Free Republic

The island faiths have always seemed to me, at distant consideration, a fairly detached bunch, roused only by the threat of Sunday ferry sailings or the sight of an untethered child’s swing on the Sabbath. Okay, they don’t like anything much unless it involves walking slowly to church in a hat formerly owned by their great-grandfather, but these austere elaborations of the Calvinist reform tradition — the Free Church, the Free Church (Continuing) and the Free Presbyterian Church — always seemed too remote, too isolationist, to care about the world beyond Benbecula. But there’s one thing that does rouse their...

Graham Kendrick - the author of such painful hymns as Shine, Jesus, Shine has been included amongst a list of 50 people responsible for ruining Britain. Being placed alongside individuals as nauseating as Paul Burrell, Jeffrey Archer and Janet Street-Porter might seem a little harsh for someone whose only crime is to have penned more happy-clappy songs than anyone else. Four hundred at the last count. But it's hard to fault the argument. "Happy-cr*ppy hymns are a pestilence," says Quentin Letts, a parliamentary sketchwriter. "They demean adult worship, dragging it to a level even lower than that of Mrs C...

As the Internet is changing communication now, so the printing press did half a millennium ago, and not only for writers. Artists until then could paint or sculpt and hope their creation would last in one public place. But soon after Gutenberg's mid-15th-century innovation, artists who devoted themselves to print media could produce multiple copies for private homes. One artist in particular specialized and excelled in intricate woodcuts, engravings, and etchings: Abrecht Dürer (1471-1528). Art historians view him as the greatest master of the printed image besides Rembrandt, the leading melder of northern European and Renaissance styles, and a true...

Two small parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia have quit the denomination over gay ordination and joined a like-minded group of dissident churches based in Northern Virginia. The break-away Anglican District of Virginia announced Friday that Christ Church in Emporia and Grace Church in Purdy had become members. The district now includes 23 parishes that have cut ties with the Episcopal Church. Church of the Messiah in Chesapeake quit the Episcopal denomination in 2006. Grace Episcopal Church in Newport News quit a couple years earlier. The Southern Virginia diocese has about 120 parishes, including more than two dozen...

Failure and Success: The Scramble for Popularity Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. --Matthew 5:11-12 Popular Judaism slew the prophets and crucified Christ. Popular Christianity killed the Reformers, jailed the Quakers and drove John Wesley into the streets. When it comes to religion, the crowds are always wrong. At any time there are a few who see, and the rest are blinded. To...

Evolution and the Woman by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man." (1 Corinthians 11:8-9)In spite of the overwhelming scientific evidence against evolution, "Christian evolutionists" still argue (or, at least, allow) that evolution could be God's method of creation.Such a fence-straddling position is logically untenable, however, and gravely dangerous spiritually. There are numerous biblical and theological reasons why evolution, under any guise, must be unequivocally repudiated by Bible-believing Christians, and one of the most...

Failure and Success: The Passion for Publicity For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness-God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. --1 Thessalonians 2:5-6 If this is a fairly accurate view of things, what can we say then when Christian men vie with one another for place and position? What can we answer when we see them hungrily seeking for praise and honor? How can we excuse that passion for publicity...

No King in Israel by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6)Four times in the Book of Judges we are told that "there was no king in Israel in those days" (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25), indicating that the book must have been compiled either by Samuel (the last judge) or someone else of his or a later generation. The first and last of these (which is the final verse in the book) add that "every man did that...

Failure and Success: The Carnal Desire to Make Good For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. --2 Corinthians 4:5 Our Lord died an apparent failure, discredited by the leaders of established religion, rejected by society and forsaken by His friends. The man who ordered Him to the cross was the successful statesman whose hand the ambitious hack politician kissed. It took the resurrection to demonstrate how gloriously Christ had triumphed and how tragically the governor had failed. Yet today the professed church seems to have learned nothing. We are...

Overcome Them by Henry Morris III, D.Min.   "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4)This is one of the most reassuring promises in the Bible for the believer. Because "we are of God" and because He is in us (as the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 3:16) and is "greater . . . than he that is in the world," we have already overcome!I firmly believe that there are no empty promises in the Bible, and I know that...

Introduction Teresa of Avila calls for our consideration on several counts: Her writings are increasingly popular amongst unconverted but professing Protestants who find her 'mystical spirituality' attractive in their own 'pursuit of God.' We are thus alerted to a dangerous 'enemy within the gates.' She is revered by Romanists as 'a quintessential Catholic', 'a revolutionary mystic', 'a saint and doctor of the Church', and a co-patron of Spain. This gives us an inkling of the influence she wields over Roman Catholic hearts. Her works, 'long seen as merely devotional treatises . . . are now being mined more seriously for...

October 7 Failure and Success: Quiet Heroes Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.... Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. --Matthew 5:5-8 We have but to become acquainted with, or even listen to, the big names of our times to discover how wretchedly inferior most of them are. Many appear to have arrived at their present eminence by pull, brass, nerve, gall and lucky accident. We turn away from them sick to our stomach and wonder for a discouraged moment if this is the best the human race can produce. But we...

Our Adversary, the Devil by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)This grave warning concerning the devil was given not only to young Christians, easily subject to temptations, but also to "the elders which are among you" (v. 1). It often seems, in fact, that Satan's greatest victories are won when he can cause the fall of a Christian leader, thereby not only destroying that leader's influence for Christ, but also giving "great occasion to the enemies of the...

October 6 Failure and Success: Stop Tinkering Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, 'Have I also here seen Him who sees me?' --Genesis 16:13 Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves-- blessed riddance. The...

The Mind of Christ by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:5)Although salvation is free, it is not cheap, since it required the Creator Himself to become man and submit to an agonizing death on the cross. This was the mind of Christ!And, by the same token, although our salvation is not conditioned on any meritorious acts of our own, the standard by which we must measure our lives is nothing less than the perfect life of Jesus Christ. In the first place, our words and deeds are...

As a ramp up to reformation Day 2008, I present some thoughts from reformation Days past. ______________________________________________________________ It seems fitting to mark this Reformation Day by quoting the first and third of the ninety-five-shot volley that Martin Luther nailed to the door of the Wittenberg church. Note how timely it is: 1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent," He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. 3. Yet its meaning is not restricted to repentance in one's heart; for such repentance is null unless it produces outward signs in various mortifications of...

In the 14th Century, Oxford was the most outstanding university in the world, and John Wycliffe was its leading theologian and philosopher. The Black Death ( Bubonic Plague), which killed a third of the population of Europe, lead Wycliffe to search the Scriptures and find salvation in Christ. THE KING’S CHAMPION As a professor at Oxford University, Wycliffe represented England in a controversy with the Pope. Wycliffe championed the independence of England from Papal control. He supported King Edward III’s refusal to pay taxes to the Pope. (It was only one step away from denying the political supremacy of the...

GetReligion notes that The New York Times (peace be upon it) has, remarkably, described the Episcopal conflict in language that is much closer to the truth than the "all about homosexuality" shorthand it and so many other news outlets have resorted to over the past several years: For a long time now, many reporters have based their stories on the assumption that all of this fighting began with the ordination of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the openly noncelibate gay bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. Things were rolling along toward tolerant modernity and then the church...

Our Lord Jesus Christ tells of two men, a rich man who rejects God and a beggar whose trust is in the Lord (Luke 16:19-31). Both of them die, and the beggar goes to heaven, while the rich man goes to hell. One reason he tells this story is so that we may know something of what comes after death. Many will enjoy the pleasures of heaven, but others will suffer the horrors of hell. This rich man who is suffering the torments of hell makes two requests of Abraham. First, he asks to be relieved of his torment, which...

Failure and Success: The School of Failure As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. --Psalm 103:13-14 For some of us last year was one in which we did not acquit ourselves very nobly as Christians, considering the infinite power available to us through the indwelling Spirit. But through the goodness of God we may go to school to our failures. The man of illuminated mind will learn from his mistakes, yes even from his sins. If his heart is trusting and penitent,...

The First Sacrifice by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." (Genesis 3:21)This action by the Lord is very significant. God Himself apparently sacrificed some of His animal creation (possibly two innocent and blemish-free sheep) in order to provide clothing for the first man and woman. In the first place, this tells us that clothing is important in God's plan for human beings; nudity became shameful once sin entered the world.In the second place, we learn that symbolically speaking, clothing must be provided by...

Failure and Success: If a Man Falls If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. --1 John 1:9 Next, are you allowing Satan to magnify the memories of your spiritual failures? He will always keep them before you unless you take your stand and move up in faith. The devil will whisper, "You didn't get very far along toward the deeper life, did you?" He will say, "You made a big 'to-do' about wanting to be filled with the Spirit and you really flopped, didn't you?"...

How to Know the Truth by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:17)The apostle Paul, in his last epistle, wrote about certain philosophers who would be "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). In the next verse, Paul makes it clear why such people, no matter how scholarly or well educated they seem to be, are still incapable of accepting real truth. "So do these also resist...

“That spirit of looking out for one another, that core value that says, ‘I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper,’ that spirit is most evident during times of great tragedy. It’s most evident during times of great hardship, it’s most when natural disasters strike. We all understand that we have to come together.” – Sen. Barack Hussein Obama (D-Ill.) on the campaign trail, Sept. 2, 2008 Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) frequently claims on the hustings, as part of his campaign for the presidency, that he would like to usher in a new era of “change” where Americans...

We’ve all heard that the choice and purchase of a home is one of the most significant decisions a person will ever make. In this temporal world that may be true. However, choosing where you and your children will learn the things of God and serve the Lord Jesus Christ has eternal ramifications.Every week at Grace to You we receive letters from people asking us to recommend a good church in their area. Those requests indicate three types of people wanting to make a wise choice in selecting a church home: those who have moved or will be moving, new...

Tracking pages of ancient Hebrew Bible Crusaders held it for ransom, fire almost destroyed it and it was reputedly smuggled across borders in the Middle East hidden in a washing machine. But in 1958, when it finally reached Israel, 196 pages were missing - about 40 percent of the total - and for some Old Testament scholars they have become a kind of holy grail. Researchers representing the manuscript's custodian in Jerusalem now say they have leads on some of the missing pages and are nearer their goal of making the manuscript whole again. The Crown, known in English...

Revival: More Than Talk and Prayer Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. --Joshua 1:7 It will take more than talk and prayer to bring revival. There must be a return to the Lord in practice before our prayers will be heard in heaven. We dare not continue to trouble God's way if we want Him to bless ours.... If we are foolish enough...

Dinosaurs and the Bible by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: . . . His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God." (Job 40:15-19)In this remarkable passage, the Lord has been urging Job and his three philosophizing friends to consider all the marvelous evidences of God's...

London, Sep 26, 2008 / 05:07 am (CNA).- This week the Archbishop of Canterbury became the first Anglican leader to visit the Marian shrine at Lourdes in France. During his three-day visit, he preached a homily at an international Mass and made remarks which critics construed to mean that he accepted the reality of the Marian apparitions at Lourdes and the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception which the apparitions communicated. One critic called the archbishop’s presence a “wholesale compromise” and labeled him a “papal puppet.” Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had been invited to the shrine by Jacques...

Calvin's Institutes Book Fourth: Of the Holy Catholic Church. Chapter 18. Of the Popish mass. How it not only profanes, but annihilates the Lord's Supper. The principal heads of this chapter are, - I. The abomination of the Mass, sec. 1. Its manifold impiety included under five heads, sec. 2-7. Its origin described, sec. 8, 9. II. Of the name of sacrifice which the ancients gave to the holy Supper, sec. 10-12. An apposite discussion on sacrifice, refitting the arguments of the Papists for the sacrifice of the Mass, sec. 13-18. III. A summary of the doctrine of the Christian...

LOURDES, France, SEPT. 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Devotion to the Virgin Mary has an essential role in ecumenical dialogue and the journey to full and visible unity among Christians, says the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.Cardinal Walter Kasper affirmed this Wednesday when he presided over an ecumenical celebration in Lourdes, where Anglicans and Catholics had joined on pilgrimage. Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury gave the homily at the event. The pilgrimage began at the Anglican shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in England. "Lourdes is known for its miracles," Cardinal Kasper said. "Who would have imagined,...

Revival: It Requires Obedience But why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do the things which I say? --Luke 6:46 It is my conviction that much, very much, prayer for and talk about revival these days is wasted energy. Ignoring the confusion of figures, I might say that it is hunger that appears to have no object; it is dreamy wishing that is too weak to produce moral action. It is fanaticism on a high level for, according to John Wesley, "a fanatic is one who seeks desired ends while ignoring the constituted means to reach those ends."......

Sweet Naamah by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green." (Song of Solomon 1:16)These words begin King Solomon's tender expressions of love to his beautiful young wife. Solomon wrote a thousand and five songs (1 Kings 4:32), but apparently this was his favorite, for he called it his "song of songs" (Song 1:1), and it clearly centered on his beloved, whom he called "my sister, my spouse" no less than four times (Song 4:9-12; 5:1), thereby intimating both their spiritual and marital relationship.Rehoboam was Solomon's only son, as far...

IS THE CHRISTIAN FAITH EASY? Rev. Steven Key Others have said... "Many people have considered the Christian faith an easy thing. They do this because they have not experienced it." Martin Luther "For the good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.. . . O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Apostle Paul "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Jesus...

LONDON (CNS) -- Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, England, has come under fire for his homily during a pilgrimage to the Marian sanctuaries in Lourdes, France. Archbishop Williams, leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, said in a homily during a Sept. 24 international Mass at Lourdes that when Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 "she came at first as an anonymous figure, a beautiful lady, a mysterious thing, not yet identified as the Lord's spotless mother. "And Bernadette -- uneducated, uninstructed in doctrine -- leaped with joy, recognizing that here was life, here was healing," he said....

Revival: Not Just Intensity of Prayer He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. --John 14:21 Intensity of prayer is no criterion of its effectiveness. A man may throw himself on his face and sob out his troubles to the Lord and yet have no intention to obey the commandments of Christ. Strong emotion and tears may be no more than the outcropping of a vexed spirit, evidence of stubborn resistance to God's...

The Integrity of the Written Word by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." (Deuteronomy 4:2)In addition to the numerous times when the writers of the Bible asserted that what they wrote came directly from God (e.g., Leviticus 1:1; Jeremiah 1:4; Revelation 1:1), there are at least four warnings against tampering with these revealed words.The first is our text above, in which Moses commanded neither to add to nor...

A Tulsa, Okla., megachurch lost a two-year property battle in court Tuesday when the county district judge ruled in favor of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Judge Jefferson Sellers ruled that the the Kirk of the Hills church property belongs to the PC(USA) and the Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery, a regional body of the denomination, and not the local congregation. The 2,400-member Kirk of the Hills congregation, which was the second largest church in the regional presbytery, has been in legal battle over the property since it split from the PC(USA) in August 2006. After an overwhelming vote to leave the denomination,...

A brief history of Baroque The Council of Trent was initiated in 1545 and the Christian world thrown into a crisis. The Roman Catholic church and its practices, in particular the Indulgence, were contested by supporters of the Reformation, led by Calvin and Luther. The Council lasted 18 years and instead of making amendments, the Catholic church decided to launch an ideological (the Jesuit order) and artistic Counter-Reform. The new artistic style was later to become known as “Baroque” (the term “barocco” comes from Castile in Portugal, and means an irregularly shaped pearl). The artistic movement originated from the Vatican...

If you are a futurist and believe that the beast of Revelation 13 is not connected to the Roman Empire of the first century and remains yet to be revealed at the end of the age (i.e., during the seven-year tribulation period, as dispensationalists teach), then you will not look at the mark of the beast through the lens of the New Testament and the historical situation when John was given his vision. Instead, you will understand this mysterious mark as something still hidden in the future. And given the breakneck pace of the advance being made in all forms...

In a move that echoes a division in the Episcopal church, at least three Valley Presbyterian churches are taking steps to move to another denomination over differences about the Bible and homosexuality. Officials at Valley congregations say they are at odds with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the nation's largest Presbyterian denomination, over its decision to drop a church standard that potential ministers, deacons and elders live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness."

Revival: Don't Substitute Praying for Obeying So Samuel said: "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams." --1 Samuel 15:22 Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late-and how little revival has resulted? Considering the volume of prayer that is ascending these days, rivers of revival should be flowing in blessing throughout the land. That no such results are in evidence should not discourage us; rather it should...

Praying According to His Will by Henry Morris, Ph.D.   "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." (1 John 5:14-15)This promise is comprehensive and unlimited--a tremendous assurance of answered prayer. But there is one proviso--according to His will! There are a number of Christians who, with all good intentions, have argued that it evidences a lack of faith to add...

Wittenberg, the city where Martin Luther famously nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Schlosskirche, launched a decade of events this weekend to celebrate the German reformer who forever changed the face of Christianity. Luther Decade was opened on Saturday with a re-enactment of Luther’s arrival in the city, where he came in 1508 to continue his theological studies. A church service will be held on Sunday with a sermon delivered by the president of the Lutheran World Federation, Mark Hanson. As part of Luther Decade, concerts, exhibitions and lectures will be among the events taking place in...

LUTHERSTADT WITTENBERG, Germany (ELCA) -- The Sept. 20-21 kickoff of the "Luther Decade" here was significant for all Lutherans because it offered opportunities for evangelism and "deep theological conversation" among Lutherans and ecumenical partners, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), made the comments Sept. 21 during a news conference here. Hanson participated in a series of events marking the arrival here 500 years ago of Martin Luther, a German monk, whose writings were instrumental in the Lutheran Reformation. The Luther Decade is...

LUTHERSTADT WITTENBERG, Germany (ELCA) -- Repentance is God's gift to the world through Jesus Christ, and it is one central theme of the ongoing Lutheran Reformation, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the 68.3 million-member Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Geneva, and presiding bishop of the 4.7 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Chicago. Hanson made the comment in remarks here Sept. 20 at a groundbreaking ceremony for a Luther Garden, a project of the German National Committee of the LWF. Lutherstadt Wittenberg marked the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's arrival here Sept. 20-21 with a series of...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Early in my ministry, I found myself staring at the ceiling for hours each night, night after night. I had a decision to make, and I didn't know what to do. A couple, both of whom I cared about, asked me to officiate at their wedding. Neither of them were followers of Jesus. It was a torturous quandary because I wanted an ongoing relationship with them, as an inroad to the Gospel. This couple wasn't in disobedience to the Word of God. This wasn't the "unequal yoking" of a believer to an unbeliever. That would have been an...

Revival: Unity Precedes Blessing Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. --Acts 4:32-33 ...unity of mind on the part of the people of God precedes the blessing. I have often heard people pray, "Oh Lord, send the Holy Spirit that we may become a united people." That is all right...

Many False Prophets by Henry Morris III, D.Min.   "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)There is an unusual emphasis in the New Testament about false prophets. The Greek word pseudoprophetes appears 11 times and has no corresponding word in the Old Testament.Of the 298 usages of "prophet" in the Hebrew Scriptures, eight of them are connected to "false" prophets, and only in relation to visions and dreams. In the New Testament, the pseudoprophetes are workers of "miracles" and...

WITTENBERG, Germany: The town where Martin Luther tacked his 95 theses to a church door is kicking off a decade of celebrations leading up to the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.