Free Republic

When and Where: 12-1 at the Poff Federal Building, 210 Franklin Rd., SW, Roanoke, VA—(meet at the corner of 3rd St. and Franklin Rd.) Folks - You know what to do. We need a real FReeper showing in Roanoke this Friday. If you're on Facebook, sign up for the Rally, if not, let me know here if you'll be there. Bring your most creative signs and MOABs. (Remember to keep it polite, there are likely to be a lot of nice church people there who may not be used to high sarcasm or Protest Warrior tactics!) Try to get there...

“These are the ones most grateful to you for the new well . . .” With that, the chieftain of this Islamic village in Ethiopia, not far from Meki, took me over to meet about twenty beaming young girls, all who looked to be about the age of my niece, Grace, seven or eight years old. I was in the village with a delegation from Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the acclaimed international assistance agency supported by the Catholic community of the United States.  We had just been enthusiastically welcomed to this small village to bless and start-up their new well,...

Nikki Cole’s upbringing was unremarkable; her father was the manager of a smallish manufacturing plant in the Midwestern town where they lived, and her mother was mostly stay at home although she volunteered two days a week at the county hospital. Nikki and her two siblings all attended the local Catholic schools through high school. High School is where Nikki had come to vegetarianism. Initially Nikki came to feel that it was unnecessary for animals to die for her meal when there were so many healthier alternatives that would meet her nutritional needs. At the time that Nikki grew up...

Rick Santorum could be headed for a big day in today's contests in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri. Missouri looks like a probable win for Santorum. He's at 45% there to 32% for Mitt Romney and 19% for Paul. Minnesota provides an opportunity for a win as well. Currently he has a small advantage with 33% to 24% for Romney, 22% for Newt Gingrich, and 20% for Ron Paul. And Santorum should get a second place finish in Colorado, where Romney appears to be the likely winner. The standings there are Romney at 37%, Santorum at 27%, Gingrich at 21%, and...

Need a link to that funny animation from a year ago where a shrill liberal is arguing with a reasonable person at a water cooler. I would appreciate your help in locating this humorous video. In it the young liberal woman draws ridiculous distinctions between bush and Obama, and when challenged simply blurts out "Koch Brothere, Halliburton". If you have the link and can post it, that would be greatly appreciated.

This is the epitome of hypocracy. The NRSC is one of the primary reasons why Tea Parties exist outside of the Republican Party. The NRSC has funneled millions of dollars from conservative contributors into the campaigns of characters like Lincoln, Chaffee, Arlen Specter, Lindsay Graham and our lovely senators from Maine. Gotta give 'em credit for chutzpah though!

The next stage of the Anglican Communion's attempt to resolve its differences over theology, sexuality and the authority of scripture will involve more "listening processes," but this time those processes will be paid for by a retired Episcopal priest who advocates same-sex blessings. The money given by the Episcopal priest will be monitored by a group of sex "experts" who advocate a vision of sexual freedom and "justice" that bears little resemblance to mainstream Christian doctrine or tradition, and at least one of these "experts" believes that pornography, bestiality, and multiple sex partners are not inherently harmful or wrong. Working...

The methods used to interpret Shari’a, or Islamic law, and secular law are more similar than most people would expect, University of Wisconsin Law School professor Asifa Quraishi said in a lecture held in the Rockefeller Center on Tuesday. In her lecture, “The Intersection of Islamic Law and Constitutional Law,” Quraishi explained why, despite these similarities, Islamic and constitutional law are difficult to integrate. Law in classical Muslim societies is similar to U.S. constitutional law in that there is a “separation of powers,” Quraishi said. “The parallels lie in the tools that are used to understand the meaning of the...

Profile: Vincent Nichols, the new Catholic primate of England and Wales, will stir controversy with his robust views, says William Langley. The Roman Catholic Church that Vincent Nichols was born into in bombed-out, post-war Liverpool was, by most measures, a reassuringly innocuous organisation, heavily invested in the North and the working classes, and of only polite interest to the people who ran the country.

Preached before King James at Whitehall, on Sunday the Sixth of April, A.D. 1606. Text Romans vi: 9-11 Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death has no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon (or account) you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Scripture is as the feast is, both of them of the Resurrection. And this we may safely say of it, it is...

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the cutest clergyman of all? A 66-year-old Staten Island pastor trying desperately to turn back the clock ripped off nearly $85,000 from his congregation to pay for plastic surgery, Botox shots and fancy clothes, authorities said yesterday The Rev. William Blasingame, 66, a fixture at the historic St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church for more than 30 years, began breaking the Eighth Commandment in January 2005 and continued to steal for another three years, according to the Staten Island district attorney. The unwed Blasingame's miraculous makeovers apparently impressed some of the older members of his...

It is increasingly difficult to escape the fact that mainline Protestantism is in a state of disintegration. As attendance declines, internal divisions increase. Take, for instance, the situation of the Episcopal Church in the United States. The Episcopal Church’s problem is far more theological than it is moral—a theological poverty that is truly monumental and that stands behind the moral missteps recently taken by its governing bodies. Every denomination has its theological articles and books of theology, its liturgies and confessional statements. Nonetheless, the contents of these documents do not necessarily control what we might call the “working theology” of...

The following link will take you to a sermon by Dr. Ann Paton of the Diocese of Pittsburgh that was sent to me this morning.Dr. Paton is ordained and conservative. In this sermon she calls for the ACNA to remove any restrictions to the consecration of female bishops. I hesitated to link her sermon because I know well how contentious these sorts of discussions can be, but it is important, in my view, that issues like this, once raised, are discussed and debated thoroughly. Indeed, if the new province is going to survive they must be dealt with definitively. Canon...

Here we see the beginnings of the problem with eliminating the words "inside strategy" from our vocabulary to describe certain people within TEC. The authors equate "inside strategy" with "strategies and tactics designed to use meetings of the House of Bishops and the General Convention to stop TECÂ’s progressive march toward liturgical and even doctrinal Unitarianism." But we all know that the HOB and the General Convention, as well as the Executive Committee and many dioceses have been on an inevitable progressive march toward liturgical and doctrinal Unitarianism. This highlights the immense gaps in strategy between the two conservative groups...

This is not an easy thing to write. There are issues that touch the very heart of one's personality and, at the same time strike into the heart of prejudices and passions of those around. I've been open about these issues in several forums where I am an active participant, and was asked by a friend to consider submitting something to a certain publication. which decided not to accept it. I am a lifelong Christian, brought up in the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, later, after a rather strange and wandering period, moving on to The Episcopal Church as a committed...

Are Catholics Born Again? | Mark Brumley | IgnatiusInsight.com http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2007/mbrumley_bornagain_nov07.asp "Have you been born again?" the Fundamentalist at the door asks the unsuspecting Catholic. The question is usually a segue into a vast doctrinal campaign that leads many ill-instructed Catholics out of the Catholic Church. How? By making them think there is a conflict between the Bible and the Catholic Church over being "born again." To be honest, most Catholics probably do not understand the expression "born again." Yes, they believe in Jesus. And yes, they try to live Christian lives. They probably have some vague awareness that Fundamentalists think...

"The Cross of Christ on Calvary stands beside the path of that admirable commercium, of that wonderful self-communication of God to man, which also includes the call to man to share in the divine life by giving himself, and with himself the whole visible world, to God, and like an adopted son to become a sharer in the truth and love which is in God and proceeds from God. It is precisely besides the path of man's eternal election to the dignity of being an adopted child of God that there stands in history the Cross of Christ, the only-begotten...

Hebrews 1:1-12 John 1:1-14 On Christmas, this Feast of the Nativity, the hidden revelation we celebrate on the Feast of the Annunciation becomes visible. "Then the babe, the world's Redeemer First revealed his sacred face Evermore and evermore." I never tire of the prologue to St. John’s Gospel. This is the Gospel for the first Mass of Christmas, which is also the last Gospel of almost every High Mass. These words are hakadesh hakadeshim- the holy of holies- in all of scripture. I have no need this day to stand here and relate any personal story, or any tale of...

We are at the racetrack complex in Richmond where Governor Palin is scheduled to speak at 2:00. The crowd is 30,000 and growing. Photos showing the crowd will follow this evening

The House of Bishops purported deposition of Bishop Robert Duncan will not change the agenda for the Oct. 4 Diocesan Convention or change Bishop Duncan’s status as a bishop in good standing within the Anglican Communion. The action of the House of Bishops, which was taken in a closed meeting on September 18 in Salt Lake City, Utah, contravenes numerous canons of The Episcopal Church. While Bishop Duncan continues to believe that the "deposition" is unlawful, he will not challenge the "deposition" prior to the end of the diocese’s October 4 convention unless forced to do so by the leadership...