Free Republic

Why Should Christians Keep the Passover? Do you really know why Jesus had to suffer and die? What should the Passover mean for Christians today? by Allen Stout Only 3 1/2 years after He began His ministry, Jesus of Nazareth was apprehended by the religious authorities at the time of the Passover feast (Matthew 26:2; Mark 14:1). After a brief trial-while mocking Him, spitting on Him and beating Him-they took Him before the Roman authorities and accused Him of "perverting the nation, . . . saying that He Himself is Christ, a King" (Luke 23:2; Matthew 26:59-68).Pontius Pilate, the Roman...

SABBATH VS. SUNDAY: THE REST OF THE STORY'Deception': Christians war over worship day Two thousand years after Jesus walked the Earth, Christians are at war with each other concerning – as strange as it may sound – a day of the week mentioned in the Ten Commandments. The issue boils down to: "When is God's Sabbath?" In other words, what is His holy day of rest? Most Christians today think it's Sunday, when the majority of churches hold services. But others confidently say it's Saturday, calling Sunday worship "the most flagrant error of mainstream Christianity," believing Sunday-keepers are victims of...

Would Jesus Christ Celebrate Easter?For millions of people Easter Sunday is the most important religious holiday of the year. But if Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee today, would He observe Easter? by Jerold Aust Each spring the excitement of Easter fills the air. Many churches prepare special Easter programs about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At home mothers color eggs, and parents hide the brightly colored symbols of Easter around the house and lawn so that, come Easter morning, their children can excitedly hunt for them. Stuffed Easter bunnies and chocolate rabbits are seen everywhere in...

Some Christian churches don't embrace Christmas   Holiday has a complex history   By TOM BREEN Associated Press Article Last Updated: 12/15/2007 01:46:49 AM PST CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As Christmas draws near, Pastor John Foster won't be decorating a tree, shopping for last-minute gifts or working on a holiday sermon for his flock. After all, it's been 50 years since Christmas was anything more than a day of the week to him. He's one of very few American Christians who follow what used to be the norm in many Protestant denominations — rejecting the celebration of Christmas on religious grounds. "People...

The Biblical Map to Jesus Christs Return Maps show the way from where you are to your final destination. The Bible provides the only spiritual map to our ultimate destiny. Doesn’t it make good sense to plan your life's journey by learning how to read the genuine biblical map? by Jerold Aust You and I may take ordinary road maps for granted, but the history of mapmaking shows that ancient peoples carefully relied on their relatively primitive maps. Noted author and professor John Noble Wilford wrote: "Before Europeans reached the Pacific, the Marshall Islanders were making stick charts. Sticks were...

Hindus upset over ban on holy dot By Amarnath Tewary BBC News, Bihar Mr Mishra has worn the tilak throughout his career A senior official in India's Bihar state faces suspension for wearing the Hindu red mark on his forehead at work. Lakshman Mishra, deputy director of the agriculture department, is accused of breaching a new government dress code. He says he has worn the mark, or tilak, on his forehead at work for 30 years and it is his religious right to do so. His colleagues support him - nearly all of them arrived at work on Friday wearing...

Kharlamovsky Bridge near the Russian city Kirov has a wicked reputation amongst the locals: for nearly two years of its exploitation a number of serious accidents, including crashes with losses of life, have taken place here.

Kharlamovsky Bridge near the Russian city Kirov has a wicked reputation amongst the locals: for nearly two years of its exploitation a number of serious accidents, including crashes with losses of life, have taken place here.

Archaeologist sparks hunt for Holy Grail By Nick Pisa in Rome Last Updated: 8:47pm BST 20/06/2007 An archaeologist has sparked a Da Vinci Code-style hunt for the Holy Grail after claiming ancient records show it is buried under a 6th century church in Rome. The cup - said to have been used by Christ at the Last Supper - is the focus of countless legends and has been sought for centuries. Alfredo Barbagallo, an Italian archaeologist, claims that it is buried in a chapel-like room underneath the Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura, one of the seven churches which...

Translation of original article in German. The President of the Jewish Central Council of Germany Charlotte Knobloch- "insinuations which were right at the border of anti-semitism. " German Bishops have caused frictions on their visit to the Near East, Charlotte Knobloch says that the statements made by them were “at the border of anti-semitism”. The Bishops had compared Palestinian towns with the Warsaw Ghetto.

Source: University of Haifa Released: Mon 05-Mar-2007, 08:45 ET Ship Excavation Sheds Light on Napoleon's Attack on the Holy Land A ship that sunk off the coast of Acre during the battles between Napoleon and the British Royal navy is still shrouded in mystery. Marine archaeologists from the University of Haifa are analyzing the hull and the finds in an effort to solve the mystery. Steve Breitstein Marine archaeology excavations off the coast of Acre Newswise — Which navy commissioned the boat that sunk off the coast of Acre 200 years ago, which battles was it involved in and how...

Just because Muhammad envied & revered the Jews & their sites doesn't make a place "islamic"   I really resent the MSM language, terms & references to the surroundings of the wailing wall, Jews' only surviving piece of it's rich historic temple.   The Islamo Arabs (that basically have a fascist-genocide agenda, there is no secret that they simply want all non Arabs, all non Muslims out or dead), has recently come up with another "religious" theme (in an attempt to galvanize more Muslims around it "religiously"), the excavation by Israeli scientists to repair the Jewish holy site.   "Islamic...

4,000 Years of Christmas 'Tis the season for mistletoe and decorating the tree. But the origins of Christmas may surprise you. Did you know one of the American colonies outlawed observance of this holiday in 1659? by Gary Petty It's called the spirit of Christmas—the ringing of sleigh bells on a snowy night, Tiny Tim turning the heart of Scrooge in Charles Dickens' famous novel A Christmas Carol, Santa Claus and flying reindeer. For many, it seems, the birth of Jesus takes a backseat to mythology, packed shopping malls and greed. Every year, signs in front of neighborhood churches remind...

(AgapePress) - He saw them for the first time when he was in the fourth grade, and couldn't believe his eyes. Years later, he saw them again, and by the time he was in high school, he had a few tucked away in his bedroom. "No one ever told me those images would burn themselves into my mind and come back to haunt me," wrote Christian music artist Clay Crosse in I Surrender All: Rebuilding a Marriage Broken by Pornography. Clay co-authored the book with his wife Renee and author Mark Tabb. Little did he know that his boyhood fascination...

The Day of Atonement: Removal of Sin's Cause and Reconciliation to GodWe have already seen-through the symbolism involved in the Passover-that Christ's shed blood atones for our past sins. In fact, atonement means reconciliation. The Day of Atonement symbolizes the reconciliation of God and all humanity. If we are reconciled to God through Christ's sacrifice, why do we need another Holy Day to teach us about reconciliation? If we are already reconciled, why do we need to fast, as commanded on the Day of Atonement? (Leviticus 23:27; Acts 27:9). What is this day's specific significance in God's master plan...

September 14, 2006 Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Psalm: Thursday 38 Reading 1Nm 21:4b-9 With their patience worn out by the journey,the people complained against God and Moses,“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,where there is no food or water?We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,which bit the people so that many of them died.Then the people came to Moses and said,“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.”So Moses prayed...

The Nativity of Our Lady, by Andrea di Bartolo (in honor of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, September 8) (The below following is taken from Dom Guéranger's entry in The Liturgical Year for the Fifth Day Within the Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, September 12, in Volume XIV of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation by the Benedictines of Stanbrook, as are all previous excerpts from The Liturgical Year on this blog.) 'Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as...

Etruscan holy city discovered Fledgling Rome 'trembled' when leaders of 12 cities met (ANSA) - Rome, September 7 - Italian archaeologists believe they have found the mysterious sanctuary which was the religious and political centre of the Etruscan civilisation. The Etruscans were an ancient people known to have lived in the area of Italy between Rome and Florence from the 8th century BC until they were absorbed by Rome about 600 years later. For centuries they dominated the fledgling city on the Tiber and even supplied its first kings. But most traces of the Etruscan civilisation, which produced sophisticated art,...

LONDON, August 8, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The ancient quest of fashionable women to stave off the effects of age has always left them open to the claims of swindlers. The latest edition of the snake oil chronicles, according to the UK’s Daily Mail, has a more “scientific” cachet and involves injecting stem cells gleaned from aborted babies as well as umbilical cord blood directly into the skin. Scores of British women are opting for a procedure that stem cell experts are condemning as charlatanry. A private British clinic makes arrangements for well-to-do English women to travel to Rotterdam in the...

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2006 – Extremists in Afghanistan attacked coalition forces from a religious site yesterday, and targeted several civilian areas this week, including a bridge, a school and a wedding party, military officials in Afghanistan reported. Extremists began firing on coalition forces in the village of Nowzad in Helmand province yesterday. The sniper fire came from the direction of a religious shrine. There were no reported injuries to coalition forces or damage to equipment. In a separate incident in Kandahar province, a supply convoy received small-arms fire from a nearby mosque. While there were no casualties in this incident,...

We cannot understand in this present life how much God loves us. Much of it is due to the fact that our earthly minds do not understand God's holiness and the the truly destructive power of sin. Even more, we cannot understand God's love for us that he would take our sins upon himself so that we may be re-united with him.What is holiness? It means that God is separate, not just separate like an ant is to a man, but transcendentally separate in a way that we cannot understood. We are created in his image, but our power, understanding,...

EU constitution is a ‘holy text’ The EU constitution is a “holy text”, the leader of the European parliament’s centre right Hans-Gert Poettering told the Pope on Thursday. The German MEP used an audience with Pope Benedict XVI to assert the European People’s Party’s Christian and conservative credentials. He told the Catholic pontiff that the spirit of the EU constitution would live on even if the text could not be resurrected after French and Dutch referendum rejections. “[We] fought for a reference to God in the European constitution. Although we were not successful, we are proud of having done so....

The survey's director, Christian researcher George Barna, said that "the results portray a body of Christians who attend church but do not understand the concept or significance of holiness. ... The challenge to the nation's Christian ministries is to foster a genuine hunger for holiness among the masses who claim they love God but who are ignorant about biblical teachings regarding holiness.'' The Barna report was based on a nationwide telephone survey of 1,003 adults

22 die in clashes on Shia holy day By Imtiaz Ali in Peshawar and Thomas Coghlan in Kabul (Filed: 10/02/2006) Pakistan's attempts to curb Islamic extremism suffered a new setback yesterday when sectarian violence killed 22 people and left scores more injured on a Shia holy day. A Pakistani soldier stands guard at the site of the bomb explosion Sunni Muslim extremists were blamed for the suicide bombing of a Shia procession celebrating the festival of Ashura in Hangu in the North West Frontier Province. The attack, which left 60 per cent of the town's bazaar in ruins, provoked a...

Is God a Trinity?Why is the Trinity mysterious?Why is this doctrine so HARD to understand?(Part 2)  Who Was Jesus?The Bible does not teach the doctrine of the Trinity. But we are still faced with the question: Who was Jesus Christ? Was He a man that lived such a perfect life that God decided to call Him His Son at baptism? Or was He God who became a man and died for all men?In the past in most theological circles, a rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity included a rejection of the divinity of Christ. But before this booklet...

Is God a Trinity?Why is the Trinity mysterious?Why is this doctrine so HARD to understand?(Part 1)  Is the Trinity Biblical?A Gallup Poll taken in 1966 found that 97% of the American public believed in God. Of that number, 83% believed that God is a Trinity.Yet for all this belief in the Trinity, it is a doctrine that is not clearly understood by most Christian laymen. In fact, most have neither the desire nor the incentive to understand what their church teaches. Few laymen are aware of any problems with the doctrine of the Trinity. They simply take it for...

Syria 'tried to fuel holy war in Iraq against US and Britain' By Francis Harris in Washington (Filed: 11/01/2006) President Bashar al-Assad of Syria secretly incited Iraq's top Shia leader to declare holy war against US and British forces, according to Washington's former administrator in the country. In his new book, My Year in Iraq, Paul Bremer said he heard the explosive intelligence in October 2003 as sectarian tensions soared across the country following the fall of Saddam Hussein. News of Assad's actions ‘stunned’ the US administration in Iraq The report came from an extremely senior source, the supreme leader...

Why Some Christians Don't Celebrate Christmas Many feel that Christmas marks Christ's birthday and that it honors Him. After all, can 2 billion professing Christians be wrong? At the same time, some few Christians don't observe Christmas, believing that Jesus didn't sanction it and that it dishonors Him. Who is right—and why? by Jerold Aust One day, years ago, someone asked me why I kept Christmas. "The Bible says to keep it," I responded. "Somewhere in the Gospel of Luke, it speaks of the nativity scene. An angel told some shepherds that were keeping their sheep in the fields at...

Two Britons and an Iraqi have been killed in an attack by gunmen in Iraq as they travelled to holy sites. The pair and at least three other foreigners were shot on a minibus near Baghdad as they travelled to Karbala. The group were British Asians from London on a pilgrimage and they were carrying British passports. The shooting comes as hostage experts hunt for a kidnapped British aid worker who went missing with three other westerners in Baghdad on Saturday. A multi-national hostage team is trying to find Norman Kember, a retired professor in his 70s. The Britons killed...

Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement in recognition of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins today: “As Muslims around the world recognize the holy month of Ramadan, we take this opportunity to celebrate the contributions of millions of Muslim Americans. They enrich our country while deepening America's respect for Muslims here at home and around the world. As they observe this sacred month, they honor Islam's teachings of self-discipline, compassion and commitment to family. “As we celebrate Ramadan, we are reminded that we are a country of many faiths, and as such,...

9/28/2005 2:28:00 PM Holy Cow Statue Discovered in MazandaranRemains of several cow statues have been unearthed in Gohar Tepe, Mazandaran. Tehran, 28 September 2005 (CHN) -- Archaeological excavations in Gohar Tepe, in Mazandaran province in Iran, led to the discovery of the remains of the statues of some cows which were most probably used in religious ceremonies. The discovery of these sculptures indicates that the people of the region worshiped cows 3000 years ago. Mazandaran is one of the most ancient provinces in Iran. Archaeological excavations indicate that the province has been inhabited by human beings since 400,000 years ago...

GODS GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE If we believe that our sins keep seperating us from God, we remain in "unbelief". But if we believe Jesus paid the full price of our sins on a cross and invite his Holy Spirit into our heart, we have the life of God living in us. God's gift of life is eternal. It cannot be broken because the only thing capable of bringing death was sin. And Jesus dealt with sin in full. God no longer condemns us when we sin. Rather, he changes our hearts by placing his Holy Spirit into us. SALVATION...

  by Thomas J. Nash Other Articles by Thomas J. Nash Worthy Is the Lamb? 08/16/05 Even among animals, a lamb is not a likely “leading man” for a Hollywood action-adventure. Mighty Mouse or Underdog could save the day, but not a lamb; lambs are known for needing help in times of trouble. Recall the wandering lamb that had to be rescued (Mt 18:12-13), or other lambs that needed protection from a menacing wolf (Jn 10:11-12). In This Article...An Untimely and Humiliating DeathFollow the LeaderThe Lambs Win in the End An Untimely and Humiliating Death What was God thinking when He...

Bishkek, August 9, Interfax – Kirghiz archeologists have discovered ruins of the Armenian monastery in which St. Matthews may have been buried, at eastern side of Lake Issyk-Kul in the north of the country. Local mass media have reported Tuesday, citing the leader of the archeological expedition Vladimir Ploskikh, that the ruins of the monastery have been discovered near the village of Tiuf, on the land surrounded by water from three sides, though they had searched for them underwater. The ruins are concealed inside a large loam hill. The search for the Armenian monastery in which, according to tradition, St....

Concerns over the sensitivities of Muslims have once again taken members of the American media – even its government – over the top. Some in the media have decided that Islam should be treated differently from other world religions, and some in American government are spending too much time worrying about Muslim sensitivities, as opposed to concentrating on crushing the Islamist enemy. An article published in the Washington Post on Tuesday, May 17 highlights examples of the mistakes being made by the media as well as in government. Robin Wright, author of the Post’s article, “U.S. Long Had Memo on...

May 29, 2005The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Psalm: Sunday 25 Reading IDt 8:2-3, 14b-16a Moses said to the people:"Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God,has directed all your journeying in the desert,so as to test you by afflictionand find out whether or not it was your intentionto keep his commandments. He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger,and then fed you with manna,a food unknown to you and your fathers,in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live,but by every word that comes forth from the mouth...

With the revelation that a copy of the Quran may have been desecrated by U.S. military personnel at Guantanamo Bay, Muslims and their governments--including that of Saudi Arabia--reacted angrily. This anger would have been understandable if the U.S. government's adopted policy was to desecrate our Quran. But even before the Newsweek report was discredited, that was never part of the allegations. As a Muslim, I am able to purchase...

Yesterday that recently vanquished cliché, the Arab street, returned to remind us that there are some things that even the most enlightened Westerners don't get about Muslims -- their fanaticism about the Koran. Newsweek, which had only a few months ago been jubilantly celebrating the new People Power rising up in the Middle East, apparently ran an article in which it was alleged that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, in order to annoy the Muslim inmates, had deposited copies of the Koran on or in the toilet bowls of the prison facility. There was even a rumor that a copy of...

Once again, protests have been proven effective. After receiving an avalanche of protest emails, petitions and calls eBay has changed its policy and will now refuse to sell consecrated Hosts and other sacred objects. In an email sent to protestors, Kaelee of eBay’s Community Watch Team writes: “we have concluded that sales of the Eucharist, and similar highly sacred items, are not appropriate on eBay. We have, therefore, broadened our policies and will remove those types of listings should they appear on the site in the future.” The controversy began in mid April, when someone seeking to capitalize on the...

Police in India have arrested a 'holy man' who allegedly forced a woman to strip naked and broke coconuts on her head. Senthil Kumar, 27, promised to treat the woman, 30-year-old Selvi Dhanalakshmi, after her parents brought her to his hermitage at Velliraveli, near Erode. Kumar claimed she was possessed and offered to exorcise her of the evil spirit, reports the Deccan Chronicle newspaper. He locked himself up with the woman in a room before stripping her of her clothes and lighting camphor on her palms and breasts. The woman began yelling in pain when the holy man, chanting prayers,...

I Will Shake And Roar Judy Curmi 4-1-2005 by I received this message the morning following the death of Terri Schaivo. Terri died of thirst and dehydration in a hospital in Clearwater, Florida following the removal of her feeding tube. Clearwater is on the West Coast of Florida near St. Petersburg and Tampa. [Isa. 59:14-19 NKJ] Justice is turned back and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So truth fails and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there...

1962 Sunday Missal Mass Readings/Propers for the Second Sunday After Easter   Colors:  White   INTROIT  Psalms 32: 5, 6The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord, alleluia: by the word of the Lord were the heavens made, alleluia, alleluia. -- (Ps. 32. 1). Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: praise is comely for the upright. V.: Glory to the Father . . . -- The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord . . .   COLLECT -O God, who, by the humility of Thy Son, didst lift up a fallen world, grant...

It is difficult to overstate the depth of the differences between the Judeo-Christian view of the world and that of its opponents, most particularly the Left. For example, it involves the very question of whether there is order to the world. Basic to the biblical worldview is the proposition that God made order out of chaos – order expressed largely through separation and differences. God separated light from dark and created day and night; separated the waters and created land; and so on. Differences reflect the divine order, while attempts to abolish those differences represent a denial of that order...

1962 Sunday Missal Mass Readings/Propers for Low Sunday   Colors:  White   INTROIT  I Peter 2:2As newborn babes, alleluia, desire the rational milk without guile, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. -- (Ps. 80. 2). Rejoice to God our Helper; sing aloud to the God of Jacob. V.: Glory to the Father . . . -- As newborn babes . . .   COLLECT - Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who have celebrated the Paschal Feast, may, by Thy bounty, retain its fruits in our daily habits and behavior. Through our Lord Jesus Christ . . .   EPISTLE...

Holy See Grieved by Terri Schiavo's Death Reaction of Vatican Spokesman and Cardinal VATICAN CITY, APRIL 1, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See officially expressed its sadness over the death of the brain-damaged woman in Florida who died of starvation after her husband had her feeding tube removed. On Thursday afternoon, Joaquín Navarro Valls, director of the Vatican press office, said that the circumstances surrounding Terri Schiavo’s death have "rightly upset consciences." "A life was interrupted. Death was arbitrarily anticipated, because feeding a person can never be considered as drastic therapy," said the Vatican spokesman in a statement. "There is no...

by Fr. William Saunders Other Articles by Fr. William Saunders The Chrism Mass 03/25/05 Would you please explain the significance of the Chrism Mass? On Holy Thursday morning (in some dioceses it may be another morning during Holy Week), the bishop, joined by the priests of the diocese, gather at the Cathedral to celebrate the Chrism Mass. This Mass manifests the unity of the priests with their bishop. Here the bishop blesses three oils — the oil of catechumens (oleum catechumenorum or oleum sanctorum), the oil of the infirm (oleum infirmorum) and holy chrism (sacrum chrisma) — which will be used...

Patrick: Pilgrim, Patron and Model By Deacon Keith Fournier © Third Millennium, LLC He was raised in a Christian home in Britain toward the end of the fourth century. This was an age much like our own, gripped by a “culture of death” and filled with a spirit of lawlessness. Tragedy struck Patrick at sixteen years old when he was kidnapped by Irish Pirates and taken to the Emerald Isle. This was the first experience he would have of the land that he would later come to love and for which he would give himself away in tireless missionary service....

Welcome to 2005, `Year of the Big Revisionist’. The Ides of March, 2005 was the first day consumers could purchase one of the world’s most widely read Bibles, the New International Version–fully "revised". Archaic language in the Holy Book must have been getting to the tragically hip. So much so that a team of 15 American and British scholars were sent to parse and modernize it. Would it be too politically correct to say what the scholars really did? They watered the offensive Bible down and whitewashed its words under the time-wasting guise of only wanting to modernize it. The...

Prior to the Iraqi election, the Sunni and Shi'a population of Al-Mudhariya, a village south of Baghdad, received the typical threats of violent reprisal that terrorist insurgents made against every Iraqi voter. But as reported by Mark Willacy, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Middle East correspondent, the villagers planned a surprise when the terrorists returned. "We understand that last night, the insurgents came back to punish the people of Al-Mudhariya," Willacy reported on February 4. "But instead of metering out that punishment, the villagers fought back and they killed five of the insurgents and wounded eight. They then burnt the insurgents'...

The First Holy Thing Is the FIRST thing mentioned in the Bible as being "Holy," meaning set apart or sanctified by God, a person, or an altar, or a temple, or a group of people, or what? Question: In the Holy Bible, what is the very first holy “thing” mentioned?Wrong Answers: Holy ground; holy altar; holy vessel; holy water; holy oil; holy people; holy temple; holy mountain; holy apple.Answer : A day.In the history of the world the first thing labeled “holy” is a day. Not any day, but one specific day in seven—the seventh. Isn’t it surprising that a...