Free Republic

When President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet in Beijing later this week, there will be a lot to discuss: war, peace, Iran, Taiwan, trade. Trump has vowed to bring up another issue too: the case of Ezra Jin. A Christian pastor and the leader of the Zion Church, Jin was arrested by Chinese police in October and his family hasn’t been able to speak with him since. Frannie Block has been following the case ever since Jin’s arrest, and has obtained exclusive access to never-before-seen footage of Chinese police arresting Christians, audio recordings of police interrogations, and...

Daily Caller Logo Stay updated with the latest news. Allow notifications from Daily Caller. Allow × Opt-Out Signal Honored The Daily Caller logo The Daily Caller logo US Lightning Literally Strikes Just Feet From Anti-Erika Kirk Protesters At Hillsdale College Commencement US-POLITICS-EDUCATION-KIRK (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images) Prefer Daily Caller on Google Search Mark Tanos Contributor May 10, 2026 3:20 PM ET Font Size: A bolt of lightning struck a tree just feet from leftist demonstrators protesting Erika Kirk’s commencement appearance at Hillsdale College Saturday. Hillsdale history professor Bradley J. Birzer flagged the strike in a...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider: Synod report on homosexuality ‘crossed the line from orthodoxy into heresy’Bishop Schneider warned that the report's call to go 'beyond' current Church teaching usurps God's authority and mirrors the serpent’s temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Bishop Athanasius Schneider has said that a Vatican Synod on Synodality report suggesting homosexual “relationships” may not be sinful echoes the serpent in the Garden of Eden and has “crossed the line from orthodoxy into heresy.”In an interview with Vatican journalist Diane Montagna, Schneider commented on the final report of Study Group 9, published May 5...

Beloved, on this day, Sunday May 17, 2026; spiritually arm up in force to do battle in prayer in JESUS' NAME for the returning of America to Almighty God in RIGHTEOUSNESS and against her DEMONIC ENEMIES, especially those of the America Left, who have been a demonic tool against the Gospel outreach of Jesus Christ throughout this land, Beloved, please pass on this event, fast and pray for America's turning back to the God of our Founding Fathers as a nation, that hearts would be turned to Jesus for ETERNAL Salvation, and Psalm 64, praying offensively against the demonic forces...

Trinity Bible Church “pastor” Mark Driscoll is under fire for implying on X that Jesus’ mother may have considered aborting him if a Planned Parenthood had been nearby. The comment drew widespread condemnation from both Catholics and Protestants, who were united in their criticism of him. At the time of writing, Driscoll’s post had more than 126,000 impressions and only 129 likes; resulting in being heavily ratioed. Notably, while there was no Planned Parenthood 2,000 years ago, abortion was well known and widely practiced in the ancient Roman world. Physicians commonly prescribed herbs, bloodletting, fasting, and extreme physical duress, rather...

Dear friend, who or what do you personally agape love more: America or the LORD JESUS CHRIST? Seems like a simple enough question, but many agape love this nation and its temporal place in time on this passing world stage more than the ETERNAL RIGHTEOUS Creator and ETERNAL PROPITIATION and SAVIOR of their souls (Matt. 10:37-38, John 3:16-17, Heb. 1:2-3; 1 John 4:10). When we agape love Jesus more than anyone or any nation, we can only ever be the best citizen while on the pilgrim road. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” (Matthew 6:21)....

Prominent “Christian” detransitioner Neeza Powers is experiencing a massive exodus of fans and followers after releasing multiple videos reneging on his previous detransition and instead insisting that he is really a woman. Neeza, whose real name is Thomas Powers, shot to fame last summer after claiming he had become a Christian while vlogging his new faith and his transition from living as a woman to presenting as a man. We later revealed Neeza to be a pathological liar who had fabricated nearly every detail of his backstory, history, personal life, and transition. Recently, he announced that he is “retransitioning” back...

The rise of artificial intelligence was supposed to change how we work, shop, search and communicate. Few imagined it would also begin reshaping how young people pray, seek wisdom and understand God. Yet that is exactly where society now finds itself. A growing number of young Christians are no longer just using AI to summarize homework assignments or generate social media captions -- they are turning to it for spiritual counsel, moral guidance and even emotional reassurance once sought from pastors, parents or Scripture itself. And the numbers are startling. New research from the Barna Group found that nearly one-third...

...In recent months, we have witnessed profound changes within Iranian church communities. Many who once participated in worship with passion are now wrestling with difficult questions, doubts, and even despair. Some have distanced themselves from the church, others are experiencing spiritual burnout, and many quietly carry the burden of grief and concern for their loved ones in Iran. A pressing question has emerged in many hearts: “How is it that we are under pressure from the Iranian government, and at the same time, this conflict has brought us no hope or relief?” These questions are real and cannot simply be...

Anticipation of a forthcoming U.S. government “disclosure” on alien life is everywhere in the media.President Trump has ordered a full release of files on UFOs. This week, FBI director Kash Patel said, “You’re going to start seeing those releases literally happening in the very near future. We just met on it.” Where do language-based code, computer-like information processing, or machines come from? In our experience, they have only one known cause: intelligence. The existence of ET life wouldn’t prove unguided, purposeless naturalistic evolution—it would provide another example to doubt it.Some, including Dawkins himself, have speculated that life on Earth could...

CASPER — Father Chad Ripperger fits a familiar Western mold — up to a point. He fly-fishes. He shoots powerful handguns. He enjoys aged Scotch and expensive cigars. But the familiarity ends there. Ripperger is one of the Roman Catholic Church’s most experienced and well-known exorcists. A native of Casper, Wyoming, he is a founding priest of the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother, the first Catholic society chartered exclusively for the work of exorcism under the authority of the Archdiocese of Denver. Within what the Church calls “spiritual warfare,” Ripperger’s outfit is something like a SEAL Team 6 —...

It is the godly God-fearing mother that is crucially needed in our land today, and her absence has been greatly felt. Lawlessness, lewdness, violence, rebellious children, and narcissism are EXPONENTIAL today, and their effects have EXPONENTIALLY ravaged culture, society, people, and land! Godly mothers are absolutely crucial to any society in this fallen world, and Satan knows it (Prov. 31:10-31). Almighty God cannot praise the godly enough, and her role is absolutely key for preserving her children, family, society, and nation from the ravaging effects of this fallen world’s lawless state (Rom. 1:18-32). The godly mother is one who is...

A Tale of Two Women THE VOLUPTUOUS WOMAN and THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN Described in the first nine chapters of Proverbs Described in Proverbs chapter 31 SHE IS LEWD (Proverbs 6:24; 2:17). SHE IS LOYAL (Proverbs 31:11). SHE IS A HOME BREAKER (Proverbs 7). SHE IS A HOMEMAKER (Proverbs 31). SHE IS EASY TO FIND (Proverbs 7:10-12). SHE IS HARD TO FIND (a rare gem) (Proverbs 31:10). SHE IS CHEAP (Proverbs 30:20). SHE IS PRECIOUS (Proverbs 31:10). SHE HAS OUTER BEAUTY Surface attraction (Proverbs 6:25). SHE HAS INNER BEAUTY Heart attraction (Proverbs 31:30; 1 Peter 3:4). SHE WORKS WITH HER MOUTH...

Named around 71 times in Scripture, Lebanon is both a biblical landscape and a living homeland now marked by war and fragile hope.Southern Lebanon is not often the first place Christians think of when reading Scripture. Yet both the Bible and long-standing tradition place this region quietly within the story of salvation. Two cities anchor that connection: Tyre and Sidon. Both are named multiple times in the Hebrew Bible as centers of trade and power. In the Gospels, they appear again when Jesus travels to the region, encountering the Syrophoenician woman who asks for her daughter’s healing (Mark 7:24–30). This...

Lebanese Catholic priests serving in the south of the country near the border with Israel said they were overjoyed to discover that a call with Lebanon’s papal nuncio included another special guest on the online visit, Pope Leo XIV… “First, it was a surprise, then it was a great joy,” Lebanese Maronite Catholic parish priest, Father Toni Elias, told OSV News… The 13 priests who received a video call serve in Lebanon’s southern villages and towns, including Rmeich, Ain Ebel, Debel and Marjayoun… “The Holy Father wished to give us good courage in the face of difficulties that our Christian...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Parolin Says Talks With German Bishops Continue, Calls Sanctions Talk PrematureCardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said on Wednesday it would be premature to discuss sanctions against the German bishops for blessings of same-sex couples. Cardinal Parolin, however, did not rule out an intervention by the Holy See but expressed hope that it would be avoided.“It is premature now to speak of sanctions. Let us hope we never have to get to sanctions and that problems can be resolved peacefully, as they should be in the Church,” Cardinal Parolin told reporters on the sidelines at...

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a fence-mending visit to the Vatican on Thursday to underscore strong bilateral ties, after U.S. President Donald Trump's broadsides against Pope Leo XIV for his opposition to the Iran war angered the Holy See and sparked ongoing sparring between them. The U.S. State Department said that the meetings with Leo and the Vatican's top diplomat covered peace in the Middle East and "underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See," and reflected the "enduring partnership" between them.

An IDF soldier was seen placing a cigarette into the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary, in a Christian village in southern Lebanon, in a photo shared online on Wednesday. After identifying the soldier, the Israel Defense Forces said he will be disciplined. In response to a query, the IDF said that it “views the incident gravely and emphasizes that the soldier’s conduct completely deviates from the values expected of its troops.” An initial inquiry conducted by the IDF found that the photo was taken in the village of Debel several weeks ago, although it was only shared...

[Catholic Caucus] For the Record - Dom Jeremias Schröder, Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation: "The Traditional Latin Mass Can No Longer Be Pushed Out Entirely."This major interview was published in German by the official news website of the German Bishops, Katholisch.de, last week. It has essential content for Traditional Catholics, and we post the translation here for the record of current events. Abbot Primate: The Old Mass Can No Longer Be Pushed Out Entirely "I am very curious to see how Pope Leo will approach the problem" Ludwig Ring-Eifel, for KNAApril 30, 2026Amid the dying of monasteries and the...

[Catholic Caucus] On Excommunication and the SSPX: A Canonical, Theological, and Pastoral Defense Against the Proposed Excommunication of the Society of Saint Pius XIntroductionIn July 2026, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is expected to proceed with the consecration of new bishops without a pontifical mandate; an act that Rome has signalled may result in automatic excommunication under canon law. The argument here is that, if imposed, would be not be canonically sensible, theologically coherent, nor pastorally sound. Drawing upon the Church’s own legal tradition, historical precedents, and the pastoral imperatives consistently invoked by the current and previous pontificates,...