Free Republic

The moral bankruptcy of the Left – epitomized by its backing of Islamic dictators and extremists over moderate Muslims – saw it defeated across Europe in recent EU elections. From what I read yesterday, the Huffington Post, and American liberals, might want to take a lesson from that. In one op-ed piece, Frank Schaeffer tells us that “the real lesson of Iran” actually has nothing to do with Iran, and everything to do with American conservatives. Neoconservatives and the religious-Right are – so we’re told – trying their best to establish a Christian, pro-Israel dictatorship, replete with Old Testament law....

Best-selling author and former Republican Frank Schaeffer lets Rush Limbaugh and his Republican mates have it at HuffPo, in a piece called, "An Open Letter to the Republican Traitors (from a former Republican)": I have to say, love him or hate him, the Republicans have got to appreciate Schaeffer's helpful inclusion of related content. He's like their own personal AOL Dashboard.....

John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence. At a Sarah Palin rally, someone called out, "Kill him!" At one of your rallies, someone called out, "Terrorist!" Neither was answered or denounced by you or your running mate, as the crowd laughed and cheered. At your campaign event Wednesday in Bethlehem, Pa., the crowd was seething with hatred...

“I am an Obama supporter. I am also pro-life. In fact, without my family’s involvement in the pro-life movement it would not exist as we know it. Evangelicals weren’t politicized until after my late father and evangelical leader Francis Schaeffer, Dr. Koop (Reagan’s soon-to-be Surgeon General) and I stirred them up over the issue of abortion in the mid-1970s. Our Whatever Happened to the Human Race? book, movie series and seminars brought the evangelicals into the pro-life movement. “In 2000, we elected a president who claimed he believed God created the earth and who, as president, put car manufacturers and...

When Sen. Obama’s preacher thundered about racism and injustice, Obama suffered smear-by-association. But when my late father - religious right leader Francis Schaeffer denounced America and even called for the violent overthrow of the U.S. government, he was invited to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush Sr. Every Sunday thousands of right-wing white preachers (following in my father’s footsteps) rail against America’s sins from tens of thousands of pulpits. They tell us that America is complicit in the “murder of the unborn,” has become “Sodom” by coddling gays, and that our public schools are sinful places full of evolutionists...

The Huffington Post sends us this essay by Frank Schaeffer claiming that Republicans have acted hypocritically in scolding Barack Obama over Jeremiah Wright — because the GOP embraced him and his father. His father is “Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer”, which around here might combine up with a buck to buy a bag of donut holes. Schaeffer fils has repented of his conservativism — hence the appearance at HuffPo — and spends most of it spanking his dad: Take Dad’s words and put them in the mouth of Obama’s preacher (or in the mouth of any black American preacher) and...

I'm a Christian, a writer, a military parent and a registered Republican. On all those counts, I was disgusted by an e-mail I just received that's being circulated by campaign supporters of Republican George Allen, who's trying to retain his Senate seat in Virginia. The message goes like this: "First, it was the Catholic priests, then it was Mark Foley, and now Jim Webb, whose sleazy novels discuss sex between very young teenagers. ... Hmmm, sounds like a perverted pedophile to me! Pass the word that we do not need any more pedophiles in office."Democrat James Webb is a war...

<p>I never served in the military. Before my son unexpectedly volunteered for the Marines, I was busy writing my novels and raising my family, and giving little thought to the men and women who guard us. My attitude has changed. I did not choose to change. I was forced to.</p>

Frank Schaeffer is a writer and most recently the author of "Faith of Our Sons -- A Father's Wartime Diary" (Carroll & Graf/Avalon, 2004). I never served in the military. Before my son unexpectedly volunteered for the Marines, I was busy writing my novels and raising my family, and giving little thought to the men and women who guard us. My attitude has changed. I did not choose to change. I was forced to. ... They are our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. Sometimes shedding tears for strangers is a sacred duty. Sometimes it's all we can do.

Evangelical heavyweight Schaeffer turned to Orthodox Christianity 04:54 PM CDT on Friday, April 22, 2005 By ROBIN GALIANO RUSSELL / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News Frank Schaeffer is a "trophy" Orthodox convert. His father was the renowned evangelical theologian and philosopher Francis Schaeffer, who founded L'Abri Fellowship, a Christian center in Switzerland where individuals can seek answers to spiritual questions. He's often asked to speak at conferences, such as the Festival of Orthodox Christianity sponsored earlier this year by Dallas-area churches. He is outspoken, articulate and funny, with the kind of biting wit that comes from having been...

Death, in the end, hovers over Frank Schaeffer's "Voices From the Front: Letters Home From America's Military Family." This is not a depressing book. Not at all. The letters are almost invariably uplifting, full of simple nobility and a certain kind of life-sustaining joy. But "Voices" is a book about war, and that inevitably means death -- killing the enemy, watching your countrymen being killed and contemplating the ever-present possibility of your own death. Love letters, camp-life updates, care-package requests, notes of appreciation or longing -- the business of killing or being killed adds meaning to every communication in the...

Marine Staff Sgt. Aaron White was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq. Here is an excerpt from his last letter home to his wife. "What keeps me up at night is thinking you may never know what you mean to me. . . . If I don't come home, please tell Brianna that her daddy loves her more than life. . . . Brianna, it breaks my heart to have to miss your first birthday. I hope that you will forgive me. . . . Aaron was killed two days after Brianna turned 1. A just-released study by the...

As a military parent whose son was recently deployed in the Middle East, I strongly object to Michael Moore's cynical exploitation of our men and women in uniform. When a political satire like Fahrenheit 9/11 stoops to manipulating young soldiers and their grieving parents to score political points, something is very wrong. Moore uses the military as fodder for taking aim at President Bush—and then feigns respect for those same soldiers. I want Michael Moore to know he can't have it both ways. And no matter how much he hates Bush, that's no excuse for insulting my son and all...

I read this article in the laundromat yesterday. I found it to be a powerful indictment on "Military Families Speak Out." It is not online at the American Legion Magazine Web site, so i typed it in. 'Pod My Son and War: A once-skeptical father shares his perspective on military parenthood. By Frank Schaeffer I write novels for a living and never served in the military. My two older children did the expected: Georgetown and New York University. Our kind - higher-education-worshipping denizens of the North Shore, north of Boston - rarely enlist these days. In 1999, my youngest son,...

Father and Son Write About Love and the Marine Corps By Rudi WilliamsAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2003 – Before his youngest son joined the Marine Crops, Frank Schaeffer's impression of military service could be summed up on a mock recruiting poster: "Out of Work? Undereducated? No Health Plan? Join the Army and see Iraq." But his attitude changed dramatically after his son, John, signed up for the Marines after high school, graduated from boot camp and later went to Iraq. Father and son teamed up to co-write the book, "Keeping Faith – A Father-Son Story About...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2003 – Before his youngest son joined the Marine Crops, Frank Schaeffer's impression of military service could be summed up on a mock recruiting poster: "Out of Work? Undereducated? No Health Plan? Join the Army and see Iraq." But his attitude changed dramatically after his son, John, signed up for the Marines after high school, graduated from boot camp and later went to Iraq. Father and son teamed up to co-write the book, "Keeping Faith – A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps." The book covers John's boot camp experiences at the Marine...

Like many in what he termed "the knowledge class," he had devoted little thought to the workings of the military. He was content to view protecting the country as a job for other people's children. Then he had to come to grips with his son's decision and found himself on an unexpected journey of self-discovery. It forced Schaeffer to confront the prejudice against military service held by his wealthy and well-educated acquaintances — people just like him. Schaeffer encountered widespread ambivalence — even outright antagonism — among those men and women, whose own grandfathers considered it an honor to serve...

A Marine Parent's Letter By Frank Schaeffer John called to say it was official. "I'm going Dad." "How do you feel about it?" I asked. "A little nervous," John answered. A few weeks ago that was how my wife, Genie, and I got the news that our son John would be deployed to the Middle East. We have been dreading this moment, glad that up till now John was posted to bases in South Carolina, Arizona, Florida and Maryland. Young Marines crave adventure We Marine parents pray for boredom. This has been an unsettling winter of deep snow and rumors...

<p>Frank Schaeffer, son of the late renowned Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer, will be in Modesto next weekend to discuss the Orthodox church and faith. Schaeffer holds a photo of his son, John, a Marine.</p> <p>Author Frank Schaeffer will speak at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto next Saturday on the historic Orthodox tradition and his conversion to the Orthodox faith.</p>