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From Paradise to Presents: The Christian Story Behind the Christmas Tree

...of faith, pointing to its evergreen nature as a representation of eternal life in Christ. He is said to have declared: “This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace… It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness.” This powerful imagery resonated with the local populace, facilitating their conversion to Christianity and embedding the fir tree into Christi...

Rob Bell's “Love Wins” (Review)

...same time pointing out the flaws in modern theology and general beliefs held by many in the Church today. He then presents a lot more question to get you thinking and quotes Jesus' words, and a few other scriptures, which leads to more questions. Therein lies the purpose of this book – not for Rob to push you to believe what he does, but to get you to question and really think about the things we say we believe. Bell then moves on to heaven. Unless you've really studied the Bible on Heaven, this chapter will likely smash a lot of cultural ideas you hold without you really realising it – the same can be said about the the chapter after which deals with hell...

An ancient fragment mentions Jesus' wife!?

...e so than pointing out "the brothers of the Lord" and Peter who did the same! All in all though, while this is interesting archaeologically and historically, it should in no way hinder anyone's faith in Jesus or the accuracy of the Gospels, nor does it in any way change the sacrifice Jesus made for us all....

The Coming of Jesus: Coming on the clouds

...what I'm pointing out. Isaiah 19:1-2 An oracle concerning Egypt. See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud    and comes to Egypt;the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,    and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,    and they will fight, one against the other,    neighbor against neighbor,    city against city, kingdom against kingdom; Nahum 1:5 The mountains quake before him,    and the hills melt;the earth heaves before him,    the world and all who live in it. Isaiah 34:4 All the host of heaven shall rot away,    and the skies roll up like a scroll.All...

Lent Day 20: Cyprian: On the Unity of the Church: 19-27

...Day Twenty: St. Cyprian: On the Unity of the Church: 19-27 Who: Third century bishop of Carthage (in modern Tunisia), and martyr from Africa What: A letter to encourage the unity of the church against schisms and heresy during massive Roman persecution Why: A disturbance had happened in the church because of a priest called Novatian — a schismatic of the third century, and founder of the sect of the Novatians. Cyprian wrote to counter this and argues that there can only be one united Church, and the Novatian breakaway was a false church and that Novatian was an antipope.When: Around 249 AD You can find today’s reading on page 102 here: lentfatherscomple...

Creedal Christians: The Nicene Creed

...rthodoxy, pointing people towards the proper understanding of God and the Christian faith via Scripturally-based statements. Some of you reading this may already be familiar with this creed, others may recognise aspects of it, but you may not realise that the fuller and longer version that is more common actually came around 56 years later from the First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. The initial creed was much shorter and included a statement at the end specifically targeting the teachings of Arius. This wasn’t the only revision the Nicene Creed went under, as there was another addition many centuries later which caused some serious controversy, which...