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http://www.longwarjournal.org/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?tag=Philippines&blog_id=7 # BLOG ENTRY - QUOTE: http://www.longwarjournal.org/today-in/2008/12/the_moro_islamic_liberation_fr_1.php Moro Islamic Liberation Front killed nine people during attacks on villagers in the provinces of Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat on Christmas eve, and continued raids on Christmas day. MILF refused to change its negotiating position or representatives, but demanded a cabinet-level official head the peace panel. Find related articles: Philippines Posted by Bill Roggio on December 25, 2008 10:33 PM | Permalink

Millions of Americans go to church on Christmas Eve. They crowd shoulder-to-shoulder in pews to sing "Silent Night" and light candles and listen to soloists belt out "O Holy Night." More than a few watch nativity plays that recreate the birth of Jesus with a cast of 10-year-olds in bathrobes. When the service is over, they exchange hearty "Merry Christmas!" wishes before getting in their cars and heading home. And they stay home the next day. Or they drive to Grandma's, or go to the movies. But however they spend Christmas Day — "the feast of Christmas" on the Christian...

When during its first half-hour this Christmas morning "Today" moved to a conversation between Matt Lauer and Pastor Rick Warren, I braced myself. Don't tell me, I thought, they're going to get into the invitation Pres.-elect Obama extended him to give the invocation at the Inauguration, and the reaction of some gay-rights groups. Well, surprise! They didn't: not in word or implication. Warren appeared strictly in his role as pastor, and the conversation focused exclusively on the meaning of the day. The video clip is of the portion of the conversation in which Warren describes the origin and practice of...

Christmas Night, 1776 By Newt Gingrich On Christmas Day, 1776, nearly all thought the Revolution was lost, except for a valiant few who still believed in "The Cause." We owe our liberty today to those valiant few. Led by George Washington, most of his army, dressed in rags and barefoot, faced a winter gale of rain, sleet, ice and snow. This band of patriots braved a midnight river crossing and a nine mile march over frozen roads to win a spectacular victory at Trenton, New Jersey, the following morning. Those were indeed times, as Thomas Paine would write, that "try...

This is a welcome home for all FReepers who find themselves here today!! You have a warm home here!!

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“We Are Christmas-and-Easter Christians” (John 1:1-5, 14)From John chapter 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son...

Last year’s big holiday debate was whether the Jews had ruined Christmas. This year, with erev Chanukah coinciding with Christmas Day, people have begun asking how we can save it. The Wall Street Journal reports that retailers hope an unusually late Chanukah can boost holiday sales and bail out underperforming retailers. If higher sales mean more yuletide cheer for our Christian neighbors, it’s the least we can do. Not that Bill O’Reilly and the Catholic League and a bunch of others are exactly blaming Jews when they complain that a secular, politically correct “elite” is preventing store clerks from chiming...

The Christmas Midnight Mass from St Joseph's Oratory, which is an apostolate of the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest in Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.A., will be broadcast live on Relevant Radio, a Catholic network in the United States. Relevant Radio's web site offers a live feed here. Of course, that's midnight United States Central Standard Time, six hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. Relevant Radio local stations and affiliates are listed here. From the Institute's page on the liturgy:The Institute, with the permission of the Holy Father, celebrates the classical Roman Liturgy in its traditional form according to the...

All of the 25 largest Episcopal churches in terms of average Sunday attendance will be holding at least one service on Christmas Day this year, the first time since 1994 that Christmas has fallen on a Sunday. Willow Creek Community Church, one of the largest churches in America, recently announced that it was canceling all worship services this coming Sunday and asking its members to stay home and spend time with their families on Christmas Day instead. Since the announcement, a number of other “megachurches” announced similar plans. “For a church that glories in the Incarnation, it would be improbable...

(Demand for tickets down for Bears game Sunday...) With the Green Bay Packers coming off a woeful loss to Baltimore and about to play their first-ever Christmas Day game at Lambeau Field, some fans and brokers report declining demand for tickets - even though Sunday's opponent is the archrival Chicago Bears. Longtime season ticket-holder William Swetlik of Green Bay has two tickets for sale - at face value - for a Bears game he hates to miss. "Christmas Day is for Christ, not for football, and for my family," he said. "I want to be home with the kids. We...

With many large churches across the U.S. announcing they won't be open on Christmas Day, some pastors are defending their decision to stay closed, even going so far as to blast those who question their motives. Among them is Jon Weece, pastor of Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Ky., who received complaint e-mails from Christians in all 50 states. "I was deeply saddened by the knee-jerk response of the Christian community as a whole to give the benefit of the doubt to the media and not a church or a brother in Christ," Weece said in his Dec. 10 sermon....

he Grinch has finally stolen Christmas. Funny thing is, it turned out to be an inside job. Just weeks after Christians joined forces in a chorus of boos for retailers who refuse to acknowledge that Jesus is the reason for the season, churches across the country have decided to take the Christians out of Christmas instead. No, they’ve not given up on the holiday. They’re not refusing to say “Merry Christmas.� They’re certainly not buying “holiday� trees. They’ve just decided to stay home for Christmas. Since Christmas falls on Sunday this year for the first time since 1994, many churches...

I keep reading about churches that are going to be closed on Christmas day, which falls on a Sunday this year. What’s up with that? The word ‘Christmas’ comes from ‘Christ mass,’ which is the Roman Catholic service, or mass, for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas falling on a Sunday should be viewed as a special occasion, with people excitedly looking forward to going to church that particular day, not using it as an excuse to close the church doors. Churches that are deciding to not hold services on Sunday, December 25th, are making a huge mistake. Now,...

Reports in the national press that some modern megachurches are “closing” on Christmas in order to encourage families to “have a more personal experience on that day” have shocked many traditional Christians. The Chicago Tribune first reported this phenomenon on December 6, in an article about the godfather of megachurches, Willow Creek. Other articles followed, in USA Today and other papers, chronicling the trend throughout the United States. This is nothing new for Willow Creek, and the WillowCreeking of America is evidenced by the spread of this trend. Many, many churches, including Rockford’s Heartland Community Church (which recently purchased Colonial...

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The senior minister at central Kentucky's largest church defended a decision to not offer services there on Christmas Sunday and responded to mounting criticism. The Rev. Jon Weese praised the decision of elders at Southland Christian Church during a service Saturday and said they "chose to value families. People over policy." Weese has heard from hundreds of Christians across the nation protesting the closure, Southland officials said. Preaching before a crowd of about 1,150, Weece said the full story hasn't been heard. "I was deeply saddened by the knee-jerk response of the Christian community as a whole...

I had just hung up the phone with the Washington Post religion reporter Alan Cooperman. He interviewed me this week looking for a reaction to the fact that the White House Christmas card, for the fifth year running, had no mention of Christmas on it. I am after all a natural to ask about it. I am the one who is trying to spearhead the effort to get ardent fans of Christmas to send Christmas greetings to the scrooges at the American Civil Liberties Union's national headquarters in New York City. I told Mr. Cooperman I was disappointed with...

ATLANTA - Two of the biggest churches in metro Atlanta will take the day off this Christmas since it falls on a Sunday. First Baptist Church of Atlanta -- led by the Reverend Charles Stanley -- and North Point Community Church in Alpharetta -- led by his son, Andy Stanley -- say they want to allow their staff, volunteers and congregation to celebrate the birth of Jesus in other ways. They join a handful of churches around the nation that will close. Historically, attendance is low when Christmas falls on Sunday. That's partly because people go out of town to...

This year, Christmas may be colder - or at least quieter - for the thousands who attend several evangelical megachurches across the country. Some of America's largest churches are closing their doors on Christmas day, which this year falls on Sunday, to accommodate to the lifestyles of their congregants. Among those slated to close its doors on Christmas day is Willow Creek Community Church - Chicago's largest congregation and one of the top five largest in the nation. "It's more than being family friendly. It's being lifestyle-friendly for people who are just very, very busy," said Cally Parkinson, spokesperson for...

Megachurches cancel services on Christmas By Rachel Zoll The Associated Press This Christmas, no prayers will be said in several megachurches around the country. Even though the holiday falls this year on a Sunday, when the churches normally host thousands for worship, pastors are canceling services, anticipating low attendance on what they call a family day. Critics within the evangelical community, more accustomed to doing battle with department stores and public schools over keeping religion in Christmas, are stunned by the shutdowns. It is almost unheard of for a Christian church to cancel services on a Sunday, and opponents of...

According to conventional wisdom, Christmas had its origin in a pagan winter solstice festival, which the church co-opted to promote the new religion. In doing so, many of the old pagan customs crept into the Christian celebration. But this view is apparently a historical myth—like the stories of a church council debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, or that medieval folks believed the earth is flat—often repeated, even in classrooms, but not true. William J. Tighe, a history professor at Muhlenberg College, gives a different account in his article "Calculating Christmas," published in the...

Central Kentucky's largest church will break with tradition and close its doors on Christmas Sunday so that staff and volunteers can spend more time with their families. Southland Christian Church near Lexington, where more than 7,000 people worship each week, is one of several evangelical megachurches across the country that are opting to cancel services on one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar. Supporters say the change is family-friendly. Opponents call it a regrettable bow to secular culture. The list of closed congregations on Christmas Sunday reads like a who's who of evangelical Protestantism: Willow Creek Community Church,...

This Christmas, no prayers will be said in several megachurches around the country. Even though the holiday falls this year on a Sunday, when churches normally host thousands for worship, pastors are canceling services, anticipating low attendance on what they call a family day. Critics within the evangelical community, more accustomed to doing battle with department stores and public schools over keeping religion in Christmas, are stunned by the shutdown. It is almost unheard of for a Christian church to cancel services on a Sunday, and opponents of the closures are accusing these congregations of bowing to secular culture. "This...

Largely ignored, Puritan laws like 'Common Day of Rest' revisited for the holidays... When Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly warned retailers that they would face prosecution if their doors opened on Thanksgiving, he was citing a nearly 400-year-old-law, penned by Puritans trying to enforce their idea of order on the dark shores of the New World. And as the year-end holiday approaches, authorities are watching for any supermarkets or department stores that try to do business on Christmas Day, citing the same timeworn legislation. This legal relic is part of legislation known as the blue laws: rarely enforced and largely...

ALCON: This just in from Bret Baier, National Security Correspondent for Fox News Channel. A special program "Christmas Tribute to the Troops" will air on Christmas Day. The times below are Eastern Standard Time. Locally, the program will air at 0400, 0900 and 1100 on 25 Dec. "The show offers some of the positive stories from the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and also stories about some of the people at home supporting you. It's the type of programming viewers see only on Fox and we would like to bring a little holiday cheer to troops overseas. The show...

Safeway Inc. yesterday said that for the first time, it will open many of its supermarkets on Christmas Day, a move that triggered an angry protest from the union representing the grocer's Washington area employees. Safeway will become the region's first -- and only -- major supermarket chain to operate stores on Christmas, one of the last holidays observed by U.S. grocers, which now routinely open on Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

In the gloom of this holy Christmas night, a cold sleet fell. It was not a night for man nor beast but yet here they were. Huddled upon the banks of this frigid river, 2000 men contemplated their bleak fate. The past few months had gone very, very badly. Their hopes had been crushed time and again. The noble experiment in Liberty which had begun with such promise, had by this time deteriorated to the point where every day was a battle just to survive. Defeat after defeat, at places like Long Island, Harlem Heights, Fort Washington and White Plains...

As an unusually high number of people flocked to Christmas mass in Germany’s churches and cathedrals, representatives of the clergy warned against a war in Iraq and criticized the pessimistic mood in Germany. Churches in Germany witnessed an unprecedented turnout at services and Christmas mass all over the country, as people braved freezing temperatures to listen to the traditional Christmas sermons. The larger churches in the capital Berlin reported large numbers of people who turned up for midnight mass, some of whom had to be sent away to other services because of lack of space. The main message of both...