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JERUSALEM (CNS) -- U.S. President Barack Obama, visiting the West Bank city of Bethlehem, stopped twice to light candles for his family and himself: first at the Church of Nativity grotto, where Christian tradition holds that Jesus was born, then at the adjacent Catholic Church of St. Catherine. On the last leg of his four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Obama also took time for a few moments of private prayer and contemplation, said Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, who was the first to greet the American leader inside the church, welcoming him as "a messenger of peace...

HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Two nativity scenes were vandalized overnight in Huntington Beach, according to officials. Jeff Nguyen, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, spoke to a homeowner whose nativity scene was vandalized. Richard Candlish told Nguyen his holiday decorations give him a sense of pride. But this morning he felt a sense of vulnerability after someone degraded his decorations. Someone scrawled “HAIL Hitler” on his baby Jesus as well as drawing a Hitler-style mustache. “They misspelled HEIL. It really goes to the ignorance of the people who did it,” says Candlish. The same Hitler comment was spray painted on one...

An Italian study carried out on the Basilica’s wooden beams has revealed that the cedar was carved between the 6th and 7th centuries In the next few days, as is the case every year, all eyes will be on the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. But the deeper the studies on this ancient church go, the more surprises it seems to have in store. This is what transpires from a report published yesterday in the last edition of the Journal of Cultural Heritage and on Terrasanta.net.The report presents the results of a long study carried out on the Basilica’s...

Brethren, Peace and Good to all of you. As you know, every year during the holiday and Christmas seasons, religion-objectors redouble their efforts at proscribing religious displays on government buildings and other common areas in our cities, towns, and villages. The mainstream media’s (MSM’s) strategy has been to declare that there is no “war on Christmas” but Bill Donohue from the Catholic League already took the MSM to task. Of course, I often share many of Bill Donohue’s observations across many other social platforms including Twitter, and it was in Twitter where I got a couple of respondents who are...

The carton below is from Soviet Communist Russian times. You can see how the capitalist system is depicted as slavery - the opposite of how communism works, IE., free money, multiplied and returned to the worker - in the right frame. Tell me Obama does not think differently. And, as many Americans kill off Christmas as the celebration of the birth of Jesus, so the Soviets replaced Saint Nick with "Father Frost" - a man who gives out presents because he is a generous communist. From Wikipedia Ded Moroz "Following the Russian Revolution, Christmas traditions were actively discouraged because they...

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — Churches have found a way to keep the decades-old Christmas nativity display alive in Santa Monica following a controversial ban on having the scenes in a public park. Pastor Keith Magee of Trinity Baptist Church is just one of the organizations Monday night who found a loophole in the ban by putting on a live, temporary nativity scene. Volunteers were on hand to play the roles of Joseph and Mary, among other biblical figures. “We want to have a positive effect here in the community, because the nativity scenes have been a positive thing for the...

News Print Article | Email Friend | Reprint Permissions Toronto nativity scene vandalized for fifth time in six years by Thaddeus Baklinski Thu Nov 29, 2012 13:45 EST Comments (1) Tags: anti-christian bias, nativity, toronto TORONTO, November 29, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) - Vandals in Toronto attacked and damaged the nativity scene placed in front of Toronto’s Old City Hall courthouse by Gethsemane Ministries, a Catholic lay movement. Suresh Dominic, founder and head of Gethsemane Ministries, told LifeSiteNews.com that the display had been set up on Sunday, but on Wednesday morning it they discovered that someone had smashed the plexiglass window of...

HuffPo: LOS ANGELES — There's no room for the baby Jesus, the manger or the wise men this Christmas in a Santa Monica park following a judge's ruling Monday against churches that tried to keep a 60-year Nativity tradition alive after atheists stole the show with anti-God messages. U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins rejected a motion from the Santa Monica Nativity Scenes Committee to allow the religious display this season while their lawsuit plays out against the city. Collins said the city was within its constitutional right to eliminate the exemption that had allowed the Nativity at the...

As TV networks began to call the race for President Obama in the 2012 general election earlier this month, Karl Rove fumbled with his white board insisting the race wasn't over and that the votes from vital Ohio counties had not yet been fully tallied. A glimmer of hope that Mitt Romney could snatch victory from the jaws of certain defeat remained visible through the squinting lens of Rove's roseate stubbornness. As his recount was underway last weekend in Florida, Congressman Allen West basked in the glow of adulation conservatives attending an event at the Breakers Hotel in West Palm...

Copies of the Italian version of Pope Benedict XVI's new book, "The Infancy of Jesus," are seen during their release to journalists at the Vatican press office Nov. 20. (CNS/Paul Haring) By Carol Glatz and Francis X. RoccaCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Nativity story, like the whole story of Christ, is not merely an event in the past, but has unfolding significance for people today, with implications for such issues as the limits of political power and the purpose of human freedom, Pope Benedict writes in his third and final volume on the life and teachings...

...Conservatives are shell-shocked. The event in Palm Beach drew no consensus for the future of conservatism. After four years of economic, political and moral depredations, it becomes increasingly difficult to predict when the pendulum will swing back or if it will at all. We wander along a desolate path of stupefaction, adrift in our bumping and stammering hallucinations. Can a moribund culture ever be revived to resemble the best times in America's past? When Tuesday (11/19/2012), US District Court Judge Audrey B Collins delivered a 28-page ruling denying my client the right to continue a 59-year-old tradition of exhibiting Nativity...

The nearly 60-year tradition of a Nativity scene displayed at a park and hosted by a coalition of churches in Santa Monica, Calif., has ended after a federal judge ruled on Monday that the city can ban such displays. A controversy over the display about the birth of Jesus at Palisades Park erupted last Christmas season when an atheist group "manipulated" the city's lottery system for spaces, according to a nonprofit, resulting in only two booths for the Christian group that normally uses 14 booths for the various Nativity-related scenes. "It's a very sad day when a small number of...

Churches are going to federal court to reclaim their freedom of speech after the city of Santa Monica, Calif., decided to end a nearly 60-year tradition of having Christian displays of the nativity in a public park due to an uproar caused by atheists' anti-God signs. Behind the trouble in Santa Monica is a member of the American Atheists, Damon Vix, who applied for and was granted a booth in Palisades Park alongside the nativity display three years ago. He erected a sign quoting Thomas Jefferson: "Religions are all alike -- founded on fables and mythologies." Another sign read, "Happy...

An unusual nativity display at a Claremont church that portrayed gay couples was vandalized over the weekend in an incident authorities are investigating as a hate crime.

Why would Joseph, “of the lineage of David,” in the city of his family’s origin have to seek shelter in an inn and be turned out into a stable? Recently this question was put to me here in Beirut. This paper presents an answer. In this brief study I will attempt to demonstrate that Jesus was born in a private home and that the “inn” of Luke 2:7 is best understood as the guest room of the family in whose house the birth took place. Recent studies have primarily focused on Luke’s theological interests.1 The concern here is the Palestinian...

What If Mary Said “No”? October 13th, 2009 by Gary ZimakMost of us are familiar with the story of the Annunciation as told in Chapter 1 of Luke’s gospel. The angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and informed her that she had been chosen to be the Mother of the Savior. Mary agreed, Jesus was born and the entire human race was redeemed. Sounds simple, right? Did you ever consider what would have happened if Mary said, “no”? Sometimes we forget that Mary had free will and wasn’t forced to go along with the plan that would result in...

The Tradition of Midnight Mass   The History of Midnight Mass Throughout the years, Midnight Mass has been a popular Christmas Mass choice for many Catholics. But how did the tradition of this Mass begin?In the early history of the Church, vigils were held before every feast for the purpose of preparing for the feast itself. Mass would be held in the evening, followed by a period of prayer and contemplation. Solemn services were then held the next morning. As more feasts arose, the number of vigils kept was decreased. In the current Roman Calendar, there are six Masses...

It’s always interesting to track down the origins of holiday traditions. Now that Christmas is upon us, many are putting out their Nativity scenes with the usual stable, wise men and donkey. Some interesting facts:

Leave a Comment Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:Today we erected a life-size nativity scene in Central Park, on the corner of 59th and 5th; it will be up until January 3. Moreover, we did not surround it with secular symbols.Every year we get a permit from the New York City Parks Department to display our nativity scene. We choose Central Park because it is a public forum, a place where concerts, marathons and all sorts of festivities take place. We do not seek to display our crèche on public property adjacent to City Hall, because that is...

A holiday display at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield might inspire a seasonal spirit in some viewers, but it's stirring up less-than-jolly resentment in others. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a national group, has written to the base, arguing that the display's inclusion of a large menorah and nativity scene implies an endorsement of some religions. The display also includes other items, including reindeer, Christmas trees and airplanes.

For nearly 60 years at Christmastime, Christian congregations from Santa Monica have come together to organize a life-sized Nativity scene, using 14 display areas in a city park to illustrate the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. This year, however, the story had to be abridged. Because of a city lottery system to dole out available spots in Santa Monica's Palisades Park, along Ocean Avenue, atheists have been able to claim most of the display spaces traditionally used for the Nativity, leaving room for only three of the scenes. Damon Vix, an atheist, had a display last year that...

A conservative group has set up a nativity scene at the Capitol building in Madison, and an atheists' group is seeking its own permit for an opposing display. A WISC-TV report says Wisconsin Family Action has been granted a permit to display its scene until the end of the month. The six statuettes that sit on a table depict the birth of Jesus Christ. Group spokeswoman Julaine Appling says the display is tasteful. She says there's room for a number of different voices. But the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation says a nativity scene isn't appropriate for a state building....

As many of you already know, the parish church burned to the ground back in the 60's. The small parish lacked sufficient funds to rebuild. Instead, they raised enough money to convert an outdoor shrine into a new place of worship, slapping up some walls and raising a roof. That structure has served as their place of worship ever since, requiring renovations over the course of time to install air conditioning and, more recently, renovate the interior, following a freak ice storm that perforated the roof and flooded the church. Despite the small church, the 60 family community approach Christmas...

This is a Christmas story about a priest and his dog — and it is the heartwarming tale of this year’s holiday season. It began shortly before Christmas 15 years ago, when a yellow Lab puppy nuzzled and licked the hand of Msgr. Robert Ritchie in a Manhattan pet shop. And now, Ritchie, rector of famed St. Patrick’s Cathedral, has given his beloved pup a near sacred honor — placing a statue of the dog beside the figures of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the sanctuary’s Christmas crèche. ...

"Oh Come Let Us Adore Him," a display of more than 100 creches, Nativities and angels, is being held this weekend at the Connellsville Presbyterian Church, in conjunction with "It's A Connellsville Christmas." The hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday."We are pleased that we get so many new pieces to add each year. We like to make changes and create new arrangements each holiday. New this year, we are adding a Christmas tree to hang the many little Nativity ornaments on. It will look beautiful," said Teri Montgomery, event co-coordinator along with Nancy...

PLANTATION— At the height of hurricane season, city officials are looking ahead to the holidays and putting their faith in something larger than snowmen, penguins and toy soldiers. Since the Broward chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union complained – twice – about the city's "inappropriate" holiday display in Liberty Tree Park, city officials have been trying to avoid another December dilemma.

Marks on White House image align with document claiming African birthHONOLULU, Hawaii – Could it be that the document released by the White House as President Obama's "Certificate of Live Birth" from the state of Hawaii is linked with a well-known forgery that states Obama was born in Kenya and his Hawaiian birth was registered by his grandmother? An analysis posted on Facebook by GoodTryBarry shows that markings on the Kenya document appear to be the same as markings on the White House release. The image below, for example, shows a "2" penciled in on the green White House document...

"Well I've been told very recently, Anderson, that the birth certificate is missing," Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper Monday. "I've been told that it's not there or it doesn't exist. And if that's the case it's a big problem."

A bill pending with the state House of Representatives would require presidential primary candidates to prove they are natural-born U.S. citizens by showing their birth certificate to the election board. Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, amended Senate Bill 91 to add the requirement. He says he isn't a conspiracy theorist, but questions about President Barack Obama's birth point out the need to protect against unqualified presidential candidates. "The situation with our president has instigated this fear," Shortey said. "I'm trying to quash this fear with this legislation." SB 91 passed the Senate on March 14 by a 34-10 vote. It...

Youtube video-Govenor of Hawaii, Neil Abercrombie now claiming he was told that there is a hand written notation of Obama's birth some where in the State Archives-LOL this is evidence? "It was actually written, I am told, this is what our investigation is showing, it actually exists in the archives, written down," Abercrombie said. "If there is a political agenda (regarding Obama's birth certificate), then there is nothing I can do about that, nor can the president," he said. Does this not mean there is no Birth Certificate that Obama can produce? If there is no Birth Certificate in Hawaii,...

After vowing to provide proof Obama was born in Hawaii, newly elected Dem. Gov. Neil Abercrombie, beats around the bush in Honolulu newspaper article about a "long form" birth certificate. East Texans talk-back...click link for the amazing "MUST SEE" video

THE BBC has angered Christians with a TV drama in which the Virgin Mary is branded a prostitute and sex cheat. In The Nativity, written by EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan, 15-year-old Mary is attacked by people who do not believe her claim that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph accuses her of “whoring” and even suggests that her pregnancy might have been the result of rape. The Church of England has described the four-part drama, which goes out before the 9pm watershed from tomorrow, as “a gritty interpretation”. But Stephen Green, of the ministry Christian Voice,...

This December, on courthouse lawns and other public places across America, you’ll see decorative lights, Santa and his reindeer, snowmen, “holiday trees,” and maybe even an angel or two. The only guest who’ll probably be missing from this birthday party is the guest of honor himself. Oddly, there’s even room for elves, tin soldiers, candy canes, and sugarplums — just no room for Christ. The lunacy of celebrating a holiday called Christmas that commemorates the birth of Christ without recognizing Christ could only happen in the philosophically inconsistent but politically correct America. Think of it: You can openly celebrate Christmas...

Merry Christmas, everyone! A recent Sneed reader is responsible for the repeat of a column I wrote nearly 20 years ago.She says her 88-year old mother clipped and saved the column . . . and asks: Could a meeting with her mother and the man I wrote about be arranged? The man’s real name was “Tom,” an old friend who wanted to remain anonymous, but in the column I called him “Paul.” My friend is now dead, and his story a distant memory, happening at a Christmastime past. I first wrote about the “Nativity” experience he and his wife had...

Luke 2: 1-20 The Story of Christ's Birth 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 Judea, 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 with...

Imagine with me, if you will, this future moment. After this Earth's time has ended, and this experiment in humanity has reached its final moments, when God is called upon to account for His actions, and the Devil, his. On one hand, we have those who are saved, and on the other, those who are not. And those who are not are crying out to God, with the accusation "You are a tyrant! You gave us no real choice, and you set the terms of your deal unfairly and improperly. You gave us a raw deal." Revelation tells of the...

Today, tonight, and tomorrow, Christians in the United States and around the world come together to not only celebrate, but remember the birth of Jesus Christ in the small town of Bethlehem. From that same Bethlehem where at the Church of the Nativity to Saint Christopher’s in East Hartford, CT, USA, and all other Christian places of worship in between will the Gospel of Saint Luke’s account the holy birth that will be read with sermons which will bring the message Christ to the world of 2010. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, truly, those who believe in Jesus and the...

....Christmas reminds us that in the "fullness of time" God came among us. Heaven touched earth and earth has been elevated through this encounter! The all- powerful God who made both heaven and earth became a vulnerable baby and chose to give Himself to His creation in order to create it anew. Let us live as a Christmas people, offering the greatest gift of all to a world waiting to be born, a Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord. Love is born on Christmas morn and in Him the world begins again.... ....Because He has been born we are given a...

The Digital Story Of The Nativity In tune with the social media era, Excentric – a Lisbon, Portugal, company – created a video that tells the Christmas story through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google, among other popular media tools. In the last week, the video has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube, with most of the viewers liking it. Miguel Figueiredo, president of Excentric, told CNN that he wanted to illustrate how social media tools can work. And he used the familiar story of Jesus Christ's birth to demonstrate so. "The story for us is very familiar,...

"The God In The Cave" | From The Everlasting ManThis sketch of the human story began in a cave; the cave which popular science associates with the cave-man and in which practical discovery has really found archaic drawings of animals. The second half of human history, which was like a new creation of the world, also begins in a cave. There is even a shadow of such a fancy in the fact that animals were again present; for it was a cave used as a stable by the mountaineers of the uplands about Bethlehem; who still drive their cattle...

Click and enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHNNPM7pJA&feature=youtu.be

Knights of Columbus to reassemble the creche in front of the borough building as part of a larger holiday display as soon as Tuesday ---snip--- Members of council after the meeting said they expected the nativity to be back in its place in front of the borough building as soon as Tuesday morning. It will join the Christmas tree, wreaths and other holiday decorations already on the lawn. After the vote, Milioto applauded the residents of Canonsburg for their tenacity and cooperation through the process. "Tonight was a display of peaceful government working together," he said, acknowledging that all of...

I'm sorry for the vanity but I was just thinking.....Canonsburg Boro has a Council meeting this Monday. Any Pittsburgh-area FReepers wanna go? I am trying to get a group to go because I'd like to personally donate to the Council my copy of David Barton's "Separation of Church & State" so that these fools can get a little education. It seems that they are allowing a Satan-loving mental health patient (Megan Hartley) to dictate how this little town observes the Christmas Holiday. There have been numerous threads here on FreeRepublic about this story so I'm sure most of you have...

Atheist Megan Hartley joins us today at 5:10 p.m to talk about her successful effort to move the Christmas creche away from the front of the Canonsburg municipal building. Call the Show! 800.320.8255

(CANONSBURG, Pa.) New information has been discovered about the background of Megan Hartley, identified as the resident whose complaint about a Nativity scene in a borough building led to its removal. As reported on ThePittsburghChannel.com, the 57 year tradition of the local Knights of Columbus chapter of setting up the nativity scene in the borough building has come to an end due to a written complaint from Ms. Hartley. Since no other information was given about Ms. Hartley a search began. There is only 1 "Megan Hartley" listed in CANONSBURG, Pa in this people search thru VEROMI and that is...

We continue our Patristic Rosary Project today with the:3rd Joyful Mystery: The NativityChrist came into the world in "the fullness of time" (Gal 4:4). His First Coming was foreseen from all eternity and His Nativity was prepared from the beginning of the history of our salvation. The manner of His birth is significant. St. Leo I, "the Great" (+461; whose Christmas sermons deserve entries apart!) wrote in a letter: His God in that "all things were made through Him and nothing was made without Him." (John 1:3) He is human in that He was "made from woman, made under the...

CNN and their polling unit, Opinion Research, interviewed one thousand Americans. "More Americans have doubts about Obama's birth story than do support the mosque." I'm just reporting it. It's a CNN poll. Twenty-seven percent of Americans believe that Imam Obama was probably not born in the United States. Twenty-nine percent support building the Ground Zero mosque, and Erick Erickson at Red State said: Look, if we're going to call the 27% who believe that Obama was not born in the US fringe kooks then can't we also call the people who support building a mosque at Ground Zero a fringe...

A King's College student accused of urinating on the nativity scene in Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, is apologizing for his behavior. "I was being a drunken idiot," Nathan Strawn, 22, said. The apology, however, might have little effect on the legal and educational consequences facing the senior from Bangor. "It is deep down in my heart to tell all you students out there that one night of fun and drunkenness is not worth it. Nowhere near it. With this life lesson learned, I'm apologizing to all I have offended. These people are Christians, the Wilkes-Barre community, King's College, the church of...

WILKES-BARRE – A King’s College student was arrested and faces several charges after allegedly urinating on a religious Christmas display early Sunday morning. Nathan Strawn, 22, was arrested after “he was observed fully exposed urinating on the Nativity scene located on Public Square,” city police said in a press release. The incident occurred at approximately 1:54 a.m., police said. Strawn was charged with indecent exposure, desecration of venerated objects, open lewdness, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. City police said Strawn was taken to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility and was held there for arraignment, but a prison official said there...

When I was in college, I journeyed to Cologne, Germany and visited the city's glorious cathedral. I was a Protestant at the time, but I remember being amazed that people had been building this cathedral for so many centuries. It is one of the greatest Gothic churches of all time.