Free Republic

Professor Richard Dawkins, known as the world’s most famous atheist, has risen to rock star status for his attacks on God and religion, in particular, his attacks on the God of the Bible. But when he recently criticized Muslims, he was in for a surprise. Before looking at Dawkins’ rather mild criticism of Muslims, let’s remember the depth of his vitriol against Christians and the Bible, most of which has only enhanced Dawkins’ reputation. In an April interview aired on the Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera, Dawkins railed on the Catholic Church, saying that, as “Horrible as sexual abuse no...

Former CRS head Bishop Lynch says pro-lifers ‘attack’ Catholic agencies as ‘money raising scheme’ BY PATRICK B. CRAINE Thu Aug 08, 2013 14:43 EST ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, August 8, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A bishop who formerly headed Catholic Relief Services has issued a vigorous defense of the relief agency while at the same time accusing its pro-life critics of “attacking” CRS as a “money raising scheme.” Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida, who served as chairman of CRS’ board of trustees from 2001 to 2007, made the charge in a Wednesday post on his personal blog that was co-published...

We look back in time, and say the universe is 15 billion years old. But as every scientist knows, when we say the universe is 15 billion years old, there's another half of the sentence that we rarely bother to say. The other half of the sentence is: The universe is 15 billion years old as seen from the time-space coordinates of the earth. The key is that the Torah looks forward in time, from very different time-space coordinates, when the universe was small. Since then, the universe has expanded out. Space stretches, and that stretching of space totally changes...

New research published in Science shows that our most recent common female and male ancestors could have been alive at the same time.Thousands of years ago, somewhere in Africa, lived a man who – probably – had no idea that he, among all the other men in his group, would go on to become humankind’s most recent common male ancestor. Scientists would call him “Adam.” Now, a new paper published in the journal Science significantly narrows the time during which Adam could have lived – about 120,000 to 156,000 years ago – putting him in about the same time period...

<p>Imagine you and your spouse find out you're expecting. Having experienced this moment a few times, I know there's nothing quite like it. Your world changes, and within days, your child's entire biography unfolds in your mind: her first steps, first words, kindergarten, little league, ballet, high school, college, and eventually a young adult who will make you insanely proud. It's all so promising.</p>

Catholic teaching on surrogacy is receiving reinforcement from current research. Mothers have long believed, cultures have long taught, and research has repeatedly confirmed that an emotional network links pregnant moms to their babies. If mom is happy, the preborn baby is content. When mom is anxious, the prenate shows signs of stress. What’s more, post-birth, this bio-emotional nexus—the gestational link—continues to yoke mothers to their offspring throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. It’s important, then, to investigate what happens when an enterprise like surrogacy sunders the gestational link. For the first time, a 2013 study suggests surrogate children experience greater adjustment...

Is Biblical Creation a Distraction to Evangelism? by James J. S. Johnson, J.D., Th.D. * The Institute for Creation Research and other biblical creation ministries are sometimes criticized as distractions from the ministry of evangelism. The alleged concern is that the promotion of biblical creation as taught in Genesis creates controversy by derailing the evangelism process—distracting people from learning about who Jesus is and trusting Him as their Savior. Does teaching biblical creation truth interfere with a proper presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior? Before that question can be squarely answered, consider the context of the controversy. Dr....

How’s this for evil?Over at MSNBC a nit-wit talker opined that life begin not at conception, but rather when parents decide it begins (and we know that parents doesn’t really include the father!). Might I add that before this story I don’t recall of ever having heard of this person? MSNBC Host: Life Begins When Parents Say it Does, Not Based on Science by Steven ErteltMSNBC host Melissa Harris Perry drew negative reactions from people this past weekend when she wore tampon earrings during a broadcast, telling viewers they were made especially for her to wear to demonstrate her opposition...

Nothing is all the rage of late. Physicists Stephen Hawking and Lawrence Krauss have devoted pop science bestsellers to trying to show how quantum mechanics explains how the universe could arise from nothing. Their treatments were preceded by that of another physicist, Frank Close (whose book Nothing: A Very Short Introduction should win a prize for Best Book Title). New Scientist magazine devoted a cover story to the subject not too long ago, and New Yorker contributor Jim Holt yet another book. At the more academic end of the discussion, the medieval philosophy scholar John F. Wippel has edited a...

SCIENCE has always fascinated me. As a child in Tibet, I was keenly curious about how things worked. When I got a toy I would play with it a bit, then take it apart to see how it was put together. As I became older, I applied the same scrutiny to a movie projector and an antique automobile. At one point I became particularly intrigued by an old telescope, with which I would study the heavens. One night while looking at the moon I realized that there were shadows on its surface. I corralled my two main tutors to show...

Failure rates of common birth control methods: Symptom-based fertility awareness ("modern Natural Family Planning"): 1.8% Cervical cap: 6.7% Combined oral contraceptive pill: 8-9% Note: "Combined" oral contraceptive pills combine estrogen-based drugs with abortifacients. So without "undetected miscarriages" (i.e., dead babies), this rate would be higher. Ortho-Evra patch: 8-9% Nuva Ring: 8-9% Diaphragm: 12-16% (depending on source) Male Latex Condom: 15-18% (spermicide-treated, depending on source) Coitus Interruptus: 18-22% (depending on source) Rhythm Method: 24-25% (depending on source) Contraceptive Sponge: 24-32% (depending on whether the woman had been previously pregnant) Spermicide: 28% (without condom) Please note the following: > Condom use is...

A LABOUR politician has defended his beliefs in extra-terrestrial life - after claiming to have fathered a child with an alien. Married father-of-three Simon Parkes, who represents Stakesby on Whitby Town Council, said his wife had rowed with him after revealing he had a child called Zarka with an alien he refers to as the Cat Queen. The 53-year-old driving instructor said he has sexual relations with the alien about four times a year. “What will happen is that we will hold hands and I will say ‘I’m ready’ and then the technology I don’t understand will take us up...

After concelebrating his cousins’ confirmation Mass, Father Bialek walked out the front door of St. Ursula late in the evening May 18 to commotion near the intersection. He went over to help, and saw his parents, who had just left the Mass, injured in the road, hit by a pickup as they were crossing a street. His mother, Sharon, 67, was unconscious. Physicians at Baltimore’s Shock Trauma Center told Father Bialek and his father that Sharon had suffered severe brain damage and likely would not regain consciousness or live without a respirator. They also discovered the return of the ovarian...

G.K. Chesterton said that "when people stop believing in orthodox religion, rather than believe in nothing, they will believe in anything". One of the ersatz religions which fills the void in recent years is belief in Catastrophic Man-Made Global Warming. It claims to be based on science. But it has all the characteristics of an eschatological cult. It has its own priesthood and ecclesiastical establishment - the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; they alone can interpret its sacred scriptures - the Assessment Reports; it anathematises as 'deniers' anyone who casts doubt on its certainties; above all it predicts...

Some longtime readers may remember a bit of my background: I was born in 1968, Phoenix, Arizona. My ethnicity? Thai. Beyond that, I have no knowledge of my birth heritage and biological parents, as I was given up for adoption. I've always had a pretty strong memory. I have a number of early childhood memories, both vivid and faded. Something that I have rarely shared with people, and which is deeply personal for me, but which I am willing to share with you readers and the NSA, is my earliest memory: The moment of my birth. For as long as...

Pope John Paul II Visits United Nations. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider. Vatican City, Jun 19, 2013 / 12:19 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Theologians at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints have approved a second miracle granted through the intercession of Blessed John Paul II, moving him closer to being declared a saint. “The proclamation of his sainthood needs only the approval of the commission of cardinals and bishops and the final signature of Pope Francis,� Italian news agency ANSA reported June 18. Before Blessed John Paul II can be canonized, the Congregation must formally approve the miracle and present...

Last week, in Nice, France, I was privileged to participate along with 30 scholars, mostly scientists and mathematicians, in a conference on the question of whether the universe was designed, or at least fine-tuned, to make life, especially intelligent life. Participants — from Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Berkeley, and Columbia, among other American and European universities — included believers in God, agonistics, and atheists. It was clear that the scientific consensus was that, at the very least, the universe is exquisitely fine-tuned to allow for the possibility of life. It appears that we live in a “Goldilocks universe,” in which both...

Deadly wildfires continue to ravage Colorado Springs and have thus far destroyed 473 homes making this wild fire the most destructive fire in Colorado's history. The images of these wild fires are apocalyptic and grips the imagination. It is in such times like these... while these images are fresh in the minds of Americans that we want to EXPONENTIALLY magnify this event and focus our attention to the very soon coming Day of the Lord (Rev. 6-19)! The first of the seven Trumpet judgments (which follow the Seal Judgments - Rev. 6) in the Day of the Lord is described...

June 12, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an interview with the US Bishops’ news service, Catholic News Service, Cardinal  Raymond Burke, the head or “prefect� of the Vatican’s highest court, spoke about the relationship between contraception and the culture of abortion. "Contraception is the beginning of the anti-life movement,� Cardinal Burke told CNS’ Francis Rocca.  “It certainly will favor an abortion culture. It takes the nature of the sexual union and violates it in a very significant way by removing the pro-creative aspect which is inherent to the union of man and a woman, the sexual union, the conjugal union.�  In...

At the bottom of this post is a powerful video that asks a fundamental moral question of a new and powerful scientific ability: “Should We?�One of the great ethical and moral questions that besets us with new technologies, especially medical technologies, is whether our sheer capacity to do something thereby permits us to do that thing. Of course the answer to this ought to be “no.� Ability alone does not permit us to do anything we like.I, for example, have the capacity, at least physically to do a lot of things I ought not do. I can steal, lie, damage,...

Chalk this one up to the absurd. CNN's Ashleigh Banfield on Wednesday tried to draw a legal parallel between a Sharia Law execution and a Catholic school firing a teacher for violating her contract by disobeying church teaching on pregnancy. Banfield argued both violated the teacher's Constitutional rights. "Well if it's an Islamic school and they decide to go with Sharia Law and they decide to stone me for this, they can't do that either," Banfield ridiculously argued. "Then don't sign up to be the teacher," responded prosecutor Christine Grillo, who multiple times reiterated that the teacher had violated her...

Psyche, Nous; Faith and Reason: The Classic View By “classic view” we mean to denote the epochal legacy of ancient Greek philosophy, and the epochal genius of thinkers who could and did “isolate” psyche as a bona fide constituent of Reality. Instantly, there seems to be two problems. How is “Reality” to be defined? Who’s doing the “defining?” For answers to such questions, we must have access to Nous. This incredibly compact Greek word is usually translated into English as Reason. But the Greek nous carries other meanings as well: c.f., reason; mind; intellect; self-reflective consciousness; logic; creative will; truth....

It is impossible that Christianity is not God's revelation of truth to man. Simply impossible. The math proves it beyond question. It doesn't take faith to believe that one plus one equals two, and it doesn't take faith to identify the religion which has mathematical certainty in its corner. God didn't have to give us mathematical proof of His existence, but He did it anyway. God didn't have to give us proof of Christianity, but He chose to do so. And God didn't have to give us proof of His love for us, but that is exactly what He did....

Between the faction of gay Christians who are happy with their sexual identity and "ex-gays," who say they've removed their homosexual yearnings, is a third group that gets little attention. These so-called Side B Christians identify as gay and believe it's not sinful to do so. But because they see acting on their orientation as ungodly, they commit to a life of celibacy. Now, for the first time, a sociologist has taken an in-depth look at what makes Side Bs tick, particularly how they navigate their same-sex desires and their awkward position as stuck in the middle of ex-gay groups...

POPE Francis has been embroiled in a scandal after footage emerged today appearing to show him giving a man an exorcism in St Peter's Square. The astonishing incident between the Pontiff and the person in a wheelchair, took place immediately after Pentecostal mass on Sunday May 19. The video shows how a priest leans across the boy or young man to tell Francis something, at which point the Pope’s expression becomes more serious. (VIDEO-AT-LINK) The Pontiff then grips the top of the subject’s head firmly and is seen pushing him down into his wheelchair. As this is happening Francis recites...

She Prayed by Jayme Durant * When you ask ICR President Dr. John Morris to describe his mother, Mary Louise Morris, he says, “She prayed.” Mary Louise was the wife of ICR founder Dr. Henry Morris, and the mother of ICR’s current CEO, Dr. Henry Morris III. Two of her daughters, Mary Morris Smith and Rebecca Morris Barber, also contribute their time and unique talents to ICR’s work. A third daughter, Dr. Kathy Morris Bruce, serves God’s kingdom as a missionary. Mary Louise invested herself in her husband’s work and in their family. “She prayed extensively,” John says. “Dad started...

EDITOR'S NOTE: For the last half of the twentieth century, Antony Flew (1923-2010) was the world's most famous atheist. Long before Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris began taking swipes at religion, Flew was the preeminent spokesman for unbelief.However in 2004, he shocked the world by announcing he had come to believe in God. While never embracing Christianity—Flew only believed in the deistic, Aristotelian conception of God—he became one of the most high-profile and surprising atheist converts. In 2007, he recounted his conversion in a book titled There is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His...

Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley of Boston speaks at a press conference for the 2012 USCCB Fall General Assembly. Credit: Michelle Bauman/CNA. Boston, Mass., May 15, 2013 / 02:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley called the successful production of embryonic stem cells by cloning human embryos an “abuse� which ignores the dignity and value of the human person. “The news that researchers have developed a technique for human cloning is deeply troubling on many levels,� the archbishop of Boston, who chairs U.S. bishops' pro-life activities committee, said May 15. “Creating new human lives in the laboratory solely to...

Remembering Dr. Duane T. Gish, Creation's 'Bulldog' A mixture of sorrow and thankfulness comes over the Institute for Creation Research family as we note the passing of Dr. Duane Gish on March 6, 2013. Dr. Gish has been a champion of creation at ICR for decades, and we will miss him. Born in Kansas and educated at University of California, Los Angeles, he later received his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. He joined the ICR faculty in 1970, after a fruitful career in biochemistry at the Upjohn Company in Michigan. Soon after the publication of The Genesis Flood in 1961,...

The universe is about 13.82 billion years old. Although it is well within the error range of earlier estimates, this new number means that the universe is slightly older than cosmologists previously thought. The new age comes as a result of data just released from the European Space Agency’s Planck space telescope, which for the past 15 months has been taking the most precise images of the oldest light in the universe, the “cosmic microwave background radiation.” This microwave-wavelength light is the remnant of the universe’s earliest days, and is a key piece of evidence for the event we now...

Famous atheist author Richard Dawkins has been named the world's top thinker in a global vote that counted 10,000 voices from over 100 countries."When Richard Dawkins, the Oxford evolutionary biologist, coined the term 'meme' in The Selfish Gene 37 years ago, he can't have anticipated its current popularity as a word to describe internet fads," said Prospect Magazine, which conducted the poll, in explaining the biologist professor's popularity."But this is only one of the ways in which he thrives as an intellectual in the internet age. He is also prolific on Twitter, with more than half a million followers – and...

... in quotes, because the word is notoriously ambiguous. It is best broken down into component theses, as Alvin Plantinga once did in an essay (e.g. ancient earth thesis, common ancestry thesis, naturalistic origins thesis, etc., some of which there is evidence for, and others for which there is none whatsoever). But here this is beside the point, since nearly everyone seems to think of "it" as some sort of settled simplicity that any credible intellectual worth his salt must simply assume as a matter of course to be taken seriously (witness Ben Stein's well-known documentary). As such, "it" has...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even with modern scientific technology, the Shroud of Turin continues to baffle researchers. Barrie Schwortz was the documenting photographer for the Shroud of Turin research project in 1978, an in-depth examination of what many people believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish home, "it took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I'm a Jew and involved with probably the most important relic of Christianity," Schwortz told Catholic News Service. "Isn't it funny how God always picks a Jew to be the messenger," he said....

Sociologist Max Weber first advanced the idea of a Protestant work ethic in 1914. A recent study suggests that not only does this ethic exist, it can make the effects of unemployment worse for Protestants than for non-Protestants. The Dutch survey, which used data from 150,000 people in 82 countries traditionally identified as Protestant — including the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Germany and others — found that while unemployment has a negative effect on everyone, it affects Protestants more, up to 40% more in some cases. Dutch economist Dr. André van Hoorn, who led the study, said, "We found that...

Professor Richard Dawkins has claimed that forcing a religion on children without questioning its merits is as bad as 'child abuse'. In typically incendiary style, the leading atheist said he was against the 'indoctrination of religion' and teaching it as fact. The evolutionary scientist and Emeritus Fellow at Oxford University, speaking at the Chipping Norton Literary Festival yesterday, was repeating claims he made last year which were roundly condemned by charities and politicians. Professor Dawkins said at the festival that children should be taught religion but scorn should be poured on its claims. 'What a child should be taught is...

Over at NCR, Tom Fox notes: I think this is the first time I have ever seen a pope touching a woman or have seen a woman’s hand on a papal hand. The times are changing! Well, “touching a woman� beyond a handshake, that is. I have to say: the image here is strikingly warm and intimate. Indeed, this is clearly a pontiff comfortable around women and babies. (For further evidence, check out this video.)The woman here is former Miss USA Ali Landry, who visited the pope last week. That appears to be Washington’s Cardinal Donald Wuerl with them.Wikipedia notes...

PASADENA, Calif. — Our universe didn't need any divine help to burst into being, famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking told a packed house here at the California Institute of Technology Tuesday night. Many people had begun queuing up for free tickets to Hawking's 8:00 p.m lecture, titled "The Origin of the Universe," 12 hours earlier. By 6:00 p.m. local time, the line was about a quarter-mile long. A second auditorium and a Jumbotron-equipped lawn, which itself was jammed with an estimated 1,000 viewers, were needed to handle the crowd. At least one person was observed offering $1,000 for a ticket, with...

Mother Theresia Bonzel, who founded the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in Germany, in 1863, is scheduled for beatification in November — a step toward sainthood — as a result of boy's miraculous recovery. The wheels of canonization grind slowly, but a German nun who lived 100 years ago could be named a saint because the Vatican believes a Colorado Springs boy experienced a miracle in 1999.Two Colorado Spring nuns prayed to Bonzel on behalf of 4-year-old Luke Burgie, and the events that followed — over the next 14 years — have been closely scrutinized and investigated...

Is The Whole World Deceived? If you were the devil and wanted to deceive the entire world, how would you approach such a challenge? One brilliant strategy would be to convince people that you're not really there—that you don't even exist. And the best way to do that would be to get them to believe that the only source of information that reveals who you are, along with your motives and methods, is little more than a collection of fables that have nothing to do with their lives. We have seen exactly that. Starting several centuries ago, and prompted by...

Ciaran Finn Lynch and his mom and dad pose with his Pontifical Hero Award on April 12, 2013 in Vatican City. Credit: Stephen Driscoll/CNA. Vatican City, Apr 12, 2013 / 11:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During the Second International Adult Stem Cell conference at the Vatican, a boy who had his windpipe replaced with one grown using his own stem cells won the “Pontifical Hero Award� for his courage. Ciaran Finn-Lynch, 14, was the second person to receive the award, and he made the trip from Northern Ireland to the Vatican to receive it. “Ciaran is a shining example of...

Man becoming godlike: belief or heresy? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), aka Mormon Church, has a concept of boundless elevation and exaltation of Man, through all means including science and technology, until he becomes like God. Conversely, God was once like Man before attaining an exalted status. “[Mormonism] allows for humans to ascend to a higher, more godlike level,” writes Max More in his introduction to The Transhumanist Reader, “rather than sharply dividing God from Man.”

"Scientists probe puzzle at site made famous by Jesus, Peter"Some 2,000 years ago, the Sea of Galilee in Israel became famous as the Bible says Jesus and His apostle Peter walked on top of the water in a spectacular miracle. Now, a mysterious find from beneath the surface is bringing new attention to the ancient body of water. Scientists have discovered a massive, “monumental” structure on the sea’s floor, leaving experts puzzled as to what it actually is and how and when it became located there.The structure is basically a cone-shaped pile of boulders with an estimated weight of 60,000...

9th Annual Medicine, Bioethics and Spirituality Conference April 10-11, 2013 Join The Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy in Worcester, MA on April 10 & 11, 2013. There is an outstanding lineup of nationally known speakers including Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC author of Consoling the Heart of Jesus, 33 Days to Morning Glory and his newest book, The 'One Thing' is Three. Fantastic opportunity to earn 15 CMEs/CEUs! 9th Annual Medicine, Bioethics, & Spirituality Conference sponsored by Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy and the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception Speakers:Bishop Robert McManus, - Main CelebrantBryan Thatcher, MD - Founder of...

Dave will be greatly missed

Mother Theresia Bonzel. Courtesy of the Sisters of St. Francis. Colorado Springs, Colo., Apr 3, 2013 / 04:03 am (CNA).- The Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration are thrilled at the approved beatification of their German founder, Mother Maria Theresia Bonzel, after a Vatican-recognized miracle in Colorado. “We are enthusiastically surprised,� Sister Clarice Gentrup, the congregation's vicar general, told CNA April 2. “After all these years, we’re coming closer and closer to beatification and canonization, possibly.� Pope Francis approved the 19th century nun's beatification on March 27. The ceremony will be celebrated at the Catholic cathedral in Paderborn,...

Question: I understand that at some time around 1930 G.K. debated Clarence Darrow in New York City and did quite well. Where is this reported at any length? Is a transcript available? What else is known of this debate? How can I find more information about it? Thank You for your response. - Duane Answer: In January of 1931, during his second trip to America, Chesterton did indeed debate with Clarence Darrow, at New York City’s Mecca Temple. The topic was “Will the World Return to Religion?” There is no known transcript of the proceedings, but perhaps the following clippings...

The new Pope is considering letting astronomers use the dome of St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City as a makeshift planetarium, in a bold attempt to heal the long-standing rift between science and religion. Pope Francis has already given his blessing to the plan, which would see the constellations being projected onto the dome's interior as they would have appeared around the time of Jesus's death. The Pope's interest in the cosmos is said to have been sparked after he was shown recent images of the cosmic microwave background – dubbed the echo of the Big Bang – obtained by...

My unfavorite new Facebook meme is this bit of sillyness which has apparently been spotted everywhere from the feeds of my college friends to (allegedly) that of Richard Dawkins' Foundation for Reason and Science:

Last Friday night (March 22), March Madness was in its televised glory. And Taylor Swift was singing and strumming at Time Warner Cable Arena. Despite such competition, Christ Episcopal Church managed to draw 1,100 people. The attraction: A doctor describing his time in heaven. Not just any doctor. Sitting on stage, answering questions from the Rev. Chip Edens, the church’s rector, was Dr. Eben Alexander. He’s a Charlotte native who wrote “Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife.” His book is such a mega-seller that he has talked to Oprah – and Universal Pictures won a bidding war...

Pope Francis Links Turin Shroud To Jesus Christ As Relic Is Shown On Television For Easter Francis has drawn an explicit link between Christ and the ghostly image imprinted on the Turin Shroud but stopped short of declaring the holy icon the true burial cloth of Jesus. Nick Squires 30 Mar Francis made his first remarks on the mysterious relic since being elected Pope in a special video message as the shroud was shown live on television for only the second time in its history. His remarks came on Holy Saturday, which falls between the commemoration of Christ’s crucifixion on...