Free Republic

<p>Atheists asked the Macomb County Road Commission to rescind their order removing a privately maintained Nativity scene set at the crossroads of the city.</p> <p>The Christmas culture wars for 2009 have begun and ground zero is the Detroit suburb of Warren, which for 63 years has hosted a privately maintained Nativity scene set at the crossroads of the city.</p>

Ann Arbor, Mich., Oct 27, 2009 / 06:32 am (CNA).- A 63-year-old tradition of having a privately maintained nativity scene on a public median in Warren, Michigan has been ended after the local road commission received a threatening letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The move has resulted in a lawsuit charging that the ban on the display is discriminatory.In 1945 St. Anne’s Parish received a donation of Christmas nativity statues which were too large to set up inside the church. Some parishioners thought the statues and a manger could be displayed in the center of the village...

John Satawa's family has displayed a nativity scene on a street median in Warren, Mich., virtually every Christmas season since 1945, but following an intimidating letter sent by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Satawa's county has put stop to the 63-year-old tradition. The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation proclaims its purpose in the letter to the Road Commission of Macomb County was to "protect the fundamental constitutional principle of separation of church and state." But Satawa contends there's nothing unconstitutional about his privately owned and maintained Christmas display. With the help of the Thomas More Law Center, Satawa has filed...

Offended by local nativity sceneAs a lifelong Christian, I am deeply offended by the creche that keeps appearing on the Chester County Courthouse grounds. It is racially, culturally and religiously insensitive. Jesus and His family were Middle Eastern and most likely had very dark hair, eyes, and skin — yet this offensive creche, showing the Holy Family and others in the Christmas drama as if they were northern Europeans with light skin and hair, keeps showing up on public property. Mary has blond hair, no less! And all the others have chalky skin and either blond or very light...

ASHLAND, Ky. (AP) - Someone stole an Ashland church's baby Jesus figure from a nativity scene. The Independent newspaper in Ashland quoted a city police report which said a witness who lives near St. Paul Lutheran Church saw a sport utility vehicle stop in front of the church on Christmas Day. The witness told police someone got out, removed the figure from the cradle and drove away with it. The report did not list the monetary value of the stolen figure.

"Bring Back Baby Jesus and no one will get hurt - God." So reads a sign on the ground next to a Nativity scene at Alameda Christian Reformed Church in Alameda, Calif., according to the Alameda Sun. It's tough to keep the Christ in Christmas when thieves keep stealing him News reports from all over the country tell of many a missing baby Jesus - even from the town famous for the proposed "Bridge to Nowhere."

Right-wing politicians have protested at the inclusion of Islamic symbols in nativity scenes in northern Italy. Elaborate cribs with figurines enacting the nativity decorate most Catholic churches in Italy at this time of year. A priest at a Genoa church put a mosque and minaret in his crib, while a crib at a Venice school also had a mosque. The Genoa branch of the anti-immigrant Northern League reacted with fury. But a senior church figure said there are no firm rules on what can be included. 'Gesture of inclusivity'

Every year we are flooded with reports from across the nation about nativity scenes being vandalized. This year was no different. Here is a list of some of the incidents that came to our attention:· In Sandusky, Ohio a 50-year old figure of the Baby Jesus was stolen from a downtown park; it was found a few days later hanging from a ceiling fan in the apartment of the thief who stole it·  A Christian pastor in Loma Linda, California was beaten and left in critical condition while decorating his church· In Orange County, Florida a Christian church’s drive-through nativity scene was...

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day   See the Christmastide Overview page for more on the symbols of Christmas that are spoken of on this page and that are used throughout the Season until Candlemas   Christ is born in Bethlehem, alleluia! The mood of this Feast is summed up by words of the angels to the shepherds in Luke 2:10-14: And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the...

The majority of Britons do not believe the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus, a survey has suggested. Of 1,000 people questioned, 70% doubted the account, according to the British Market Research Bureau. Almost a quarter of people who described themselves as Christians shared their scepticism.

A message to observant Christians, you should know that if there ever is a Palestinian State you can say goodbye to holy sites Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Ascension. Christian holy sites and populations are endangered whenever Palestinians gain control. Christian towns and churches, including the sacred Church of the Nativity, have been used as bases for Palestinian snipers and launching-sites for terrorist attacks. Many historically Christian towns that came under Palestinian control through Oslo — Bethlehem being only the most famous example — quickly lost their Christian majority as those citizens steadily fled Muslim oppression...

It's becoming a holiday tradition -- secular activists again have asked Whitehall's mayor to scoot baby Jesus off government property. The Freedom from Religion Foundation, an association of atheists and agnostics, sent the mayor a letter that called the Nativity scene in front of the city's municipal building unconstitutional. "The Nativity stands alone, right at the front entrance, and that's a problem," said Rebecca Kratz, the staff attorney who wrote the letter for the Wisconsin-based foundation. "You can't get into the building without noticing this symbol of religion." Reynoldsburg packed up its manger in 2006 to avoid a hassle when...

For years now, I have been convinced of the accuracy of December 25th, 1BC, as the birthdate of Jesus Christ, if not actually, then very close. Although I fully admit I cannot prove it, I believe I can make a compelling case for it, using Scripture and other sources. First, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus ministry began when He was about 30 years old, in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar- about AD 30. Give or take 3 years for ''about 30'', and Jesus age in 30 AD was between 27 and 33. His ministry lasted about 3-3 1/2...

<p>Police in Naples shut down vendors of nativity scenes featuring the Prez-elect alongside Jesus. Why so touchy?</p> <p>Thank your stars you don't live in Italy, where you can get shut down for selling Barack Obama nativity figures.</p> <p>All this would make one think Italians have no sense of humor, which is totally untrue - after all, socialist party leader, media mogul, football-team owner, Economist whipping boy and (in his spare time) prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is famous for his wit.</p>

RFFM.org News SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- Nearly 20 members of a choir--which calls itself the Joyful Senior Singers & Ringers--performed in the Illinois state Capitol Building on December 9th. Hailing from the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur, the unique group of musicians and vocalists, consisting solely of senior citizens, performed near an historic privately-sponsored Nativity scene which has been on display in Illinois' Statehouse since December 2nd. There was no official estimate, but those present said the Capitol Rotunda crowd was huge. "What a wonderful experience," said Marian Blankenship, a spokesman and member of the choir. "We didn't even use a...

<p>AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — A Dutch gay group said Monday it has planned a "Pink Christmas" festival for the first time in Amsterdam, featuring a manger stall with two Josephs and two Marys.</p> <p>Other attractions in the 10-day festival include parties, an open-air market, gay-themed films, an ice skating rink and religious services on Dec. 25.</p>

SNSC leaders discuss propriety of anti-Judeo-Christian message on the nationally syndicated Laurie Roth radio show Thomas Brejcha, President of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society and Daniel Zanoza, Executive Director of RFFM.org and Chairman of the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC) will guest on the nationally syndicated Laurie Roth Show [www.therothshow.com] on Monday, December 8th, from 5 - 6 P.M. Central Time. Brejcha, legal counsel for the SNSC and Zanoza will discuss the Springfield, Illinois Nativity scene which is now standing in the center of the Illinois state Capitol Rotunda. Brejcha and Zanoza will also be responding to an atheist group's...

The Real Nativity Story: Surprising Truths You May Not Know! The biblical accounts of Jesus Christ's birth present some surprising differences from popular ideas and traditions. Do you know the facts from the fiction? by John Ross Schroeder and Doug Johnson Most of us have been brought up with the traditional Christmas story—you know, the one about Jesus being born on Christmas day in a stable in Bethlehem with the shepherds and three wise men looking on as depicted in countless manger scenes. But is that the way it really happened? Most people think so, but a careful look at...

BERLIN (AP) — Police say a baby boy whose troubled mother laid him in the manger of a church nativity in hopes that someone would find and care for him is doing well.Augsburg police say a priest was startled to find the newborn in the nativity scene on the altar of the Peter and Paul Church in the village of Poettmes on Tuesday. He immediately called an ambulance.Police have since found the 38-year-old mother who said she gave the child up because she was in a "difficult personal situation," but hoped someone would quickly find the child and care for...

Dan Barker of the Freedom from Religion Foundation on December 1, 2008's Fox & Friends stated that the nativity scene represented 'hate speech' and 'a direct attack on good human values.'

NAPLES, Italy, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A vendor spokesman in Naples, Italy, says police shut down a shopping area offering nativity figurines, including one of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. The unidentified spokesman said police shut down the Via San Gregorio Armeno shopping area of the city in an attempt to stop certain open-air vendors who are suspected of operating without authorization, the Italian news agency, ANSA, reported Wednesday. Among the nativity statue offerings set to be offered by the Christmas vendors were ones featuring the U.S president-elect. Also included in the holiday theme are Inter Milan soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic...

A primary school infuriated parents after cancelling the traditional Christmas nativity play to make way for the Muslim festival of Eid. Parents at the Nottingham school were told that the planned performance had to be pulled because some of the pupils wanted to celebrate Eid at home with their families. In a letter, sent by the staff at Greenwood Junior School, mothers and fathers were told: 'It is with much regret that we have had to cancel this year's Christmas performances. 'This is due to the Eid celebrations that take place next week and its effect on our performers.' However,...

Contrary to the popular belief that Christmas was set on Dec. 25 simply to rival a pagan feast, there are at least 4 theories explaining the date from a Christian perspective.  All of them may be true.Theory 1: Day of Creation and the Conception of Jesus.David Bennett at Per Christum has an excellent article beginning with this explanation:The main reason early Christians chose December 25th for the date of Christmas relates to the date of the creation of the world. Jewish thought had placed the date of creation on March 25th, and it was early Christian writer Sextus Julius...

Watch video... http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week817/feature.html DEBORAH POTTER, guest anchor: This week marks an observance for a belief system much older than Christianity -- the anniversary of the death of the prophet Zarathustra, also known as Zoroaster. Zoroastrianism began in ancient Iran or Persia and may be little known today, but it left its historical imprint on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Estimates vary widely, but some claim that as few as 115,000 Zoroastrians remain, a few in Europe, North America and Iran; the vast majority in India, where they are called Parsis. From Bombay, now officially known as Mombai, Fred DeSam Lazaro reports....

WELLINGTON — In this village, Jesus has returned with the help of modern-day technology.Last year, the baby Jesus figure disappeared twice from the Nativity scene in front of the Wellington Community Center, never to be seen again. This year, the new blond, blue-eyed statue was outfitted with a GPS tracking device that monitored its every movement.The evening after Jesus' birth, the baby moved.At 6:45 a.m. Thursday, a village employee noticed that the statue was missing. Building maintenance supervisor Gus Arnold logged on to the monitoring system and saw that it was taken from the manger at 10 p.m. Wednesday.Arnold homed...

Seven people were injured on Thursday when Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows in a dispute over how to clean the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Following the Christmas celebrations, Greek Orthodox priests set up ladders to clean the walls and ceilings of their part of the church, which is built over the site where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born. But the ladders encroached on space controlled by Armenian priests, according to photographers who said angry words ensued and blows quickly followed. For a quarter of an hour bearded and robed priests laid into...

EUGENE, Ore. -- Two separate Eugene families whose Nativity scenes were desecrated last week when a vandal replaced the baby Jesus figures with severed pigs' heads say they were targeted because of their religious faith. The culprits left other, more secular decorations untouched and focused only on the families' religious displays. "To me, they definitely wanted to make a religious statement," said David Stahl of Eugene, who discovered a pig head in his front yard Thursday. "This takes definite thought and too much anger." Eugene police are investigating the cases as possible bias crimes, a classification that could lead to...

Father Christmas does exist -- Russian governmentAgence France-Presse First Posted 05:43pm (Mla time) 12/27/2007 MOSCOW -- Russia's government has ridden to the rescue of children by banning a television ad that declares Father Christmas does not exist, the daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta announced Thursday. The Federal Anti-monopoly Service ruled that the advertisement run by a network of electronics stores called Eto breaks a law against discrediting parents, the government-run newspaper said. The advertisement declares bluntly "that Father Frost does not exist," according to the report, referring to Russia's version of the gift-bearing, red-coated old man. "It means that parents are not...

•The twenty-fifth day of December. •In the five thousand one hundred and ninety-ninth year of the creation of the world from the time when God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth; •the two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seventh year after the flood; •the two thousand and fifteenth year from the birth of Abraham; •the one thousand five hundred and tenth year from Moses and the going forth of the people of Israel from Egypt; •the one thousand and thirty-second year from David's being anointed king; •in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel; •in the...

The Christmas Story <"He will save his people from their sins." This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be...

Police investigate vandalism of west Eugene nativity scenes By Greg Bolt The Register-Guard Published: December 21, 2007 05:02AM Vandals stole baby Jesus figures from two west Eugene nativity scenes early Thursday and left severed pigs’ heads in their places. Police are calling it a possible bias crime. Both incidents occurred sometime during the night at residences within a few doors of each other on Elmira Street. The homeowners discovered the vandalism later Thursday and reported it to city police. David Stahl, one of the two home­owners, said he’s had various lawn ornaments stolen or vandalized in the past few years...

The Origin of Nativity Scenes “... Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the place where travelers lodged.” According to St Luke the Evangelist (2,7) Jesus was born in a stable or at least in a place where animals were kept. In fact the word presepio (Nativity Scene) comes from the Latin verb praesepire (to enclose, to hedge, to fence) and today it means manger or crib. The term is thought to have been used for the first time with...

A recent survey revealed that one in three young adults had no idea that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Other religious blank spots included the role of the Archangel Gabriel, with more than a quarter having no idea that Gabriel brought God's message to Mary at her home in Nazareth to say that she would give birth to a son. So what do Britain's youngsters really know about Christmas? Femail quizzed four to nine-year-olds at four primary schools in Britain to find out. What gifts did the three wise men bring? Rashneet, six, from Broad Oak Primary School, Manchester: "The...

A proposed Kwanzaa celebration at the County Commission chambers caused an e-mail war among Shelby County employees earlier this week. Now it has also prompted a lawsuit. Probate Court Clerk Chris Thomas filed a complaint in Chancery Court Friday to block the Kwanzaa celebration set to be hosted by County Commissioner Henri Brooks on Dec. 26. “The reason I filed the lawsuit is because of the discrimination against Christians, Jews and other faiths by allowing the Kwanzaa celebration to happen and by not allowing us to have a ceremony,” Thomas said. “I’ve asked Mayor (A C) Wharton to stop it...

Dr Williams argued that the traditional Christmas story was nothing but a 'legend' He said the only reference to the wise men from the East was in Matthew's gospel and the details were very vague. Dr Williams said: "Matthew's gospel says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that's all we're really told. It works quite well as legend." The Archbishop went on to dispel other details of the Christmas story, adding that there were probably no asses or oxen in the stable. He argued that Christmas cards which showed the Virgin Mary cradling the...

FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ― The Star of Bethlehem has befuddled scholars throughout the ages. Now, a Texas law professor claims to have scientific proof that the Star was real, and not purely biblical myth. He has another major discovery as well, which resulted from his study of the Star. Texas A&M adjunct law professor Frederick Larson began researching the Star after putting up a nativity scene for his daughter. The lawyer in him, Larson said, required him to investigate what it was that he was putting up in his front yard. Beginning with the book of Matthew, he...

ANN ARBOR, MI — Persistence paid off for Frances Burke, a senior resident of Bayside, New York. For many years, the Bayside Hills Civic Association refused Burke’s request to include a nativity display in its annual holiday celebration which included a menorah and tree lighting ceremony at the public park. This year, however, Burke teamed up with the Thomas More Law Center, a national Christian public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which seeks to restore public acknowledgment of the religious significance of Christmas. As a result, for the first time in its history, the Bayside Hills...

(CNSNews.com) - With Dec. 25 only days away, a central image in the celebration of Christmas - the manger scene featuring replicas of Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus - has become the focus of attacks by vandals and leaders of "the secular Left," Christian groups charged on Wednesday. While the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights was erecting a nativity scene in New York City's Central Park, the group issued a news release condemning three dozen instances in which manger scenes were vandalized or stolen from Antioch, Calif., to Leesburg, Va., this Christmas season. "In perhaps the sickest...

THE leader of the world's Anglicans has described the Christmas story of the three wise men as nothing but a "legend" and has said not all followers must believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has picked apart elements of the Christmas story, including how a star rose high in the sky and stood still to guide the wise men to Jesus's birth place. Stars simply don't behave like that, he told the BBC during an interview. Dr Williams said there was little evidence that the three wise men had existed at all....

The Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday that the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men was nothing but a 'legend'. Dr Rowan Williams has claimed there was little evidence that the Magi even existed and there was certainly nothing to prove there were three of them or that they were kings. Dr Williams argued that the traditional Christmas story was nothing but a 'legend' He said the only reference to the wise men from the East was in Matthew's gospel and the details were very vague. Dr Williams said: "Matthew's gospel says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere...

Ontario, CA has not succumbed to the pressure felt in other cities across the country. The city of approximately 180,000 has large grass-covered median in the center of town with three lanes on each side. Many years ago, long before I was a member of Ontario Parkway Kiwanis, the group acquired very heavy statues of the Nativity scene and other scenes in the life of Christ. After four years, OPK donated them to the Chamber of Commerce. Every year, we get them out of storage and put up the scenes that can be seen on both sides of Euclid Avenue....

Pembroke Pines - The Pembroke Lakes Mall appears to have the standard holiday decorations. There's a photo booth with a Rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer theme by the food court; presents are wedged between palm trees; poinsettias rise from flower pots and combine into the shape of a Christmas tree. And next to a pair of benches in front of Dillard's, on a white-and-blue pedestal, stands a 5-foot-tall menorah. But for Len Torres, 79, of Plantation, who campaigns every holiday season to get Broward malls to include nativity scenes, that Jewish religious symbol makes Pembroke Lakes' refusal to set up a creche feel like...

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- A Wiccan pentacle has joined a controversial nativity scene at Green Bay's City Hall. The manger scene was put up by City Council President Chad Fradette, who wanted to defy an anti-religious group that was protesting another nativity scene in a nearby town. However, the Wiccans said that was an abuse of power and requested that the Wiccan symbol go up next to the nativity. "I want to see all those other faiths that we don't get an opportunity to see in Green Bay, Wis., because we are sometimes relegated to that," said Wiccan Kelly Winters....

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The putting up of a nativity scene at Green Bay's City Hall has prompted a tongue-in-cheek request from a suburban man for permission to display a Festivus pole on the overhang of the building's northwest entrance.

This is the time of year, as Hillary Clinton once put it, when Christians celebrate “the birth of a homeless child” — or, in Al Gore’s words, “a homeless woman gave birth to a homeless child.” Just for the record, Jesus wasn’t “homeless.” He had a perfectly nice home back in Nazareth. But he happened to be born in Bethlehem. It was census time and Joseph was obliged to schlep halfway across the country to register in the town of his birth. Which is such an absurdly bureaucratic over-regulatory cockamamie Big Government nightmare it’s surely only a matter of time...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Sheltered under a tree and concealed by burlap and scaffolding, the Nativity scene in St. Peter's Square -- still under construction -- was planned to put the Holy Family in Joseph's carpentry workshop. The Vatican office in charge of the creche's construction took its inspiration from Matthew's Gospel account of the birth of Jesus: "When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son and he named him Jesus." The central scene was designed...

The Christmas season is upon us, which means it's that special time of year for the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State to make sure no wayward city council will allow a whiff of frankincense on government property. They must send out direct-mail fundraising letters asking “Help Us Crush a Creche at Christmas.” The Christmas season is also that time of year when the business world implores us to consider the material as more important than the spiritual, all in the spirit of “the holidays.” So we celebrate the arrival on Christmas...

GREENSBORO — Greensboro College staff will meet today to decide how to mark the Christmas season without the life-sized nativity scene that has been a holiday tradition for more than 70 years. "It is very, very sad when people strike out against sacred symbols," said Craven Williams, president of the college. "It's a bigger issue than striking out at these life-size figures." Williams said the 71-year-old nativity scene, which has been displayed on the college's lawn at 815 W. Market St. since 1990, is a total loss. "It is clearly beyond repair," he said. The nativity had artfully rendered fiberglass...

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while...

NAPLES, Italy (Reuters Life!) - If you are looking for something different for your nativity scene this year, head to Italy's city of Naples where you can buy miniature replicas of U.S. presidential candidates to place next to your baby Jesus. The production of handmade nativity scene figurines is big business in Naples and has been since the eighteenth century. Thousands of angels, sheep and Marys and Josephs fill market stalls at this time of the year as shoppers choose their personal way to tell the Christmas story. Tradition requires that the nativity scene be built up over time until...