Free Republic

We're increasingly uncomfortable with religion these days. As a society, we tolerate pastors, priests, rabbis and other religious folks, so long as they confine their message to a vanilla "God is love" theme and bless babies, brides and caskets. But when religious leaders speak out on the issues of the day -- especially using morally tinged language -- the elite gatekeepers of public opinion in the media, government and academia warn shrilly that a new Dark Age is upon us. More and more, we see outright hostility to religion -- particularly to Christianity. Consider the wild popularity of a recent...

As 2008 winds down, we will take this opportunity to look back at some of the most interesting medieval stories of the year. Here is our list of top articles placed on our news blog: Art Historian recreates 'The Mystic Ark' of Hugh of Saint Victor Polish archaeologists find remains of three Teutonic Knights Byzantine gold coins discovered in Jerusalem Fordham Professor Decodes Hidden Messages in Medieval Text Byzantine art exhibition at the Royal Academy, London Battle of Agincourt Archaeological discoveries in Rome Istanbul project reveals Byzantine discoveries Boyana church in Sofia - Medieval frescos Vikings may have gone out...

The Dark Ages : Were They Darker Than We Imagined? By Greg Bryant Published in the September 1999 issue of Universe As we approach the end of the Second Millennium, a review of ancient history is not what you would normally expect to read in the pages of Universe. Indeed, except for reflecting on the AD 837 apparition of Halley's Comet (when it should have been as bright as Venus and would have moved through 60 degrees of sky in one day as it passed just 0.03 AU from Earth - three times closer than Hyakutake in 1996), you may...

BRUSSELS, August 21, 2008 (C-FAM) - A recent report from the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) of the European Union (EU) has called for binding EU regulations that would equalize the legal status of married heterosexual couples with that of same-sex and opposite-sex couples across Europe. It also recommends policies aimed at "promoting visibility of homosexuality and other gender identities" and criminalizing homophobia through "hate crime" legislation. FRA contracted writing of the report to a group called FRALEX. FRALEX is roughly the same group as the now defunct EU "network of independent fundamental rights experts," a group that was widely criticized...

In certain parts of Europe, "hate speech" already is a criminal act. When the late journalist and author Oriana Fallaci wrote books critical of Islam in 2002, she was sued in France. Later, Swiss and Italian judges ordered her to stand trial for "defaming Islam." In France, Brigitte Bardot — the former film starlet turned animal rights activist — has been convicted five times of "inciting racial hatred." In one instance, her crime was writing a letter to French officials, objecting to the ritual slaughter of sheep by Muslims. Sheep to the slaughter, sadly, is a perfect analogy for European...

PARIS (AFP)--French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned Monday that Ireland would pay a high price if it rejects a new European treaty in a referendum this week. Kouchner said a 'no' vote from the Irish would be greeted with "gigantic incomprehension" from the rest of Europe. "The first victims would be the Irish. They have benefited more than others," Kouchner told RTL radio. European governments are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the referendum on Thursday as the latest opinion polls show the result could go either way. Kouchner argued that the "Irish would be penalizing themselves" by rejecting the Lisbon...

Controversial author and social commentator Mark Steyn said Friday he wants to lose his case before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal in Vancouver. Instead, Steyn wants to take the "hate speech" case to an actual court of law. Steyn said a negative ruling would allow the case to go forward in the legal system -- instead of being heard by what he has called a panel of "pretend judges." The tribunal is wrapping up a case brought by a member of the Canadian Islamic Congress "on behalf of Muslim residents in the province of British Columbia" against Maclean's magazine. They...

Ancient Global Dimming Linked to Volcanic Eruption Ker Than for National Geographic NewsMarch 19, 2008 A "dry fog" that muted the sun's rays in A.D. 536 and plunged half the world into a famine-inducing chill was triggered by the eruption of a supervolcano, a new study says. The cause of the sixth-century global dimming has long been a matter of debate, but a team of international researchers recently discovered acidic sulphate molecules, which are signs of an eruption, in Greenland ice. This is the first physical evidence for the A.D. 536 event, which according to ancient texts from Mesoamerica, Europe,...

Al-Qaida in Afghanistan needs electrical engineers, medical doctors, Islamic scholars and, in particular, understanding wives, announced the movement's commander in a new audio message Thursday. Mustafa Abu al-Yazeed, the self-proclaimed leader of the movement's Afghan branch, gave a 45-minute recruitment speech in a tape entitled, "They've lied, now comes the combat," that appeared on militant Islamist Web sites, and slammed Arab leaders for being traitors. He urged scholars, doctors and electrical engineers to join the Mujahideen in their fight "because the combat needs all expertise and efforts." Abu al-Yazeed also called on the parents to allow their sons to fight....

The most direct route through the Northwest Passage has opened up fully for the first time since records began, the European Space Agency (Esa) says. Historically, the passage that links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian Arctic has been ice-bound. But the agency says ice cover has been steadily shrinking, and this year's drop has made the passage navigable. The findings - based on satellite images - have raised concerns about the speed of global warming. 'Extreme' The Northwest Passage is one of the most fabled sea routes in the world - a short cut from Europe to...

By Trevor Timpson BBC News The Last Roman's grave (ringed) was found close to the Square. Two very different finds, dug up close to each other by Trafalgar Square, shine new light on the greatest puzzle of London archaeology - the "silent" centuries after Roman rule.That the skeleton of "London's Last Roman" - or anything ancient and unknown - can be discovered in 2006 in Trafalgar Square is remarkable. But when it comes to yielding secrets, the square's church, St Martin-in-the-Fields, has a long record. When the present church was being built in the 18th Century a body was...

What's Your Dark Ages Character?

Ethnic and religious courts are gaining ground in the UK. Will this lead to different justice for different people? Aydarus Yusuf has lived in the UK for the past 15 years, but he feels more bound by the traditional law of his country of birth - Somalia - than he does by the law of England and Wales. "Us Somalis, wherever we are in the world, we have our own law. It's not Islamic, it's not religious - it's just a cultural thing." The 29-year-old youth worker wants to ensure that other members of his community remain subject to the...

It's the end of the world!! Head for the hills!!! No, wait. Don't head for the hills—they're full of Islamist terrorist camps. Let me put it in a slightly bigger nutshell: much of what we loosely call the Western world will not survive the twenty-first century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most European countries. There'll probably still be a geographical area on the map marked as Italy or the Netherlands—probably—just as in Istanbul there's still a building known as Hagia Sophia, or St. Sophia's Cathedral. But it's not a cathedral; it's...

Conservative Republicans held such hopes when Pres. Bush was heralded into office and the Republicans gained control of the Congress. That was then, this is now. According to recent polls, conservative republicans are perplexed by the non-conservative actions of this president and the Republican-controlled Congress. As I probed this latest confusion I found that I, and millions of other citizens, are f-o-s-s-i-l-s. According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia online, we are "Paleo" or "Old" conservatives. We are living fossils, 'about-to-become-extinct' hangers-on of the Grand Old Party which no longer appears to represent traditional conservatism. The Republican Party in its essentials has been...

The Victory of Reason Christianity and the West February 22, 2006 At the heart of the furor over Danish cartoons depicting Muhammad are the different values and ideals of two civilizations: one shaped by Christianity, the other by Islam. Of course, it's seldom put that way, especially in the elite media. Instead, the values being defended are called "Western," as if a compass point produced the freedoms we today enjoy in the Western world. Fortunately, there's a new book that sets the record straight. The book is called The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western...

American media outlets faced a dilemma Friday that underscored the sensitive nature of depicting Islam. Should they publish the satirical images that have offended millions of Muslims across the globe? Or should they censor themselves, denying a chance for readers and viewers to judge the cartoons for themselves? Most decided against reprinting the images. The Muhammad cartoons -- one of which depicts Islam's holy prophet wearing a ticking bomb as a turban -- were first published in a Danish newspaper in September. When a handful of European newspapers reprinted the cartoons in December, violent protests erupted in Europe, Asia and...

Darwin's Pyrrhic victory   Posted: December 28, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern  By Patrick J. Buchanan   © 2005 Creators Syndicate Inc.  "Intelligent Design Derailed," exulted the headline. "By now, the Christian conservatives who once dominated the school board in Dover, Pa., ought to rue their recklessness in forcing biology classes to hear about 'intelligent design' as an alternative to the theory of evolution," declared the New York Times, which added its own caning to the Christians who dared challenge the revealed truths of Darwinian scripture. Noting that U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III is a Bush appointee, the Washington Post...

Rodney Stark's latest book, The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success (Random House, 2005), is scheduled for publication next Tuesday. It's a useful corrective for folks in Austin, Boston, and other blue spots who think of Christianity and rationalism as opposite historical forces and philosophical concepts. The veteran Baylor professor discussed with WORLD how the Christian sense of progress led to political, technological, and economic advances. WORLD: How is Christianity unique in emphasizing the idea of progress? STARK: The other great faiths either taught that the world is locked in endless cycles or that...

Ever since September 11, 2001, I've gloomily predicted the European powder keg's about to go up. "By 2010, we'll be watching burning buildings, street riots and assassinations on the news every night," I wrote in Canada's Western Standard back in February. Silly me. The Eurabian civil war appears to have started some years ahead of my optimistic schedule. As Thursday's edition of the Guardian reported in London: "French youths fired at police and burned over 300 cars last night as towns around Paris experienced their worst night of violence in a week of urban unrest." "French youths," huh? You mean...

Public release date: 3-Feb-2004 Contact: Dr Derek Ward-Thompson derek.ward-thompson@astro.cf.ac.uk 029-2087-5314 Cardiff University Astronomers unravel a mystery of the Dark Ages Undergraduates' work blames comet for 6th-century "nuclear winter" Scientists at Cardiff University, UK, believe they have discovered the cause of crop failures and summer frosts some 1,500 years ago – a comet colliding with Earth. The team has been studying evidence from tree rings, which suggests that the Earth underwent a series of very cold summers around 536-540 AD, indicating an effect rather like a nuclear winter. The scientists in the School of Physics and Astronomy believe this was caused...

The American Inquisition Has Begun By Chuck Baldwin Food For Thought From The Chuck Wagon November 15, 2003 I was in attendance at Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's trial in Montgomery this past Wednesday and Thursday. "Trial" is not really the proper word, however. A better word is "inquisition." There was never a doubt that the "judges" had made up their minds to remove Chief Justice Moore from the bench before the proceedings ever began. They sat like wooden Indians throughout the trial, taking few notes and, with only one exception, making no comments, and asking no questions. Furthermore, Moore's...

The Dark Ages : Were They Darker Than We Imagined? By Greg Bryant Published in the September 1999 issue of Universe As we approach the end of the Second Millennium, a review of ancient history is not what you would normally expect to read in the pages of Universe. Indeed, except for reflecting on the AD 837 apparition of Halley's Comet (when it should have been as bright as Venus and would have moved through 60 degrees of sky in one day as it passed just 0.03 AU from Earth - three times closer than Hyakutake in 1996), you may...

Anglo Saxon brooch has oldest writing in English By Paul Stokes (Filed: 07/06/2003) What is believed to be the oldest form of writing in English ever found has been uncovered in an Anglo-Saxon burial ground. It is in the form of four runes representing the letters N, E, I and M scratched on the back of a bronze brooch from around AD650. The six inch cruciform brooch is among one million artefacts recovered from a site at West Heslerton, near Malton, North Yorks, since work began there in 1978. Dominic Powlesland, the archaeologist leading the excavation team, said: "This could...

<p>In real time, world Islam may be in the 21st century, but in practice, it's closer to the Dark Ages, panelists said at a forum yesterday.</p> <p>"The theory and practice of jihad was not concocted in the Pentagon," said Ibn Warraq, a speaker at the conference on Islam sponsored by the Council for Secular Humanism at the Capitol Hilton. "It was taken from the Koran, the Hadith [additional sayings of Muhammad] and Islamic tradition. Western liberals, especially humanists, find it hard to believe this. The trouble with Western liberals is they are pathologically nice. They think that everyone thinks like them, including the Islamic fundamentalists.</p>

Garage rock is big in Teheran. In earlier times and different circumstance, garages, heavily padded for sound, might have been used for secret printing presses to churn out samizdat papers or revolutionary literature, but not in Teheran today. If heavy rock is your thing, find a garage.Here, in the Islamic republic, heavy rock is officially considered moral pollution. So it goes underground. Blasting at their drums and electric guitars, the heavily sweating crew from Sokoote-e Shargh, which means Oriental Silence, meet three times a week to practise in a sound proofed room inside an underground garage.They are not alone. There...

The Roman Empire is luxurious but it is filled with misery. It is dying but it laughs – moritur et ridet.                               --- Salvian But Salvian, we learned with a deflecting smile, was an extremist, though, in the hindsight of disaster, his foresight would scarcely seem overstated. What interested me was that men had smiled complacently at Salvian’s words when he spoke them, and men still smiled at them complacently a thousand years later – the same kind of men, I was beginning to suspect,...