Free Republic

Many sincere Christians have confused, conflicting, and convoluted notions about what became the War for Independence or, as some call it, the Revolutionary War. However, it was not a revolution but a war of self-defense, and that fact is seldom discussed in America’s classrooms. When the pertinent facts are known, Americans will have no embarrassment over our “rebel” past. The Stamp Act of 1765 was a power grab by King George III whereby various publications and legal forms in America would require a stamp (tax) before they could be issued. The colonialists resented the act as being taxation without representation....

A network of 3,000 California churches are planning to defy Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shutdown orders by reopening for in-person services, Fox News reported Friday. California Church United pastors, which represents nearly 2.5 million members, announced Thursday that they plan to reopen May 31 instead of waiting for stage 3 reopenings, which includes churches along with businesses like salons and gyms, according to Fox. The leaders chose May 31 because it marks Pentecost and the birth of the Christian church, making it fitting for a “rebirth” of services. “Our churches are part of the answer, not part of the problem,”...

Things are going well for Ted Nugent. He just released a DVD of his 6000th concert, he has a new reality show coming out next month and he has the satisfaction of knowing of being able to say "I told you so" to anyone who's doubted his political opinions. "Life is wonderful," he tells Spinner. I've done the right things. I've never been liberal so I've got a nest egg. I've always lived within my means." These days, you can see, hear or read Nugent's thoughts on politics and the country everywhere you go. "If I try to make my...

Ironically, Beza found his "signal example"8 of how to deal with tyranny and resistance not so much in the work of early Calvinists as in the work of later Lutherans—particularly the Lutheran jurists and theologians who had drafted the Magdeburg Confession of 1550. The Magdeburg Confession was a major distillation of the most advanced Lutheran resistance theories of the day.9 The leaders of the small Saxon city of Magdeburg had drafted this Confession in response to the order of the Holy Roman Emperor to impose by civil law the uniform Catholic doctrines and liturgies being crafted by the Council of...

      Theodore Beza integrated these arguments and others, most decisively in his 1574 tract, Concerning the Rights of Rulers over Their Subjects and the Duty of Subjects toward Their Rulers. The title of this tract was ironic and strategic. Beza's real topics were the duties of rulers and the rights of their subjects. But to announce this on the book's cover would only guarantee its instant censure and rebuke. It proved hard enough to get the book published. The Genevan authorities would not approve its publication for fear of royal reprisal, and ultimately the book was published anonymously in...

Martin Luther's Freedom of a Christian (1520) was one of the defining documents of the Protestant Reformation, and it remains one of the classic tracts of the Protestant tradition still today.9 Written on the eve of his excommunication from the Church, this was Luther's last ecumenical gesture toward Rome before making his incendiary exit. Much of the tract was written with a quiet gentility and piety that belied the heated polemics of the day and Luther's own ample perils of body and soul. Luther dedicated the tract to Pope Leo X, adorning it with a robust preface addressed to the...

Spiritual Liberty. In the heavenly kingdom, spiritual law and spiritual liberty stand counterpoised. God has ordained a "spiritual law" or "law of conscience" to govern citizens of the heavenly kingdom. This law teaches "those things that God either requires of us or forbids us to do, both toward [ourselves] and towards others."28 Its provisions are written on the heart and conscience of each person, rewritten in the pages of Scripture, and summarized in the Ten Commandments.29 Obedience of this spiritual law leads to eternal blessings and beatitude in the life hereafter. Disobedience leads to eternal curses and condemnation. Since the...