Category: News

BOCA RATON, Fla., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Despite holding interest rates unchanged in their May meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) seems bullish and unfazed with the reports of weakness in the growth in economic activity.

The FOMC issued a strong statement signaling it believes the slowdown in growth is transitory and pointed to solid job gains in the labor market. Its decision leaves the federal funds rate unchanged at .75 to 1.00 percent. However, the hawkish Fed comment that despite the slowdown in consumption spending, the “fundamentals underpinning the continued growth of consumption remained solid” demonstrates their commitment to gradual, yet steady rate hikes.

This is in sharp contrast to more cautious FOMC statements in recent years.

GDP growth slowed down to 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017, as compared to the growth of 2.1 percent and 3.5 percent in Quarters 1 and 2 of 2016. Consumer spending slowed down to the slowest pace since 2009, and grew a meager 0.3 percent, down from the 3.5 percent growth in the last quarter of 2016. However, many economists believe that these figures don’t provide the full picture and point to several indicators that underscore the strength and robustness of the U.S. economy. Fixed business investment increased by 10.4 percent, and wages in the first quarter grew the most in a decade. Household confidence and optimism are also at multi-year highs as a result of the stock market gains and increase in home values and sales.

Where does this leave the U.S. economy? After bottoming out in 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is now hovering around 21,000, and while the European Central Bank’s key interest rates remain near zero or in negative territory, Fed observers predict a 99 percent probability of a rate hike when the FOMC reconvenes June 13-14.

It seems like the crisis is in the past for the U.S., although the rest of the world may not see the same glad tidings.

The Spanish National Police has released pictures and video of an arsenal of war seized in January in the Spanish provinces of Bizkaia, Girona and Cantabria, Spain during operation ‘Portu’, supported by Europol. Over 10 000 assault rifles, anti-aerial machine guns, 400 shells, grenades, pistols, revolvers and parts to reactivate weapons, were seized.

Most of the firearms were acquired legally as deactivated firearms but were later reactivated in a workshop also discovered during the operation.

In a statement, Spanish National Police said that “Due to their characteristics, their caliber and their readiness for reactivation, the seized weapons had an easy journey in the black market and posed a significant risk of being acquired by organized crime groups and terrorists.”

The investigation found that the five arms dealers who have been arrested were using a sports shop as a front and were selling firearms in Spain, France, and Belgium using forged reactivation permits.

Operation Portu was started after the terrorist attack on the Jewish Museum of Brussels in May, 2014.

Disney-Pixar released the official trailer for Toy Story 4 in which Woody, Buzz and the gang make new friends and reunite with old ones to make “stories that will change you.”

Woody has always been confident about his place in the world and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. But when Bonnie adds a reluctant new toy called “Forky” to her room, a road trip adventure alongside old and new friends will show Woody how big the world can be for a toy.

Directed by Josh Cooley (“Riley’s First Date?”) and produced by Jonas Rivera (“Inside Out,” “Up”) and Mark Nielsen (associate producer “Inside Out”), Disney

Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” ventures to U.S. theaters on June 21, 2019.

Watch:

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Choosing to go to battle when you could stay in the safe zone — that’s something a valiant leader would do, and that’s exactly what Army Lt. Col. John U.D. Page did while serving in Korea.

Page was born in 1904 in the U.S.-governed Philippines, but he grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. His dream of attending West Point was thwarted by poor eyesight, so he went to Princeton instead, where he graduated in 1926 with an engineering degree and an ROTC commission.

Page served in World War II, where he commanded an artillery battalion in Germany. In 1950, he received orders to teach at the prestigious Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, but he requested a combat role instead. So, off to Korea he went, serving with the 52nd Transportation Truck Battalion, X Corps Artillery, which commanded the 1st Marine Division at the time.

Page was in Korea for only two weeks, but his actions during the decisive Battle of Chosin Reservoir were so incredible that the Marines with whom he served recommended him for the Navy Cross — an honor that only two other Army recipients earned in Korea.

Here’s how the battle broke out: In late November 1950, Chinese forces infiltrated northeastern North Korea and surprised the X Corps at the reservoir. Massively outnumbered, the U.S. and United Nations troops in that area were surrounded and attacked over the span of 17 days.

On Nov. 29, 1950, Page left X Corps Artillery Headquarters at the port city of Hamhung in North Korea to set up traffic control on the main supply route north to the reservoir’s plateau, where the trapped troops were. He could have returned to the safety of Hamhung, but he decided to stay on the plateau to help the troops.

During 10 days of constant fighting on the plateau, Page did the following:

• • Rescued a fellow soldier after breaking up an ambush.
  • Reached the line of a surrounded Marine garrison and voluntarily developed and trained a reserve force of Army troops trapped with them, turning them into an effective tactical unit.
  • At a makeshift airstrip partially outside their heavily attacked perimeter, Page put himself in the line of fire so he could direct counterfire. He also twice manned the machine gun on the back of a tank to further drive away the enemy.
  • While being flown low over enemy lines in a light observation plane, Page dropped hand grenades on Chinese positions and sprayed their foxholes with gunfire.

After those 10 days, the troops had succeeded in gathering at the edge of the plateau. Page flew back to Hamhung to get artillery support for them. Once again, he could have stayed where it was safe, but he went back to help his beleaguered comrades.

As the troops slowly moved south through a narrow pass on their way to safety, Page joined the guards in the rear. Enemy attacks were frequent, so he went out several times into the open and used machine guns to return fire until the danger diminished.

On the night of Dec. 10, the convoy had made it to the bottom of the pass but was stopped by the enemy, which surrounded them on three sides, spraying them with guns. Realizing how dangerous this was for the whole column, Page fought his way to the front and into the heart of the hostilities. He fought fiercely by himself until he was mortally wounded.

At the end of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, United Nations forces were finally able to break through the surrounding Chinese troops and fight their way back to Hamhung. They were eventually evacuated, marking the complete withdrawal of U.N. troops from North Korea.

Page’s valiant and aggressive spirit went above and beyond the call of duty. His actions surprised the Chinese so much that they fell into disarray, causing several casualties and allowing his troops to fend them off. For that, he posthumously was awarded the Medal of Honor on April 25, 1957.

Camp Page, a former U.S. base in Korea, was named in his honor. It closed down in 2005, but a Navy Military Sealift Command ship, the MV LTC John U.D. Page, continues to carry his name and legacy.

Members of the 1st Marine Division who survived the battle, known as the “Chosin Few,” recently gathered in Norfolk, Virginia, to honor their fallen brothers.

This article is part of a weekly series called “Medal of Honor Monday,” in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have earned the U.S. military’s highest medal for valor.

NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Mortgage rates were little changed this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate holding at 4.04 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.25 discount and origination points.

The larger jumbo 30-year fixed dipped to 4.03 percent, and the average 15-year fixed mortgage rate inched backward to 3.27 percent. Adjustable mortgage rates were little changed as well, with the 5-year ARM nosing higher to 3.49 percent and the 7-year ARM remaining at 3.66 percent.

Much like the lazy days of summer, mortgage rates are just lounging around not doing much of anything. Mortgage rates have remained in a very narrow range, one-eighth of a percentage point, for the past two months. The relative calm in financial markets is translating over to mortgage rates, as they are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds. Even a stronger than expected jobs report wasn’t enough to lift bond yields and mortgage rates in a significant way, owing to the preponderance of lower paying jobs being created, the sluggish growth in hourly earnings and the overall low rate of inflation that likely keeps the Federal Reserve from hiking interest rates in the near term. Whether it is geopolitical tensions, dysfunction in Washington, or the looming deadlines to raise the debt ceiling and avert a government shutdown, the lack of volatility may prove short-lived. Should any of these issues come to a head, investors will likely grow nervous – and financial markets turbulent – in a hurry.

At the current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 4.04 percent, the monthly payment for a $200,000 loan is $959.45.

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 4.04% — unchanged from last week (avg. points: 0.25)

15-year fixed: 3.27% — down from 3.28% last week (avg. points: 0.21)

5/1 ARM: 3.49% — up from 3.48% last week (avg. points: 0.31)

Bankrate’s national weekly mortgage survey was conducted Tuesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in 10 top markets. For a full analysis of this week’s move in mortgage rates, go to http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/mortgage-analysis-080817.aspx

The survey is complemented by Bankrate’s weekly Rate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts which way the rates are headed over the next seven days. Half of the panelists expect mortgage rates to fall, while 30 percent predict they will remain more or less unchanged. Just 20 percent forecast an increase in mortgage rates over the next week.

The House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to condemn Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a natural gas pipeline project that the U.S. believes will undermine Europe’s energy security.

“It attempts to drive a wedge between NATO allies,” said Texas Republican congressman Michael Conaway, the sponsor of the resolution. The Texas lawmaker went on to say Russia’s claims about the project — such as that Europe is in need of more pipeline infrastructure and that the project would reduce gas prices — were downright false. “Nord Stream is a danger to peace as we know it. Our NATO colleagues should see clearly what it is,” Conaway continued.

House lawmakers on Tuesday voted in favor of H.Res. 1035, a non-binding resolution that “expresses opposition to the completion of Nord Stream II, the gas pipeline that would transport natural gas from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany, urges the President to support European energy security through a policy of diversification to lessen reliance on Russia,” and supports “the imposition of sanctions with respect to Nord Stream II,” according to a congressional summary of the resolution.

Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline project which, if completed, will transport natural gas across the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany — with the ability to move around 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year. The proposal has been warmly welcomed by the Germany, which expects its natural gas demand to increase. Russia also wants to see Nord Stream 2 reach fruition, where it could potentially double its natural gas exports to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

The project, however, is sharply opposed by U.S. and E.U. leaders.

Russia already wields commanding influence over Europe’s energy  market, controlling almost 40 percent of the continent’s supply of gas. A total of 11 European nations currently rely on Russia for 75 percent or more for their annual gas needs. Russia’s near monopoly of Europe’s gas market would only be cemented further if Nord Stream 2 is completed, regional leaders worry.

“If built, Nord Stream 2 could alter the landscape of the EU’s gas market while not giving access to a new source of supply or a new supplier,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker wrote in a June letter to several E.U. members states. “No market operator should be able to leverage a position of dominance to the detriment of competitors and consumers.”

As an alternative to Russian energy, President Donald Trump has highly touted American LNG to his European counterparts. The president, who has made U.S. energy dominance a major part of his platform, has held strategic talks with Juncker and president of Poland about buying more American natural gas.

The hardline position the U.S. taken has not helped American-German relations. Germany, which wants the pipeline built into its country, has publicly warned U.S. officials not to meddle in their affairs.

“This is part of European core interests,” German diplomat Andreas Michaelis said during an October conference. “I don’t want European energy policy to be defined in Washington.”

• The Open Society Foundations, an international grant-making organization bankrolled by George Soros, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the EIRIS Foundation. 
• The EIRIS Foundation used the Soros-linked funds to create a “Business in Occupied Lands” database that frames Israel as an occupying government force. 
• Soros is one of the most prolific mega-donors to Democrats and other progressive causes in the U.S. 

Money tied to George Soros, a liberal billionaire who uses his wealth to support a number of Democratic and progressive causes, funded the creation of a database that singles out business investment in Israel.

The EIRIS Foundation, a charity organization that focuses on investment research, received donations totaling nearly $300,000 from Soros’ Open Society Foundations to build a “Business in Occupied Lands” database, according to financial reports from the U.K. Charity Commission between 2015 to 2017.

The database is advertised as a way to help companies practice better corporate social responsibility, i.e., ethical business investing. However, the information from the database only focuses on two areas: Crimea and Israel, which the EIRIS Foundation simply refers to as “Palestine.” Despite claiming the Business in Occupied Lands project to be an “objective” collection of information on corporate operations in Israel, the ERIS Foundation frames the region as “illegally administered.”

While a growing number of companies across the world are implementing corporate social responsibility into their business practices in an effort to promote justice, experts point out that more partisan-driven actors have weaponized corporate social responsibility to reach political goals. Namely, it has been used to boost the BDS movement, a global campaign that seeks the “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” of Israel and Israeli-liked businesses.

“In addition to being promoted by groups affiliated with the BDS movement, elements of the Foreign Boycott Campaign have recently been adopted by [corporate social responsibility] advisors and companies that employ CSR programs. As a result, the Foreign Boycott Campaign represents the intersection of several strains of discrimination with CSR,” Marc Greedorfer writes in an upcoming law review review article.

Greendorfer is an attorney and founder of Zachary Legal Institute, a think tank and advocacy organization that is committed to fighting against anti-Israel movements within the U.S. The institute specializes in research into BDS and other anti-Semitic actives in the commercial sector.

The EIRIS Foundation provides “free and objective information on ethical finance and corporate activity,” according to its website. It bills itself as a charity organization meant to help businesses with “responsible” business and investing, business practices that are considered more ethical and promote social justice. The London-based organization depends on donations to fund its activities, and it explicitly acknowledges the “generous support” from the Open Society Foundations as having made the Crimea-Israel project possible.

Greendorfer and other EIRIS Foundation critics point out that its database is an example of the double standard placed on Israel and not on other governments.

The EIRIS Foundation is a 5 percent shareholder in the British-French research agency Vigeo Eiris, a company that operates two offices in Morocco, a country that is widely considered to be illegally occupying the Western Sahara.

“The dilemma today is that the Eiris team sits with experience on how investors should avoid placing money in Palestine and Crimea, while the Vigeo team is helping Morocco in investments in occupied Western Sahara,” wrote the Western Sahara Resource Watch, an advocacy organization that monitors economic activity in the region. The group’s statement blasted Vigeo Eiris for holding a double standard in regards to its business in Morocco. “The ethical investor community is baffled.”

Soros’ organization touts a long history of backing liberal activism.

The Open Society Foundations (OSF) is an international philanthropic network led by Soros. Not only is the 88-year-old billionaire the founder and current chairman of OSF, he has given the organization over $32 million in donations since its inception in 1993.

While the OSF advertises itself as a human rights organization dedicated to making governments more accountable to its citizens, the group is largely known in the U.S. for supporting progressive campaigns. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, for example, received over $2 million from the Open Society Policy Center — an arm of the OSF — between 2012 and 2016. The Sixteen Thirty Fund went on to lead a campaign against Brett Kavanaugh’s 2018 nomination to the Supreme Court.

Soros, himself, is a behemoth among Democratic boosters. Open Secrets listed him as the 8th most prolific individual donor in the country during 2018.

Both the EIRIS Foundation and the OSF ignored multiple requests for comment regarding this story.

Greendorfer — who conducts research on private sector involvement in anti-Israel activity — says it’s par the course for companies engaged in BDS to ignore media inquiries.

“We’ve attempted many times to contact the actual parties that are engaged in this activity and they’ve uniformly refused to respond to emails, calls, inquiries, etc,” Greendorfer told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “The only time you will ever get a response from them is when a state authority threatens to enforce a law against them.”

The Zac Brown Band performs “Roots” from the Welcome Home album.

If you went to war for the U.S. before World War II, you were left to your own devices for education, housing and job training when you returned to civilian life. It wasn’t exactly easy, because college and homeownership weren’t attainable dreams for the average American at the time.

That’s why the GI Bill of Rights was created 75 years ago — to make sure American vets were given access to opportunity.

The GI Bill is considered one of the most significant pieces of federal legislation ever produced.

While it’s been extended and adjusted several times since, here’s the gist of just how transformative this bill was at the time.

Why It Was Necessary

During World War II, U.S. leaders realized that nearly 16 million American men and women who were serving in the armed forces would be unemployed when the war finally ended, and that this could cause another depression and widespread economic instability similar to the aftereffects of the 1929 stock market crash. To prevent that, experts studied the issue and recommended a series of education and training programs.

On Jan. 10, 1944, Congress passed the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed it into law June 22, just over two weeks after the Allied invasion of Normandy. It was dubbed the GI Bill of Rights because it offered federal aid to help veterans buy homes, get jobs and pursue an education, and in general helped them to adjust to civilian life again.

How It Kickstarted Education

The assistance the bill provided for tuition, books, supplies, counseling services and a living allowance caused postwar college and vocational school attendance to jump exponentially. It also kept millions of vets from flooding the job market all at one time.

According to federal statistics:

1. Within its first seven years of use, about 8 million veterans took advantage. U.S. college and university degree-holders more than doubled between 1940 and 1950.
2. Within 50 years, the number of Americans with advanced degrees rose nearly 20 percent.
3. By July 1956, when the bill initially expired, almost half of the 16 million World War II vets had received education or training through the GI Bill.

How It Supported the Baby Boom

We’ve all heard of the infamous baby boom that happened after World War II, when millions of veterans returned home to get married and start families. But because they did so in record numbers, they faced a severe housing shortage.

A home loan provision of the GI Bill helped with that immensely. By 1955, 4.3 million home loans worth $33 billion had been granted to veterans, who were responsible for buying 20 percent of all new homes built after the war. The boom had a ripple effect across the economy, warding off any concerns of a new depression and creating unparalleled prosperity for a generation.

President George H.W. Bush summed up the impact of the bill in 1990 by saying, “the GI Bill changed the lives of millions by replacing old roadblocks with paths of opportunity.”

How It Continues

The GI Bill was extended several times, helping 10.3 million more veterans after the Korean and Vietnam wars. In 2008, a version known as the Post 9/11 GI Bill passed Congress, and more recently, the Forever GI Bill expanded benefits for vets.

There are a few versions from which to choose nowadays, with the most-used being the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Since its implementation in August 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs has provided educational benefits to nearly 800,000 veterans and their families totaling more than $12 billion.

A vantage point for inquiring minds and those who’ve lived faith shy of geographical or historical context. Biblical maps are enlightening for tethering us to what was and what is and understanding how small our world has become, bringing Israel and the Middle East today into sharper focus.

The rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire caused people to start questioning what they thought they knew. By 392 A.D. it was the official religion of the region. As it spread across the Mediterranaen, Christianity connected with larger themes in Roman history.

Reading Historical Dates

Without going into all of the science, emporer and political changes to calendars over time – and there were a lot of them – this keeps understanding date abbreviations simple. For more information see the “More Reading” resources below:

There is no Year 0.

There is no difference between “A.D.” & “CE.” They are the same.

There is no difference between “B.C.” & “BCE.” They are the same.

B.C. – means ‘Before Christ’ and starts with Year 1

A.D.– means ‘Anno Domini’ or ‘Year of our Lord.’ This is the year of Christ’s birth and also starts with Year 1. (Commonly referred to as ‘After Death,’ obviously not correct.)

CE – a more recent term meaning ‘Common Era,’ used in place of A.D.

BCE – a more recent term meaning ‘Before Common Era,’ used in place of B.C.

Jesus in Judae (Israel) & the Roman Empire

It’s widely accepted that Jesus Christ was born 4-6 B.C., two years before the death of the Roman Empire’s Herod the Great. Scientific calculations suggest Christ was born in the month of September or October.

Christianity began in Judea about 2,000 years ago with the birth and teachings of Jesus and the disciples who followed Him. Judea was a cultural hub of cities and farms. Click the map to view the area in what we now know as current day Israel.

When Jesus taught the “new covenant” (New Testament) in Judea, Rome was under its first emperor rule. Jesus is known by Christians as the Son of God and of Man, conceived by God by immaculate conception with the virgin Mary, who married Joseph.

The Jews hated Roman rule because it was a pagan reminder of their historical oppression and it violated their faith under the Torah* (Old Testament). The Romans worshiped a number of gods and superficial idols they‘d built to those gods. That was in direct conflict with the Jewish faith, which recognized the one and only God of the Bible.

*”Torah” refers to the Five [Biblical] Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But the word “torah” can also be used to refer to the entire Jewish bible (the body of scripture known to non-Jews as the Old Testament and to Jews as the Tanakh or Written Torah), or in its broadest sense, to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.

The start of Christianity is recorded in accounts of the New Testament but its history began with Old Testament prophecy. There are over 300 predictions of the coming of a Jewish Messiah that are recorded in the Old Testament, spanning more than 1000 years.

Click this map to see the Jews’ exodus from Egypt through the Wilderness and into Cannan (current day Israel), their Promised Land.

Some Jews saw conforming to the Roman Empire as their only hope. Others became religious zealots developing warlike guerilla resistances against Rome. Still others withdrew into the Judean wilderness to study Jewish law and wait for the coming of their Messiah, or savior, as promised in the Old Testament.

Isa 7:14 [OT] Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Immanuel means “God with us”. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, had come to dwell with, or tabernacle on earth with, His people.

John 1:14 [NT] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth.

Jesus was a Jew. He observed Jewish faith and was well studied in its law. Said to be a carpenter by trade (though that is questioned today), by His early thirties Jesus traveled between villages teaching in synagogues, healing people and performing miracles. His news traveled swiftly. From a young age He challenged religious leaders to repent from their self-righteous and hypocritical ways and to realize that the Kingdom of God is rooted in service and love.

Jesus taught during the Roman rule of Augustus, their first emperor from 27 B.C. through 14 A.D. He urged purification of the Jewish religion with a moral code of love, charity and humility. Christ’s teachings stirred the hearts of people and His healings grew in influence and ever-increasingly high demand as word of His message and acts spread.

These things and Jesus’ growing popularity because of them created an instability that Jewish authorities feared. The disciples were faithful men who followed Him and Jesus taught them about the “new covenant” that God was bringing to humanity, because men had fallen into so much sin they’d lost the personal relationship with God that they had in Old Testament days.

Jesus was crucified on a cross about 30 A.D., believed to be in Golgotha or “The place of a skull” just outside of Jerusalem. His followers believe he rose three days later, proving that He was the Son of God. The Christian faith, unlike any other religion, hinges on historical events. An example can be seen in the eye-witness accounts evidenced by Paul in I Corinthians 15:3-6.

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

Manuscript studies point to this scripture being written within a few years after Christ’s death. Paul, born Greek, ends this passage with “most of whom are still living,” inviting people to confirm the facts for themselves. He wouldn’t have if he was trying to perpetrate a myth or fraud. It is the historical validity that gives Christians their belief and a genuine and eternal hope.

Roman Mythology & Christianity

Before the coming of Christ and Christianity the Roman Empire was “embroiled in myth,” having archeological traces of early settlements dating back to 750 B.C. The myths were based on both fiction and history in stories passed down through the ages.

Roman mythology was an emphatic state religion consisting of rituals and ceremonies. Their myths were more practical than the Greek’s but they adopted most of the Greek deities.

Every Roman god served a purpose and had an office to fill. There were “divisions of labor” between them, some presiding over births; some over bakers and some over the bakers’ ovens. Every vocation and household function had presiding gods and goddesses. This picture depicts a god tending to the wound of a solider with a Greek goddess looking on.

The rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire caused people to start questioning what they thought they knew. By 392 A.D., Christianity was the official religion. As Chrsitianity spread it connected with larger themes in Roman history.

Christianity comforted social grievances in an empire marked by inequality and among the poor. Slaves, dispossessed farmers and impoverished city dwellers found hope in a religion that encouraged a goodness of morals and after-life rewards for living morally.

The Christian faith also answered cultural needs that Roman values, which stressed political goals and ethics about living in the world, did not. It brought political benefits to the Romans as their empire grew and consolidated, as well. The new faith was seen as universal, open to all, whether people followed the Jewish faith or not.

Click to enlarge this map showing the growth of the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean area; and Israel’s place within it (boxed).

Belief in Jesus spread among Jewish communities in the Middle East, the Roman Empire and beyond. When His disciples realized that Jesus was not returning to earth to set up the Kingdom of God, they fanned out to spread the news, particularly around the eastern Mediterranean area.

The predominant language of the day was Greek. Paul’s Greco-Roman culture helped to explain Christian beliefs in Greece and in Italy as well as in the Middle East. Paul essentially created Christian theology as a set of intellectual principles; and some speculate that he emphasized women’s more subordinate role to men and the dangers of sexuality in the books of the New Testament.

By the 4th Century A.D. Christian writings were the only creative cultural expression of the Roman Empire. Theologians sought to explain issues brought up by the new religion; and to relate it to ethics and Greek philosophy. Just as the Roman Empire was in decline Christianity produced complex thought and elegant language, redirecting its culture and preserving its earlier literary and philosophical achievements.

Christianity goes well beyond Rome and had more to do with opening a new era of history of the Mediterranean region than in shaping the Roman Empire.

Today’s Conflicts between the Middle East and Israel & The West

In the Bible’s Old Testament book of Genesis, chapter 17, God promised Abraham that he would become “the father of many nations.” Many today aren’t familiar with the divisions hinged on that promise.

Abraham’s wife, Sarah, could not bear children so she gave to her husband her Egyptian maiden, Hagar. Hagar birthed Abraham’s son, Ishmael. Many years later Sarah gave Abraham a son named Isaac (described in the scripture below).

When dissention in the houshold grew, Hagar returned with her son to her homeland of Egpyt. By then Abraham and Sarah had located to Cannan (Israel), where they remained. Today Sarah’s descendants are Christian and Hagar’s are Muslim. Indeed Abraham was “the father of many nations.”

Genesis 17 (OT, KJV excerpted): And when Abram was ninety years old and nine the LORD appeared and said, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect and I will make my covenant between me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee and I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house [and] which is not of thy seed. And God said unto Abraham, as for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him.

Coming: What was Constantine the Great’s role in Christianity?

“From the time of Constantine onward, the worship of the Roman Catholic Church, in its forms and ceremonies, has been more clearly identified with the paganism of Ancient Rome, than with the religion of the New Testament. The customs of pagan religion were only baptized with Christian names.”

-Paganism Surviving in Christianity By Abram Herbert Lewis “The Control of Christianity by the State Under Constantine and his Successors,” Chapter X; pg. 210

 

More Reading:

Wise Geek, Bible Time, Got Questions, History of Religion, Judaism 101:Torah, BibleLight, Greek & Roman Religion, History of Christianity, Romans Empire, Cynric