Christian Answers

Where are the bodies of the Magi?

2012-01-22T07:40:00.003-05:00

Where are the bodies of the Magi?

Tomb of the Magi in Germany Cathedral

Supposed remains of the Magi

If someone thought the story of the Magi or Kings who visited Jesus at his birth, was a tall tale or a myth or an invention of the Church should go to the cathedral of Cologne (Germany) and see a golden casket where they say that the relics of the Magi are lying.

Marco Polo left us on record, in his Book of Wonders, in another location.
According to his informants, placed in the city of Sava, located in the arid lands of ancient Persia where they departed for Jerusalem, where they were supposedly buried Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar, "in three large and beautiful graves, above each grave is a house square, round on top, well worked, and they are next to each other. " In Sava, Saveh today in Iran, there remains no trace of these tombs, if they ever existed.

The story of how they came to the city of Cologne is very bizarre. The first person who found these bodies incorrupt was St. Helena, mother of Constantine in the fourth century, a real Indiana Jones when infused knowledge reached by all kinds of Christian relics. They were brought to Constantinople and there were kept in a sarcophagus of granite. In the reign of Emperor Manuel appeared a Greek religious saint named, Eustorgio, who was elected bishop of Milan and the emperor then gave the three bodies in order to take them to this Italian city in the early twelfth century.

According to tradition, the stay was short-lived and tranquility of the Magi in Milan (which by then were uncorrupted) as the Emperor of Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, sacked the city in 1162, transferring the remains to Cologne and there continue for now. Well, not all. After centuries of claims by the Milanese authorities, in an effort to recover these mortuary remains, in the early twentieth century, a tibia, a humerus and sternum were carried solemnly to the church of San Eustorgio and placed in its old sarcophagus. That said, do not analyze them in case.

Why is celebrated on January 6th?

Clearly, if the child Jesus was born on December 25 (which did not) the year I (did not) kings of Babylon could not come to Jerusalem on January 6, even turbo that had the camels. Or the 9th of January, as claimed by the Armenian Gospel of the Infancy, which "had left their country for nine months" (Chapter XI). In contrast, the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy (also called Arabic Gospel of Pseudo-John) says something more unusual and unlikely "part of Persia at first cockcrow, came to Jerusalem at daybreak (Chapter VII). The closest thing I know that is the teleportation.

And it is still rare for the January 6 is the Epiphany, a Greek word which means "manifestation", and is awarded for good Kings Day, which began to celebrate the early third century by Eastern Christians Constantinople, to coincide with the pagan festival of the birth of the god Aion, begotten of the virgin Kore, a symbol of new times. Also on the same date in Rome celebrated the wonders of the god Dionysus for his devotees. So you had to Christianize the January 6, and later took on 25 December. And we're going to be made.

In the West began to celebrate this century in 450 V when the said Pope Leo I Epiphany defined as the "Feast of the Magi", period. Gradually other elements were added to the ride. The custom of their "funny majesties" bring gifts emerged in the mid-nineteenth century to counter the tradition of St. Nicholas, a bishop of the Eastern Church who lived in the fourth century in Asia Minor known for his generosity to children, whose name day is the 6th of December. The skinny Saint Nicholas, by these twist of fate, eventually became the plump Santa Claus.

Both sides compete each year to deliver gifts to the little house on different days. According to statistics from Servimedia, conducted in 2006, 46% d and the children receive gifts on Epiphany, or 16% of Santa Claus are exclusively on Dec. 25 and the remaining 38% are very fortunate to receive gifts of both. It is the mystery and fantasy of those days where 34% of children 4 to 8 years blindly claim to have seen the Magi or Santa Claus in person leaving gifts in their homes. And therefore, because of the 4,000 children interviewed between 4 and 12 years, 55% claimed that unblinking Santa Claus or the Three Kings come into their homes using their magic, while 25% say they do through the window and 20% believe that slip down the chimney, though, depending on the size of the belly of Santa Claus.

Kings Roscón

And in the cuisine, a Spanish or Mexican will not pass these days without a piece of Roscón of Kings. The custom of a sweet surprise inside seems to date from the time of the ancient Roman empire, with its feasts Saturnalia. When you touch the dry bean made him the "King of the Bean" and there is, according to some scholars, the term "silly bean."

Like the tradition of eating 12 grapes on New Year's Eve Roscón of the Kings also has a Spanish origin. Legend has it that a pastry chef named Aragonese Court of the French King Louis XV who used to invite kings, princes and foreign ambassadors on 6 January each year.

They regaled with cakes but were almost always of the same class, until he asked his cook to devise a new one. Then he remembered a cake that was made in Zaragoza in his youth. Make a thread bread decorated with candied fruits which introduced a doubloon, a symbol of wealth and prosperity for the one who is lucky touch in tasting sweet. The king added that he who would play the currency should pay the next year developing the roscón and invite everyone to eat. It was a success and given the rank of the guests was called "twisted roll of kings." From France to Spain passed the tradition of the hand and the taste of King Philip V, although there was a precedent: the Roscón Christmas.

Angels and Demons in Religion

2011-10-24T23:31:00.000-04:00

Many traditions also speak of invisible entities that can help men to fight the demons. Angels exist in many religions and has been for a long time.

Many people believed in the existence of spiritual beings intermediate between God and man, and many religions have addressed their worship. In a way, one could say that belief in these spiritual beings is part of the common heritage of much of humanity. To explain certain phenomena which he does not discover the causes, the human mind is naturally inclined to assume the existence of invisible beings acting in a mysterious way. And depending on the nature of effects, these spiritual beings are considered good or bad.

St. Michael slaying Satan by Raphael
© Musée du Louvre

These speculations are confirmed by positive revelations in Judaism (Old Testament), in Christianity (New Testament) and Islam (Koran).
The Old Testament calls the angels "messengers." And indeed, these spiritual beings, who are with God a sort of court, are his messengers to fill various positions near the men of information or protection or punishment of the wicked. It is often said that the belief in angels was common among Jews during the Exile (sixth century BC), in contact with the Babylonian religion. And yet, from Genesis, the angels are mentioned in many stories: Sara appearance at Lot, Hagar, to Abraham, Jacob, etc..
However, from Exile, the angels are playing an increasingly large.

Next to them, other spiritual beings, demons, trying to hurt men, especially by pushing them to evil. The serpent of Genesis seems a symbol of such a demonic being.
The evil angels, whose leader is the devil, or Satan, are responsible for the temptation of Jesus and Judas' betrayal, they are also trying the disciples and they sow tares among the wheat, they are condemned to eternal fire (Matthew xxv, 41).
In different terms ("demons" or evil spirits "), the New Testament refers to evil spirits responsible for various diseases, especially of nervous diseases. While modern science attributes the diseases to natural causes, the fact remains that their attribution to cause a demonic confirms the belief accepted by Jesus and his disciples to the existence and in the many evil spirits , eager to fight God and to persecute men. Also the essential prayer of Christians, the "Our Father", is there a special request to ask God to keep us away from the "perverse".

The Nightmare (1781) after Henry Fuseli

Following the Old and New Testament, and perhaps under their influence, the Qur'an speaks often of the angels, and professes a doctrine similar to that of Judaism and Christianity.This doctrine is even considered one of the most important: "A good man is one who believes in Allah and the Last Day, the angels, the scripture and the prophets" (Qur'an, II, 172). Instead, an "infidel" is defined as "one who is an enemy of Allah, His Angels, His apostles, to Gabriel, Michel" (II, 92). Similarly, the existence of the devil no doubt, because he tempted Adam and continues to deceive and seduce men. The Devil, like it or not, is part of our heritage, our history. Its implications in human affairs have caused so much ink and blood all over the world, it would be absurd to deny its influence in the lives of people.

Throughout the ages, terror, famine, disease helps the humble serpent of the Garden of Eden has become a gigantic dragon, a new Proteus always ready to change the picture, especially as his best trick is to pretend does not exist. On this point, theologians, authors of the Grimoires and Enchiridions bring, besides a formal denial.

Galileo, a Catholic visionary scientist

2011-10-24T23:21:00.000-04:00

Galileo, a Catholic visionary scientist

The drama of Galileo was not a battle of science against faith.
Galileo was the opposite of an atheist, and even an agnostic. It was a believing Catholic. He had an intelligent faith, and even prophetic.
Alain Noël May 21, 2009

Galileo, a Catholic visionary scientist

Galileo said that the scripture announced what was to say the twenty-first century scholars.

With a significant lead over his time, Galileo was evident that all the texts of the Bible should not be read in the same way. As for the relationship between science and Scripture, he planned according to the maxim of Cesare Baronius: "The Holy Spirit, the Bible teaches us how we're going to heaven, not how the heavens go.

Science and faith according to Galileo

There is in Galilee, the founder of modern physics, the philosophical intuitions take over the Church at Vatican II. But there is no connection between the ideas of Galileo and those that Angels & Demons attributed to the scientist, and his heirs (the replacement of faith by science, or dissolution of the divine in the scientist) ...

What Galileo actually said on this subject is quite something else he stated explicitly that the two truths of faith and science can never contradict each other, "Holy Scripture and the nature of the Word also doing Divine, the first as dictated by the Holy Spirit, the second as a very faithful executor of the orders of God. " [...]

Vatican II is not expressed otherwise. This sentence is of John Paul II, in his speech of November 10, 1979 at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. An academy, said he, "to which Galileo was somehow associated with the institution through which preceded the former which includes prominent scholars today."
We will recognize the allusion to the Lincei of the seventeenth century ...

If Galileo's Dialogue (1632) is a "war machine", to quote Alexander Koyré, this "war" is not against religion but against the shackles of cultural and scholastic philosophy. Straitjacket which Galileo and Lynx wanted to free themselves (as scientists) - and they wanted to free the Church (as a force for the future).
Do not fall into the anachronism!

The main pitfall to avoid, when studying the Galileo affair, is an anachronism, that is to say the case out of its context.
It is not an attack on the Church against science, but a difficult maneuver European policy disguised as theological trial.

"Until there is no clear evidence of the truth of the Copernican system, it would impose unreasonable to suggest to our contemporaries," said Cardinal Bellarmine.

"Unreasonable", nothing more ... But that's what Galileo had set out to do, and the most radiant.
The Copernican system, in fact, was not proven in practice (and would not be anytime soon). Was it necessary to revolutionize the spirits to a hypothesis, whereas we already s'étripait for reasons of principle to the four corners of Europe? No, thought Bellarmine.

Was it wrong to ask Galileo called "hypothesis" this hypothesis ...? No more. And no modern scientist would do harm to the cardinal on this seventeenth century.

Do not commit the anachronism of saying Galileo was right. We now know, but nobody in the seventeenth century could not be certain, and 2000 years of human thought (not including joint appearances) played against his theory.

At the same time, Kepler, which is the true founder of astronomy, attracted also by the hypothesis of Copernicus, was not worried so far, p ecause he has to stick to the strict scientific rigor awaiting experimental evidence.

Noah's Ark: Truth, Myth, or Something of Both?

2011-09-03T10:23:00.000-04:00

The story of Noah's Ark found in Genesis, first book of the Bible that discusses the origins of Earth and Man. In this story, mention is made of how Noah, on the order of God, built a huge boat to save his family and all species living on earth the flood, triggered cataclysmic flood to punish the descendants of Adam and Eve, guilty in the eyes of the Creator to wallow in debauchery and sin.

This story is he to be taken literally, or is it a myth extrapolated on the basis of a cataclysm of global proportions that would have occurred at the beginning of mankind? This documentary is conducting the investigation in an attempt to shed light on one of the greatest historical mysteries of all time, that the fevered imagination of archaeologists as well as adventurers.
The story of Noah's Ark found in Genesis, first book of the Bible that discusses the origins of Earth and Man. In this story, mention is made of how Noah, on the order of God, built a huge boat to save his family and all species living on earth the flood, triggered cataclysmic flood to punish the descendants of Adam and Eve, guilty in the eyes of the Creator to wallow in debauchery and sin.

This story is he to be taken literally, or is it a myth extrapolated on the basis of a cataclysm of global proportions that would have occurred at the beginning of mankind? This documentary is conducting the investigation in an attempt to shed light on one of the greatest historical mysteries of all time, that the fevered imagination of archaeologists as well as adventurers.

. "Make yourself an ark of wood resin"

The story of Noah's Ark is first that of a big divine wrath. Genesis tells us that indeed the Creator, when he observes the wickedness and malice of the descendants of Adam and Eve, decides to cause a flood on earth in order to erase all traces of life.Just and virtuous Noah, however, is chosen by God to survive, and his family so he can continue the tradition of men. God then gives very precise instructions for building an ark, "you shall make of reeds and shalt bitumen inside and outside. This is how you make it: three hundred cubits for the length of the ark, fifty cubits its breadth, thirty cubits its height. You shall make a roof for the ark, and you will complete an angled top, you will place the entrance of the ark on the side and you will do a first, second and third floors. "He also ordered to carry with him seven pairs" all clean animals, "so they too can escape the deluge.

Noah runs, and once the Ark completed, mounted on board with his family and all animals. Then came the flood: rain falls without stopping for forty days and forty nights, drowning the land in a downpour that swallow up the highest mountains. All living things are scanned and only Noah and his protégés are beyond the disaster on board the ark. After long days of sailing, it ends up stranded on the side of a mountain. God speaks to Noah and told him to go out, and all animals that are with him, so that everyone can repopulate the devastated world. Satisfied with the behavior of Noah, he is also committed to never again destroy the earth because of the actions of men and shows, to seal this promise, a rainbow sky symbolizing the alliance between him and all beings alive.

. In Search of the Lost Ark

This is a summary of the story of Noah's Ark mentioned in Genesis. But if it was actually built by Noah, is it possible that it still exists somewhere in the world, reduced to a wreck? It is from this premise daring that many researchers and archaeologists have started looking for him for decades. The first step in this quest was to try to locate the Ark: where in the world would she have failed after the Flood? On this point, the story of Genesis says that Noah would have only landed somewhere in the mountains of Ararat region, which corresponds to an ancient kingdom of Urartu name, northeast of present-day Turkey. So this is where the first focused research, especially on Mount Ararat, a volcano on top of snow covered peak at 5165 meters and located at the extreme east of Turkey.

. The hypothesis Ararat

This theory of Mount Ararat as the place of stranding of Noah's Ark is supported by observations at the very least disturbing.

In 1917, the Russian pilot Vladimir believes ROSKOVSKY see what looks like the wreckage of a large ship on one of the slopes of Mount Ararat. An expedition was immediately sent there by the Tsar Nicolas II, but if it actually happened it is still no record, all records relating to this project have disappeared during the Russian Revolution, which occurred the same year.

It was not until 1950 that another remarkable discovery comes to the research community of the Ark in turmoil. The French Fernand NAVARRA back a piece of Mount Ararat beam it claims to be a fragment of the Ark of Noah. Startling revelation or deception? Guide Navarra will tip the balance in favor of the hoax by revealing that he himself had filed its "discovery" at the top of Mount Ararat few months prior to shipment.

Less than a decade later - in 1959 - a Turkish army captain, Ilan DURUPINAR believes distinguish the outline of a ship buried under tons of earth and ice, 2000 meters, by studying Aerial photographs of Mount Ararat. This discovery drew the attention of the American Ron Wyatt, an adventurer and a Christian fundamentalist, who immediately seized the comments made by Durupinar to deduce that this is the Ark of Noah. His expeditions on site led him to conclude that the imposing carved stones found near the site would be the anchor of the boat built by Noah. But serious historians are skeptical: for them it is merely ceremonial stone carved by tribes who inhabited the site during the Stone Age. Even the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which belongs Wyatt, disavows his discoveries. The quest for the Ark so bogged down in disputes between fundamentalist Christians, anxious to make this discovery at the forefront of creationist propaganda, and scientists, supporters of evolutionary theory.

It was not until the 80s that the hypothesis Ararat found some credibility, when the American astronaut James Irwin, a hero of the conquest of the moon, in turn, is interested in search of Noah's ark. His moral support (still tainted religious pursuits) encourages researchers to consider seriously the existing documents. Modern investigative techniques, such as satellite imagery, are also put to use to try to solve the mystery of Mount Ararat. One of these researchers, the military expert Porcher Taylor, will then make a discovery especially troubling.

. The Ararat anomaly, or when the CIA is interested in the Bible

Taylor's interest in aerial photographs of the site will indeed lead him to discover that the CIA is interested in business since 1949, when an air reconnaissance mission is conducted by the American intelligence services have photographed an unidentified object on top of Mount Ararat. In the jargon of intelligence, this object is called "Ararat anomaly. "

By dint of patience and perseverance, Taylor manages to declassify documents related to this discovery to reveal to the public. In 1999, the height of this success, he convinced an imaging company to point the remote high-resolution satellite, Ikonos, the famous Mount Ararat anomaly. Ikonos images reveal a large buried structure that is reminiscent of that of a ship. In February 2003, a new satellite, Digital Globe, sweep the area again. Resolution, much higher than for Ikonos, to distinguish clearly the structure revealed by the first shots. For Porcher Taylor, this is no longer any doubt: there are clearly a ship buried under the ice. It measures 310 meters long from bow to stern, and 50 meters wide, which corresponds to the proportions mentioned in the Bible.

The pictures are sent to specialists in the analysis of satellite images. One of them, Farouk El-Baz, interviewed in the documentary, recalls his initial fascination for these spectacular images, and the doubts that have assailed. The verdict was soon to fall: a sharp analysis of images taken by Digital Globe reveal that the anomaly Ararat would be nothing but a concretion worked rock by erosion of the vertices. The only way would be to finally decide to go there, but the site extremely difficult to access, making it hazardous shipping any project ...

. But where else ...?

If Mount Ararat is not the place to be stranded Noah's Ark, then where is he? The adventurer Bob Cornuke think I found the answer to this question. According to him, researchers at the Ark would have been misled for decades, the real site would be somewhere in the mountains north of Iran. To construct this hypothesis, it is based on the story from 1943 of an American engineer. The latter would have seen a strange shape in the Iranian side of a mountain ... After several expeditions to the site to over 3800 meters, Cornuke is rewarded by the discovery of an intriguing mass located on the mountainside. The material looks like petrified wood. Could it be that of the Ark? Unfortunately none of the samples taken from the site will support this hypothesis. Cornuke has yet made in the mountains another troubling discovery: fossils of clams found at over 4200 meters! He said this would be evidence of a cataclysmic flood that would have occurred in this region, sea levels rising to meet that of the highest mountain peaks, just as in the biblical narrative. But again the scientific analysis refutes the hypothesis of the adventurer, the carbon-14 dating reveals that these fossils are 40,000 years old, that is to say, well prior to the Noah's Ark, whose age was estimated at 2349 years ago by Irish Archbishop James Ussher, the 17th century.

. So can the Ark of Noah?

And if Noah's Ark was a mere "invention" Biblical? That's what did not hesitate to say some in the documentary, based on simple for this common-sense observations. For starters, the age of Noah is a problem. Genesis asserts that he was 500 years old when God told him of his desire to drown humanity in the Flood. How can we explain this other than canonical age saying the whole story is a myth?

But the argument most serious critics of the documentary hypothesis is the question: how could he have Noah build a boat with only the dimensions described in the Bible, that is to say approximately 137 meters long, 26 meters wide and 16 meters high?Peter Johnson, head of a shipyard in Maine (United States), it is simply impossible.Drawing on his experience of building wooden ships, Johnson says he must indeed have one year of work mobilizing 12 skilled workers to build a boat similar to the ark.Moreover, Noah did not enjoy his time tools and techniques that we use today.Finally, the last argument, it would have had to have assimilated the law known as the "square-cube", which means that the strength of a mass is inversely proportional to its size. Clearly, this means that even if Noah had only managed to build his ark, there was every chance that it is swept away like a straw in the early waves of the Flood!

. Without Ark, it remains the Flood!

If Noah's Ark is a myth, there is still a pretty compelling case to consider: what if the story was embellished version of a cataclysm that would have actually happened on our planet? And if so, could we find traces today?

The flood legend is indeed a universal myth found in all cultures, especially in the Middle East, where it is found in many stories that echo to the strange story of Noah as told in the Bible. For Professor Eric H. CLINE, an archaeologist at George Washington University, there are too many similarities between the story of Genesis and the Gilgamesh epic to be only incidental. The researcher explains that the Mesopotamian myth is rooted until 2700 BC and occurs where there is Iraq today. It contains almost all elements of the biblical story, a man elected as a savior, an ark in which he piled all the animals of creation, and a flood threatens to erase all traces of life on earth. Noah, Gilgamesh: would it be two versions of the same mythological cataclysmic event would have happened? But which one?

. Assumptions creationists

Never covetous of simplistic explanations, creationists supporters of the documentary hypothesis have been infatuated to explain the Biblical Flood by different theories. One of them would want large amounts of water trapped under the earth's crust at the time of creation are suddenly released in the form of geysers erupting across the globe, causing a cataclysmic flood . You are not convinced? Never mind: the theory rather take millions of tons of water vapor retained in the atmosphere and being suddenly turned into torrential rain ... Needless to say, these wacky theories are cut to pieces by the scientists - geologists, climatologists - interviewed in the documentary: if we took them literally, they would transform the Genesis story of science fiction!

. The Flood from outer space?

Another theory - more credible - is that of archaeologist Bruce Maas, who told the Flood in the Bible would have been caused by a meteorite in the ocean. Native American folklorist, Bruce Maas noted that many Native American tribes had in common the flood stories in their original myths. The study of lithogrammes they left shows a recurring figure in these stories: that of a horned creature with serpentine forms. The archaeologist sees the symbolic representation of a comet that would have fallen into the ocean, causing a catastrophe which would flood the transcript in the realm of myth. For Maas, the impact took place at 1400 km south-east of Madagascar. Releasing energy equivalent to 500 million times that released by the explosion of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, it would have raised a gigantic tidal waves, with waves reaching over 180 meters high. In addition, the projected water vapor in the atmosphere at the time of impact would then fallen as rain. Maas glue theory closely to the events of the Flood as reported by the Bible, but it is far from unanimous among scientists - geologists, climatologists, archaeologists - which are many weaknesses.

. A search for clues of the Flood

One of the main weaknesses is the lack of geological evidence of a flood of global proportions. If a biblical flood actually happened, we always end up the trace in the sedimentary layers around the globe. This is not the case, as pointed out by Alan GHISHLICK geologist, who notes that go back 500 million years to find an Earth almost entirely flooded.

Tom VAIL, however, evidence of the Flood are observable in the region of Grand Canyon American. This Christian fundamentalist, former teacher turned into a rafting guide, sees in the sedimentary layers that can be seen on the walls of the Grand Canyon all the evidence he needs to sharpen his theory of the Flood Biblical strata collapsed into waves and not stacked, the presence of numerous marine fossils, etc..But this theory, if it shows that the Grand Canyon was actually an oceanic origin, in any scheme accredits a flood of global proportions: Tom VAIL simply confuses his faith with his wishes creationist scientific evidence.

. The Black Sea, key to the puzzle?

Finally, and surprisingly, the last part of the documentary gives us the key to the mystery, which might be sought in the Black Sea ...! This vast inland sea that stretches over 1200 km has been mapped by researchers Bill Ryan and Walter Pitman, who made a surprising discovery: the presence of beaches buried several hundred meters below the surface, evidencing radically changing coastal features. The study of sediments forming the sea floor has shown that this region was once a vast freshwater lake surrounded by fertile plains where the tribes of hunter-gatherers had definitely taken up residence. The same study highlights the sudden appearance of marine molluscs, which show an abrupt salinity waters, which occurred about 7600 years ago.

What has happened?

The most likely hypothesis is that of a warming climate would cause the melting of glaciers and a sudden rise in the level of the Mediterranean. It would have "spilled" into the Black Sea, engulfing all the territories around. Both researchers are happy, and we understand them: they are finally a credible hypothesis to explain the Biblical Flood! Archaeologist Fred HIEBERT drives the point: for him the Neolithic man who witnessed this phenomenon would have then carried through their stories, they then give rise to the myth of the Flood, which is found in both the biblical account of Noah's Ark in the epic of Gilgamesh. QED.

. And to avoid the conclusion ...

Frankly, fans of mystery will be disappointed by this documentary that makes great scientific theories at the expense of less conventional explanations. The legend of Noah's Ark is simply used as a starting point of a demonstration designed to clarify the hypothesis of a global cataclysm that would have given rise to the myth of the Flood. From this perspective, scientific inquiry turns well done, and often exciting. But it also often comes down to a simple dispute between creationists and evolutionists, scientists and adventurers lit lit, forgetting perhaps that even spelled that way, the myth of Noah's Ark still loses nothing of the fascination that it exerts on our imagination. In this sense, and it corresponds to real events or is the result of a re-creation through the prism of the myth, we can say that he speaks as well, and with the same force, to man of today than its predecessor of the past. Probably because it is universal.

4 Year Old Preacher Tells Us What it's all About! video

2011-08-17T09:48:00.000-04:00

I don't know what age Billy Graham or Oral Roberts started their preaching vocation, but this little Jordan seems to have the idea right out the box.
Sound is poor but the video gives you the idea of a young preacher hard at work convictin' us of our sins. Very cute.

Salvation Through Art--Sandro Botticelli

2011-08-03T05:15:00.000-04:00

The Catholic world has always clothed it's faith in the visual arts, as well as the aural and written word. Here we see a prime example of great Catholic art in the works of Sandro Botticelli who was certainly an exponent of Catholic images, but was also accused of Pagan art in his depictions of Greek Gods.

I find his paintings utterly magical and deeply expressive, and I think the modern Catholic can easily overlook his forays into the pagan world as simply his way of saying beauty has always existed, and that beauty ultimately comes from God.

I think it is entirely possible that many have found salvation by way of art--especially art such as this. The art of Botticelli in the Italian world so long ago, in the era of the Renaissance.

Adoration of the Magi by Bottecelli - Picture - Linkbee.com

2011-08-03T04:52:00.000-04:00

Adoration of the Magi by Bottecelli - Picture - Linkbee.com

Saint Anne--Mother of Mary and Grandmother of Christ Jesus

2011-07-31T09:31:00.000-04:00

Saint Anne

Saint Anne,Mary and baby Jesus (the Lamb of God)

Saint Anne Exists in our Faithful Hearts

She is one of the most admired and prayed-to of Saints, and yet, the bible never mentions her--not even once!

Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, who is herself the Mother of God (Jesus) and so Saint Anne as such is the Grandmother of Jesus.

And yet, we know nothing historical or biblical about her whatsoever.

That, for true Catholics, and true Christians of many stripes, means nothing, because they know, in their hearts, in their faith, (where it really counts) that Saint Anne existed,and in some mystical sense, exists today and for all time and beyond time, just as all the Saints of God do.

St. Anne by Baldung Grien, Hans

Saint Anne de Beaupre--The Quebec Basilica

According to Christian tradition,Saint Anne, (Santa Ana, Spanish; also Ann or Anna) was the mother of the Virgin Mary. Descended from David, her name is a Greek translation of Hebrew Hannah, meaning grace.
Saint Anne is not named in the canonical gospels, or anywhere else in the New Testament. According to the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Santiago, Ana and her husband Joachim, after years of having no children, prayed desperately for God to bless with a child. After this they were visited separately by an angel who told them that their prayers had been answered. Anne promised to dedicate the child to the service of God. After she gave birth to Mary, the couple took the child to the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three.

Saint Anne has always been venerated in the Orthodox churches, but did not gain prominence in the West until the thirteenth century. He later became the subject of controversy over whether she was a virgin when she gave birth to Mary. This led to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, in which Mary was conceived through sexual intercourse between her parents but was born without original sin.
Anne is a patron saint of Quebec and Brittany and patroness of women in labor and miners.

Information on Joachim and Anne is derived from apocryphal literature, like Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Protoevangelium of Jacques, also known as the ; Infancy Gospel of James. The oldest is the Proto-Gospel of Jacques and is dated d about 150, the other two seem to have based their writings at least part of this document and the oral tradition or the imagination.

The Protoevangelium was once honored as the Writing by Christian churches, among the Greeks, Syrians, Copts and Arabs.
Portions of it were read on the feasts of Mary. Jacques de Voragine only after the embedded story Anne and Joachim in his Golden Legend in the thirteenth century did the leaders Western Church to give a lot of attention, as the cult of Mary was approaching its zenith in the wake of the Ministry of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. After that, Anne has become very popular in the Latin Church, and even spawning a controversy as to whether Anne herself was a virgin when she gave birth to Mary.

The Archangel Gabriel appears to Jochaim and announces the birth of Mary to St. Anne.

Source: http://www.saintanne.webhero.com/

Anne's story
In the sources, Joachim (pronounced 'Joe-ah-kim') and Anne were married for many years in Nazareth, but childless. When Joachim was offering sacrifice in the temple, he was rejected because he was unworthy, as he had no descendants. Joachim was shattered and went into the mountains to make his case with God. There he prayed and fasted for 40 days. Anne feared for his life and said: I regret that I am a widow and I lament that I am childless She asked God to take away their sterility and promised to dedicate her child to His service.

The Infancy Gospel of James by Anne allegedly created a psalm in her grief. It reads:

Oh me, how I was born? What caused my mother's womb to grow?

Because I was born before the children of Israel I am cursed.

I'm insulted, and they treat me with contempt

and threw me out of the temple of the Lord, my God.

Oh I am what I like? I'm not like the birds of heaven,

for the birds of the heaven are fruitful before thee, O Lord.

Oh, what am I like? I'm not like the domestic animals,

for the domestic animals are fruitful before thee, O Lord.

Oh I am what I like? I am not like the beasts of the earth,

who are fertile before Thee, Lord.

Oh I am what I like? I'm not like these waters,

for these waters before you are fertile, Lord.

Oh I am what I like? I'm not like the earth because the earth produces fruit in season and will bless you, sir. (IGY 3)

God answered their prayers when an angel appeared to Anne with the words: Anna, the Lord has watched over your tears, you will conceive in your womb and bear the fruit of thy womb, and is to be blessed by all the world

Meanwhile, Joachim received his own revelation and had returned from his watch. When Joachim with his flocks were in view; Anna ran and wrapped herself around his neck and said, Now I know that God has blessed me greatly. I am no longer a widow ! You have returned alive. And the barren and the childless woman has conceived in her womb. (IGY 4:9)

Anne gave birth to a daughter, Miriam, or Mary. When Mary was three years old, her parents allegedly took her to the temple of Jerusalem, in fulfillment of their promises, where they were proclaimed to all.

Anne teaches Mary the Hebrew Scriptures

Prayers to Saint Anne

St Anne Prayer (to some special favor to obtain)

Glorious St. Ann, full of compassion for those who call you and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my problems, I throw myself at your feet and humbly beg of your blessings to the current affair, which I recommend to take under your special protection.
St. Ann, please, recommend your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so He can bring it to a happy issue.

St. Ann do not stop to intercede for me until my request is granted. (Here, ask for the favor you wish to obtain.)

Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the saints, to bless Him for all eternity. Amen.

Good St. Ann, the mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope, pray for her and for us to obtain our request. (Three times).

YES I CAN - Christian Beadles ft. MarsRaps all the Lyrics

2011-07-28T10:27:00.002-04:00

Who is justin bieber and christian beadles?!?!? - Yahoo! Answers

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The Newest Breast Feeding Trends

2011-07-23T08:46:00.000-04:00

The Newest Breast Feeding Trends

10 Ways to Survive in a Recession for Christian People

2011-07-22T12:28:00.000-04:00

Recession? Perhaps it's best to take a practical approach, and focus INSTEAD on answering the more relevant question, "What is our response to recession?" not how to avoid one.

"
A prudent man Sees Danger and Takes Refuge, But the simple keep going and Suffer for it." Proverbs 22:3-

One of the worst parts of Recessions and Economic downturns Is That They Can shake our equilibriums and force us Into a state of confusion. Once the cash flow business from a paycheck or Disappears, panic is a natural result. A state of panic is fertile ground from Hardly Which Plans to hatch new in life, and only adds to the That confusion. If This Is Your Current Circumstances describe, here are A Few Suggestions That Might Provide the foundation for a viable plan or at least shore up the one you Already have:

1. Assume perpetual Economic Instability.

You Can not Go Wrong with this. If That turns out to Assumption I'm sure you'll be wrong Have No Trouble Adjusting! Otherwise, your business network Actively your job skills or continuously. Can You never know When the next job Eliminated Might Be yours. Be ready.

2. Move outside your comfort zone.

Network career outside your orbit, you never know WHERE the next Opportunity May Come from, or assist you in Who Might getting there. Pigeonholing job yourself Into a single industry or May Prove to be a miscalculation in the Future Strategic.

3. Improve your repertoire of skills constantly.

The better you are at what you do the more valuable you Will Be to your employer.Can Also Be The improvement in preparation for future Endeavors. It's never a bad Idea to Have a skill or skill totally unrelated September Which is your primary to Employment. Hint: if it's something you like to do, It May Not Even feel like work.

4. Consider a career change.

This is Especially true if you're in a Declining Industry. If the end is Certain, Sooner Rather Than take action later. Trying to hang on Do not be the last man standing.It'll be painful no matter When you do it, But always try to Operate on your own terms and in your own time, not on someone else's.

5. Be prepared to Cultivate Income and balance multiple sources.

You May Have a full time job and a part time business, or vice versa. Think of your work in terms of an investment portfolio, in Which Diversification adds strength.There are jobs you are Probably Potentially Several good at, always on the lookout for be New Opportunities.

6. Be flexible in your Plans and ready to Adapt to Changing Circumstances.

If your job is Eliminated, offer to contract or to work part time for the Same Company. If you Develop Multiple Income streams, to shift to a part time arrangement to your Advantage May be on a number of fronts. Be prepared to convert to negative Into an Opportunity Development.

7. Reduce your cost of living.

What ever level you're at, This Will Be crucial effort in the years ahead, so much more Than it 's been in the past. Do not assume a quick return to the easy money of the recent past debt Will Once Again thrift make unnecessary. That thinking is a huge part of how the economy is Where It landed now.

8. Accumulate savings. Make it a lifetime activity.

This is the best insurance You Can Have Against Disruptions Income sudden. At the Risk of Being redundant, You Will Need to lower your cost of living in order to do this.

9. Envision a Future Without debt, and Then Pursue it.

Gradually-then pay down your debt pay-off . This includes your mortgage. Should it go Without Saying That Lowering your cost of living will be a crucial element as well In This effort. (Are you noticing a pattern?)

10. Seek Fulfillment Beyond Your work.

In a world No longer WHERE Either careers are peaceful or progressive, self actualizing your work Through May not be the path it 's been in the past.Fortunately, There Are Plenty of Opportunities to find fulfillment outside of work.Take more active roles in Regard to your health, family, faith and community.

Summing it up

These ten steps Will help you survive and keep you on course No Matter What the current talk in the News Media May be, good or bad. You need no special skills to ACCOMPLISH Any of Them, all that 's needed is a willingness-to stick to it.Ultimately, the state of the economy is less important to you Than the course of action you use to Deal With It.

What actions have you taken to survive the recession?

Work is Good, God Says So

2011-07-22T12:22:00.001-04:00

'll be honest. I've Been Struggling With The notion of work lately. Sometimes I sit back and think About the great Christian figures like John Piper and Billy Graham Who Have Dedicated Their Lives to God's work.

I see the amazing Things They've Accomplished for the Lord's kingdom and Then Their stories compare to my 7-5 job. That's When the Doubt starts to Appear. That maybe I'm thinking start my time wasting. Am I Being a good steward of my time on Earth by working from 7-5? Am I wasting time at work? These are questions I've been pondering That lately. LIKE ANY type of Doubt of confusion, I go straight to the Bible. So, what does Bible say That About Christians Who work? Or better yet, how does God view work?

Work is part of God's design for our lives.

Many of you reading this are construction workers, doctors, Office workers, engineers, mechanics, or Any of the vast multitude of career paths. In all honesty, home and career have the mundane tasks we all dread That. Can we really do for the glory These tasks of God? I say yes and so does the Bible! Did you know That Work WAS part of God's purpose and design from the very Beginning?

God is pretty clear on the concept of work. Look at what I said About Adam and Eve in the very Beginning:

The Lord God Took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. - Genesis 2:15

Wait, so work and holy Was a good thing without realizing Before the world? If the Bible says so, I guess it's true! This Implies That Work is part of our journey to doing everything to the glory of God, Even When We Have to file a Thousand memos at work. It's important to point out That God wired us with you individually, special gifts That Some careers fit better than Others. The Sooner you find out your gifts, you Will Find Out You Can Make a Greater Impact for His kingdom-through your workplace.

Lazy? You do not eat.

I think a lot of people forget Jesus was a carpenter That Work So He Could and eat, just like the rest of us. I see a lot of Christians not working That Because They claim the "Lord Will Provide." This is foolish talk Because It Goes With The Grain Against the Bible.

Paul from the New Testament is cut and dry regarding laziness:

If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For Some That we hear you walk in idleness Among, busy at work But not busybodies. Such persons we command now and Encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do Their Own work quietly and to earn living Their Own. - Thessalonians 3:10-12.

So, in reality it Does not Matter what field you're in. God calls His children to work hard in anything we do. This Means You Need to be the hardest working person at your office. This Means You Need to swing the hammer the hardest. This Means You Need to be going the extra mile and Avoiding idle chat at work. That's a call to action! Remember That working the hardest does not mean neglecting your family.It Means That You Should your regular work hours DURING hard at work.

What about bad bosses?

It's one thing to work hard, But what about working hard for a nagging boss or micro-managing? This Is Where the call to action gets a little harder. Let's take a look at this verse:

For Christ Also sufferer eleven for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He Was put to death in the body But the Spirit made alive in.After Being made alive, He Went and made proclamation to the Imprisoned spirits - to Those Who Were disobedient Waited long ago When God patiently in the days of Noah while the ark WAS Being built. In it only a FEW people, eight in all, Were saved-through water, water symbolizes Baptism And This saves you now That also-not the removal of dirt from the pledge of the body But a clear conscience Toward God. - 1 Peter 18-21

We're Called to Respect Even the nastiest of bosses. When Did Jesus retaliate carrying His cross He Was When He Was Being or Crucified? No and no. It's an example how to carry out We Should our lives Within the workplace. No one ever said Being a Christian Would Be easy.

So, Where Does This leave us?

I will not Make this more complicated Than it Should Be. If you are a Christian you are to work your hardest Called to God's glory and Respect bad bosses. So, the next time your boss to do something you Asks That is not part of you Clearly Duties typical, do it with a willing heart.

Chinese Bishop Excommunicated by Vatican

2011-07-16T08:09:00.000-04:00

Pope Benedict XVI gives his blessing from the balcony of the Vatican before he travels to his summer residence Castel Gandolfo 7 July this year.

Photo: FILIPPO MONTE FORTE / afp

The Vatican announced Saturday that a Chinese bishop, who was ordained without papal approval, is now banned from the Catholic Church.

The statement from the Vatican out the relationship between the Vatican and Beijing to a new ground, writes nyhetsbyret Reuters.

In a statement in which they condemned Thursday's ordination, the Vatican said that Pope Benedict apologize very way the communist regime treats Chinese Catholics who wish to remain faithful to Rome, instead, to switch their affiliation to the government backed Catholic church.

A Chinese woman holds a cross during a Christmas service in a Catholic church in Wuhan.

Photo: STR / AFP

China's state-approved Catholic church ordained Joseph Huang Bing Zhang a bishop in the city of Shantou in southern Guangdong province on Thursday morning.

According to sources in the Catholic Patriotic Association of China, were about 1000 people turned up to follow the ordination ceremony, writes Reuters .

Ordination which took place on Thursday morning is the latest in a series of ceremonies that began a protracted conflict between the Vatican and Beijing.The conflict revolves around the state supported the church, which has ignored the requirement that bishops must be given papal approval.

China's eight to 12 million Catholics are split between the state church ordain bishops without Vatican permission, and an underground church - on guard against government commitments.

The Pope has also previously been out and criticized the ordination, as the Vatican believes injuries unit of the Church.

Would You Liek to Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus--Literally? (video)

2011-05-25T07:13:00.000-04:00

Walking in the footsteps of Jesus

Video: Israelis send messages of love and caring to the people of the Gaza Strip

2011-05-25T06:50:00.000-04:00

The Human Voice. Israelis send messages of love and caring to the people of the Gaza Strip

I Can only imagine by Mercyme video

2011-05-16T15:30:00.001-04:00

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Mercyme Bring the Rain music Video

2011-05-16T15:25:00.001-04:00

Mercyme Bring the Rain music Video

Majesty is HIS Name

free PDF Special Mother’s Day Issue

2011-05-03T21:21:00.000-04:00

Activated Special Mother’s Day Issue

The 1,700-year-old Christian monastery hidden deep in Egypt's desert

2011-05-01T16:18:00.000-04:00

The 1,700-year-old Christian monastery hidden deep in Egypt's desert

By Christine Theodorou, CNN

January 7, 2011 -- Updated 1816 GMT (0216 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

St. Anthony's Monastery is one of the world's oldest inhabited monasteries
The monastery's founders were disciples of St. Anthony the Great
St Anthony lived as a hermit for more than 40 years to be closer to God

Ain Soukhna, Egypt (CNN) -- On the day when much of the world was marking Christmas, I traveled with friends to a remote location deep in the Eastern desert in Egypt. Nestled in an oasis within the Red Sea Mountains is one of the world's oldest inhabited monasteries: The Coptic Orthodox St. Anthony's Monastery.
Festivities here were still some ways off; Christmas in the Eastern Orthodox tradition falls 13 days after the western one.

The founders of this monastery were disciples of St. Anthony the Great, widely considered to be the Father of Monasticism because he initiated Christian monastic life as we have come to understand it today.
Our guide was Father Ruwais Antony who helped us understand how this 4th century monastery made Egypt the origin for a movement that spread throughout Palestine, Mesopotamia, Persia and ultimately Europe.

The story goes that St. Mark, one of Jesus Christ's 12 apostles, arrived in Alexandria to spread the word. In a city rife with various schools of thought and religious beliefs, St. Mark was confronted with philosophers who were convinced his teachings were at odds with their own beliefs.
To defend his beliefs, St. Mark founded a theological school, teaching Christianity from a philosophical point of view. He lived a life modeled after Jesus and attracted many converts who ultimately became disciples.
These were the first monks.

The disciples followed a way of life that consisted of prayer, reflection, and fasting -- all elements of an ascetic way of life, but not in total isolation.

They lived and practiced their ideals close to their communities and families, and in the next century these ideas spread throughout Egypt.

Next, Father Ruwais sent us hiking up a winding staircase that would take us to St. Anthony's hermitage.
St. Anthony the Great was born in Upper Egypt to a family with considerable wealth but was inspired to adopt an ascetic lifestyle after coming into contact with the disciples.

In an effort to be closer to God, he chose to isolate himself for more than 40 years in a primordial landscape that is now the location for St. Anthony's Monastery.

At the summit, surrounded by stunning views of the desert and the Red Sea, is the cave's entrance and inside, a very narrow, dark, 10-meter pathway leading to a small shrine to St. Anthony. Small pieces of paper with prayers written on them were pushed into every crevice.

The monastery itself has five churches, a mill, and a water spring.

It was St. Anthony's church that left the most indelible impression. At the end of the 15th century, Bedouins managed to occupy the church and painted over frescoes dating from the 6th century. They were painstakingly restored in 1996 by Italian conservators.

One of the more extraordinary paintings Father Ruwais pointed out depicted the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the baby Jesus.

Father Ruwais went on to explain that it is believed St. Anthony's remains are buried beneath the main altar, so every Sunday afternoon the monks honor him by holding a candle and singing for him.
At the end of our tour Father Ruwais said his wish was for people to come closer to God, to hold the ideal in their heart, not just in words

Exciting News from Around the World: Here is the official wedding photo

2011-04-30T08:03:00.000-04:00

Exciting News from Around the World: Here is the official wedding photo

How Great Is Our God (music video)

2011-04-28T22:23:00.000-04:00

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Saint Anne--Mother of Mary and Grandmother of Christ Jesus

Saint Anne

Saint Anne Exists in our Faithful Hearts

She is one of the most admired and prayed-to of Saints, and yet, the bible never mentions her--not even once!

Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, who is herself the Mother of God (Jesus) and so Saint Anne as such is the Grandmother of Jesus.

And yet, we know nothing historical or biblical about her whatsoever.

That, for true Catholics, and true Christians of many stripes, means nothing, because they know, in their hearts, in their faith, (where it really counts) that Saint Anne existed,and in some mystical sense, exists today and for all time and beyond time, just as all the Saints of God do.

St. Anne by Baldung Grien, Hans

Saint Anne de Beaupre--The Quebec Basilica

Oh me, how I was born? What caused my mother's womb to grow?

Because I was born before the children of Israel I am cursed.

I'm insulted, and they treat me with contempt

and threw me out of the temple of the Lord, my God.

Oh I am what I like? I'm not like the birds of heaven,

for the birds of the heaven are fruitful before thee, O Lord.

Oh, what am I like? I'm not like the domestic animals,

for the domestic animals are fruitful before thee, O Lord.

Oh I am what I like? I am not like the beasts of the earth,

who are fertile before Thee, Lord.

Oh I am what I like? I'm not like these waters,

for these waters before you are fertile, Lord.

Oh I am what I like? I'm not like the earth because the earth produces fruit in season and will bless you, sir. (IGY 3)

Prayers to Saint Anne

YES I CAN - Christian Beadles ft. MarsRaps all the Lyrics

Who is justin bieber and christian beadles?!?!? - Yahoo! Answers

The Newest Breast Feeding Trends

10 Ways to Survive in a Recession for Christian People

1. Assume perpetual Economic Instability.

2. Move outside your comfort zone.

3. Improve your repertoire of skills constantly.

4. Consider a career change.

5. Be prepared to Cultivate Income and balance multiple sources.

6. Be flexible in your Plans and ready to Adapt to Changing Circumstances.

7. Reduce your cost of living.

8. Accumulate savings. Make it a lifetime activity.

9. Envision a Future Without debt, and Then Pursue it.

10. Seek Fulfillment Beyond Your work.

Summing it up

What actions have you taken to survive the recession?

Work is Good, God Says So

Work is part of God's design for our lives.

Lazy? You do not eat.

What about bad bosses?

So, Where Does This leave us?

Chinese Bishop Excommunicated by Vatican

Would You Liek to Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus--Literally? (video)

Video: Israelis send messages of love and caring to the people of the Gaza Strip

I Can only imagine by Mercyme video

Mercyme Bring the Rain music Video

Majesty is HIS Name

free PDF Special Mother’s Day Issue

The 1,700-year-old Christian monastery hidden deep in Egypt's desert

The 1,700-year-old Christian monastery hidden deep in Egypt's desert

Exciting News from Around the World: Here is the official wedding photo

How Great Is Our God (music video)