Free Republic

Know him by his fruit. For as long as Barack Obama has been on the scene, he has claimed to be a Christian, and the media have consistently defended him against any claim to the contrary - whether that he is a Muslim (which he is not) or simply a closet atheist (much more likely if you ask me). The claim that Obama is a Christian is based on a) self-identification; and b) his years listening to Jeremiah Wright rant about America’s chickens coming home to roost. In Matthew 7:23, Jesus says that many will cry out to him, “Lord,...

With all the recent talk about anti-Semitism, who would have thought that Jews would prove so popular? A new Gallup Poll (released September 7, 2006) asked respondents how they felt about ten different religious groups, ranging from “Fundamentalist Christians” to “Atheists.” By every measure, Jews drew the most favorable reaction, with the highest “positive” rating (58%) and the lowest “negative” rating (only 4%)...

A massive interfaith effort is under way to feed Hurricane Katrina evacuees at large-scale shelters in Houston, including the George R. Brown Convention Center. The plan is not final. But organizers expect religious groups to raise an initial $4.4 million for 30 days of food and to supply 720 volunteers a day to provide and serve three hot meals to many thousands seeking shelter in Houston. "I do not view this as a faith community issue," said the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church, which will participate in the effort and other relief projects. "This is...

Another campaign of stem cell disinformation and misdirection is in full swing in California. The sponsors of Proposition 71, the "California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act," are promoting a measure that would allow researchers a constitutional right to experiment on embryonic stem cells, and equip them with almost $3 billion in public funds. The drafters of this initiative have cunningly phrased their proposition to purposely avoid using the words "embryo" or "embryonic." Hoping to obfuscate the real biological issues at hand, supporters of Proposition 71 are deliberately trying to circumvent an honest debate on the issues and legalize research...

Saudia Arabia newsIn a round-table discussion hosted by American diplomats and attended by Arab professors and journalists, our conversation turned to the chances of success of the US war on Iraq. After listening to many pessimistic analyses, a political science professor contended that the people in the Middle East see things in black and white and solutions are always either good or evil, with us or against us. My reply to this simplistic view was to draw a multi-colored picture of the political, religious, cultural and ideological complexities in Iraq and neighboring countries. Let us begin with the mosaic of...

Agency Frees Groups From Ad Ban By SHARON THEIMER The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Election Commission on Thursday freed tax-exempt charitable and religious groups from political ad restrictions imposed by the new campaign finance law. The commission voted 4-2 to exempt such organizations from the law's provision that bans interest group ads for a month before a primary election and for two months before a general election if they name a federal candidate and are paid for with unlimited corporate or union contributions. Sponsors of the law contend that the tax-exempt groups are among those who have...