http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/religiousleft/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:38:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418781/posts (CNN) -- The brief detention in Havana, Cuba, last week of a Portland, Oregon, church group comes on the heels of the detention of an American contractor and could indicate an increasingly chilly reception for some American visitors, according to the church travelers. The December 26 trip for 14 members of the First Unitarian Church of Portland is a reminder of the entrenched tensions between Cuba and the United States despite the Obama administration's loosening of previous restrictions. cnn http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418781/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:38:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418356/posts (CNSNews.com) – American Jews and Christians hold views about illegal immigration that are largely at odds with those of their spiritual leaders, according to a new poll from Zogby International. The poll showed that while most religious leaders saw illegal immigration as a problem caused by barriers to legal immigration, most worshippers thought a lack of enforcement of current law was the problem; and while leaders thought employers needed access to more immigrant labor, rank-and-file members thought employers needed to attract more domestic workers. Steven A. Camarota, the research director for the nonpartisan Center for Immigration Studies said the results... CNS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418356/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:31:43 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/2416070/posts New L.A. Episcopal Bishop's Historic Journey By Duke Helfand December 27, 2009 The Rev. Canon Diane Jardine Bruce still remembers the moment 23 years ago when she fell in love with the Episcopal Church. Raised as a devout Roman Catholic, Bruce happened to visit an Episcopal parish in New Mexico, where the mother of a friend was officiating. Bruce was moved by the joy inside the sanctuary and delighted by the sight of the female priest, something prohibited by the Catholic Church. She found unexpected similarities between the two approaches, including the Eucharist. "There was something about being in an... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2416070/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:21:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2416050/posts Father Edward Schillebeeckx, an influential Dominican theologian, died at his home in the Netherlands on December 23 after a long illness at the age of 95. Born in Belgium, he was an adviser to the Dutch bishops during Vatican II. Later his theological work emphasized the universal priesthood of the laity, to the extent that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a caution in 1986 that his theories were at odds with the teachings of the Church. Catholic World News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2416050/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:29:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415069/posts At face value, it seems harmless enough. According to ABC "Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts, every Christmas the show features various "spiritual leaders" to talk about the role of faith in their lives. And this year's Christmas Day broadcast was no exception. "And now, it is a ‘GMA' tradition on Christmas Day, to talk about the role of faith in all of our lives," Roberts said. "We gathered a group of spiritual leaders from different traditions to talk about the importance of belief, in good times and belief in bad times, too." Roberts' panel featured Father Edward Beck, an... Newsbusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415069/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:00:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414636/posts Each November and December, the presence of Christmas-specific decorations and signs in the malls and other shopping venues in this part of the country seems to diminish just a bit. It’s some consolation that at least we’re not to the point where we call the Christmas tree a “Unity tree,” which incredibly has been the case in Pittsburgh for a while. Less than benign neglect of Christmas describes the way the supposedly open-minded and progressive establishment press covers the season’s retail trade. I’ll have more on that later, but let’s first look at how the Christmas shopping season is going,... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414636/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:54:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414585/posts People are praying for many things during this holy season. But perhaps the most unusual request of all comes from religious conservatives, including some in Congress. They staged an Internet "prayercast'' to block the health-care legislation being voted on today in the Senate. Given that Democrats have the 60 votes lined up to pass it, they may have to call in Benny Hinn to pull off this miracle. How exactly does one pray against health care?Dear Lord, please do not send the downtrodden to the doctor because my taxes will go up and I'll have to wait in line for... Orlando Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414585/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:28:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414475/posts Apparently not content with his congressional majority that wishes to force Americans on a long march to healthcare disaster, President Obama has invoked the name of Jesus to broadcast his gospel of spreading the wealth around. Speaking Monday afternoon to a group of children from the Washington, D.C., Boys and Girls Club, the president delivered a mini sermon on “why we celebrate Christmas.” He asked the children if they knew. One piped up and said, “The birth of baby Jesus.” One can imagine the reaction of the media and other elites had a Republican president asked such a question. That... World Mag http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414475/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:12:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2410070/posts Now put Biden in Nazi Germany. Biden believes Jews are human beings who should be permitted to breathe free air. However, since others in Germany believe that killing Jews is a proper move, he will not stand in their way. He will permit them their right to murder Jews because his ethic must remain private. That is the moral position for Biden to take when living in Germany during Hitler’s slaughterhouse rule. MichNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2410070/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:56:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2411217/posts A decision to ordain actively gay clergy has caused deep fissures in the nation's largest Lutheran church group, with some traditional Lutherans saying they have been subjected to threats and retaliation as they consider breaking away. Several disaffected members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) say the decision made at the church's national convention in Minneapolis in August could prompt a major exodus from one of America's biggest Protestant denominations. "I wouldn't even begin to tell you how many thousands [of calls] I've gotten," said Paull Spring, chairman of Lutheran Coalition for Renewal, or CORE, a national coalition... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2411217/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:30:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2411780/posts Gay unions and homosexuality is a perversion of natural law and of the institutions that bond men, woman, family, and society together in a positive functioning unit that nations are built upon. These delicate God given bonds enable a nation of people to unite and stand up for the good of the nation against those who wish to impose their will, choices, and life-styles on the nation in order to corrupt it, control it, or destroy it. People who wish to undermine, control, or destroy the social bonds that hold a nation together in peace, love, truth, and harmony (as... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2411780/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:22:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412375/posts Several prominent evangelical leaders joined more than two dozen other pro-life Christian pastors, leaders and theologians to sign a statement Friday expressing support for alternative abortion language in the health care bill as proposed by Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.). “As Christian leaders moved by our faith to protect life at all stages, we applaud Sen. Robert Casey’s efforts to ensure that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act prohibits federal funding of abortion, ensures conscience protections, and provides funding for long-needed support for pregnant women and children,” stated the leaders, which include Florida megachurch pastor Joel C. Hunter, Christianity Today... Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412375/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:36:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412481/posts Obama's "Christ"mas (Obamacare) gift to the masses (Xmas Eve Vote A Conspiracy?) Could there be with some narcissistic irony, that on the night of the Christ Child's birth, Barack Hussein Obama (and who knows what faith he really espouses?) gives the gift of Obamacare to the masses of our (last time I looked) constitutional republic, one nation under God and indivisible (?)... Could this Xmas Eve Vote be the mother of all conspiracies? Gabrielle Cusumano via Townhall Blogs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412481/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:13:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412172/posts The whitewashing of Ted Kennedy continued on the cover of Parade magazine, a supplement to many Sunday newspapers around the country. Dotson Rader interviewed Victoria Kennedy, the second wife of the late senator. Decades of womanizing and a woman’s death at Chappaquiddick after Kennedy left the scene of an accident weren’t really noteworthy. One large bold pull quote read "Nobody had a better sense of what was right than Teddy." "Tell that to Mary Jo Kopechne" was not a sentence that appeared in the article. The other large pull quote from Mrs. Kennedy was "He was elected to make... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412172/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:55:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411414/posts Evangelical Church Opens Doors Fully To Gays Renegade pastor in Denver finds new followers, but makes enemies too DENVER - The auditorium lights turned low, the service begins with the familiar rhythms of church: children singing, hugs and handshakes of greeting, a plea for donations to fix the boiler. Then the 55-year-old pastor with spiked gray hair and blue jeans launches into his weekly welcome, a poem-like litany that includes the line "queer or straight here, there's no hate here." The Rev. Mark Tidd initially used the word "gay." But he changed it to "queer" because it's the preferred term... AP Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411414/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:41:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410275/posts Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will sign legislation Friday to legalize same-sex marriage in the District at a bill-signing ceremony so historic that his staff scrambled to find the perfect location Thursday. Would it be All Souls Unitarian Church, a Northwest house of worship known for its diversity, liberalism and welcoming of same-sex couples? Would it be Covenant Baptist Church, a predominantly black church in Southwest where husband-and-wife team of Dennis and Christine Wiley serve as co-pastors and support gay marriage? Or would it be a secular site? Late in the day, Katie Loughary, executive director at All Souls, said it... Washington comPost http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410275/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:34:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2409732/posts Folks, I stumbled upon this article published by the BBC. I invite you to read it. I won't republish it due to its prurient subject matter, and out of a sense of decorum and respect for Our Lord, His Mother, and his earthly father, Joseph. Read it carefully and then contact this "church" here and let them know what you think. This is what I told Glynn Cardy, the pastor:Dear Reverend Cardy: I've just read a news report published in the BBC website about your billboard distorting the meaning of Christ's virginal conception and mangling the marriage and family life... Vivificat: From Contemplation to Action http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2409732/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:08:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2408414/posts From NE Ohio December newsletter - Bishop's Article: On December third we held a special meeting of the synod council, deans, committee chairs and synod staff to take a look at the projected $250,000-$400,000 deficit for fiscal year 2010-11. Since a $400,000 deficit is a jaw-dropping number to me, I wanted advice on how to carry out the ministry that we do together as a synod. The short-term solution is to reduce hours and compensation for the entire staff. Developing a long-term solution is going to take a lot more work. I have had many people who are quick to... Northeast Ohio Synod, ELCA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2408414/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:56:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2407183/posts CLEAR LAKE — Members of Zion Lutheran Church voted to withdraw from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on Sunday, a reaction to the issue of practicing gay pastors. The vote was 238 to 119, exactly the two-thirds majority vote needed for it to pass. “I’m happy that they decided to go this direction because I think it sets the possibility for a new and stronger future for the congregation,” said Rev. Dean Hess, senior pastor at the Clear Lake church. Carole Roth, church council president, said she was pleased with the results, too. “Certainly God has spoken today,” she... Globe-Gazette (Mason City, Iowa) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2407183/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:58:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2406633/posts The election of a second openly-homosexual bishop in the Episcopal Church hardly came as a surprise. Given the actions of the church in its General Convention this past summer, the question was clearly not if there would be more openly-gay bishops, but when. The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles answered that question on Saturday, electing the Reverend Mary D. Glasspool of Baltimore as an assistant bishop. She is expected to be consecrated as bishop on May 15 in Los Angeles.Ms. Glasspool was elected on the seventh ballot, winning 153 clergy votes and 203 lay votes. Her election followed the election... Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2406633/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:15:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406285/posts MELBOURNE, December 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an address to a gathering sponsored by the World Parliament of Religions (PWR) last Friday, former US President Jimmy Carter has once again blamed traditional religion, particularly Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics, for "creating an environment where violations against women are justified."It is a theme that Carter has successfully used to garner media attention for several years.  Although in a July column in The Observer Carter admits to "not having training in religion or theology," in his address to the PWR Carter appeals to his authority as someone who has "taught Bible lessons... LifeSiteNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406285/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:43:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2405500/posts Evangelical Left in Denial Cliff Kincaid, December 11, 2009 What is the real agenda behind the fraudulent “science? With the ClimateGate revelations of flimsy “science” behind the man-made global warming theory, the role of the religious left in promoting this fraudulent scheme now deserves serious media scrutiny. Walter Grazer, who served as the Director of the Environmental Justice Program for the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops from 1993 to 2007 and is now interim executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE), was asked for a comment on ClimateGate and replied, “I am really not up... Accuracy in Academia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2405500/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:15:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405222/posts With the ClimateGate revelations of flimsy “science” behind the man-made global warming theory, the role of the religious left in promoting this fraudulent scheme now deserves serious media scrutiny. Because that is unlikely, consider the following: Dr. James Wanliss, Associate Professor of Physics at Presbyterian College, has written The Green Dragon, a book about how environmentalism is actually committed to “the reconstruction of a pagan world order” and “rejection of Christian spirituality.” Wanliss argues that the environmental movement “is a religion with a vision of sin and repentance, heaven and hell. It even has a special vocabulary, with words like... WorldTribune.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405222/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:49:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404863/posts Politics and policy are not the only things that separate conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats. There's a partisan divide when it comes to the proverbial Great Beyond as well. Twenty-one percent of Republicans and 36 percent of Democrats have been in touch with the dearly departed. Nine percent of the Grand Old Party have consulted a fortuneteller, compared to 22 percent of the Democrats. And 15 percent of Republicans say that yoga is a "spiritual" practice, compared to 31 percent of Democrats. "Conservatives and Republicans report fewer experiences than liberals or Democrats communicating with the dead, seeing ghosts and... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404863/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:18:59 GMT