Did You Know??

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That The Church of the Nativity; Bethlehem, Judah, in southern Palestine, is one of the world’s most tourist attractions. Thought to have been built over the birthplace of Jesus Christ, most scholars rate it as one of the most authenticated sites in the Holy Land. Meaning House of Bread, Bethlehem is the town where Jesus, the Bread of Life was born! – MIC. 5:2; MT. 2:1-18; JN. 7:42.

That the palaces of Assyrian kings, Ashurbanipal, Ashurnasirpal and Sennacherib are among the most important archaeological finds at Nineveh. Another major find was the royal library of Ashurbanipal which housed over 16,000 cuneiform tablets containing Mesopotamian stories of the creation of the Bible book of Genesis {GEN. 1:1-32}and the Flood of Noah’s day {GEN.6, 7, 8}.

That between 486 – 464 B.C., Khshayarsh was king of Persia. Ahausuerus is the Hebrew and Xerxes is the Greek names of this strange and contradictory personality. The Book of Esther {1:1-7} records a feast of one hundred and eighty days that this king gave for his lords and nobles in his third year or 483 B.C., which Herodotus, a most prominent historian of antiquity penciled down as a cover for a planned military campaign against Greece. However, this feast set the stage for the enthronement of Esther, a Jewess as queen and the deliverance of the Jews from their enemies in a festival that is still extant among orthodox Jews – ESTHER 9:5-23. But in 479 B.C., the Greeks dealt king Ahausuerus a mortal defeat at Salamis.

That Damascus, the Syrian capital is the oldest continually inhabited city on planet earth. Josephus, the pre-eminent Jewish historian of antiquity said that its founder was Uz, a grandson of Shem {GEN. 5:32; 10:21}. Damascus was noted for the production of damask, a patterned cloth from which it may have gotten its name.

That the term Korinthianomai – “to act like a Corinthian” – developed as a bi-word for equating prostitution and debauchery, two abominations that the Corinthians excelled in. The Temple of Aphrodite had 1,000 Heroduli {consecrated prostitutes} for the free use of the worshippers of the “goddess of love.” Vice, ungodly fun, hedonism, evil pleasure, sensuous entertainment and mortal corruption dethroned morality in and around the city of the goddess. Like today’s ultra liberal media, the infamous temple of the fertility goddess poisoned morals and etiquette.

That Pope Benedict XV1 was a staunch defender of Roman Catholic orthodoxy, a diehard traditionalist not averse to stirring up controversies? Born Joseph Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, in the predominantly Catholic southern state of Bavaria to a policeman, the future Pontiff took to the priesthood instead of joining the Hitler Youth movement and was ordained a priest with his elder brother in 1951. A very brilliant scholar, Ratzinger lectured in many German universities until Joseph Cardinal Frings, the archbishop of Cologne, moved him to Rome as an adviser to the Second Vatican Council, working on reforms between 1962 and 1965. In 1977, Pope Paul V1 gave him a cardinal’s hat and named him archbishop of Munich. At the 1978 conclave of cardinals to elect a successor to Pope Paul VI, he became acquainted with Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II. Three years later in 1980, Cardinal Ratzinger became the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He famously rejected the ordination of women and marriage for priests and stoutly opposed homosexuality. He spearheaded opposition to liberation theology, the Marxist movement that engulfed Latin America in the 1970s.

Cardinal Ratzinger championed Christianity’s European roots and stressed family values, giving no space to abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage. In 1984, he said that “communism regimes which came to power in the name of liberation are one of the disgraces of our times.” He upset Jews, Muslims, Poles, native Indians, AIDS activists and scientists. Never afraid of upsetting political sensibilities, he became the first pope to express ‘shame” over clerical abuse of women and children and labeled rock music “the expression of basic passions.” His 2006 speech which seemed to endorse the view of an obscure 14th-century Byzantine emperor that Islam is inherently violent caused a fury in the Muslim world. By the time he became Pope Benedict XV1 on April 19, 2005, at age 78, the cerebral German gift to Catholicism had acquired the sobriquet “God’s Rottweiler.” He zeroed his papacy on restoring the Catholic Church’s identity, improving the coherence of its message and pushing for a respectful dialogue with other faiths and atheists.

A New Media fan and the first pope to operate a Twitter account, the aged Pope made the church to keep up with the times. He also allowed that Christianity will only remain credible in the modern world if it is demanding. An accomplished pianist, Pope Benedict XV1 is a prolific author, with three encyclicals and about 40 other books including a bestseller, Jesus of Nazareth. When age impeded his pastoral duties, the man who once described himself as “just the vicar” retired on February 2013 at age 85.



Historian, freelance journalist and writer, Pastor Joseph Emeka Anumbor is the author of THE INTERCOURSE OF TROUBLED THOUGHTS, a critically acclaimed discourse on homosexuality published by AuthorHouse Inc, Indiana, USA.


MERRY XMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR
Folks, the good hand of God has been upon us throughout this year – JERE. 30:19. And this is worth celebrating. Praise God! Spiritual dryness has been the lot of man in all ages, but if you gave your life to Christ this year and you are still redeemed, it’s because of the good hand of our God. Praise the Lord Jesus! Global economic crunch is cyclical throughout history, but if you are still provisioned by Jehovah Jireh, then it’s by the good hand of God. Bless His name! Famine {which has many formats – spiritual, marital, economic, physical, emotional, commercial, educational} is a fact of existence, but if you are delivered from them, then it’s by the good hand of God – JOB. 5:19-25.

Life has two choices – the way of rising and the way of falling – JOS. 1:8. Life becomes smooth when you understand the principle that guides the phase that of live that you are under per time.

FEAR has two definitions, according to a man of wisdom. The first definition means to FORGET EVERYTHING AND RUN {FEAR!}. This spells defeat, dethronement, unforgiveness, total surrender, inability to face the truth, blaming others for your shortcomings. It evidences a life that’s far from God and righteousness. The second definition means to FACE EVERYTHING AND RISE {FEAR}! This spells strength, ability to forgive, a determination to audit your life truthfully, not to engage in blame game, to stay away from pity party and iron guts to succeed honestly. It evidences a life that fears God and strives to please Him.

Friend, what’s your FEAR in 2015? And what FEAR are you carrying into 2016? Please be mindful to give God thanks for His mercies endure forever!

Men and brethren, compliments of this season of the Lord Jesus Christ

Shalom!

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Articles by Emeka Anumbor