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And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of...

FULL TITLE: Dallas Pastor Urges Black Megachurches to Fight Sprawling Planned Parenthood Complex With 8 Foot Concrete Wall Stephen Broden, pro-life activist and pastor of the Fair Park Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas, is urging black megachurches to join him in protesting a sprawling 17,000 square-foot Planned Parenthood abortion center with an 8-foot concrete wall he believes was intentionally placed in their predominantly black neighborhood. "Planned Parenthood has built a wall to shield their clients from the presence of God's prayer warriors who pray to end abortion at one of Texas' largest abortion facilities. This death trap is located...

Newsweek is back and this time it is fully a leftist rag. It’s latest is Christian troll bait written by non-religious scholar Kurt Eichenwald of Vanity Fair who, if you’ve ever paid attention to him, holds Christianity in disdain to begin with. So of course a guy who hates Christianity is going to attack it. His attacks, for knowledgeable Christians, are silly fabrications and half-truths. But then Eichenwald is not really writing for Christians, but against them. He’s writing to the secularists trying to buttress their faith in their gods. Al Mohler has a well written rebuttal as does Michael...

Finally, understanding the sub-culural history of "Smithmas" is making more digital headway! Smithmas Free Republic articles are "bumping up" among top five hits on Google searches! What exactly IS "Smithmas," anyway? Well, Joseph Smith -- THE founder of Mormonism -- was born on December 23. Through the decades, that recognition has often eclipsed a certain Other figure's birthday, Dec. 25. (To be fair to Mormons, who are my beloved extended family members, I would think they could extend a similar critique toward some Christians for allowing a jovial North Pole-based figure to edge out Jesus' birthday!) But if you want...

Rain... I've not heard of "smithmas" before, but as soon as I saw this title I knew what the term meant because for years I did see/hear far more about Joseph Smith in church than about Christ in December and it really irked me... Rain #47   In 2005...And then from there it continued throughout 2006. Talk after talk was centered on his life. I could count months when Jesus was only mentioned in the prayers. So much so that when I moved in 7/2006 I very much struggled to be obedient when I was asked to give a talk...

Zelphless NOM Dec 01, 2014 This is kinda funny actually. The Exec Sec of our ward just sent out this announcement for the ward Christmas Party: Quote: As a Bishopric we would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to come to the Ward Christmas Celebration...The theme this year will be "Christmas in Nauvoo" and will feature an 1843 Christmas in Nauvoo with the Joseph and Emma Smith family. Everyone is invited to come as you are, or dress in period clothing. The main dinner will be provided and if you wish you may bring your favorite holiday dessert...

Celebrated birthdate of Jesus Christ: December 25 Celebrated birthdate of Joseph Smith: December 23 Needless to say, some seasonal "competition" has arisen between the two through the centuries! #1: Christmas Carol Joseph Smith Usurpation: O Little Town of Jerusalem? Birthplace of Jesus Christ: BethlehemBook of Mormon recorded birthplace of Jesus Christ: Jerusalem (Alma 7:10) Note: The 1830 Book of Mormon author (Joseph Smith) was apparently so scornful of Bethlehem receiving its Old Testament Micah 5:2 prophecy recognition that Jerusalem negated Bethlehem's place within Biblical history! #2: Christmas Carol Joseph Smith Usurpation Vignette: Only One Angel (Heard) From on High? 1840....

Newsweek magazine decided to greet the start of 2015 with a massive cover story on the Bible. For decades now, major newsmagazines have tended to feature cover articles timed for Christmas and Easter, taking an opportunity to consider some major question about Christianity and the modern world. Leading the journalistic pack for years, both TIME and Newsweek dedicated cover article after article, following a rather predictable format. In the main, scholars or leaders from very liberal quarters commented side-by-side those committed to historic Christianity on questions ranging from the virgin birth to the resurrection of Christ. When written by journalists...

Seen as too charismatic or Catholic by some, the use of physical movement to enhance spirituality is catching on at more and more churches. But there is a long way to go, experts say.Baptists have historically minimized bodily movement in worship and prayer out of concern for appearing too charismatic or Catholic, scholars and spiritual formation ministers say. Baptisms and altar calls and the occasional layings-on of hands are accepted, but kneeling and prostrations and the lifting of hands in praise are frowned upon, said Michael Sciretti, minister of spiritual formation at Freemason Street Baptist Church in Norfolk, Va. “In...

Denial of imminency of the return of Christ. The teaching that Christ could come for His church at any moment is a doctrine of pretribulationism often singled out for attack by posttribulationists. Obviously, if the church must go through the tribulation, the imminent translation is a vain hope. Posttribulationists therefore labor either to deny imminency or to invest the word with a different meaning which does not require immediacy. Their denial of imminence is a major aspect of their argument against pretribulationism. Posttribulationists are wont to give considerable space to this argument—more than can be allowed in rebuttal. (Cf. Robert...

Speaking at the National Action Network’s Christmas dinner on Thursday, Rev. Al Sharpton said he is working with Cardinal Timothy Dolan on “something big” that will unite New York City in light of recent discord with the NYPD. “I talked with Cardinal Dolan yesterday, and after the first of the year we’re talking about doing something big to bring the city together,” Sharpton said without elaborating. He also called for prayers for the families of NYPD Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, who were killed last week by a gunman who invoked the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner....

Iranian pastor Behnam Irani is being held in solitary confinement and is facing 18 new charges, including "spreading corruption on Earth," which is a capital crime. This is similar to "Moharabeh," or "warring against God," which was recently charged to another Christian, Pastor Matthias Haghnejad. Pastor Irani was arrested in December 2006, and sentenced in 2011 to six years imprisonment for "action against the state" and "action against the order." The fresh charges appear to be part of a surge in repression under the Rouhani presidency targeting religious and ethnic minorities. In June, Pastor Irani was removed from prison and...

Atrocities by the Islamic State (ISIS) are softening the hearts of Muslims to Christianity, and evangelistic techniques and technologies are proving effective, but locally-based missionaries say the main reason for the spike in conversions in the Middle East is simply that former Muslims are finding God is real. In war-torn areas of Syria and Iraq where ISIS is fighting to establish a caliphate, Muslim refugees to neighboring countries, Internally Displaced People and people remaining at home are learning about Christ from native aid workers, podcasts and broadcasts. Tent churches among refugees are sprouting like mushrooms. For people who have suffered...

A number of people lately have been intrigued to meet a French theologian, and have asked me to tell them the story of how I, a French atheist, became a Christian scholar. Even the theologians and apologists I met recently at the ETS Conference in Baltimore (where by God’s grace I was delivering my first scholarly paper) seemed to care (understandably) more about my conversion from atheism than my immediate theology paper! Therefore, it seemed fitting to type it up properly, to have a clean telling of that story of God breaking into my life, ready to be shared with...

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS CAROL"Lo! I Arrive To Do Thy Will!"Introduction: Have you ever considered, What is the first Christmas Carol?A carol is a song of joyful praise involving the birth of The Lord Jesus Christ. The first carol goes all the way back to the night in which The Lord Jesus Christ was born. No, it was not the Shepherds! Neither was it the Heavenly host which the shepherds heard. But even before the angels sang, The Lord Jesus Himself sang. Yes, That Little Baby in the manger sang the first Christmas Carol. It was not heard by His parents,...

The Messianic prophecies were written over the span of a millennium by several Old Testament prophets. They spoke of a Messiah who would one day come to earth and walk among mankind. These prophecies mentioned specific names, locations, and even the timing surrounding His appearance. The known date of completion for the Old Testament writings is 430 B.C., so these prophecies were in circulation at least 430 years before the time of Christ. ************ The outline we will be following for this discussion is as follows: 1) Introduction: What are the Messianic Prophecies? 2) The Messianic Lineage 3) The Messianic...

"'I will declare the decree:' the LORD has said to Me, 'You are my son, Today I have begotten You.'" (Psalms 2:7) One of the most contentious issues between modern day Jewish and Christian scholars is whether the Messiah would be the "Son of God." The Christian New Testament clearly indicates that Jesus believed he was the Son of God, and that the disciples believed this as well. However, most 20th century rabbis claim that the Messiah is simply a man. In 1992 I had a discussion about the Messiah with a Jewish physician, a man who was a Torah...

One of the more interesting aspects of argument between Christians and atheists is the habit of some to assume that the existence of a possible naturalistic explanation decisively rebuts any assertion of a supernatural cause — regardless of the improbability of the naturalistic explanation (given the current state of scientific thought). So stories of miraculous healing are dismissed as doctor’s errors or the placebo effect or, simply, wishful thinking. Other kinds of claimed encounters with God are dismissed as “coincidence” or even madness (and, to be clear, coincidences do exist, and some people are insane). But the ability to articulate...

In leiu of the folowwing recent story1,500 Jews Find Vandalism at Joseph’s Tomb for Hanukkah out of Nablus Israel, An Arutz Sheva article about Jewish pilgrims coming to pray at Joseph’s tomb and finding that Muslims had badly vandalized it, I thought I would rerun this article from 2011- enjoy and happy Channukah! By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.(Hebrews 11:22)And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which...

Testimony of Diana for Jesus Christ (Young woman named Diana who has Cerebral palsy wishes to give you her testimony about Jesus)