Why is Christmas the most Important Christian Holiday?
To anyone looking from the outside, Christmas would seem to be the biggest festival of the Christian year. It has the 4 week build-up with Advent, there are more carol services than you can shake a yule-log at, and the churches are packed with people who may not have even stepped inside a church since last Christmas! So is it really Christianity’s most important festival ?
Saint Sampson – A Superstar of his Time
It is St Sampson who is credited with bringing the Christian Gospel, to not only Guernsey, but the whole of the Channel Islands. He wasn’t just a local phenomenon but would have been regarded as something of a celebrity, a “rock star of his time”. We look at the the life and times of this remarkable man in this article.
The Bible – A Timeline of Key Events
Whether you agree with its message or not there is no denying that the Christian (and Hebrew) Bible has fundamentally shaped the world we live in today. And yet there is still much ignorance in general society as to what it is saying or the key events it covers. Getting a handle of the dates of the events covered can be difficult so in this article we look (briefly) at some of the key events and put a date to them.
The History of Shrove Tuesday
Modern Britain is a very secular society but there are many traditions that people still partake in that have a very religious significance without people really realising. Take for example ‘Shrove Tuesday’ – what exactly is the “shroving” bit about and why the obsession with pancakes on that day ?
Why Inn Keepers in the Nativity may have wrongly had a ‘bum rap’ for a long time
Every Christmas, innkeepers get a terrible ‘rap’. In schools, playgroups & churches up and down the land, Mary and Joseph duly arrive on their donkey in Bethlehem, only to be rejected by one or more innkeepers saying they don’t have any room at all in their inn. However it turns out this all revolves around the translation of 1 Greek word – kataluma – which can simply mean “guest room”. So whats the story behind this ?
How Should We Regard the Bible in the 21st Century?
The Bible can be a very pejorative term. Stirring good~bad~indifferent feelings But can we look at it through a different lens putting aside the baggage we bring? “How Should We Regard the Bible in the 21st Century?” … some thoughts & observations in this article
Monks on Herm
Christianity arrived in the Channel Islands during the 6th Century AD. It was brought largely by Welsh refugees escaping the tyranny of the Anglo Saxon invaders in their home areas. In this article we look at one of the smallest Channel Islands – Herm – and how monks came to the island
A Brief History of St Patrick’s Day
The 17th March, St Patrick’s Day, is celebrated, certainly in the in the US, with a seemingly endless cornucopia of party like events, they even dye the Chicago River is green the Saturday before each St. Patrick’s Day. But what is the story behind the Saint and his relationship to Ireland where he is the official patron saint?
Bonus Question : Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic?
We at guernseydonkey.com are always keen to promulgate that ever exapanding ‘body of knowledge’ we like to call “intenet fluff”. Accordingly we recycle here for your delectation a story that seems to have begun its life way back in 1997 when the internet was still young. Multiple examples now exist and its opening often varies – who the setter supposedly was and at what institution – but the core of the piece is always the same. Enjoy! 🙂
Why Did the Magi Bring Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?
Since the early days of Christianity, Biblical scholars and theologians have offered varying interpretations of the meaning and significance of the gold, frankincense and myrrh that the magi presented to Jesus. The latest one is that the magi “from the East” may have presented Frankincense to the baby Jesus for its’ healing properties.
How Was the Christian Bible Put Together ? Who Wrote it All ?
How Was the Christian Bible Put Together ? Who Wrote it All ?
An Ancient Mystery Solved … Hierapolis, “The Gates to Hell” & Instant Death
One of the world’s most chilling ruins is the Ploutonion at Hierapolis, “the Gates to Hell”. Here crowds watched priests lead animal sacrifices down into a cave, where they died mysteriously as if dragged down to the underworld. No one knew how they did it, that is, until very recently.
Surprising Science : Would You Adam & Eve it … They DID exist!
Reality is sometimes stranger than we’d ever credit. Believe it or not but Scientists are actually saying that they can prove that Adam & Eve, that is a single set of ancestors, are parents to us all!
Is it Possible to tell what Jesus looked like ?
Jesus is arguably the most influential person in history as well as the most painted figure in all of Western art, but paradoxically we have no idea what he looked really looked like when he walked the earth.
5 Classic Christmas Carols and their Origins
They say the old songs are the best and when it comes to Christmas Carols they may well be right. In this article we look at the origins of several popular carols both sacred and secular.
