Free Republic

Many years ago I was taught that the essence of heaven is the Beatific Vision. That is, one will look upon the glorious and radiant face of God, and find in that look the fulfillment of all desires, and a joy (beatus) beyond all telling.And surely this description remains both true and worth repeating. However, I have noticed that some get stuck on the the word “vision” and to some extent on the word “face,” and tend to reduce the experience to a kind of “static” (unchanging) vision.For our experience of the “face” of another is that it does not...

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them,Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words...

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my...

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my...

Atheists in San Diego, Calif. are trying a new approach to recruiting non-believers by offering food, such as pretzels and cheezits, and putting up large banners that read "Relax: hell does not exist, or heaven either, enjoy your life." The atheists are members of the San Diego-based group the San Diego Coalition of Reason, and every Saturday they set up a booth in the city's Balboa Park alongside other religious groups, such as Hare Krishnas and evangelical Christians, to educate passerby on their lack of beliefs. Along with the quirky banner that hangs over their booth, members of the group...

Archaeologists digging in Turkey have found the guardians of the "Gate to Hell" -- two unique marble statues which once warned of a deadly cave in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, near Pamukkale. Known as Pluto's Gate -- Ploutonion in Greek, Plutonium in Latin -- the cave was celebrated as the portal to the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology and tradition. It was discovered in March by a team led by Francesco D'Andria, professor of classic archaeology at the University of Salento.

Mars Hill Bible Church, the congregation founded by author Rob Bell, lost about 1,000 people over their former pastor's controversial 2011 book, Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, according to the Grandville, Mich., megachurch's new pastor Kent Dobson. Dobson was chosen by Mars Hill Bible Church in 2012 to replace Bell, who founded the congregation in 1999. "There was a lot of drama with (Bell's book) Love Wins and that season feels like it's over. This year has been one of sort of settling down a bit and re-identifying our...

When a network's ad—putatively for its own website—extensively features a candidate for office in a high-profile race, at what point does the ad constitute a contribution in kind to that politician's campaign? The question arises in light of MSNBC's ad for its new website that aired on today's Morning Joe. In the space of 30 seconds, the ad twice featured shots of Wendy Davis, Dem candidate for Texas governor, who became an overnight liberal darling on the basis of her filibuster of a Texas law imposing restrictions on abortion. For good measure, the ad also displayed what appeared to be...

Once upon a time, Groucho Marx hosted the popular game show, “You Bet Your Life.” At the start of the show, a “secret word” was revealed to the studio audience. If a contestant said the word during the course of the show, a reward would descend from the rafters (a one hundred dollar bill). Whether we know it or not, we are all, Christians and non-Christians alike, contestants in the spiritual equivalent of “You Bet Your Life.” If we bet wisely, our reward is eternal life. But if we bet foolishly, we condemn ourselves to eternal damnation. That brings to...

Democrat Wendy Davis, a state senator who catapulted to national prominence this summer with a filibuster over access to abortion, is running for Texas governor. Two Democrats with knowledge of her decision told The Associated Press on Thursday that Davis would announce her candidacy next week. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to pre-empt her official campaign launch on Oct. 3, which will take place in her home district of Fort Worth. …

Let’s call him the Left’s Pat Robertson, though the comparison might not be entirely fair to Robertson because he’s probably paid more of his taxes than Rangel. If a Republican uttered anything near this level of nasty, particularly with a religious bent, it’d be news for days, becoming part of the national narrative on heartless, religious rubes of the Right. But Bible thumping’s a-okay, as long as you’re using the Good Book to thump conservatives. And, thus Rep. Charlie Rangel’s assessment that roughly half the country is headed for a smitin’ for its embrace of barbarically low spending levels of...

FULL TITLE: Neighbor from hell 'who performed lewd dance at child's party and said she wished the mom was dead' breaks silence to claim SHE was the bullied one and husband wanted an affair A woman dubbed the 'neighbor from hell' has hit back at the family who say she terrorized them, claiming that she was the one being bullied and that the husband wanted to have an affair with her. Lori Christensen, 50, from Minnesota, became notorious in 2012 for allegedly targeting her neighbors without good reason. Police received more than 100 calls about her behavior which ranged from...

Video Description: "Video: Saudi Cleric Shanqiti: Muslim Men May Enjoy the Company of up to 19,604 Women in Paradise"

Please watch the 4 minute 43 second video titled GLENN BECK,SICK Teachers in MI stand behind a colleague convicted of rapeING A BOY. Below is a transcript of the interview ( from www.glennbeck.com: GLENN: John, how are you, sir? JOHN: I’m doing great. Thank you, Mr. Beck. GLENN: I’m sorry that we have to meet under these conditions. I would imagine the conversation we had for the last couple of days had to be — your son has — did you guys know at all? Did you have any idea at all that this was going on? JOHN: No....

If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of...

<p>The South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says he will never worship a 'homophobic God' and would rather go to hell than find himself in a 'homophobic heaven'.</p> <p>The retired archbishop said the fight against homophobia in South Africa was similar to the campaign waged against racial apartheid in South Africa.</p>

BURNET — A Burnet County jury on July 18 sentenced 40-year-old Robert Michael Arteaga to 23 consecutive life sentences after he was found guilty of multiple child sex assault and child pornography charges, according to the 33rd/424th District Attorney’s Office. “The grooming was there from the beginning,” said Assistant District Attorney Stacy Street. “It was her biological father, and it was happening as often as two to three times a week.” Arteaga was convicted on 23 counts of sexual assault of a child and 17 counts of possession of child pornography after a trial that lasted four days in Burnet...

So many juicy quotes. So little time.

On Wednesday, barring a reprieve, Kimberly McCarthy will become the 500th convicted killer in Texas to receive a lethal injection. [...] The death penalty is on the books in 32 states. On average, Texas executes an inmate about every three weeks. The murderer: Kimberly McCarthy

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