Free Republic

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tuh-juhj) and his husband, Chasten Glezman, joined the large crowd at former President Jimmy Carter’s Sunday school class in rural South Georgia. At Carter’s invitation Buttigieg stood and read from the Bible as part of the lesson at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. “You know him?” Carter had said earlier in reference to Buttigieg, drawing a laugh from the crowd. Carter told the audience that two other Democratic presidential candidates, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, had previously attended his classes. Scores of people arrived before dawn for a chance...

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.( I John 3:14)We have been discussing the theme of First John , which is the threefold test of eternal life, based on three simple theological propositions. Firstly, because God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all, those who share in the gift of the life of God, hate evil and sin. Eternal Life is opposed to all that is false and evil, unceasingly exposing and repudiating it . Those who have eternal...

They call it the “Kaduri Revival,” and reports over recent months have confirmed the teachings of one of Israel’s most venerated rabbi are leading Jews time and again to accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. And face persecution. Baptist preacher and radio host Carl Gallups says the threats facing Messianic Jews now in Israel is “reminiscent of what we read about in the New Testament – in the early days of the church.” There, he said, Jews who followed Jesus Christ were persecuted. And today, they “are facing the same hardships and persecution the early church faced,” he said. “Gallups...

1 Whenever I would grab a book to read and sit on the couch, and I could always count on my dog to come over, jump up and settle down next to me. Just about the time I kicked back to relax, she would lay her head on my lap and give me that look. Oh, how good she was at letting me know what she wanted! Inevitably, this would lull her into a calm, relaxed state of mind until I thought she had fallen asleep. I would stop pampering her, and pick up my book to start reading again....

Whenever I would grab a book to read and sit on the couch, and I could always count on my dog to come over, jump up and settle down next to me. Just about the time I kicked back to relax, she would lay her head on my lap and give me that look. Oh, how good she was at letting me know what she wanted! Inevitably, this would lull her into a calm, relaxed state of mind until I thought she had fallen asleep. I would stop pampering her, and pick up my book to start reading again. That’s...

The headline of the full-page ad asks, "What Would Jesus Cut?—A budget is a moral document." The text continues, "Our faith tells us that the moral test of a society is how it treats the poor." .... How would you answer that question? My answer would be, "It's a nonsense question. Your premise is faulty. Your priorities are not His priorities." What would Jesus cut? When He stood before the Roman Empire, He didn't suggest cuts. He received cuts. His flesh was cut by Roman nails and a Roman spear. He was bruised for our transgressions, and with His cuts...

My idea of the perfect place to live is the mountains with the ocean at their feet. This is a blessing I was fortunate enough to visit frequently when I lived in Oregon. Mountains, hills, and canyons can be found relatively quickly in the United States. However, to reach the ocean, say from Ohio, is a bit of a trip. When my wife and I first married, I said I was willing to travel and live in a great number of places. However, the one caveat that I presented was I wanted to live near the ocean for at least...

Coinciding with the 37th anniversary of the infamous Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision, a decision that is responsible for the legalized murder of more than 50 million innocent human beings, Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in America, has built a 78,000 square foot abomination in Houston, Texas.

BREAKING: Diocese of Los Angeles Elects Non-Celibate Lesbian As Suffragan Bishop

Lutherans Concerned / North America (LC/NA) responded with sadness to yesterday's announcement proposing a new church body to be formed by and for former ELCA members and congregations opposing the full inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the life of the church. In August 2009, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, by a 2/3 majority, passed a social statement on sexuality. The statement, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" described as faithful four positions on beliefs within the denomination on the inclusion of people in same-gender relationships. The four positions ranged from the view that same-gender...

Minneapolis, Minn., Nov 20, 2009 / 03:54 am (CNA).- Following the decision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to allow sexually active homosexual clergy, an objecting Lutheran group has begun to form a new church body for those Lutherans who want to “remain faithful to the Orthodox Christianity of the last 2,000 years.”Lutheran CORE leaders on Wednesday said their working group would immediately begin drafting a constitution and taking other steps to form the new denomination. They hope to launch the denomination by next August.Rev. Paull Spring, a retired Pennsylvania ELCA bishop and chairman of Lutheran CORE said...

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand. -- Romans 5:1-2a November 19, 2009 Sisters and brothers in Christ of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I greet you with the words of the apostle Paul to the Romans: "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand" (Romans 5:1-2a). Where does the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...

ELCA synods will not have the option of upholding traditional Christian teaching on marriage and homosexuality in their standards for pastors and other rostered leaders according to a draft of candidacy rules released Oct. 10 by the ELCA churchwide organization. No synod or bishop may make decisions on ministry standards that differ from the new policies of the ELCA churchwide organization as defined by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, the policy draft explains. The ELCA now allows pastors and other rostered leaders to be in committed same-sex relationships. “By the governing documents, all candidacy and call decisions are made on an...

Some area Lutheran congregations are withholding financial support to the national Evangelical Lutheran Church in America while they explore their future in the ELCA. Christ the King Lutheran Church in Newcastle, Wyo., quit sending money to ELCA headquarters in Chicago in September. Earlier this year, the small eastern Wyoming congregation voted to financially support the reform group, Lutheran Coalition for Renewal, which plans to reconfigure Lutheranism in North America because of the ELCA's recent vote to approve of homosexual clergy in committed same-sex relationships. "In some ways we're a little bit ahead of the curve on this," said the Rev....

Episcopal Church leaders in Los Angeles today nominated an openly gay priest and an openly lesbian priest as bishops, becoming one of the first dioceses in the national church to test a controversial new policy that lifted a de facto ban on gays and lesbians in the ordained hierarchy. The nominations of the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco and the Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool of a Baltimore-based diocese are likely to further inflame theological conservatives in the U.S. church and their global partners in the Anglican Communion, who have repeatedly warned about the repercussions of such action....

Anaheim, Calif. (AP) -- Episcopal bishops authorized the church Wednesday to start drafting an official prayer for same-sex couples, another step toward acceptance of gay relationships that will deepen the rift between the denomination and its fellow Anglicans overseas. The bishops voted 104-30 at the Episcopal General Convention to "collect and develop theological resources and liturgies" for blessing same-gender relationships, which would be considered at the next national meeting in 2012. The resolution notes the growing number of states that allow gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships, and gave bishops in those regions discretion to provide a "generous pastoral...

The Episcopal Church moved Monday toward affirming their acceptance of gays and lesbians for all roles in ministry, despite pressure from fellow Anglicans worldwide for a decisive moratorium on consecrating another openly gay bishop. Bishops at the Episcopal General Convention in Anaheim, Calif., voted 99-45 with two abstentions for a statement declaring "God has called and may call" to ministry gays in committed lifelong relationships. Lay and priest delegates to the meeting had comfortably approved a nearly identical statement, and were expected to adopt the latest version before the meeting ends Friday. Leaders of the Anglican Communion have been pushing...

Episcopalians overwhelmingly favor tossing a previously approved resolution that bans ordaining openly gay bishops. In discussions that began Thursday afternoon and continued Friday morning during The Episcopal Church's triennial General Convention, Episcopalians spoke frankly, testifying passionately either for throwing out the ban or against rescinding it. "Gays and lesbians are asked to make sacrifices the rest of us are not asked to make," said the Rev. J. Frederick Barber of Fort Worth, according to the Episcopal News Service. Debate centered on resolution B033, which was approved by the General Convention in 2006. It calls for restraint in ordaining bishops "whose...

Episcopal Church fires 61 priests and deacons in the Central Valley. Part of the reason, is they followed former Bishop John David Schofield when he rebuked the national church for its stance on the ordination of gays into the priesthood. The 61 clergy had six months to deny or recant their stance against...

Richard Holloway is a Bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church. There seems to be on obvious problem -- he doesn't believe in God. In the Scottish Episcopal Church, that must not be a problem.