Free Republic

ANTI-CHRISTIAN JIHAD Left-wing intellectuals will conduct a major academic conference at the City University of New York (CUNY) April 29-30 titled "Examining the Real Agenda of the Religious Far Right." The event is co-sponsored by tax-supported CUNY and the New York Open Center. Skipp Porteous, a former Pentecostal minister, is scheduled to lecture on the "Christian Jihad." He has written online: "Have I rejected God? No. Man created God in his own image. I reject that image." Other lectures listed include, "Religion and Secrecy in the Bush Administration," "On the Psychology and Theocracy of George W. Bush: Reflections in a...

PHILADELPHIA - It was a good Friday - with a small "g" - for Lori Lynner, 39, who chatted with another member of the American Atheists group inside the Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing. The slight singer-songwriter, for once, felt at ease talking about her conviction that God is a myth. "I'm usually quiet about my beliefs," said Lynner, who had flown from Los Angeles to attend her first American Atheists convention since becoming a member in 2001. Outside, it was far from quiet, with a dozen members of Repent America, a Philadelphia-based Christian group, holding a sidewalk vigil with...

There was a time when "fear of God" meant piety, or at least conscience. Today, it more accurately describes the worldview of secular liberals who get itchy and twitchy at any reminder of our religious roots as a nation. Thus, we are currently treated to the spectacle of the American Civil Liberties Union dragging the state of Texas into court for the offense of displaying the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol in Austin. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide in June whether a display of the Decalogue violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. This...

For those of you who thought the day would never come in America when a Christian cross would be torn down from a veteran’s memorial, you’re in for a shock. On, March 8, 2005, the San Diego City Counsel voted 5 to 3 to tear down a 43 foot concrete cross from the Mt. Soledad Veteran’s Memorial in San Diego, California. This cross has stood since 1954 and was originally dedicated to veterans of the Korean War. The Mt. Soledad cross is surrounded by over 1,600 granite plaques commemorating American veterans of all wars, and has served as a gathering...

There was a time when "fear of G-d" meant piety, or at least conscience. Today, it more accurately describes the worldview of secular liberals who get itchy and twitchy at any reminder of our religious roots as a nation. Thus, we are currently treated to the spectacle of the American Civil Liberties Union dragging the state of Texas into court for the offense of displaying the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol in Austin. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide in June whether a display of the Decalogue violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. This...

In the first class of the semester, a Georgetown professor called the crucifixes that hang upon the walls in every classroom “weaknesses that look down upon us.” He said this during class, before all his students. No one said a word to him, not even after class. All were silent as Christ was mocked and Christianity denigrated. Crucifixes are not “weaknesses.” The crucifixion is a sign of strength. For a man to stand up for what he believes, even to the point of a brutal death, is remarkable and deserving of the highest praise. Professors can very easily get up...

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The state Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday there is "substantial evidence" that the Portland School District illegally discriminated against an atheist student by allowing in-school recruiting by the Boy Scouts. The 6-3 decision is the latest development in a long-running battle by an atheist mother to prevent the Boy Scouts from recruiting in Portland schools because the organization requires a belief in God. The new ruling sends the case back to the state school superintendent for conciliation efforts to resolve the dispute. The district, meanwhile, is considering adopting a policy that could ban Scouts from recruiting...

WASHINGTON — On a recent evening, David Barton, a leading conservative Christian advocate for emphasizing religion in American history, stood barefoot on a bench in the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building with a congressman by his side and about a hundred students from Oral Roberts University at his feet. "Isn't it interesting that we have all been trained to recognize the two least religious founding fathers?" Mr. Barton asked, pointing to Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin in a painting on the wall. "And compared to today's secularists these two guys look like a couple of Bible-thumping evangelicals!" Even...

Thank goodness! The ACLU has uncovered a horrendous plot by the Beebe School District. That plot caused "sticker shock" to our ever-vigilant protector of evolution in the public schools. Encouraged by a federal judge's ruling in a "sticker shock" case against the Cobb County School District in Georgia, the local ACLU office is scouring the public schools of Arkansas for similar stickers. The unconstitutional sticker in some of the Cobb County science books stated: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an...

SAN FRANCISCO-The federal appeals court that ruled the Pledge of Allegiance was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion is being sued for allegedly displaying the Ten Commandments on its seal and courthouse.The case was brought by an attorney who was admintted to practice before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in June. In his lawsuit against the San Francisco-based court, Ryan Donlon said the certificate admitting him contains the court's seal which unlawfully contains what he believes is a tablet object representing the Ten Commandments.

It is because there is a pot of gold hidden under it attracting the ACLU like honey attracts bees. A little-known 1976 federal law called the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act enables the ACLU to collect attorneys' fees for its suits against crosses, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Ten Commandments. This law was designed to help plaintiffs in civil rights cases. But the ACLU is using it for First Amendment cases, asserting that it is a civil right NOT to see a cross or the Ten Commandments.

Businessman wants site for Ten Commandments monument. CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- A man who says he represents an atheist group is planning to bid for a small plot of the county courthouse lawn that a businessman has said he wants to buy as the site for a Ten Commandments monument. Earl Myler, who heads a company that designs and builds churches, has proposed to Montgomery County commissioners a plan to buy the property in order to return a Ten Commandments monument to the lawn, where a previous monument was removed in 2001. Ken Lewis said his atheist group would bid...

GREER, S.C. -- A woman from Greer has taken a complaint to the American Civil Liberties Union, stating that the Commission of Public Works' new calendar is inappropriate for a public utilities company.The calendar in question is given as a free gift to CPW's customers and has a bible verse printed on each day of the year."It is religion creeping in, inch by inch, to government," said Sheila Jackson. Jackson and Mike Cubelo of the ACLU are asking CPW to recognize the changing face of a city."We were informed that Greer CPW handed out Christian calendars this year and that...

The editors at Rolling Stone magazine have determined that an ad promoting a new Bible for "spiritually intrigued 18-34 year olds" is too religious to appear in the historic rock and roll publication. Zondervan had attempted to place an ad in the magazine for its new Today's New International Version Bible. Ad space was initially sold to Zondervan before the ad was ultimately disapproved. The ad reads: "In a world of almost endless media noise and political spin, you wonder where you can find real truth. Well, now there's a source that's accurate, clear and reliable. It's the TNIV –...

PARIS, FRANCE--Notre Dame sits proudly in the middle of the River Seine, which winds its way through this ancient city. It is an impressive Cathedral, with its towering gothic arches and vaults, its captivating chapels, and its rich history. Although the French still celebrate July 14, when a rowdy mob of radicals freed some non-political prisoners from the Bastille, they are still sober about the excesses of the French Revolution. For one, they seem to realize that it was silly for those Revolutionaries to expel the Church from France and turn Notre Dame into the "Temple of Reason." Still, they...

A movement to drag the teaching of science in the United States back into the Dark Ages continues to gain momentum. So far, it's a handful of judges -- "activist judges" in the view of their critics -- who are preventing the spread of Saudi-style religious dogma into more and more of America's public-school classrooms. The ruling this month in Georgia by Federal District Judge Clarence Cooper ordering the Cobb County School Board to remove stickers it had inserted in biology textbooks questioning Darwin's theory of evolution is being appealed by the suburban Atlanta district. Similar legal battles pitting evolution...

An atheist (reminds me of Newdow) who was not allowed to be a Cub Scout den leader after he refused to take the Boy Scout Oath, which has a religious element. He then sued the Mt. Pleasant Schools to bar the BSA from meeting in its facilities. The Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed the trial court's judgment for Mt. Pleasant Schools and the Boy Scouts, holding that: Mere use of public facilities by Cub Scout groups is not a violation of the establishment and equal protection clauses of the Michigan Constitution. The rules as such in large part because...

The New Intolerance One state allowed license plates that read "2Sexy" and "2Hot4U," yet denied a person who wanted to put "Pray" on her plates, claiming it would violate separation of church and state. Has political correctness, touted to promote tolerance, actually created a new intolerance toward Christianity? by Gary Petty The various Star Trek television shows and movies have reflected and influenced culture in the United States for more than 30 years. The programs feature space travelers who "explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations." These intrepid explorers live by the "prime directive," which...

NEW YORK (Talon News) -- Rock music magazine Rolling Stone rejected an ad on Wednesday for a new Bible translation designed to reach "spiritually intrigued 18- to 34-year-olds" because it was deemed too religious. Zondervan, the largest Bible publisher in the United States, was hoping to purchase space in the popular secular magazine to attract their target consumers for the new "Today's New International Version of the Bible," which is due to hit bookstores in February. Doug Lockhart, who serves as the executive vice president of marketing for Zondervan, said he purchased the ad in Rolling Stone last July in...

TORONTO, January 19, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an editorial appearing on the website of the homosexual activist group, “Equal Marriage,” members of the lobbyist organization, EGALE, (Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere) have revealed their intention to make illegal the public practice of Christianity or teaching of Christian moral doctrine. Bishop Fred Henry, in his recent pastoral letter on homosexuality, openly recognized that the purpose of the “gay marriage” push is the destruction of the traditional family and of any religious opposition. Bishop Henry wrote, “The goal (of changing the definition of marriage) is to acquire a powerful psychological weapon...