“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. “ Luke 2:10-11
I’ve been thinking recently about how similar all of the worlds religions are to each other, and how we can be at war with one another at the same time. Since becoming a Christian I have been picked on, laughed at, argued with, lectured, avoided and probably a number of other things I’m not even aware of. But have I, or my beliefs really changed so much? I went from worshiping a virgin Goddess who gave birth to God who sacrifices himself so that his body may become the harvest that we eat to survive to believing a virgin gave birth to the Son of God who went on to sacrifice himself so that the world could be saved. Sorry, not seeing the horribleness of this transformation people. I'm still Amanda! If I like Campbell’s chicken soup and you like Lipton’s, does that mean we can’t eat together? They are small cans of soup, can’t we just make our own in peace.
Case in point...This holiday has always felt like a second chance to me. Guess that's what New Years resolutions are all about. Think about how this day must have brought hope to the people. The long cold Winter night bringing hope that the sun will be born and bring us life. Am I talking about Christmas? Not yet… The Winter Solstice is a Pagan holiday marking the beginning and the end of Winter. The days will get colder from now on, but the longest night is behind us which means the sun is gaining strength and will soon shine brightly, to bring us new life. (Sound familiar?)
OK, lets forget about the sun for a moment and lets discuss the Son. Christmas is one of the, if not the biggest Christian celebrations. This time of the year marks the birth of Jesus, God’s only son. Born in a manger (no crib for his bed, come on you know the song…) He was born in a distressing time, in a distressing place, to, well let’s face it, how distressed would you be if you were giving birth in a barn? I’m sure it wasn’t pretty, but in his birth the world found hope for new life. The Son has come to save us. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.” Acts 16:31
Christmas is the great second chance, or is it the third chance? I seem to recall an incident with an apple in a garden. Or maybe it’s a fourth chance. There was that little matter of a few ungrateful people in the desert after being delivered from slavery in Egypt. Or wait it could be a fifth chance… Wasn’t the flood a clean slate? Oh never mind all that, to me, Christmas is a symbol of the infinite chances God gives to his people. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that all who believe in him shall never perish but have eternal life” John 3:16 Jesus “did not come to condemn the world, but to save it.” John 3:17
Ok, to the Christians who are still mad at me for opening with a pagan holiday, I know the Bible says Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through.” him, John 14:6 , and that we as believers need to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:15 You must also remember to
“Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth.” 2 Timothy 2:25 Spread the GOOD news! In case we’re not on the same page here, except Jesus into your heart and be saved from sin for all of eternity = Good News, burning in Hell for all eternity for believing something different = Bad News.
A Pastor once told me that he keeps a Buddha he got on a missions trip in China on his desk . He keeps it there to remind him of the different faiths of the world. I thought to myself, “Self, this is a man who is going to change the world.” To change someone’s mind you must first understand it. Think of the last time someone taught you something, did they first approach you by telling you everything you believe is wrong? Or did they take the time to listen to you and see where you are coming from?
For everyone else, The Crusades were years ago, and despite what George Bush said, we are not starting them up again so in the spirit of the season lets all just try and get along! (Now I’ve managed to get myself into political and religious trouble all in one blog, my talents astonish even myself at times.) Even in my most anti-Christian Paganist (yes I know that’s not a word) of days, I never minded the Evangelicals. I knew they meant no harm. In fact I always thought it was noble that someone could care so much about the salvation of a stranger. (In researching and talking with people about this I have already gotten the response “Of course the Evangelicals mean harm. They mean to harm anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe. That’s exactly what the Crusades were.” OK true. But this is precisely why I’ve decided to write this blog, to show the world (What? I can’t dream big? Yes, the world.) what true Christianity is and what it isn’t.)
In this spirit of understanding, put on your listening ears kiddos we‘re learning about faiths around the world…
Hanukkah (A large portion of this information was copied from) http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/hanukkah.htm
(But not this) From ‘Meet The Parents” with Ben Stiller
Kevin: [On who inspired him to be a wood worker] I'd have to say Jesus. He was a carpenter and I figured if you're going to follow in somebody's footsteps, why not the steps of our lord and savior?
Jack Byrnes: Greg's Jewish.
Kevin: Really?
Greg: Yeah.
Kevin: Well so was J.C...
I learned a lot about Hanukkah that I didn’t know researching for this blog. I found it very interesting. Hanukkah is actually one of the less important Jewish holidays. Because of its proximity to Christmas Hanukkah has become more widely known and celebrated throughout the years. Over this time Hanukkah has become much more festive and Christmas-like. Jewish children receive gifts for Hanukkah – often one gift for each of the eight nights of the holiday. Many parents hope that by making Hanukkah extra special their children won't feel left out of all the Christmas festivities going on around them.
I also learned that the Jewish calendar is lunar based, which means every year the first day of Hanukkah falls on a different day – usually sometime between late November and early December. This is the same with the Winter Solstice too.
In Hebrew, the word “Hanukkah” means “dedication.” The name reminds us that this holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.. In 168 B.C.E. the Jewish Temple was seized by Syrian-Greek soldiers and dedicated to the worship of the god Zeus. This upset the Jewish people, but many were afraid to fight back for fear of reprisals. Then in 167 B.C.E. the Syrian-Greek emperor Antiochus made the observance of Judaism an offense punishable by death. He also ordered all Jews to worship Greek gods.
Jewish resistance began in the village of Modiin, near Jerusalem. Greek soldiers forcibly gathered the Jewish villages and told them to bow down to an idol, then eat the flesh of a pig – both practices that are forbidden to Jews. A Greek officer ordered Mattathias, a High Priest, to acquiesce to their demands, but Mattathias refused. When another villager stepped forward and offered to cooperate on Mattathias' behalf, the High Priest became outraged. He drew his sword and killed the villager, then turned on the Greek officer and killed him too. His five sons and the other villagers then attacked the remaining soldiers, killing all of them.
Mattathias and his family went into hiding in the mountains, where other Jews wishing to fight against the Greeks joined them. Eventually they succeeded in retaking their land from the Greeks. These rebels became known as the Maccabees, or Hasmoneans.
Once the Maccabees had regained control they returned to the Temple in Jerusalem. By this time it had been spiritually defiled by being used for the worship of foreign gods and also by practices such as sacrificing swine. Jewish troops were determined to purify the Temple by burning ritual oil in the Temple’s menorah for eight days. But to their dismay, they discovered that there was only one day's worth of oil left in the Temple. They lit the menorah anyway and to their surprise the small amount of oil lasted the full eight days.
This is the miracle of the Hanukkah oil that is celebrated every year when Jews light a special menorah known as a hanukkiyah for eight days. One candle is lit on the first night of Hanukkah, two on the second, and so on, until eight candles are lit.
Kwanzaa (Information gathered at)
http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.shtml
Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from 26 December thru 1 January, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.
The first-fruits celebrations are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia and appear in ancient and modern times. Kwanzaa builds on the five fundamental activities of Continental African "first fruit" celebrations: ingathering; reverence; commemoration; recommitment; and celebration. Kwanzaa, then, is:
a time of ingathering of the people to reaffirm the bonds between them;
a time of special reverence for the creator and creation in thanks and respect for the blessings, bountifulness and beauty of creation;
a time for commemoration of the past in pursuit of its lessons and in honor of its models of human excellence, our ancestors;
a time of recommitment to our highest cultural ideals in our ongoing effort to always bring forth the best of African cultural thought and practice; and
a time for celebration of the Good, the good of life and of existence itself, the good of family, community and culture, the good of the awesome and the ordinary, in a word the good of the divine, natural and social.
(The following holidays were found on)
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/winter-holidays-around-the-world.html
St. Lucia’s Day: This is a winter holiday celebrated on December 13 in Sweden in honor of St. Lucia, who lived in the third century and is regarded as the patron of light. Young girls bedeck themselves in white colored long dresses with red sashes, and wear a wreath made of lit candles on their heads. They sing songs in order to wake their families up and bring them twisted saffron buns, known as ‘Lucia cats’ and coffee.
Eid-al-Adha: This is a feast that is celebrated by Muslims following their pilgrimage to Mecca that lasts for three days, and begins on January 10. It is a commemoration of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, at the behest of God. Muslims consider Ishmael to be the Arabs’ forefather. (Hey I know this guy… Genesis 22)
Las Posadas: This is a traditional winter holiday celebrated in Mexico between December 16 and December 24. In English, the term Las Posadas translates to ‘the Inn’, and therefore is a re-enactment of Joseph searching for a room at the inn. Hence, every Christmas, there is a procession carrying a doll, which represents Christ as a child and the images of Mary and Joseph riding a small donkey, which goes through the streets.
Bodhi Day: This is celebrated by the Buddhists on December 8 in commemoration of the enlightenment of the Buddha. This is considered the most important holiday for the Buddhists.
As always I have found it fascinating this week to delve into the complex world of varying faiths, or not so varying as the case seems to be. If you know of someone I’ve missed please let me know I’d love to learn about it. Hope you’ve found this blog to be interesting, maybe you learned something, and I’d like to wish you have a very Merry Christmas.
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