BenTha'er-Horizons

religion

The Biblical Philistines

Archeologists are exploring a site south of Tel Aviv that was an ancient seaport. They are finding evidence of the Philistines who lived there. Some of the notorious villains of the Bible, Goliath and Delilah, were from the Philistine era. Read more about this interesting finding.
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Bone Church in Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, there is a church that holds the remains of between 40,000 and 70,000 people. Many died during the plague in the 1300s, other in wars in the 15th Century. The bones have been used to increase the decorative appearance inside the church. It is a bit macabre. See it here, the Sedlec Ossuary.
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The Crusades

Our President recently insulted Christians at the National Prayer Breakfast. As a Christian, I certainly feel his comments were insulting and beyond what the President should do or say. That he is not like any other prior President and seems to care little what other Americans like or want (even his supporters at times) is evident.His comments also tended to misrepresent Christianity's role in the Crusades. Here is information the author says is the real history of the Crusades.
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Parisien Jihad

We have been through 3 days of intense news coverage of an overwhelming loss of life through execution shooting of a cartoonist publication office and then a Jewish market in Paris. Most of the perpetrators are dead now yet one woman is still on the loose. She was the spouse of one of the dead gunmen. France now has their most severe terrorist attack and are reeling from it. An interesting article and discussion of how France came to this pass and what they now how to look forward to with jihadists in their midst.
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Radical Islam in the Middle East

It helps to read books and magazine articles on different perspectives regarding the history of peoples and religions in the Middle East. Here is an interesting article about the development of radical Islam in the Middle East in more recent times.
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Good Friday and Passover

Tonight Bob and I went with our neighbors, Diane Winterboer and Josi Lewis, to the Crawfordsville Church to attend a seder dinner. Passover and Good Friday occurred this week very close together, much like they did in Jesus’ day. We had soup and bread, again much like at the Last Supper Jesus had. At the Last Supper, Jesus shared Passover traditions with his disciples. He knew he was going to die and his life was forfeit for our signs. The pastors shared the traditions of Passover and what they meant in Jesus’ day. There was coverage of the history of Passover and the symbolism of each item and ritual performed. It was very educational. Passover stood for freedom of the Israelites from Egypt and it still stands for freedom to this day. Jesus offers freedom to us as we accept the gift of him dying for our sins.
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Christians Under Attack

It is very disturbing to read the level of hatred and violence that is being directed toward Christians in different part of the world. Here is an article that lays out the descriptions and number of violent attacks in the month of September 2013.

“The same month that Obama tried to wage war on behalf of the jihadi rebels in Syria (citing "human rights" concerns), some of the war's worst atrocities were committed against that nation's Christian minority, most notably in Ma'loula, an ancient Christian region where the inhabitants spoke Aramaic, the language of Jesus.”
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Christian Closet

It has been disturbing to read about the bullying and free speech (and thought) suppression of Christians going on in this country. It feels as if the anti-religion crowd, especially ones opposed to Christians (Catholics, evangelicals, etc.) are trying to suppress, change, and even charge Christians for their beliefs. The Defense Dept. is using a atheist consultant to advise them on religious tolerance who believes anyone who speaks out on their Christian beliefs should be tried for treason and sedition. Charges as such could lead to prison or the death penalty. So, Christian are being pushed into the “closet” and others are being applauded for coming out. One such description is here. Says a lot for tolerance and diversity doesn’t it?
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