We know Jesus was born on or before 4BC, because that’s when the first king Herod died [[OR in 6AD when the Census of Quirinius was undertaken]]. These are conflicting dates.

At Jesus’ actual birth, something must have been going on in the heavens that would have been significant enough to capture the three magi’s attention and set them on their way. One researcher, astronomer Michael Molnar, has some very interesting evidence pointing to astronomical conjunctions that astrologers of the time would have taken as a sign of a king, on April 17th of 2010.  He believes this was enough to set the magi on their way to the Jewish capital: Jerusalem. There, they would have been advised that Jewish prophesy said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.  What could it have been, and when?

To Molnar, the star was really a planet: Jupiter. It  was in the “house” of the astrological sign of Aries, the Ram.  This theory works better than a big comet or solar eclipse, which everyone would have noticed.  The Jewish people at the time didn’t believe in, or practice, astrology, but it was practiced in Persia, which would  explain why Herod didn’t know of the birth but the magi did.  Molnar further writes, on his website, that: “Firmicus Maternus, an astrologer of Constantine the Great’s time in AD 334, described the conditions I found to be those for a world ruler with a divine and immortal nature. We know that Firmicus converted to Christianity close to when he wrote his Mathesis on astrology.”  Molnar argues, in Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi, argues that he was referring to his new found faith in Jesus Christ[1].

look at the sky

If Molnar is right, then April 17th might just be Jesus’ actual birthday.  Considering that  December 25th was an ancient pagan feast for Mithras, as well as the birthday of Tammuz, Horus, Nimrod and others,  why not continue to celebrate on December 25th (since it’s near the winter solstice, as the symbolic triumph of light over darkness), but add April 17th as a true likely birthday, as well?

We can even take his logic further, to discover information about the annunciation. Counting backwards nine months, August 17th would be a likely day for the annunciation to Mary that she would become Theokotos, (or God bearer). This is traditionally celebrated around the vernal equinox, which is correct and beautiful, from a symbolic standpoint but wouldn’t work well if Mary had been pregnant nine months and Jesus had been born in Spring.
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[1]Molnar, Michael. Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi. pp101-109.

The Center for Non Harming Ministries is dedicated to providing resources for the non harming healer of all denominations and faith traditions in an open, friendly, ecumenical, welcoming way.

We imagine, since you found us, that you are already addressing this issue in your own way; we salute you and are here to support you.  Also, if you are ready to stand up as a voice for nonharming, please complete our nonharming pledge and let us know. We’ll send you a lovely nonharming.com pin, to wear with pride (while supplies last)!

Please let us know how we can improve this resource, and if you have prayers we may publish here, we invite you to contribute them, with our thanks for helping this site grow stronger.

The problem with Schadenfreude, though, is where it originates… it’s not from anything good and lovely, but from a darker side of our selves. If we look at the Hebrew term for the devil – HaSatan – we find it means the accuser.  So remember that when setting people up and delighting in knocking them down, this is not of God.  What’s of God?

In a fallen athlete, remembering the physical heights to which the person has risen, and understanding the humanity and frailty which we all have in common.

In a fallen leader, remember the ideals they espoused in one area are not untrue because the leader turned out to be less than a paragon of virtue in another area.  

Consider how unfair it is to the people we put up on a pedestal,   to expect them to be God?  Remember one of the ten commandments… No other God but God.

“They told me to go fly a kite” he jokes, pointing at the butterfly kite he has added, ”so I did.”

It takes courage and heart to smile in the face of adversity, to choose to spread joy and love instead of cursing God and spreading vitriol. We never would have known Jan’s motivation if we hadn’t asked him about it. Jan risks being written off as so many in California are, but he seemed pretty sane to us.

Have any of our readers seen that odd old film, Harold and Maude?  Maude had clearly been through some adversity, too, and probably made a similar choice somewhere along the path.

It takes courage and conviction to celebrate life with a smile and choose to spread happiness. What a great choice!

Besides the film Harold and Maude, Jan’s story brings to mind a few Psalms, such as Psalm 30,  96-98, 136. What does it bring to mind, for you?

While Church and state should be separate so that all may have their freedom, it sometimes feels that, to anyone whose viewpoint allows for a transcendent aspect outside the domain of science, there is almost a dismissive shunning. Has this, perhaps, gone slightly too far, towards worship of the secular, where all that is ‘of God’ must be stricken as anathema? This is what Chris Hedges wonders, in his little book When Atheism Becomes Religion.

Our webmaster is the songwriter of the awareness-raising song Such a Crime. This song, performed by the band Commodore Callahan, was meant to raise awareness about the criminalization of poverty and the rising tide of inequality. The thought was to simply write a ballad, a story of how one person with pretty inarguably good credentials was affected. That person? A disabled, Vietnam-era veteran, who was a minister, to boot.  He was swept up in the criminal legal system when the police swept through a homeless shelter looking for outstanding warrants. His warrant? Criminal vagrancy (that is, homelessness). The city? Washington, the town responsible for his disability. This story was inspired by an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Barbara Ehrenreich.

What’s wrong with the song? We are told (off the record) by administrators in the San Francisco public school system, the song is too “Christian” to be appropriate for school children, because the subject of the song happens to be a minister.

In this ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation. Commodore Callahan will be producing a vanilla version [words say 'that man Al' instead of 'our reverend' for example], but by not telling the whole story of this individual the song is less powerful, and the case against the criminalization of poverty is also weakened.   Check out the youTube channel and judge the song for yourself…  and if you are a famous country singer and would like to help us out, please do contact Commodore Callahan, because the band needs your voice for the vanilla version!

Yes, God is not a puppeteer, and God gave us free choices. Our sinful and hateful choices lead to institutionalized sin in which the innocent continue to suffer, and we are called to put this to right.  God understands and weeps with the suffering, and when we turn to God in our suffering, God can comfort.  But sometimes this is not enough of an answer. especially at a time of crisis.

We all struggle and words can fail, so we thought we’d add a few of our favorite resources to point people to, in case that is of use to you. Beware of pointing the casual reader to Moltman or Polanyi, though. Those are for you…

• God, Actually; Why God Probably Exists, Why Jesus was Probably Divine, and Why the ‘Rational’ Objections to Religion are Unconvincing – Roy Williams
• Who Needs God – Harold Kushner
• The God We Never Knew; Beyond Dogmatic Religion to a More Authentic Contemporary Faith – Marcus Borg
• The Reason For God; Belief in an Age of Skepticism – Timothy Keller
• God, The Evidence; The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Post-Secular World – Patrick Glynn 
• I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Athiest – Norman Geisler & Frank Turek
• A Christianity Worth Believing; Hope-Filled, Open Armed, Alive-and-Well Faith for the Left Out, Left Behind and Let Down in us All – Doug Pagitt
• The Heart of Christianity; Rediscovering a Life of Faith How We Can Be Passionate Believers Today – Marcus Borg
• What’s So Great About Christianity – Dinesh D’Souza 
• God for a Secular Society – Jurgen Moltman
• Personal Knowledge; Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy – Polenyi

The ‘take back the night’ rallying cry began because the streets didn’t feel safe to walk in, at night. People wanted to be able to be out, in their cities, without fearing for their very lives. It has expanded in some beautiful ways, as people take the term to mean freedom from fear in the night, regardless of whether it is indoors in the home, or out on the streets. 

Safer from Sexual Violence

Women report three times higher fear than men because of the lived experience of physical and sexual violence in women[1].  According to the bawar.com website: 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be a victim of sexual assault in their lifetime; college age women are 4 times more likely to be sexually assaulted;  more statistics are on their website at www.baywar.org.

…and Ending Domestic Violence at Home 

Have you noticed how ‘take back the night’ is evolving, to one surrounding any sort of violence? One CampusMovieFest student film, “There is No Such Thing as a Love Tap” highlights the fact of the slogan now being used in a campaign to end domestic violence.

Tracing the Origins of Take Back The Night

The term ‘take back the night’ was heard as a rallying cry as far back as 1975, when Philadelphia’s streets were growing unsafe, and a young microbiologist named Susan Speeth was the victim of a random stabbing murder, prompting many to march and yes,  ’take back the night.’

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[1] Western Criminology Review 4(3), 203 – 214 (2003)http://wcr.sonoma.edu/v4n3/Manuscripts/scott.pdf 

Speaking at a Saturday lecture prior to the event, he hailed what he called the ‘beauty of progressive Christianity’ which he sees as being typified by four key cornerstone points. These are: love trumps doctrine (you’re considered a fanatic if you’d kill for doctrine); openness to science and the verdicts of modern knowledge; the equality of souls; and a surprising and vigorous embrace of the concept of freedom of the individual conscience.    

The Rev. Dr. James Keck

Keck also spent time talking about worldwide religious trends. Even though it may not feel that way to the particular group which is experiencing shrinking attendance, Christianity is rising in the South and Asia, and now, Keck says, the most common Christian in the world is a nineteen year old Brasilian woman. While the secularization taking place in Western Europe is “stunning” says Keck, he reminded the listeners that 80% of Americans self-define as Christian, 16% do not self-define religiously, and 4% remain for every other religion in America.   He also told the crowd that America offers a gentle ”middle way,” reminding listeners of the experience of the Methodist movement: at one time more people heard Methodist sermons than received U.S. mail (!).  

Keck, among other scholars, sees us in an “emergence” – the latest of a number of five-hundred year trends (first came the Jesus movement, then the fall of Rome, the schism, Protestantism, and the present emergence). He reassured that there are many comonalities, even while polarities are more prominent in the conflict narratives that the news media prefer. Churches learn the language of separation, he said, out of a need to ‘market themselves’ in niches, but what people really need to be worried about is economic downturns, when humans become xenophobic  and lash out.  A reassuring message especially in a moment when headlines about Christianity include “Pentecostal Head Retracts Name from Civility Covenant.”   Let’s hope that’s just “language of separation” market positioning, and the people in the pews are more aligned with the beautiful set of core values named by Rev. Dr. Keck  last weekeknd.

To learn more about The Visionary Voices Award, or to suggest potential future nominees, contact The Rev. Dr. Penny Nixon at The Congregational Church of San Mateo.

-report filed by your webmaster, April 23, 2010

Walking a labyrinth is a threefold process. First you leave your worldly concerns behind as you move toward the divine. Notice how as you step through the maze, you are sometimes taken further away from your goal, even as you are making progress.  Second, as you have arrived, you have contemplation time. Third, you take the divine back towards your life again.

We will be adding designs for labyrinths soon.