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BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Dozens of Palestinians in Bethlehem are protesting the arrival of the Greek Orthodox patriarch of the Holy Land to celebrate Orthodox Christmas. The protesters scuffled with Palestinian police and church supporters Saturday as Theophilos III made his way toward the Church of the Nativity, revered as Jesus’ birthplace. Palestinians have been demanding his resignation for allegedly selling church land to Israelis in sweetheart deals. …

Despite attempts by modern biblical scholarship to debunk the gospel account of three magi visiting the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem, the stories were “historically true” according to extensive research by author Dwight Longenecker. In his new book, Mystery of the Magi: The Quest to Identify the Three Wise Men, Longenecker, a scholar and Catholic priest, states that an impartial study of the relevant data “shows beyond reasonable doubt” that the Magi of Matthew’s gospel were historical figures. For many years, Longenecker writes, skeptical scholars have rejected the possibility that the infancy stories about Jesus could be historical for a number...

The Bible tells us very little about the magi. Their story appears but once, in the Gospel of Matthew (2:1-12), where they are described as mysterious visitors "from the east" who come to Jerusalem looking for the child whose star they observed "at its rising." After meeting with King Herod, who feigns an intention to worship the child but actually plans to destroy him, the magi follow the same star to Bethlehem. There, upon seeing the baby Jesus and his mother Mary, the magi kneel down and worship him, presenting him with their three famous gifts -- gold, frankincense and...

Hebrew University announces discovery of Roman king's tomb at Herodium near Jerusalem Reuters Published: 05.08.07, 00:50 / Israel News The Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced on Monday the discovery of the grave and tomb of Herod the Great, the Roman empire's "King of the Jews" In ancient Judea. The University said in a brief statement the discovery was made at Herodium, where Herod's hilltop fortress palace once stood some 7 miles from the holy city where he had rebuilt and expanded the Jewish Temple. The university said it would give further details at a news conference on Tuesday. The Gospel...

One of the leaders in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) spoke out against the removal of Confederate statues, saying they are a part of history. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at City Hall in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, local NAACP chapter president Esther Lee expressed her frustration with the current state of affairs in the U.S., WFMZ reported. “I think it’s all senseless. All senseless,” Lee said. “You know, we’re 108 years in as NAACPers and we might think things would improve, but they do not. You know we still have this factor about black and white.”...

Two Arab inhabitants of Bethlehem were arrested last week on suspicion of throwing stones and firebombs at Rachel’s Tomb. One of them was indicted and is being held under arrest until the end of proceedings. Police have recently been conducting a covert investigation of Arabs who on several recent occasions arrived at the fence near the Rachel’s Tomb compound and are suspected of throwing stones and firebombs at security forces operating there. As the investigation progressed and an evidentiary infrastructure was established, two Arabs aged 18 and 21 were arrested on suspicion of planning, preparing, and throwing firebombs and stones...

From Coach Collins, on December 25th In 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...

Why Was Jesus Born When and Where He Was? Msgr. Charles Pope • December 22, 2016 • In preparation for the coming of Christmas, we have been discussing some of St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings. In today’s last installment we’ll be looking at his commentary on the time and place of Jesus’ birth.We live in a culture today that tends toward a kind of temporal pride. We think that we have come of age, that we are smarter and wiser than our forebears. Scientific, technical, and medical knowledge are more highly developed to be sure, but there is more to...

Lynch mobs run wild on Bethlehem's streetsAs US envoy Anthony Zinni starts his peace mission, West Bank Palestinians resort to execution of collaborators By Phil Reeves in Bethlehem 15 March 2002 US demands Israeli military withdrawal Wars breed hate, inhumanity and lawlessness. And this degrading trinity was on full display in Israeli-occupied Bethlehem yesterday outside the ancient church marking the place of Christ's birth. Manger Square has become a wild, blood-drenched place, the scene yesterday of a lynching. Two years ago, the Pope shuffled across its flagstones, blessing Catholic pilgrims who had come by the thousand from across the globe...

Restorers, after clearing away centuries of dirt, discovered the Church of the Nativity had a seventh mosaicAn Italian team has completed restoration of Crusader-era mosaics in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The mosaics will only be unveiled publicly after work on lighting, electricity and a fire alarm system. The work involved removing the layers of centuries-worth of soot and dirt – a result of the smoke of candles lit by pilgrims coming to venerate the site traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus – from about 1.55 million tiny mosaic pieces that were reviewed and restored. “I...

Pilgrims who visit next Easter will be able to see the extraordinary work that has been done to the roof, walls and 900-year-old mosaics.BETHLEHEM — Christians planning on making a Holy Land pilgrimage — for many, a once-in-a-lifetime journey — may want to wait until Easter 2017, when the scaffolding used to restore the ancient Church of the Nativity is expected to come down. While the $15-million repair, conservation and restoration of the church, which is revered as the site of Jesus’ birth, will not be absolutely completed for another couple of years, due to a funding gap, pilgrims who...

By studying and excavating ancient burial grounds, we can learn about how final respects were paid when people died during ancient times. The artifacts located alongside these remains also provide insight into what items people valued and what they believed about the afterlife. A 2013 discovery of an ancient burial ground near Bethlehem is providing new information about one civilization that lived approximately 4000 years ago. In 2013, efforts began to build an industrial park near Bethlehem, leading to a discovery that may prove to offer fresh insights about the ancient world. The area where the industrial park was to...

A 4,000-year-old cemetery made up of more than 100 tombs has been found near Bethlehem in the West Bank. Now known as Khalet al-Jam'a, the cemetery probably served an undiscovered settlement for more than 1,500 years. Many of its tombs have been destroyed by modern construction or looting, but at least 30 tombs have survived. Many of them are shaft tombs with one or more rock-cut chambers. According to Lorenzo Nigro of Sapienza University of Rome, the settlement was situated near trade routes, and artifacts from the tombs indicate that it had been a wealthy place. "Typical pieces of the...

According to the Times of Israel, the artifact is made of brass, silver, shells and stones. It was covered in plaster and found near a window in the church that reportedly was built by Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena in the fourth century. Although officials confirmed that the artifact has been cleaned up, it is not on display, and there are no images of it as yet.Ziad al-Bandak, a Palestinian presidential adviser for Christian Affairs, said the artifact is, “of great religious and historical value.” The church itself is built over the cave where the birth of Jesus...

In what can only be described as a celebration of violence and death, young Palestinian children participated in a Bethlehem parade last week by dressing up as armed terrorists, complete with mock suicide belts. The parade marked the 51st anniversary of the first terrorist attack by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, and was attended by several high ranking Palestinian Authority officials. Ofer Gendelman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official spokesman to the Arab media, called the event a glorification of terrorism aimed at encouraging a new generation of Palestinian youth to join the violence.

Proof of when the Star of Bethlehem happened and how...

A blessed Christmas to one and all The best ‘Christmas Card’ in the sky ever seen could be viewed through my windows at quarter to three this morning. Something awoke me early, and I when I made my way out to the great room, it was flooded with a strange and lovely kind of light. A look outside the windows showed a huge silver moon, and stars ever so bright, one of them the brightest of all, recalling that one special night in Bethlehem to mind. Even though the winds were high, Lake Huron to the west in my view...

Near the church in Bethlehem’s Manger Square, built over the site where Christians believe Jesus was born, tour guides pace back and forth, waiting in vain for tourist buses that fail to show.

"A Ruler from Bethlehem" (Micah 5:2-5a) So which is it? "Too little" or "by no means least"? We're talking about Bethlehem here. On the one hand, the prophet Micah says that Bethlehem is "too little to be among the clans of Judah." But then on the other hand, in Matthew 2, we hear the chief priests and the elders saying that Bethlehem is "by no means least among the rulers of Judah." So what gives here? This sounds like two opposite views about Bethlehem: on the one hand, "little," and on the other hand, "by no means little." Well, there...

On June 30, 2015, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ voted to single out Israel for an economic and propaganda war. Ignoring the violent state of affairs in an unstable region, the plague of terrorist groups, and the victimization of millions of Christians and other minority groups, the UCC elected to boycott Israel, the only functioning democracy in the Middle East. Giving a pass to Hamas rockets aimed at Israeli children and the prohibition of any Jews to enter Palestinian-controlled territory, the UCC jumped on the bandwagon of slander to demonize Israel. Deletion and Replacement of Jews...