Free Republic

Except in biblical or other written religious accounts, no scientific evidence has ever been documented to prove that there is a physical Heaven or a physical Hell. In the absence of evidence why then do millions of people believe so strongly in a Heaven and a Hell – and how could such beliefs in the unproven have survived scientific scrutiny for so long? For those raised in Judea-Christian doctrine Heaven and Hell does, in fact exist and one of these places is waiting for the soul of the deceased in the afterlife.

At the end of WWI, the victorious allies were creating a massive plan to divide what was left of the once great Ottoman Empire. The allies met in 1919 at the Versailles Conference where then US President Woodrow Wilson unsuccessfully pushed for the establishment of an independent state for the Kurds who at the time were spread out among six countries with the majority in what is now northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey, with lesser numbers in northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran and the Caucuses. They were, as today - known as the world's largest nation of over 30 million people...

The Law of Punishment and Reward Anyone who captures a free person, brings them to another country against their will, forces them to do manual labor without pay, while physically and psychologically abusing them – denying them equal rights to resources are creating a moral and ethical system by which redress is inevitable. Although the era supported this type of behavior and it was acceptable by the legitimate government one could argue that no wrong was committed – except the one who was subjected to the treatment. For them, it was not consensual therefore it's illegal and degrading. Let’s say...

The recent discovery of a massive oil field in the Gulf of Mexico has crude oil refinery companies projecting its potential output to be well over 15 billion barrels. If these projections are true the impact of this discovery will be much greater than the actual discovery itself and may have encouraged continued crude oil dependency in the midst of a universal push for alternative fuel sources. It would certainly have a significant impact on crude oil consumption in the United States. According to the US Energy department, Americans consumes roughly 5.7 billion barrels of crude oil annually with reserves...

The Industrial Revolution (1820-1870) ushered in significant advances in agriculture which resulted in an increased supply of food and raw materials. Developments in technology resulted in increased production, efficiency, profits, commerce, both foreign and domestic. Industries directly affected were textiles, coal mining, iron, transportation, and steam. The United States was second only to England in the production of wealth and export of goods. The American economy was strong and the dollar was gaining global recognition and nations were waiting in line for America’s exports and the American currency. But this rapid growth began to decline around the turn of the...

The biblical story of Adam and Eve suggests that Eve’s disobedience to God introduced sin to the world which ultimately led to the downfall of man and mankind. It is a story repeated over and over again in the Christian arena. It’s the first story a child learns which attempts to explain why there is so much suffering in life. It is a story which puts the burden of death, destruction, disobedience, and suffering at the feet of Eve, Adam’s wife, or as the Biblical writers describes her – Adam’s Helpmeet. While the story of Adam and Eve is true,...

According to Wikipedia, Marriage is a social, spiritual, and/or legal union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock. Marriage may take many forms: for example, a union between one man and one woman as husband and wife is a monogamous heterosexual marriage; polygamy – in which a person takes more than one spouse – which includes, polygyny in which a man takes more than one wife, and polyandry in which a woman takes more than one husband...

The typical image of a homeless person is a male in his mid 30’s to late 60”s living in abject poverty. You see him hanging out at soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and on street corners. His mobility includes shuffling between makeshift street locations while sleeping on steam grates, in doorways, under roadway overpasses or temporary housing shelters when available. We may see these men at busy street intersections with creative signs often depicting some religious message, the most common being the favorite ‘God loves You” – or – ‘God Bless You” – or – “Disabled Veteran.” We often walk, or...

Prophets of Doom has been around probably since the beginning of man’s existence on earth. Whether one believe man was created by God from the dust of the earth, or he evolved from a sea creature, a monkey, or matter from a collision of the planets commonly known as the big bang. Whatever your preference for the origin of man it is no secret that from the time he began walking on planet earth he began predicting its end. It’s now estimated that more than 50% of the world population give doomsday prophets some credibility regarding “End Time Events” thereby...

During the recent presidential election we heard the all too familiar suggestion of “returning to the good old days.” Every candidate talked about returning America to a sense of values. I don’t know about you but each time I heard that suggestion I get a little queasy in the stomach accompanied by a little bewilderment, confusion, and absolute disgust! Whenever I hear the suggestion I often wondered exactly what period in time they want to take us back to! Could it be the days of our slave-holding forefathers? Perhaps they want to take us back to the glorious war that...

On the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Hostage crisis Iran’s Supreme leader responds to US President Obama’s video message with sound defiance suggesting that until they see the changes US President Obama preached during his election campaign then don’t expect much of a policy shift from Tehran. During the election most Iranians were intensely enthusiastic to see a US Black man with Hussein as his middle name take the highest office of the United States. The name "Hussein" is very sacred for Shia Iranians as this was the name of their third beloved Imam who, even today maintains a very...

Dambisa Moyo, the Zambian economist, educated at Harvard and Oxford and a former employee of The World Bank and Goldman Sachs, has created an inspiring, and provocative argument in her book titled “Dead Aid" - Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa. It’s a small volume book which suggests that foreign aid to African nations, totaling over a trillion dollars in the past 60 years was a waste. She argues that it's bad for Africa, and for Africans. In her opinion Aid keeps Africa and Africans in a sub servant’s role at a...

Time is a component of a measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects. Time has been a major subject of religion, philosophy, and science, but defining time in a non-controversial manner applicable to all fields of study has consistently eluded the greatest scholars. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time) At the point in history when Homo sapiens became socially aware, time was considered to be cyclical, or a matter of day and night. The seasons were a matter of birth and death, and calendars were based on...

The Milky Way, sometimes called simply the Galaxy, is the galaxy in which our Solar System is located. It is a barred spiral galaxy that is part of the Local Group of galaxies. It is one of billions of galaxies in the observable universe. Its name is a translation of the Latin Via Lactea, which derives from the Greek Γαλαξίας (Galaxias or Galaxiases), both of which refer to the pale band of light formed by the galactic plane as seen from Earth (see etymology of galaxy). Some sources hold that, strictly speaking, the term Milky Way should refer exclusively to...

While our focus has been on past racial injustices in the US, a new underground, and perhaps more sinister form of injustice has been growing in leaps and bounds across the globe, commonly known today as Human Trafficking, which is the movement of people through deception, coercion, or violence, for the purpose of forced labor, sexual or slavery purposes. The U.S. Department of State estimates that over 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked across US borders each year. Among this group over 65% of the victims are sexually exploited including children as young as 8 years old.

The Industrial Revolution (1820-1870) ushered in significant advances in agriculture which resulted in an increased supply of food and raw materials. Developments in technology resulted in increased production, efficiency, profits, commerce, both foreign and domestic. Industries directly affected were textiles, coal mining, iron, transportation, and steam. The United States was second only to England in the production of wealth and export of goods. The American economy was strong and the dollar was gaining global recognition and nations were waiting in line for America’s exports and the American currency.

The basic, underlining fear about stem cell research is that it poses an unregulated opportunity for the 'cannibalization' of human beings. In other words, the general public is concerned that the practice kills certain human beings to benefit others. Despite its potential future benefit to human kind in the area of medical breakthroughs the question arises: - Is Stem Cell research morally right, or wrong?

James Dewey Watson is an American molecular biologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA. In a 1971 article to the medical established, recently re-published– he wrote that “the embryological development of man does not occur free in the placid environment of a freshwater pond. Instead, the crucial steps in human embryology always occur in the highly inaccessible womb of a human female.” This profound statement has been turned upside down with new reproductive technologies - technologies which has created unforeseen possibilities of experimental manipulation of the human reproduction process. Watson’s comment was based in...

Idries Shah, [1924 – 1996] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idries_Shah), is the author of many books used by various academics to pass on ideas and information in the form of stories, or fables. One delightful fable is about a prophet who once predicted that all the water in the world was going to disappear, except water which was saved, stored, and hidden away. And after the disappearance of all the water, new water would appear – which when drank would make men mad, crazy, and cause them to behave in strange and unusual ways. Now, most people ignored the prophet and his prophecy except...

Is The Shoe Now On The Other Foot? Since the early settlers from England first landed on Georgetown they have been blamed for all that is wrong with the country. Four hundred plus years later it has been the favored past time of White American liberals, African American radicals and the disenfranchised to continue to blame White Americans for the ills of America. Open criticism of White American leaders has become an intricate part of the American political fabric