Free Republic

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence. According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July. "He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview. Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in...

Mara Vanderslice is a frenetic far-Leftist who worked for the Kerry campaign in 2004 — also then trying to con Christians into voting Democrat. Background on her here A new political group that claims to be a Christian organization has endorsed pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. The Matthew 25 Network plans to run ads for Obama on Christian radio stations and in newspapers and magazines that appeal to Christians. The object is to try to pry away evangelical voters from supporting John McCain, who has already received the endorsement of a number of evangelical and Catholic groups and leaders.Mara Vanderslice,...

The polished services at large churches today may be earnest, but spiritually, they can miss the mark. My friend Jennie is a singer with a worship team at a local "megachurch." Recently, while rehearsing songs for the next day's worship service, she found herself experiencing a deep sense of union with God. As the music faded away, she stood in silent worship, then noticed someone speaking her name. "Jennie," called the worship leader, observing the rehearsal from the front seats, "when you're worshipping, don't forget to keep your fingers evenly spaced on the microphone. Thanks, everybody. Take a break." Ouch....

The Mediator (the quarterly newsletter of the awesome evangelical outreach to Hollywood, MasterMedia Internatonal) reports that Oprah Winfrey now airs a one-hour daily radio show on her XM satellite radio channel that takes listeners through the 365 lessons in the New Age tome "A Course in Miracles." The folks at MasterMedia got their information from truthorfiction.com If you're not familiar with the teachings of A Course In Miracles (which were supposedly channeled to the author by Jesus) you can check out the quotes on the truthorfiction page above (some of the quotes are from other New Age books, but...

Today marks the second day of Obama’s “Enduring American Values” week. Today’s topic: faith. The Illinois senator will unveil its plan to overhaul the Bush Administration’s Faith-Based and Community Initiatives by helping religious organizations better learn how to apply for federal aid with a “Train the Trainers” program, and focusing the groups to provide summer learning programs to children. Obama’s plan will not “scrap” the current program, the campaign says, but will fix it. “President Bush came into office with a promise to “rally the armies of compassion,” establishing a new Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. But what we...

WASHINGTON — Politically speaking, Susan Speakman is a different kind of evangelical. Mrs. Speakman, 59, a pastor and educator at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Bridgeville, Pa., an activist evangelical church southwest of Pittsburgh, backs Senator Barack Obama in the presidential race. Along with her 23-year-old son, Stephen, she supports Mr. Obama because of his stands on the Iraq war and matters of social justice. The two of them plan to spread the word in their community and beyond. “What caught my attention early on was his comment that we don’t want red states and blue states, but we want to...

Dr. James Dobson responds to a speech made by Barack Obama in which the presidential candidate, while discussing the role of religion in government, compares Dr. Dobson to political activist the Rev. Al Sharpton. Dr. Dobson also updates listeners on the battle to preserve traditional marriage in Arizona, and pays tribute to late broadcast journalist Tim Russert. Joining Dr. Dobson for a discussion of these important issues are Focus on the Family President Jim Daly and Tom Minnery, Focus' Vice President of Public Policy. "76 percent of the [American] people identify themselves as Christian ... [but Barack Obama is] diminishing...

Now it begins. The Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, has begun his outreach to faith based voters. Dr. James Dobson, a respected voice within the evangelical protestant community and beyond, has engaged the debate. The media is screaming “Bible Wars”. What is this all about? What does it mean for Catholic Christians? How should we respond? As someone who has had the privilege of meeting Dr Dobson, I have great respect for the wonderful work he is doing and has done for the “poorest of the poor”, children in the first home of the whole human race, their mothers womb....

Two black conservatives -- one a pastor, the other a leader of an urban ministry -- say they can't understand why a number of black Republicans have publicly said they are considering voting for Barack Obama this election. It should be about character, they say, not skin color. Ken Hutcherson, an African-American pastor in suburban Seattle, says black conservatives who are supporting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama must remember what they have been saying about race for decades. Several prominent conservative African-Americans have said they are at least considering supporting Obama because of his race. The list includes talk-show host...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico state police say they've arrested the leader of an apocalyptic church on sex charges. State police spokesman Peter Olson says 66-year-old Wayne Bent was picked up without incident Tuesday at the remote former ranch where he and his followers live. He's facing three charges of criminal sexual contact. Bent goes by the name of Michael Travesser and claims to be the Messiah. State child welfare officials say there have been allegations of inappropriate contact between Bent and children at the northeastern New Mexico compound. Bent has acknowledged having sex with his followers, but...

The feature article on Barack Obama fit him to a tee, all fluff and no substance. The sub-heading says that at every stage in his political career, Obama has reached out to the Jewish Community. Yet the only reaching out referred to in the article is that he sought backing from Alan Solow in Obama’s 1996 Illinois Senate run, the backing of Robert Schrayer in his 2004 U.S. Senate run, and named Boston philanthropist Alan Solomont as Obama’s fund-raising chief. The article goes on to say that Obama has built relationships in the community to avoid murmurings about his divergences...

At a Michigan state mental hospital more than 40 years ago, a psychiatrist brought together three patients, each of whom said he was Jesus Christ. Dr. Milton Rokeach, the author of The Three Christs of Ypsilanti, thought that a messianic showdown might dull the patients' delusions. All three, however, refused to be dethroned. Whether mentally ill, hedonistic or genuinely inspired, self-declared saviors have risen through the ages and stood firm against disbelief and outrage. The most charismatic have attracted hundreds and sometimes thousands to their altars. The latest and most prominent figure to declare Christhood is the Rev. Jose Luis...

Mahmoud AhmadinejadÂ’s Letter the American People November 29th, 2006 In the name of God, the Compassionate, the MercifulO, Almighty God, bestow upon humanity the perfect human being promised to all by You, and make us among his followers.Noble Americans,Were we not faced with the activities of the US administration in this part of the world and the negative ramifications of those activities on the daily lives of our peoples, coupled with the many wars and calamities caused by the US administration as well as the tragic consequences of US interference in other countries;Were the American people not God-fearing, truth-loving, and...