Free Republic

I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly referred to as Mormonism. Since my parents were active members of the LDS Church, I went to church every Sunday. And like many of those raised in the church, I had a testimony, was baptized when I turned 8, received the Aaronic priesthood at 12, and had a temple recommend. But as I grew older, I became less interested in my Mormon faith. So at age 18, instead of serving my two-year mission as I had been raised to do, I decided to go to college. While...

We are wrapping up our second and final week in Provo. Close to 50 people joined us as we went door to door testifying to our perfection in Christ. We reached thousands of homes and had hundreds of good conversations. Dozens of people expressed interest in our message and thanked us (sometimes with tears) for telling them that Jesus had done everything for them to be worthy and acceptable to God. A surprising number of people gave us their contact information so that we can continue the conversation in the weeks and months ahead. We found it interesting how varied...

For most of us that are Christians, sharing our Faith is not easy and doesn't come naturally. It's sad but true. If we're honest with ourselves we probably have to admit we miss opportunities all the time. My husband recently asked me if I had any advice about how to talk about Jesus and our Faith in him. He thought it'd be a good thing to write out - as so many of us struggle with this very thing. Oh, and it doesn't mean you've got to stand on the side-walk and start preaching, or hitting people over the head...

It was a teammate of mine that made all the difference to me, and I don’t mean out on the football field. I was a Christian playing football, but not really living like a Christian should. My friend grabbed me under his wings and showed me what it means to live this walk, just following God. From there, the fire just built. Today, I have a solid foundation. I can handle the different challenges coming my way because I know I have a Father who cares about all my needs. I have a relationship with the God who created me,...

SAN ANTONIO—Christians curious about apologetics first need to understand what apologetics is not, Jim Denison, theologian-in-residence for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, told a conference. “Apologetics isn’t apologizing. … We’re not here to teach you how to apologize for your faith. Apologetics is simply defending your faith—explaining why you believe what you believe. It’s what the Gospels were written to do,” said Denison, president of the Center for Informed Faith. “If you sell anything, you do apologetics. If you try to convince anybody of anything, you’re doing apologetics. Christian apologetics is simply learning ways to defend our faith in...

GRACEVILLE, Fla. (BP)--He was alone, stretched out on the bench in the gazebo at The Baptist College of Florida. Most students rushed by to make their 8 a.m. classes. Visibly out of place, the stranger had long, disheveled hair, layered camouflaged clothes and a backpack near his side. Experiencing the first cold snap of the season at BCF's Graceville campus in early December, one student offered the seemingly homeless bum warmth by pointing him to the student center. Another offered the man hot coffee and food, and struck up a conversation. A professor and two students gave him a Gospel...

There is an exciting new website that is connecting what God is doing in people’s lives across the world. The website is called My Faith Works and people come to the site to post and share about what God is doing in their life.The goal of My Faith Works is to be a positive support for believers and to be a witness to nonbelievers. This goal is accomplished by members posting and sharing what God is doing in their life. This is how the website works 1. A person shares on what God is doing in their life or in...

"The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 KJV). The ability to utilize the Word of God accurately and correctly in the witnessing situation is a great asset. When dealing with people who already have a faith structure, it is vital. This booklet outlines 100 verses of Scripture that have proven effective in the witnessing situation with members of the Church of Jesus Christ...

David L. Rowe, a professor at Salt Lake Theological Seminary and a Utah resident since 1975, has pooled his ministry experiences into a “how to” manual for Christians who are interested in sharing their faith with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, Mormons). Rowe describes Mormons as having “their own culture, lingo, and worldview” (back cover). There are positive aspects to I Love Mormons. The catchy title may prove to be a stumbling block, however, at least for some readers. Many Latter-day Saints, after all, dislike being called “Mormons” and often complain that this term...

1. Stand on the corner and scream “REPENT!” at others. If it didn’t work for Jeremiah the prophet, it won’t work for you. 2. Break into a public high school and shove gospel tracts into the lockers. Trust me on this. I’ve done it…seriously. 3. Wear a “Ready to die…ask me why” T-Shirt. I’ve done this too. It’s not effective, but it did scare people. 4. Go into a bookstore and secretly slip gospel tracts into all of the New Age/Witchcraft books. Have I done this? Maybe…okay, yes. 5. Put gospel tracts in the hands of the manequins at J.C....

Christian Side Hug is YouTube hit as celibate rappers warn of 'sinful' hugging A celibacy-advocating rap group has been advocating “Christian side-hugs” in a hit YouTube song, because frontal hugs are “sinful”, reports Tom Chivers. Gimme Dat Christian Side Hug, by a band of rappers apparently linked to a Californian ministry called The Father’s House, advocates standing side-by-side when hugging, to avoid the uncontrollable temptation that hugging face-to-face – and therefore crotch-to-crotch – would lead to. “This ain’t no front hug zone,” proclaims one of the rappers, who goes on to warn listeners that front hugs should only be permitted...

Less than a year into his presidency, Barack Obama's world grows bleaker. Liberalism's world is bleaker. At home and abroad, liberalism, as advanced by the President, is failing. Are we witnessing the beginnings of another historic event, loosely comparable to the fall of communism twenty years ago? Now the fall of liberalism?

Hello Brothers and Sisters! It is on my heart to witness to the lost, among whom are the Muslims I encounter. I have been reading, and am almost done with Sharing Your Faith With a Muslim, and the thrust of it seems to be ... 1) pointing out the reliability of the Bible, given the Koran never speaks of it's corruption at all, contrary to what Muslims currently say about it. 2) cornering a Muslim into the divinity of Christ using the Koran I am only up to Chapter 10. If anyone else has finished it, I'd appreciate a better...

Preacher Dan Smith turned a rap song about babes with booty into a spoof Internet hit, and used it to help create a new church for people who hate church. Dan Smith thinks Christians take themselves too seriously. Pastor Dan Smith's 'Baby Got Book' video, a big hit online, helped him start his Momentum Church. "We can be dorks," he says after Sunday service in suburban Cleveland. "We can be Ned Flanders and basically speak jargon that nobody understands." The 33-year-old pastor has made it his mission to turn the notion of earnest, boring, humorless Christianity on its head —...

Is Bono, the lead singer and songwriter for the rock group U2, a Christian? He says he is and writes about Christianity in his lyrics. Yet many people question whether Bono is "really" a Christian, due to his notoriously bad language, liberal politics, and rock star antics (though he has been faithfully married for 23 years). But in a new book of interviews, Bono in Conversation by Michka Assayas, Bono, though using some salty language, makes an explicit confession of faith. The interviewer, Mr. Assayas, begins by asking Bono, Doesn't he think "appalling things" happen when people become religious? Bono...

W.L. Cati, a former Muslim and founder of an evangelical Christian ministry, wants to train fellow followers of Christ how to go boldly into mosques and witness to Muslims. W.L. Cati heads a Florida-based organization called Zennah Ministries, which she founded to reach out to people whose lives have been affected by Islam, especially women under Muslim influence; to educate the public about the differences between the Christian faith and the Muslim religion; and to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ, even taking the good news into "the mouth of hell" if necessary. Not long ago, Cati led a group...

Why I Am Not a Calvinist I debated several different titles in regards to this particular subject and too many of them failed to convey the true gist of what I wanted to communicate. However, I recognize that this title creates an air of controversy that the careless reader might stumble over - but I have decided that any injury they might receive is more a product of their unrelenting agenda than it is a result of reading the following few paragraphs. I am not a Calvinist first and foremost for one reason – I find no value in saying...

Eighth-grader chastised for taking literal stand for Jesus By MELISSA TRESNER The preacher said to take a stand for Jesus, and that's just what Cory Bean did. The Judson Middle School eighth-grader climbed onto a table Thursday in the crowded cafeteria and shouted, "I love Jesus!" In front of God and his fellow classmates, Cory, 14, let it be known that he is a Christian. After a few seconds of shocked silence, Cory said the other students started clapping and chanting, "We love Jesus. We love Jesus." Many in the cafeteria had attended the same worship service as Cory on...

Why so pushy? We shouldn't "respect" people so much we show them no respect at allBy Joel BelzIt was as direct a question as someone could ask me. "Why," the visitor in my office quizzed me, "are you Christians always trying to convert us Jews?" To be honest, I hadn't really been trying to convert my guest. I am embarrassed to admit that at best, my evangelistic style is indirect and oblique. So I was surprised that my new friend (so new that we'd been talking for less than 30 minutes) now thought I was putting the squeeze on him...