Churches and faith organizations unite to pray for an end to poverty

Thousands of people will join with one voice in praying for an end to poverty as they connect with God’s heart for justice.

From 1 to 7 March, churches and individual Christians worldwide will spend time with God and pray about issues of poverty and justice as part of the One Voice prayer campaign led by Tearfund, 24-7 Prayer and CompassionArt.

The ministries have developed prayer resources for the week, including material giving guidance on prayers for Haiti following the January 12 earthquake that left more than 200,000 people dead and another 1.5 million homeless and in need of aid.
Tearfund Chief Executive Matthew Frost said the response to its Haiti appeal had been incredible.

“All around the UK, churches have been praying for people affected by the earthquake and for the churches on the ground in Haiti who have been responding since day one to the urgent needs of so many people,” he said.

“It has reminded me of the privilege it is to be part of the global church at a time like this – we’re able to reach out to our brothers and sisters and lift them up in prayer as they seek to meet the needs of those around them.”

Churches will hear a message from former Delirious? frontman and CompassionArt founder Martin Smith in a short film guiding them on how they can pray and listen to God as they spend time considering his heart for justice.

Some churches are planning to open their doors 24 hours a day for the duration of the week to allow people to come and pray in creative prayer spaces. Other churches are planning to give time over in their scheduled services to reflecting on the needs of the global community.

“When we pray, we have a heart transplant with Jesus and we can’t help but become the answer to our prayers,” said Andrea Percy of 24-7 Prayer UK.

“We no longer see ‘the poor’: we see ‘people’. We respond as family. The child orphaned by Aids becomes my daughter; the widow, my mother. The man who has just lost his home in Haiti, my brother; the farmer who has no rain for his crops, my father.

“Let’s speak up for those who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. In the words of Proverbs 31, speak out for justice and stand up for the poor and destitute.”

“Blasphemous” images of Jesus cause riots in India

Reactions to the "blasphemous" use of an image of Jesus in Indian school textbooks resulted in the damage of two churches and a number of businesses over the weekend in the northern Punjab state.

An image of Christ holding a can of what looks like Schlitz beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other has raised eyebrows across India and sparked unrest last Saturday in the Punjabi city of Batala. According to the Vatican's Fides news agency, the image printed in elementary school textbooks was labeled with the word "idol."

A group of Catholic sisters in the city of Shillong in northeastern India had seen the image in print and asked that the book not be used in schools, which the state government honored. However, according to Fides and other news sources, in other places fundamentalists opted to post copies of the representation in public places, some reaction was peaceful, other was not.

A protest of the image was organized on Feb. 20 involving all the Christian denominations in the area. Unfortunately, the demonstration degenerated to the point of a motorbike being burnt.

Hindu fundamentalist groups leaders reportedly mobilized their leaders, inciting the crowd and prompting them to retaliate. The mob set fire to a church belonging to the Churches of North India. The building was destroyed and its minister and his 15-year-old son were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.

Four Christian youth and four Hindus were taken into police custody for creating public disorder and have since been released pending further investigation into the matter by the local judiciary.

(Image from AP: Of interest is that the primary school textbook, which teaches cursive handwriting, used the picture of Jesus on the page for the letter 'I' - to represent Idol)

(For the full article please go to http://www.christiantelegraph.com)

Internationally renowned theology professor tragically drowns

The drowned body of Professor Steve de Gruchy, was found in the Mooi River by police divers and dogs on Wednesday. De Gruchy was the head of the school of religion and theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Pietermaritzburg campus.

De Gruchy was tubing with his son, David, 15, on Sunday when he came off his tube as they approached rapids. Teams searched frantically for him for almost three days until his body was eventually recovered about 700m downriver from where he initially disappeared.

Professor de Gruchy was an ordained minister in the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), the Editor of the Journal of Theology for Southern Africa since 2003, as well as serving as Head of Theology in Pietermaritzburg. He was respected throughout international theological circles for his work.

The university website (http://www.ukzn.ac.za) includes the following information in his academic profile:

“Prof de Gruchy has always had a lively academic and practical interest in the interface between the Christian faith and social ethics. During his student years at the University of Cape Town he served on the Student Representative Council, was active in the student anti-apartheid movement, a signatory to the Kairos Document, and was a Conscientious Objector to military service. His work in the under-resourced rural area of Kuruman continued this focus where he helped establish NGOs working in the field of land rights, small business development, early childhood development, and leadership training. His academic work has all drawn from that praxis, and continues to be constantly informed by ongoing engagement with people working at community level, especially his students from throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Most recently he has been engaged in research work on the interface between religion and health in Africa in the context of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, and with a specific focus on Zambia.”

A local Pietermaritzburg minister and fellow lecturer at the University, the Rev. Delme Linscott wrote the following tribute for his blog (included here by his permission):

“I join with many sad family and friends as we mourn the loss of Prof Steve De Gruchy. While tubing with his family on Sunday, tragedy struck and he went missing in the river. His body was found this morning. We are all in shock and send our prayers, love and support to his family.

Last Friday Steve and I briefly chatted while we were both making photocopies at the Varsity. He asked how I was doing and I enquired about his heavy workload. His daughter stood next to him whilst we chatted and I remember thinking, "She loves and admires her dad! How awesome!"
Little did I ever expect the tragedy that has now unfolded.

Although we were not close friends, in a sense, I still feel an overwhelming heaviness and numbness. It should not end like this:(

Pray for the De Gruchy family at this time. The memorial service will be on Saturday.

Rest in Peace, Steve. “

Jerusalem wall matches Biblical account say archeologists

A team of Israeli archaeologists has announced the discovery of a massive wall they say dates to the 10th century BCE in Jerusalem's Ophel Park on the slope between the Temple Mount and the village of Silwan. The dig director, Dr. Eilat Mazar, dates the wall according to potsherds found nearby to the period of King Solomon and the major period of construction in Jerusalem in the First Temple period, as described in the Bible.

The dig is a joint project by the Hebrew University, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Along with the wall, which is 10 meters high and 70 meters long, other structures were found, including a monumental gatehouse and a tower. According to Mazar, the wall is additional proof of the accuracy of the Bible's description of the grandeur of the period of David and Solomon.

According to 1 Kings 3:1, Solomon brought his royal Egyptian wife "into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about."

"If we take the type of building and the finds and examine them in the light of what we know from the Bible, it certainly goes together well," Mazar says. "It suits the biblical story and upgrades our ability to propose an association to the wall of Jerusalem that King Solomon built. It's not wise to relate to archaeology without the biblical text. It is very possible that the Bible, like stories of dynasties, preserves a kernel of truth," she says.

The artifacts found near the wall are seen as further proof of its construction during the Israelite period. An inscription found on a fragment of a jug reads "of the overseer of the ba...", which Mazar believes refers to the "overseer of the bakers." Other fragments bear the words "of the king." Clay seals were also found bearing dozens of names.

According to Mazar, the wall, which has been uncovered over the past few months, was built on a very high level in terms of construction and engineering, and was perched on the natural rock scarp in a way that protected the Temple Mount from the east.

"This is the first time a structure has been found that could conform to descriptions of King Solomon's construction in Jerusalem," Mazar says.

(For the full story please go to http://www.haaretz.com)

Tongans gather to pray as dangerous cyclone menaces

Tongans went to church and prayed Sunday as Tropical Cyclone Rene barreled toward their islands, threatening to intensify and hit the South Pacific nation directly.
After brushing past American Samoa and Samoa on Saturday without doing much damage, the powerful storm was moving southwest on a track that would take it across central and southern Tonga, Nadi Tropical Cyclone Center forecaster Alipate Waqaicelua said.
The storm was centered about 212 miles northeast of the Tongan archipelago at midafternoon Sunday, he said.

"With this southward movement . . . it's heading directly toward Tonga," Mr. Waqaicelua told the Associated Press. "If the center goes right on [this track], then within 24 to 36 hours it will be very close to Tonga."

The storm will be accompanied by hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and powerful sea surges, he said.

Rene was packing winds of 90 miles an hour with gusts of up to 130 mph and was expected to intensify in the next 12 to 24 hours, Mr. Waqaicelua said.

In the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa, there was little evidence of preparations for the cyclone. Few buildings were shuttered, but fishing boats were returning to port.
Tonga's meteorological office warned that the cyclone could "increase to very destructive hurricane force."

(For the full story please go to http://washingtontimes.com/news)

Church of England Christians celebrate ‘Evolution Weekend’

Dr. Peter Capon, a former computer science lecturer, introduced the motion arguing that "rejecting much mainstream science does nothing to support those Christians who are scientists ... or strengthen the Christian voice in the scientific area."
He urged Christians to take scientific evidence seriously and avoid prejudging science for theological reasons.

The vote comes as more than 850 congregations throughout the globe are celebrating Evolution Weekend with the aim of demonstrating that evolution poses no problems for their faith.

Religion and science are not adversaries, they say. Rather, the two fields should be seen as complementary, they maintain.

Evolution Weekend, which kicked off Friday, is supported by those of various faith traditions including Christians, Jews, Muslims and Unitarian Universalists.
"Religious leaders around the world are coming together to elevate the quality of the discussion about this important topic. They are demonstrating to their congregations that people can accept all that modern science has learned while retaining their faith," said Michael Zimmerman, founder of Evolution Weekend and professor of Biology at Butler University in Indianapolis.

Since 2004 more than 12,400 Christian clergypersons from various denominations in the United States have signed "The Clergy Letter," expressing their belief "that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist."

In the letter, Christian clergy contend, "Religious truth is of a different order from scientific truth. Its purpose is not to convey scientific information but to transform hearts.
"We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth."

Zimmerman, who is leading "The Clergy Letter Project," says those who promote "narrow religious views" and reject the compatibility of science and faith do not speak for all of the world's religious communities.

"Evolution Weekend shows that the disagreement is actually not between religious leaders and scientists, but rather between those who believe that their particular religious views should be incorporated into the science curriculum and clergy who recognize and respect the diversity of different faith traditions," he noted.
The compatibility, or lack thereof, of evolution and faith remains a hot debate among Christians. Prominent evangelical theologian Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. has said he finds it impossible to reconcile the two. While he does not deny that changes do take place in the animal kingdom and that there is even a process of natural selection, he firmly rejects theistic evolution and the argument that the process is entirely natural and in no case supernatural.

"God was not merely fashioning the creation of what was already pre-existent, nor was He merely working with a process in order to guide it in some generalized way, nor was He waiting to see how it would turn out," Mohler has said.

(For the full story please go to http://www.christianpost.com).

World’s Oldest Pastor Dies at 101

The funeral service of the Rev. Tsuneharu Oshima was held Monday at Mikage Shinai Church in Kobe city, Nagoya, Japan.

During his funeral, held at the Japan Assemblies of God-affiliated church, attendees watched a video of Oshima’s speech in July 2009 during the 150th anniversary of Japan’s Protestant Mission. The audience was deeply touched as he spoke about the past, present and the spirit-filled vision for the future.

Oshima passed away on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. (local time) at a hospital in Kobe. Up until his last few days, Oshima spoke the words, “peace, gratitude, victory, hope.” He passed away in peace.

His memorial service was held on Sunday and attended by some 250 people from throughout Japan.

The pastor’s eldest son, the Rev. Yoshinao Oshima, shared that his father continued to work as a pastor even after he turned 100 years old.
“He gave us hope for heaven, served as a path for Lord Jesus Christ, and became a blessing and hope to many people,” the younger Oshima said, according to Christian Today Japan.

The older Oshima had served as an active pastor for 74 years. He was senior pastor at Kobe Philadelphia Church, part of the Free Christian Missionary Fellowship. His son, meanwhile, is serving as assistant pastor at the same church.

(For the full story please go to http://www.christianpost.com).

The Latest Church Growth Statistics

The 2010 edition of the annual yearbook of American and Canadian churches produced by the National Council of Churches includes the following church growth statistics.

Roman Catholics, the largest denomination in the United States, grew 1.49 percent to 68 million members. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew 1.71 percent to 5.8 million members, while the Assemblies of God grew 1.27 percent to 2.8 million members.

The Southern Baptists, though, registered their second straight year of losses as being down .24 percent to 16.2 million. Even so, they are still the nation's largest Protestant denomination. They are doing well compared to certain others, such as the Presbyterian Church USA, which is down 3.28 percent to 2.9 million members; the American Baptists are down 2 percent to 1.3 million and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is down 1.92 percent to 4.7 million.

(For the full story please go to http://washingtontimes.com).

Heroic orphanage housemother gives her life for her children

“The housemother tried to save us. I saw her entering a burning room to try to save everyone from the flames." (The words of an 11 year-old child on the scene).

Sarah Holland, a 58-year-old housemother who ran Hope in Christ orphanage, which was accredited as a safe haven with the provincial welfare department, gave up her life in an attempt to save as many children as possible from the horrific fire on Tuesda.

11 people - eight of them children - died in the blaze, said police.

Holland, gathered the children in a room to escape the flames then helped them through a window which did not have burglar bars. She then collapsed and died, apparently of smoke inhalation.

"Maybe it is better that she went this way because the thought of being unable to save the other children would have probably killed her," said daughter Diane Peterson.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. Hope in Christ is a church-sponsored and run orphanage.

Please keep all involved in this tragedy, and most especially everyone who has lost a loved one, in your prayers.

Famous Gospel singer’s family robbed and wife raped

Louis Britz, a much-loved gospel singer, and his family endured a terrible attack by burglars early on Tuesday morning. While Britz was tied up and take downstairs, one of the attackers remained behind and raped his wife Hettie. The gang leader later apologised to her for the rape, saying that his gang didn’t “do rape”.

After she was raped, the gang leader apologised to the Hettie for what happened to her "because we don't do rape".

Although traumatized by the incident, Hettie Britz bravely testified how God had not left her alone and that she felt spiritually and emotionally undamaged by the experience.

Hettie went onto say that as a therapist she well understood the trauma involved in this incident but felt God would protect her against future bitterness.

Further hardship for Haiti children

It was a couple of weeks after the earthquake when word began to spread in a small, poor village here.

American missionaries, a local emissary told the people, were offering to take children to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic and give them an education and a better life.

After the earthquake, which destroyed so many schools, the prospect of an escape for even a few of their children seemed like a blessing.

"We were looking to God for something better for our kids," explained Frisner Valmont, 34, a father of three girls.

The fliers that the missionaries from New Life Children's Refuge brought to the village of Calebasse promised a beautiful place for the children to live, with a soccer field, a swimming pool and a short walk to the ocean.

In a place where jobs are few and food is scarce, the hardest part for many families was choosing which of their children to send on the bus that had brought the missionaries to the impoverished precincts of Fermathe, in the mountains south of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

So went some 20 children from Calebasse, driven by their families' desperation, on a bus ride that would be the beginning of a bizarre journey that has landed the 10 missionaries in Haitian jails and has left the children in the stricken country their families wanted them to escape.

Arrested as they tried to leave Haiti with a total of 33 children, the 10 Baptist missionaries from Idaho and elsewhere were charged last week with child kidnapping and child smuggling. They are due back in court this week.

Investigators have said that the group did not have the proper documents to take the children out of Haiti, and the case has heightened concerns over the trafficking of Haitian children.

Though the authorities have not accused the missionaries of transporting the children for work or sex, the case is full of unanswered questions about the group's plans.

(For the full story please go to http://www.washingtonpost.com).

1 500 year-old Jerusalem street discovered

Archaeologists said on Wednesday they have found a 1,500-year-old Jerusalem road that was once a bustling throughfare used by throngs of Christian pilgrims and which is depicted on a famed mosaic map of the Holy Land.

The small segment of road was found in a dig conducted before Jerusalem authorities carry out infrastructure rehabilitation just inside the Old City's Jaffa Gate.
"After removing a number of archaeological strata, at a depth of 4.5 metres (14.80 feet) below today's street level, much to our excitement, we discovered the large flagstones that paved the street," said excavation director Ofer Sion.
The single, central thoroughfare is clearly visible on the Madaba Map, a floor mosaic in the Byzantine church of Saint George in Jordan which is the oldest surviving map of the Holy Land, said Sion, standing on scaffolding above the cracked flagstones.

"In those days, thousands of pilgrims from across the Christian world would be using that road," he said.

Sion recounted that an eminent scholar of the Byzantine period, whom he wouldn't name, was close to tears when he saw the flagstones, which are over one metre- (3.2-foot) long.

But, because it is below a busy street, the dig will have to be covered up again in a few weeks, Sion told journalists.

(For the full story please go to http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp).

Emotional farewell for Ruben Kruger

Family, friends, current and former Boks all gathered together this week to say their farewells to former Rugby World Cup star Ruben Kruger. Kruger died last week because of brain cancer, a condition he had struggled with for the last few years.
Touching tributes were paid to him by both his wife, Lize, and his children Zoe and Isabella.

Lize Kruger said that, "My heart is broken and I wish I could have had you by my side for eternity. Ruben, thank you for everything you did and meant to me and the children. We are so proud of you, not because you are a Springbok rugby player, but because you are a Springbok daddy."

Zoe and Isabella also managed to speak and thanked Kruger for being their daddy. "We love you so much. We wish that we could have prevented you from dying, but we know that you are in heaven and are not sick anymore. Thank you for playing with us; you always had time for us and carried us both in your big hands. We saw that Daddy was sad towards the end. Maybe Daddy knew that he would not see us grow up. Don't worry, we know we will see Daddy again in heaven and we must first finish our work here on Earth."

Another touching tribute was paid by Morne du Plessis who spoke of the immense respect that Kruger was held in not only by the South African rugby community, but throughout the world. Du Plessis quoted General George Patton (a World War II veteran): "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

Fellow former Bok Andre Venter spoke of how the last time he visited Kruger, that Kruger insisted on praying for him (Venter suffers from transverse myelitis, which has resulted in him being wheelchair bound).

"Ruben prayed for me," Venter said, as he visibly struggled to contain his emotions. "That moment summed up his life; no matter what the situation, he put his fellow men first. That makes Ruben not just a rugby legend, but a legend in life. If there is a rugby team in heaven, I want to be on Ruben's team."

Ruben Kruger was renowned not only as a Springbok but also as a Christian of deep and abiding faith.

Obama adviser challenges Pope

Harry Knox, who serves on President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, is standing by a statement he made last March that Pope Benedict XVI is “hurting people in the name of Jesus.”

At the National Press Club on Tuesday, CNSNews.com asked Knox, “You put out a statement saying Pope Benedict XVI was—quote—‘hurting people in the name of Jesus’ because he did not support promoting the use of condoms as a means to control the spread of HIV. And I was wondering, do you still believe the pope’s position on condoms is ‘hurting people in the name of Jesus’?”

Knox answered, “I—I do.”

In a follow-up question, CNSNews.com asked Knox: “So, even in light of—Edward Green, a Harvard researcher in AIDS prevention said the pope was correct in that condom use aggravates HIV, the spread of it, in Africa. So, in light of that statement, do you still hold to that position?

Knox answered, “He is simply incorrect in his assertion. All the other evidence of science shows otherwise.”

On March 17, 2009, Pope Benedict flew to Africa to visit Cameroon and Angola. During the flight, he answered several questions from reporters, including one concerning AIDS in Africa: Given that the Catholic Church’s position in fighting AIDS “is often considered unrealistic and ineffective,” would the pope “address this theme during the journey?”

Pope Benedict gave a lengthy response, detailing many of the Church’s humanitarian efforts to help people with AIDS in Africa. “I would say that this problem of AIDS cannot be overcome merely with money, necessary though it is,” he said. “If there is no human dimension, if Africans do not help [by responsible behavior], the problem cannot be overcome by the distribution of prophylactics: on the contrary, they increase it.”

In response to the pope’s remarks, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued a statement. It quoted Harry Knox as follows: “The Pope’s statement that condoms don't help control the spread of HIV, but rather condoms increase infection rates, is hurting people in the name of Jesus.”

“On a continent where millions of people are infected with HIV, it is morally reprehensible to spread such blatant falsehoods,” said Knox in the statement. “The Pope’s rejection of scientifically proven prevention methods is forcing Catholics in Africa to choose between their faith and the health of their entire community. Jesus was about helping the marginalized and downtrodden, not harming them further.”

Senior Harvard AIDS Prevention Researcher Edward Green, who describes himself as a liberal, says that science backs the pope’s message.

“We just cannot find an association between more condom use and lower HIV-reduction rates” in Africa, Green told the Catholic News Agency in March 2009. The news agency further reported: “According to Green, the Catholic Church should continue to ‘do what it is already doing,’ avoid ‘arguing about the diameter of viruses’ and cite scientific evidence in connection with scripture and moral theology.”

(For the full story please go to http://cnsnews.com/news/article/60893).

UK Christians rejoice in their victory over the equality bill

Some Christians say their prayers have been answered after the House of Lords on Monday defeated changes to a law that would have required church groups to hire homosexuals or others whose manner of life is inconsistent with their teaching.

Peers voted 216 to 178 in favor of Lady O’Cathain’s amendment to retain an exemption for religious groups to equality employment laws.

Reacting to the result, Lady O’Cathain said Tuesday: “I know that very many Christians were praying that justice would prevail as the House of Lords voted on this important issue. Many also wrote wise, sensitive letters to peers, seeking to persuade them of our case.

"We give thanks to God for the outcome, and we continue to pray for our Government, as Scripture exhorts us to do, that God would bless their counsels."
The Christian Institute’s Mike Judge commented, “The prayers of thousands of Christians and letter writing to peers was key to protecting our freedom."
"Surely churches should be free to employ people whose conduct is consistent with church teaching. Surely that’s not asking too much," Judge added. "It's called freedom of association, and it’s a key liberty in any democratic society. The fact that the Government couldn’t see this will concern many Christians.”

The government attempted to restrict the exemption for religious organizations solely to ministers and other positions that wholly or mainly “exist to promote or represent the religion or to explain the doctrines of the religion.”

Christians argued that if the Equality Bill was passed without Lady O’Cathain’s amendment, which leaves the current law unchanged, it would impose considerable restrictions on who religious organizations could employ and put them in the difficult position of having to appoint someone who did not conform to their ethos and beliefs.

Last week, bishops in the Church of England argued that the bill would leave religious organizations “more vulnerable to legal challenge.”

Dr. Don Horrocks, head of public affairs for the Evangelical Alliance, said the government's amendments to change the current law "would have left churches and organizations unsure whether they could prefer practicing Christians for the majority of their roles."

"Now, they can continue to appoint people who are committed to the ethos of the organizations they are supposed to represent," Horrocks said. "It's a victory for common sense. I hope the government will accept this and not prolong the issue by asking the House of Commons to challenge the Lords' vote."

Andrea Minichiello Williams, director of Christian Concern For Our Nation, also praised Monday's vote. “This is a great day for religious liberty in the United Kingdom. We are thankful that the law has not been changed and the freedom of churches to control their own affairs has not been restricted any further.

“The results show what can happen when Christians pray and take action. Let us be encouraged that even in an increasingly secular society, the voice of the Church can still be heard.”

(For the full story please go to http://www.christianpost.com).

Exciting Find of Jesus Era House

Recently, archeologists unveiled what they said were the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus -- a find that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the period the New Testament says Jesus lived there as a boy.

The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres (1.6 hectares). It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders, said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a "simple Jewish family," Alexandre added, as workers at the site carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls.

Nazareth holds a cherished place in Christianity. It is believed to be the town where Christian tradition says Jesus grew up and where an angel told Mary she would bear the child of God.

"This may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with," Alexandre said. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends, she said. "It's a logical suggestion."

Alexandre's team found remains of a wall, a hideout, a courtyard and a water system that appeared to collect water from the roof and supply it to the home. The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian center, just yards (meters) away from the Basilica.

It is not clear how big the dwelling is -- Alexandre's team have uncovered about 900 square feet (85 square meters) of the house, but it may have been for an extended family and could be much larger, she said.

Alexandre said her team also found a camouflaged entry way into a grotto, which she believes was used by Jews at the time to hide from Roman soldiers who were battling Jewish rebels at the time for control of the area.

The grotto would have hid around six people for a few hours, she said.

However, Roman soldiers did not end up battling Nazareth's Jews because the hamlet had little strategic value at the time. The Roman army was more interested in larger towns and strategic hilltop communities, she said.

Alexandre said similar camouflaged grottos were found in other ancient Jewish communities of the lower Galilee such as the nearby Biblical village of Cana, which did witness battle between Jews and Romans.

For the full article, please go to http://cnsnews.com).