https://freerepublic.com/tag/romanpotpourri/ en-us Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:34:11 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2821769/posts In colonial times Christmas was frowned upon in New England and observed mostly as a private feast in mid-Atlantic and Southern colonies. The strait-laced New England Puritans, partially motivated by anti-Catholic sentiment, banned Christmas in 1659 under the guise that the holiday was pagan and that it encouraged decadence. Colonial Americans celebrated a Christmas that contained both religious and secular elements thus establishing a uniquely balanced American approach to faith. Christmas harkens back to the ancient Roman celebration of the Saturnalia, a day in which all Romans, Emperor and slave, addressed each other on a first name basis. Christmas was... A Whig Manifesto https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2821769/posts#comment Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:34:11 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2820771/posts The Vatican is now reiterating demands for control of religious sites in Jerusalem. Jordan's occupation 1948-1967 didn't bother them. “Peace negotiations in the Middle East must tackle the issue of the status of the holy sites of Jerusalem”, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican’s Council for Interreligious Dialogue, declared several days ago in Rome. The Vatican’s former foreign minister asked to place some Israeli holy places under Vatican authority, alluding to the Cenacle on Mount Zion and the garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The first site also houses what is referred... Arutz Sheva https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2820771/posts#comment Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:41:53 GMT