Download or read book The Encyclopaedia Britannica written by Hugh Chisholm and published by . This book was released on 1911 with total page 1016 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Christmas Before Christianity written by Lochlainn Seabrook and published by . This book was released on 2010-04 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Even the most orthodox Christian theologians and fundamentalist Bible scholars admit that Jesus exact birth date is unknown. Why then is His birthday observed between late December and early January around the world? As award-winning Christian author and Southern historian Lochlainn Seabrook reveals in this fascinating and exhaustively researched work, the answer is to be found in the Goddess-based vegetation religions of prehistory and their astrological reverence for our neighborhood star, the Sun. Ten years in the making, Christmas Before Christianity explores the pre-Christian foundations of humanity s most popular holiday, including the many Pagan gods, goddesses, myths, rituals, legends, ceremonies, customs, and beliefs that contributed to its creation and development. Special emphasis is placed on ancient Egypt, where a majority of our modern Christmas traditions can be traced. This sensational 300-page work will not only provoke discussion, but will also inspire a renewed appreciation for both the religion of Christ and for the annual celebration of His birth. Note: Southern conservative and U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, who was disgusted by the Paganization of the historical Jesus, would have heartily endorsed this book. Lochlainn Seabrook is the winner of the prestigious Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal, awarded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Known as the American Robert Graves after his celebrated British cousin, Seabrook is a seventh-generation Kentuckian of Appalachian heritage, the sixth great-grandson of the Earl of Oxford, the twenty-first great-grandson of King Edward I, the fortieth great-grandson of British Queen Boudicca, and the author of over thirty popular books. A specialist in thealogy (Goddess-oriented religion), his works include: Britannia Rules: Goddess-Worship in Ancient Anglo-Celtic Society; The Book of Kelle: An Introduction to Goddess-Worship and the Great Celtic Mother-Goddess Kelle; The Goddess Dictionary of Words and Phrases; The Quotable Jefferson Davis; The Quotable Robert E. Lee; Everything You Were Taught About the Civil War is Wrong, Ask a Southerner ; Abraham Lincoln: The Southern View; The Unquotable Abraham Lincoln; A Rebel Born: A Defense of Nathan Bedford Forrest; The McGavocks of Carnton Plantation: A Southern History; Nathan Bedford Forrest: Southern Hero, American Patriot; Carnton Plantation Ghost Stories: True Tales of the Unexplained From Tennessee s Most Haunted Civil War House ; UFOs and Aliens: The Complete Guidebook; and The Blakeneys: An Etymological, Ethnological, and Genealogical Study. "

Download or read book Christmas written by Bruce David Forbes and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-10-10 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written for everyone who loves and is simultaneously driven crazy by the holiday season, Christmas: A Candid History provides an enlightening, entertaining perspective on how the annual Yuletide celebration got to be what it is today. In a fascinating, concise tour through history, the book tells the story of Christmas—from its pre-Christian roots, through the birth of Jesus, to the holiday's spread across Europe into the Americas and beyond, and to its mind-boggling transformation through modern consumerism. Packed with intriguing stories, based on research into myriad sources, full of insights, the book explores the historical origins of traditions including Santa, the reindeer, gift giving, the Christmas tree, Christmas songs and movies, and more. The book also offers some provocative ideas for reclaiming the joy and meaning of this beloved, yet often frustrating, season amid the pressures of our fast-paced consumer culture. DID YOU KNOW For three centuries Christians did not celebrate Christmas? Puritans in England and New England made Christmas observances illegal? St. Nicholas is an elf in the famous poem "The Night Before Christmas"? President Franklin Roosevelt changed the dateof Thanksgiving in order to lengthen the Christmas shopping season? Coca-Cola helped fashion Santa Claus's look in an advertising campaign?

Download or read book Pagan Christmas written by Christian Rätsch and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-10-24 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the sacred botany and the pagan origins and rituals of Christmas • Analyzes the symbolism of the many plants associated with Christmas • Reveals the shamanic rituals that are at the heart of the Christmas celebration The day on which many commemorate the birth of Christ has its origins in pagan rituals that center on tree worship, agriculture, magic, and social exchange. But Christmas is no ordinary folk observance. It is an evolving feast that over the centuries has absorbed elements from cultures all over the world--practices that give plants and plant spirits pride of place. In fact, the symbolic use of plants at Christmas effectively transforms the modern-day living room into a place of shamanic ritual. Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling show how the ancient meaning of the botanical elements of Christmas provides a unique view of the religion that existed in Europe before the introduction of Christianity. The fir tree was originally revered as the sacred World Tree in northern Europe. When the church was unable to drive the tree cult out of people’s consciousness, it incorporated the fir tree by dedicating it to the Christ child. Father Christmas in his red-and-white suit, who flies through the sky in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, has his mythological roots in the shamanic reindeer-herding tribes of arctic Europe and Siberia. These northern shamans used the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom, which is red and white, to make their soul flights to the other world. Apples, which figure heavily in Christmas baking, are symbols of the sun god Apollo, so they find a natural place at winter solstice celebrations of the return of the sun. In fact, the authors contend that the emphasis of Christmas on green plants and the promise of the return of life in the dead of winter is just an adaptation of the pagan winter solstice celebration.

Download or read book Christianity For Dummies written by Richard Wagner and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-04-20 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get to know the beliefs and practices inspired by Jesus Christ Discover what it means to be a Christian and follow the gospel Curious about Christianity? This friendly guide helps you understand the basic teachings of the Christian faith, exploring the common ground that all Christians share, the differences among the major branches, the key events in Christian history, the key theological issues, and the many ways Christians live out their faith in today's world. The Dummies Way Explanations in plain English "Get in, get out" information Icons and other navigational aids Tear-out cheat sheet Top ten lists A dash of humor and fun Discover how to: Express the core essentials of Christianity Appreciate the life and teachings of Jesus Understand why the Bible is central to the faith Respect the unique roles of the Trinity Explore controversial issues among the branches

Download or read book Aurelian and the Third Century written by Alaric Watson and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aurelian and the Third Century provides a re-evaluation, in the light of recent scholarship, of the difficulties facing the Roman empire in the AD 260s and 270s, concentrating upon the reign of the Emperor Aurelian and his part in summoning them. With introduction examining the situation in the mid third century, the book is divided into two parts: * Part 1: deals chronologically with the military and political events of the period from 268 to 276 * Part 2: analyzes the other achievements and events of Aurelian's reign and assesses their importance. A key supplement to the study of the Roman Empire.

Download or read book Christmas in America written by Penne L. Restad and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1996-12-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The manger or Macy's? Americans might well wonder which is the real shrine of Christmas, as they take part each year in a mix of churchgoing, shopping, and family togetherness. But the history of Christmas cannot be summed up so easily as the commercialization of a sacred day. As Penne Restad reveals in this marvelous new book, it has always been an ambiguous meld of sacred thoughts and worldly actions-- as well as a fascinating reflection of our changing society. In Christmas in America, Restad brilliantly captures the rise and transformation of our most universal national holiday. In colonial times, it was celebrated either as an utterly solemn or a wildly social event--if it was celebrated at all. Virginians hunted, danced, and feasted. City dwellers flooded the streets in raucous demonstrations. Puritan New Englanders denounced the whole affair. Restad shows that as times changed, Christmas changed--and grew in popularity. In the early 1800s, New York served as an epicenter of the newly emerging holiday, drawing on its roots as a Dutch colony (St. Nicholas was particularly popular in the Netherlands, even after the Reformation), and aided by such men as Washington Irving. In 1822, another New Yorker named Clement Clarke Moore penned a poem now known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," virtually inventing the modern Santa Claus. Well-to-do townspeople displayed a German novelty, the decorated fir tree, in their parlors; an enterprising printer discovered the money to be made from Christmas cards; and a hodgepodge of year-end celebrations began to coalesce around December 25 and the figure of Santa. The homecoming significance of the holiday increased with the Civil War, and by the end of the nineteenth century a full- fledged national holiday had materialized, forged out of borrowed and invented custom alike, and driven by a passion for gift-giving. In the twentieth century, Christmas seeped into every niche of our conscious and unconscious lives to become a festival of epic proportions. Indeed, Restad carries the story through to our own time, unwrapping the messages hidden inside countless movies, books, and television shows, revealing the inescapable presence--and ambiguous meaning--of Christmas in contemporary culture. Filled with colorful detail and shining insight, Christmas in America reveals not only much about the emergence of the holiday, but also what our celebrations tell us about ourselves. From drunken revelry along colonial curbstones to family rituals around the tree, from Thomas Nast drawing the semiofficial portrait of St. Nick to the making of the film Home Alone, Restad's sparkling account offers much to amuse and ponder.

Download or read book Christmas written by Bruce David Forbes and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In a fascinating, concise tour through history, the book tells the story of Christmas-from its pre-Christian roots, through the birth of Jesus, to the holiday's spread across Europe into the Americas and beyond, and to its mind-boggling transformation through modern consumer culture."--Page 2 of cover.

Download or read book Toward the Origins of Christmas written by Susan K. Roll and published by Peeters Publishers. This book was released on 1995 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christmas exerts an enormous attraction today even apart from its Christian character as a celebration of the incarnation of God in the Person of Jesus. Even marginal or indifferent Christians crowd the churches on Christmas Eve and in highly commercialized and technologized Western societies the Christmas season is celebrated with enthousiasm. Yet Christmas entered the calendar of feasts relatively late, by 336 C.E., and the reason for its introduction and quick spread remain speculative and based on fragmentary evidence. Towards the Origins of Christmas addresses both the contemporary Western celebration of Christmas, and its deep historical roots in the church of the fourth century. The book presents a thorough investigation of the patristic texts and evidence cited by liturgical scholars in the late 19th and 20th centuries to support two main theories: the Calculation theory and the History of Religions theory. This historical research is set in the framework of the contemporary experience of Christmas; the dynamics of time and the liturgical year; the inculturation of liturgy; and underlying elements of dualism and patriarchal power paradigms which linger beneath the often commercial and sentimental character of Christmas today. Suzan K. Roll was born in Clarence Center, New York (USA) in 1952. She holds degrees in classical languages and pastoral theology, and in 1993 received a Ph. D. from the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Louvain (Leuven), Belgium, summa cum laude with the gratulations of the jury. She has thaught and published in the field of liturgy, sacraments, pastoral theology, and presently teaches at Christ the King Seminary, Buffalo, New York (USA).

Download or read book The Two Babylons Or the Papal Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife written by Alexander Hislop and published by . This book was released on 1858 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Christmas in Ritual and Tradition written by Clement A. Miles and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-11-13 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan is a study of the history and folklore surrounding Christmas holidays in several countries. It is an amazing collection of Christmas-related traditions from the first introductions of Christianity to the early 20th century. The book covers the history of Christmas as a Christian feast day and how that developed. It also discusses pre-Christian festivals and observances and how a lot of them survived by being given a Christian veneer although the overt paganism disappeared. Clement A. Miles (1881-1918), an author and translator, was a member of the Folk-Lore Society. He had been for many years on T. Fisher Unwin's literary staff and he was the author of an important work: Christmas in Ritual and Tradition. Miles possessed a wide knowledge of European languages, and translated numerous works from French and Italian.

Download or read book Holy Bible NIV written by Various Authors, and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 6637 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

Download or read book Holidays and the Feasts written by Nicholas Campbell and published by Christ Is the Cure. This book was released on 2023-09-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Holidays and the Feasts, revised and expanded, looks at three major subjects: The Old Testament feasts, Christmas, and Easter. Within this book the author examines the alleged pagan roots of Christmas and Easter, provides a biblical case for celebrating Christmas, and answers the question "Are Christians obligated to observe Old Testament feasts?" Contents: Part 1: Christians and the Feasts. Part I examines the Old Testament feasts, their function, and how Christians should understand them today. This section of the book begins by summarizing the Old Testament festivals and how they were understood in Jesus' day. Following this, applications are drawn concerning contemporary Christian practice. Part 2: Christmas and Paganism. Part II of the book examines the alleged claims of Christmas' pagan roots. In this section, Holidays and the Feasts argues that Christmas developed independently from pagan celebrations before speaking to various pagan ties Christmas is often charged with. The book looks at what ancient Christians wrote and thought concerning Christmas and weighs whether those Christians would form a holiday for the sake of replacing a pagan one. Part 3: A Biblical Case for Celebrating Christmas. Part III of the book presents a biblical case for celebrating the incarnation despite not being an explicitly instituted observance. This section speaks to celebration in general before moving into the Gospels and Paul in order to demonstrate that the incarnation was celebrated by the New Testament Christians, leaving an annual observance permissible. Part 4: Easter and Paganism. Part IV of the book challenges the claims that Easter is pagan by examining what is 'pagan' and then moving into the term "Easter" itself. Following this, the section discusses the connections of Easter with Ishtar and Eostre before demonstrating that Easter was a very early observance in church history formed to commemorate the resurrection. On the Third Edition: Reformatted for ease of readability Reorganization of parts of the book Expansions in parts I, II, and IV. New Chapter in Part IV Two new Appendices for supplemental reading

Download or read book A Visit from St Nicholas written by Clement Clarke Moore and published by Boston : Atlantic monthly Press. This book was released on 1921 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A poem about the visit that Santa Claus pays to the children of the world during the night before every Christmas.

Download or read book What Did Jesus Look Like written by Joan E. Taylor and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-02-08 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous man who ever lived. His image adorns countless churches, icons, and paintings. He is the subject of millions of statues, sculptures, devotional objects and works of art. Everyone can conjure an image of Jesus: usually as a handsome, white man with flowing locks and pristine linen robes. But what did Jesus really look like? Is our popular image of Jesus overly westernized and untrue to historical reality? This question continues to fascinate. Leading Christian Origins scholar Joan E. Taylor surveys the historical evidence, and the prevalent image of Jesus in art and culture, to suggest an entirely different vision of this most famous of men. He may even have had short hair.

Download or read book Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs written by David W. Bercot and published by Hendrickson Publishers. This book was released on 2021-04-18 with total page 1305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interest in the ways of the early church has never been more intense. What did early Christians believe about the divinity of Christ? What were the beliefs of those who sat at the feet of Jesus’ disciples? Now, for the first time, a unique dictionary has been developed to allow easy access to the ancient material and furnish ready answers to these questions and others like them. David W. Bercot has painstakingly combed the writings of these early church leaders and categorized the heart of their thinking into more than 700 theological, moral, and historical topics to create A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs. Wonderfully suited for devotional or thematic study as well as sermon illustration, this resource offers a window into the world of the early church and affords special opportunity to examine topically the thoughts of students of the original apostles, as well as other great lights in the life of the early church. Collects relevant comments on key Christian concepts from prominent figures such as Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, and Hippolytus Includes key biblical verses associated with a given topic Offers brief definitions of unfamiliar terms or concepts, allowing easy access to the ancient material Provides a “who’s who” of ante-Nicene Christianity to put in context the ancient Christian writers Discusses more than 700 key theological, moral, and historical topics Gives strategic cross-references to related topics Functions as a topical index to the writings of Ante-Nicene Fathers

Download or read book Why We re Catholic written by Trent Horn and published by Catholic Answers Press. This book was released on 2017-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "How can you believe all this stuff? This is the number-one question Catholics get asked and, sometimes, we ask ourselves. Why do we believe that God exists, that he became a man and came to save us, that what looks like a wafer of bread is actually his body? Why do we believe that he inspired a holy book and founded an infallible Church to teach us the one true way to live? Ever since he became Catholic, Trent Horn has spent a lot of time answering these questions, trying to explain to friends, family, and total strangers the reasons for his Catholic faith. Some didn't believe in God, or even in the existence of truth. Others said they were spiritual but didn't think you needed religion to be happy. Some were Christians who thought Catholic doctrines over-complicated the pure gospel. And some were fellow Catholics who had a hard time understanding everything they professed to believe on Sunday. Why We're Catholic assembles the clearest, friendliest, most helpful answers that Trent learned to give to all these people and more. Beginning with how we can know reality and ending with our hope of eternal life, it s the perfect way to help skeptics and seekers (or Catholics who want to firm up their faith) understand the evidence that bolsters our belief and brings us joy" --