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“I intended to paint a cross in this particular painting, but I did it in the shape of a star, because I think the cross and the message of the cross is central to the Christmas story,” she said, adding that she took a break from painting once the cross was finished. “When I walked back into the room, where it sat on the easel, I immediately saw another cross that I did not intend to be there, and it is perfectly positioned at the feet of Jesus.” When the painting was done, she found that a lot of people...

Parishioners at several New Jersey churches are distraught about a string of creche crimes: the theft of baby Jesus statues.Statues of the infant have been taken from five churches since Christmas Eve, according to the Archdiocese of Newark. Parishioners at St. Clare Church in Clifton reacted with dismay Sunday after a baby Jesus statue was apparently stolen from the church's outdoors nativity scene overnight. The statue disappeared between 7 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday, according to Father Peter Galbik. The small figure had just been purchased this holiday seaso "We are deeply disturbed that some group or person stole...

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - It's a problem some churches didn't know how to handle until now. One security company is using its power to partner with a symbol that needs a little help this holiday season. Each year, Baby Jesus figurines are stolen from nativity scenes across the country. Now, church owners are fighting back. A GPS device is put inside the doll to prevent theft.

WESTMORELAND COUNTY (KDKA) – Two Mt. Pleasant families are baffled, after someone stole the baby Jesus from their nativity scene. The thefts happened on Connellsville Road. “I went to get my mail, and when I came back and looked at the nativity, the baby was gone,” Valarie Goodwin said.

We who have had children know just how precious babies are. They are a delight, cute, soft and cuddly. They’re innocence is as pure as pure gets. Babies fill us with hope and anticipation for the future. We count their fingers and toes and memorize their unique and delicate features. We ponder on how they will change our lives, and what wonderful things they will do when they’re all grown up. I think babies are one of the most precious gifts given to us from God. Mary would have experienced these things too.

Vandals have cut off and stolen the head of the infant Jesus from a marble statue at a parish in Wauwatosa. Local police said that such vandalism is typical in the Milwaukee suburb of 45,000, and the parish estimates that repairs will cost $12,000.

<p>1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.</p> <p>3 And everyone went to his own town to register.</p> <p>4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.</p>

Sick, sick, sick, sick, sick! Nothing to dampen the Christmas cheer like a free bloody fetus! “People are making really tough decisions about putting gas in their car and food on their table, so we know that many women especially put healthcare at the bottom of their list to do,” said Chrystal Struben-Hall, Vice President of Planned Parenthood of Indiana… “They can be seen for sexually transmitted disease screenings, HIV tests and general prostate exams and those kinds of things,” said Struben-Hall. Some Hoosiers 24-Hour News 8 talked to asked if the gift certificates could be used towards abortions. The...

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Gift certificates have become a popular holiday gift option, but a controversial new one, already has people talking. For the first time, Planned Parenthood in Indiana is offering gift certificates. The organization said a big increase in calls and visits from newly unemployed and uninsured Hoosiers prompted what it calls the unusual, yet practical gift option. "People are making really tough decisions about putting gas in their car and food on their table, so we know that many women especially put healthcare at the bottom of their list to do," said Chrystal Struben-Hall, Vice President of Planned...

Nativity captivity: Baby Jesus thefts a prank or an affront? By John Wilkens UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER December 16, 2006 As sure as Charlie Brown will pick out a scrawny Christmas tree, as sure as Nat King Cole will sing on the radio about roasting chestnuts, somebody somewhere will steal a baby Jesus from a Nativity scene. It's become something of a holiday tradition – and more culturally charged now than ever. Thieves have already struck this year in Des Moines, Iowa; Youngsville, La.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Santa Fe, Texas; Dover, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Naugatuck, Conn. The Naugatuck Nativity...

(Middletown-WTNH, Apr. 16, 2006 8:55 AM) _ The baby Jesus stolen from a Christmas display at at church in Middletown has been returned for Easter Sunday. Officials at the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church tell News Channel 8 that the baby Jesus and a donkey that were stolen in December were found on the church steps this morning. The statues were accompanied by some flowers and a note saying "He has risen". No word on who orchestrated this caper.

The chief financial officer of Google Inc... Tuesday said overall growth is slowing ... The company will now have to "find other ways" to boost revenue... The stock was down 11 percent, or more than $42...

(CBS) LARCHMONT Jerry Lopez believes it was the man upstairs who guided him to a New Rochelle deli on Friday to play his lucky numbers. "God work in mystery way, because I can't explain it." Lopez said. Moments after purchasing a Win 4 New York Lottery ticket, Lopez headed Saints John and Paul Church in Larchmont, where he has been caretaker for 26 years. It was there where he made a disturbing discovery. Vandals had destroyed the church nativity scene. Four sheep were stolen. The baby Jesus was missing his head, hands and toes. "I found the baby like that,"...

SAYREVILLE, N.J. -- Four teens stole 27 baby Jesus statues from nativity scenes outside churches and homes and planned to burn them, police said. Two of the suspects, who ranged from 15 to 19 years old, said they acted out of boredom, authorities said. "They were looking for things to do," Detective Ken Kelly said. "They told us, 'We were going to have a baby Jesus burning party."' One suspect told detectives, "We just wanted to see their heads burning," Kelly said. The suspects, who were arrested Monday, face charges of theft, criminal mischief, destruction of venerated objects and conspiracy,...

Father Peter Pomposello holds a decapitated baby Jesus as he talks about the vandalism of the nativity scene outside Saints John and Paul Catholic Church. "It's not only theft, it's not just vandalism," Father Pomposello says. "It has, really, all the marks of a bias crime." Baby Jesus is now missing his head, hands and his left toes. The vandals also stole four sheep. "This is an image of the whole Christmas season," Pomposello said. "As Christians we venerate the baby Jesus this season. This was part of the procession for midnight mass and for the vigil mass on Christmas....

December 25, 2005 -- 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.

While trying to find a nativity image for my last post before Christmas, I did an search for "baby jesus" on Google. This is the result. Notice that the top search result is for a sex toy that mocks Jesus. Other results on this search results page have more link traffic. A quick review of page's code shows no HTML meta information that should give it a favorable ranking. The page itself has a raw relevance ranking (search word divided by total words) of less than five percent. The only conclusion I can draw is that this page position ranking...

PLANTATION -- The manger scene at the Broward Mall cost him $1,000, but for Len Torres, the symbolism is worth much more. This year he got his Christmas wish when he was able to purchase and erect the holiday scene. The multi-piece scene of the baby Jesus surrounded by biblical characters and animals was set up a week ago on Sunday night just outside the Sears entrance.

ST. PAUL, Neb. -- A honey-mustard pretzel that the seller, the Naylors, of St. Paul, Neb., believe is in the shape of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus, shown in March 2005, in St. Paul, sold on eBay on Wednesday, March 9, 2005, for $10,600. Machelle Naylor's 12-year-old daughter, Crysta, said she discovered the pretzel while snacking and watching television with her family on Feb. 27. (03/09/05 AP Photo/The Grand Island Independent)

Dec. 5 - Seventy-nine percent of Americans believe that, as the Bible says, Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, without a human father, according to a new NEWSWEEK poll on beliefs about Jesus. Sixty-seven percent say they believe that the entire story of Christmas—the Virgin Birth, the angelic proclamation to the shepherds, the Star of Bethlehem and the Wise Men from the East—is historically accurate. Twenty-four percent of Americans believe the story of Christmas is a theological invention written to affirm faith in Jesus Christ, the poll shows. In general, say 55 percent of those polled, every word...