Browsing: Religion

A Brief History On December 19, 2016, Berlin, Germany, was the scene of a horrific mass murder by a frustrated asylum seeker from Tunisia who hijacked a truck and drove it into a crowd of people at a Christmas Market, leaving a dozen dead and scores injured. Digging Deeper While firearms are usually given the most attention when it comes to mass murder, the sad fact is that people with murderous intent have shown surprising ingenuity in the employment of alternate means of committing their heinous acts, such as motor vehicles, bombs, edged weapons, poisons, aircraft, and fire. The perpetrator…

A Brief History On October 27, 312, Emperor Constantine the Great of the Roman Empire on the eve of the Battle of Milvian Bridge is reported to have had a vision or dream of the Christian Cross, leading to his men fighting under the protection of the cross. Sure enough, Constantine beat his rival as Roman Emperor, Maxentius and won the battle, eventually turning the Roman Empire Christian. The date and whether or not the vision really happened has been argued. Digging Deeper Some other notable historic visions include: Visions of the Virgin Mary are numerous in Christian lore, most…

A Brief History On October 24, 1260, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres was dedicated.  Taking about 26 years to build, the great church is on the site of previous iterations of the cathedral, going as far back as the 4th Century and having additions to the beautiful edifice through the years, and in 1979 designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  The cathedral draws visitors to see the relic called the Sancta Camisa, a tunic worn by Mary when Christ was born. Digging Deeper Religious buildings often receive the highest efforts of architects and artists of their day,…

A Brief History On October 23, 4004 BC, the Earth experienced its first day, having been created by God at 6 pm the previous night, at least according to the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, James Ussher.  Ussher apparently used the Bible to make his calculations of the date of the creation of the Earth around 1650. Digging Deeper In fact, another Biblical researcher, Englishman John Lightfoot, had a decade earlier made his own calculations placing the Earth’s birthday at 3929 BC. Which clergyman should Christians believe?  Or should Christians believe modern scientists that claim the Earth…

A Brief History On October 13, 1307, King Philip the Fair of France had hundreds of the Knights Templar arrested on trumped up charges of heresy, even though Pope Clement knew the charges were false! Digging Deeper King Phillip IV of France was known as “Phillip the Fair,” but the nickname was based on his good looks, not his equitableness . His critics called him “The Iron King” and perhaps less flattering epithets. Reigning from 1284 to 1305, Phillip engaged in wars with England and with Flanders as well.  Driving the country and the throne into financial straits, Phillip found…