Free Republic

Murderous. Raping. Butchering. Monsters. These adjectives stretch our minds back to the brutal conquests of the Mongol Horde of old or the heinous crimes committed by ISIS during the past decade. But, today? These dire words aptly describe Hamas. Our brains struggle to believe such brutality could possibly exist in this modern-day world. And yet, as Hamas invaders tore through Israel’s fences and murdered over 1,200 innocent people — in such gruesome ways I couldn’t possibly describe here — and kidnapped hundreds more, we know that such evil truly does exist in our day. The world initially rallied around Israel...

Praying daily since 2015:Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

The United Methodist Church General Conference voted to drop a ban on funding LGBT advocacy groups and removed a required punishment for pastors who officiate gay weddings after thousands of theologically conservative congregations left the mainline Protestant denomination in the last two years. On Tuesday, delegates approved a petition that struck from the UMC Book of Discipline Paragraph 806.9 language that prohibits the General Council on Finance and Administration from "ensuring that no board, agency, committee, commission, or council shall give United Methodist funds to any gay caucus or group, or otherwise use such funds to promote the acceptance of...

Televangelist and prosperity gospel preacher Jesse Duplantis, who has an estimated net worth of around $20 million, has called poverty a “curse” and says his wealth — which includes a private jet and a 40,000-square-foot mansion in Louisiana — comes from being “blessed” by God. “Let me give you a prime example why I don’t care what people think about me, about what I have. Now look at me. Look at me. I am a very blessed man,” Duplantis said in an online “Boardroom Chat” session with his wife, Cathy, earlier this month. “Me and Cathy are very blessed. I’m...

A petition for class action status by a former Chicago Public School student, Kaya Hudgins, who alleged that her school coerced her to participate in Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Hindu practices has been granted by a federal judge in a lawsuit against the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and the David Lynch Foundation. Attorneys at Mauck & Baker, representing Kaya Hudgins, received an order from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois awarding class certification to Hudgins and her peers. The class action lawsuit alleges that while minor students were attending certain Chicago...

Americans stand just weeks away from handing over massive amounts of taxpayer funding, protective equipment intended for U.S. citizens, and an incalculable amount of influence over U.S. policy to the World Health Organization (WHO), critics warn. The global governance body will resume meetings to revise the WHO Pandemic Agreement on Monday. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), established to draw up the text of the agreement in December 2021, will hold its ninth meeting from April 29 to May 10. That provides just over two weeks before the 77th World Health Assembly meets from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva,...

Is it any wonder Americans no longer share a hope for the future and a sense of the common good?A new study by researchers at the University of Arkansas and the University of Buckingham, which analyzed 57 international studies, concluded that religious schools are far more effective at teaching children to become engaged citizens than secular public schools — resulting in students who model political tolerance, knowledge, and skills better than their publicly educated peers.The study found that receiving a private, faith-based education increased political tolerance and knowledge by 12 percent of a standard deviation. In turn, receiving such an...

The president of a nonprofit Christian persecution watchdog that monitors hostility to faith and freedom abroad warned that too few Christians in America and the West seem aware of how such trends are manifesting at home. "Basically, we are frogs in the kettle, and the bubbles keep coming up under us," Jeff King, president of the Washington, D.C.-based International Christian Concern (ICC), told The Christian Post.Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern (ICC), warned that Americans are like "frogs in the kettle" regarding increasing persecution. | International Christian Concern"Too many people are not aware politically, and they're so used to...

Join together with Fellow FREEPERS to Pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.'I Urge, then, First of All, that Requests, Prayers, Intercession and Thanksgiving be Made for Everyone: for Kings and All those in Authority that we May Live Peaceful and Quiet Lives in All Godliness and Holiness.' 1 Timothy 2:1-2Religion Forum Threads Labeled [Prayer] are Closed to Debate of Any KindLuke 6:47,48Whosoever Cometh to Me, and Heareth My Sayings, and Doeth them,I will Shew you to whom he is Like:He is Like a Man which Built an House,...

On Apr. 17, 2024, Iran’s president said Iran would completely destroy Israel if Israel proceeds with even the tiniest invasion of Iran. A few hours later, Germany’s Foreign Minister tried to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran for attacking Israel with hundreds of drones and missiles. Netanyahu said, Israel will do whatever it needs to defend itself. I appreciate the advice, but I want to be clear: Our decisions we will make ourselves. I admire Netanyahu for what he has done and said, but according to Bible prophecy, Israel will not do the most important thing...

The United Methodist Church General Conference has advanced a measure meant to allow different regions of the global denomination to determine their own standards on LGBT issues.At the Thursday plenary session of the General Conference, delegates voted 586-164 in favor of a petition for an amendment to the UMC’s constitution allowing for regionalization. The petition will now be sent to the annual conferences for possible ratification.The amendment will need to gain at least two-thirds support from the annual conference clergy and lay voters to be added to the UMC constitution, reports UM News.>At present, the UMC Book of Discipline, the...

Rico Tice, a well-known Evangelical leader and former Church of England clergyman, has left the denomination in reaction to what he perceives as its growing departure from biblical values, especially concerning same-sex marriage and repentance. Tice, best known for co-writing the evangelism course Christianity Explored and co-founder of Christianity Explored Ministries, cited the denomination's recent decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples and its lack of substantive response to concerns laid out by him and five other leaders of CofE-connected parachurch organizations last October.In an interview with Evangelicals Now, Tice, the former senior minister at All Souls, Langham Place...

talian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced Pope Francis will attend the G7 meeting in Italy this June, accepting an invitation from the Italian government in order to discuss artificial intelligence. In a video published on Friday afternoon, Meloni stated that the 87-year-old pontiff had accepted an official invitation from Italy to attend the event. “I am honored to announce today that Pope Francis will be attending the G7 working session dedicated precisely to artificial intelligence,” she stated in a video posted on X. “This technology can create great opportunities, but also brings huge risks,” said Meloni in a video...

Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, ‘Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?’” (Acts 8:30-31). One consistent criticism of Bible prophecy—or at least advocates of the importance of God’s prophetic Word—is that it has little relevance to individual believers, or the core work of the Church. Many pastors express reluctance to preach on prophecy because they have so many other concerns clamoring for their attention, from marriage and family issues to Satan and sin nipping at the heels of their flock. Others are openly hostile toward Bible prophecy. Rick Warren, a prominent pastor who leads...

Antisemitic demonstrations have been erupting all over the world since October 7, 2023, but nothing like what has been taking place on US university campuses. Columbia University seems to be leading the pack in what are some of the most violent antisemitic protests. These are very reminiscent of the BLM and Antifa protests, and that is because they are probably the same kids marching and chanting, but it went from BLM to PLM (P for Palestine.) It really doesn’t take long to see that these protests are not spontaneous or founded on any truth. Many of the campuses are occupied...

On Thursday, the third intermediary day of Passover, Levites gathered in Jerusalem to reenact their musical role in the Temple. A group of about two dozen Levites gathered in the Old City to practice their singing while wearing garments designed for use by the Temple musicians in the Third Temple. Singing led to dancing, celebrating the joy of the Biblical feast. The Levites also blew silver trumpets that had been prepared for use in the Third Temple. Traditionally, Temple musicians were selected from the tribe of Levi. The Zohar explains that the Levites were selected to sing in the Temple...

Things of ominous import are ratcheting up in the Syrian and Lebanese regions of the Middle East cauldron. So high have rumors of a major Israeli strike soon to come raised fears that Bashar Al-Assad, the Syrian dictator, has deemed to take his entire family on vacation somewhere distant from Damascus. Both Israeli and Arab press report Assad has abandoned the Syrian capital and that he did so suddenly and with little announcement. The latest war-making revolves around the IDF taking out a major Iranian terrorist leader/diplomat in a building near the Iranian Embassy. Iran has gone on a campaign...

A pro-abortion politician received a promotional mailer for the upcoming Disney movie “The First Omen,” and has told the media she receives so much hate mail, she immediately mistook it for a pro-life threat. Business Insider reported that Amanda Taylor, a film critic currently running for office in Missouri, received a mailer that she assumed was a threat from angry pro-lifers. In the letter, there is a floating child surrounded by women in black, with their faces scribbled over. “Right away, I was thinking, ‘Ah, this has something to do with abortion,” Taylor told Business Insider. “The day before I...

This past week, The Times of Israel reported that Turkish President Recep Erdogan laid the blame squarely on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Iran’s large-scale attack on Israel earlier this month. “The main one responsible for the tension that gripped our hearts on the evening of April 13 is Netanyahu and his bloody administration,” Erdogan declared. He further went on to say, “Those who have been silent for months about Israel’s aggressive attitude immediately condemned the Iranian response, but it’s Netanyahu himself who is the first who should be condemned.” It is pretty sad that Erdogan won’t admit that Iran...

A new survey reveals that Evangelicals view immigration, American sovereignty and abortion as the top issues facing the United States heading into the 2024 presidential election. Coral Ridge Ministries (CRM) released its 2024 Spiritual State of the Nation Survey last week, which is based on 633 responses to a questionnaire sent to “friends and supporters of Coral Ridge Ministries” on an annual basis. “At a time when the views of pro-family evangelicals are sometimes distorted, even caricatured, this survey provides a much-needed window into what Christian conservatives actually believe,” asserted CRM President and CEO Robert Pacienza in a statement. In...