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).

Haiti: Where faith really matters ...

Port-au-Prince - There is not much left of the city's numerous churches, beside crosses and the occasional surviving stained glass window. Even the cathedral suffered irreparable damage.

But that doesn't deter hundreds of Haitians who congregate daily outside the ruined churches at improvised Masses to pray, giving thanks for being alive, begging mercy for the souls of their dead or, simply to seek an oasis of peace amid the chaos wrought by the quake that destroyed so many lives in the impoverished nation.

Some days, the religious hymns can be heard non-stop from sunset until the fist light of dawn.

The church of St Pierre is one of the few still standing in the capital city. But although not readily apparent, it suffered enough structural damage that nobody now dares to enter.

Since the quake, priests have celebrated regular Masses in a small patio outside the nave.

More than 100 people congregate at the afternoon vigil, seated on benches or old chairs, facing an improvised altar with a small crucifix that is brought out each day with utmost care.

Those who can't fit in remain to worship outside the iron bars, and passersby pause at least long enough to make the sign of the cross.
"Courage and mutual respect," the priest exclaims in prayer. All gathered there know exactly what he is referring to.

CHAOTIC REFUGEE CAMPS

Outside, life continues in its chaotic frenzy. The plaza of St Pierre, in Perionville, has become one of the hundreds of refugee camps that have cropped up in the city.

Thousands of people rush as dusk falls to bathe or gather water from a donated tank to cook whatever they can find to eat. Children run and play wildly as the adults listen attentively to a man giving instructions on how to receive coupons for food rations.

Cars pass by, some with the music blaring. Vendors make a final sweep with their carts of drinks or food.

But all of that all seems unheard on the other side of the portal where the Mass is celebrated.

There, a woman's sweet voice intones a hymn that renders the chaos outside distant. Another woman passes the collection basket, and some have a few coins to contribute. All hold hands, and manage a hint of a smile despite the numerous personal tragedies suffered.

Peace, if only for a brief space in time, returns to this corner of the city.
"I pray for God to help us and give us strength," explains one of the many women who say they attend every afternoon. "Prayer helps us," says another.

(For the full article go to http://www.news24.com/Content/World/Haiti_Quake)

The Pope and Blogging for God

For God's sake, blog! Pope Benedict told priests Saturday, saying they must learn to use new forms of communication to spread the gospel message.

In his message for the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Communications, the Pope, who is 82 and not known for a love of computers or the Internet, acknowledged that priests must make the most of the "rich menu of options" offered by new technology.

"Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources -- images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites -- which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis," he said.

Priests, he said, had to respond to the challenge of "today's cultural shifts" if they wanted to reach young people.

But Benedict warned priests not to strive to become stars of new media. "Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart," he said.

After decades of being wary of new media, the Vatican has decided to dive in head first.

Last year, a new Vatican website, pope2you.net, went live, offering one application called "The pope meets you on Facebook," and another allowing the faithful to see the Pope's speeches and messages on their iPhones or iPods.

(For the full article, please go to http://www.canada.com/technology)

Controversial Superbowl Ad Creates Heated Religious Debate

God and football, together again -- and always. The Super Bowl is getting, in addition to some Saints, a controversial dose of the culture wars: Florida quarterback prodigy Tim Tebow will appear in a 30-second ad purchased by the conservative group Focus on the Family that is scheduled to air during the nation's biggest football game on Feb. 7 on CBS.

Never one to be shy about touting his Christian beliefs (starting with those Bible chapter-verse references inscribed in white letters on black smudges under his eyes during games), Tebow will appear in the commercial with his mother, Pam, who reportedly will tell one of the Tebow family's favorite stories: How, after severe complications arose in her 1987 pregnancy, she declined medical advice to have an abortion. Her fifth child -- Tim -- was born and went on to win the Heisman trophy in 2007 (and is rarin' to go for the 2010 NFL draft.

Although various reports about the ad have not determined to what degree it conveys an antiabortion message, Focus on the Family said in a news release that it's part of a "Celebrate Life, Celebrate Family" campaign. The group's chairman said this is a "meaningful message about family and life [that] comes at the right moment in the culture."

CBS's acceptance of the advocacy ad seems to mark a shift in network policy against airing Super Bowl commercials with divisive political or social content.
The Tebow spot will be a blip in that uniquely American four-hour barrage of beer ads, computer ads, car ads, "Iron Man 2" ads, GoDaddy.com ads, Pepsi ads, and, almost incidentally, four quarters of the New Orleans Saints versus the Indianapolis Colts (and halftime with the Who), but abortion rights groups aren't having it. Last year, more than 98 million viewers -- the most to date -- watched the game.

After learning of the ad late Monday, Women's Media Center (speaking on behalf of the National Organization for Women, the Feminist Majority Foundation and other organizations) asked CBS to pull the ad. It also questioned how and why the network, which used to forbid "advocacy" advertising, agreed to air Focus on the Family's spot, which is valued at $2.5 million to $3 million.

"An ad that uses sports to divide rather than to unite has no place in the biggest national sports event of the year -- an event designed to bring Americans together," Jehmu Greene, president of the Women's Media Center, said in a statement.
The media center also noted that as recently as 2004, CBS had rejected an ad from the United Church of Christ, which wanted to use the Super Bowl as a chance to tell people it welcomes gay members. The center says CBS also has rejected ads in the past from MoveOn.org and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The network says it changed its mind about advocacy ads a while back. "We have for some time moderated our approach to advocacy submissions after it became apparent that our stance did not reflect public sentiment or industry norms," spokesman Dana McClintock told the Associated Press. "In fact, most media outlets have accepted advocacy ads for some time."

"I'm stunned that any of the networks would risk one of the few, last great franchises of broadcast television for an ad that could polarize viewers," said Bob Garfield, ad critic for the magazine Advertising Age. "I'm not expecting America, or even half of America, to throw their large screens out the window. Most years after the Super Bowl, the winning quarterback thanks Jesus . . . but that doesn't seem to depress the appetite for sports championship. I don't think this Tebow situation is going to be that big of a deal."

But, Garfield added, "this is a multi-hundred-million-dollar franchise that networks have historically protected by avoiding controversy, especially in the ads. I'm surprised that anybody's going to take a risk by accepting an ad with an explicit religious message."

Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman for Focus on the Family, told the Associated Press that funds for the Tebow ad were donated by a few "very generous friends. . . . There's nothing political and controversial about it. When the day arrives, and you sit down to watch the game on TV, those who oppose it will be quite surprised at what the ad is all about."

(For the full article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/faith)

Ancient Jerusalem Wall Confounds Archaelogists

An archaeological dig in Jerusalem has turned up a 3,700-year-old wall that is the largest and oldest of its kind found in the region, experts say.
The wall is built of enormous boulders, confounding archaeologists as to how ancient peoples built it.

Standing 8 meters (26 feet) high, the wall of huge cut stones is a marvel to archaeologists.

"To build straight walls up 8 meters ... I don't know how to do it today without mechanical equipment," said the excavation's director, Ronny Reich. "I don't think that any engineer today without electrical power [could] do it."

Archaeologist Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority added, "You see all the big boulders -- all the boulders are 4 to 5 tons."

The discovered section is 24 meters (79 feet) long. "However, it is thought the fortification is much longer because it continues west beyond the part that was exposed," the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a news release.

It was found inside the City of David, an archaeological excavation site outside the Old City of East Jerusalem on a slope of the Silwan Valley.

The wall is believed to have been built by the Canaanites, an ancient pagan people who the Bible says inhabited Jerusalem and other parts of the Middle East before the advent of monotheism.

"This is the most massive wall that has ever been uncovered in the City of David," Reich and Shukron said in a joint statement about the find. It marks the first time "that such massive construction that predates the Herodian period has been discovered in Jerusalem."

It appears to be part of a "protected, well-fortified passage that descends to the spring tower from some sort of fortress that stood at the top of the hill," according to the joint statement.

The spring "is located in the weakest and most vulnerable place in the area. The construction of a protected passage, even though it involves tremendous effort, is a solution for which there are several parallels in antiquity, albeit from periods that are later than the remains described here."

Such walls were used primarily to defend against marauding desert nomads looking to rob the city, said Reich, a professor at the University of Haifa.
(For the full article, go to http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD)

Aftershocks and Aftermath – Keeping Haiti in your prayers

By now you would have heard that a preliminary 6.0 magnitude quake hit at 6:03 a.m. Wednesday about 56km northwest of the capital of Port-au-Prince.

The quake struck at a depth of 22km, and tremors caused widespread panic sending scores of people fleeing into the street.

We are also continually hearing reports of the struggle to get aid into Haiti, and that the aid being offered by numerous nations and organizations is just not happening quickly enough to help those suffering a great deal.

We have also been hearing good news reports of rescue teams managing find people trapped beneath mountains of rubble. Just yesterday it was reported that rescuers have pulled a 3-week-old baby girl alive from the rubble of a house more than a week after it was destroyed in Haiti's devastating earthquake.

With all this in mind, please take the time to say the following prayer for Haiti. It has been written by Marth St. Jean, a Haitian-American journalist living in New York. She has distributed it on Twitter for public use.

My Prayer for Haiti
by Martha St. Jean

Father in Heaven,
We are a people well acquainted with grief, but you O Lord are still merciful
Though the earth give way and mountains be removed, you are still Lord of all
Words can not express the depths of my people’s sorrow
We weep and can not be consoled but today choose to believe that you are still faithful
We choose to believe that joy still comes in the morning
Imbue us with courage to face the day
Give us the strength to rise once more
Extend to us charity and justice, peace and truth
And allow us to always seek your face.
In the name of your son Jesus I pray. Amen.

Christians and Muslims Clash in Nigeria

MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN clashes in Nigeria's central city of Jos have displaced some 20,000 people in three days and caused water and food shortages in the city, relief agencies said on Wednesday.

'The greatest challenge which we are facing now is providing food, water and medicine to the displaced people in the camps whose number has swollen to about 20,000,' Mark Lipdo, coordinator of a local aid agency Stefanus Foundation, told AFP.

Fighting between Muslim and Christian mobs ignited on Sunday over plans to build a mosque in a mainly Christian district of the city, which has been riven by sectarian tensions. The country's vice-president, Goodluck Jonathan, ordered extra troops into the city late Tuesday after terrified residents reported shooting in the streets and smoke billowing from parts of the Plateau State capital despite a 24-hour curfew.

(For the full article go to http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_479856.html; image is from REUTERS).