 71 on Thursday after suffering fatal cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida. And while many fans took the time to share tributes to the wrestling legend, Florida county official Rockwell took aim at Hogan and his political views. In a post on Facebook, Rockwell wrote: 'Oh did Hulk die? I didn't even know. Good. One less MAGA in the world'. In a follow-up comment, she wrote: '[H]e worked with...

Champions of the almost entirely party-line vote in the U.S. Senate to erase US$1.1 billion in already approved funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting called their action a refusal to subsidize liberal media. “Public broadcasting has long been overtaken by partisan activists,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, insisting there is no need for government to fund what he regards as biased media. “If you want to watch the left-wing propaganda, turn on MSNBC,” Cruz said. Accusing the media of liberal bias has been a consistent conservative complaint since the civil rights era, when white Southerners insisted news...

A 36-year-old police officer and three other people were shot and killed, and one other injured, by a crazed gunman who stormed a swanky Midtown skyscraper early Monday evening — before turning the gun on himself, police said. The 27-year-old maniac, identified by sources as Shane Tamura, barged into the 44-story building — which houses Blackstone and the NFL headquarters — armed with a rifle and opened fire at around 6:30 p.m. during the evening rush, cops and law enforcement sources told The Post.snipMeanwhile, two apparent protesters, including one who yelled, “Free Palestine, I’m not the shooter,” were arrested outside...

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. field office investigation led to a Washington, D.C. woman’s arrest in connection with an assault on federal agents who were helping transfer an alleged international gang member at the D.C. Central Detention Facility. Sydney Lori Reid, 44, of the District of Columbia, was charged July 23 in U.S. District Court with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees. “Sydney Lori Reid actively and intentionally assaulted federal law enforcement officers while they were taking custody of two apparent gang members and dangerous individuals,” said ICE HSI Washington,...

0:53 6:31 An iconic player who helped redefine the second base position and authored one of the great singular performances in the long, storied history of the Chicago Cubs, Ryne Sandberg died on Monday after battling cancer. He was 65 years old. Sandberg left behind a legacy of a quiet superstar who may have been reluctant to find the spotlight, but demanded it with a blend of power, speed and defense that made him one of baseball’s all-time greats. He spent the majority of his brilliant 16-year career with the Cubs, earning induction into the Hall of Fame in 2005....

Not only is the U.S. failing to create enough new Americans through birth — it is also failing to turn immigrants into Americans in any meaningful sense.“First world nations are dying,” Pat Buchanan warned in his 2002 book The Death of the West.“They face a mortal crisis, not because of something happening in the Third World, but because of what is not happening at home and in the homes of the First World.”And what was not — and still is not — happening at home is childbearing. Buchanan was referring to fertility rates, which have been on the decline for...

Good luck in Buffalo and way upstate with this for your new home.It could be chilly in the winter, and the electric bills to keep your struggling heat pump pumping when it's twenty below?You only have so many kidneys to sell. Granted - that's only gonna be necessary if the power stays on.New York will soon require most new buildings to be fully electric, following a vote by the state Building Code Council, according to the Times Union. Beginning January 2026, gas and oil systems will be banned in newly constructed homes and low-rise buildings, with broader mandates kicking in...

[Catholic Caucus] Diocesan Traditional Latin Mass stops being celebrated in SwedenStatement from the congregation responsible for the Mass, celebrated since 2007 in Franciskusgården, in the town of Jonsered:STATEMENTFor several years, the friars of the Delegation of St. John the Baptist of the Third Order Regular have celebrated Holy Mass at the Franciscan Monastery according to the 1962 Roman Missal, which is the Extraordinary Form of the Church's Liturgy. These Holy Masses, which are usually celebrated at 12:00 on Sundays, have been celebrated in addition to the Ordinary Form of Holy Mass at 10:00."Liturgical diversity can be a source of enrichment...

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation chair Johnnie Moore accuses UN of 'playing politics' with Gazan lives, defends IDF and denies claims of mass casualties near aid sites, saying more people harmed in 24 hours of UN efforts than during weeks of GHF operations

The man who unleashed chaos inside a Midtown Manhattan office tower on Monday afternoon has been identified as Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old licensed private investigator from Las Vegas who once dreamed of a life in football. Authorities say Tamura arrived in Manhattan by car on Monday, parked around the corner and walked into 345 Park Avenue in the heart of Midtown Manhattan with a concealed weapon permit issued by the Las Vegas Sheriff's Department. Tamura headed straight into the building, strolling across a wide city plaza with his rifle in plain sight. What followed was a terrifying and targeted shooting...

A pro-life Texas representative has admitted to having an affair with a stripper after she accused him of paying for abortions. State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, 52, confessed to having an affair 'years ago' after a woman alleged he paid for 'meetups' and 'funded several abortions for his own personal gain,' reported The Texas Tribune. The woman, named Alex Grace, came forward with the affair on Friday during an interview with the Current Revolt. 'I know that Giovannie Capriglione has been having affairs since 2005 because it's me. I'm her. I'm not proud of it, in fact I'm ashamed of it,'...

New findings suggest Barack Obama may have personally asked top intelligence officials to fabricate evidence meant to further the Trump-Russia collusion hoax during the final weeks of his presidency. Victor Davis Hanson breaks down role former intelligence heads John Brennan, James Clapper, and James Comey—Obama’s "three blind mice”—played in this on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words. “There’s new evidence that Barack Obama asked intelligence, investigatory heads—like John Brennan, like James Clapper and James Comey—to "find me evidence that you haven’t found yet so that we can continue the Russian collusion hoax after it was ineffective...

Sad news to report tonight: Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Sandberg, 65, was a kind, gracious star. One of those guys no one had a bad thing to say about. RIP

The maniac gunman who killed at least five people at 345 Park Avenue on Monday evening was identified as a 27-year-old Las Vegas man, according to law enforcement sources. Shane Tamura was named by sources as the shooter who stormed the 44-floor swanky Midtown office building and opened fire, killing one police officer and at least four civilians.

In the past, the younger generation tended to rebel against the religious norms of their parents. Young people’s resistance to the rules and institutions of religion was assumed and expected. But that’s not the case anymore. According to a recent article from Axios, members of Gen Z—which includes young people born between 1997 and 2012—are actually more likely to go to weekly religious services than millennials and young Gen Xers.According to some reports, church attendance has quadrupled amongst Gen Zers in recent years.America witnessed a steady decline in Christianity from the 1970s through the 1990s, with only about 46 percent...

MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. The Nicaraguan parliament has decided to consider the report of the Russian parliamentary commission investigating criminal acts against minors by the Kyiv regime. This was reported to TASS by the vice-speaker of the State Duma, co-chair of the commission Anna Kuznetsova at a memorial event for children killed by Ukrainian armed aggression on the DPR square in Moscow."Having returned from an international trip just the other day, I can report that the Nicaraguan parliament has decided that our report with the results of the investigation into the crimes <…> of the Kyiv regime will be considered...