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My parents told me many times how much they dreaded the Christmas season. Living in a little shtetl in Poland, they knew what to expect. The local parish priest would deliver his sermon filled with invectives against the Jews who were pronounced guilty of the crime of decide, responsible for the brutal crucifixion of their god and therefore richly deserving whatever punishment might be meted out against them. No surprise then that the Christian time of joy meant just the opposite to the neighboring Jews. The days supposedly meant to be dedicated to "goodwill to all" were far too often...

n this time of worry about the future of our nation let us pause to remember the gift God gave us on the first Christmas morning. Here is the story of Christ’s birth as told to us by St. Luke @2: 1-20) 1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirin’i-us was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to...

The Byzantine icon representing this article is the work of the 16th-century iconographer Theophanes the Cretan. Many Muslims around the world today would consider it offensive and insulting to Islam. Muslims in the Balkans just a few years ago have entered churches and destroyed icons like this one for precisely that reason. How does this icon insult Islam? In many ways, including these: 1. It depicts human beings, which violates the traditional Islamic prohibition of images and would be considered idolatrous and blasphemous on its face. 2. It depicts Jesus not as a Muslim prophet, as this does: Instead, it...

Luke 2:1-21 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,...

Every year at this time, the topic comes up around our house: "What is your favorite Christmas show?" Every year I give the same answer. That little ol' half hour special that first aired in 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas.Oh, the scene with the sad looking Christmas tree is nice, the kids singing "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" is touching, but the most daring moment of any Christmas special is when Linus teaches Charlie Brown the real meaning of Christmas and he recites Luke Chapter 2 from the King James Version of the Bible.The Linus monologue lasts about a minute,...

Did you ever read “The Prophecies of St. Malachy?” Malachy, an Irish saint, “prophesied’ the reigns of Popes from his time of 1143 AD to the end of his list – the next pope after Benedict XVI in an era of persecution and the destruction of “the seven hilled city.” He didn’t predict their names or state his list as the end of time (nor do I), but he does predict judgment following…interestingly accurate in its 1 to 5 word phrases codifying each succeeding Pope. E.g., Pope John Paul I was called 869 years ago “of the half moon” –...

Christianity faces being wiped out of the “biblical heartlands” in the Middle East because of mounting persecution of worshippers, according to a new report. The study warns that Christians suffer greater hostility across the world than any other religious group. And it claims politicians have been “blind” to the extent of violence faced by Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam, it says, claiming that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored because of a fear that criticism will be seen as “racism”. It warns that converts from Islam...

Why? It's a question the media never asks because they know the answer and they work furiously to obfuscate and cover up the why and the who. Everywhere Islam goes, everything and everyone must submit or .... die. Dhimmitude may be percevied as a third choice, but it is merely a slow and painful death. And all these churches and synagogues twinning with mosques. Why aren't these Pastors and Rabbis addressing with with Islamic clergy. Because these quislings are afraid to speak the truth. "Christianity 'close to extinction' in Middle East" Telegraph Christianity faces being wiped out of the “biblical...

"The greatest gift which America has received from the Lord is the faith which has forged its Christian identity," Pope John Paul II wrote in a document on the Church in America in 1999. Here at the end of 2012, the words might be the rallying cry of the season -- a reminder, a challenge, a warning -- and a gift to be pondered born of a grotto in Bethlehem. And it's not just something for Christians. As the pope wrote at the time: "The evangelization which accompanied the European migrations has shaped America's religious profile, marked by moral...

I was asked this in an online forum, and my answer got too long to manage. Here’s my infallible prediction. How did I do? Orthodoxy: Little visible change, zero substantive change. Increasing numbers and cultural impact. Progress toward a single American Archdiocese, but still not there yet.Catholicism: Neither women priests nor married priests will happen. Increasing disaffection among liberal American Catholics leading to a significant decrease in attendance. Identification as Catholic will be increasingly cultural rather than creedal. This trend, combined with decreasing numbers of men seeking the priesthood, will force additional parish churches to close. This will be...

NEW YORK CITY -- It hasn't been an easy time -- year, decade, early century -- for organized religion. Books by atheists proliferate, some meaner than others. Fewer men and women attend church or synagogue services. The season highlights Christmas and in recent years Hanukkah, but the cultural emphasis is more materialistic than meditative. Confidence in organized religion has declined to 44 percent, as measured by Gallup. When tragedy strikes, as in Newtown, Conn., prayer resides mostly in the shadows of those personally affected. The public ritual requires politicians to assure survivors of their thoughts and prayers -- what one...

At the very core of Christianity is the historical authenticity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. But for His resurrection, we would not be celebrating His birth. The Apostle Paul said, "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." Christian apologist Josh McDowell spent more than 700 hours studying the subject of the resurrection and concluded that it "is one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds of men, or it is the most amazing fact of history." When a university student asked...

I'm often asked, "What is the world's fastest growing religion?"Questioners are stirred both by hope -- that "our" religion is so evidently the best that it is sweeping the world -- but also by the fear that "they" (usually Muslims) are going to overwhelm us. Actually, that growth question crosses faith boundaries. Wikipedia's entry on "Claims to be the Fastest-Growing Religion" collects many such boasts, which variously claim the prize for Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Wicca, Deism, the Falun Gong, Scientology, and other competitors. Obviously, even compiling such a list has the tongue-in-cheek implication that most such claims are bogus or...

An international Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life poll has found that Christianity remains the religion with the most adherents worldwide, while roughly one-third of people around the globe have no religious affiliation. The comprehensive poll examined more than 230 countries worldwide, and asked respondents to identify which religion, if any, they belong to. The results determined that 32 percent of the world's population, 2.2 billion people, are Christians, 23 percent or 1.6 billion are Muslim, 15 percent or 1 billion are Hindu, and that 7 percent or 500 million are Buddhists. African, Asian, Native American and...

IT hasn’t been a good year for evangelicals. I should know. I’m one of them. In 2012 we witnessed a collapse in American evangelicalism. The old religious right largely failed to affect the Republican primaries, much less the presidential election. Last month, Americans voted in favor of same-sex marriage in four states, while Florida voters rejected an amendment to restrict abortion. Much has been said about conservative Christians and their need to retool politically. But that is a smaller story, riding on the back of a larger reality: Evangelicalism as we knew it in the 20th century is disintegrating. In...

I think I have the Progressive/Socialist/Communist movement figured out, and the answer is God. Surprised? Read on. Humans have an instinctive desire to believe in something bigger than themselves—something all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, that can make everything right when nothing seems to go right. Ask any anthropologist or archaeologist, and he or she will tell you that pretty much every culture in the history or humankind has had a set of beliefs regarding a god or gods. We westerners are most familiar, of course, with the ancient Greek and Roman gods, but every civilization from the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians to...

In the scramble to make the GOP more diverse, a lot of people are looking at Asian Americans, whom many believe are a natural constituency for the party. I would love it if Asian Americans converted en masse to the Republican Party, but the challenge for Republicans is harder than many appreciate. President Obama did spectacularly well with Asian Americans, garnering nearly three-quarters of their vote. This runs counter to a lot of conventional wisdom on both the left and the right. On average, Asian American family income is higher and poverty is lower than it is for non-Latino whites....

There has been a huge 13 percent drop in the number of people in Britain identifying themselves as Christian, according to new data released from the 2011 Census. The shocking statistics reveal that the number of Christians has fallen from 37 million to 33 million since 2001. Christians now make up only 59 percent of the population, as opposed to 72 percent in 2001. Meanwhile, the number of Muslims has risen from 1.5 million to 2.7 million - or 5 percent of the population - while the number of people describing themselves as having no religion rose by 10 percent...

Any of us who have come to Christ later in life know the factors that led us to Him. The Spirit was tugging at me for a while. C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity started it. Like me, he was once an atheist. Until he could be one no more. “In 1929, I gave in, and admitted that God was God,” wrote Lewis, “perhaps the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” A few committed people of faith did the rest for me, as I witnessed in them the power of the Holy Spirit. It was the power of their...

Exclusive: Jesse Lee Peterson asserts minorities have found 'a physical messiah' President Barack Obama is the most divisive man to ever occupy the White House –period! Yet, 95 percent of black Americans worship him as if he’s the messiah. Why? Actor and comedian Jamie Foxx recently took the stage at the Soul Train Awards and told the audience, “Thank God, and our lord and savior, Barack Obama!” Foxx called on the audience to stand up and clap for Obama. His outrageous remarks were broadcast on national television, yet not one nationally known black leader repudiated Foxx. Barack Obama’s ability to...