http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/christmas/ en-us Sat, 9 Aug 2008 23:10:36 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059205/posts ANN ARBOR, MI — Today, July 31st at 10:00AM EST, a New Jersey Federal Court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to a public school district’s policy totally banning Christmas music, including simple instrumentals without words, during year-end celebrations in its schools. The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan filed the federal lawsuit on the grounds that the school district’s ban on religious music conveys a government-sponsored message of disapproval and hostility toward religion in violation of the Establishment Clause. Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center,... TMLC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059205/posts#comment Sat, 9 Aug 2008 23:10:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056688/posts Is Sen. Barack Obama just too weird to be elected president? Since the day Obama claimed the Democratic nomination, pundits and political pros have been waiting for him to take a significant lead in the polls. Here we are in August, and not only has Obama failed to get the Democrat’s traditional summertime bump, he’s tied with John McCain in the latest Gallup and Rasmussen polls. In a lousy year for Republicans, against a GOP nominee who combines the youthful effervescence of Wilford Brimley with the soaring oratory of a life insurance seminar, Obama is actually losing ground. Why? Obama,... Boston Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056688/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 10:48:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026704/posts AMSTERDAM, 06/06/08 - Amsterdam municipal transport company (GVB) bus-drivers and tram personnel cannot celebrate Christmas any more. GVB is axing the event to please Muslims, newspaper de Telegraaf suggested yesterday. Personnel association VTN has been told by GVB management that "the multicultural representation of the colleagues at the Christmas party is too one-sided." Supposedly, GVB meant to say that only white GVB staffs have been attending the annual event organised by management in the past years. It has therefore halted its financial contribution to the Christmas party. "We have a limited budget and want to organise something that is intended... NIS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026704/posts#comment Thu, 5 Jun 2008 21:37:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959942/posts $50,000 REWARD IN DEATHS OF TREE FARMER, 2 OTHERSRobbery may be motive in slayings Authorities describe how shootings occurred Associated Press INDEPENDENCE, Va. --The family of a prominent North Carolina tree farmer has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for his slaying, as well as that of his son and an employee. Authorities said robbery was the apparent motive in the shooting deaths Thursday of Ronald Hudler, 75, his son Frederick Hudler, 45, and an employee, 25-year-old John Miller. The three were slain on Ronald Hudler's property in Mouth of Wilson, Va., just... Charlotte Observer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959942/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:15:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953955/posts Good column about the campaign against religion in America. For copyright reasons here is the link: http://www.thebulletin.us:80/site/news.cfm?newsid=19195677&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=623508&rfi=6 The Bulletin http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953955/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:08:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1952883/posts January 13, 2008                                    The Baptism of the Lord       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Is 42:1-4, 6-7 Thus says the LORD:Here is my servant whom I uphold,my chosen one with whom I am pleased,upon whom I have put my spirit;he shall bring forth justice to the nations,not crying out, not shouting,not making his voice heard in the street.a bruised reed he shall not break,and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,until he establishes justice on the earth;the coastlands will wait for his teaching. I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,I have grasped you by... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1952883/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jan 2008 06:22:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1952620/posts January 12, 2008                                     Saturday after Epiphany       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Jn 5:14-21 Beloved:We have this confidence in himthat if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,we know that what we have asked him for is ours.If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,he should pray to God and he will give him life.This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.There is such a thing as... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1952620/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:14:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1951996/posts January 11, 2008                                         Friday after Epiphany       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Jn 5:5-13 Beloved:Who indeed is the victor over the worldbut the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,not by water alone, but by water and Blood.The Spirit is the one who testifies,and the Spirit is truth.So there are three who testify,the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,and the three are of one accord.If we accept human testimony,the testimony of God is... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1951996/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:34:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1951506/posts January 10, 2008                                     Thursday after Epiphany       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Jn 4:19–5:4 Beloved, we love God becausehe first loved us.If anyone says, “I love God,”but hates his brother, he is a liar;for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seencannot love God whom he has not seen.This is the commandment we have from him:Whoever loves God must also love his brother. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,and everyone who loves the Fatherloves also the one begotten by him.In this way we know that we love the children of... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1951506/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:53:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1950912/posts January 9, 2008                                 Wednesday after Epiphany       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Jn 4:11-18 Beloved, if God so loved us,we also must love one another.No one has ever seen God.Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,that he has given us of his Spirit.Moreover, we have seen and testifythat the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of... USCCB.oirg/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1950912/posts#comment Wed, 9 Jan 2008 18:59:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1950282/posts January 8, 2008                                 Tuesday after Epiphany       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Jn 4:7-10 Beloved, let us love one another,because love is of God;everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.In this way the love of God was revealed to us:God sent his only-begotten Son into the worldso that we might have life through him.In this is love:not that we have loved God, but that he loved usand sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Responsorial... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1950282/posts#comment Tue, 8 Jan 2008 16:13:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1949691/posts January 7, 2008   Christmas Weekday   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Jn 3:22–4:6 Beloved:We receive from him whatever we ask,because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.And his commandment is this:we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,and love one another just as he commanded us.Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,and the way we know that he remains in usis from the Spirit whom he gave us. Beloved, do not trust every spiritbut test the spirits to see whether they belong to God,because many false prophets have gone... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1949691/posts#comment Mon, 7 Jan 2008 17:40:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1948845/posts For the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Hans-Joachim Kracht 'Three Kings' Seek, Find, and Worship the Lord "We have come to worship him" (Mt 2:2) was the meaningful theme chosen for the 20th World Youth Day, celebrated in Cologne, Germany, from 16 to 21 August.The story of the "Adoration of the Wise Men" is one of the best known in the life of the Lord. However, the episode recounted by the Evangelist Matthew is not primarily an exact historical chronicle. Rather, the focus of interest is the content, which concerns the history of salvation in the message... EWTN.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1948845/posts#comment Sat, 5 Jan 2008 18:57:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1948839/posts January 5, 2008                              Memorial of Saint John Neumann, bishop       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Jn 3:11-21 Beloved:This is the message you have heard from the beginning:we should love one another,unlike Cain who belonged to the Evil Oneand slaughtered his brother.Why did he slaughter him?Because his own works were evil,and those of his brother righteous.Do not be amazed, then, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.We know that we have passed from death to lifebecause we love our brothers.Whoever does not love remains in death.Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer,and you know that no murderer... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1948839/posts#comment Sat, 5 Jan 2008 18:43:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1948416/posts Over the last two weeks, leading American atheists have registered complaints about all the attention given to Christmas in the United States. These atheists have issued three challenges. First, they insist that being atheist does not mean being immoral. Second, they want other people to see that atheists are law-abiding, compassionate, and generous to others—that one does not have to be Christian or to feel “the Christmas spirit” to care for the poor and the needy. Third, they insist that monotheists have a harder time being tolerant of others than atheists do. Atheists, they think, are more humble, tolerant, and... National Review Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1948416/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jan 2008 20:57:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1948250/posts January 4, 2008                                     Memorial of Saint Elizabeth                                    Ann Seton, religious       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Jn 3:7-10 Children, let no one deceive you.The person who acts in righteousness is righteous,just as he is righteous.Whoever sins belongs to the Devil,because the Devil has sinned from the beginning.Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil.No one who is begotten by God commits sin,because God’s seed remains in him;he cannot sin because he is begotten by God.In this... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1948250/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jan 2008 15:13:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1947735/posts January 3, 2008                                     Christmas Weekday       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 11 Jn 2:29–3:6 If you consider that God is righteous,you also know that everyone who acts in righteousnessis begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on usthat we may be called the children of God.Yet so we are.The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.Beloved, we are God’s children now;what we shall be has not yet been revealed.We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1947735/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jan 2008 16:13:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947464/posts Kwanzaa itself is a lunatic blend of schmaltzy '60s rhetoric, black racism and Marxism. Indeed, the seven "principles" of Kwanzaa praise collectivism in every possible arena of life -- economics, work, personality, even litter removal. ("Kuumba: Everyone should strive to improve the community and make it more beautiful.") It takes a village to raise a police snitch. When Karenga was asked to distinguish Kawaida, the philosophy underlying Kwanzaa, from "classical Marxism," he essentially explained that under Kawaida, we also hate whites. While taking the "best of early Chinese and Cuban socialism" -- which one assumes would exclude the forced abortions,... HumanEvents.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947464/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jan 2008 01:54:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947431/posts FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 1, 2008) -- On Christmas Eve, a military aircraft flew in from Baghdad landing at Camp Fallujah transporting special cargo for one fortunate Marine; his father. The chance to spend Christmas together was one they didn’t take for granted and were fully aware of what a privilege it was for them. “I’d bicycle from Baghdad to be here,” said Paul Charbonneau, the father of 22-year-old, Owasso, Okla. native Cpl. Paul J. Charbonneau, a squad leader with 4th platoon, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6. Paul, a senior manager for a telecommunications company... Marine Corps News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947431/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jan 2008 00:42:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947168/posts About 2007 years ago, give or take, the most significant event in the history of the universe took place. A baby was born into a poor Jewish family in an area of the world under the occupation of the Roman Empire. This baby would grow up to be a carpenter for the majority of his life, living quietly and humbly in Nazareth, in Galilee. However, for the last three years of his life he would travel throughout Palestine teaching, healing, and challenging the conventional Jewish order. Without education, without an army, and without money, this Jesus of Nazareth would forever... Family Security Matters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947168/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jan 2008 16:27:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1946964/posts It's New Year's Day 2008, as I sit and reflect: Christmas has yet to end, and already gone are most decorative lights and some discarded Christmas trees now lining the streets. Noticed less Christmas (please, not holiday) decorations this year, possibly due to higher gas/electric costs, so understandable. But folks nowadays stop giving Christmas wishes after Christmas Day, and look at you strange, if you do - are they not aware of the song lyrics "The 12 Days of Christmas" (perhaps thinking it stands for the 12 days to shop before Christmas Day) or that Jan 6th is the last... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1946964/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jan 2008 01:59:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1946744/posts January 1, 2008                         The Octave Day of Christmas                               Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,                             the Mother of God         Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Nm 6:22-27 The LORD said to Moses:“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:This is how you shall bless the Israelites.Say to them:The LORD bless you and keep you!The LORD let his face shine uponyou, and be gracious to you!The LORD look upon you kindly andgive you peace!So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,and I will... USCCB.org/New American Bible http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1946744/posts#comment Tue, 1 Jan 2008 15:34:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1946140/posts Gender gap is a true gift Dave Barry This is the time of year when a lot of women (by which I mean my wife) complain that women do WAY more holiday stuff than men do. Which is true. On any given day during the holidays, my wife wraps more presents than I have wrapped in my entire life. In terms of cubic footage of stuff wrapped (CFSW), she has basically wrapped the planet Saturn. So she is definitely carrying more than her share of the holiday load. HOWEVER, when she was complaining about we were discussing this today, I... Miami Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1946140/posts#comment Mon, 31 Dec 2007 03:08:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1944440/posts Mary Harwell Sayler  Other Articles by Mary Harwell SaylerPrinter Friendly Version   Gospel Records of Jesus' Birth December 26, 2007 Question: How did the Gospel writers get records of Jesus' birth? I understand how the Gospels record writings of things Christ did or things he taught the disciples and all his followers. I know how these are first hand accounts or taken from those who had first hand accounts. My question is, there are many events in Scripture where no one was present to witness the event, such as the Annunciation but especially the Magnificat, the Visitation, what Elizabeth... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1944440/posts#comment Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:50:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1945793/posts CLIFTON -- Christmas may have ended, but Izabela Glowka is only part way into her holiday season.  For the Clifton resident and some traditional Eastern European Roman Catholics, Christmas begins with a daytime fast on Dec. 24 and only ends with a feast on Jan. 1.  Many Europeans adhere to the Octave, the eight days of Christmas.  In Poland, where residents are ardent followers of the tradition, banks close and workers relax at home with their families for the entire week.  They didn't get the day off, but many Poles living locally skipped work on Wednesday to mark St.... northjersey.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1945793/posts#comment Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:28:52 GMT