Free Republic

During interviews about my most recent book, "Jesus Is Risen: Paul and the Early Church," many hosts have asked me why the greatest persecutor of Christians, Saul of Tarsus (later known as Paul), became Christianity's foremost evangelist. This is a fascinating question because Paul, by all appearances, was the least likely person to pioneer early Christianity's missionary efforts. He was born a Jew in Tarsus but raised and educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel, a highly respected rabbi and Jewish scholar who mentored him on the "strict manner of the law of our fathers" (Acts 22:3). Paul touted his own Jewish...

Donald Trump goes to Europe, scandalizes the Euroweenies, libs, and cruise-shilling grifters of Never Trump, and comes back victorious. He’s about to get his second SCOTUS justice confirmed – all they have on Brett Kavanaugh is that he likes beer and is named “Brett.” In Congress, the Democrats decided to go all in on abolishing ICE because Americans love open borders and welcome MS-13 or something. In the Mueller farce, the Dems decided that the smart play was to publicly run interference for creepy weirdo Peter Strzok when he went on national TV doing his impression of Lotion Boy from...

People on the left are outraged when you question their patriotism, their dedication to the nation as founded and their respect for the Constitution as originally written, but they continually vindicate our concerns. The most recent example is the left's unhinged mania at Judge Amy Coney Barrett's inclusion on President Trump's list of potential Supreme Court appointees. In times of perceived crisis — and this is certainly one of those times for leftists — they show their colors, and you can color them militantly opposed to Barrett, in large part because of her Catholicism. And guess what else. Rumor is...

Roseanne Barr posted what many are convinced was a racist tweet, and ABC summarily canceled her sitcom. As Roseanne is considered a Donald Trump supporter and Trump is widely accused of racism, people are loosely smearing Trump as responsible for her, however indirectly. Maybe I'm defensive about loose charges of racism, but if so, I've acquired my defensiveness honestly, because racism has become the left's favorite categorical smear of conservatives and Republicans. It's not something I'm imagining. I've written about it many times, basing it on my observations of leftists and Democrats in action. I don't believe that Democrats are...

What are we to make of the GOP and Democrats' dueling scandal wars? So much information, so little time. We'll have to wait until special counsel Robert Mueller completes his investigation to be sure, but I don't believe there's any credible evidence that Donald Trump colluded with Russia to affect the presidential election. On the other hand, though I was initially skeptical that the investigations into the Democratic scandals would produce much, I've changed my mind. I know I'm biased, but after having studied the voluminous information more thoroughly, I'm convinced there is an alarming amount of evidence of misconduct....

I'm an advocate of higher education and all, but so much for assuming that the development of common sense and sound judgment are part of the package. A Pew Research Center poll found that 77 percent of Democrats with a bachelor's degree or more believe a person's gender can be different from the sex they were "assigned at birth." You'll remember that Democrats are the party of science, and Republicans the Neanderthal science-deniers. First we have to ask ourselves why in the world it would occur to anyone of any gender at any time or any place even to conduct...

5990-dd00-45af-b544-3f70ac33a9e3.jpg> No matter how often leftists slander conservatives as racists, no matter how much they try to shame NFL fans for objecting to players kneeling during the national anthem, flag-waving patriots are not going to be cowed into surrendering on this issue. Why is it that anytime leftists engage in political debate or protest, no matter how inflammatory their content or manner of expression, they are glorified and defended? Conversely, why are conservatives automatically condemned as insensitive or censorious when they express their views or object to those of the left? In this upside-down culture, the left is always treated...

Google's firing of software engineer James Damore for daring to express politically incorrect ideas in an internal memo is the latest example of the political left's tyrannical propensity to suppress speech, thought and dissent. Almost as troubling as the left's policing is its apparent obliviousness toward its own hypocrisy and the danger it poses to the liberal exchange of ideas. While constitutional issues may not be involved in the Google case because no state action is involved, moral shaming has become a chilling cudgel in the hands of leftist-dominated institutions. In his memo, Damore notes that Google's political bias silences...

My friend Mark Levin is nothing if not a patriot of the first order. He loves the United States and its founding principles -- and his latest book, "Rediscovering Americanism," explains his passion and encourages ours. Levin believes that America's greatness lies in its unique founding ideals -- and documents -- and correctly observes how far we've strayed from those principles and the structure of government they inspired. In his other books, Levin has outlined the problems confronting us and proposed solutions, but in this book, he takes a deeper look into the Framers' vision and examines the anatomy and...

One thing should be clear, at least to Republicans: The left has had the long knives out for President Donald Trump since before he was inaugurated. It intended to destroy him regardless of his conduct in office. Liberals and even some conservatives contend that Trump's defenders on the right are tainted, partisan, idolatrous cheerleaders who have sold their souls and principles to defend him against troublesome charges. Some argue that even if former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton engaged in similar activities, two wrongs don't make a right. Trump supporters, they say, have always insisted they are strict...

I oppose the push to remove "The Late Show" comedian Stephen Colbert from the air because of his obscene tirade against President Donald Trump. In fact, I wish the video of his boorish diatribe would go viral. The best remedy against the political left's ongoing crusade to remake America in its own vulgar image is maximum exposure of its irrationality. If you haven't seen Colbert's rant, please watch it. It's titled "This Monologue Goes Out To You, Mr. President" on YouTube. There was nothing funny about it; there was nothing clever. It was just one shallow insult after another. I...

The totalitarian left is emboldened by its selective suppression of speech. Just as scary is the deluded thought process that inspires its Stalinism. Recognizing its inability to compete in the marketplace of ideas, the left has been chipping away for years at the concept of free speech. You have to give leftists points for cleverness, not to mention persistence, because they don't openly advocate censoring conservative speech as such. They pretend to be protecting some greater good or preventing imminent harm to certain groups. When they failed in talk radio, they resurrected the Fairness Doctrine, which is euphemistically disguised as...

Emma Moran lived through 117 years of wars, inventions and changing civilizations, and was undoubtedly loved by many in her native Italy. She was also the last verified survivor of all humans born in the 1800s. Yet life rolls on for the rest of the world, not affected in the least by such a tremendous human feat. If you die last, you win; or at least that seems to be the logic when enemies spar and nations war. You’ve probably also heard the saying, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Is the number of our days or the...

I have a new book out — “The True Jesus,” which is my third Christian-themed book — and I want to tell you a little bit about it. In my previous books, I related that I didn’t always embrace the Bible and that I came to accept Jesus Christ later than some people do — after studying the evidence for Christianity’s truth claims. Contrary to a common misconception, there is an abundance of evidence that undergirds the Christian faith, and I examined much of that in my previous books. This book is different in that it allows the Gospels to...

I was unable to watch President Trump's speech to Congress in real time but heard it was phenomenal. I watched it the next day, and it was even better than I expected. There was enough meat in the first five minutes to satisfy a hungry audience of Americans and fuel an extensive column, but it just kept getting better. I don't agree that Trump became presidential for the first time that evening as so many opined in chorus, because I think he's been presidential since his inauguration and also because I don't subscribe to the commentariat's superficial concept of...

Each passing day, this presidential election becomes more distasteful, but that doesn't relieve me of my duty to do what I believe is right. During the primaries, there were 17 GOP candidates, and I chose the one I believed would be the best for America. Now my realistic choices have been narrowed to two candidates -- Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton -- one of whom will be the next president. What does this mean for me? Well, some people on the right faced with this binary choice have concluded they can't in good conscience vote for Trump, no matter...

It is hard to deny that there is a worldwide impulse against elitism, globalism, unaccountable regulatory bureaucracies and illegal immigration that is powerfully present in the United States and transcends the Donald Trump candidacy. The vote to leave the European Union won decisively in Britain, which doubtlessly shocked the elites and political forecasters. Populist forces have also gained ground against former leftist strongholds in other parts of Europe. Many attribute this trend to an uprising of working-class voters, who have been damaged by the global economy and ignored by elites. That certainly proved true in the Brexit vote, in which...

Remember when the left passionately insisted that public schools distribute free condoms to students on the bizarre theory that they were going to have sex anyway and we might as well make it safe? Well, the results are in, and the left isn't looking too great. When this nation was first experiencing the AIDS scare, liberals were adamant that we had to saturate the culture with condoms for teens to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. They ignored warnings that this massive giveaway program would publicly sanction and, thus, encourage teen promiscuity. They rejected reports that condoms are hardly...

David Limbaugh discusses the need for Republican party unity. I found the entire interview interesting but especially at the 25 min mark. His take on party unity then is quite different than it is now.

I constantly hear that only Donald Trump supporters can understand the Trump phenomenon, as if it were inaccessible to nonbelievers, like the secret knowledge of ancient Gnostics. But I don't believe it's a matter of comprehension. Trump supporters are so tired of the ruling class and are so adamant about a handful of issues that they seem willing to overlook even monumental flaws in their candidate, so long as he will carry the torch against Washington -- at least on those major issues. They aren't just willing to ignore flaws; they don't care about them, because things are so bad...