In previous postings having looked at the different month of May celebration we continue with this guest-article.
Painting of a hobby horse with morris dancers beside the Thames at Richmond, Surrey, c.1620
Guestwriter Chris Pearce also looks at the origins in ancient pagan festivals and in crop and pastoral cycles in many societies across Europe. going from Walpurgis Night, Bealtaine or Beltane, also spelled Beltine, Irish Beltaine or Belltaine, also known as Cétamain, festival held on the first day of May in Ireland and Scotland, celebrating the beginning of summer and open pasturing, up to the Floralia festival, Obby-Oss or Hobby horse, going into the days for Mary.
*
To remember
Druids celebrated May = day of their Bealtaine, or Beltane, festival or feast = similar ceremony = Walpurgis Night in Germany + surrounding areas
religious aspect of May Day > worshipped goddess of flowers, Flora => Bealtaine became part of Floralia festival
During the Puritan era 16th /17th centuries, May Day became more of a secular celebration
The Chickens, Jack in the Green Festival Every May Bank holiday Monday this parade is held as part of the Jack in the Green Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
United Kingdom, as in many countries, May Day or the first Monday in May = public holiday. Originally feast = celebrated new crops + springtime fertility > many of these gatherings, popular tradition dancing around the maypole = wooden pole driven into the ground + adorned with ribbons, flowers + other decorations which vary between regions >Dancers hang on to the ribbons + weave around each other as they circle the pole, men or boys in one direction and women or girls in the other => pole entwined with ribbon + participants finish up at its base
Morris dancing = another favourite traditional activity on May Day = choreographed dance by groups of dancers with sticks or pieces of cloth, sometimes performed around a maypole or as part of a parade.
(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)
May 1 is known as May Day. It has its origins in ancient pagan festivals and in crop and pastoral cycles in many societies across Europe. May 1 is the start of the warmer six months of the year in the northern hemisphere after often bitterly cold winters and this was cause for celebration with bonfires and dancing. The Druids celebrated May 1 as the day of their Bealtaine, or Beltane, festival or feast. At the same time, Germany and surrounding areas celebrated Walpurgis Night, a similar ceremony.
The religious aspect of May Day continued after the Romans arrived in Britain. They worshipped their goddess of flowers, Flora, on this day. This ceremony had been conducted in romanized Europe for some time. In Britain, the old customs of Bealtaine became part of the Floralia festival. During the Puritan era in the 16th…
In the 60s of last century, the fertility rite with the maypole tradition was popular, but half a century later it became very quiet around this tradition. May 1 has been overcome by the party of the socialist movement. On that first day of the month of Spring everywhere you can find the call for social movement in which the ordinary man, the worker is put in the spotlight. After Labor Day, celebrated by the atheists, socialists and communists as well as many workers, the Catholic community can not fail to show that it cares about the working man. In 2008, May 1 was falling in the same weekend of Ascension so that when all the workers movements gathered together on the same day.
On the evening of the “national memorial” for all the victims killed by war, the day before the “Liberation Day” on May 5, one thinks in Belgium on the eve of Rerum Novarum how the Belgian government tries to bring in cuts on spending by taxing the ordinary man but leaving those with lots of money and the multinationals untouched.
The feast of Rerum Novarum (literally ‘about new things, or “acting on the Condition of Labor”) is named after a key text in the history of Catholic social thought, established by Pope Leo XIII, in which the position of the church on issues relating to the proper relationship between capital and labor is established. Traditionally the Christian labor movement gathers on the eve of Ascension Day to commemorate Rerum Novarum and send out a powerful symbol of the Catholic tradition of social concern.
The vision set by the encyclical emphasizes the rights and obligations that bind together the owners of capital and workers. Throughout the encyclical, Pope Leo XIII articulates the inherent dignity of labor and worker issues that were taken up by successive popes in later encyclicals, especially Pacem in Terris and Centesimus Annus. Even rejects Rerum Novarum both radical socialism and unbridled capitalism, offered a vigorous defense of both private property and the right of workers to unions, among other forms. The document published on May 15, 1891 is considered the first modern social canon of the Church, because it meant a renewed understanding of the need for the Church to offer its critical reflection on the social issues of the day.
Last night Beweging.net in response to Rerum Novarum asked for a
in the speech by Chairman Patrick Develtere. According to him, all social groups are being targeted, except the wealthy.
“Today all groups in society seem endorsed, in a rotation. One group some more than others. There is only one group that seems to get away with it, not feeling the pinch -.. And those are the wealthy”
he said in Kortenberg.
The major problem in Belgium is that we are stuck with a very greedy government, that constantly has increased taxes on incomes and managed to acquire more and more taxes to purchase goods. In Belgium we find people with multiple homes who are almost not taxed while these without dwelling are very highly taxed. That income taxes are very high and low on power, denounced the president of the former ACW. He sees no reason to tax from rental or capital earned one euro less than one euro salary.
While the Christian labour movement has called, more than once, for a tax on capital, warned ACV chairman Marc Leemans also for new cuts.
Processions
Of the many processions the Procession of the Holy Blood (Heilig Bloedprocessie) in Brugge (Bruges) is the largest religious catholic procession for that day and dates back to the Middle Ages. It emerged as a civic ceremony by the late thirteenth century and has as centrepiece the Relic with the Precious Blood of Jesus, a cloth with coagulated blood of Christ Jesus, brought to the city by Thierry of Alsace after the 12th century Second Crusade. This year 60 000 visitors saw more than 2000 participants in a style dating back to Bruges’ golden age (15th century), when Bruges was one of the most important harbours north of the Alps, and also a bustling commercial market and residence of the Burgundian dukes.
Ascension, Pentecost and communions
Normally one sees in May many groups plan their annual meetings. According to the fall of 14 Nisan there are Jews and true Christians who gather to celebrate the liberation from Egypt and keep a reading marathon around the spoken words of God and the provision of a solution against human slavery. (This year 14 Nisan was on April 22, but as usual the three days around the Catholic Pentecost are also used to hold a three-day conference and to achieve such talks because people should not have to go to work.)
Last year the Catholic Church intended already to give more time to young children and families to get to know what to believe means and to give them more Catechetical preparation as a process, a specific process that one goes through and that gets everyone involved: parents, siblings, and the whole community. In the expectation that believers would get more familiar with who Jesus is and what it can mean for their faith life.
This takes time and can not be handled in a few months.
said Monsignor Jean Kockerols, auxiliary bishop for Brussels.
In 2015, they tried with a two-year preparatory catechesis, with confirmation and first communion to coincide and to be celebrated around the age of ten years, to implement the third or fourth grade. But this did not go down well with the majority of Belgians who actually do not have much faith but want to celebrate a first and solemn communion tradition. Three years older than what might be common for a first communion might still go, but two years younger than hitherto the case for the solemn or second communion with then at the age of eighteen again a confirmation (Chrismation) seems to them too late and unnecessary for that ” forming “while the performance at ten is too young to be a rite of passage from innocent child to a child that should have enough understanding, a good sense of good and evil, and should provide an introduction to adult life.
A 1949 group photo of children at their first communion
Today, May 5 is for Catholics Ascension, which traditionally, is also a communionday. Supposedly Catholic families want their children between 6 and 8 years celebrating their First Communion, and have them accepted by the community as a full member of the Catholic Church. A large proportion of young people between 11 and 16 years repeat their choice for the Catholic faith in a solemn communion. Usually they do it together with the confirmation.
Just as Baptism and First Communion Confirmation is a sacrament. But the number of young people to be confirmed is dropping spectacularly, by 30 percent in ten years. The decline is greatest in the diocese of Antwerp, and the smallest in the dioceses of Bruges and Hasselt.
Until the early 20th century children went for the first time to communion after their confirmation. But for the children of practising parents it was was sad to have to wait so long. Therefore, the First Communion has moved forward. And therefore the solemn communion arised: as a rite by which admission to the church, established previously in infant baptism, is said to be confirmed (or strengthened and established in faith).
Stijn Van den Bossche, as theologian linked to Inter Diocesan Commission for Catechesis says
“The confirmation is a rite of passage. People ask for it. Just like baptismtraditionally belongs to the birth of a child. Now still 60 percent of parents have their children baptized with us. It is a natural historic development that the Catholic Church rituals are organized here. There is little else on offer. “
But it is the tradition that it has on the faith and the people are not so much interested in another, or any belief in a god. But they want to allow the children a party with gifts, to make their children feel they belong there and are part of the same community. “To belong to the community” is the main argument.
Van den Bossche continues to hope that in the longer term the Brussels example will be followed anyway.
The 5th of may, when it is no Ascension day is taken as prayer day.
Catholic Schools and Islamisation
The day before Ascension (the feast of the Ascension of Jesus) “a balloon with lots of wind” said the Catholic Education Board wanted to give Muslims and other faiths a prominent place in schools with provision of their own places of worship. As we could hear and read about the plans it looked like the Catholic Comprehensive School will actually create something that already “exist in the system and where community education should stand for. That then means that it makes itself superfluous throughout the education system if the state already attained a general education for all species in our society.
Ook Open VLD kan zich niet vinden in het voorstel van de Guimardstraat. Onderwijsspecialiste Ann Brusseel vindt,
“Men maakt handig gebruik van de moslimgemeenschap om de secularisering van de maatschappij tegen te gaan” .
That the Guimardstraat (Guimardstreet) knocked off one’s feet, through Director General Lieven Boeve the day before Ascension Day presented one of the foundations of his project – and thus by extension of the Flemish community – for Bart De Wever has been a mistake proposal and proof that Catholic education has ruled itself out by showing
“That a distinctive educational project for them is not needed.”
Open VLD also can not agree with the proposal of the Guimardstreet. Education Specialist Ann Brusseel says,
“It makes good use of the Muslim community to counteract the secularization of society”.
Vlaams Belang Chris Janssens points out the threat of the high influx of refugees and the determination of the growth of the Islamic faith. He says
“The plans are, given the rapid increase in the proportion of Muslim pupils in our education, de facto comes down on a voluntary Islamisation.”
One month before the start of Ramadan (June 6) and two months before the Sugar Festival (July 6) Islamic smoke has come above the Catholic celebrations this year and there is embezzlement by the current poor economic situation. When one walks around in the municipalities it is seen that the tents of previous years have adopted smaller forms and the decorations for the ceremony of the communicants declined dramatically.
May 15
On Sunday, May 15th, many Christians will celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost 10 days after Ascension Day is “50 days” and seven Sundays after Easter, but looking at it today the spirit is out of the bottle.
May 31 Mary-Visitation
The visitation by Jacopo Pontormo (ca. 1528)
The festive season will conclude on May 31 with the celebration of Mary‘s visit to her cousin (Elizabeth) Elisabeth, which is described in the Gospel of Luke (1, 39-56). This Feast of visitation of Mary or Mary Visitation, remembers at the time of the visit, Mary is pregnant with Jesus and Elisabeth of John the Baptist. Elisabeth sees Mary, when the child jumps on her lap filled with the Holy Spirit, she says to Mary:
“The most blessed of all women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
Mary responds with a hymn of praise to God, the Magnificat. Elisabeth’s words are contained in the Hail Mary, a prayer loved by Catholics.
At least the sun is showing it warmer rays and embraces us like mothers do. In several countries the month of May is the month where mothers are honoured. In several Catholic countries or regions the 15th of August is mothers day. (In our family the 15th of August was always that special day for coming together with the whole family honouring the mother who spent so much energy of her life in taking care of the next generation.)
In Dutch there is the saying: “In mei leggen alle vogels een ei”, “in May all birds lay an egg” pointing out to the season where good thoughts and many new adventures get their start.
Brocken Spectre from the summit of Meall an Fhudair (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
After Walpurgisnacht or Heksennacht or Hexennacht (literally “Witches’ Night“) the night of 30 April,when the people in Northern Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland and Estonia) remember how the witches came together at the Brocken spectre the highest peak in the Harz Mountains (3,747 ft or 1,142 m high), a range of wooded hills in north central Germany between the rivers Weser and Elbe. The Brocken spectre is a magnified shadow of an observer, typically surrounded by rainbow-like bands, thrown on to a bank of cloud in high mountain areas when the sun is low. The phenomenon was first reported on the Brocken.
In Germany the holiday is celebrated by dressing in costumes, playing pranks on people, and creating loud noises meant to keep evil at bay (You can compare it with Halloween). Many people also hang blessed sprigs of foliage from houses and barns to ward off evil spirits, or they leave pieces of bread spread with butter and honey, called ankenschnitt, as offerings for phantom hounds.
In Catholic countries many of those traditions are taken into the church rituals and people put ‘palm’ (buxus cuttings) around the house to protect their belongings.
People at a Vappu picnic in Kaivopuisto in 2008
In FinlandWalpurgis Night and May Day are effectively merged into a single celebration that is usually referred to as Vappu and that is among the country’s four biggest holidays along with Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and Midsummer (Juhannus). It is the biggest carnival-style festival held in the streets of Finland’s towns and cities. Initially, Walpurgis Night was celebrated by the Finnish upper class. Then, in the late 19th century, students (particularly engineering students) took up its celebration. Many lukio (university-preparatory high school) alumni (who are thus traditionally assumed to be university bound), wear a cap. One tradition is to drink alcoholic beverages, particularly sparkling wine or sima, a home-made low-alcohol mead, along with freshly cooked funnel cakes.
Children dancing around a maypole as part of a May Day celebration in Welwyn, England
Walpurgis Night bonfire in Sweden
In many regions it is a special month to celebrate the gods and to invoke their goodness.
May Day on May 1 is such an ancient northern hemispherespringfestival and usually a public holiday. After having looked at the witches and having hold ‘revels with the devil’, people now turn to their masters and gods of nature. In some parts of northern coastal regions of Germany, the custom of lighting huge fires is still kept alive to celebrate the coming of May, while most parts of Germany have a derived Christianized custom around Easter called “Easter fires” (Osterfeuer).
In several villages the goddess of the flowers and of the renewal of nature is celebrated and Maypole dancing is part of the “Þrimilci-mōnaþ” or “Month of Three Milkings“. Also known as Ashtoria Day in northern parts of rural Cumbria people hope for nice weather to have a celebration of unity and female bonding.
In several places where there is water a Flower Boat Ritual is hold, like in Kingsand, Cawsand and Millbrook in Cornwall.
In Edinburgh, the Beltane Fire Festival is held on the evening of May eve and into the early hours of May Day on the city’s Calton Hill. An older Edinburgh tradition has it that young women who climb Arthur’s Seat and wash their faces in the morning dew will have lifelong beauty.
This year the Floralia Gent show or the 35th edition of Floralies took place from 22 April to 1 May 2016, in the Arts Quarter of Ghent (Citadelpark, Sint-Pietersplein, Leopoldskazerne and Bijlokesite) where flowers and plants intertwined with prestigious landmarks in the city.
***
***
In the capital of Belgium it will be in the Summer that a carpet of 75m x 24 m brings 1,800 m2 of begonias, or around 300 cut flowers per m2! Every other summer, on the weekend of August 15th, the Flower Carpet offers a chance to stroll across the Grand-Place, a jewel of Gothic architecture, to inhale the fragrant scent of the begonias and admire its details. This extraordinary spectacle is made complete by a visit to the balcony of the Town Hall, which offers a wide-angle view of the work. A musical theme is especially composed for each edition. A concert is given on the Grand-Place every evening and accompanies a magnificent sound-and-light show. A hundred volunteers assemble the carpet in 4 hours. The first Flower Carpet of Brussels was created in 1971 and has been a showstopper every two years on the Grand-Place since 1986.
For atheists or those who did not believe in gods the day, being a holiday was taken to come together to talk about our society and how work and family-time had to go together. Labourers and the working classes are put in the picture that day. The date was chosen for International Workers’ Day by the Second International, a pan-national organization of socialist and communist political parties, to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4 May 1886. { Foner, Philip S. (1986). May Day: A Short History of the International Workers’ Holiday, 1886–1986. New York: International Publishers. pp. 41–43. ISBN0-7178-0624-3.}
Various socialist and communist organisations hold parades in different cities on that day to react to what is going wrong in the country and for telling the politicians what is really needed for the people.
After the 1st of May, labour day, when no labour is done for most of the people, they soon could find themselves either in a full week free (half term holiday or bank holiday) or could face a long free weekend starting with the 4th or Vetran Day or with the 5th of May (for Catholics the feast of Jesus bing taken up in the skies), in several countries the special “Cinco de Mayo“, the Mexican army‘s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín, followed by the May 8 “Mother’s Day” and on the 15th of May for many “Pentecost” followed by Pentecost Monday. In several countries one or the other day of the month is also taken to remember the war days and as such we had yesterday and today Remembrance and Veteran days plus on May 21 “Armed Forces Day” followed by May 30 for many countries another “Memorial Day”
In the Chinese Zodiac, 2016 is the year of the Monkey (Yang Water) whilst for the Native American Zodiac the 5th and 8th of May, 2016 shall fall under the Beaver.
Moms to look at! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On that mother’s day, people can remember the birth of Harry S. Truman (US President), David Attenborough (British broadcaster), Sonny Liston (Boxer) and Enrique Iglesias (Singer). By that day of mothers, from the writing of this article, 345,600 seconds will have passed between now and the 8th of May, the earth having travelled approximately 178,329,600 miles through space whilst perhaps 4,147 meteors shall have entered the earth’s atmosphere.
We all have a special connection with our mother, she being the one who brought us unto this life. We can never never outgrow her and no one shall ever be able to deny the roots of that special person who is responsible that we are. It is to that person we should be grateful for what we are today. Your mother made you. Thanks to her you got an education, got to know things about yourself and those around you.
Often it are also those mothers who take care that there is plenty of food on such festivals as mentioned above. Mostly it are they who make the best of a special day by providing the best of food.
In a way every day of the year should be a mother’s day.
+
Lifestyle and Readers Digest Magazine founded by Marcus Ampe on the 26th of March 2014
Translate – Vertaal – Traduction
Welcome
New to this site. You may like to read this first
If this is your first time you visit us, you might like to know about our aims and intentions.
This site does not want to be a specific religious site, though now and then religious articles may be presented. The main interest on this site is about worldly matters, social affairs and the behaviour of human beings in this universe.
Our aim is to bring first articles about our responsibility in the progress of human relations and peace involvement.
Please find to read about our aims and aspirations:
Messengers of Peace and Positivism – Boodschappers van Vrede en Positivisme
We belong to the Bloggers for Peace and you can join them too. (Click on the picture to know more and to connect.)
Club members their own blog-writings – Clubleden hun eigen persoonlijke blogs
Articles by Guestwriters members – Artikelen bij Gastschrijvers leden
Most club members "From guestwriters" do not have their own blog, but shall write under their own name as "Guestspeaker" on the Lifestyle magazine Stepping Toes.
Those who do have their own website can be looked at underneath:
Please do find those independent authors their recent postings on their own website:
Van de schrijvers die een eigen blog hebben kan u op hun site als laatste artikels vinden:
Recent Posts on the other Lifestyle Magazine: Stepping Toes
From Bible in the news Honest Reporting recently rounded off an examination of instances of YouTube banning content by saying: “To paraphrase a quote wrongly attributed to Orwell but which resonates strongly today as we seemingly edge towards the dystopian society that he predicted: ‘In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a […]
Aanvullend op de twee voorgaande berichten wensen wij graag u te verwijzen naar een artikel van “Baars”, die zich (zoals vele anderen) dingen afvraagt. In “Het vroegere Judea” haalt hij aan hoe de Romeinen er in sloegen de Joden uit Palestina te verdrijven. In het jaar 135 doopte keizer Hadrianus Judea (Ioudaía – Yəhuda) om […]
De laatste weken heeft het er weer eens gestoven in het land waar eigenlijk vrede zou moeten overheersen. Eigenlijk is de miserie begonnen door provoserende moslims. Het uitdagen van de Israëlische soldaten leidde dan weer tot wat eigenlijk in geen enkel land zou mogen gebeuren, namelijk de bestorming van een gebedshuis. Het is totaal ongehoord […]
Uit de Oude doos: 2008 Er was een tijd dat Israël zich moeiteloos staande kon houden tegenover de omringende Arabische wereld. De oorlogen die het moest voeren om te overleven in 1948, 1967 en 1973 werden betrekkelijk gemakkelijk gewonnen, ondanks de numerieke overmacht van hun vijanden. Dat werd in de daarop volgende conflicten geleidelijk moeilijker, […]
Gelooft u het getuigenis van God, zijn Zoon en zijn dienaren? God openbaart Zich als de Heilige, die de zonden niet kan verdragen en deze veroordeelt. De meeste mensen vrezen God echter niet. Hun denken en doen is gericht op het voldoen aan hun begeerten. Door deze aardse, vleselijke gezindheid is de mens onheilig en […]
According to Catholic Catechism, the Catholic Church professes to be the “sole Church of Christ,” and that all duly consecrated bishops have a lineal succession from the twelve Apostles. In particular, the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), is considered the successor to the Apostle Peter, from whom the Pope (so called) derives his supremacy over […]
Connaissez-vous déjà les maisons de transition ? Une Maison de Transition est un petit établissement résidentiel où une quinzaine de détenus passent les derniers mois de leur détention à travailler à leur réinsertion dans la société. Les maisons de transition sont le fruit d’une collaboration entre différentes parties. La Maison de Transition s’articule autour de […]
Ken jij onze Belgische transitiehuizen al waar verschillende teams samen werken om mensen klaar te stomen terug in de maatschappij te stappen? Een transitiehuis is een residentieel gebouw waar ongeveer vijftien gedetineerden de laatste maanden van hun detentie doorbrengen om te werken aan hun re-integratie in de maatschappij. Het Transitiehuis hanteert drie pijlers om deelnemers […]
In the Christian world, there are people who say we may not judge nor vote. John 7:24 says “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make it right judgement” Many people forget that we may not judge according to appearance, but it does not say we may not judge at all. We should investigate everything before […]
Gelooft u het getuigenis van God, zijn Zoon en zijn dienaren? God openbaart Zich als de Heilige, die de zonden niet kan verdragen en deze veroordeelt. De meeste mensen vrezen God echter niet. Hun denken en doen is gericht op het voldoen aan hun begeerten. Door deze aardse, vleselijke gezindheid is de mens onheilig en […]
Thoughts by and a Look at the world by Marcus Ampe on: Marcus Ampe's Space
Warning: Some of the details in this story may be disturbing to some readers. Children taken away from their parents The last few decennia the Roman Catholic Church presented the world with some very worrying newsfacts, babies taken away from their mothers (in Ireland and the East bloc countries, to be sold to the West […]
Originally posted on Centre for Brexit Studies Blog: By Ferry Biedermann, freelance journalist working both in the UK and in Europe. He has contributed to the Financial Times, CNBC, the Washington Post, Trouw newspaper in the Netherlands and many others. He is also a former correspondent in the Middle East for the FT and Dutch…
Originally posted on Centre for Brexit Studies Blog: Dr. Steven McCabe Exactly five years ago the UK public were asked to vote on continued membership of the EU. This vote, we were told, would be a way of deciding whether we wished to continue to ne members of an organisation whose roots can be traced…
Time flies at lightning speed. Today it is already five years since the British public voted to leave the European Union, sparking perhaps the messiest divorce deal in history. Because certain Britsh political leaders telling so many lies about the EU and money that the UK could gain by leaving it, the British public was […]
Ursula von der Leyen will use all legal powers to ensure that the rights of all EU citizens are guaranteed Yesterday we got some very good news from the European Commission. The European Commission will take action against Hungary over planned new restrictions on LGBT rights, the head of the bloc’s executive announced on Wednesday, […]
To understand the current situation in Hungary, one needs to look back on what came before and examine the historical background of post-communist Hungary. The country’s shift from a Soviet satellite to a Western-oriented liberal democracy was – as elsewhere in the region – brutal, even more so taking into account the EU’s demands to […]
The King Baudouin Foundation is the major Belgian public benefit foundation which mission is to contribute to a better society in Belgium, in Europe and in the world. Forbidden Colours is a NPO linked to a fund managed by the King Baudouin Foundation. They are an international group of LGBTI activists exposing the rainbow flag […]
Today’s thought “Not as I will but as you will” (July 25) Today we read the account of the dreadful last twenty-four hours or so in the mortal life of our Lord Jesus. It is clear he was mortal, otherwise his death was only a sort of ‘mirage’. His agony of mind in the Garden […]
Today’s thought “Your name will be magnified forever” (July 22) It feels as if we could fill a book with the thoughts that arise from our three chapters today! However, 2 Samuel 7 is surely the most heart-warming and challenging! David, now king and reigning from Jerusalem, decides he should build a house, that is, […]
Today’s thought “… but those invited are not worthy” (July 21) One of the more challenging parables of Jesus is in today’s Matthew 22. Jesus says his kingdom “may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son” (verse 2). The “wedding” will see the commencement of the total transformation of […]
Today’s thought “A people producing its fruits” (July 20) Jesus taught saying, “I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” (Matthew 21:43). The life of Jesus was reaching its climax when he said this in the last of several parables in today’s […]
Today’s thought “Let him who boasts boast in this …” (July 19) In Matthew today we read of the friction among the disciples of Jesus; this arose after the mother of two of them “came up to him (Jesus) with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him … ‘Say that these two sons […]
Recent Posts by the Brethren in Christ: Broeders in Christus
Zij vervolgen onze kijk op de man die in de Brief aan de Kolossenzen als “de arts” betiteld wordt en die een zeer nauwkeurig ooggetuige verslag wenste neer te schrijven.
Als Jezus zou gestorven zijn hoe is dat dan te rijmen met het feit dat hij drie dagen en nachten in het graf zou gebleven zijn of op de derde dag verrezen zou zijn? Wij werpen hier een eerste blik op “Drie dagen en drie nachten”.
‘Onze voeten staan in uw poorten, o Jeruzalem’(Ps. 122:2) De noodzaak van beproeving De reis naar Jeruzalem begint met geloof. Maar geloof op zich is niet genoeg. Jacobus waarschuwde ons, dat geloof zonder werken eigenlijk dood is (Jakobus 2:14-17). En als voorbeeld noemde hij deze geloofsdaad van Abraham, toen hij bereid was zijn zoon te […]
In het 4de hoofdstuk van Mattheüs konden wij enkele dagen geleden al lezen dat meerdere berichten over Jezus tot in Syrië circuleerden en dat veel mensen naar Jezus toe wilden komen om zijn wonderen te zien. Er werden allerlei zieken naar Jezus gebracht. Mensen die het slecht hadden, allerlei ziekten en kwellingen hadden, mensen die […]
Originally posted on Linda's Bible Study: Col. 4:9. With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Onesimus with Paul Onesimus was to travel with Tychicus to take news of Paul to the churches in Colosse. He has quite a story of his own, which I’m considering making my next study. We’ll see. Onesimus was…
Om de wereld met haar vele problemen aan te kunnen zijn wij best ons te laten vormen door de Allerhoogste God. dit vergt openheid, vertrouwen en goodwill om ons door Hem te laten verbeteren en te leiden.
De Allergrootste Bron van Licht heeft een bron van licht aan de wereld geschonken dat men moet kunnen opmerken om zo de verlichte paden aar God te kunnen vinden en zien naar waar dat licht de mens kan heenbrengen om een eindeloos vredig licht te kunnen aantreffen.
Iedereen krijgt in het leven zaken te verwerken en wordt op allerlei gebieden gelokt om bepaalde dingen te doen of niet te doen, te geloven of niet te geloven. De vele verleidingen kunnen ons verstikken en daarvoor moeten wij ten zeerste opletten om al hetgeen rondom ons door een juiste filter te laten gaan.
Sinds dat Jezus na zijn verrijzenis de wereld heeft verlaten totdat hij weer zal komen, hebben zijn volgelingen geprobeerd anderen tot het geloof in Christus te brengen. Wij denken dat ij mogen stellen dat wanneer Jezus terug zal komen hij geloof zal vinden op aarde. “Ik zeg jullie dat hij hun spoedig recht zal verschaffen. […]
Bible prophecies do not deal only with the ancient past. They also accurately foretell events that are taking place in our day. But at the moment we focus at numerous prophecies preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures (commonly called the Old Testament) which long before the man was born told about events which would happen in his time and around him, his betrayal, humiliation, torture, execution, death, and burial. From those writings of the Old and New Testament nobody should have doubts who that man is who is called Immanuel, the son of man and Messiah, born out of the root of Jess in the tribe of king David.
In Scripture, all things are directed towards a man who was a servant of servants, in whom people should come to have faith. First we saw the connection with Eve and her seed, and in this article you may see the connection with Abraham.
Already in the Old Testament we find the focus on a son of man who is called the son of God, who shall be the most pure set apart (holy) servant of God who was been told about in the Garden of Eden, to be the one bruised.
Many Old Testament writers wrote about the prophet to come, about whom is spoke in the book of Moses and who shall be the special “Seed of a woman” given by God and who will bruise Satan’s head whilst his heel would be bruised with nails on the wooden stake.
Jewish and Christian literature since the time of Yeshua or Jeshua have pointed to Genesis 3:15 as the first reference to the Messiah in the Torah. Genesis 3:15 NHEBJE I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his […]
Recent Posts: Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten
Review Questions on Chapter Four How did Jesus teach? What is necessary to understand? Describe some of Jesus’ parables. What do you think they meant? What did Jesus do that frightened his disciples? + Preceding Mark 4 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Mark 4:1-9 – Teaching in Parables Mark 4 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Mark 4:10-13 […]
Mark 4:35-41 – Who is This? || Matthew 8:18, 23, 27;[1] Luke 8:22-25 MK4:35 Now that same day when it was night-time, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us go across the Sea of Galilee.” MK4:36 So after they dismissed the crowds, the disciples took Jesus away aboard a fishing boat. Also, other small fishing […]
Mark 4:33-34 – Public Parables, Private Teachings || Matthew 13:34, 35[1] MK4:33 Now Jesus taught his message with the use of many parables according to their ability to understand.[2] MK4:34 And without a parable he never spoke, but when they were all alone Jesus would explain everything to his disciples. * [1] Matthew 13:34, 35: […]
Mark 4:30-32 – Kingdom Like a Mustard Seed || Matthew 13:31, 32;[1] Luke 13:18, 19 MK4:30 Jesus said: “With what will we compare God’s Realm? Or, what parable might we use to explain it? MK4:31 It is like a mustard-seed[2] when first planted in the ground is among the tiniest of all seeds. MK4:32 But […]
Mark 4:26-29 – The Sleeping Farmer MK4:26 Then Jesus said: “God’s Realm[1] is as if a person scattered seed on the ground, MK4:27 then goes to sleep at night and rises the next day. The seed sprouts and grows and the person has no idea how.[2] MK4:28 For the ground produces by itself: first the […]
Recent Posts by bible Scholars: Bijbelvorser = Bible Researcher
Het evangelie van Marcus De eerste drie evangeliën vertonen zoveel overeenkomst dat ze ‘synoptisch’worden genoemd, van sun= samen en optomai= kijken naar. Je kunt ze inparallelle kolommen afdrukken en ze zo in één oogopslag vergelijken. Matteüs, Marcus en Lucas heten dan de ‘synoptici’. Het evangelie van Marcus werd ooit algemeen als het oudste beschouwd, vanwege […]
In de vele voorgaande hoofdstukken hebben wij zo goed mogelijk een volledig antwoord trachten te geven op meerdere vragen van lezers over het sterven, de dood, de toestand van de doden, het al of niet naar de hemel, hel of vagevuur gaan na de dood, alsook over de Bijbelse leer betreft dood gaan en de […]
In de hof van Eden werd de dood uitgesproken als straf voor de daar begane overtreding, en het gehele Adamische ras werd daarin betrokken. Dit was het ongelukkige resultaat van het eerste grote oordeel over ons ras. – Rom. 5:12,16. ” Daarom, gelijk door één mens de zonde in de wereld gekomen is, en door […]
The Second Death In the Garden of Eden, death was pronounced as the penalty for the transgression there committed, and the whole of the Adamic race was involved in it. This was the unfortunate result of the first great Judgment of our race. — Rom. 5:12,16. “ Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into […]
Verhalen, eerste dood en hemelen Als mensen vragen wat er gebeurt na de dood (het heengaan of sterven) en waar de doden zijn, kunnen in God gelovende mensen alleen maar proberen een beeld te geven van wat de woorden in de Bijbel vertellen. Er zijn ook te veel mensen die zich christen noemen, maar veel […]
First of all to come to a good relationship with some one, one has to talk with that person and has to listen to what that person has to tell. God talks to the people by the way of His Word, presented to mankind by the many Bible translations, so that most people can read […]
The One Who created everything and Who gave His Word, did all He did with a purpose and out of love. The Bible teaches us that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Everything God does is motivated by love. Out of love created man in His image also with the intention to have a good relationship […]
In the previous writings we saw that the Divine Creator gave His Word to the world so that people could come to know Him. The Bible is a gift from God. It gives us information that we can’t find anywhere else. For example, it tells us that God created the heavens, the earth, and the […]
From June 27 until July 18 2021, thinking of exiles, misfortunes and calamities for the Jewish people. Mourning for sad events but also looking forward with the hope of God’s promises.
All our life we must strive for more and more perfection and prepare our way to come in front of our Most High Elohim. Let His Word be the best Guidebook we’ll use every day.
Several of our people may be afraid to come outside and to come to speak about the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. Nothing should stop us to tell others about our great love the Most High Elohim. We must make God’s Voice resound over mountains and valleys and give it all glory and honour.
Er wordt aangegeven dat vanuit de klomp aarde de aardse mens zich verder uitbreide naar het beeld van de eerste mens, die naar Gods beeld geschapen was.
Door de eeuwen heen zijn er steeds mensen geweest die inzagen hoe alles rondom hen mogelijk was en hoe er geloof kon gesteld worden in Die Maker van alle dingen en hoe ze Hem als het ware als een schild en toevluchtsoord konden gebruiken.
In en met hun geloof durfden zij te spreken over hun geloof en wat de wereld mocht verwachten in toekomende tijden.
Telkens als er een dag voor je ligt moet je deze nemen alsof het de laatste dag van je leven is. En daar moet je dan van genieten en sterk maken dat je Leeft!
Meer dan een jaar zijn wij beperkt geworden in onze mogelijkheden en vrije beleving met anderen. Nu er versoepelingen aan komen mogen wij niet over het hoofd zien wat ons in die penarie heeft gebracht en hoe wij dit voor de toekomst moeten vermijden.
Zij die onder Gods Adem gezegend kunnen worden horen er naar te leven en handelen en die Adem van God uit te dragen. De liefde voor de waarheid noodzaakt ons de liefde van de Elohim aan anderen kenbaar te maken.
One may wonder in which or what kind of god people want to believe. It is striking that many people like to have a certain form of mystery around their deity and therefore do not choose the God Who pours clear wine and sends very reliable Words to earth.
Men kan zich afvragen in welke of wat voor soort god mensen willen geloven. Opvallend is wel dat heel wat mensen graag een zekere vorm van misterieusiteit rond hun godheid wensen te hebben en daarom niet kiezen voor Dé God Die klare wijn schenkt en zeer betrouwbare Woorden naar de aarde toezendt.
Wil jij tot de categorie behoren van degenen die als het dichtst bij Allah worden beschouwd, maar weet je niet zeker wie Hij is of voel je je futloos en ongemotiveerd? Weet u dat er Geschriften zijn die u kunnen verlichten en antwoorden kunnen geven op vele vragen die u en uw vrienden kunnen hebben. […]
Let’s start with a look at Psalm 82, the psalm that the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua (Ishi – Isa – Issou – Jesus) quotes in John 10:34. “1 (82:2) حتى متى تقضون جورا وترفعون وجوه الاشرار.سلاه . 2 (82:3) اقضوا للذليل ولليتيم.انصفوا المسكين والبائس .” (مز 82:1-2 Arabic) “1 <A Psalm. Of Asaph.> God is […]
Recent Posts: Unmasking anti Jehovah sites and people
When we scroll onto the net about Jesus and God we often encounter lots of name-Christians who use verses to reply to others with questions about the divinity of Jesus which not at all say that Jesus is God, but they either do not understand what those verses are saying. Or they deliberately bring a […]
At the beginning of our contemporary age a son of man was hailed, by some triumphantly praised as a king entering Jerusalem, by others regarded as a dangerous person undermining their power. About 2 000 years later it are still religious leaders who do not want people to come to know that Nazarene man or to accept him as the son of God and future King of this world.
Jesus told his disciples that he will return only once and that when he does, after a time of great tribulation, it will be visible to everyone and be followed by immediate and dire consequences for those unprepared and for those who were adversaries of God.
The disciples expected that Christ would “come” as King, with a royal presence, and to remove the Romans and thrown down the corrupt temple, all at the same time and soon! It was a disappointment for them it turned not out that way, but they came to understand we could have an even much better future because of what Jesus had done. Though they also became convinced of the necessity to be prepared for the time that Jesus would return and that each believer could add by his effort of preaching, to bring the time closer.
Ek het ‘n prentjie, sê ek vir hom. Ek kan nie onthou wanneer ek dit die eerste keer gesien het nie. Ek klim die berg (never-ending) en dit duur my hele lewe lank. Uiteindelik (ek het nooit verwag dit sal in my leeftyd gebeur nie), kom ek bo-op die berg. Daar wag ‘n baie ou, […]
Dit was ‘n besluit. Iets wat ek my voorgeneem het om te doen nadat ek my nier geskenk het. it is finished… ‘n Tattoo op my voorarm om my te herhinner dat ek niks meer het om te gee behalwe liefde, tyd en aandag nie. Verlede week vertrek ek oudergewoonte na ‘n stil plek om […]
When you have a Facebook account, you may also connect to following Facebook Pages ("Like" them), to get updates of newly published articles.
+
Wanneer u een Facebook Account hebt kan u de volgende Pagina's ook "Leuk" vinden en aangeven dat u berichtgevingen wenst te ontvangen zodat u steeds op de hoogte wordt gehouden van nieuwe publicaties.
Biblestudents – Bijbelstudenten
A Google Site presenting the Biblestudents with articles in English and Dutch – Voorstelling van de Bijbelstudenten met artikelen in het Nederlands en Engels
Christen Focus
Vanuit de Bijbelonderzoekers oogpunt kijkend waarop de mens hoorrt te focussen
Getuigen voor Christus
Tegenover de Getuigen van Jehovah zijn er ook de Getuigen voor Christus die Getuigenis afleggen voor Christus en zijn God Jehovah.
Relating to God wordPress Blog
Proving there is Only One True God which should be honoured and followed and how we can come in a better relationship with Him by following His only begotten son Jesus Christ as the Way to God.
Unmasking anti-Jehovah people
Debunking all the false sayings of those who fight against non-trinitarian groups and people
Blogroll
Hoop tot leven
Platform van Marcus Ampe voor hulpverlening en hoop geving
Christadelphian
Belgian Christadelphians
Google site with articles in English from the Belgian Brothers in Christ or Christadelphians
C4All
Christ For All – Presenting ways to find Christ in your life
C4U – Christ for you & Christadelphians for you
Site of Brothers and Sisters in Christ, who love the Creator and His creations and want people to show who is the way to Him and to His Kingdom where there shall be peace for ever.
Our World
News and thoughts about what is happening in the world, brought by the Free Christian Marcus Ampe. – Een kijk op het wereldgebeuren vanuit het standpunt van de Vrije Christen Marcus Ampe
Relating to God wordPress Blog
Proving there is Only One True God which should be honoured and followed and how we can come in a better relationship with Him by following His only begotten son Jesus Christ as the Way to God.
Immanuel Verbondskind
A site where issues of Judaism, Christianity, Islamism, their search for continued authenticity and relevance for today are discussed and looked at the position of the Jeshuaist community wrestling with the non- or anti-religious world
Jeshuaisme
Het Jeshuaisme brengt volgers van de Nazareense rebbe Jeshua (door velen beter gekend als Jezus Christus) te samen en verenigd Jehudiem (Jehoediem) of Joden zowel als goyim of niet-Joden en doet een oproep naar alle soort gelovigen en niet-gelovigen om Je
Jeshuaist
Personal pages of a Flemish Jeshua-ist – Persoonlijke paginas van een Vlaamse Jeshuaist
Jeshuaist communities
A community of real followers of Christ, assembling for sharing the Good News of the works of the Moshiach Jeshua and his heavenly Father the Elohim Hashem Jehovah.
Jeshuaist Focus
Uiteenzetting hoe eenieder tot het Volk kan behoren dat het Koninkrijk van god zal mogen binnentreden
Jeshuaisten – Jeshuaists
Een plaats van en voor liefhebbers van de Joodse Nazarener rabbi Jeshua om het bijbelkennis te versterken. – A site of and for lovers of the Nazarene Jewish rabbi Jeshua to strengthen their knowledge of the Scriptures.
Jeshuaists (or Yeshuaists)
Jeshuaists (or Yeshuaists) are followers of the Nazarene rebbe Jeshua who presented himself as a sent one from the Adonai Most High Elohim, Hashem Jehovah.
Jeshuaists for Jehovah
Followers of the Nazarene rebbe Jeshua witnessing for him and his God, the Only True God of Isrrael, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah.
Our World
News and thoughts about what is happening in the world, brought by the Free Christian Marcus Ampe. – Een kijk op het wereldgebeuren vanuit het standpunt van de Vrije Christen Marcus Ampe
Stepping Toes
A Lifestyle magazine which can be for some a provocative site created by Marcus Ampe
Of the many processions the 
Today, May 5 is for Catholics 
This year the Floralia Gent show or the 35th edition of Floralies took place from 22 April to 1 May 2016, in the Arts Quarter of Ghent (Citadelpark, Sint-Pietersplein, Leopoldskazerne and Bijlokesite) where flowers and plants intertwined with prestigious landmarks in the city.
For atheists or those who did not believe in gods the day, being a holiday was taken to come together to talk about our society and how work and family-time had to go together. 
After the 1st of May, labour day, when no labour is done for most of the people, they soon could find themselves either in a full week free (half term holiday or bank holiday) or could face a long free weekend starting with the 4th or Vetran Day or with the 5th of May (for Catholics the feast of Jesus bing taken up in the skies), in several countries the special “
alsowritten
Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten
belgischebroedersinchristus
Bijbelvorsers
Christadelphians
Guestspeaker
Immanuel Verbondskind
jeshuaist
Vragensteller - Inquirer
lizaborstlap
Marcus Ampe
Success Inspirers' World
Relating to God
