http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/moral-religion/ en-us Sat, 2 Jan 2010 16:33:12 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419533/posts In Light of the Passing of Those of Great Fame and Fortune. . The Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes is the tragic biography of Adam’s fallen race (i.e., humanity) told by the wisest of all men, King Solomon. King Solomon possessed it all: wisdom, brilliance, discernment, authority, prestige, riches/ wealth, property/ possessions, power, fame, women and glory. Amazingly, as he was reflecting on his life in his last days, he made this very sobering and tragic statement: “Vanity of vanities…all is vanity” (Eccl. 1:1-15, 12:7-8). In possessing all of this stature and achievement, it never satisfied the eternal void of... The Ignorant Fishermen Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419533/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 16:33:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419513/posts I am currently an ELCA pastor of two rural congregations in western Wisconsin near the city of Menomonie in the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin. Near the time of the end of the churchwide assembly, our synodical bishop, Duane Pederson, sent out a communication to all in our synod, summarizing his observations. To my ears it sounded like a “party line” communication that had little respect for the bound consciences of those opposed to the controversial decisions at churchwide. I thought there should be a synod-wide response to this letter, but when I met the bishop on September 24, 2009 at... Lutheran Forum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419513/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 15:44:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419404/posts There is no question that Congress cannot legitimately force anyone to buy health insurance under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. There is another reason Congress should beware. Today it is little known or understood. In 1776 it shocked kings and emperors across Europe. That reason is revealed in our Declaration of Independence. Appealing to all mankind, the Declaration’s seminal passage opens with perhaps the most important line in the document: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident”. Grounded in reason, “self-evident” truths invoke the long tradition of Natural Law, which holds that there is a “higher law” of... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419404/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 11:59:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419294/posts Think back ten years. What pressure was upon you then? Think back fifteen years. What were you doing on that day? jgrantswankjr http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2419294/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 02:20:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418984/posts Humility, Bill knew, is understanding one's place before Creator God. It is recognizing the biblical definition of the mortal to be fact — that we are indeed as dust, cracked clay, or a wheat strand blowing in the wind. Townhall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418984/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 16:22:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418710/posts They forced "their slave" to clean, cook and care for children as well as provide sexual favors upon request. faithfreedom.og http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418710/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 00:42:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418682/posts The celebrations have begun already in Sydney, Australia where 1.5 million people participated in massive fireworks displays and festivities. Final preparations are being made in Times Square, New York where authorities are expecting the largest crowd in the history of such New Years gatherings. At midnight, the ball will drop and a massive crowd will welcome a New Year with the sincere hope that it will offer them a new beginning. The experience is nearly universal. Some Nations use different calendars, but the passing of one year to another is marked by a deliberate period of reflection over the past... Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418682/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:54:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418596/posts THE MANHATTAN DECLARATION and EVANGELICAL CO-BELLIGERENCE ...the ineffectual intersection of politics and faith     “The goal of both the church and the state is to advance the public good.” -Francis Beckwith     The ultimate goal of the church biblically is not the public good, but the glory of God in the proclamation and advancement of His gospel of sola fide. God, not the audience, is sovereign. The “public good” is political speak for tolerance. The gospel, however, does divide; it is a stumbling block, offensive and foolishness for those who are perishing.     Here we go... Camp On This http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418596/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:59:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418464/posts Bryan Cones, the managing editor at U.S. Catholic, is upset that I used the word "fake" to describe Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Two weeks ago, I criticized those organizations for supporting the Senate health-care bill containing abortion funding. At the Huffington Post, Cones calls me out: Hudson appoints himself the arbiter of what is Catholic, and if you support health care reform that in any way might lead to an abortion paid for with public funds, you are not one.Cones stresses his disagreement with me in a lively style: "If he wants to have... Inside Catholic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418464/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:41:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418072/posts Jesus informs John that Gentile pagans will have their diabolical way in Jerusalem for the last half (42 months divided by 12 equals three-and-a-half years) of the about-seven year Tribulation period, the latter closing out the Church Age. The Church Age began with the First Coming of Christ. The Church Age will conclude with the Second Coming of Christ. The “trampling” includes the AntiChrist desecrating the next Temple to be constructed as well as laying low by his armies’ might the city of Jerusalem. Allvoices http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2418072/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:53:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417824/posts It is alarming to realize the nonchalance on the part of many concerning abortion. But it is not new. A popular newsmagazine quoted one medical opinion: "Abortion is finding its place as a perfectly acceptable and valid health measure. We no longer think of it as a crime." Allvoices http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417824/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:28:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417165/posts Whoa boy! Somebody in Denmark is gonna have some 'splainin to do to St. Peter one day. Jim Geraghty reports on an editorial in a Danish newspaper says that Obama is greater than Jesus. This is not a paraphrase folks, this is what they said. From the start, Obama’s critics have claimed that his supporters have idolised him as a saviour, thus attempting to dismantle the concrete hope that Obama has represented for most Americans. The idea was naturally that the comparison between Jesus and Obama – which is something that the critics developed themselves – would be comical, blasphemous,... CMR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417165/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:04:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417162/posts In an interview with Newsweek's Eleanor Clift, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi criticized the Church for its position on abortion and gays rights and stated that her Bishop has "tried to change my mind" Pelosi responds to questions about abortion in the health-care bill and her insistence that the original pre-Stupak bill did not fund abortion and says of the Bishops "they are not willing to accept facts." It was reported that you were negotiating with the conference of bishops. I talked to one of the cardinals. I said to him that I believe that what we are doing... CMR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417162/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:58:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417053/posts I was an associate pastor in New York City in the early 1980’s, and one of the other pastors had been a member of the motorcycle gang called the Pagans. They are a large and notorious gang that has a record of violence and drugs. This man, named Tom, began to date a backslidden Christian and led her into a sinful lifestyle. The girlfriend’s mother was a strong believer, and God had burdened her heart not only for her daughter, but for this man Tom. One day, led by the Spirit, this little woman marched right into the Pagan’s clubhouse... Following Judah's Lion http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417053/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:57:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417015/posts I have been looking for God my whole life. I first recognized Him in the black foster parents I worked with who manifested Christ-consciousness. I then found him four years ago, when my parents died three weeks apart and I was carried by a force stronger than myself. And more recently, as I’ve gone from left to right, I have discovered him in the many conservatives guiding me, such as AT readers. American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417015/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:01:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417038/posts This audio clip is from one of my recent shows, in which a caller wanted (I think) to publicly put me on the spot over why I "de-friended" him on my Facebook page. As you'll hear, the reason was because of something he said to some of the women there about their having had an abortion. The problem was that he branded such women as "murderers" because 1) abortion is murder and 2) they had aborted one or more of their children. His logic is correct, at least in a sense, because abortion is murder. But the way he put... Patrick Madrid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417038/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:33:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2416940/posts Our little girl was clinging to me, wondering why we were in this strange place. Then I looked at my wife, understanding that in a short time she would be hospitalized. Brain surgery in Boston. The doctor inserted a shunt from her brain to her heart, passing under the skin behind her ear. Her hair was shaved off in preparation for the surgery. That year, we were both alone for Christmas in the "big city." Holidays would be quite strange that season, that was for certain. The Magic City Morning Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2416940/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:01:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2416507/posts VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican will decide how to proceed with the young woman responsible for knocking down Pope Benedict XVI during Christmas Eve Mass only after it reviews medical and Vatican security reports, said Vatican spokesmen. Critical to the prosecutor's decision will be the doctors' evaluation concerning the woman's mental state and whether or not she was "of sound mind," Father Ciro Benedettini, vice director of the Vatican press office, told Catholic News Service Dec. 28. The prosecutor will also take into consideration eyewitness accounts, he said. When the Vatican prosecutor has all the information, including a medical... cns http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2416507/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:05:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2416360/posts SIN! THE ONLY REAL EVIL PHYSICAL EVIL. The world is for ever complaining and murmuring about the supposed evils that oppress it. It complains of poverty, of hard work, of pain and sickness, and of disease and death. But can such things be truly called evil? Can we rightly stigmatize as evil that which may be made an occasion of immense good? How can we truly say, for instance, that poverty is an evil, when our Divine Lord Himself, says:---"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt, vi, 3)? Or again, are hard work... Catholic Treasures http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2416360/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:26:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415109/posts A non-partisan, black, *CHRISTIAN* woman publicly repents for voting for Obama despite his pro-abortion record. She explains why she was deceived and reaffirms her committment to putting Christ first. Before race. Before politics. You Tube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415109/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 23:11:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414825/posts St. Francis Lutheran Church, San Francisco, will celebrate its first "Feast of Hope" worship Dec. 27, in celebration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly decision directing changes in ministry policies. The Rev. Anita Hill, pastor of St. Paul-Reformation Church, Minneapolis, will serve as guest preacher. Since 1995 the congregation has held a "Feast of Expulsion" in late December, commemorating the date when the congregation was expelled from the ELCA, according to a news release from the congregation. On Dec. 31, 1995 St. Francis was removed from the ELCA's roster of congregations for calling ministers in same-gender... Worldwide Faith News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414825/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 04:22:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414722/posts I am not inclined to sign manifestos or petitions. While believing strongly and passionately about many causes, I am not usually impressed with the effectiveness of such statements and I am generally concerned about how such statements might be used or construed by others. I am not reluctant to speak for myself and from my own Christian convictions and consequent judgments. Furthermore, the constant exchange of opposing statements on this or that issue merely crowds the public square as opposing viewpoints compete for attention. So, for reasons perhaps both admirable and not so admirable, I prefer to stand on my... albertmohler.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414722/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:06:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414461/posts Led by a Palestinian Lutheran bishop, 16 Palestinians Christians have blasted Israel in a new declaration that the 4.9 million Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is obligingly disseminating. “We…declare that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians of their basic human rights, bestowed by God,” asserted the “Kairos Palestine Document. “It distorts the image of God in the Israeli who has become an occupier just as it distorts this image in the Palestinian living under occupation.” Not content to criticize the Jews, the manifesto also excoriates Christians who... Front Page Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414461/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:53:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414446/posts 'Tis such an unusual Christmas season when the Senate of the United States works right up to late Christmas Eve, not to give, but to take. Oh, they would tell the citizens they will give them health care, but this present is not a little like Pandora's Box, filled with all manner of bad things. The villain in the Christmas story is King Herod who, on hearing of the birth of the Messiah, sought to destroy his feared rival by killing every baby under 2 years old. How many more babies will die, funded by this health care bill's national... Bedrock http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414446/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:32:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414360/posts A Missouri man facing an extortion charge is sticking by his allegations that a Roman Catholic monk exposed himself to him. Steven Gillispie, 45, told the St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch that he made up a rape allegation only after the monk's order failed to pay him off over what Gillispie said was a flashing incident that actually took place. "Out of retaliation and of being crazy and stupid, I did a very stupid thing," Gillispie said from the Jefferson County jail. The Post-Dispatch said Wednesday that Gillispie, who is himself on parole for sexual assault on a child, was arrested... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2414360/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:30:49 GMT