Free Republic

Several months ago someone sent me a copy of a book: 2008 God’s Final Witness, by Ronald Weinland. It was suggested to me that perhaps I should challenge Mr. Weinland to debate me. As I scanned the book, I decided that the best response overall was to allow time to respond to Mr. Weinland, and my thinking has been vindicated. You see, Mr. Weinland claims that, “When this book is published at the end of summer of 2006, there will be a maximum of two years remaining before the world will be plunged into the worst time in human history”...

On the day of July 8, 1838 -- 175 years ago tomorrow -- the original "prophet" of the Church of Mormon, Joseph Smith, made up four "revelations" from the Mormon god: These are recorded in Doctrine & Covenants (numbers 117, 118, 119, & 120). Let's look at some of the verses in these: 117:12: I say unto you, I remember my servant Oliver Granger; behold, verily I say unto him that his name shall be had in sacred remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever, saith the Lord."Of course, you all know Oliver Granger, right? ....Uh, right? Well, surely,...

Dear Stacey: You have written demanding an apology for my recent characterization of the Mormon religion as "non-Christian." I am happy to write a public letter of apology to you and to the countless Mormon readers who responded negatively to my characterization. I am sorry that so many of my Mormon readers have brazenly accused me of ignorance of their religion and suggested that I read the Book of Mormon. I am sorry that they were unaware that I read the Book of Mormon back in 2006. I am sorry that the science of genetics has refuted claims made in...

1. The foetus cannot be taken seriously as a person An unborn baby in its 7th week after conception Before I knew much about the abortion debate, I was entirely uninterested in the unborn baby. When it was mentioned, I accepted uncritically that the "foetus" was just some sort of overdeveloped sperm of no value or worth. Pro-abortion rhetoric convinced me that the baby in the womb was somehow an entirely different class of human from you or me, as though the mere act of leaving the womb and inhaling oxygen conferred humanity on someone. I'm not sure I considered...

MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's top cleric called on Muslims around the world Saturday to forsake terrorism, saying those who claim to be holy warriors were an affront to the faith. AP Photo (AP Video)   In a sermon that was remarkable not only for its strong language but also its timing — at the peak of the annual hajj — Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Sheik told 2 million pilgrims that terrorists were giving their enemies an excuse to criticize Muslim nations. "Is it holy war to shed Muslim blood? Is it holy war to shed the blood of...

Anti-Semitism, Misinformation, And The Whitewashing Of The Palestinian Leadership By Francisco J. Gil-White Introduction Until last spring I held what people call a pro-Palestinian position. Like many intellectuals I had adopted Arafat’s cause, taking what I believed was a principled stand that blamed Israel for the conflict in the Middle East, and especially for the suffering of Palestinians. Because I come from a Catholic background, and because there is a long and violent history of Catholic anti-Semitism (though not in my family), I always made clear that I supported the right of the State of Israel to exist, and that...

Have you noticed how we don't hear much about Bush-haters? It's odd since not long ago "Clinton-hatred" was a national epidemic. The New York Times, Washington Post, Time magazine and others devoted dozens, if not hundreds, of articles to "Clintonophobia" and other maladies stemming from "right-wing paranoia" and "irrational Clinton hatred."But first, I should admit: I was both a "Clinton hater" and a Clinton hater. The quotation marks offer an important distinction because you could be labeled a "Clinton hater" even if you didn't actually dislike the man.

"2,4,6,8 - Israel is the Jewish State..." Waiting to cross 5th Avenue today, one could hear the bullhorn chants as the Israeli day parade marched up to 79 th street in Manhattan. Cute stuff to be sure, but what does it say about the "peace" these folks want? A quick check of the Bible indicates the existence of a Palestine (let's not get into a discussion about its borders), have the Israelis decided that the reference in the Bible doesn't exist, never did and never will?

The "Father Tim" ArgumentThe Simple TruthLayman Looks at the Case of Necessityby Edwin Faust "The priests did not say: Where is the Lord? and they that held the law knew me not, and the pastors transgressed against me." - Jeremias 1:8-11     We are simple folk, most of us. We understand what is written large upon the human heart, and what is spoken plainly. We understand love and loyalty, and their dark opposites.We do not always understand subtlety.     Subtlety lives in shadowlands, places with unlighted passages and unexpected turnings where lurk the long words and intricate legalities that are the progeny of...

po-lem-ic (pelem'ik) n-1 an argument, dispute, etc., especially a written one, that supports one opinion or body of ideas in opposition to another (The New Scholastic Dictionary of American English). Excerpts from the article: "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). With Luther, we must say, "Unity wherever possible, but truth at all costs." In his battle with the modernists earlier this century, J. Gresham Machen,...