patrick jane forums

Christian Theology with DOUG and TED T. => Christian Threads => Topic started by: patrick jane on December 13, 2019, 07:01:25 pm


Title: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 13, 2019, 07:01:25 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDBzNIEOrzo

Holiday meals often include Prim Rib so when I decided to include this in my Holiday Meals collection. Prime Rib is one of the top meats from the bovine family. If you want to learn how to cook Prime Rib than look no farther than this recipe. My family always ask if I'm going to make my Christmas Prime rib.

This is the best Prime rib recipe I think I've done so far. It is the perfect Prime rib for the holidays. If you make this I'm positive you'll agree. The recipe for making the prime rib and the horseradish sauce is as follows;


Base rub;
4 TBS course ground Black Pepper
2 TBS Kosher salt
1 TBS Granulated Garlic

Second Rub;
2 TBS Granulated Garlic
1 TBS Smoked Paprika
1 TBS Minced Onions
1 TBS Ground Coriander
1/2 TBS Dried Basil
1/2 TBS Dried Parsley
1 TBS Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Horseradish Sauce;
1/2 C Sour Cream
2 TBS Prepared Horseradish
2 TBS Mayo
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 TBS Parsley
4 or 5 drops Tabasco hot sauce


Apply rubs to Prime Rib and place in 275 degree preheated smoker or oven. For medium rare remove Prime Rib when the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees. Tent loosely with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. Slice and serve with Horseradish sauce.
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊⛪🙏🕯🛐🌬☃⛪🕊🕯🙏
Post by: patrick jane on December 21, 2019, 11:20:09 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTzLcWXoZDM


Join me for a fun tour of Christmas In The Village at the Dakota County Fairgrounds in Farmington, Minnesota.  This is a whole town from way back in the olden days and it's all decked out for Christmas.  Come on along for the ride!
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊⛪🙏🕯🛐🌬☃⛪🕊🕯🙏
Post by: patrick jane on December 25, 2019, 07:14:38 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7w-oRGLbac


Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊⛪🙏🕯🛐🌬☃⛪🕊🕯🙏
Post by: patrick jane on December 25, 2019, 07:14:50 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYIVYxZOWwo
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊⛪🙏��🛐🌬☃⛪🕊🕯🙏
Post by: guest8 on December 26, 2019, 07:20:49 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYIVYxZOWwo

Thank you
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊⛪🙏🕯🛐🌬☃⛪🕊🕯🙏
Post by: patrick jane on August 04, 2020, 01:37:46 pm
Happy 2020
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊⛪🙏🕯🛐🌬☃⛪🕊🕯🙏
Post by: patrick jane on September 21, 2020, 03:56:21 pm
Happy 2020
Christmas 2019 - The last Christmas before Coronavirus
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊⛪🙏🕯🛐🌬☃⛪🕊🕯🙏
Post by: patrick jane on October 11, 2020, 10:14:47 am
Happy 2020
Christmas 2019 - The last Christmas before Coronavirus
8)
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊⛪🙏🕯🛐🌬☃⛪🕊🕯🙏
Post by: patrick jane on October 16, 2020, 08:12:37 am
Happy 2020
Christmas 2019 - The last Christmas before Coronavirus
8)
;D🍻
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊⛪🙏🕯🛐🌬☃⛪🕊🕯🙏
Post by: guest73 on October 18, 2020, 08:37:32 am
I'm looking forward to Christmas 2020
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 18, 2020, 12:08:58 am
I'm not looking forward to the future. >:(
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 22, 2020, 05:05:35 am
(https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/121180.jpg?w=940)
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/december-web-only/oxford-handbook-christmas-bethlehem-middle-east.html








Bethlehem Is More Than a Sentimental Backdrop to Christmas in the West






How Christians are celebrating the holiday in the town of Jesus’ birth—and across the broader Middle East.


Although the Christmas story could be said to have begun at any number of points or places, it was Bethlehem that became the stage for the birth of Jesus. Today, Bethlehem is recreated in village halls, school auditoriums, and churches all over the world for the annual ritual of the Nativity play. The imagery of the humble stable, lit up by a star, with the shepherds and wise men converging upon it, is familiar from the greetings cards we send. At Christmas carol concerts we sing “O little town of Bethlehem.” Somehow this often remains disconnected from our imagining of Christmas, which, in the West, is so heavily tied up with traditions formed in the Victorian period in England and in America and so is removed geographically and temporally from Bethlehem at the time of Jesus.

Our Christmas cards focus on two distinct themes: the snowy scenes and cozy fires of Europe and North America, and the depictions of the Middle East with camels, people in Eastern dress, and a donkey beating a dusty path to Bethlehem. While both these aspects are entwined, the Middle Eastern scenery is present mainly as the backdrop. It represents a distant time and ancient land.

What is glossed over is that Christians live and worship and celebrate Christmas in the Middle East still. For many Christians in the Middle East, and especially those from the Holy Land, there is a sense that they are overlooked, despite the ancient roots of their communities. The Rev. Mitri Raheb, a Palestinian Christian and pastor in the Lutheran Church, has described in many of his publications and talks how he has encountered surprise that there are Christians in Palestine on numerous occasions. In actuality, there have been Christians in the Middle East continuously since the birth of the Christian faith. Christmas is therefore widely celebrated throughout the region, and its diverse Christian communities proudly celebrate their links to the earliest Christians.

Bethlehem was a village at the time of Jesus’ birth. Today it has a population of approximately 25,000 and is a focus of religious life for Palestinian Christians. The district of Bethlehem includes Bethlehem itself, as well as the towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour. Approximately half of Palestinian Christians live in this district. Prior to the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, Christians made up the majority of the population of Bethlehem, but they are now the minority.

Despite this, Palestinian Christians emphasize their rootedness in the region and in Christian faith and history by referring to themselves as the “living stones” (al-Hijara al-Haya), an expression drawn from the Bible (1 Pet. 2:5). This chain linking modern Christians in the Middle East with the first Christians is important in many different denominations and national communities. The tradition of the flight of the holy family to Egypt is important to Egyptian Christians, as is the tradition that the Coptic Orthodox Church was founded by Saint Mark. Other Christians, such as those belonging to the Syriac churches (including the Church of the East, the Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, and the Syriac Catholic Church) emphasize the fact that they still use a dialect of Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus. Clearly, Christianity is not foreign to, nor removed from, the modern Middle East.

This demonstrates that Bethlehem is more than a clichéd image for Christmas cards or backdrop for school Nativity plays. It is also more than a site for foreign Christian pilgrims to visit. Bethlehem, and the Middle East in general, are not just a historical backdrop to the first Christmas. Christians continue to inhabit the region, and the link between their local roots and Christian heritage remains integral to their identity and culture. This context gives the contemporary celebration of Christmas in Bethlehem and the Middle East more significance, not less.

Diverse Celebrations
Are Christians in the Middle East permitted to celebrate Christmas or other Christian festivals openly? Outside of Saudi Arabia, the answer is generally yes. But the way Christmas is celebrated varies according to different local contexts as well as the diversity and number of different denominations and traditions that exist in the region.

In Bethlehem, celebrations naturally focus on the Church of the Nativity. This is set in Manger Square, which was renovated for the millennium celebrations and is lined by shops selling local traditional crafts, such as crosses carved from olive wood. The church was first built on the site identified by Christian tradition as the birthplace of Jesus in A.D. 339. The local tradition pictures the place as a cave rather than a stable. The original church was later replaced after a fire in the sixth century. In 2012, it was added to the UNESCO list of world heritage sites and attracts visitors from all over the world, and naturally there is particular interest in visiting at Christmastime. The square is decorated with lights and a Christmas tree, in a way that is familiar in towns across the world.

Bethlehem (as the birthplace of Jesus), Egypt (which boasts the largest Christian population in the region), Lebanon (where Christians have the most political and cultural influence in the Middle East), and Syria (which features frequently in the Bible) are four obvious places where Christmas is celebrated. However, Christmas is also celebrated in more unexpected places. The Arabian Peninsula is not commonly linked with Christianity or celebrations of Christmas, but it does actually have an ancient Christian heritage, and monasteries and bishoprics were established mainly during the fourth to seventh centuries. In modern times there is also a large Christian population in the region, as a result of the waves of migration to the oil-rich states of the peninsula since the second half of the 20th century.

As a result, Christianity has become the second-largest religion after Islam in a number of Arab states in the Gulf region. These Christians come from incredibly diverse backgrounds in terms of nationality, language, and Christian denomination. The celebration of Christmas in the Gulf States, such as Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and so on, reflects this. It also encapsulates the globalization of Christmas. Shopping malls and supermarkets sell Christmas trees and decorations, and public spaces are decorated with Christmas trees and lights. When viewing these decorated spaces, it can often be hard to tell where in the world you are. Dubai has a delivery service for real “Canadian fir” Christmas trees, while there is a Facebook group called “Christmas in Kuwait,” which is followed by almost 6,000 people.

Political Challenges
Although Christmas can be celebrated without significant hindrance throughout much of the Middle East, it can also bring about a host of challenges, owing to the complications of politics and history. Each year, in the run-up to Christmas, there is the perennial question of whether Muslims are permitted to greet Christians during their religious holidays. For some conservative Muslims, it is wrong to wish Christians a happy Christmas, although Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta, the official body for religious rulings or fatwas, has said that it is permissible.

Holidays such as Christmas can also lead to heightened security measures amid fears that Christians and churches could be targeted by terrorists. For example, in 2010, seven people were shot outside a church in southern Egypt at the end of Christmas Eve Mass, while in December 2017, a church was bombed in the run-up to Coptic Christmas, which disrupted celebrations.

In Iraq, where ISIS was expelled from Mosul in 2017, there was profound symbolism attached to the reinstitution of Christmas services that year. Services were held in the recaptured areas, often in partially destroyed churches. Other Iraqis dressed up as Father Christmas and toured the devastated towns to hand out gifts to children, a bright spot amidst trauma. Christmas trees and Nativity scenes were also erected amidst the rubble and in refugee camps hosting displaced Christians.

Christmas that year featured heavily in state propaganda, as Iraqi leaders wanted to show they were protecting their Christian citizens and that displaced people could return home and exercise their faith once more. When the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, the largest denomination in Iraq, requested that the Iraqi government make Christmas a public holiday in 2018, the government granted the request. In December of that year, the government tweeted, “Happy Christmas to our Christian citizens, all Iraqis and to all who are celebrating around the world.”

In Syria, the 2018 Christmas holiday was also celebrated with gusto and pride despite the years of civil war and conflict with ISIS. Christmas trees were lit up, with music and celebrations held in the streets and squares. The enthusiasm in evidence that year was partly a reaction to the horror witnessed in the country after years of civil war and occupation. It also served to emphasize Syrian Christian support for Bashar al-Assad, to whom many believers looked as a guardian of their religious freedom. As in Iraq, processions and singing in the streets signaled Christian determination to reclaim their ancient homelands and maintain their faith and culture.

In Egypt also, Christmas has become a symbolic occasion for the relationship between the government and Christian citizens. Former president Mohammed Hosni Mubarak made Christmas a national holiday in 2002. In the wake of 9/11, this was likely a political gesture, meant send a message to Egypt’s Western allies that Egypt was an important partner in the Middle East. It also strengthened ties to the Coptic Orthodox Church, which gave the Mubarak regime consistent and public political support. Under President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, Christmas has taken on further political value. Sisi was the first Egyptian president to appear at the Coptic Christmas Eve Mass, which is broadcast on Egyptian television. This was considered a dramatic and significant gesture, which he used to emphasize unity among Egyptians.

In Bethlehem itself, political complications around Christmas are well entrenched. In 2002, Israeli Defense Forces occupied Bethlehem as part of Operation Defensive Shield. During this period, Palestinian militants took refuge in the Church of the Nativity, thereby attracting the focus of the world. Normal Palestinian citizens also took refuge inside the church, thinking that they would be safe and that Western countries would not permit a siege in the place of Christ’s birth.

The same year saw the **** of the Israeli West Bank barrier, extending over 80 kilometers and surrounding Bethlehem on three sides. Consequently, checkpoints and roadblocks separate the church marking the place where Christ was born from the church marking the place of his crucifixion, even though they are less than 10 kilometers apart. As a result, it is more difficult for Palestinian Christians from other areas to visit Bethlehem for Christmas and move between the two holy sites.

Jesus and Santa Hats
As elsewhere, Christmas in the Middle East is subject to the pressures of globalization and commercialization. This often has the effect of overshadowing local traditions and watering down the religious aspect of Christmas. At the same time, in places where strong local traditions haven’t developed around Christmas, more universal Christmas traditions often take on greater importance, especially for younger generations. For Christians who live in Muslim-majority societies, adopting international aspects of Christmas, such as wearing Santa hats or Christmas sweaters and singing about dashing through the snow, offers a sense of solidarity with the global Christian community. For some, this is a brief escape from their status as cultural or religious minorities.

Exposure to Western Christmas celebrations does not necessarily undermine the religious message either. Consider, for instance, the way that Western Christmas carols have been translated into Arabic and used in various celebrations. An Arabic version of “Silent Night” was broadcast on Lebanese TV and in Egypt to Protestant Christians in particular.

Christmas celebrations are undergoing a process of change as different traditions come into contact with each other, which is quite natural. In historically Christian countries, various commercializing and globalizing trends might be seen as diminishing the message of Christmas, but in non-Christian countries they can sometimes have the opposite effect. In countries like those of the Arabian Peninsula, that previously had no (or very small) Christian communities, Christmas celebrations are now a familiar feature of life, even if the general message of peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind—or the jolly figure of Santa—often edges out the birth of Christ.

Yet even when it comes to Jesus, Christmas in the Middle East can represent common ground from an interfaith perspective, because Muslims also believe he was born of the Virgin Mary. The Nativity story, albeit with many differences, appears in the Qur’an. Additionally, most people find joy in the birth of a baby. In Arabic, Christmas is called Eid al-Milad, the festival of the birth. Disagreements arise, of course, over who Jesus is and what happened to him; Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet but not the son of God, and they do not believe he was crucified. This helps explain why the common manifestations of Christmas celebrations in the region are typically the most neutral: Father Christmas and Christmas trees, lights and decorations.

In this way, the secular culture that has grown up around “the holidays” in the West has paved the way for open Christmas celebrations in regions of the Middle East where they hadn’t been tolerated before. Despite this, Middle Eastern Christians have a great awareness of their own origins in the region and strong connections with the Christmas story and biblical history in general. This is why, despite declining numbers and political instability, Christians in the Middle East will continue to celebrate Christmas in their traditional homelands, with many wearing red Santa hats.










From The Oxford Handbook of Christmas edited by Timothy Larsen. Copyright © 2020 by Timothy Larsen and published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 25, 2020, 11:31:41 pm
I hope everyone had a nice day with family and loved ones. This could be the last Christmas with freedom in our lives. I'm praying and hoping for the best. God bless you all.
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 29, 2020, 10:44:42 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLvN0HqSkcU
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: guest8 on December 29, 2020, 07:04:53 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLvN0HqSkcU

I agree with the Title.

Blade
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on January 02, 2021, 07:49:47 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF3PROKz8Xc
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on January 13, 2021, 10:49:01 am
(https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/121489.png?w=700)
https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2021/january/vital-information-for-churches-and-christian-leaders.html







Will Churches be Back to Normal by Easter, Summer, or Fall? Vital Information for Churches and Christian Leaders





A brief overview of Ed Stetzer's interview with Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health


Ed Stetzer: [Church leaders] are asking questions about when we might be back together. Help us understand the timeline a bit more, knowing thing might not go the way that we expect.

Dr. Francis Collins: I’ve been working from home for almost a year and I expect I’m going to be in my home office for a few more months. Here we are at the beginning of 2021, and this pandemic across our country is the worst it’s been, with 3,000 people or more losing their lives every day.

The bright spot, of course, is the development of vaccines. We do now have two such vaccines that are carefully reviewed, shown to be safe and effective by rigorous means, and authorized by the FDA for emergency use. We’re doing everything we can to get those dosages into people’s arms because that is how we are going to get past this.

I know people may have mixed feelings about the vaccine. For me, as a scientist, it feels to me that God gave us the skills to be able to understand how these things work, to identify this pathogen, and to (in record time) be able to come up with the vaccine, which has 95% efficacy. They’re actually a lot better than most of us dreamed we would have at the present time. So this is a gift from God, and a gift we all need to embrace to get past this.

To be able to immunize 300 million people is not something that can be done in less than a few months. I do think, by June or thereabouts, we might be getting close to that point where 80-85% of the country is immune. At that point, the virus has to start fading away, because there aren’t enough new people to infect.

I don’t think that we’ll be able to bring churches together for an Easter celebration this year, though I would love if that were the case. It is going to take all of us to get there.

I am concerned that people of faith, in some instances, seem reluctant to embrace this as a gift. If only half of Americans take this vaccine, we will not be past this any time soon. We have to get to the point where most of the population is immune, or we haven’t really ended things.

Stetzer: What would you say to those who think this vaccine was rushed?

Collins: We did move this more quickly than has ever happened. Partly this is because of new technologies that were developed in the last 25 years. Let me assure you, as a physician and scientist who has been in the middle of these vaccine developments for the past year, the only corners that have been cut were the bureaucratic ones.

The science is as rigorous as anything we have ever done, in terms of vaccine development. The ultimate conclusion about safety and efficacy, which is in the public domain, is incredibly compelling. 30,000 people enrolled in these trials, and 95% efficacy showed up with no real evidence of any safety concerns. The data is there! So, ignore the conspiracy theories and look at the evidence. That is what we are all called to do.

[Dr. Collins also addressed question about stem cell lines, the process, and conspiracy theories. Listen to the full interview here]

Stetzer: You’ve said elsewhere that taking the vaccine is not something you do for your just yourself, but as a way to love other people. Can you tell us more about that?

Collins: There are two primary ways.

First, this virus is so hard to manage because you can carry it and spread it without even knowing. Vaccination is a way to reduce that risk.

Second, on a larger scale, if we are all part of a community, we really need all of us engaged in the effort to generate herd immunity.

We need everyone to succeed. This isn’t so different from putting on a seatbelt or not drinking and driving. We don’t want to make the vaccine a law, but it is a moral responsibility.

Stetzer: What do you think the level of mitigation will be at by summer?

Collins: I wish I could be more precise. Some of this depends on whether other vaccines get approved. There are six more being studied. The more that get approved, the quicker we can vaccinate.

We also have to study whether or not the vaccine is safe and effective for children. There is still a lot of uncertainty.

Don’t have your heart set on June, but by the fall we ought to be in a pretty good place. I don’t think it would be totally unrealistic to think that by June or July that we might be in a place to have a lot more public gatherings, including churches, but I can’t promise that.

If 30% or 40% of Americans don’t take it, we don’t get out of this.

Stetzer: When you say it’s going to be different in the fall, what will it look like?

Collins: There is a big unanswered question.

We are intensely investigating whether or not those who have received the vaccine can still spread the virus even if they don’t get sick. If the vaccine means they don’t get sick and they can’t convey the virus, mask wearing won’t be expected. If you can still spread the virus even after the vaccination, you’ll still have to wear a mask.

I don’t think so, but we have to keep the option open.

Stetzer: To close, give us a short vision on why Christians should be engaged with the vaccine, and should advocate for it.

Collins: This is not the first plague that we’ve had to deal with. Christians have always had the courage to figure out how to help. We should do that now.

We won’t help the situation if we don’t get the vaccine and continue to spread the virus or ignore protective measures.

One of the ways we evangelize is through our actions. Are we creating a positive public witness? Are we a group people want to be a part of? Are we helping our neighbors? Are we reaching out to the lonely? Are we being a listening ear, virtually?

Let’s focus on being a part of worldview that others want to be a part of. We can get through this, but we have to get through this together.








Ed Stetzer is executive director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, serves as a dean at Wheaton College, and publishes church leadership resources through Mission Group. The Exchange Team contributed to this article and has updated the article.
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 04, 2021, 05:47:47 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYPiXWfUiuk
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 05, 2021, 12:29:45 am
Who Were the Magi



1 hour 15 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irWL-jHE-Tw&list=WL&index=18



The Gospel of Matthew tells us that "magi" from the East brought gifts to the infant Jesus following a mysterious star. Western Christianity commemorates this event with the feast of Epiphany, on January 6. What do we know about these wise men? Where did they come? Were they kings or Zoroastrian priests? Is there any evidence of a new star? We'll look at all these and other questions to reveal the meaning of this story from a mythological and theological view point.
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2020 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 09, 2021, 05:33:56 am
(https://www-images.christianitytoday.com/images/126877.jpg?h=393&w=700)
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/december/christmas-jesus-birth-son-god-existence-lifeway-survey.html







Most Americans, and Many Christians, Don’t Believe the Son of God Existed Before the Manger








There’s widespread agreement around Christmas as a historical event, but people are confused around the timeline for the Son’s existence, per a recent survey.


Christmas is a celebration of a real event, according to most Americans. Just don’t expect them to know exactly why Jesus was born and came to earth.

A new study from Lifeway Research finds close to 3 in 4 Americans believe Jesus was born in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago. Even more say Jesus is the son of God the Father, but less than half believe Jesus existed prior to being born on that first Christmas.

“Most Americans consider Jesus’ birth a historical fact,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “It can be easy to only evaluate Jesus like you would any other historical figure—thinking about when He lived and what He did. However, the Bible also describes Jesus in a way that one must evaluate who you believe He was. Most Americans believe His origin was from God the Father, but half as many believe He existed before His birth.”

More than 9 in 10 Americans (91%) celebrate Christmas, according to a previous Lifeway Research study released this year. For most of those celebrating, Christmas is about a historical occurrence. More than 7 in 10 (72%) say the Jesus Christians believe in was born in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago, including 49 percent who strongly agree. Few (9%) disagree, while 18 percent aren’t sure.

Most Americans (80%) agree Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father, while 10 percent disagree and 10 percent aren’t sure.

The average person isn’t quite as sure about the Son of God’s existence prior to Jesus’ birth. Around 2 in 5 (41%) say God’s son existed before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Close to 1 in 3 Americans (32%) disagree, and 28 percent say they’re not sure.

“The 2020 State of Theology Study showed that 72 percent of Americans believe there is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,” McConnell said. “Prophecies such as those in Isaiah 9 reflect that the Messiah would be the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. While these titles reflect the Trinity, some Americans do not connect the Jesus born in Bethlehem with the Messiah who already existed as God now coming in the flesh.”

The religiously unaffiliated are least likely to agree with any of the statements surrounding Jesus’ birth and identity, but some still believe despite their stated disconnect from organized religion. Almost half (48%) believe Jesus Christ is the son of God the Father. A third (33%) say Jesus was really born in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago. Fewer (15%) believe the Son of God existed before Jesus was born.

Among Christians, those who attend church four times a month or more, are most likely to believe each of the statements about Jesus and His birth: 98 percent believe He is the Son of God the Father, 95 percent say He was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, and 63 percent agree the Son of God existed before Jesus was born.

Why Christmas?
Americans aren’t always sure what motivations Jesus ascribed to Himself and His coming to earth. When given seven options—four correct and three incorrect—for reasons the Bible records Jesus as saying why He came, only one choice garnered a small majority.

Americans are more likely to choose a correct answer than the false ones. Half (51%) say the Bible records Jesus as saying He came to give His life for many, which Jesus does say in Mark 10:45 (“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”).

Around 3 in 10 Americans (31%) rightly say Jesus came to give life in abundance (“I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance,” John 10:10 CSB) and testify to truth (“I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth,” John 18:37
CSB).

Far fewer (9%) believe the Bible records Jesus saying He came to bring division rather than peace, despite Him making that claim in Luke 12:51. Altogether, only 3 percent of Americans recognized all four options in the list that match biblical quotes from Jesus.

Fewer than 1 in 10 Americans falsely identified other reasons for Jesus’ coming to earth: 9 percent believe Jesus said He came to be served (contradicted by Mark 10:45), 8 percent think He said He wanted to abolish the Old Testament law and prophets (contradicted by Matthew 5:17), and 8 percent say Jesus came to condemn sinners (contradicted by John 3:17).

“Despite widespread belief that Jesus really came to earth as a baby, there is far less familiarity with why Jesus said He came,” said McConnell. “However, the majority of Americans believe Jesus came to give His life for many, which is reflected in the angel’s words to Joseph in Matthew 1:21, ‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.’”
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 17, 2021, 03:46:34 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHlWljApgTw
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 17, 2021, 07:47:41 pm
Prophecies in the Christmas Story



In recounting his version of the story of Jesus’ birth, the author of the gospel of Matthew tells readers “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet.” But how well do the Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke align with prophecies about the coming Messiah in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament)?   

In this live streamed lecture John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline the prophecies cited by the evangelists and the insight they give into the creative and non-literalistic way the earliest Christians understood scripture. A Q&A will follow the lecture.




1 hour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87YEtQRGI40
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 23, 2021, 08:29:07 am
Jazz Christmas Music Instrumental Guitar "A Silent Night" #relaxation #holiday #guitar #music #poem



Jazz Christmas Music Instrumental Guitar "A Silent Night" is a really cool Holiday Music Video featuring the stunning guitar music by Justin Johnson. The actual song, "Silent Night" was written originally as a poem, so I've recited it alongside the guitar. Enjoy! #relaxation #holiday #guitar #music #recitation #blues




4 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CdFYfk8XPk
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 25, 2021, 07:05:20 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXKmhIsl-PA&list=WL&index=220
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 25, 2021, 07:09:47 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYjKIJySUjI&list=WL&index=219
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 25, 2021, 07:09:24 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ3SFd8vsq4
Title: Re: CHRISTMAS 2019 ✝🕊 THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH FREEDOM
Post by: patrick jane on December 31, 2021, 09:51:50 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPY2hhPUJy4