Free Republic

The D.C. lobby office of the United Methodist Church, the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS), has finally broken its silence about the “health care” offered by abortion and infanticide provider Kermit Gosnell. The GBCS likes to boast that it “has not been silent” on pressing issues of social concern. But when it comes to arguably the most pressing social-justice issue of our day, which according to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute globally claims the lives of tens of millions of precious babies created in God’s image every year, the GBCS has been absolutely silent. Or rather, when it has...

Thanks to Kathryn Lopez for highlighting this interview in USA Today with Archbishop Cordileone on gay marriage. Anybody who wishes to enter into a debate about gay marriage with friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, or anyone else should read this interview and memorize each and every answer by the Archbishop. This, folks, is how it is done. Do not accept their premises at all. This is not a debate about tolerance or a live and let live mentality. If it was, some form of civil union or benefit structure would have been sufficient. This is about criminalizing the opposing views and...

Southern Baptists have changed their mind about Roe. When will United Methodists join them? Last week about 100,000 or more marched in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. This year they commemorated 40 years since the 1973 Supreme Court decision constitutionalizing abortion on demand. Supporting the march and the pro-life cause were leaders of AmericaÂ’s two largest religious communions, the 68 million-member Roman Catholic Church and the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention. Meanwhile, agencies for the third largest, the United Methodist Church, crafted a news release virtually celebrating Roe v. Wade. But 40 years ago, both Southern Baptists...

A former Methodist worship and teaching pastor who served in ministry for 20 years before becoming an atheist has been appointed as the American Atheist's public relations director. In an interview with The Christian Post, she revealed that despite initially being ostracized by friends, she is now happy and at peace with her decision. "No it was very, very gradual. Actually there's not really one single moment where I can look back and say ah, that was the moment. It was kind of a slow progression," Teresa MacBain shared about her loss of faith with CP in a phone interview...

After listening online to a recent sermon on "same-sex marriage" by John Piper. . . . I was surprised to read an article in the Star Tribune ("Key Minnesota pastors opt out of marriage fight," June 21) that misrepresented how Piper is addressing the November vote on a proposed marriage amendment to the Minnesota Constitution. [ . . . ] It's clear that Piper did, indeed, direct his church members to vote to approve the amendment. He did so by explaining how to think through this critical cultural issue biblically and logically, rather than merely telling them what to do...

A Christian church has been converted into a Muslim assembly hall. In Moenchengladbach-Rheydt the Alevi community gathers in the former Holy Cross Church of the Evangelical Methodist Church. Three years ago, the Methodists celebrated their last church service in the church and sold it in 2010 to the Alevis. The renovation of the building took one and a half years. This was an unprecedented event in Germany, writes the newspaper "Welt am Sonntag". So far, an interdenominational consensus had prevailed, not to allow the conversion of abandoned churches to Islamic worship.

AMPA, FLORIDA, May 7, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Members of the nation’s largest mainline Protestant church voted to maintain the doctrine that homosexual actions were “incompatible with Christian teaching” on Thursday. The United Methodist Church voted down two proposals to water down its stance on homosexuality on Thursday. One proposal called homosexuals “people of sacred worth” and acknowledged differing viewpoints on the issue, while another said humans did not know enough about human sexuality to prefer one lifestyle over another.

Pain and Protest For ten previous General Conferences (1972-2008), the issue of homosexuality has absorbed increased time and energy and caused deep division in the church. This General Conference was the tenth such time. Veterans of previous General Conferences come prepared for the drumbeats of protest, the rainbow stoles designating us vs. them, and the tears that accompany the vote of the General Conference. Although we do not agree with those who would change United Methodism's stance on homosexuality, we do not take their tears lightly. It is grevious that General Conference has become a place of such pain and...

The Methodist Church's rise and recent decline is perhaps the most statistically striking story in American religious history. At the time of the American Revolution, the denomination was tiny. English Methodist founder John Wesley was hostile toward American independence, which badly hampered the church's growth in America. After the Revolution, the American church began to operate independently from English Methodists. The legendary Methodist "circuit riders" began reaching the American backcountry, riding on horseback to reach every nook and cranny of the Appalachian frontier and Mississippi River Valley. In 1770, there were about 20 Methodist churches in America. By 1860 that...

The season of Lent begins not only for millions of Catholics by having placed a sign of the cross on their foreheads with ash on Wednesday, but with many Christians in and outside of denominations vowing to mark the season with acts of faith.Though Lent is often seen as part of the Catholic tradition of fasting for 40 days (calculated sometimes to exclude the weekends in the days leading to Easter), many Christians view this time as serving as a reminder to the importance of getting closer to God.Christine Smith, founder of the online site Womens Bible Cafe, wrote on...

A prophet is not necessarily someone who has a supernatural vision of the future. He may simply be a person who can see certain trends in the present, understand the underlying issues and therefore attempt to predict how things may go in the future. Here are some trends I see in the American Church and how I see the future developing. The first thing is the disintegration of denominationalism. It used to be that the different Protestant groups were distinct in their theology and their style of worship. There were boundaries. You pretty much knew what to expect in a...

When it comes to the holy trinity of art, architecture, and religion, few buildings are more significant than the 1898 Methodist Church in Norwalk, Connecticut. Anchoring a main street, the Romanesque-style church features a stained-glass rose window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany himself. The founders of American Methodism preached there. Given its prominence and pedigree, should the church's governing body be allowed to sell the building for development, as it is currently trying to do? The U.S. Constitution, according to many observers, says yes, but historic preservationists beg to differ. Who decides? In cities nationwide, churches are struggling to maintain...

Gov. Sam Brownback endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry for president on Thursday, citing Perry's record on creating jobs and reducing taxes. "Rick Perry is the right leader for this moment in history," he said in a prepared statement. "I think he's really got the right message that it's about jobs, it's about job creation and it's about getting the atmosphere right," Brownback said. "They've maintained and created a very positive, growth-oriented atmosphere in Texas that we've got to get back to in the United States." Perry's campaign issued a statement calling Brownback "one of the most respected voices for conservatism...

Hundreds of United Methodist clergy are expressing deep concerns over a pledge made by a large group of fellow ministers to marry same-sex couples. They argue that if the pledge is carried through, the future of the denomination is in jeopardy. "We do not know how many, if any, marriages or 'holy unions' of same-sex couples will be performed by UM clergy in the near future," reads a letter, currently signed by more than 400 pastors, to the Council of Bishops. "But we do know the destructive effects that will result in our local churches and throughout the denomination if...

In the early 1900s, many Americans — from ordinary citizens to those in high office — were frightened by the perceived threat from the Roman Catholic Church. Their fear had tragic consequences.The mind-set is all too familiar: A radical religious group, lurking inside the country, owing loyalty to a foreign power, threatens America. No one denies that its members have a right to worship as they please, but good Americans, patriots, feel compelled to call for curbs against the menace they present. Because of the number of Americans sharing these fears, calls for restrictions on the religion are voiced openly...

More than 200 United Methodist clergy in Illinois have pledged to flout church policy and bless unions for same-sex couples, putting their jobs, homes and callings in jeopardy if couples take advantage of their offer.Methodists in the Northern Illinois Conference also called on the global church to impose no more than a 24-hour suspension for clergy who defy the policy.Elders, deacons and pastors took their stand after civil unions in Illinois became legal this month. But they said their determination to support same-sex unions has been fueled further by a church trial last week in which a jury found a...

MILWAUKEE, (AP) -- Methodist pastors who have increasingly defied a church ban on marrying gays were dealt a setback Wednesday when a colleague was found guilty in a church trial of marrying a lesbian couple in 2009. A 13-person jury of clergy peers unanimously convicted The Rev. Amy DeLong of Osceola. The jury found the 44-year-old not guilty of a second charge of being a "self-avowed practicing homosexual." That vote was 12-1. After the verdicts were announced Wednesday afternoon, church officials began hearing a second round of testimony to help jurors recommend a penalty that could range from suspension to...

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A growing number of pastors in the United Methodist Church say they're no longer willing to obey a church rule that prohibits them from officiating at same-sex marriages, despite the potential threat of being disciplined or dismissed from the church. In some parts of the U.S., Methodist pastors have been marrying same-sex couples or conducting blessing ceremonies for same-sex unions for years with little fanfare and no backlash from the denomination. Calls to overturn the rule have become increasingly vocal in recent weeks, ratcheting up the pressure for the Methodist church to join other mainline Protestant denominations...

In my article last month about the historic vote by Presbyterians to endorse the ordination of gay and lesbian ministers, I issued a challenge to the Methodist Church, the last mainstream denomination holding out on full acceptance of LGBT people. It seems there were already Methodists taking up the challenge to make their denomination more welcoming. Just days after the Presbyterians moved to approve gay and lesbian clergy, the Washington Post reported that “the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church narrowly approved a groundbreaking same-sex marriage resolution.” The resolution, passed at the church’s annual local conference, would amend the...

Same-sex marriage is illegal in Minnesota but 70 United Methodist clergy in the state have signed a statement saying they will marry gay couples. "We joyfully affirm that we will offer the grace of the Church’s blessing to any prepared couple desiring Christian marriage," reads the statement introduced this week at the 2011 Minnesota Annual Conference. "We are convinced by the witness of others and are compelled by Spirit and conscience to act. We thank the many United Methodists who have already called for full equality and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the life of the...