Month: December 2006

Prophetic Acts In Christmas Traditions- Terry Sommerville

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Terry Sommerville writes:

Amazing as it seems, our celebrations of Christmas may actually be keeping the nation from slipping into total darkness. In his book The Twilight Labrynth , George Otis Jr. says that cultures throughout the world reinforce their spiritual darkness, through seasonal festivals. Covenants are maintained with the powers and principalities by annual observances. Can it be possible that our celebration of Christmas reinforces the spiritual light in our nation? Charismatic Christians frequently ignore church traditions in favor of spontaneus actions. But recently prophets have recovered the whole idea of "prophetic action" to establish things in the heavenly places. Could Christmas observances be "prophetic actions"? Can it happen even when most of the "actors" don't know why they are doing it? Here are some of my thoughts on prophetic actions in the traditions of Christmas. …

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New ecological threat to Christmas

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If Jesus was born today, the three wise men might have had to substitute frankincense for another gift, according to new research suggesting that production of the fragrant substance is in trouble.

Frankincense, an aromatic hardened wood resin obtained by tapping Boswellia trees, has been an ingredient in perfumes and incense for thousands of years.

The Bible says that at Christmas, the magi brought gifts to Jesus of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Now ecologists from the Netherlands and Eritrea warn that current rates of tapping frankincense from Boswellia trees are endangering sustained production of the aromatic resin. …

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