Free Republic

SCOTTISH Episcopalians affirmed that transgender, non-binary, and intersex people are “made in the image of God” after a debate at the Scottish Episcopal Church’s (SEC’s) General Synod on Saturday. Half an hour had been scheduled for the debate on the final morning of the Synod, but, in the end, the item stretched to almost three times that length. The motion under debate, which was eventually passed, said that the Synod “affirms that transgender, non binary, gender non-conforming and intersex people: are made in the image of God; are loved by God; should be accorded the same dignity, respect and rights...

That’s Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines, a full-time rainbow cleric and part-time cosplay theologian currently pastoring University Christian Church in San Diego. He’s also the Co-Executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org, which is basically a digital “safe space” for those who say they want Jesus but don’t want His inconvenient moral standards. Lines is best known for his TikTok homilies, his pastel stole collection, and his tireless work deconstructing anything that even vaguely resembles biblical Christianity. If it’s sacred, he’ll profane it. If it’s clear, he’ll twist it. And if it’s in Scripture, he’ll rewrite it in the key of Queer Eye. In...

THE American Old Testament scholar Professor Walter Brueggemann has died, aged 92. A statement on his website said that he “passed away peacefully” on Thursday. He is survived by his wife, Tia, his sons, James and John, and their families. Professor Brueggemann wrote more than 100 books, which include The Prophetic Imagination (1978), Message of the Psalms (1985), and Theology of the Old Testament (1997). His more recent books include A Wilderness Zone (Books, 8 April 2022), Interrupting Silence (Books, 22 June 2018), and God, Neighbour, Empire (Books, 15 September 2017). Born in Tilden, Nebraska, in 1933, Professor Brueggemann, who...

Just one in four Catholic priests and Mainline Protestant pastors in the United States say they're certain that Adam and Eve were real people. In contrast, 80% of Evangelical pastors and 89% of black Protestant clergy affirm this belief with certainty. Data from the National Survey of Religious Leaders reveal significant differences among clergy in their core theological beliefs, including their views on the Bible, Hell, miracles, and the existence of God, as noted by Graphs About Religion on Substack.When asked whether they “definitely believe” Adam and Eve were historical figures, the numbers diverged sharply across denominations, dropping to 25%...

Fox News host Mark Levin gives his take on the America First Committee and Iran’s nuclear enrichment on ‘Life, Liberty & Levin.’ #foxnews #news #fox #levin #iran #politics

Whoever ‘approved this mockery … should be called upon to resign,’ music composer says A doctoral student at the University of Nebraska recently orchestrated a drag performance appropriating the Catholic Mass for the final recital of his musical degree. The performance imitated various parts of the Mass, including the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. It was hosted by Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of Lincoln, Nebraska. Two Catholic and conservative advocates told The College Fix that this “mockery” of their faith reveals a double standard in singling out Christianity and highlights a significant lack of academic rigor in university...

The Presbyterian Church (USA) just revealed its membership numbers for 2024, and it is not pretty. The liberal denomination is showing a continued loss of membership, closure of churches, an increasingly aging population, and an inexorable decline into irrelevancy, with one of the only rising data points being the number of members who identify as “non-binary” or “genderqueer.” Since its formation, the PCUSA has denigrated to one massive pen for goats, run almost exclusively by faithless, didn’t-finish-well octogenarians and blue-haired lesbians, with barely a sheep to be found anywhere. Some of their greatest hits over the last three years include:...

Question to ChatGPT: During World War II, when American Military Chaplains who were Catholic Priests would conduct services for Protestant servicemen, when Protestant chaplains were unavailable and only the Catholic chaplain could preside, were the services broken out separately for the five largest mainline Protestant denominations, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist, or were there single, unified Protestant services, corresponding with the Protestant section of the Army Navy Hymnal of 1942? Reply from ChatGPT: During World War II, when Catholic chaplains (who were ordained priests) conducted services for Protestant servicemen in the absence of Protestant chaplains, they generally conducted unified...

A female bishop may become the first woman to hold the position of archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England, according to odds posted by British betting firms. Guli Francis-Dehqani, bishop of Chelmsford, has emerged as the leading candidate to become the next archbishop of Canterbury. British betting firms have placed her as the early favorite to succeed the Rev. Justin Welby, who stepped down in January. Francis-Dehqani's odds were placed at evens and 2 to 1 by the firms Ladbrokes and Star Sports, according to The Telegraph. If selected, she would become the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and...

A majority of presbyteries in the PCUSA have now approved Amendment 24-C, according to the progressive Covenant Network of Presbyterians (CNP), giving denominational leaders yet another tool in their quest to cull conservatives from being ordained and installed as ministers, elders, and deacons by ensuring that “inclusion and diversity will play a more substantial role in the decision-making.” The amendment to G-2.0104b of the church’s Book of Order requires presbyteries and sessions to examine candidates on the principles of representation found in another provision, F-1.0403. That important paragraph—which already included “race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability, geography, or theological conviction”—will now...

Rev. Beatrix Weil, an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and chaplain at Rhodes College, a 2,000-student liberal arts institution affiliated with the PCUSA, sparked controversy in 2023 after attempting to host a BDSM 101 workshop on campus. The event, which was to feature a local dominatrix who would “share wisdom on how to safely, sanely, and consensually learn about bondage, discipline/domination, sadism/submission, and masochism,” was canceled following public outcry. The BDSM workshop wasn’t a one-off. Days prior, she hosted the same dominatrix for a seminar titled “Let’s Talk About Sex,” which proceeded without cancellation. At the time, a...

NEW YORK, NY — According to sources, a group of Episcopalian parishioners has found a strange old book hidden underneath one of their church's pews. The book, labeled "Holy Bible" on the front of it, was apparently unknown and completely foreign to everyone at the church, leaving leaders in fear that the church may have been infiltrated by right-wing religious extremists. "It contained strange text and verses we had never seen before," said Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe. "Just a cursory glance through this ‘Bible' was troubling. It appears to speak of an almighty deity none of us are familiar with...

"...As soon as I look at this pastor I know something's wrong..."

Pacific Lutheran University is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington, that is sponsored and financially supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA.) They recently hosted ‘Queer Prom,’ an event targeted at 14-24 year olds, in conjunction with the Oasis Youth Center. According to Campus Record, “The sign-up sheet for the dance asked attendees to list information including personal pronouns and offered 8 specific options for sexual orientation and 7 different genders to choose from.” Along with dancing, the event features “prizes, direct advocacy, free condoms, pregnancy tests, and HIV testing. For more on the ELCA:

The mayor of Toms River, New Jersey, says he has a plan to revitalize the town’s riverfront and to create a new park for local families who live nearby. He’s found the perfect spot — three underused marinas and a large parcel of land with a great parking lot. There’s just one problem. A local Episcopal church sits on the 11-acre property and has no interest in selling. Instead, church leaders want to build a shelter for the homeless on the property to expand their ministry in the community. Mayor Daniel Rodrick, a Republican, says his plan will also be...

I am not a sociologist or demographer, but after reading several reports and watching the slow decline of the Anglican Church in England—and its moribund sister, The Episcopal Church in the United States—I am not surprised. Even within the breakaway Anglican Church in North America, of which I am a part, the same questions are surfacing. The Roman Catholic “takeover,” as some headlines put it, is not a fluke. It’s the fruit of something deeper. And I believe there are lessons here for us in the American Church—Catholic and Protestant alike. Roman Catholicism is a branch¹ of Christianity—deep-rooted, global, and...

...My interviews with the two recent converts took place over the course of a year. Do you believe in the resurrection? I asked them. In heaven? Where do you stand on demons? But what I saw of the two young men’s faith, finally, was not through their answers to my generic questions about Christianity. It was reflected in their faces and enacted in their gestures as I attended religious services beside them. ... I discovered the two young comedians were not outliers when it comes to my generation’s relationship to faith in Britain. Not only did I meet a host...

ABSTRACT: Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged, and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep stripelike lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage for hypovolemic shock as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carry the crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion his wrists were nailed to the patibulum, and after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post, (stipes) his feet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with normal respirations. Accordingly, death resulted primarily...

Did Christ Abolish the 7th day Sabbath?? Acts 13:14-15 show that the Apostle Paul was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath many years after Christ died. In verse 42, after Paul’s Sabbath sermon, many of the Jews who heard him became offended and left. But notice, “the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.” The Gentiles, those who had no prior knowledge of Sabbath observance, asked if Paul could come back the next Sabbath. Notice what happened: “And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of...

Quote from his sermon: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. This is another one a lot of people don't do. And there's no good reason not to. There is no place in the Bible that cancels out the Sabbath. Yes Jesus did push back on how they observe the Sabbath but let's be very clear, Did Jesus observe the Sabbath? Yes he did. Yes he did. Now he protected works of mercy on the Sabbath, but he protected the Sabbath. And here it makes it very clear that when we honor the Lord, and his creation, then we...