Free Republic

RUSH: Now, this David Vitter thing. Have you noticed...? You know, we have Larry Flynt out there now, and Flynt is taking credit here now for outing David Vitter, and Flynt says, "Well, we're going to find some Democrats in this list, but probably we'll throw 'em back in the river, because Democrats are not hypocrites on this. Democrats are not out there talking about moral values." Well, that may be true, and I'm not naïve and I understand this, but I gotta tell you something. Have you noticed when Democrats have sex outside of marriage, even with interns, it's...

THE FIRST TIME the Rev. Jerry Falwell put his hands on me, I was stunned. Not only had we been archenemies for 15 years, his beliefs and mine traveling in different solar systems, and not only had he sued me for $50 million (a case I lost repeatedly yet eventually won in the Supreme Court), but now he was hugging me in front of millions on the Larry King show. It was 1997. My autobiography, "An Unseemly Man," had just been published, describing my life as a publisher of pornography. The film "The People vs. Larry Flynt" had recently come...

Addressing an issue some regard as a hindrance if he runs for president, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich confessed to evangelical leader James Dobson in a radio interview airing tomorrow to moral failing regarding two previous marriages and said he has "gotten on my knees and sought God's forgiveness." Dobson's Focus on the Family provided WND with a transcript of Gingrich's remarks, which will be broadcast tomorrow on the group's daily program as the second of a two-part segment. Dobson asked Gingrich about his personal life at the end of a discussion about the former congressman's book, "Rediscovering...

This is a question that is asked by many. And it is one that is quite easily answered, Yes, He will. Psalm 86:5 states "For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee." The scriptures also teach us that God would have all men come to repentance, 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." We see by these two verses that the...

Marie Roberts, the widow of the killer of five Amish girls in a schoolroom massacre in rural Pennsylvania, has written to the families of his victims thanking them for their forgiveness.The hamlets of Nickel Mines, where the children lived, and Georgetown, the home of Charles Roberts, a milkman who killed himself after shooting dead the girls and injuring a further five, are slowly recovering. At the weekend, Mrs Roberts remained too distressed to give an interview but she issued a letter to her neighbours. Mrs Roberts, now a lone parent to three children, said her family was overwhelmed by the...

The temptation to comment on the sleaze currently oozing out of Washington in the battle for control of Congress, tainting the guilty and the innocent alike, is almost irresistible. It can wait. A much more important story unfolded last week in an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania, a tale of forgiveness and grace that brings into sharp focus the clash of cultures in which we are now engaged. We have heard repeatedly over the last five years that Islam is a "religion of peace hijacked by radicals." The President of the United States, in a vain attempt to appear evenhanded, has...

Undeserved forgiveness By Jeff Jacoby Monday, October 9, 2006“There was not one desk, not one chair, in the whole schoolroom that was not splattered with either blood or glass. There were bullet holes everywhere -- everywhere.” That description is from Janice Ballenger, a deputy coroner in Lancaster County, Pa. She was among the first to enter the West Nickel Mines Amish School after Charles Roberts murdered five girls and severely wounded five others there last week. One of the bodies she examined was that of Naomi Rose Ebersol , a 7-year-old who had been shot more than 20 times....

I was just reading a story about the recent Amish tragedy in Bart, Pennsylvania, and what struck me about the article was the sense of forgiveness inherent among the Amish. After such a disturbing and senseless, soul-shattering act of violence, the Amish were not lashing out at the gunmen or the gunmen's family. Though most would. They were not seeking revenge for their loss. Where many have. A great tragedy had just befallen them, which no words can convey the magnitude of, in such a small community, events and people interwoven, interlocked, where everyone knew each others names, the memories...

The Amish of Lancaster County, often seen as living in an idyllic but archaic past, have given a powerful example for the future. Their actions since the school shootings that killed five Amish girls provide one of many ways to prevent such tragedies. Previous school shootings, notably the 1999 murders at Columbine High School, have led to calls for any number of useful, preventive measures, such as tighter security, more federal gun control, antibullying training for young children, more parental vigilance in communities, and closer screening of wayward students. And perhaps, as a result, many shootings have been prevented. Those...

"[Christ] in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7). A businessman near St. Louis recently received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and was rejoicing in the knowledge of sins forgiven. Lately, however, he has become conscious of sin creeping back into his Christian life. Haunting fears of an angry God keep torturing his tender conscience as he wonders if God still accepts him. A suburban housewife has a husband who is an alcoholic. Early this morning, he came home drunk with a major dent in the...

Raw anguish for tiny angels Hundreds mourn 5 schoolgirls executed by deranged gunman BY HELEN KENNEDY and JESS WISLOSKI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS PARADISE, Pa. - Dressed by their mothers in pure white pinafores, the little girls slain in Monday's Amish school massacre were laid out in rough wooden coffins in their front parlors yesterday as hundreds of friends, relatives and neighbors came to say goodbye. "There was a war between good and evil in that schoolhouse and good won," Naomi Ebersol's grandfather told mourners by the 7-year-old's coffin, according to a visitor. "He said he thought good won because...

Horse-drawn buggies clip-clopped past roadblocks Thursday morning as Amish families gathered to bury four of the five young girls gunned down inside their tiny rural schoolhouse.All roads leading into the village of Nickel Mines, where a milk truck driver took 10 girls hostage and opened fire, were blocked off for the funerals.The Amish families had asked for privacy as they pray at three homes before burying Naomi Rose Ebersole, 7; Marian Fisher, 13; and sisters Mary Liz Miller, 8, and Lena Miller, 7. The funeral for a fifth girl, Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12, was scheduled for Friday.Five of their friends...

NICKEL MINES, Pa. (AP) -- In most communities, a deadly school shooting brings demands for tighter gun laws and better security, and the victims' loved ones lash out at the gunman's family or threaten to sue. But that's not the Amish way. As they struggle with the slayings of five of their children in a one-room schoolhouse, the Amish in this Lancaster County village are urging forgiveness of the killer and quietly accepting what comes their way as God's will. "They know their children are going to heaven. They know their children are innocent, and they know that they will...

The simplest and most basic principles of the gospel are sometimes those least understood. One of the most fundamental gospel principles is repentance. The mere announcement of the word "repentance" will cause some of you to conclude at the outset that you've already "heard it all," to tune out the speaker, or to allow your mind to wander to your studies, to dating, or simply to daydream. But I would like to give you a new insight into the principle of repentance and show you how relevant and helpful repentance can become for you. Even though some of you may...

There Are Only Two Religions in the Whole World! by John G. Reisinger There are basically only two religions in the world. One says, "If you will do such and such, God will graciously bestow His blessing upon you." The thousand and one varieties of this religion differ only on what the "such and such" is that you must be willing to do. One variety says bathe in a sacred river, another bids you kiss the sacred rock located in the holy city, still another says be baptized or some similar rite, and in distinctly evangelical circles this religion emphasizes,...

Below is a little missive I ripped out just as soon as I heard about MS. Magazine’s attempts to recruit abortion supporters by asking them to supply their names and their stories. In a fit, an absolute fit of pique, I typed up my own abortion story. Then I saved it on the hard drive and pondered all week how to deal with my narrative of anger and angst. I don’t want to put it on my own Blog as frankly-MS. Magazine doesn’t realize this-I am certainly not at all proud of my story. Yet I wonder if the millions...

Love Your Heavenly EnemyHow are we going to live eternally with those we can't stand now? When my Yale colleague Professor Carlos Eire visits his elderly mother, he often ends up as a resident theologian for a small Cuban-immigrant community of her friends. "Is it possible," one woman asked him, "for Castro to convert on his deathbed and end up in heaven?""It is possible," Professor Eire assured her. "This is what Christian faith is all about. Nobody is beyond the pale of redemption.""Well, if that were to happen," said the woman, "then I would not want to be in heaven."Karl...

Editor’s note: This is one of a series of articles about recovering from betrayal. Read the first article CLICK. All names shown here in italics are pseudonyms, used to protect the identity of the writers. A lot has been written about forgiveness — the physical and emotional healing power of making peace. For some, giving up the anger and resentment that comes with holding a grudge can reduce back pain, limit relapses among those battling substance abuse, and slash one’s stress level by up to 50 percent. Studies have led researchers to conclude that harboring bitterness and anger can actually...

Read Part 2 What Forgiveness Is and Isn’t CLICK It seems everyone experiences some tragedy in life, some trial or test. After all, that’s what we’re here for. And proving our character by the choices we make in responding to those trials is what forms the basis of God’s just rewards. Being betrayed is part and parcel to many, if not most, trials — betrayed by spouse, business partner, friend, neighbor. How do you recover? This is a heavy subject, and one that has derailed many of life’s travelers. Yet the outcome for some individuals is positive. Over time, they...

Michael Berg has come to terms with his son's murderer. But to most Americans that man is still enemy No.1, writes Martin Daly in New York. In the darkness, when the pain becomes too great, Michael Berg pulls out a chair for the man who decapitated his son and talks to him about compassion and forgiveness. Michael Berg has cried publicly many times for his dead son but he has forgiven Zarqawi, considered by the Americans to be the premier threat to peace in Iraq, but who remains free despite a $US25 million ($33 million) bounty on his head, and...