Free Republic

Sen. Frank Lautenberg died this morning of viral pneumonia at age 89, his office said

In 1977 British journalist William Rees-Mogg saw that the West had lost its faith, and like a fish out of water or a drowning man was, "...desperately thrashing around for lack of oxygen. Since the time of Christ there has been no period in which there has been the same feeling of...spiritual impoverishment." (Idols for Destruction: The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture,Herbert Schlossberg,p. 2) Thirty-six years later, but for a faithful remnant, Christendom is dead and America's idolatrous, nihilistic post-Christian culture and narcissistic postmodern church are quickly following suit. While there are as yet many faithful churches, priests,...

I spent a lot of time yesterday sorting out my feelings about Gosnell and his conviction, as well as the way some extreme pro-life people are talking about him. Thanks to a few respected colleagues who took some time with me to discuss in private, I think I’ve worked out the three major feelings I have. I suspect most of my readers will agree with the first two, but have questions about the third: 1 I’m glad limited justice has been served. 2 I’m glad he’s going to prison. 3 Yet, I don’t want Gosnell to go to Hell. I’d...

Featured Term (selected at random):DAMNATION The conscious eternal loss of the vision of God. The state of being damned by reason of one's own deliberate estrangement from God. This is the lot of the demons, and of those who die in mortal sin. It is damnation because it is the result of a just sentence pronounced by God on those who are guilty. It is eternal because it is irrevocable, being pronounced to be unending in its consequences (Matthew 25). The condemned are no longer in a state of probation, and no longer able to expiate or repent (Luke...

"I'm sitting here with a loaded shotgun. I want my family back or I pull the trigger," Al* threatened over the phone. "And don't call the cops. I'll kill them before I let them put me in some institution." What could I say to this troubled parishioner? His wife and son had left him, he had been demoted at work, and he felt the church was unsupportive of him. "Well, God loves you and I love you." "Yah, yah. But if I commit suicide, I'll go to hell! Right?" Al's question brought up the age-old question: Do Christians who commit...

Believing the truth about hell also motivates us to persuade people to be reconciled to God. By God’s grace those of us who are trusting Christ have been rescued from this horrible destiny. How can we love people and refuse to speak plainly to them about the realities of eternal damnation and God’s gracious provision of salvation? Clearer visions of hell will give us greater love for both God and people. “There is one very serious defect to my mind in Christ’s moral character, and that is that He believed in hell.” So wrote the agnostic British philosopher Bertrand Russell...

Italian archaeologists have uncovered Pluto's Gate, the so-called "gate to hell," in southwestern Turkey. In Greco-Roman mythology the cave was considered the portal to the underworld. It was found in the ancient ruins of Hierapolis, now called Pamukkale, and was described by Cicero and the Greek geographer Strabo in their writings. According to Strabo, the opening was filled with deadly vapors. "This space is full of vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death," Strabo wrote. "I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell...

Where is Christ after he dies on Friday afternoon and before he rises on Easter Sunday? Both Scripture and Tradition answer this question. Consider the following from a Second Century Sermon and also a mediation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.An Ancient Sermon: Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone...

Let’s get one thing straight. In this battle over same-sex ‘marriage’ it often sounds like those pushing the dismantling of traditional marriage have the upper hand in terms of love. ‘You are opposed to love!’; ‘How does the love between me and my partner affect you in your marriage?’; ‘Why can’t I be allowed to love whomever I choose?’ These are the tough arguments from ‘love’ facing those who are fighting to protect marriage from radical redefinition. In truth, however, love is the principle reason to fight same-sex ‘marriage.’ You see, law is a teacher and enshrining same-sex ‘marriage’ in...

Doing this piece gave me pause. I don't KNOW where Chavez went after his death, and I'm not interested in decisively casting judgement on the matter.That said, he was a BAD guy, he abused the power bestowed upon him, and his life was not a force for good in the world.That has to count for something...

President Hugo Chavez Has Died

SNIPPET: "The forces fighting against Assad's regime in Syria include foreigners who have come to take part in the uprising alongside the Syrian rebels. Among them are members of Jordan's Salafi-jihadi movement, which, according to its senior leaders, has so far dispatched some 250 fighters to Syria.[1] As one means of encouraging Jordanian youths to join its ranks and adopt the ideology of jihad and martyrdom, the Salafi-jihadi movement stages "martyrs' weddings" for fighters killed in Syria, based on the Islamic belief that every martyr is rewarded with 72 black-eyed virgin brides in Paradise. These "weddings" are not a new...

DENTIST FROM COLOMBIA SAW SIN OF ABORTION DURING AFTERLIFE JOURNEY TO NETHERWORLDHow can it be -- that in a great nation, in a nation "under God," there is abortion?How can it be? How can it be that we poison babies, that we scald them, that we puncture them, that we discard them in large alley trash bins?How can it be that every year we slay more than a million in the womb -- this nation that invented the polio vaccine, that devised countless medical technologies to save lives, including those of infants; how can it be rational to also be...

A documentary on abortionist Kermit Gosnell’s well-regarded practice. The video, which includes some images of Gosnell’s many victims, is not for children or the faint of heart.

Every once in a while, someone of note questions or denies the classic Christian belief of a literal hell with eternal, conscious suffering. Then a debate rages and becomes personal between representatives of various perspectives on the issue... Hell is real and terrible. It is eternal. There is no possibility of amnesty or reprieve. Daniel says that some of the dead will be resurrected “to shame and everlasting contempt.” Jesus says, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . And these will go away into eternal punishment.” Paul tells...

The last thing any of us want to think about is eternal torment. And yet there we find it....smack dab in the middle of God's Word, and regularly mentioned by the very One who suffered on the cross for our sins. As much as we would like to ignore it completely....or pretend it doesn't exist....we find ourselves compelled to honestly accept everything God has placed in His Word....even when it has such extreme consequences. Nothing could be further from our natural way of thinking than the doctrine of eternal punishment in hell....and the Son of God suffering on a cross....and...

As most of you know, there has been a rather vivid discussion recently in the blogosphere on the subject of hell. As one who has written rather substantially, on the topic of hell, and our need to recover a more biblical notion regarding judgment and hell, I pray that you will tolerate me adding my own voice to the recent discussions.Those who read this blog regularly, will know that I have spoken on the topic of Hell on any number of occasions. For example:The Hell of It ——–Hell Has to Be——Will Many Be Saved? ——–Sinner Please Don’t Let this Harvest...

The face of American Christianity is in transition, and Rob Bell, with his evolving look and artistry, has opened a window on this hybrid horizon. Known to many for his Nooma films, a series of twenty-four twelve-minute sermons and his controversial 2011 book, titled Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, his person and work provoke visceral reactions that range from adoration to repulsion, while raising profound questions. In 2011 he was named to the Time 100 list—the 100 most influential people in the world. That same year, Bell left Mars...