Free Republic

When it comes to climate change, just have a little faith!In an unusual case in the United Kingdom, it has been ruled that climate change beliefs should be afforded the same legal protections as religious freedoms. The bizarre ruling sets a landmark legal precedent and could have broad implications both in Britain and abroad. The case began when Tim Nicholson, former head of sustainability at property firm Grainger PLC was laid off in July 2008 for his criticism of management on the basis of climate change beliefs. Mr. Nicholson, who renovated his house to be greener and refuses to fly...

Love Can Mess You Up: Before Arthur David Horn met his future bride Lynette (a "metaphysical healer") in 1988, he was a tenured professor at Colorado State, with a Ph.D. in anthropology from Yale, teaching a mainstream course in human evolution. With Lynette's guidance (after a revelatory week with her in California's Trinity Mountains, searching for Bigfoot), Horn evolved, himself, resigning from Colorado State and seeking to remedy his inadequate Ivy League education. At a conference in Denver in September, Horn said he now realizes that humans come from an alien race of shape-shifting reptilians that continue to control civilization...

FLORENCE - Chances are you remember Roy Moore. In 2003, Moore engulfed the national stage when, as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, he ignored a federal judge's order to remove a granite monument of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Judicial Building. He was subsequently removed from office.

The woman who successfully sued to have a Bible removed from a Harris County courthouse display is now suing to stop city council from opening meetings with prayers that she believes are too Christian. Kay Staley, a real estate agent and lawyer, argues religion and prayer are private matters that don't belong in government. She sued the city and Councilmember Anne Clutterbuck, saying the council's prayers are so overly Christian they violate the First Amendment separation of church and state. Clutterbuck was singled out for saying the Lord's Prayer. ...(Staley) argues the prayers are coercive to others who won't speak...

SNIPPET: "The president has nominated Chai Feldblum, a lesbian activist, to be commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Her appointment is awaiting Senate confirmation." SNIPPET: "Feldblum, a law professor at Georgetown University, has signed an online petition titled, "Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision for All Our Families and Relationships."" SNIPPET: ""Chai Feldblum is on record saying that the battle between our religious freedoms and homosexual so-called rights is a zero sum game," says Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality." SNIPPET: ""She says she can't think of a case where the religious rights -- in...

Health care is in the news — but you have to wonder where all the Christians are. This is one of the biggest issues facing our country and our people, yet no one seems to be bringing a Christian voice or tone to that debate. Have you noticed? During the presidential campaign, there was much talk about the 50 million or so who have no health care insurance, many of whom who forgo care altogether and then wind up in emergency rooms with more serious, more fully developed illnesses than would have been the case had they sought preventive care....

"Hear our cry, Obama." "Deliver us, Obama." Video at link.

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...

What would it mean if the United States were officially declared a “Christian Nation”? How would it affect you in your everyday life? Would you have increased opportunity to practice your faith more freely? Would the government use its power to make moral laws that line up with your Christian beliefs or would it favor the ‘Christian beliefs’ of your neighbors? Our best example might come from a time when much of Europe was a “Christian Continent.” The Holy Roman Empire lasted from Emperor Otto’s coronation in 962 to 1806 when it was dissolved during the Napoleonic wars. For all...

Facing incendiary charges that health-care reform would result in government financing of abortion and euthanasia, President Obama has made an unusual appeal to religious groups to help sell the plan and debunk critics' "false witness." "I'm going to need the help of all of you," Obama told an August 19 conference call and live webcast that attracted an estimated 140,000 people. "I need you to knock on doors, talk to your neighbors. I need you to spread the facts and speak the truth." The "40 Minutes for Health Reform" call, organized by the Washington-based group Faith in Public Life and...

“For what my grandpa called the cause of his life, as he said that every American have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege, we pray to the Lord.”

Barack Obama has apparently now been advised to shift the ground in the debate over health care reform, to get it away from discussions about specific provisions in the pending legislation (whether it will force us to unplug grandma or use our tax dollars to pay for others' abortions) and get it onto a far loftier moral high ground. This he did last weekend in a conference call to liberal clergy, urging them to endorse universal health care because of what he has decided is all part of the biblical injunction to "be our brother's keeper." Ostensibly, many moral theories...

State officials are examining whether public money has been improperly used to pay for Islamic mosques on charter school campuses in Blaine and Inver Grove Heights. Chas Anderson, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education, said officials will study Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy's (TiZA) use of state "lease aid'' grants, which were created more than a decade ago to help charter schools rent adequate facilities. "If it is subsidizing a mosque, in our view, that would be a violation of state and federal law,'' Anderson said. The probe is the latest in a series of church-vs.-state conflicts involving TiZA...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5HJszTnuQw Sister Campbell: "We've got 47 million people that don't have access to health care." BOR: "No they do, they walk into any emergency room in the country, they have access to health care FREE." Sister Campbell: "Oh but then, please, please, then consider what that then does to those of us that have insurance, how it escalates OUR costs!"

A pattern of subversive activity towards the Roman Catholic Church by President Obama’s administration has been noticed by Catholic commentators during the past several months. On May 17th, President Obama spoke at the commencement ceremony for Notre Dame University, despite protests and condemnation by several U.S. Bishops. The opposition to Obama’s speaking at a Catholic university was due to his promises to remove restrictions on abortion, a practice considered morally wrong by the Roman Catholic Church. While it may be difficult for non-Catholics to understand the severity of refusing to accept Catholic teachings on abortion and contraception while claiming to...

http://www.reddirtreport.com/news.php?id=12076 OKLAHOMA CITY – The flyer is simple but informative. “Community Organizing at St. Charles.” Sounds innocuous enough. But upon closer inspection, it appears to be further attempts by ACORN-esque organizers to infiltrate well-meaning parishioners in the Catholic Church in the Oklahoma City area, among other places. The flyer reads: “Come to a special training in community organizing for Catholic parishes, presented by Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee and hosted by Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish.” Not much could be found about the Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee, other than a Grace Presbyterian Church flyer online that notes that “the OSC is a...

Tuning in to President Obama's health care town hall today, you couldn't help but notice how much tamer the line of questioning was compared to what Obama's fellow Democrats have been up against. By and large, instead of the persistent tough queries that greeted the likes of Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), the president fielded much easier questions. The toughest questioner tried to tag him on his earlier comments approving of a government-run "single-payer" system but unfortunately couldn't get the point of distinction between it and the much more amorphous "universal" health care system, thus allowing Obama to...

The so-called New Atheists are attacking the mantra of science and faith being compatible. Others in the science community question the value of confrontation.This fall, evolutionary biologist and bestselling author Richard Dawkins -- most recently famous for his public exhortation to atheism, "The God Delusion" -- returns to writing about science. Dawkins' new book, "The Greatest Show on Earth," will inform and regale us with the stunning "evidence for evolution," as the subtitle says. It will surely be an impressive display, as Dawkins excels at making the case for evolution. But it's also fair to ask: Who in the United...

[Evan Thomas:] "...he [Obama] has a very different job from Reagan was all about America and you [Chris Matthews] talked about it. Obama is 'we are above all that now.' We're not just parochial. We stand for something. I mean in a way, Obama's standing above the country, above the world, he's sort of God."

www.catholicnewsagency.com State ethics office investigates Connecticut diocese as lobbying group Diocese of Bridgeport sues for First Amendment violation Bishop William Lori Bridgeport, Conn., May 29, 2009 / 05:16 pm (CNA).- In response to its efforts to fight a bill that would have redefined the financial and pastoral structure of the Catholic Church in Connecticut, the Diocese of Bridgeport is now being investigated by the Office of State Ethics (OSE) for acting as a lobbying group without registering as one. Today, the diocese filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the investigation. According to the Diocese of Bridgeport, a letter...

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Georgia) is trying to get his so-called Bible bill made into law. And while it's not likely to happen any time soon, it's a wonderful idea...at least in theory. What's wrong with a law which would declare 2010 the "year of the Bible"? Given that we already have days for secretaries, months for reading and have parsed the calendar for just about every other purpose and cause from artichokes to zebras, it's almost silly that we have not already done this. Would it really be so wrong to honor the most influential book, for better or...

WASHINGTON (ABP) -- The U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains is being criticized for a proclamation calling for prayer and fasting on April 8, which coincides with the first night of Passover, a high holy day on the Jewish calendar celebrated by a traditional feast called the Seder. Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver, a Southern Baptist, issued a proclamation March 2 urging Army chaplains to pray and fast April 8 during a 120-day "stand down" period beginning Feb. 15 to focus on suicide-prevention awareness among soldiers. "As spiritual leaders we are called to be a people of prayer," Carver explained in Internet...

ELDORADO, Texas — It was a year ago that the outside world got its first glimpse beyond the battered green gate of the YFZ Ranch. And the view was mesmerizing: Women in pioneer-style dresses, their hair swept up in braids. Men who married multiple times — sometimes, it was said, to underage girls. Children snatched by authorities from their mothers, for fear that they might be abused. Officials had come looking for an abused teenage girl named "Sarah." Since then, it's become clear Sarah didn't exist, that calls made to a domestic abuse hot line were probably faked. And since...

The launch by dating service eHarmony.com of a new website for homosexuals is creating concern among customers who were attracted to the company because of its Christian foundations, but they're not getting any satisfaction. WND reported when eHarmony launched its new Compatible Partners website for homosexuals, the result of a settlement of a discrimination complaint brought in New Jersey. Compatible Partners has been put online by eHarmony following the case prompted by a 2005 complaint by Eric McKinley, a homosexual, who claimed eHarmony's heterosexual-only matching service violated the state's anti-discrimination law.

I received this extremely troubling e-mail over the weekend from my paisan Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut: Big Turnout Needed Wednesday, March 11th to Stop Major New Attack on Religious Liberty! The [Democrat]-controlled Judiciary Committee has introduced Raised Bill 1098, a bill aimed specifically at the Catholic Church, which would remove the authority of the bishop and pastor over individual parishes and put a board of laymen in their place. Yes, we're asking the same questions you are (Where does the legislature have the authority to do this? Isn't this a blatant violation of the First Amendment?),...

An Outline History of Religion in American Schools "The Philosophy of the school room in one generation . . . will be the Philosophy of Government in the next."  Abraham Lincoln 1620 Mayflower Compact signed "Having undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith . . .  furtherance of the ends aforesaid."   The Pilgrims taught their children the Bible and the Christian  faith. 1624 Virginia General Assembly rules that Indian children be rounded up and educated in religion and civilization. 1636 Harvard College is founded by John Harvard a Presbyterian minister primarily as a religious...

A Bill removing control of parishes from bishops has been introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly. Raised Bill 1098 has no stated sponsor, but according to staff at the Senate Judiciary Committee was a concept raised in the committee itself. The bill establishes that Catholic churches in the state shall have a board of directors made up of 7 to 13 lay members elected by the congregation. The bishop or his designee shall be an ex-officio non-voting member.

A public-funded home school in New Mexico is being forced to drop its curriculum because the education secretary says it is filled with "sectarian doctrine."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a ruling Wednesday that held a Montana church in violation of the law for speaking about the state's marriage amendment. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed a lawsuit in 2004 after the Montana commissioner of political practices investigated Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church, following a complaint by a homosexual activist group. The group claimed the church was required to register as a political committee in order to speak about the marriage amendment.

On November 13, 2008, Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, head of the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, gave a speech at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in which he discussed the role of religion in public life. It was an important speech, and critical for understanding contemporary Catholic teachings on religious liberty and the relation of church and state. . . . Jefferson’s ideas, far from being the cause of infringement on conscience, are the remedy. Rather than rejecting them as evil, Stafford should embrace them as the proper response. This is our American heritage; it protects...

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota said it will file suit today against a publicly funded charter school, alleging that it is promoting the Muslim religion and that its directors are using a holding company to illegally funnel taxpayer dollars to a Muslim organization. The suit was to be filed this afternoon in U.S. District Court against Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, known as TIZA, and the Minnesota Department of Education, which the ACLU says is at fault for failing to uncover and stop the alleged transgressions. The suit names the department and Alice Seagren, the state education commissioner, as...

Washington DC, Jan 21, 2009 / 03:19 am (CNA).- Former Supreme Court nominee Judge Robert Bork has predicted that upcoming legal battles will have significant ramifications for religious freedom. He names as issues of major concern the continued freedom of Catholic hospitals to refuse to perform abortions and the likely “terrible conflict” resulting from the advancement of homosexual rights. Speaking in an interview published Tuesday by Cybercast News Service, Judge Bork discussed the contentious nature of modern politics. “Everything is up for debate these days. I can’t think of anything that isn’t,” he said. “You are going to get Catholic...

An international faith-based organization has filed a lawsuit against the Cobb County school system for the right to use school facilities free of charge. Child Evangelism Fellowship is accusing the district of violating First Amendment rights because they are no longer allowing the group to host after-school meetings in classrooms, free of charge.

A Southwest Florida man who in past years has been allowed to distribute free Bibles to high school students on Religious Freedom Day was turned down this year by the district's superintendent. Jerry Rutherford, president of World Changers, appeared before the Collier County School Board on Thursday to ask for a reversal of the decision but received the same response. "This rejection is a slap in the face," said Rutherford, according to Naples News. "The decision to deny access to community groups that are religious in nature is censorship and bias." In November, Rutherford routinely submitted his request to set...

BENTONVILLE -- All churches will pay fire dues collected through Benton County starting this year, said Valerie Brewer, assessor's office administrative assistant. Some fire departments had exempted churches in their fire districts after voters approved having dues collected through the tax collector's office. The dues are collected for homes and businesses the same way as county property taxes. The county had allowed fire chiefs to call in and exempt parcels, officials said previously, but an attorney general's opinion released in October said those exemptions might not be legal. -- Moutray said he could see both sides of the issue. Churches...

Nativity scenes made of real straw. Wise Men 2 feet tall. Menorahs bigger than a human being.   Holiday display in Teaneck. In many North Jersey municipalities, those sacred symbols can be found at the same place people get dog licenses, pay taxes and apply for building permits — town hall.  The display of religious items on public property has long been a charged discussion in American communities, and the case law governing holiday displays is still murky enough to confound local governments trying to create a festive atmosphere for residents.* Fair Lawn for years just lit a holiday tree....

The church separates itself from the state and the liberals are complaining. http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2009/01/06/news/world/doc4962f4565fe22554748818.txt

The government of the state of Washington has officially endorse endorsed atheism by allowing the following statement to be posted immediately next to a nativity scene: “At this season of the Winter Solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” You need to understand, a nativity scene is not a statement, but a symbol. And the "holiday tree" (it's not even called a "Christmas" tree) is likewise merely a symbol. There is no comparison...

Hollywood can still mount a soapbox and recall the dark days when people lost their jobs in show business for daring to take an unpopular political position that was outside the mainstream. Whenever they're criticized, they proclaim, "McCarthyism," accuse their critics of "blacklisting," and condemn the deplorable "intolerance." Hollywood has yet to accept, perhaps even to understand, that it is the entertainment industry that excels at this slanderous behavior. After California voters narrowly approved Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, it was revealed that Scott Eckern, the artistic director...

MSNBC had a poll a while back: "Should the motto "In God We Trust" be removed from U.S. currency?" The "Yes" answer affirmed, "It's a violation of the principle of separation of church and state." The "No" answer stated, "The motto has historical and patriotic significance and does nothing to establish a state religion." As of my last visit (from August 22, 2008), there were 6594785 responses, and "No" had a commanding lead. Based on a Free Republic comment on November 14 after the poll closed, the ultimate tally was: 81% wanted to keep "In God We Trust," and 19%...

“Same Sex Marriage” and Its Threat to Religious Liberty November 29th, 2008 by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse Tactics used by gay marriage campaigners confirm believers’ worst fears. As wildfires blazed in California last week, anger at the outcome of the state’s referendum on marriage blazed across the country. After a hard-fought campaign over Proposition 8, which defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman, a clear majority of California voters endorsed it, and the gay marriage lobby was enraged. Now, as same sex marriage campaigners take the issue back to the courts, it is unclear what the...

The State of California is investigating the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints because they helped to defend true marriage as between one man and one woman. The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) was created by the Political Reform Act of 1974, itself a ballot initiative passed by California voters as Proposition 9. It is now being used as a tool to persecute those who defend marriage, wielded by a savvy ex political consultant who does not like the position taken by the Church or the results of the latest Proposition 8 initiative...“Californians Against Hate was established in...

Freeo this Poll!

The so-called "free-speech code" of Yuba Community College District is under federal court scrutiny. California student, Ryan Dozier, decided to spend some time on campus sharing his faith and handing out tracts to fellow students, generating conversations about Christianity. Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Heather Hacker comments on the situation. "A campus police officer came over and told him that if he continued to do so without a permit that he would be possibly expelled or arrested, and so Ryan stopped immediately," she explains. Hacker says Dozier thought the case was closed, but he was apparently mistaken. "Three weeks later...

Is this not just the perfect example of the pure outright evil of socialist government? They create conditions that increase the homeless(emptying psych. hospitals, destroying jobs, interfering with markets, seizing wealth, dumbing down education),, a very real problem arises that they deny exists (freezing winter temperatures) and they order the one group of people who are helping freely to stop!! Here you have homeless people freezing in the cold, no one is suppose to be freezing in the cold because the socialists say the earth is melting from global warming!!! Cold is not suppose to exist!!! They mock Christians! They...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court justices warily confronted a free speech dispute Wednesday over a small religious group's efforts to place a monument in a public park. The justices seemed reluctant to accept the arguments put forth by the religious group known as the Summum that once a government accepts any donations for display in a public park, it must accept them all. "Do we have to put any president who wants to be on Mt. Rushmore?" Chief Justice John Roberts asked. Yet the court also was uncomfortable with the position of Pleasant Grove City, Utah, which rejected the Summum's...

PASTOR AND POLITICS Author: Kari Kintner (11/05/08) A sign outside a church in Kalispell is causing a stir. It says, "USA...One Abomination Under God." Causing many to bring up the idea of separation of church and state. A pastor in Kalispell says he has good reason for putting a sign up outside his church Wednesday. It says "USA...One Abomination Under God." Now, he didn't spell "abomination" the smae as "Obama-Nation," but it is his reaction to the election. "As long as we still have free speech, we need to use it, to tell people that the nation is going in...

"The Church is equally convinced that State and religion are called to support each other as they together serve the personal and social well-being of all. This harmonious cooperation between Church and State requires ecclesial and civic leaders to carry out their public duties with undaunted concern for the common good."

Religion and Politics: Good or Bad? Pictured right: Nineteenth century political cartoon, depicting Mormonism as a ravenous threat to society. Charles W. Carter Collection.Much of the debate around religion and politics has to do with getting religion in and out of the public square. Tensions run high; snippets from private correspondence sneak into the Constitution; creche exhibits in city hall become a rarity and graduation benedictions turn into litigious minefields for local clergy. But this post is about the inverse debate: getting politics in and out of religion. I'll speak from my own experience in the Mormon church and let...

Fourteen: That's how many times the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in its fight to roll back compulsory unionism. They're going at it again in a high court term that, among other battles, pits environmentalism against national security, and defines the limits of free speech. Fleeting profanity On Nov. 4 the high court justices will hear arguments in a case prompted by entertainers' apparent affinity for the F-word. In 2002 and 2003, singer-actress Cher and actress Nicole Richie each used variations of the word in separate broadcasts of the Billboard Music...