Reason #1:  Hell is real!  Around 50 A.D., in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, there was a fledgling group of believers who had just recently come to accept the “Gospel” – this “Gospel” (or Good News) stated that Jesus of Nazareth was the “Messiah” or “Christ” (literally, the “Anointed One”), who the Jewish prophets had predicted for hundreds of years would come into the world.  By confessing that this Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, that He had suffered a shameful death on a cross, that He had come back to life, that He would soon return to judge all people, these believers opened themselves up to a life of day-to-day misery;  they lost membership in their synagogue, they were shunned by life-long friends, hated by family, lost jobs & businesses, and were sometimes even imprisoned or put to death.

It was under these circumstances that their mentor, the Apostle Paul, wrote them a letter, encouraging them to endure their persecutions patiently:

“This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
– St. Paul’s 2nd Letter to the Thessalonians (1:5-12)

Later, in the 4th century, John Chrysostom, one of the most eloquent preachers in all of Christian history, preached a sermon about this part of Paul’s letter.  He explains why it is so beneficial for humans to constantly remember the reality of hell. We recommend that you print this sermon out and read it on a regular basis for the benefit of your soul!  This life on earth lasts only a few minutes compared to the eternity of your soul.

“If they that have not obeyed the Gospel suffer vengeance, what will not they suffer who besides their disobedience also afflict you? And see his intelligence; he says not here those who afflict you, but those who obey not. So that although not on your account, yet on His own it is necessary to punish them. This then is said in order to full assurance, that it is altogether necessary for them to be punished: but what was said before, was said that they also might be honored, because they suffer these things on your account. The one causes them to believe concerning the punishment; the other to be pleased, because for the sake of what has been done to them they suffer these things. All this was said to them, but it applies also to us. When therefore we are in affliction, let us consider these things. Let us not rejoice at the punishment of others as being avenged, but as ourselves escaping from such punishment and vengeance. For what advantage is it to us when others are punished? Let us not, I beseech you, have such souls. Let us be invited to virtue by the prospect of the kingdom. For he indeed who is exceedingly virtuous is induced neither by fear nor by the prospect of the kingdom, but for Christ’s sake alone, as was the case with Paul. Let us, however, even thus consider the blessings of the kingdom, the miseries of hell, and thus regulate and school ourselves; let us in this way bring ourselves to the things that are to be practiced. When you see anything good and great in the present life, think of the kingdom, and you will consider it as nothing. When you see anything terrible, think of hell, and you will deride it. When you are possessed by carnal desire, think of the fire, think also of the pleasure of sin itself, that it is nothing worth, that it has not even pleasure in it. For if the fear of the laws that are enacted here has so great power as to withdraw us from wicked actions, how much more should the remembrance of things future, the vengeance that is immortal, the punishment that is everlasting? If the fear of an earthly king withdraws us from so many evils, how much more the fear of the King Eternal? Whence then can we constantly have this fear? If we continually hearken to the Scriptures. For if the sight only of a dead body so depresses the mind, how much more must hell and the fire unquenchable, how much more the worm that never dies. If we always think of hell, we shall not soon fall into it. For this reason God has threatened punishment; if it was not attended with great advantage to think of it, God would not have threatened it. But because the remembrance of it is able to work great good, for this reason He has put into our souls the terror of it, as a wholesome medicine. Let us not then overlook the great advantage arising from it, but let us continually advert to it, at our dinners, at our suppers. For conversation about pleasant things profits the soul nothing, but renders it more languid, while that about things painful and melancholy cuts off all that is relaxed and dissolute in it, and converts it, and braces it when unnerved. He who converses of theaters and actors does not benefit the soul, but inflames it more, and renders it more careless. He who concerns himself and is busy in other men’s matters, often even involves it in dangers by this curiosity. But he who converses about hell incurs no dangers, and renders it more sober. But do you fear the offensiveness of such words? Have you then, if you are silent, extinguished hell? Or if you speak of it, have you kindled it? Whether you speak of it or not, the fire boils forth. Let it be continually spoken of, that you may never fall into it. It is not possible that a soul anxious about hell should readily sin. For hear the most excellent advice, Remember, it says, your latter end Sirach 28:6, and you will not sin for ever. A soul that is fearful of giving account cannot but be slow to transgression. For fear being vigorous in the soul does not permit anything worldly to exist in it. For if discourse raised concerning hell so humbles and brings it low, does not the reflection constantly dwelling upon the soul purify it more than any fire? Let us not remember the kingdom so much as hell. For fear has more power than the promise. And I know that many would despise ten thousand blessings, if they were rid of the punishment, inasmuch as it is even now sufficient for me to escape vengeance, and not to be punished. No one of those who have hell before their eyes will fall into hell. No one of those who despise hell will escape hell. For as among us those who fear the judgment-seats will not be apprehended by them, but those who despise them are chiefly those who fall under them, so it is also in this case. If the Ninevites had not feared destruction, they would have been overthrown, but because they feared, they were not overthrown. If in the time of Noah they had feared the deluge, they would not have been drowned. And if the Sodomites had feared they would not have been consumed by fire. It is a great evil to despise a threat. He who despises threatening will soon experience its reality in the execution of it. Nothing is so profitable as to converse concerning hell. It renders our souls purer than any silver. For hear the prophet saying, Your judgments are always before me. From Psalm 17:22, Septuagint For although it pains the hearer, it benefits him very much. For such indeed are all things that profit. For medicines too, and food, at first annoy the sick, and then do him good. And if we cannot bear the severity of words, it is manifest that we shall not be able to bear affliction in very deed. If no one endures a discourse concerning hell, it is evident, that if persecution came on, no one would ever stand firm against fire, against sword. Let us exercise our ears not to be over soft and tender: for from this we shall come to endure even the things themselves. If we be habituated to hear of dreadful things, we shall be habituated also to endure dreadful things. But if we be so relaxed as not to endure even words, when shall we stand against things? Do you see how the blessed Paul despises all things here, and dangers one after another, as not even temptations? Wherefore? Because he had been in the practice of despising hell, for the sake of what was God’s will. He thought even the experience of hell to be nothing for the sake of the love of Christ; while we do not even endure a discourse concerning it for our own advantage. Now therefore having heard a little, go your ways; but I beseech you if there is any love in you, constantly to revert to discourses concerning these things. They can do you no harm, even if they should not benefit, but assuredly they will benefit you too. For according to our discourses, the soul is qualified. For evil communications, he says, corrupt good manners. Therefore also good communications improve it; therefore also fearful discourses make it sober. For the soul is a sort of wax. For if you apply cold discourses, you harden and make it callous; but if fiery ones, you melt it; and having melted it, you form it to what you will, and engrave the royal image upon it. Let us therefore stop up our ears to discourses that are vain. It is no little evil; for from it arise all evils. If our mind had been practiced to apply to divine discourses, it would not apply to others; and not applying to others, neither would it betake itself to evil actions. For words are the road to works. First we think, then we speak, then we act. Many men, even when before sober, have often from disgraceful words gone on to disgraceful actions. For our soul is neither good nor evil by nature, but becomes both the one and the other from choice. As therefore the sail carries the ship wherever the wind may blow, or rather as the rudder moves the ship, if the wind be favorable, so also thought will sail without danger, if good words from a favorable quarter waft it. But if the contrary, often they will even overwhelm the reason. For what winds are to ships, that discourses are to souls. Wherever you will, you may move and turn it. For this reason one exhorting says, Let your whole discourse be in the law of the Most High. Sirach 20:20 Wherefore, I exhort you, when we receive children from the nurse, let us not accustom them to old wives’ stories, but let them learn from their first youth that there is a Judgment, that there is a punishment; let it be instilled in their minds. This fear being rooted in them produces great good effects. For a soul that has learned from its first youth to be subdued by this expectation, will not soon shake off this fear. But like a horse obedient to the bridle, having the thought of hell seated upon it, walking orderly, it will both speak and utter things profitable; and neither youth nor riches, nor an orphan state, nor any other thing, will be able to injure it, having its reason so firm and able to hold out against everything. By these discourses let us regulate as well ourselves as our wives too, our servants, our children, our friends, and, if possible, our enemies. For with these discourses we are able to cut off the greater part of our sins, and it is better to dwell upon things grievous than upon things agreeable, and it is manifest from hence. For, tell me, if you should go into a house where a marriage is celebrated, for a season you are delighted at the spectacle, but afterwards having gone away, you pine with grief that you have not so much. But if you enter the house of mourners, even though they are very rich, when you go away you will be rather refreshed. For there you have not conceived envy, but comfort and consolation in your poverty. You have seen by facts, that riches are no good, poverty no evil, but they are things indifferent. So also now, if you talk about luxury, you the more vex your soul, that is not able perhaps to be luxurious. But if you are speaking against luxury, and introduce discourse concerning hell, the thing will cheer you, and beget much pleasure. For when you consider that luxury will not be able to defend us at all against that fire, you will not seek after it; but if you reflect that it is wont to kindle it even more, you will not only not seek, but will turn from it and reject it. Let us not avoid discourses concerning hell, that we may avoid hell. Let us not banish the remembrance of punishment, that we may escape punishment. If the rich man had reflected upon that fire, he would not have sinned; but because he never was mindful of it, therefore he fell into it. Tell me, O man, being about to stand before the Judgment-seat of Christ, do you speak of all things rather than of that? And when you have a matter before a judge, often only relating to words, neither day nor night, at no time or season do you talk of anything else, but always of that business, and when you are about to give an account of your whole life, and to submit to a trial, can you not bear even with others reminding you of that Judgment? For this reason therefore all things are ruined and undone, because when we are about to stand before a human tribunal concerning matters of this life, we move everything, we solicit all men, we are constantly anxious about it, we do everything for the sake of it: but when we are about, after no long time, to come before the Judgment-seat of Christ, we do nothing either by ourselves, or by others; we do not entreat the Judge. And yet He grants to us a long season of forbearance, and does not snatch us away in the midst of our sins, but permits us to put them off, and that Goodness and Lovingkindness leaves nothing undone of all that belongs to Himself. But all is of no avail; on this account the punishment will be the heavier. But God forbid it should be so! Wherefore, I beseech you, let us even if but now become watchful. Let us keep hell before our eyes. Let us consider that inexorable Account, that, thinking of those things, we may both avoid vice, and choose virtue, and may be able to obtain the blessings promised to those who love Him, by the grace and lovingkindness, etc.”
– St. John Chrysostom (the “Golden-Mouthed), c. 347 – 407 A.D.

To read more amazing commentary from ancient Christians, search your app store for the Catena Bible app.

Because not everyone loves what we’re doing…  requiring a mobile phone # to verify your new account cuts down on fake registrations and malicious attacks from folks who don’t like what we’re doing.

Chances are that it’s because you are using your browser’s “auto-fill” action to automatically fill in the registration form.  Refresh the page and try registering WITHOUT using the auto-fill function.  Manually fill in each and every field.  For some reason, the “auto-fill” tools have a hard time with the country code when you enter your mobile phone #.

Most parental control solutions require downloading & running apps or software on individual devices.  It can become extremely complicated managing filters on each device.  What happens when a new device comes into your family?  You’ve got to start the entire process all over again.  With Wi-Fi based parental controls, any device connected to Wi-Fi is filtered automatically, without requiring changes to each device.

If you successfully set up our DNS filters on your Wi-Fi router, any iPhone or Android will be filtered automatically when connected to that Wi-Fi network.  However, if those devices switch over to a cellular connection to the internet, the Wi-Fi filters won’t help.  We provide filtering for mobile devices like iPhone & Android on our Premium membership.  That means that your mobile phones will be filtered when away from Wi-Fi, even on a cell connection.

A few years ago, our founder, a dad of 3, discovered that the internet filters he’d been using were not blocking websites promoting “woke” ideology.  He went looking for filters that would block websites normalizing LGBTQ lifestyles & abortion, and couldn’t find anyone advertising that they could help.  So he decided to create the filters he knew that many other Christian parents wanted.  So, yes, we consider FreeFiltering to be “Christian internet filters”, but you don’t have to be a Christian to use our service!

YouTube can be a great resource for learning & entertainment, but it can also contain a lot of dangerous content.  Fortunately, YouTube provides a “Safe Mode” which uses a combination of AI and human moderation to screen out harmful content.  With our free plan, you’ll be able to enforce these Safe Modes from your Wi-Fi router, so they can’t be turned off manually in the browser.

Imagine your child going to a major search engine and searching for an explicit term.  The search engine is going to provide plenty of links to terrible websites.  Most of the major search engines provide a “Safe Search” mode which eliminates most of these problematic search results.  The problem is that these modes can be turned OFF in the browser as easily as they can be turned ON.  By enforcing Safe Search from your router, it is not possible to turn the Safe Search mode OFF in the browser, providing a much safer search experience.

Premium members are able to monitor the DNS requests (the websites accessed) on their Wi-Fi network or on individual devices.

No!  You can manage our Parental Controls from your browser, whether on desktop or mobile.  Any device connected to Wi-Fi will be filtered automatically.  If you’re a Premium member, you can customize the filters for each device from your main Settings page.  Premium members can also filter mobile phones when they are away from Wi-Fi.  Sometimes, the easiest way to do this on an iPhone is with a quick download of something called an “iOS configuration profile”.  But the filters for that iPhone(s) can be managed without an app.

FreeFiltering is a DNS-based web filtering system designed to make the internet a “Safer Place for Souls™”.  That means we’ll help you block websites that are devoted to promoting evil.  We’ll help you automatically block ~1.8 million pornographic websites already catalogued in our database.  And since porn purveyors are slick, and constantly putting up new sites to suck in innocent victims – we’ve built artificial intelligence that automatically detects if a brand-new website is pornographic, so its blocked before it even loads.  Over time, we’ll be adding additional block categories for websites that promote values contrary to the historic Christian tradition.  We’ll need your help and input to build the service in a way that brings glory to the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.  ✞

Simple Answer:  Change a simple setting on your router – devices connected to your wi-fi through the router won’t be able to access blocked websites.

Complicated Answer:  The Domain Name System (DNS) functions like the “phonebook” of the Internet.  Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides you with its own DNS by default.  Continuing to use the default DNS from your ISP is like giving your kids a mob boss’ contact list.  You’re inviting your kids to call up all kinds of shady characters if you’re still using the default DNS from your ISP.

We generally access specific websites online through easy-to-remember domain names, like Amazon.com or Facebook.com. But web browsers actually interact with web servers through hard-to-remember Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.  DNS translates the easy-to-remember domain names like Amazon.com to the actual IP addresses that browsers need to load the requested site.  Each device connected to the Internet has a unique IP address which other machines use to find the device. DNS servers eliminate the need for us to memorize random IP addresses such as 192.168.1.1 (in IPv4), or more complex newer alphanumeric IP addresses such as 2400:cb00:2048:1::c629:d7a2 (in IPv6).  You can imagine our filtering service as being a black permanent marker we use to black out the phone numbers of shady characters in the phone book.

A dad who doesn’t like the devil.  Remember him in your prayers – life has gotten rough since he launched this service.

1. Make sure you’re running our FREE filtering on your wi-fi by changing the DNS settings on your router.  Use our self-help instructions or pay us to set it up remotely.

2. Consider upgrading to a Premium membership or becoming a Patron – you’ll get access to advanced capabilities & special perks.

Yes!  Our goal is to make sure every Christian family has the ability to protect their home internet from the “wiles of the devil”.  The FREE plan empowers you to protect any device connected to the internet through your wi-fi router from content that is harmful to the soul.  We also offer a Premium plan for users who want more advanced controls over the experience.  We need families to prayerfully consider upgrading to a paid Premium or Patron membership so that we can continue to offer the FREE service to everyone.