Free Republic

Escaping the Nazis By: JOHN MULLANE Bucks County Courier Times The memories haunt Danny Goldsmith. Chill night. Nazi troopers storming his street in Belgium, pounding on doors, smashing them. He, his mother and baby sister, Lillian, hid on a rooftop as the beam of a German soldier's flashlight swept past them. It was 1942. He was 10. "At one point, I peeked over the cornice and saw our Jewish neighbors being dragged into the street in their night clothes and put in trucks," he said to a packed room this week in Arlington, Va. His parents' wedding photo was on...

The D.C. Council is considering a law forbidding discrimination against those in gay marriages. The law would apply to all groups that have contracts with the District, including Catholic Charities, one of the city's largest social services providers. The Archdiocese of Washington says that because of the Church's opposition to same-sex marriage, it would have to suspend its social services to the poor, the homeless and others rather than provide employee benefits to same-sex married couples or allow them to adopt.

BEIJING — Followers of an unapproved church in Beijing were again forced by the government to find a new place to worship Sunday, a move one analyst suggested would be a test for President Barack Obama on religious freedom during his first visit to the country. Worship in China, governed by the officially atheist Communist Party, is allowed only in state-approved churches, but millions of people belong to unregistered churches that often face official harassment. Sunday's banishment was the latest for the Shouwang church, one of the largest underground churches in China with about 800 members. It was forced to...

Iran: Church Closed Central Assemblies of God Church has been forced to close down its regular Friday afternoon services and can only hold two services on Sundays, Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN) reported. The Assemblies of God authorities announced at the conclusion of their Oct. 30 service that Friday worship services would no longer take place and only Sunday services, in two separate shifts, would be conducted. The church, which is the largest public and formal gathering of Iranian Christians in Iran, was forced to close by the Iranian Ministry of Information. The church has faced extreme pressure from government...

Swine Flu Forces Changes In Church TraditionsNov 11, 2009 11:26 pm US/Eastern SACRAMENTO (CBS) - The swine flu outbreak has forced local Catholic churches to revamp some rituals in hopes of slowing the spread of the disease, CBS station KOVR-TV reported. The bishop of Sacramento ordered Catholic churches to make changes during mass, so parishioners will no longer drink from the cup, hold hands during the Lord's Prayer or shake hands as a sign of peace. The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is also changing the holy water regularly and wiping down the bowl, and is asking sick church members...

Vanity, Many of you have some good comments and different perspectives. I would like to get a few of you, if you have time, to leave a comment or two on our blog about Separation of Church and State. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This is the 1st Amendment from our Constitution and the section of this I wish to...

If anyone has a minute, could you pray for our church as we are trying to forclose on the buyer of our old property after a year of non-payment. Finally, we have a Sheriff's sale scheduled for Thursday. Thanks. Dear God, Thank you for this opportunity to come before your throne of grace to ask you for your help and guidance concerning the sheriff's sale of the old property. Just as you guided the Israelites in the wilderness guide us now through our own wilderness of this sale. This is new territory for us and with your help and the...

The passage of sweeping national health care legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives has set the stage for the greatest intrusion of the State into the everyday lives of the American people in the nation's history. Across the Web, the groans and cries of the free-marketers, capitalists, and libertarians have begun to echo in response. Surprisingly, many of these voices condemn the Catholic Church for its "socialist" commitment to feeding the poor, caring for the sick, and doing the other things Jesus Christ commanded of us. "Without the support of you bleeding-heart Catholics," the refrain goes, "this socialist nightmare...

BUCKHORN, Mo. (Nov. 7, 2009) — A Halloween alternative party at Grace Covenant Church of Buckhorn, near Fort Leonard Wood, has raised $2,300 for bullet-resistant vests and other equipment in the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff J.B. King, who is a Southern Baptist, said he and his deputies greatly appreciate the help from the independent charismatic church. “It’s been a godsend,” King said. “During the past four years, this has amounted to a very healthy amount of money. We placed this donation into our equipment fund and it has helped us buy all kinds of equipment for our vehicles; for...

A Trunk or Treat is a Halloween event that is often church or community-sponsored. People gather and park their cars in a large parking lot. They open their trunks or the backs of their vehicles and decorate them. Then they pass out candy from their trunks. The event provides a safe family environment for trick or treaters.... (see pictures!)

Officials in New Jersey's largest city are offering cash to get guns off the city's streets. Mayor Cory Booker on Tuesday announced a gun buyback and amnesty program to begin next month. Anyone turning in a gun at one of five city churches will receive $200. The participating churches are Emanuel Christian, First Trinity Baptist, Paradise Baptist, IBC Calvary Baptist and Independent Church of God. The first buyback dates are Nov. 11 and 12 at Emanuel Christian Church. Newark's homicide rate had fallen steeply in recent years but has crept up this year. Since the beginning of the year there...

“I placed a goat's horn into the stomach of my elder sister to prevent her from having children," Olivia, 19, and a self-proclaimed witch, now exorcised, told a large congregation at the Ebenezer Healing Church at Kasoa, in the Central Region last week. She had been sent to the church by her relatives after they heard about Prophet Michael Osei, founder and leader of the church and his miraculous encounters with witches and wizards. They had the conviction that the man of God could help their child to get rid of her witchcraft. Olivia had told her parents (the father...

Moscow, October 17, Interfax ""A bag containing a Vepr hunter carbine, a Baikal handgun and 100-gram TNT mine with an electric detonator was found under reinforced concrete slabs at the church construction site," a source at law enforcement agencies told Interfax on Friday."

"Obama also worshipped at the church on Inauguration Day and Easter. St. John's has been a popular choice among presidents, including George W. Bush, because it is close to the White House and familiar to the Secret Service. Washington churches have competed for Obama's attention since his election. He quit his last church, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, during the presidential campaign last year after the circulation of controversial sermons by its former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright." ~~~~~ Poster's(DollyCali) comments: The first family has gone on vacation more than they have attended church since entering the White...

Note: Photos included. Note: The following text is a quote: Friday, October 16, 2009 Nationalists target Calvary Chapel Kaharlyk in Ukraine with firebomb attack By Peter Wooding Special to ASSIST News Service KAHARLYK, UKRAINE (ANS) -- The pastor of Calvary Chapel Kaharlyk, just south of Kiev in Ukraine, is thanking God for His protection, after their church building, where his family lives, was hit by a firebomb attack by suspected nationalists. In the early hours of Wednesday October 14th the attackers sprayed painted on the church wall: “Out with Sects” “ОУ�” an abbreviated name for a Ukrainian Nationalist movement. Pastor...

Felt I needed to finish this one, it was long overdue. Tackling several issues at once. For the whole series of Zero dollar bills, go here: "Flickr Archive of Zero Bills"

Beijing, October 14, Interfax - An Orthodox church was consecrated on the territory of the Russian embassy in Beijing, People’s Republic of China, on 13 October 2009. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the consecration was celebrated by Bishop Mark of Yegoryevsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate Secretariat for Russian Orthodox Church institutions abroad. According to a report from the Parish of the Assumption to the DECR communication service, the celebration was attended by the embassy official and staff as...

Night of worship with Andy Chrisman formerly of 4Him. Grammy nominated w/7 Dove awards. Church on the Move (COTM) recently remodeled (unveiled this last weekend). If you are close, you need to come! Don't miss this!!!

... Golden State has more of these megachurches -- defined as those with at least 2,000 congregants -- than any other state. California is home to 193, slightly more than Texas with 191, ... survey by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research ... some who study the phenomenon call the Southern California Bible Belt... The megachurches are expanding by adapting to changing times and tastes, scholars say. Many have jettisoned formal rituals such as organs and hymns in favor of Christian rock music and overhead projection screens that display lyrics and prayers. They deliver upbeat biblical messages about applying faith...

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and his wife Michelle (L) bid farewell to Rev. Luis Leon (C) after attending a Sunday morning church service at St. John's Church in Washington October 11, 2009. US President Barack Obama (L) and his wife Michelle (2nd R) and daughters Sasha (2nd L) and Malia (R) walk to the White House after attending a Sunday morning church service at St. John's Church in Washington, October 11, 2009.

Church records are one of our most important sources of information about the births, marriages and deaths of our ancestors. And before the 19th century, they are our only source of information on births, marriages and deaths—because churches were keeping records of important life events long before governments were. In 1538, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s Vicar General, issued an order that each parish in England keep a record of every baptism, marriage and burial it performed. The UK government, on the other hand, did not start keeping vital records until 1837. (To search indexes of most of the UK government’s...

WASHINGTON (RNS) The White House and federal health officials have released guidelines recommending that worshippers take precautions against spreading germs to reduce the risk of contracting swine flu. Marilyn Meyers, a 67-year-old member of Washington National Cathedral, already had thought about the health risks involved in her church’s services. On Sunday (Oct. 4), as she has for the past several months, she rubbed sanitizer on her hands before getting in line for Holy Communion. “You shake hands, you touch the prayer books we all share, you break off a piece of the same bread—who knows what might be on...

The church is not the only place our children should be taught biblical truth. Parents can do many practical things to combat the evolutionary indoctrination their children face...

<p>DETROIT (AP) - A retired police officer-turned-pastor shot and wounded a man who broke into his Detroit church, police said Monday.</p> <p>Lawrence Adams went to Westside Bible Church on Sunday evening and found the intruder inside the building, said Detroit police Sgt. Eren Stephens. The man began swinging an object at the retired police lieutenant, who pulled out a handgun and shot him in the abdomen, he said.</p>

A Beaconsfield, Que., church has gone to the dogs. Really. Christ Church Beaurepaire in the community on the Island of Montreal is about to begin offering a monthly church service that will include dogs. Called Paws and Pray, the communion service will feature bread and wine, as well as doggie treats and bowls of water for the four-legged 'parishioners.' The church's minister, Michael Johnson, said he has always enjoyed doing a pet blessing once a year, so he was open to the suggestion made by an animal-rights activist to include dogs in a church service. "It's to recognize the value...

India: Church Damaged in Attack On Sept. 9, St. Francis De Sales Church in Bangalore, India was attacked by more than 15 Hindu extremists, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. Extremists armed with weapons broke into the church, damaged window panes and statues inside the church. A house behind the church was damaged. The church has about 3,000 members who attend services performed in different languages such as Tamil, Malayalam and English. Following the attack, the church priests, Father Aloysius and Father Selvaraj filed a complaint with the police. The Voice of the Martyrs supports and assists persecuted...

Prayer was mixed with a dose of politics at Passaic’s largest black church on Sunday as congregants donned Obama T-shirts in a show of support for a president they say has been unfairly criticized after only eight months in office. The Union Baptist Church held a “Support Obama Sunday,” asking members to “turn the script” on the “wicked and nasty” reaction Obama has received in some quarters as he pushes for health-care reform. The church’s pastor, Rev. Ronald W. Johnson, said he rarely brings politics into the church but was moved to do so because he is concerned that some...

A right-wing Hindu group has claimed responsibility for the attack on a Church in Bangalore city on 10 September that had destroyed 10 windows, breaking the statues of Jesus and Mary. The officials of St. Francis De Sales Church, a Catholic church in Hebbagodi, the outskirt of Karnataka state capital said they received a letter allegedly from the Sri Ram Sena (Lord Ram's Army).

The presiding bishop of the nation's largest Lutheran denomination warned Wednesday that withholding financial support to protest a recent gay clergy vote would be "devastating" to the church. Bishop Mark Hanson laid out his concerns in a letter to leaders of the 4.7 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which is based in Chicago. The ELCA churchwide assembly voted last month to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, dropping a requirement that gay clergy remain celibate. The Rev. Mark Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE, said the gay clergy vote was the devastating event — "a...

MY RIGHTEOUSNESS IS ABOUT TO MEET AS ONE , FOR I AM BRINGING TOGETHER MY KINGDOM , NOT A CHILD OUT OF PLACE , NOT A SOUL THAT I KNOW , AS PART OF THE KINGDOM SHALL BE LEFT OUT OF MY FOLD , I AM CALLING MY LEADERS THAT HAVE OVERCOME , TO BRING TOGETHER MY KINGDOM , THE JOSHUAS , THE REUBENS , MANNASEHS AND DANS , THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES SURROUNDING " I AM " , THE SEVEN SPIRITS " THE EYES ON THE STONE " , I AM CALLING ALL MY KINGDOM HOME , FOR WHAT...

Dear Mr. President, Remember all the analysis immediately after your election this past November regarding where you and your family would attend church? Newspapers and websites were filled with stories about where you would go, and numerous congregations in Washington invited you, your wife, and children to attend their Sunday morning services. Although Americans have usually displayed substantial interest in where their presidents attended church while in office, never before had there been such fascination with this issue before a president was inaugurated. At present, this focus seems ironic because you and your family have attended church in Washington only...

The Gates of Hell Seem to be Prevailing, but Why? By Pastor Phil Magnan San Diego, Ca. Sept. 9th, 2009, I have been advocating against the immoral practice of abortion, homosexuality and many other issues of morality for 20 years. I certainly had hoped through our efforts that the world would have turned out better, than where we are going now. Sadly, we as a nation are turning away from the living God and giving ourselves over to greater wickedness, apostasy and depravity. Now to be clear, our main focus was to alert and educate churches as to what is...

Four billboards along Interstate 30 are sparking a debate over whether gays should be welcomed at local churches. A coalition of five churches that are part of a larger congregation of prodominatly gay Christians have put up four billboards on I-30 between Grand Prairie and Fort Worth with messages urging Christians to accept gays. One billboard reads "The early church welcomed a gay man" and another reads, "Would Jesus discriminate." Reverend Colleen Darraugh with the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Dallas tells CBS-11 exclusively they've been the target of controversy since the billboards went up last week. "There are people...

WHEATON, Minn., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- An altercation over a washer and dryer at a church in Wheaton, Minn., left a 14-month-old girl dead, authorities say. The Traverse County Sheriff's Office alleges David E. Collins and Darryl G. Kennedy confronted the girl's father, Claude Hankins, at Thy Kingdom Come Church regarding household appliances Hankins received from the church's pastor, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday. The sheriff's office said Collins allegedly was armed with a baseball bat during Thursday night's incident and while confronting Hankins, the bat struck Hankins' infant daughter. After Collins and Kennedy left the scene, the unidentified...

One can see a grassroots revolution in America in three places: The "tea parties" in the public square, the noisy "town hall" meetings between congressmen, senators and their constituents, and the abandonment of evangelical churches by the teens. These three represent most extraordinary developments, the like of which I have never seen during my lifetime. One might see an obvious connection between the tea parties and town halls but what has that to do with the teen walk-out? Many think there is no connection. I think there is a connection. This may be the most daring leap of pattern recognition...

Unlike a prudential concern like national defense, for which government monopolization is objectively good—it both limits violence overall and prevents the obvious abuses to which private armies are susceptible—health care should not be subject to federal monopolization. Preserving patient choice (through a flourishing private sector) is the only way to prevent a health care monopoly from denying care arbitrarily, as we learned from HMOs in the recent past. While a government monopoly would not be motivated by profit, it would be motivated by such bureaucratic standards as quotas and defined "best procedures," which are equally beyond the influence of most...

Belarus: Church Evicted Forum 18 News reports that on Aug. 20, New Life Full Gospel Church in Minsk, Moscow, was issued an eviction notice by government officials, forcing them to abandon their church building purchased in 2002. The church is adamant they do not fear the government’s threats. “We’re here praying and believe God will protect us,” Sergei Lukanin, the church’s lawyer told Forum 18 News. “As a lawyer I believe the state could do anything, including the use of force. But as a believer I rely on God.” Government authorities have not disclosed why the church is being evicted,...

Oklahoma police found the naked, mutilated body of a murdered pastor stretched out in a "crucifix position" behind her church altar last Sunday, sources close to the investigation told The Oklahoman. The bloodied corpse of 61-year-old Carol Daniels appeared to have been left in the form of a cross with both arms outstretched at her sides. Her head was nearly decapitated by the force of deep stabs to her neck and throat, according to forensic pathologist Dr. William Manion, who reviewed her autopsy report. Daniels' clothing had been removed, possibly to hide evidence or as a kind of trophy from...

"I have always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness," Ted Kennedy wrote to Pope Benedict XVI, in a letter dramatically read by Theodore Cardinal McCarrick at the senator's burial, "and though I have fallen short through human failings, I have never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings." But it's not Senator Abortion's 11th hour effort to transform himself into Senator Catholic that has the media up in arms. "Why couldn't the pope have replied in his own name?" Sam Donaldson incredulously asked on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. "I was disappointed." Time magazine found it noteworthy...

A sex offender was shocked after being arrested for attending church. According to North Carolina law, a sex offender could be forced to serve 12 more years in prison for worship. James Nichols was convicted of attempted rape and taking indecent liberties with a young girl. After serving a six year sentence, Nichols was released in September of 2008. Upon the release, Nichols began attending the Moncure Baptist Church in Chatham County, North Carolina. In March of the following year, he was arrested on the property owned by the church for being within 300 feet of a building with a...

Bishop Joseph F. Martino - a man known for his bookish intelligence, his outspoken devotion to pro-life causes and his often combative and insular leadership style - will end his six-year tenure as the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton on Monday, the day the Vatican is expected to accept his resignation. Sources within and outside the diocese confirmed the move Friday, and said the Vatican will also announce its acceptance of Auxiliary Bishop John M. Dougherty's resignation Monday. Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali, head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and metropolitan for the province that includes the Diocese...

ANADARKO, Okla. — Authorities say the body of a pastor killed inside her small Oklahoma church was "staged," meaning it was moved into an unnatural position, after the murder. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said Thursday that the body of 61-year-old Carol Daniels was "staged" in the Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko, but declined to elaborate. Earlier, police said they were reviewing video surveillance tapes for clues in the brutal killing of Daniels inside her church.

ANADARKO, Oklahoma -- Pastors in Anadarko are being warned to be on alert following the brutal murder of a pastor on Sunday. About two dozen people showed up for a meeting with Caddo County District Attorney Bret Burns Wednesday morning. Those in attendance said the mood was of great concern for what happened to Pastor Carol Daniels, who was murdered inside her own church.

A Lutheran church in West Virginia has covered the word Lutheran on the sign in front of the sanctuary. St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church in Charleston, West Virginia is protesting the decision by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to allow gay clergy. The pastor says he expects the decision will split the denomination.

Considering that top Christian leaders in the UK actually backed the opening of the Sharia Courts there, I guess that this should come as no surprise. The slow suicide continues. CROSS BAN FOR CHURCH SCHOOLGIRL Young Lauren banned from wearing her necklace By Emily Fox A CHURCH of England school has ordered a pupil to remove her necklace with a cross even though children of other faiths can wear religious jewellery.

"The questions [people are asking] have changed quite significantly in the past 30 years," he told me. "It used to be, 'Is there a God?' and now it's 'What I know about God I don't like.' Their biggest complaint is that God acts in morally inferior ways compared to us." Not only that, but the God who appears in the Bible is especially offensive. The God who gets communicated to the young sounds vengeful and angry and over-anxious to consign people to hell, plus he gets all wrought up about divorce, homosexuality and whether people sleep together before marriage --...

An Omaha man had less-than-divine designs for the centuries-old Virgin Mary painting he stole from St. Cecilia Cathedral. Aurelio Vallecillo-Sanchez planned to use money from selling the sacred painting to pay for an abortion for the 14-year-old girl he raped, prosecutors say. That wasn't the only detail revealed Friday as Vallecillo-Sanchez, 39, pleaded no contest to sexual assault and theft. Prosecutors say he threatened to kill the girl and her family if she went to police about the sexual assault. Advertising And, prosecutors say, they believe Vallecillo-Sanchez was responsible for the thefts of dozens of pieces of religious artwork from...

Good morning! My Son-In-Law called me last night and told me a neat story about (him) losing his work ID ( a fireable offense), praying for the first time in 2 years because of that, seeing a brief glimpse of something about the Moravian church, then finding his badge. Of course there's more to it but I'm sparing you. :) He also reported feeling completely re-energized and touched by the Hand of God -this would be a GREAT time for an 'AMEN!"- and "on fire and alive" despite having a rough weekend almost no sleep. Anyway, he asked about the...

Democratic Centralism is a Marxist-Leninist concept best described in the 1977 Soviet Constitution as a principle for organizing the state: "The Soviet state is organised and functions on the principle of democratic centralism, namely the electiveness of all bodies of state authority from the lowest to the highest, their accountability to the people, and the obligation of lower bodies to observe the decisions of higher ones. Democratic centralism combines central leadership with local initiative and creative activity and with the responsibility of the each state body and official for the work entrusted to them." There was nothing ‘democratic’ about Democratic...

Hundreds of people attending a music event at a Fayette County church watched on Saturday as teams of police officials raided the compound and arrested dozens of people on drug charges. District Attorney Nancy Vernon called it a very dangerous situation as drug task force members joined state and local police officers in the raid Saturday at the Church of Universal Love and Music in Bullskin Township, where 300 to 600 people attended the three-day "Funk Fest." "All of a sudden the police and everybody came barging in," concertgoer Kelly Azelin said. "I was scared cause they had all these...