Free Republic

What we saw this past week in the Islamic demonstrations over the Danish cartoons of Muhammad was another vivid depiction of the difference between Muhammad and Christ, and what it means to follow each. Not all Muslims approve the violence. But a deep lesson remains: The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery.If Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation. This was his saving work: to be insulted and die to rescue sinners from the wrath of God....

You probably won't find anything special printed on your calendar for the 19th and 21st of January. In case you are wondering, those are the respective birthdays of Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. As a nation we have already honored Martin Luther King, Jr., and will commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln next month, but Lee and Jackson are especially dear to my heart. They were great men who embodied the inspiring courage, uncompromising honesty, principled conviction and moral fortitude we no longer see in our leaders today. Both Lee and Jackson were men...

I am continually amazed at what passes for Christian teaching these days. Now, I'm sure that Robert Schuller has read the Bible (or portions of it) at some point in his life, but I have yet to hear him convey accurately the truth it contains. The following is an excerpt from his latest "sermon." (FYI, the emphasis is Schuller's): What is the number one problem in the human race? I've thought about it, I've written a lot of books, I've met and listened to some of the most profound thinkers in the world. I have studied under Viktor Frankl, I...

(Originally posted 11/21/2001) Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite times of year, a time to get together with loved ones and offer thanks to God for the blessings we have received. This year will be no different. Friends and family will show up at the door bringing a dish of some sort to share in the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Among those we will be entertaining this year is our Uncle Sam—not because he was invited, but because it's tradition. He always shows up. Not just on Thanksgiving, but every other holiday as well. In fact, he seldom ever leaves....

On November 8th, The State.com, the online rag for the South Carolina newspaper by the same name, had an interesting tidbit posted. In bold print, the headline read: "Court upholds dismissal of barbecue sauce suit." It might not sound so interesting, unless you are familiar with the case. Back in 2000, when people of the state of South Carolina were debating removing the Confederate Battle Flag from where it flew atop the capitol dome, South Carolinian Maurice Bessinger decided to exercise his right to speak out on the subject. Mr. Bessinger is a businessman who has a string of restaurants...

Although provoked by the indulgences peddled by Johannes Tetzel, the very first proposition which Luther offered for public debate in his Ninety Five Theses put the axe to the root of the tree of medieval theology: "When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said 'Repent,' he meant that the entire life of believers should be one of repentance." From Erasmus' Greek New Testament, Luther had come to realize that the Vulgate's rendering of Matthew 4:17 by penitentiam agite ("do penance") completely misinterpreted Jesus' meaning. The gospel called not for an act of penance but for a radical change of mind-set...

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Monday urged Congress to examine whether the White House needs stronger powers to deal with catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina. Bush’s backing for the congressional inquiry raised the possibility that lawmakers might expand presidential authority to: Order mandatory civilian evacuations Dispatch U.S.-based armed forces for emergency search-and-rescue operations Grant wider leeway for active-duty U.S. military personnel to carry out law enforcement operations. “It’s really important that as we take a step back and learn lessons--that we are in a position to adequately answer the question: ‘Are we prepared for major catastrophes?”’ Bush said during a tour...

I could not find a text version of this sermon, so I linked the audio. This ties in to the Repent and Believe thread. Remorse or Repentance Part 1Part 2

There may well be any number of arguments against the doctrine of covenant succession. Perhaps the recent release of To You and Your Children, a compilation of essays on that theme put together by Ben Wickner and published by Canon Press (and with a foreword by the present writer) will prompt someone to make some of those arguments. My limited focus today is not to make the case for or against covenant succession, but instead to answer one rather silly objection. Baptists of varying stripes, though by all means not all Baptists, are concerned that if we treat our children...

When I write anything that ends up on one of my blogs or published on another website, two questions run through my mind: Is what I wrote relevant? Who reads this stuff anyway?I began to think that I had an answer to the latter question when I saw an Aug. 8 National Review article, written by R. J. Smith and Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, entitled Spaceship Earth. I couldn't help but notice some striking similarities between that article and my Aug. 5 blog entry, One Shuttle Commander's Enlightening "Discovery". (Of course, theirs was a rather deliberate analysis...

For here Am I sitting in a tin can Far above the world Planet Earth is blue And there's nothing I can do - from "Space Oddity" by David Bowie It's amazing what we continue to learn from NASA's space program. Eileen Collins, commander of the latest Discovery shuttle mission, took time out of her busy schedule of wasting taxpayer dollars to make a few remarks on the condition of Earth as it appears from an altitude of 220 miles. Commander, what would you like to say to those of us who will never see things from your point of...

CSA: THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, through the eyes of a faux documentary, takes a look at an America where the South won the Civil War. Supposedly produced by a British broadcasting company, the feature film is presented as a production being shown, controversially, for the first time on television in the States. Beginning with the British and French forces joining the battle with the Confederacy, thus assuring the defeat of the North at Gettysburg and ensuing battles, the South takes the battle northward and form one country out of the two. Lincoln attempts escape to Canada but is captured...

Suppose, just for the sake of argument, that God actually calls us to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that we are to speak to them of the things of God when they lie down, when they walk by the way and when they rise up. Is anybody having to stretch themselves to embrace that premise? Now suppose that God has in turn called us to disciple the nations, to proclaim the good news, to be salt and light. Anybody stretching here? I'm a parent, and I exercise authority in my home. I say to...

Scoring another victory in their ongoing fight to expand the size of government, the Republicans in the House of Representatives pushed through a constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the American flag. Freedom-loving Americans are now hoping that the Senate will start slicing and dicing and kill this bill in a grandiose fashion worthy of a Quentin Tarantino film. There is little room for doubt that 9/11 played a major role in the renewed push for a flag-burning amendment. Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), self-appointed representative of terrorist victims, said, "Ask the men and women who stood on top...

WASHINGTON, June 21 -The Social Security Administration has relaxed its privacy restrictions and searched thousands of its files at the request of the F.B.I. as part of terrorism investigations since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, newly disclosed records and interviews show. The privacy policy typically bans the sharing of such sensitive information, which includes home addresses, medical information and other personal data. But senior officials at the Social Security agency agreed to an "ad hoc" policy that authorized the release of information to the bureau for investigations related to Sept. 11 because officials saw a "life-threatening" emergency, internal memorandums say....

You know I've been around. I didn't grow up in Ligonier, the village of the happy people, and then move off to southwest Virginia, the region of the happy people. I spent many long years in plenty unpleasant places, among lots of folks who didn't see things quite the way I did. In the middle 1980s I spent a fair amount of time in San Francisco. Not "the Bay area," but in San Francisco. I even rode the cable cars to work. I was an odd duck out of water there. People thought I dressed funny. Me, of all people....

Everywhere you turn it seems there is a concerted effort to erase part of America's past by stamping out Confederate symbols. Why? Because no one wants to take the time to truly understand history. The general consensus is that Abraham Lincoln saved the Union and ushered in a new era of freedom by defeating the evil, slave-owning South. Therefore, Confederate symbols have no place in an enlightened society. Most of this anti-Southern bigotry stems from an ignorance regarding the institution of slavery. Some people cannot grasp the fact that slavery was once a social reality in this country, and...

We have all told our people to serve God. Scripture says to "serve the Lord with gladness." But now it may be time to tell them not to serve God. For Scripture also says: "The Son of Man . . . came not to be served."The Bible is concerned to call us back from idolatry to serve the true and living God (1 Thess. 1:9). But it is also concerned to keep us from serving the true God in the wrong way. There is a way to serve God that belittles and dishonors Him. Therefore, we must take heed lest...

Man does not live on bread alone, but Americans have become increasingly reliant on doughy carbohydrates in their diet. Now many in a rapidly expanding country are asking: "What Would Jesus Eat?" That is the title of one of a growing number of Christian diet plans crowding the lifestyle shelves of mainstream bookshops. Other bestsellers include The Maker's Diet, The Hallelujah Diet and Body by God. For the persistently overweight, they hold the promise of spiritual and bodily redemption. The selling strategies vary. Stephen Arterburn, the host of a Christian radio show and author of Lose it For Life, says:...

SUFFOLK — Russell E. Darden’s great-great-uncle Julius first reached out to him about 20 years ago, when a sudden stiff breeze blew through an old house in Southampton County. Darden, a Civil War buff and a historian, was visiting an elderly friend, a man whose father had served in the war. He remembers looking up, startled, as a bedroom door blew open in the wind. On the back, framed in plastic, were photos of soldiers in Confederate uniforms. Darden didn’t know it then, but the breeze had pushed open a door to his family’s past. Several months later, with the...