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.
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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.
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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.
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Recent Posts: Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten
Matthew 22:11-13 – King’s Inspection and Marriage Garments MT22:11 “Now when the king arrived[1] to view[2] those reclining at the festival table he saw there a person without a wedding garment.[3] MT22:12 The king said to this person, ‘Friend,[4] how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ But, the person could not answer.[5] […]
Matthew 22:7-10 – Invitations after City’s Destruction || Luke 14:23, 24 MT22:7 “Now the king became extremely angry.[1] He sent off his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. MT22:8 Then he told his slaves, ‘The wedding feast is prepared but those invited were unworthy.[2] MT22:9 So now be on your way onto […]
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND UNANSWERED [“Trick Questions”] (Key word: Marriage) Matthew 22:1-6 – Parable of Invitation to a Marriage || Luke 14:16-22 MT22:1 Jesus continued to answer the priests, Scribes and Jewish elders with more parables, saying: MT22:2 “The Realm of Heaven may be compared to[1] a human king[2] who prepared a wedding feast[3] […]
Matthew 21:45-46 – Religious Leadership Fearful || Mark 12:12; Luke 20:19 MT21:45 Having heard these parables the chief priests and the Pharisees realized Jesus was talking about them. MT21:46 They sought to seize Jesus but they feared the crowd who considered him a prophet. + Preceding Matthew 21:1-3 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Sent Ahead for […]
Matthew 21:42-44 – “The Stone the Builders Rejected” || Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17, 18 MT21:42 Jesus continued speaking to them: “Did you never read in the Scripture,[1] ‘A Stone which the builders rejected has become a head-corner.[2] This [head-corner stone] originates with[3] YHWH[4] and it is an awesome [head-corner] in our eyes.’[5] [Psalm 118:22, […]
Recent Posts by bible Scholars: Bijbelvorser = Bible Researcher
La paix de Dieu, qui surpasse toute pensée, gardera vos cœurs (Phil. 4:7). Priez, et vous recevrez la paix de Dieu qui « surpasse toute pensée ». Que signifie cette expression ? D’autres traducteurs de la Bible écrivent ici : « dépasse tout ce que l’on peut imaginer » (Bible en français courant), ou : « dépasse tout ce que l’on peut comprendre » […]
The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts.—Phil. 4:7. Pray, and then you will receive the peace of God. But notice that “the peace of God . . . surpasses all understanding.” What does that mean? Some translators render this expression “surpasses all our dreams” or “excels all human planning.” Paul was, in […]
De vrede van God, die alle begrip te boven gaat, zal je hart beschermen. — Fil. 4:7. Bid, en je zult de vrede van God krijgen. Maar merk op dat Paulus zegt dat de vrede van God ‘alle gedachte te boven gaat’. Wat betekent dat? Sommige vertalers geven deze uitspraak weer met ‘die al onze dromen […]
De Dode Zee (Arabisch: بحر ميت; Hebreeuws: ים המלח) is het laagst gelegen meer ter wereld. Het bevindt zich tussen de Jordaanvallei in het noorden, de bergen van Moab in het oosten, de Arava-vallei in het zuiden, en de bergen van Judea in het westen.
Men komt ter wereld door geboorte. Maar hoeveel keren kan men wel geboren worden? Wat betekent die wedergeboorte waarvan sprake is in het Nieuwe testament?
To build up a good relation with the Divine Creator, the Divine Master Maker Himself provided several people who should be an example for mankind to come closer to God. Because of the rebellion against their Maker, the first human beings where cast out of the Garden of Eden, but had their offspring also with […]
In this world we see lots of religious groups and can find lots of people they believe in god/God. But we can wonder in which god or God they believe. The majority seems to believe in an other god than the God of the Bible. That god of the Holy Books is a Singular Spirit […]
When we are looking for some one for having a good or close relationship with, we can assure you the best one to have a good relationship with is the Most High Divine Creator God Who made it possible for you to be here in the first place. Having a relationship with Him is a […]
When wondered about a godhead and having come to the conclusion that there must be a Divine Creator or Supreme Being that surpasses all human and animal beings, we may question if it is possible for us to have a relationship with that Higher Being. What does it take to begin a relationship with God? […]
In March 2016 we created on Weebly a website to talk about man’s relationship with God. After we had done all the placing of pages and came to the contact form and placing of a Gravatar for the replies, we were brought to WordPress where we not only could choose a Gravatar but also got […]
Recent Posts by: Immanuel Verbondskind - עמנואל קאָווענאַנט קינד
Today, Wednesday, the 20th day of the Jewish month of Menachem Av (August 21), marks 75 years since the untimely passing of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, of righteous memory, father of the Rebbe, of righteous memory. Rabbi , was respected as one of the greatest Talmudic and Kabbalistic scholars of his generation. He served as […]
The Hebrew phrase tikkun olam (pronounced tee-KOON oh-LUHM) means “world repair.” In modern Jewish circles, tikkun olam has become synonymous with the notion of social action and the pursuit of social justice.
Created in the image of God each human being is requested to come close to the Bo’re and to be a partaker of a marvellous peaceful world to which each member has to contribute out of free will. In order for the balance between good and evil intended by God to be restored, humans must be involved in the world’s reparation and can not keep aside or aloof or ‘do nothing’ to get social justice or a better world.
Originally posted on Sim Lev: What is the point of Judaism? Last night, I gave a defence of Judaism for the disengaged. I argued that religion gives us a sense of community, purpose and meaning. I talked about how Judaism is an antidote to many of the greatest problems we face in the 21st Century.…
Originally posted on Parasha With Passion – Weekly Torah Portions: Parasha With Passion – Weekly Torah Reading Cycle – Week #21 Greetings Beloveds, In Parashat Ki Tisa (when you take), God instructs Moses to take a census and an offering.? Also, God instructs Moses on how the basin for washing should be used, how to…
We should look at the Most High Elohim, how He had chosen Himself a set-apart (or holy) people. Also in the parable of the Wedding banquet, mentioned in Matthew 22, we hear how He as the king invited His people. Because many did no go into His invitation He sent out His servants to invite […]
From the Hebrew Scriptures, including the Talmud we can learn that the Chosen People or Israel is eternal, so the bond with them is irreversible, unbreakable and eternal, once a Jew always a Jew. As a Jew following the Jewish rebbe Jeshua should not mean that one has to give up the Jewishness, even better being a follower of the sent one of God one can become even closer to God.
Men kan iets denken en iets uitspreken wat verwezenlijkt wordt door wat men noemt “het Woord” of “Logos”. Naast dat Woord of Logos (het spreken of uitspraak) is er ook het Rhéma of wat wordt gesproken, een uiting in een toespraak of geschrift (= vorm van het gesprokene).
In de christelijke eschatologie, erkend men een antichrist of de anti-christ, als iemand die de bijbelse profetieën vervult over iemand die zich tegen Christus verzet of zal verzetten of zelfs zo ver gaat om zichzelf in de plaats van Christus te plaatsen. Best kijken wij naar de term (inclusief een meervoudsvorm) die vijf keer wordt gevonden in het Nieuwe Testament, namelijk uitsluitend in de Eerste en Tweede Brief van Johannes, waar de Antichrist wordt aangekondigd als degene ‘die de Vader en de Zoon ontkent’ .
God has given the world His Word and Guidance for life, but everyone is free to follow it or not. It is not by doing good or doing bad that everything in life shall run like we would like it, or would go good or bad.
We all know that “bad” things happen to “good” people, and no spiritual building can hold by pretending otherwise. It’s simply untrue that every well-lived life leads only to outwardly positive outcomes. It’s equally untrue that difficult circumstances prove that someone strayed from the path.
Joden indien zij hun oude Geschriften diepgaand onderzoeken kunnen tot de ontdekking komen wie de lang beloofde Messiach is en kunnen daarbij ook voldoende redenen vinden om die Messias of Christus te volgen en deelgenoten te worden van ‘zijn lichaam’ en alzo als Jood voor Christus door het leven te gaan.
In het Joodse geloof zijn er de apart geplaatste boeken maar ook legendes welke vertellen over de man Abraham welke wij als onze aartsvader aanschouwen, omdat de elohim hem heeft uitverkoren om de vader van velen te zijn.
De Bijbelse naam Abraham betekent ‘verheven vader’. Dit was de Chaldese naam van Abraham. Toen Abram door God werd gekozen om de stamvader te worden van Gods volk, werd hij Abraham genoemd, wat ‘vader van vele volken’ betekent.
Adam mag dan wel de eerste man zijn die de wereld kent, maar voor ons geloof is de nomade wiens naam van Abram naar Abraham verandert is door God veel belangrijker.
In voorgaand en volgend bericht gaan wij dieper op die Bijbelse figuur in.
In ons geloof kijken wij gerust ook naar het begin aller tijden maar betreft ons geloof nemen wij anderen dan Adam en Eva als onze grote voorouders. Hij die voor ons de eer krijgt om onze aartsvader te zijn is Abraham.
When having many questions an interesting blog to look at: their old and more recent Posts: Questiontime - Vragenuurtje
The intention of this site was to be able to find answers to some serious questions and to know what others thought about it. But there were no answers from others and silence continued to form the fog.
Bedoeling van deze site was op enkele ernstige vragen antwoorden te kunnen vinden en te weten hoe anderen er over dachten. Maar antwoorden van anderen bleven uit en stilte bleef de mist vormen.
In this world we shall become even more confronted by people, be them politicians or church-leaders who would love to tell us than matters or different than we see it. Many of them will give the lie to make sure they would be more popular and receive more power. We must know that we shall […]
For most people life is just a big question-mark. Living this small life, earn and die is just not satisfying for them and it does not seems like the purpose of life.
In the capitalist countries money often receives the first place of importance and many forget that love for each other is so much more a valuable asset for having a better life.
Several churches want to be popular and promise their followers excellent health with a lot of wealth, as long as they contribute richly to the church.
Abundance is on the inside. It’s a feeling first, an amount second.
Recent Posts: Unmasking anti Jehovah sites and people
The Bible gives us a picture of the Only One True God His specific qualities and how He shows His faithfulness and His willingness to judge them righteous.
Previously we looked at the exclusivity of the Most High Supreme Spirit Being Who is the Singular Jehovah God. In this article we continue to look at Him Who si one (and not two or three) and notice some special features that make This Unique God so special.
Some verses from the Bible to get to know the God of gods Who is an exclusive eternal Supreme Being Who is one (and not two or three) no man can see, and Who has a special or set apart (holy) Name, Jehovah.
Often a lot of people do not know to differentiate between Christendom, Christianity, religiosity and even limit religiousness to Christians, forgetting that there are many other religious groups who have all sorts of worship.
ek onthou eendag lank gelede toe ek my eie gastehuis bedryf het was die kamers vol en ek was alleen op die werf in my haas het my voet aan die plaveisel vasgehaak en toe ek neerslaan nerf af het ek net so bly lê toe ek opkyk toe sien ek die mooi tuin en […]
haai jy daar, sê sy vir myhoe gaan dit vandag met jou?dis eers toe ek opkyk dat ek sien dis ‘n engelek loop tot teenaan haar harten praat en praat en praattoemaar, sê syek voel ook soms maar soek het juis gister gewonder wat die sin van die lewe ismeer spesifiek my lewe, maar noudat […]
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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 “
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Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten
Bijbelvorsers
Christadelphians
Guestspeaker
Immanuel Verbondskind
jeshuaist
Vragensteller - Inquirer
lizaborstlap
Marcus Ampe
Success Inspirers' World
Relating to God
