Category Archives: Jewish History/Culture

Happy Chanukah!

Happy Chanukah!
Tonight at sundown begins the Jewish celebration of Chanukah, also called the Feast of Dedication. It’s a traditional (as opposed to Biblical) holiday marking God’s deliverance of His people. The event remembers God's provision whereby He miraculously extended the oil lamps in the temple for eight nights instead of one as they fought the Greeks to retake…
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Advent

Advent
In ancient times, the Romans would look forward to the coming of their emperor, their king. This time of preparation for his coming was called his advent. It literally means "coming" or "arrival". One of those emperors, Augustus, even had advent coins minted that declared himself son of god. He was going to usher in…
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Is Christmas a Christian holiday?

Is Christmas a Christian holiday?
Or is Christmas a Biblical holiday? Well, it depends on what you mean by that. The root of what we celebrate, the Word made flesh, certainly is at the foundation of our Christian beliefs. But the holiday itself finds no basis in our Bible. In other words, we were never instructed to celebrate Jesus' birth.…
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Too rich for heaven?

Too rich for heaven?
An article I read asked the question if it is possible to have too much wealth to get into heaven. That the question was even being asked seemed to make some kind of valuation or judgment on some “other” person. We live in a divided society – socially and politically – but the church should…
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