Free Republic

A Vogue cover girl has won a precedent-setting court battle to unmask an anonymous blogger who called her a “skank” on the internet. In a case with potentially far-reaching repercussions, Liskula Cohen sought the identity of the blogger who maligned her on the Skanks in NYC blog so that she could sue him or her for defamation. A Manhattan supreme court judge ruled that she was entitled to the information and ordered Google, which ran the offending blog, to turn it over. Ms Cohen, a tall, Canadian blonde who has modelled for Giorgio Armani and Versace, went to court after...

LOS ANGELES (CNS)- A person possibly suspected of threatening the White House led police on a chase from Westchester to West Los Angeles today then holed up inside a car near the Westwood federal building, prompting a standoff that forced the evacuation of a nearby apartment building. Citing an anonymous law enforcement official, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site that the person was wanted for questioning by federal authorities for allegedly making an unspecified threat against the White House. Broadcast reports also indicated that the person may have been wanted on a misdemeanor warrant. At least four...

"...Mr. Hall argues, both the man [Calvin] and his doctrines are the bedrock of our democratic society." -- New York Sun, July 19, 2006 From the editorial review at Amazon... Few people today realize the extent to which John Calvin, the great Genevan Reformer, and his work have shaped modern culture. Few know it was Calvin who pioneered the effort to decentralize government by calling for checks and balances againt the rule of the few or the king. Equally unknown are his efforts to establish a productive social safety net for immigrants, create education models that were far ahead of...

...the likelihood that the Cairo speech will produce greater support for socialized health care and an end to Israeli settlements. Those Catholics in America who agree with the bishops and the pope have long supported a universal health care plan and a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel. With the President's speech, Muslims in the U.S. have been invited to make an alliance with Catholics.... ...For instance, Obama said not just "the Qur'an" but "the Holy Qur'an," which is more or less akin to saying "the Holy Father" instead of "the pope." He quoted from the hadith about "when Moses,...

John Calvin was a theologian, pastor, biblical exegete, and tireless apologist for Reformed Christianity, and ranks among the most important thinkers in church history. His theological works, biblical commentaries, tracts, treatises, sermons, and letters helped establish the Reformation as a legitimate and thriving religious movement throughout Europe. No theologian has been as acclaimed or assailed as much as Calvin...

"The righteousness which is of God by faith." --Phil. iii. 9. It has become evident that the question which most closely concerns us is, not whether we are more or less holy, but whether our status is that of the just or of the unjust; and that this is determined not by what we are at any given moment, but by God as our Sovereign and judge. In Adam's creation God put us, without any preceding merits on our part, in the state of original righteousness. After the fall, according to the same sovereign prerogative, He put us, as Adam's...

CHARITY, OR LOVE, THE SUM OF ALL VIRTUE by Jonathan Edwards "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, ant have not charity, I am become as counting brass, or & tinkling cymbal Ant though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; ant though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow stow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." --...

You won't be hearing the Democratic chattering class mention that Woodrow Wilson had only 2 years of executive experience as a governor. No! You won't be hearing that he was nominated and elected President (and Sarah Palin is nominated for vice-president!) with zero foreign policy experience. So, next time the talking heads take off after Sarah Palin, somebody should merely say two words: Woodrow Wilson. The central point is obvious: John McCain is the GOP nominee for President, but even if you succumb to their scare tactic that Sarah Palin is only "a heartbeat away"....simply counter-argue with two words: Woodrow...

All Things are of God II Corinthians 5:18 by Don Fortner "All things," past, present and future, "all things," in heaven, earth and hell, "all things," regarding angels, men and devils, "all things," good, bad, or indifferent, "all things are of God." This is high doctrine. This is gospel doctrine. This is soul-cheering, heart-comforting doctrine to those who know God. To the degree that we are able to receive this blessed truth of Holy Scripture, that "all things are of God," our hearts will be at peace, resigned to the will of God, submissive to the hand of God, confident...

Blessed with a nest egg of nearly $1.5 million, a Woodland Hills parish donated almost all of it, leaving just $1,000 in its savings account. An Encino church offered a $100,000 interest-free loan. And a Boyle Heights parish decided it could spare $500 after ruling out the idea of raising money with tamale sales. With gifts large and small, parishes across the sprawling Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles are answering an appeal from Cardinal Roger M. Mahony to help the archdiocese dig out of the financial hole resulting from its multimillion-dollar legal settlements with victims of clergy sexual abuse...

Dr. Pusey on the Worship of Mary in the Church of Rome by C. H. Spurgeon From the January 1866 "Sword and Trowel Spurgeon" According to promise, we have summarized the detailed account of the idolatrous worship of Mary by the Papists as exposed in full by Dr. Pusey in his new work. As his statements are not made at random, but are supported by quotations from Romish writers of recognised authority, they will be valuable to those who are met by the crafty denials of Romanists whenever they expose the genuine doctrines of Popish faith. Amid all the mischief...

Black smoke rising in west Los Angeles over Baldwin Hills area.

Malibu Canyon is on fire. Local news reporting the Malibu Castle, a local landmark, is completely engulfed in flames. Malibu Presbyterian Church is burning. Pepperdine University is threatened with students being told to seek refuge in the auditorium immediately. Hughes think tank on fire.

How should Bible-believing Christians align themselves in the Jewish-Palestinian conflict? There are Biblical reasons for treating both sides with compassionate public justice in the same way that disputes should be settled between nations generally. In other words, the Bible does not teach us to be partial to Israel or to the Palestinians because either has a special divine status. I do not deny that Israel was chosen by God from all the peoples of the world to be the focus of special blessing in the history of redemption which climaxed in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. "The LORD your God has...

BEFORE THE REFORMATION It may occasion some surprise to discover that the doctrine of Predestination was not made a matter of special study until near the end of the fourth century. The earlier church fathers placed chief emphasis on good works such as faith, repentance, almsgiving, prayers, submission to baptism, etc., as the basis of salvation. They of course taught that salvation was through Christ; yet they assumed that man had full power to accept or reject the gospel. Some of their writings contain passages in which the sovereignty of God is recognized; yet along side of those are others...

(CBS 5 / AP) WEST SACRAMENTO A University of California, Davis bus carrying medical students and health workers overturned on a busy freeway interchange Thursday morning, injuring 20 people and snarling rush-hour traffic around the state capital. The victims were treated at Sacramento hospitals for injuries described as ranging from minor to moderate, including bruises and possible neck sprains, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said. The bus crashed shortly before 9 a.m., damaging about 60 feet of guardrail and causing a small fuel leak, CHP Sgt. Evan Williams said. All five lanes of traffic were closed on the section of...

If salvation is all of grace -- if God is God and he has chosen us for salvation even though we did nothing to deserve it -- then we ought to live by the grace we have received. Of course, some of you will look at that and say to yourselves, “Yeah, I really need to do better at living by grace. I’ve really been a failure there. I hope God will forgive me again.” If that’s you, you still don’t get it. Go back and re-read the last seventeen pages and (if you’re a believer) remember that you’re one...

Predestination & Evangelism The mistake of God's people has always been to view election as a privilege rather than a responsibility. God warned Israel about this in Deuteronomy 9:6; “Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Rather, while some were destined to disobedience, we have been chosen so as to “declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Pe 2:8-9). We were predestined in order that we tell others about...

One major debate within Christian circles is the question of whether or not a Christian can lose his or her salvation. Arminians argue that true believers can sin so much that they lose their faith and perish. Some Christians respond by arguing that once a person professes faith in Jesus, he is eternally secure in his salvation and—even if he commits complete apostasy (“falls away”) and vocally rejects Jesus Christ—will still go to heaven, for “once saved, always saved.” In light of the biblical doctrine of predestination, how should we understand the security we have under God’s care? There have...

Foreknowledge Some object to the concept of predestination by arguing that God predestines the elect because he knows in advance that they will come to Christ by their own free will. As seen in the previous lesson, however, that notion is blatantly unbiblical. No one has the ability to even cooperate with God’s grace. Several biblical passages, however, do speak of God’s “foreknowledge.” While God certainly knows the future (he determines it!), the biblical concept of foreknowledge is something different. The term (proorizw) is used, not of knowing events, but of knowing people. God tells us that he knew us...