Free Republic

Russian Orthodox priests have tackled the issues of drunkenness and casual sex in the city of Tver by pouring holy water over its residents from an aircraft. Father Alexander Goryachev, along with local bishop Metropolitan Savva, marked the annual All-Russian Sobriety Day on September 11 by dousing the city with more than 18 gallons of holy water in order to "protect the city afflictions befalling it, from all accidents and social adversity", Savva told Tver News (via the BBC). Since 2006, Goryachev has been marking the sobriety day celebrating the beheading of John the Baptist by flying over Tver along...

. (AP) Senator Barack Obama has told members of his denomination that some conservative Christian leaders have exploited and politicized religion to sow division. In a 30-minute speech before the national meeting of the United Church of Christ, which supports gay marriage, the Democratic presidential candidate said, "Faith got hijacked, partly because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, all too eager to exploit what divides us." Obama said, "They've told Evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion...

Did anyone else watch the LAW & ORDER episode on Wednesday night? I managed to catch last 30 minutes of it. Jason is accused of stoning his mother to death because she was having an affair. He is a student of a pastor who runs a Christian camp for children. DA people play a videotape of the pastor's sermon...The pastor tells the children that we are in a "war" with Islamic fanatics. He speaks out against "hypocrites". Prosecutors shake their heads...The deputy prosecutor states that one doesn't have to go to Middle East to find a school for extremists. Jason...

JULIA and Richard do not look like fugitives but they could be jailed under new Indian laws to stop missionaries converting low-caste Hindus to Christianity without a magistrate’s approval. A well educated British couple with young children, they left London two years ago to teach missionary work in some of India’s poorest states, such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa. Last week Madhya Pradesh became the latest state to pass an anti-religious conversion bill that could leave Christian missionaries open to criminal charges. Leaders of India’s 26m Christians say the bill is an attempt to intimidate and persecute them, while...

Greeetings in Precious Jesus name. Its longtime I have heard from you. Good news is we have a new government formed in India. Christians had real tough time last five years. God talked clearly that there will be a great change in the political rule at the Center and this will take those political pundits by surprise who would predict otherwise. It was fulfilled. We realised if church will not pray, the devil will have his way. You know, all the churches in India unitedly especially in Chennai fasted continously for 3 days day and night and prayed exposing and...

Baaklini repeats statement despite Canadian warning Lebanon's embattled ambassador to Canada is blaming Christian fanatics and newspapers "under the control of Zionist groups" for making a scandal out of his recent undiplomatic remarks about his host country. Despite being warned by Canadian Foreign Affairs officials last week that his remarks about Jewish influence in Canada were unacceptable, Raymond Baaklini was quoted yesterday in the Arab press repeating similar claims. Saudi Arabian and Lebanese newspapers reported the ambassador had said that only Christian immigrants from Lebanon and the "Zionist" press were making an issue of his remarks about Canada. Mr. Baaklini...