Free Republic

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably not an ostrich. If a leftist group cited by the FBI puts Christian nonprofits on a “hate map” and says Christian moral theology is evidence of “hate,” it’s probably anti-Christian—even if it swears to high heaven that’s not true. [snip]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday released over 100 pages of writings from Nashville Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale, who killed three children and three staff members in the 2023 shooting at the school. Per Fox 17, the 112 pages that the FBI released were found by law enforcement in Hale’s car. The release comes after a long legal battle by The Tennessee Star and the Tennessee Firearms Association to make the documents available to the public. Among the pages released by the FBI were redacted pages that had maps of the Covenant School, including the first floor and...

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has released the advance edition of its 2025 Annual Statistical Report, detailing 2024 membership reports. Published by the General Conference’s (GC) Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, the report presents division-level data on baptisms, attendance, and overall membership. As of December 31, 2024, global church membership reached 23,684,237—an increase from 22,785,195 in 2023, representing a net gain of 899,042 members. The East-Central Africa Division reported the greatest increase with over 446,000 baptisms and professions of faith, pushing its membership to more than 5.7 million. The Southern Asia Division and Inter-American Division also posted strong numbers, with...

Conceptual image depicting end of the universe by generative AI (© The 2R Artificiality - stock.adobe.com) In a nutshell * Scientists discovered that neutron stars and white dwarfs are slowly evaporating, shortening the universe’s expected lifespan from 10^1100 years to 10^78 years. * All massive objects lose energy through a process similar to how black holes evaporate, with denser objects deteriorating faster. Despite this “earlier” end, the universe’s death is still inconceivably far in the future—neutron stars will last 10^68 years and white dwarfs about 10^78 years. ================================================================================ NIJMEGEN, Netherlands — Scientists have just calculated that our universe will end...

Is Donald Trump on his way to becoming the world’s chief Defender of Christianity? That’s what various media have been reporting; one Fox News headline asserts that Trump is “Vowing to ‘Defend the Christian Faith.’” These claims trace back to a White House statement released on Palm Sunday (April 13) wherein Donald Trump spoke of Jesus Christ and Easter, or Resurrection, Sunday in terms that would edify the most faithful of Christians. A few snippets from Trump’s statement follow:

Christianity is by far the largest faith in America, and Christian conservatives have a strong grip on the levers of government. That dominance is leaving many to question why President Donald Trump’s new task force on eradicating anti-Christian bias is needed. Critics see the task force initiative as unnecessary and pandering to Trump’s base. But some Christian supporters said it is overdue, claiming the Biden administration had discriminated against them through actions and inactions The two-year task force, chaired by Attorney General Pam Bondi and composed of Cabinet and other government representatives, is assigned to review and “identify any unlawful...

The Christian Right is a powerful political force in the U.S., and it’s no coincidence that its members believe in a Jesus who aligns with their political views. Right-wing influencers have weaponized the Bible as a political tool, according to a new book by UBC’s Tony Keddie. The Christian Right is a powerful political force in the U.S., and it’s no coincidence that its members believe in a Jesus who aligns with their political views. Right-wing influencers have weaponized the Bible as a political tool, according to a new book by UBC’s Tony Keddie, an assistant professor of early Christian...

Nativity scene removed from lobby of top military hospital after ‘religious freedom’ group complainsA Nativity display at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was removed. A nativity displayed in a lobby of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) was removed within minutes after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) dispatched an email complaining about the presence of the scene depicting the night Jesus Christ was born.MRFF complained to the medical center’s chief of staff, demanding that hospital administrators “immediately remove this unconstitutional, illicit and clearly sectarian Christian nativity scene display from your America Building facility.”“The in-your-face presence of this...

Anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe reached a total of 2,444 incidents in 2023, according to a report that compiled data from police and civil society sources across 35 European countries. The statistics include 232 personal attacks on Christians, ranging from harassment and threats to physical violence. At least 1,230 anti-Christian hate crimes were allegedly committed by 10 of the European governments in 2023, an increase from 1,029 in 2022, said the report, titled “Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe Report 2024,” by OIDAC Europe, a watchdog organization. These incidents took place in countries including France, Germany and the United...

Kamala Harris delivered a concession speech at Howard University in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, several hours after media outlets called her decisive 2024 loss to now-President-Elect Donald Trump. “My heart is full today,” Harris said to her supporters. “Full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve.” “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted,” she said, “not what we fought for, not what we voted for.” “Hear me when I say,” the failed Democratic nominee added, “the light of America’s promise will always burn bright...

A radical leftist has been arrested and charged with threating to kill conservative Christians if Donald Trump wins today’s presidential election. He also threatened to kill the former president. Isaac Sissel, a 25-year-old from Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been charged by the Department of Justice following an online threat of political violence. The FBI received an anonymous tip, allegedly from Sissel, threatening to carry out an attack targeting conservative Christians if former President Trump were to win the upcoming election Authorities are investigating, and Sissel is set to appear in federal court. This case is a part of the FBI’s...

"This is France!" France unveiled a decidedly family-unfriendly spectacle last Saturday for over 28.6 million viewers worldwide as the four-hour opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics, which unfolded along a 4.5 mile stretch of the River Seine in Paris, turned into the world’s most-watched Pride Parade.Because Western cultural elites today are overwhelmingly cultural Marxists, the organizers of the 2800-year-old athletic competition decided to jettison any connection with sports, athletic excellence, or national pride, and instead promote the normalization of sexual perversion, gender ideology, and anti-Christian bigotry.As always with Pride parades, the celebration of sexual libertinism, masked as “love” and “tolerance,”...

Paris Blasphemy: What Took the Vatican So Long to Respond?COMMENTARY: The Vatican’s brief Aug. 3 statement in the wake of the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremonies culminated a disjointed seven days.It was a very strange week for Vatican communications. The week after the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremonies ought to have been comparatively easy for Vatican communications to handle. When there is a global denunciation of anti-Christian blasphemy, it ought to be simple for the Vatican to add its voice. But instead, the Holy Father kept silent for eight days, and only released a tepid statement on a Saturday evening in the...

135 years ago, in 1889, to great fanfare, there was the “unveiling” (so to speak) of a very, very tall structure. In fact, at the time, it was the tallest man-made object in the world. It was the Eifel Tower, a magnificent monument to engineering. To this day, it is a landmark that defines Paris. I’ve been there a few times. The view of the city from the top is terrific. But one shocking factoid about this steel structure is that the original purpose of its creation was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.

The message on the bus also included a website address for a petition in defense of the rights of believers signed by more than 386,000 people and addressed to the authorities of the International Olympic Committee.Seven people aboard a bus protesting the attack against the faith of Christians that was featured during the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games were arrested in Paris on Monday.

Someone once sent me a thought-provoking editorial cartoon. I can’t reproduce it because it contains some vile language. So, I will just describe it and clean up the language. The cartoon depicts in four panels a conversation between two young people in their twenties — a man and a woman. The woman was wearing the Democrat Party symbol. In the first panel, the man says, “I don’t believe that women should have any rights, and I think gays should be hanged.” The young woman responds, “Wow! What a complete primitive idiot you are! You must be a Republican!” “No,” responds...

A Christian family camping in Florida was the target of false reports of child abuse, and now Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the accusers will be investigated. JD and Britney Lott, two military veterans from Texas, and their eight kids were camping and posting to their social media following of more than 600,000 when they were contacted by Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF). The family explained the situation in a two–part Instagram series and included screenshots of the messages they received. Their story began just a few weeks after Britney gave birth to their eighth daughter, Florida’s Voice...

The Paris Olympic Ceremony: Not Simply Bad Taste, but an Act of War against Christian CivilizationAmong the many symbolic events of our time, the grotesque spectacle that opened the Paris Olympics on July 26, 2024, cannot simply be dismissed as a show of bad taste or a cultural provocation. It is the latest act of war against Christian Civilization that had one of its historical peaks in the French Revolution. At the center of the controversy over the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was a choreography in which French DJ Barbara Butch, known for calling herself “fat, lesbian, queer,...

J.D. Lott and his wife Britney were eating lunch with their eight kids on April 30 when he missed a call on his cellphone. The family was three years into a cross-country, home-schooling, Instagram-documented road trip in a bus they refashioned into an RV. A day earlier they had been staying at a Florida campground. The next day, they were in Georgia on their way to meet friends—or so they thought. Half an hour later, the missed caller sent a text saying that they were from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Florida. It continued: "Please respond we...

The 2024 Paris Olympics is anticipated to be a prestigious event symbolizing global unity. Interestingly, it has become a focal point of social media controversy. Criticism and disapproval from different groups, including boxing star Ryan Garcia, continue to emerge. The 27-year-old boxer believes that the opening boxer believes that the opening ceremony has offended the Christian faith. The event commenced with an attention-grabbing show featuring a troupe of drag queens, which sparked disapproval from numerous Christian followers. Garcia, a notable figure in the boxing world, took to social media to express his indignation. In doing so, Ryan Garcia condemned the...