Free Republic

Skip This doctrine protects woke employees from being fired for their woke beliefs. That's intuitive, but legally it also means woke employers can't fire employees for failing to adopt those same beliefs. Yet that's the essence of what's happening across corporate America today. Further strengthening the legal case that wokeness is a religion is the uncomfortable fact that, well, wokeness really is a religion. As Joshua Williams argues, Americans "have not lost their religion" but "relocated their religion to the realm of politics." Like most religions, wokeism is comprehensive and indivisible; just as no good Christian can pick his or...

Though the US has separation of church and state, we have long been accustomed to American Christianity being consonant with American patriotism. But close Christian observers of American life have wondered for the last couple of decades — at least in my experience — if and when the day will come when being a faithful Christian will require one to oppose the US government and the American system. As America de-Christianizes, what was once unthinkable by conservative Christians is now fast moving from the fringes to the mainstream of our thinking. Catholic World Report has published a blockbuster interview with...

"Much of what used to be great about America...has been overshadowed by...an inclination towards political correctness." Everyone who goes to sporting events in large venues or watches them on television has likely seen the sign “John 3:16” being held by a fan. Displaying the sign is just one way some believers like to spread the good news about Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (NKJV) According to Biblegateway.com, it is the most popular verse looked up on the site,...

People who wonder why the president does not talk more about race would do well to examine the recent blow-up over his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. Inveighing against the barbarism of ISIS, the president pointed out that it would be foolish to blame Islam, at large, for its atrocities. To make this point he noted that using religion to brutalize other people is neither a Muslim invention nor, in America, a foreign one: Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition,...

How Should Churches and Seminaries Respond to Immigrant Pastors Who Minister in the US Illegally? Immigrants are strengthening the church and revitalizing some denominations with significant growth. Many of these churches are started by local leaders who emphasize evangelism and know the culture and language of the growing immigrant population in the United States. But some of these pastors lack valid immigration status and face a complex and painful dilemma. Alex and his family crossed the border illegally when he was an infant. Years later, after becoming a Christian, he began a ministry in his community that has grown into...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/pelosi-her-catholic-faith-compels-her-support-same-sex-marriage (CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that her Catholic faith "compels" her to "be against discrimination of any kind" and thus for same-sex marriage. A reporter asked Pelosi: “Many of the people that are opposed to gay marriage cite their religion as the reason why they're opposed. You're a Catholic that supports gay marriage. Do you believe that religion and the idea that you can support gay marriage can be separated? And how do you grapple with the idea that you support gay marriage as a Catholic?”

FReepers should all understand that we can’t post ANYTHING without it being subject to analysis and challenge. When I post a Catholic item, I know it will be scrutinized by FReepers and grenades will be lobbed at it by non-Catholic FReepers who consider the Church to be in error. But history, theology and science make it nigh impossible to damage the Truth claims made by Catholics and even the perception of Catholic Truth (even people who believe that the Catholic Church is severely corrupted also understand that archeology, history, literature and theology all support its claim to be THE original...

<p>Hartford, Connecticut (CNN) -- A bill in Connecticut's legislature that would remove the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases has sparked a fervent response from the state's Roman Catholic bishops, who released a letter to parishioners Saturday imploring them to oppose the measure. Under current Connecticut law, sexual abuse victims have 30 years past their 18th birthday to file a lawsuit. The proposed change to the law would rescind that statute of limitations. The proposed change to the law would put "all Church institutions, including your parish, at risk," says the letter, which was signed by Connecticut's three Roman Catholic bishops. The letter is posted on the Web site of the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, the public policy and advocacy office of Connecticut's Catholic bishops. It asks parishioners to contact their legislators in opposition of the bill. The "legislation would undermine the mission of the Catholic Church in Connecticut, threatening our parishes, our schools, and our Catholic Charities," the letter says. The Catholic archdiocese of Hartford also published a pulpit announcement on its Web site, which was to be read during Mass on Sunday, urging parishioners to express opposition to the bill. The bill has been revised to address some of the church's concerns about frivolous abuse claims against it, according to Connecticut state Rep. Beth Bye, one of the bill's sponsors. "The church didn't recognize that this bill makes improvements," Bye said. "The victims -- their lives have been changed and some will never recover from years of sexual abuse. For me, it's about giving them access to the courts." The bill does not target the Catholic Church, she said.</p>

A 17-minute documentary on the Quran, juxtaposing images of Islam's holy book with terror attacks and bombings by Muslim extremists, was taken down from a British video-sharing website, LiveLeak,com, after the organization reported "serious" threats to its staff members. The documentary had been posted against the wishes of the government of the Netherlands by Geert Wilders, a Dutch MP and leader of the Freedom Party. His video is called "Fitna," an Arabic word meaning strife. It appeared on the political party's website first, but soon disappeared because of "technical difficulties," reported the London Times. Then it appeared on LiveLeak.com, only...

Part 1 of a two part interview by James Dobson with Newt Gingrich

Mystical Baptism and Limbo ( Please keep anti-Catholic remarks out this thread) The Concept Four different types of limbo have been suggested. 1. The Limbo of Purgatory - a figurative 'upper level' of Purgatory, sometimes called the limbo of the Fathers, this is a temporary place, where the holy persons who lived before Christ waited for Christ to die for their salvation so that they could enter into Heaven. The residents of this version of limbo are happy, in that they know that they are saved, but they do not yet have the Beatific Vision of God, nor the full...

His Christian faith is important to astronaut Jeff Williams, who wouldn't dream of leaving home -- or earth, for that matter -- without it. Williams, a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Houston, says he plans to stay in touch with his congregation even though he'll be off the planet -- orbiting 250 miles above the earth during a six-month stint aboard the International Space Station. In fact, if Williams has his way -- and NASA technicians can make it happen -- the Gloria Dei lay minister will "join" fellow congregation members in a July 2 worship service. Williams, still...

In a shameful attack on freedom of religion, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UWEC) has banned resident assistants (RAs) from leading Bible studies in their own dormitories. The university claims the ban is necessary because some students might not feel RAs who lead Bible studies are "approachable.”

With 300 employees, a projection of $77 million in annual revenue and audited financial statements, Houston's Lakewood Church sounds a lot like a business. ADVERTISEMENT And in many ways, it is. "It would be naive to say, 'No, we're not a business,' " Senior Pastor Joel Osteen said in an interview. "We obviously are a business because we're dealing with millions of dollars. And I say that because we don't take that lightly." According to a copy of the church's most recent audited financial statement obtained by the Chronicle and a review of public records including court documents, Lakewood is...

NEW YORK - Vampires are usually her passion, but Anne Rice is getting biblical in her next book, due out in November from publisher Random House. "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" will tell the story of Jesus' early years in his own words. Excerpts of a lengthy letter that will accompany advance review copies of the book this summer are published in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine. "For over 10 years I've wanted to do this book — Jesus in his own words," Rice writes. "For five years, I've been obsessed with how to do it, and...

Poll is on the left about half way down the page. The anti-Commandments loonies have a big lead on the poll. Let's even things up. Should the State of Texas be forced to remove the Ten Commandments display from the state Capitol grounds? Yes 67.0% No 33.0% votes: 929

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A high school principal apologized Monday for reading a poem called "The New School Prayer" over the school's intercom, which brought complaints from some parents who said it violated the principle of separation of church and state. Tommy Craft said he wanted not to promote religion but to provoke thought and discussion among students about the changing political climate in school when he read the poem the Tuesday before the Thanksgiving break. "I apologized to them today in another statement," Craft said. "I said that there was no attempt to individualize or to bring ridicule on...

CAMBRIDGE, England - A clergyman has criticized a city's decision to ask an aging punk band to switch on its annual civic display of Christmas lights. The Damned, the Rev. Stephen Leeke said Wednesday, do not really encapsulate the spirit of the season. "I do not think they are the best people to be switching on the Christmas lights," said Leeke, vicar of St. Martin's Church in Cambridge, 50 miles north of London. "I think perhaps it would be more appropriate for them to switch them off. "It just seems to me to be a bit of a culture clash...

Posted on Sat, Oct. 09, 2004 Teaching Ramadan in public schools Accurate lessons in demand after 9/11 By HOLLY LEBOWITZ ROSSI Religion News Service During the next few weeks, multicultural trainer Afeefa Syeed will bring third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students from a Muslim academy in Herndon, Va., to nearby public schools to share the practices and beliefs of their holiest month, Ramadan. Syeed and the children will present the call to prayer in Arabic, display prayer rugs and offer tastes of dates. In countless other classrooms across the country, similar efforts will be made to educate students about the time...

IN SEARCH OF A LEGACYClinton: Muhammad would let ladies driveFormer president challenges traditionalists in Saudi Arabia speech Posted: January 19, 20045:00 p.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Speaking at a conference in Saudi Arabia, former President Bill Clinton told a Muslim audience Islam's founder Muhammad would have let women drive if cars had been around 1,400 years ago. Former President Bill Clinton Clinton urged the Muslim kingdom, which follows the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, to not resist the "tide of change" in the world and seek ways of broadening political participation "without compromising your faith and culture," Reuters reported. Saudi Arabia bars...