Free Republic

President Barack Obama is not expected to go to church during Christmas. The president rarely attends worship services, preferring to read scripture and pray in private, according to Politico. Those familiar with his Christian faith say he does not go to church regularly partly because he does not want to disrupt the experiences of regular parishioners and that the Obama family prefers to use Sundays to bond and for downtime. "The president's faith has deepened in the second term; he's said as much," said Joshua DuBois, who headed the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships during Obama's first term. Church-going...

A strong correlation exists between religiosity and personal happiness, according to a new study by the Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture.

A rarely heard Christmas Carol. 1. Where shepherds lately knelt and kept the angel's word, I come in half belief, a pilgrim strangely stirred, but there is room and welcome there for me, but there is room and welcome there for me.2. In that unlikely place I find him as they said: sweet newborn babe, how frail! and in a manger bed, a still, small voice to cry one day for me, a still, small voice to cry one day for me. 3. How should I not have known Isaiah would be there, his prophecies fulfilled? With pounding heart I...

Spreading holiday fear. Apparently, the Obama administration’s ostensible determination to foster “diversity” in the military is a one-way street. Army Chaplain Joseph Lawhorn was disciplined for mentioning his faith and the Bible as part of a November suicide prevention training seminar with the 5th Ranger Training Battalion. “You provided a two-sided handout that listed Army resources on one side and a biblical approach to handling depression on the other side,” wrote Col. David Fivecoat, commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade at Ft. Benning, Georgia, in an official Letter of Concern. “This made it impossible for those in attendance...

Ryan Bell, an ex-pastor who quit his faith in God for a year following his resignation from the Hollywood Adventist Church and a divorce from his wife of 17 years, is set to decide New Year's Day whether he will remain a believer or become an atheist. While he has distanced himself from zealous atheists, Bell expressed a desire to be "good" without submitting to boundaries. Nearing the end of his yearlong embrace of non-theism, Bell told the LA Times that leaving the faith has allowed him to see "both sides of the coin." The former Fuller Seminary and Azusa...

A commonly heard claim is that Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe in “the same God.” These are comforting words and of great assistance to those wishing to engage in interfaith dialogues and tri-faith ventures. But is this true? To answer that question, let’s look at what is said and taught about Jews and Christians by Allah, the god of Islam, and Muhammad, Allah’s prophet. We’ll start with the Koran. The KoranMuslims believe the Koran is the infallible, timeless and perfect word of Allah. So what does Allah say in the Koran about Jews and Christians?To set the stage, Allah...

God became a man to save us from our sins, which he did finally and completely on the Cross. We commemorate his death and resurrection on Easter, but his suffering on our behalf began much earlier than that. We would do well to remember that at Christmastime, when we celebrate our savior's birth. Seminary professor Bob Tuttle, in his 2006 book, "Shortening the Leap," puts that in perspective poignantly: "The Jesus of glory still bears the marks of the Incarnation, and not just in his hands, his side and his feet, but in his navel, because the suffering began in...

On Dec. 25, the unforgettable story about Louis Zamperini, an Olympian turned World War II prisoner of war hero, opens in theaters nationwide. As astoundingly resilient as Zamperini was, however, his real power was found in a fact underplayed in the movie; namely, he whose birth we celebrate Dec. 25 is the one responsible for restoring and transforming Zamperini's heart and life. First, let me say, few lives can compare with Zamperini's. He lived hard from a young age. He smoked cigarettes by the time he was 5, and his favorite pastime as a youth was stealing beer from bootleggers.Cops...

Does Rand Paul classify himself as a "free-thinker?" I was looking around to see how he might be associated with that atheist/agnostic group and the word "dignity" came up in the first piece below [that uses the term free-thinker]. So I search "Rand Paul" and "dignity" and found that he uses that word in his speeches. So just wondering what anyone knows about his religious leanings other than his traditional association with the Episcopal church. And does he use "dignity" as a euphemism for "social justice" - "getting along" - as a liberal-libertarian stand in [REPLACEMENT] for religion [Islam, Judaism,...

“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” -Matthew 7:18 As if people needed another reason to like and support Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback, Tim Tebow. His foundation- The Tim Tebow Foundation, has announced its intentions of opening the Tebow CURE Hospital in Davao City, Philippines, which will focus on serving children suffering from orthopedic needs who can’t afford treatment or corrective procedures. The hospital is the culmination of a partnership between Tebow’s organization and CURE International, a non-profit “that operates charitable hospitals and programs in 30 countries worldwide where...

Inspiring Examples of Aged Faith September 7th, 2010 by Fr. Kyle Schnippel   Last week, I had the opportunity to con-celebrate Mass with two priests who, together, have 120 years of priestly experience.  Only bringing 6 years to the Altar myself, I was somewhat in awe of the two aged servants who have toiled long in the vineyard of the Lord.As I reflect back on this Mass, and as I have continued to grow in friendship with these two men (who are both old enough to be my grandfather!), I continue to marvel at the great gift of the...

Stacy Alexander, a home schooling super Mom of eight, was admitted to the ER On January 21, 2012 and on January 25th she was diagnosed with stage 4 Esophageal Adenocarcinoma which had spread to her lymph nodes and liver. This diagnosis was bleak. The tumor was HER2 positive meaning that it was overproducing a growth factor that made the cancer especially aggressive and it was also inoperable. A Cancer Treatment Centers of America study showed that only 6% of patients with this diagnosis survive 2 years and only 3% survive 5 years or more. Walt, Stacy's husband, who is a...

Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.John 14:12

If there is one thing we have learned over the past 6 years in the United States, it is the mutually reinforcing nature of different expressions of freedom. No form of freedom--religious, civil, political, or economic--is of course absolute. But unjust infringements (intentional or otherwise) on one freedom can easily result in damage being inflicted upon other spheres of freedom.This is indisputably true, for instance, of religious and political freedom. All totalitarian and most authoritarian regimes usually end up seeking to severely restrict religious liberty. Sometimes this is for ideological or religious reasons. Some religions, for instance, embody very weak...

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name. Psalm 100: 4

The parents of Eliza O’Neill, the little girl with an incurable and deadly brain disorder, are making one final desperate push to raise funds for the clinical trial that will test a gene therapy for the disease—and perhaps offer hope for Eliza. The O’Neills have already raised $1.3 million through a viral video and hope that by Eliza’s fifth birthday on Sunday they’ll hit their $1.8 million goal. While there is no guarantee that Eliza will be among those chosen to participate in the trial, which could start sometime in the middle of 2015, its organizers say that at this...

“Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” – John 15:20 Christians, pastors, take heed. In case you haven’t noticed, times are a-changin’. Whether at home or abroad, if you follow God’s command to speak biblical truth in all things, most especially, it seems, on matters of sex and sexuality, you will be persecuted. “A servant is not greater than his master.” I don’t presume to compare my friend Scott Lively of Abiding Truth Ministries to...

Faith Brings Comfort, But Not at First – A Reflection on a Teaching by Peter Kreeft By: Msgr. Charles Pope For ongoing education and spiritual growth, I am always reading. One of the books I am currently reading is Peter Kreeft’s Angels and Demons. As most of you know, I have often expressed concern that angels have been sentimentalized and even trivialized. Most people’s conception of angels is far from what the Bible describes! If you have read Peter Kreeft, you know that very few people can express things as well as he does. Thus I would like to give you...

In the 2014 midterm elections, the Republican Party enlarged its majority in the U.S. House of Representatives with continued strong support from white evangelicals and people who attend religious services regularly. In addition, the GOP appears to have made inroads among some religious constituencies that traditionally have not been as supportive of Republican candidates.

A man diagnosed with the same form of brain cancer that led Brittany Maynard to kill herself last weekend says he chose a different path because of his faith in God. Thirteen years ago, David Williams of Newport, Arkansas was told by his doctors that he had a progressive brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme, and that he had 6 months to a year to live. Williams told WMC TV that although he trusted his doctors, he refused to believe that he couldn't fight the disease and live. As a result of his determination he's undergone surgeries, chemotherapies, takes daily medication,...