Free Republic

At the annual meeting of The Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ on Saturday, June 14, a resolution was passed to pressure the National Football League and the Washington Redskins to change the team’s name and refrain from using any images, mascots, or behaviors that are demeaning to Native American cultures or peoples, according to a report in Indian Country Today. This resolution calls for members to do more than just speak out against the use of the name Redskins. It calls for a complete boycott the football team.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, in a congressional hearing, challenged a minister who is president of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, to clarify his Christian beliefs — especially because the group is frequently at the heart of atheist-type attacks on public shows of faith. “I’m curious, in your Christian beliefs, do you believe in sharing the good news that will keep people from going to hell, consistent with the Christian belief?” Mr. Gohmert asked the Rev. Barry Lynn, during a House Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice hearing, The Blaze reported. Mr. Lynn’s reply: “I wouldn’t agree...

For twenty years, Mr. Obama drank from a particular brand of religion—Liberal Christianity. To be sure, most Bible-believing Christians would not consider that brand to be Christianity at all. But liberal Christians would consider their brand to actually be the enlightened one. Over time, Liberal Christianity has developed a humanistic understanding of what the Christian faith is about. They claim that Christians who still believe the Bible is God’s perfect self-revelation are stuck back in the 1st century. Society has evolved, they say. And because society has evolved, God must be evolving also. After all, why else would He allow...

Much of the worst hysteria about apocalyptic Global Warming has cooled, especially after more than 15 years of no global temperature increases, evincing at least that climate computer models are less than infallible. But some of the most committed believers in the theory that human activity is uniquely fueling a disastrous increase in temperatures are on the Religious Left. Former Chicago Theological Seminary President Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, who’s ordained in the ultra liberal United Church of Christ, recently faulted Global Warming skeptics for the murderous typhoon in the Philippines. “These ‘superstorms’ aren’t an ‘act of God,’ but an act of...

A set of strategies to attack climate change — which includes a path to divestment from fossil fuel companies — was passed by General Synod 2013 Monday afternoon at the Long Beach Convention Center. This action on July 1 makes the United Church of Christ the first major religious body in the U.S. to vote to divest from fossil fuel companies. The resolution, brought by the Massachusetts Conference and backed by 10 other conferences, calls for enhanced shareholder engagement in fossil fuel companies, an intensive search for fossil fuel-free investment vehicles and the identification of "best in class" fossil fuel...

News reports from the time indicate the now-chief counsel of the IRS, William Wilkins, helped a church connected to President Barack Obama’s friend Rev. Jeremiah Wright get out of an IRS probe in 2008 while working as a private attorney. “Lawyers from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have won the dismissal of an IRS case against United Church of Christ, Sen. Barack Obama's denomination,” The American Lawyer’s Zach Lowe wrote on May 22, 2008.

When anti-Catholic ecumenical atrocities take place, Catholic bishops should act.Here is an example which calls for consequences.From WTAX in Kentucky: Kentucky woman ordained as priest in defiance of Roman Catholic Church [Note either the carelessness or the bias? She was not ordained as anything.]By Mary WisniewskiLOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Reuters) – In an emotional ceremony filled with tears and applause, a 70-year-old Kentucky woman was ordained a priest [No.  She went through a fake ceremony.] on Saturday as part of a dissident group operating outside of official Roman Catholic Church authority. [Liberals often use the word When anti-Catholic ecumenical atrocities take place, Catholic...

Across the street from us we have a 'First Congregational United Church of Christ'. They have a lesbian pastor, but still sometimes we have some discussions outside on the street. What took the cake, specially for a supposed religious person is when she said 'The problem with this city is that there are too many Churches.'(Her church is drastically losing membership) My jaw dropped, all I could say is 'The problem with this city is that there is not enough churches preaching the gospel!' (This city has the smallest church attendence in the country) What would you say to a...

"If Jesus were alive today, he would be more inclined to say, 'you know, I didn't know it all...'" - Rev. Oliver White, Sean Hannity Show, March 27, 2013 In general, most news outlets have provided awful coverage of the Supreme Court proceedings on same-sex marriage. Covering the proceedings like they cover a political campaign or a sporting event, most of the analysis and commentary has been about political "wins" for one side or the other and the ramifications of the pending decision on homosexuals in our society, rather than the wide-ranging ramifications for society itself. Filling the void of...

From the OPPT "Courtesy Notice Guidelines": 1. The New Lawful Landscape. The landscape of Law in which we live has been radically changed by the OPPT UCC filings. The corporations and their “legal” system have been stripped out, leaving Universal Law, Common Law and UCC as the rules in play with each human on the planet acting with unlimited personal liability as an individual. No corporate titles, legal statute systems, registration, insurance or authoritarian hierarchy remains. This changes how we conduct the nature of ALL our interactions. The alleged “corporate agents” sent to interact with us are currently acting in...

Advocates for churches and Christian institutions reconsidering biblical teaching on sexual morality frequently claim that such cultural accomodationism is "needed" if Christian communities are to have any hope of surviving in an America whose secular culture is increasingly intolerant of moral boundaries for sexual expression (beyond consent). If one is going to take such arguments seriously, it makes sense to consider how well that has worked in the denomination that has most prominently pioneered enthusiastic abandonment of biblical values on marriage and sex. The United Church of Christ (UCC) attracted heaps of polarized public attention in 2005 with its embrace...

Predominantly LGBT church on Madison Avenue shuttering after 19 years of ministry. After 19 years of serving the LGBT community, the Liberation United Church of Christ is closing its doors on Madison Avenue. The church will host its last service on Christmas Eve. The building at 13714 Madison Avenue has been home to the church for the past 14 years. When the church began in a community center at Case Western University in 1993, churches weren’t too accepting of the gay community. However, as society became more inclusive, so did churches. “Twenty years ago there were very few churches welcoming the...

Jewish groups pulled out of an upcoming meeting with Protestant colleagues over a letter from Christian leaders to congressmen calling for a possible suspension of U.S. aid to Israel. “While we remain committed to continuing our dialogue and our collaboration on the many issues of common concern, the letter represents an escalation in activity that the Jewish participants feel precludes a business-as-usual approach,” stated a letter sent by seven Jewish groups to their Christian counterparts in canceling their participation in the Oct. 22 -23 meeting in New York. The event, an annual gathering, is known as the Christian-Jewish Roundtable and...

Grace Community United Church of Christ will close its doors this weekend, but the pastor who says his decision to publicly support gay-marriage rights unwittingly thrust it on a path toward financial ruin plans to find a new home for his small congregation. He has faith that his flock will follow. The Rev. Oliver White, 69, had hoped fundraising would keep the predominantly African-American church on St. Paul's East Side open after a Seattle investor demanded full payment on a high-interest loan. But after a well-publicized Internet campaign raised only about $56,000 of the $200,000 the church needs to pay...

After listening online to a recent sermon on "same-sex marriage" by John Piper. . . . I was surprised to read an article in the Star Tribune ("Key Minnesota pastors opt out of marriage fight," June 21) that misrepresented how Piper is addressing the November vote on a proposed marriage amendment to the Minnesota Constitution. [ . . . ] It's clear that Piper did, indeed, direct his church members to vote to approve the amendment. He did so by explaining how to think through this critical cultural issue biblically and logically, rather than merely telling them what to do...

University Congregational United Church of Christ Come hear one of the most passionate and committed voices for progressive Christianity speak this Wednesday at the U District in Seattle. The title of the lecture is "How I Became a Heretic with Help from Jesus." Rev. Meyers is senior minister at Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ, the fastest growing UCC church in the Kansas Oklahoma conference. He is also a tenured professor of philosophy at Oklahoma City University, an author, a syndicated columnist, and an award-winning commentator for National Public Radio.

.....First they came for Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs. And the Catholic bishops did not speak out. Now they are coming for the Catholic bishops. Who will speak out now? Not, alas, the United Church of Christ. Let's go back into recent history -- 2009 to be exact. It was a story that involved the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a blatant, full-on attack on the right of free speech and a free press -- the First Amendment. As I wrote here, here, here, here, here, and here three years ago, the Catholic bishops had managed to get their...

Smiles and even a bit of laughter mingled with tears and mournful hugs as members of the Somers Congregational United Church of Christ met Monday in wake of an overnight fire that destroyed their sanctuary. “It’s almost beyond comment,” said longtime parishioner and Somers resident Malcolm Chadbourne as he stared at the blackened rubble with his wife, Joanne Chadbourne ““We are just shocked and sad.” State and local fire officials continue to probe the cause of the Sunday night blaze that leveled much of the landmark church, sent its steeple tumbling into an inferno, left congregants numb with shock. No...

50th Anniversary: Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 W. 95th St., Chicago, is celebrating its 50th anniversary Sunday. The church at that time named The New Congregation Church was founded on Chicago’s South Side during the Civil Rights Movement and had its first service at Kipling School. Later, services were at John Shedd School, 99th Street and Indiana Avenue. In 1978, the congregation moved to its first edifice at 532 W. 95th Street. Trinity United was one of the first churches to protest Apartheid in South Africa and was one of the first American churches to provide a proactive HIV/AIDS...