Free Republic

More than 150 leaders across a spectrum of conservative Christianity on Friday released a 4,700-word document vowing civil disobedience if they are forced to take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages. Called the "Manhattan Declaration," the six-page, single-spaced document was drafted by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic, and included a bevy of Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox bishops, archbishops and cardinals as signatories along with dozens of clergy and laity. Archbishop of Washington Donald W. Wuerl is one of the signatories. "Throughout the centuries, Christianity has taught...

Citing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to civil disobedience, 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders have signed a declaration saying they will not cooperate with laws that they say could be used to compel their institutions to participate in abortions, or to bless or in any way recognize same-sex couples. “We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence,” it says. The manifesto, to be released on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, is an...

“Given in Rome, at St. Peter’s, on November 4, 2009, the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo.” These words appear just before the signature of Pope Benedict XVI on the historic Apostolic Constitution entitled Anglicanorum Coetibus. The name of the Apostolic Constitution, as with many magisterial documents, is taken from the first words of the Latin text. It means "Groups of Anglicans". The dates when magisterial documents of this kind of significance are dated - and then released - are significant. Nothing of this magnitude is ever done haphazardly by the Holy See. The dates of promulgation and release underscore the...

BERLIN (AFP) – World leaders joined more than 100,000 revellers Monday for emotional celebrations 20 years after the Berlin Wall's fall and called for a new transatlantic push against threats to global peace. Chancellor Angela Merkel joined luminaries past and present to mark the defining moment in the end of communist rule in Europe, when the crumbling East German state finally opened the despised concrete border on November 9, 1989. Merkel, who grew up in the Stalinist state, marched through the historic Brandenburg Gate with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, presidents Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia,...

1John 3:12 12not as (A)Cain, who was of (B)the evil one and slew his brother And for what reason did he slay him? Because (C)his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous. Numbers 16 Korah's Rebellion 1Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, 2and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3They...

Unlike her media critics, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin fully grasps the significance of the outcome of those elections next year. Should the GOP capture control of the House in the 2010 elections, the threat to our nation's future posed by Barack Obama will be eliminated. He’ll be a lame duck for two long years.

I wish he was wrong. As personalities, the syntax-mangling Ike and the self-consciously intellectual David Petraeus don’t have much in common. But politically, they’re in a parallel position. Today’s GOP has a right-wing base that can damage Obama, but none of its favorites have a prayer of winning the White House. The reason is that just like the Republican right of the early 1950s, which kept insisting that the New Deal constituted socialism (or fascism), today’s conservative activists have not accommodated themselves to some basic shifts in public mood. Over the past couple of decades, the American people have grown...

Iraqi soccer teams participate in a match at the Sports Complex in the eastern-Baghdad town of Jasr Diyala, Oct. 9. Eight Iraqi community's teams participated in the day-long tournament held across the vast Ma'dain region. Photo by Pvt. Jared N. Gehmann, 82nd Airborne Division. BAGHDAD — It wasn't the World Cup, but for eight Iraqi soccer teams pride was at stake during a day-long tournament held throughout the Ma'dain region here, Oct. 9. The small remote towns of Jasr Diyala, Narwan, and Village 10, located on the outskirts of eastern Baghdad, hosted the tournament matches.As normalcy returns to the country,...

The commonly referenced "God gap" between Republicans and Democrats is disappearing. Polls released before the 2008 election demonstrated America's Christian voters are no longer synonymous with the political right: a George Barna survey showed born-again Christians evenly split between John McCain and Barack Obama, and a Public Religion Research study found that even among white Evangelicals, touchstone issues like abortion and same-sex marriage weren't in their top five voting considerations. If Christian voters share common morals and values, how is it that their voting patterns and priorities aren't more unified? According to a new study, the answer is that Christians...

Circulation ( Ecclesia )among my children is a listening adventure for as you put your "self"(flesh) last you begin to realize what I am all about in and through others In true humbleness not just false gestures,so posture your "self"( flesh) and sit at my feet as a child for truly it is only here you will discover , experience and understand the vision I have for you through others I call my humble servants and in this event all blessings shall shower and bear fruit . So become the last that "I" may make you first "IN ME" !...

Dear colleagues in ministry, As we approach the churchwide assembly, I am thankful for the thoughtful and respectful discussion at synod assemblies of the proposed social statement on human sexuality and the ministry policy recommendations. I am mindful, however, that we remain a church body that is not of one mind about these decisions, and that these continuing differences have raised concerns among some about whether we are headed toward a church-dividing decision. I am writing to express my shared, heartfelt commitment to the church’s unity, and, even more, my deep confidence that this unity will not be lost. For...

Hi Folks, Just want to give a shout out, great big, THANK YOU to ALL who helped to make the debut of my new Tea Party Unity song, WE THE PEOPLE a huge hit yesterday! No man is an island and the release could not have been successful without you. You guys ROCK! To all the bloggers, Man, you guys are powerful! You embraced my first song, “American Tea Party Anthem” and made it a hit. Thanks for taking “WE THE PEOPLE” under your wings. I also wish to thank the geniuses at Our Country Deserves Better PAC. Last year,...

Evangelical megachurches across San Diego, Calif., are joining Catholics on Sunday to make a public outcry against abortion in their first ever joint pro-life rally. The demonstration, which will take place after the multiple worship services that typically take place at megachurches, is being held on the same day President Barack Obama will take the stage at the University of Notre Dame to deliver the commencement speech. While the San Diego rally is fundamentally a pro-life rally, the undertone of the event is "a statement to the president that the killing of babies must come to an end," Pastor Jim...

US President Barack Obama has said after meeting his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts that they are united in the goal of defeating al-Qaeda. Speaking in Washington, Mr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" and its allies. He also pledged greater resources to help civilians in both countries and try to avoid civilian casualties. Dozens of civilians are thought to have died in US air strikes on Taleban targets in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she "deeply, deeply" regretted the deaths, adding that the US would work hard to avoid...

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) – Former South African president Nelson Mandela Sunday reminded the ANC of its duty to eradicate poverty and urged unity in a surprise appearance at its final election rally. He set the tone for the theme of racial accord at the African National Congress gathering where chants of "Mandela! Mandela!" rang out from the crowd of more than 100,000 supporters at Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg. "As we strive to secure a decisive victory for our organisation in the upcoming elections, we must remember our primary task. It is to eradicate poverty and ensure a better...

I have been a financial adviser for more than 25 years. I didn't vote for President-elect Barack Obama, but I wish to go on record as saying that this man will be our greatest president. He will accomplish the improbable. Mr. Obama will unite the disenchanted with the optimists. He will be a servant to all the people and teach us the basic reasons why this is the greatest country in the world. Mr. Obama won't be described as left, right or center. He will be a president who holds his morals in honor of his love of family to...

Barack Obama ran for office as a unifier, but it was all a hustle. His brand of politics needs enemies. Like southern slave owners of old, today's conservative Republicans represent the enemy to be vanquished by enlightened progressives from the north.  This is an old storyline that provides unlimited nourishment to America's liberal elites.  Many of us, especially those of us who work in education, have long seen this coming.  In the early stages of the diversity movement for example it didn't take long to realize who was and was not included on the ubiquitous rainbow flag.  "Diversity" was simply...

I suppose this is what some call vanity? I'll come to my point first. Do you think it would do any good to be able to see and know that there are others like you with the same concerns? Real people that are more real than a keyboard and a computer screen? Do you think there are people who would become active if they had a little push? People who aren't like Freepers that dwell on this site and ones like it? What if someone, anyone and anyplace said, "I'll be at the Walmart, Lowes, HomeDepot parking lot in the...

(IsraelNN.com) US President Barack Obama may pressure Kadima prime ministerial candidate Tzipi Livni to enter into a coalition with Likud's Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu if Netanyahu is asked to head the government. Obama's only hope of forcing Israel back to the negotiating table with the Palestinian Authority is through a 'national unity government' comprising Likud and Kadima, according to a report in Britain's The Daily Telegraph. According to sources in Washington, Obama is ready to manipulate Israeli politics behind the scenes in order to make that happen, as Israeli president Shimon Peres determines who he will ask to head up Israel's...

Goose-stepping in unison may have been used by the Nazis to help brainwash people into following their cause, a new study suggests. Researchers have found that if groups perform tasks in unison, such as marching, dancing and chanting, they show more loyalty towards each other and are less likely to go against the norm. The findings, published in New Scientist, could explain why the likes of Hitler and Mussolini both seemingly had the ability to bend millions of people to their will. Dr Scott Wiltermuth, of Stanford University in California and colleagues, have found that activities performed in unison, such...