First Jesus-era house found in Nazareth
A new find in Nazareth may shed light on how shepherds (like those in this recreation) lived 2,000 years ago. (Photo by John LaRue)
NAZARETH, Israel — Days before Christmas, archaeologists on Monday unveiled what they said were the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus – a find that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the period the New Testament says Jesus lived there as a boy.
The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres (1.6 hectares). It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders, said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a “simple Jewish family,” Alexandre added, as workers at the site carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls.
Nazareth holds a cherished place in Christianity. It is the town where Christian tradition says Jesus grew up and where an angel told Mary she would bear the child of God.
“This may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with,” Alexandre said. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends, she said. “It’s a logical suggestion.”
The discovery so close to Christmas has pleased local Christians.
Read the rest at the Washington Post.
Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 12:25 PM | Stand For Israel
Christian leaders issue call: Come visit Israel!
A view of the Dome of the Rock through a window on the Mount of Olives. (Photo by John LaRue)
Christian leaders from around the world came together in Jerusalem last week to issue a call to Christians around the world: Come visit Israel!
Christian leaders, ambassadors, and tourism officials meet to call Christians to the Holy Land. (Courtesy of ISRANET)
At a pre-Christmas event organized by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, Christian leaders representing Evangelical and other Protestant quarters joined representatives of the Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, and ambassadors from Sri Lanka, Croatia, Argentina and the Philippines to discuss bringing Christian tourists to the Holy Land.
“Many Christians have their Bibles throughout the world, but when you visit this land and you see the city of these remarkable eventss that forms and fashions their faith, somehow the Bible becomes new,” Reverend Malcolm Hedding, executive director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, said. “It all happens in ways that you can only get from this remarkable land.”
Comments (1) »Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 2:12 PM | Stand For Israel
Late Hall of Famer Reggie White’s spiritual journey into scripture — in the original
Watch this moving ESPN story from 2004 about Reggie White, the famed NFL football star and preacher, which explores the spiritual journey he took in his last years: While remaining a committed Christian, White learned Hebrew so that he could learn scripture in its original form and, in doing so, deepened his already complex and meaningful faith.
Comments (1) »Saturday, December 5th, 2009 at 8:08 AM | Stand For Israel
Israeli tourism hits all-time high in October
Congolese Christians at the Western Wall (by ISRANET)
The Congolese Christians at left were among the 330,000 tourists visiting Israel last month, which marked an all-time high for any October last. Tourism is up this year, with 2.3 million tourists visiting the Holy Land during the first 10 months of 2009.
Christian tourism has long been a pillar of Israel’s tourism industy, and many Israelis learned that Christian commitment to the Holy Land doesn’t waver — during the darkest years of the intifada, Christian tourists continued coming when most other tour groups abandoned the Holy Land.
Comments (0) »Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 5:39 PM | Stand For Israel
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