Free Republic

Deep in the heart of the American Southwest, final preparations are being made for a highly anticipated annual tradition: The Christian Denominational Hunger Games, an event intended to ease tensions between various Christian traditions and satiate interdenominational bloodlust. One male and one female volunteer participates from each faith tradition, though if no one steps forward, an able-bodied warrior is chosen by force. The participants train for months before finally stepping into the arena, ready to fight to the death...

Full Title: California priest placed on leave, reportedly concelebrated with Protestant pastor Bishop Tod Brown of Orange has placed Father Augustin Escobar on leave following reports that he permitted a Protestant pastor to act as a concelebrant during Mass and to distribute Holy Communion. Concelebrating Mass with ministers of ecclesial communities that do not have apostolic succession is an “exceptionally serious” crime against the sacraments, according to canonical norms currently in force. Violation of the norm falls under the purview of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and may result in dismissal from the clerical state without an...

The longer you’re a believer, the less you think like an unbeliever. After you come to Christ, your interests and values change. Because I’ve been a Christian for most of my life, I think like a Christian. I don’t normally think like an unbeliever. Worse than that, I tend to think like a pastor and that’s even farther removed from an unbeliever’s mind-set! That means I must intentionally change mental gears when seeking to relate to non-Christians. If you look at most church advertising, it’s obvious that it was written from a believer’s viewpoint – not from the mind-set of...

Warren’s Spin Doctor Tells Half-Truths About the CFR to Save Warren’s Face Published April 11th, 2007 by Editor in Rick Warren, Purpose Driven In case you were not aware, Rick Warren has retained the services of a Media/PR spin doctor. (Since when do Pastors need spin doctors??). His name is Mark Kelly and he writes a blog that is dedicated to cleaning up Warren’s media image. Mark has a new piece on this blog designed to dispel the controversy over Warren’s membership in the Council on Foreign Relations. Mark employs two very interesting tactics in his piece. The first tactic...

Before criticizing Pentecostal churches that draw Catholics as members, Catholic leaders should ask why their own parishes aren't meeting the needs of those who leave, the Vatican's top ecumenical representative said yesterday at Duquesne University. "Our response cannot be in the form of a polemical approach, leaving ourselves to condemn the activities of other groups," said Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Such an approach "is not constructive and could even be counter-productive," he said. While Cardinal Kasper is known for outreach to traditional Protestant and Orthodox churches, he said it is crucial to...

Brian McLaren on The Da Vinci Code An interview by Lisa Ann Cockrel With The Da Vinci Code poised to go from bestseller list to the big screen on May 19, pastor and writer (and Sojourners board member) Brian McLaren talks about why he thinks there's truth in the controversial book's fiction. What do you think the popularity of The Da Vinci Code reveals about pop culture attitudes toward Christianity and the church? Brian McLaren: I think a lot of people have read the book, not just as a popular page-turner but also as an experience in shared frustration with...

Interfaith group launches social justice campaign Plans to raise single voice on social justice issues By William HersheyDayton Daily News COLUMBUS | More than 300 people gathered Tuesday in Columbus' First AME Zion Church to celebrate the launch of We Believe Ohio, an interfaith group with the goal of making a unified cry for social justice heard in the public square.In other faith-and-politics developments: • Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, a candidate for governor, met Tuesday in Cleveland with United Pastors in Mission, seeking support from black pastors usually considered friendly to Democrats. Blackwell, a black conservative, said...

Cocktail napkins . . . coffee, soda and flavored tea close by . . . and copies of a slim, poetry-size book placed invitingly around the room, like a party favor. Looks like a party. "If I ask you - 'Who are you?' - what would you say?" Linda Graber threw the challenge to the half-dozen women seated around the table. The stories that came back were threaded with good and bad: tales of miscarriages and missed chances, as well as long, good marriages and a new yearning to bring fresh purpose and passion to life. Graber is co-host, along...

Papal Supremacy Is Against TraditionCyprian (200-258 A.D.) "For neither does any of us set himself up as a bishop of bishops, nor by tyrannical terror does any compel his colleague to the necessity of obedience; since every bishop, according to the allowance of his liberty and power, has his own proper right of judgment, and can no more be judged by another than he himself can judge another" [Ante-Nicene Fathers, 5:565, "The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian"]. As James White points out, the clergy in Rome were addressing letters to Cyprian, "Pope Cyprian." It simply meant "father." The Council...

Volunteers from Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation will guard churches across the world's most populous Muslim nation on Christmas amid fears of terrorist attacks on those places, the group said on Friday. Jakarta police have said they would boost security in the capital ahead of Christmas to avoid a repeat of 2000 Christmas Eve bombings on churches in several Indonesian cities, including in the country's capital. A youth wing affiliated with Indonesia's largest Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama, some 40 million strong, said that members would guard churches for the coming Christmas festivities and it had persuaded youths from other religions to...

Some 10,000 people have attended the funeral of Brother Roger, the founder of the religious community of Taize. German President Horst Koehler, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and clergy from around the world were at the service. The 90-year-old Swiss-born theologian was stabbed to death by a Romanian woman while celebrating mass last week. He founded the community during World War II as a refuge to people of all Christian denominations. Taize, in the Burgundy region of France, later became an international pilgrimage site for young people who go there to pray and meditate. It draws some 100,000 people each...

A Troubling Presence at a Funeral By Ben Johnson FrontPageMagazine.com | June 11, 2004 Patriotic Americans will always cherish their memories of Ronald Reagan’s strong and courageous leadership during the Cold War. However, his funeral at the National Cathedral may uncap different emotions. Among those the Reagan family has invited to the ecumenical service is Mohammad Magid, a D.C.-area Muslim imam with disturbing ties to suspected terrorists. Magid, who was born and educated in the Sudan, is the Director of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS). ADAMS has numerous close affiliations with the main targets of “Operation Green Quest,”...

Jim Robinson is a bit tired of Religious folk bashing each other, and he's let it be known in a recent thread. So, in the name of bi-partisan ecumenicism I offer lighthearted thought. I am a Southern Baptist and I see things a certain way. But I've fashioned some compromises in the form of alternative song titles: "I Wish They All Could Be Southern Baptist Girls". or, "I wish they all could be Pentecostal Girls". How about "I wish they all could be Calv'ry Chapel Girls". No, well then, "I wish they all could be Plymouth Brethren Girls". Ok, why...

Westcott's Peace-Movement No true Christian loves war. A Bible believer takes the premillenial view and realizes that war is caused by the sinful nature of mankind-James 4:1. He understands that this will all be changed at Christ's return-Philippians 3:21.