Free Republic

It was incredibly humbling to recognise that I had something to do with why my marriage was failing and perhaps even why my first marriage failed. But it was also empowering. I didn't know I'd been disrespectful to my husband or even that I'd been controlling and critical.

We were warned. Because the left is not going to remain silent on the moral issues—and because most liberals are devoted to a “theology of self” (or a “philosophical dumpster fire” as described by David French)—Christians, especially Christian celebrities, are going to remain targets of the homosexual agenda. It doesn’t matter whether you are tied to the wedding industry. It doesn’t matter if you’re famous. It doesn’t matter whether you are a small business owner, a large corporation, or a state government. In spite of the meme they like to perpetuate, the left simply will not tolerate dissent when it...

It’s not exactly a common conversation topic, even among the best of friends. At a typical local coffee shop you might overhear all kinds of home remedies and anecdotal evidence concerning a host of problems but I bet you have never heard someone start a sentence with, “How I saved my marriage was…” When it comes to marriage, privacy is important and I’m not going to say otherwise. I’m not going to suggest that we all should be transparent and open about the details of our marriage or that we should all have a brochure entitled, “How I saved my...

Like many Americans, HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines attend a church where the pastor thinks homosexual behavior is a sin. And somehow that’s “news.” BuzzFeed printed the original story, headlined “Chip And Joanna Gaines’ Church Is Firmly Against Same-Sex Marriage.” From there it was picked up by Cosmopolitan, Us Weekly, and my favorite, Jezebel. Why? Now to be clear, the Gaineses aren’t even quoted in the original BuzzFeed story. We have no idea what they personally think about same-sex marriage. In fact, a spokesperson for the Antioch Community Church where the Gaineses attend, specifically tells BuzzFeed “she could not...

Efforts to redefine marriage will ultimately, and always, fail, and as in the case of Elton John and David Furnish, will be revealed as folly. As Gamaliel warned the Sanhedrin concerning the Apostles of Jesus, “[I]f their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God. (Acts 5:38b-39)” As liberals work to hold onto their perverse legal redefinition of marriage, they are not merely battling conservatism, but God Himself, and that is always a losing proposition.

When the honeymoon is over, couples start getting real with each other. The key to a good marriage is compromise. Whether it’s about who does what chores around the house or who’s picking dinner, a healthy give-and-take ratio is what makes a long-lasting marriage possible. Of course, venting on Twitter from time to time doesn't hurt either. Whether you’ve been married for ten years or ten days, every couple can relate to these 15 tweets. Check out our list of some of the funniest jokes about marriage as told by the Internet - then clean out the dishwasher. Seriously, there’s...

PORTLAND (ChurchMilitant.com) - The man who fined an Oregon Christian bakery $135,000 for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple has lost his run for public office, losing to his Republican opponent. It's the first time a Republican has won a statewide office in Oregon since 2002. Brad Avakian's rise to national prominence began when a lesbian couple filed a complaint to the Oregon Department of Justice back in 2013 when Aaron and Melissa Klein, Christian owners of Sweet Cakes bakery, declined to make a cake for a gay wedding. Brad Avakian, then Commissioner of Oregon Bureau...

A religious watchdog organization is applauding a denominational group for its handling of a sexual ethics issue. The Baptist General Convention of Texas, aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention, recently notified a Dallas and an Austin church that their stances on affirming sexual relationships outside the scope of biblical marriage between a man and a woman puts them outside the bounds of cooperation with the state convention. That means the BGCT will no longer accept funds from the church, seat its messengers to the annual meeting and allow the church to express affiliation with the state convention, among other things.

COMMENTARY The most conspicuous is the change of the name from the “Rite of Marriage” to the “Order of Celebrating Matrimony.” This new name is more in accord with the Latin original, but it also adds something to the title that is not found in the simple word “marriage.” Not only does “matrimony” convey greater solemnity than “marriage,” but the Latin matrimonium also means “the state of being a mother.” This new title, therefore, provides us with a significant opportunity for a much-needed catechesis on the very nature of holy matrimony. In the face of a secular culture that values...

MEXICO CITY -- A committee in Mexico’s lower house of congress has voted down a proposal by President Enrique Pena Nieto to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. The measure seeking to enshrine in the constitution same-sex couples’ right to wed was defeated 19-8 Wednesday in the Commission on Constitutional Matters. According to a summary published online by the Chamber of Deputies, commission chairman Edgar Castillo Martinez said the vote means the matter is “totally and definitively concluded.” Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled last year that it was unconstitutional for states to bar same-sex marriage. But that decision did not have the effect...

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 3, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — Some of the nation's leading African-American religious leaders are denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, in part because of her involvement in and defense of abortion, which they describe as "black genocide." Twenty-six clergy, including eight bishops, signed an open letter to Clinton, castigating her for her extremist and unwavering support of the abortion industry across the nation and worldwide. Dr. Jacqueline C. Rivers of the Seymour Institute in Washington, D.C., personally took the epistle entitled, “An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton Regarding Religious Freedom for Black America” to the Hillary Clinton...

Christopher and Heather Dempsey found they had a bond that went beyond the major medical procedure they shared.Just under two years ago, Christopher Dempsey made the brave decision to donate half his liver to a stranger and save her life.But little did he know their bond would go beyond a medical procedure.Now the woman he saved, Heather Krueger, is not just a friend, she is his wife.It's a heartwarming love story that began when Christopher, a former marine, overheard a colleague at work talking about a cousin who needed a transplant.Christopher, 38, told the BBC: "I just thought to myself,...

LONDON, Oct 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - One girl under 15 is married every seven seconds, according to a report by Save the Children released on Tuesday, with girls as young as 10 married off - often to much older men - in countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, India and Somalia. Early marriage not only deprives girls of education and opportunities but increases the risk of death or childbirth injuries if they have babies before their bodies are ready. "Child marriage starts a cycle of disadvantage that denies girls the most basic rights to learn, develop and be children," said Save...

If it’s you or your spouse driving your relationship, you may get lost. But God knows the way. In fact, Catholic marriages receive his grace. The problem is that “grace” can seem so abstract that we don’t always know how to access it. Two new books on marriage written by two married couples share personal experiences and insights on how to access those graces.  Intimate Graces: How Practicing the Works of Mercy Brings Out the Best in Marriages by Teresa Tomeo (Pastore) and Dominick Pastore and The Four Keys to Everlasting Love: How Your Catholic Marriage Can Bring You Joy for...

Divorce is looking pretty glamorous these days. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have already worked out the initial terms of their separation. Their six children are being home-schooled in Malibu, Calif., and Jolie is all set to release her next movie later this fall. And, of course, she is now free to happily continue her humanitarian globe-trotting. Wow, that was easy.

Tarunkumar and Sachin Patel wanted to find a way so that more of their friends and business associates from India could get permanent legal status to remain in the United States. But they admitted Monday their plans were federal crimes. Now they and up to 17 others face prison time. The men said that in 2011 they arranged four sham marriages between their friends and American women the two Patels had met. The two are business acquaintances. Then in 2014, Tarunkumar Patel said he began bribing a Mississippi police officer to create false crime reports in an effort to get...

Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript, continues to lead the technological revolution with Brave, an innovative concept in Internet browsers.    After blowing away the competition (read: Microsoft's Internet Explorer) with the Internet browser Firefox, Eich has come up with Brave, a nearly ad-free, lightning-fast browser that eliminates intrusive ads as well as common but unwanted tracking tack-ons.   A tech legend for his Java and Firefox contributions, Eich was betrayed by his contemporaries and forced out of business as CEO of Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, because he supported natural marriage... [less than 50%]   https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/shunned-for-supporting-traditional-marriage-former-mozilla-ceo-is-back-with  

“You’re getting your inheritance early.” Those were my father’s words to me as he explained that he was taking money that he might have left me in his will and spending it on my private school tuition. My father’s reasoning was that I would be able to create more wealth for his grandchildren if he invested in my education. Thanks to his wisdom, I would go on to graduate from Williams, one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the nation and to obtain my MBA from Harvard. Besides my parents’ willingness to sacrifice for my education—a decision my...

A bride-to-be filmed passionately kissing a man she had 'just met' during her hen do had to cancel the wedding after the clip went viral. Emma Alicia Paz Ayala from the north-western Mexican city of Hermosillo went out for her party with female friends to celebrate her last night of 'freedom' as a single lady. The do took place at the Playa del Carmen resort on the other side of the country and while drinking heavily at a pool bar, Emma was filmed locking lips with the apparent stranger.

A wise pastor, whose name I’ve forgotten, once said, “If you want to know what to preach about, find out what sin with which your congregation is struggling.” Or, as I noted after the infamous Obergefell ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that legally redefined the oldest institution in the history of humanity, pastors, as they prepare their sermons, should always be asking, “Where is the enemy at work in attempting to deceive my congregation?” Likewise, any organization devoted to the works of Jesus Christ—or seeking to “impact the world for Jesus Christ”—should be well prepared to confront the popular...