Ralphie vs. the Bible -- don't forget the real story of Christmas

n just a few days, 94 percent of Americans will be celebrating Christmas. For many, that celebration will involve time-honored traditions. Whether it is watching a classic movie, opening gifts, or opening up the pages of Scripture, traditions will play an integral part of so many holiday celebrations.
My own family is no different. Each year, I look forward to revisiting the remarkable life of George Bailey in "It’s a Wonderful Life," watching the frozen heart of Ebenezer Scrooge melt in "A Christmas Carol" and cheering for Kris Kringle to help a jaded child believe in "Miracle on 34^th Street." And I cringe as "A Christmas Story’s" Ralphie makes his way down the stairs in his bunny pajamas, remembering my own embarrassing Christmas outfits of days past. I love reading "‘Twas the Night Before Christmas" to my children and reveling in their excitement for Santa’s arrival.
These wonderful fictional stories enrich my celebration of Christmas, but they aren’t central to it. That place is reserved for the factual story of Christmas, the one found in the Bible.
But that isn’t the case for a lot of Americans. The new survey commissioned by American Bible Society and conducted online by Harris Interactive found that while 30 percent make a tradition of watching the 1983 film "A Christmas Story" and 28 percent look forward to watching a film or TV version of the Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol," just 15 percent say reading the Bible's account of the birth of Christ is part of their holiday traditions.
Nearly twice as many people watch Christmas movies as read the real story of Christmas in the Bible.
And it seems that a lot of Americans could benefit from brushing up on the real story of Christmas. The same survey also found that knowledge of the biblical account of Christmas was lacking here in the U.S. Fewer than half of Americans (42 percent) were able to correctly identify what the Bible says brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for Jesus' birth—reporting for a census. Worse still, just 28 percent of those ages 18-34 knew the right answer.
Everything we know about Christmas comes from the pages of the Bible. I hope these survey findings will encourage all who hold Christmas sacred to take a step back and consider making the biblical account of Christmas part of their celebrations.
A colleague of mine wrote a poem that sums this up nicely. Perhaps reading this reminder of the real meaning of Christmas will become a new tradition. It couldn’t hurt.
Christmas Stories
'Twas the week before Christmas when all through the land,
families gathered together with remotes close at hand.
Spending time with George Bailey and Clarence, a must.
And then turning the channel, it's Hooville or bust.
It's surely not Christmas without Scrooge and Tiny Tim,
And the bunny-suited Ralphie, we can't forget him.
So many traditions, so full of good cheer,
But one big omission so glaringly clear.
The story forgotten by many I fear,
Is the one in the Bible of a God who drew near.
To the humblest of stables the dear Christ child came,
And the world He created would never be the same.
So this Christmas amid all your favorite traditions,
Make room for the story of a Child on a mission.
Crack open your Bibles and read the real story,
And celebrate Christmas in all of its glory.
Geoffrey Morin is the executive vice president and chief communications officer at American Bible Society, where he oversees all communications channels including marketing, advertising, brand deployment and media relations. Prior to his work at American Bible Society, Morin worked in advertising, marketing and church redevelopment. Morin holds a B.A. from Duke University and a M.Div. from Yale University.
SOURCE:http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/12/23/ralphie-vs-bible-dont-forget-real-story-christmas/

Egypt Sees First Snow Storm In Years

A winter storm has brought snow to Cairo for the first time in decades and has blanketed parts of the Middle East.

Bad weather closed two of the country's Mediterranean ports and two ports on the Red Sea as "several" in inches fell in the Sinai Desert and elsewhere.
Ali Abdelazim, an official at Egypt's meteorological centre, said it was "the first time in very many years" since the last snowfall in the suburbs of Cairo.
Precipitation of any kind is rare in Egypt so the rare sight of snow has been much talked about on social networking sites such as Twitter.
In Syria's contested northern city of Aleppo, soldiers and rebels took a break from fighting as the temperatures on the deserted streets hovered around zero.
"All the fighters are cold and hiding," the activist who uses the pseudonym Abu Raed said.
The cold weather was part of a storm, dubbed Alexa, which has been pounding much of Lebanon and parts of northern Syria since Wednesday, pushing temperatures below zero in mountainous areas and dumping snow and heavy rains.
The snow has heaped another layer of misery on the already grim existence of many of the more than two million Syrians who have fled the civil war raging in their homeland.
In Lebanon, snow fell on northern and eastern regions where tens of thousands of Syrian refugees are staying, many of them in flimsy plastic tents.
Up to 13cm (5in) have fallen in refugee camps in Lebanon with 8cm (3in) in the wartorn Syrian city of Homs.
Jerusalem was left blanketed by up to 50cm (20in) of snow, forcing police to block access to and from the city as the army was called in to help restore power to more than 35,000 homes.
The city's heaviest snowstorm for 50 years forced Israeli authorities to lift a ban on public transport on the Jewish Sabbath - Saturday.
The unusually large fall allowed children to build snowmen but left elderly residents shivering.

The weather even featured in talks between visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr Kerry, a former Massachusetts senator, said the snow in Jerusalem made him feel "at home".
"I have heard of making guests welcome and feeling at home. This is about as far as I've ever seen anything go ... giving me a New England snowstorm."
In the West Bank and Gaza, UN relief teams offered emergency services to the worst-hit communities.
In Gaza, which was experiencing its first snow in a decade, more than 500 people were evacuated from their homes, according to Hamas spokesman Ihab Ghussein.
 THE  SOURCE:http://news.sky.com/story/1182209/egypt-sees-first-snow-storm-in-years

Hundreds turn out to support cake shop owner:9 NEWS

LAKEWOOD - On Friday, hundreds of supporters flooded the smallMasterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood in support of the store's owner, Jack Phillips.

Phillips made national news in 2012 when he refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, claiming it violated his Christian beliefs. The couple sued him, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint on their behalf.

Last week, administrative law judge Robert Spencer made a ruling on the case. He said Phillips would have to sell gay couples wedding cakes or risk facing penalties and fines.

On Friday, Phillips' supporters fired back by supporting his business and making donations.

Supporter Sharon Taylor says she and her friends have purchased cakes from Phillips for years. She wanted to show her support because she says Americans should have the right to stand by their religious beliefs.

"When we heard that [Peter Boyles] was on the radio today supporting him, we knew we had to come out," she said. "There are a lot of us out here who believe that our freedoms are slowly being taken away and that we need to stand up and protect them when we can."

Other supporters were first time customers.

"I've never been here before. I came today because of this cause. This guy has rights; he has freedoms; he's allowed to do what he wants to do as long as it doesn't hurt other people," Rich Wyatt said. "America's in a difficult position right now, and we're losing rights every day that we can't afford to lose. I'm proud to see Americans coming out today and supporting this guy's rights to make a cake for whoever he wants to make a cake, or not."

Phillips was unable to comment when 9NEWS requested an interview.

http://www.9news.com/news/article/368621/103/Hundreds-turn-out-to-support-cake-shop-owner

Sandy Hook: one year on, campaigners prepare for new push on gun control

It was the moment that was supposed to change the stubborn politics of gun control in the United States. A year ago on Saturday, in a bucolic corner of Connecticut that was known for little except the quality of life enjoyed by its citizens, 20 young children and six teaching staff were killed as they began another ordinary day at Sandy Hook elementary school.

There had been horrors like Sandy Hook before. Aurora, Virginia Tech, Columbine – but this time, the age of the children involved seemed to hold a particular power. Such was the groundswell of support for reform of America's notoriously lax gun laws that it seemed the political logjam might finally be broken.

But in April, any hopes for a bipartisan effort to combat such gun violence were dashed in what the president, Barack Obama, described as a "pretty shameful day" for the Senate. After the most repugnant mass shooting in the nation, a bipartisan bill on background checks failed within five votes of passing the Senate.

A year on, amid vigils and memorial events for those murdered by Adam Lanza, who also killed his mother and himself, campaigners for gun control say they will once more push for Congress to act. They say they are picking up grassroots support, and that sweeping reform in states such as California is a template for what can be achieved.

However, an analysis of the legislative changes in the last year across the states shows an expansion of gun rights. Since December 2012, 27 states have passed 93 laws expanding gun rights, while only 43 gun control laws have passed, according to a map published by PBS Frontline and the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence this week.

Gun control advocates say such statistics do not provide a true picture of the kind of progress they have made. Joint analysis by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence shows that, in eight states, there was sweeping gun reform in 2013.

The analysis shows that Connecticut, where the tragedy happened, Maryland, Delaware, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Colorado and California all made significant changes to strengthen gun control laws, with five states passing new laws requiring background checks on all gun sales. Illinois also passed legislation allowing concealed weapons to be carried in public.

Newly formed groups such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense have amassed thousands of new members and have chapters all over the country. Americans for Responsible Solutions, a group run by Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head in a mass shooting in Tucson that killed six in 2011, raised $6.1m for gun control. Moms Demand Action have launched a powerful ad, backed by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, calling for an end to the "silence" over gun control. Laura Cutilletta, a staff attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, described the level of support for gun control advocates this year as "unprecedented".

Her group's main mission in 2014 will be to have another crack at getting background check legislation through Congress. The Brady campaign has said it is working with federal lawmakers to this effect.

They want to tighten rules that govern the sales of guns at gun shows and online, which are not currently subject to a background checks, and which make up 40% of all sales.

This year, gun control groups said they had spent five times as much on federal lobbying as they did the previous year. However, according to the Sunlight Foundation, the amount spent in the first six months of 2013, $1.6m, was still dwarfed by the $12.2m spend by the gun rights lobby, headed by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Both sides of the gun control debate also spent millions on television advertising and were active in the state elections.

Bill Allison, the editorial director of the Sunlight Foundation, told the Guardian: "One year later a lot of money has been spent and not a lot has changed. A few states have come out with stronger laws, but there have also been weakening of gun control laws and permits to carry."

Allison said that while the gun control lobby was beginning to see much more money than before, led by Michael Bloomberg, New York's outgoing mayor, and others, it was no match for the NRA.

"But what the pro-gun rights lobby has is grassroots, boots on the ground. They can mobilise people. They have been operating like this for decades. There was a belief, right after Sandy Hook, that the gun rights lobby was in disarray. The NRA had a few disastrous press conferences. But it is a well-oiled machine that has been around for years."

Allison is sceptical that gun control advocates have the clout they need against the NRA. "The gun control movement is very passionate but it is still not very organised," he said. "Even with the money, they still can't match the organisation, the email lists, the permanent advocates of the NRA."

Richard Feldman of the Independent Firearms Owners Association said that, following Newtown, "we squandered the opportunity to articulate the problem with the misuse of guns and to design policies accordingly". Feldman said he supported the final version of the Senate background check bill proposed in April and believed that had it started out that way, it would have got through. But because of previous measures proposed, including one put forward by the senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, to include an assault weapons ban, gun owners had already made their minds up to oppose it.

Her measure failed to make it to the final Senate bill.

"Much of the debate had centred on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines," said Feldman. "We think it is reasonable to provide for checks at gun shows just like gun shops. But frankly, I'll be damned if I'm going to run a background check on my wife or my daughter if they need a gun."

THE SOURCE: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/sandy-hook-campaigners-push-gun-control

Courtney Stodden Dyes Hair, Goes Brunette: "I Feel Born Again"

Courtney Stodden is a blonde bombshell no more. The newly single 19-year-old -- who split from her 53-year-old husband, Doug Hutchison, in November -- is embracing her dark side by dyeing her trademark platinum tresses a dark brunette color. She showed off the new look at the Wowie Awards on Dec. 12. See more photos of Courtney Stodden.

PHOTOS: More hair makeovers

"Lately I've been a little bit of a daredevil, and I'm trying to enter into the next chapter of my life," the Celebrity Big Brother U.K. star explained to Us Weekly at the Globe Theatre in L.A. "I thought this was kind of a good example to prove to myself that I can do it. It was a huge risk, but I'm glad I did it."

PHOTOS: The most iconic hairstyles ever

That said, she's still getting used to the idea of herself as a brunette. "It's really new. When I walk by a mirror I'm thinking I'm blonde," she said of the makeover, which happened earlier this week. "Like, 'Oh my God -- who is that? It's me!'"

"I feel born again," she added. "I'm excited to go out and see the life of a brunette."

PHOTOS: Celeb couples with big age differences

She's also excited to see the life of a single 19-year-old. Having married Hutchison when she was just 16, Stodden missed out on some typical teenage rites of passage -- like getting her driver's license.

"When I was 16 I got my marriage license, but I didn't get my driver's license," she quipped. "So those kinds of things I'm really excited about doing."

THE SOURCE: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-beauty/news/courtney-stodden-dyes-hair-brunette-i-feel-born-again-20131312#ixzz2nReuYWr2

Five things to know on Friday the 13th

The ultimate holiday stocking stuffer: $400 million Mega Millions payout

Will Friday the 13th (the last of 2013) be lucky for Mega Millions hopefuls? After failing to hit a winner since Oct. 1, Friday's lottery drawing jackpot has swollen to $400 million, the second-largest in Mega Millions' history and the fifth-largest jackpot ever. Depending on ticket sales, lottery officials could hike the jackpot to $425 million or more Friday. While the odds of winning are just 1 in 259 million, ticket sales are surging ahead of the 11 p.m. drawing for what could be the ultimate Christmas stocking stuffer, worth a lump sum, post-tax $144.9 million.

Geminid meteor shower will be the best light show of the year

Those willing to endure some cold and stay up past their bedtimes are about to be treated to the annual Geminid meteor shower. This year's shower begins to peak just after midnight Thursday (the early-morning hours of Friday) and lasts through dawn. The 48 hours of prime viewing will continue through the predawn hours of Saturday. Falling stars should be visible beginning mid-to-late evening and ending at dawn both nights.

Experts wonder what's next for Kim Jong Un after uncle's execution

The dramatic downfall of Kim Jong Un's uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who had been considered the second-most-powerful figure in North Korea, surprised even veteran observers of the country. While many analysts agree the move was part of a purge to consolidate Kim Jong Un's rule, they say the wider implications for this tightly sealed state remain as tough to fathom as ever. "No one can be sure what this young leader may do," said Tong Kim, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul.

Bipartisan budget deal heads to the Senate

After winning broad bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and passing 332-94, the two-year budget framework must now be approved by the Senate. The deal eliminates the threat of a government shutdown through fiscal year 2015 and modestly reduces the deficit over the next decade, although it does not affect spending on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. A vote on the agreement is expected next week in the Senate, where Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., cautioned that Democrats will need at least five Republicans to support the package to ensure they can overcome a filibuster threat. So far, the only GOP senators who have publicly stated their position are opposed to the package.

John Kerry meets with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu to push peace talks

Continuing a furious pace of shuttle diplomacy, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ismeeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his latest push for Mideast peace Friday morning. It is Kerry's ninth trip of the year to the region amid a rare snowstorm that blanketed Jerusalem. Concerned that a final status agreement may not be possible by the May target the two sides accepted when they resumed talks in August, U.S. officials say Kerry is hoping for a framework accord that would contain the principles of a comprehensive pact, but not specific details.

THE SOURCE:http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/12/13/five-things-to-know-friday/4001583/

Colorado School Shooting Suspect May Have Been Out For Revenge, Police Say

A Colorado student who may have been seeking revenge against a teacher barged into his school with a shotgun on Friday, set off an explosive device and opened fire, wounding one student.

The gunman, a senior at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., then turned the shotgun on himself and died at the scene. A 15-year-old girl was in critical condition at a local hospital; another student was taken to the hospital with what were thought to be wounds, but it was later determined she was not injured and had blood stains from the other victim, police said.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said late Friday that investigators are following preliminary information that the shooter may have been out for "revenge" against a male teacher with whom he may have had a recent "confrontation or disagreement."

The shooter is Karl Halversen Pierson, age 18, Robinson said. The name of the student who was injured was not released.

SEE PHOTOS OF THE ARAPAHOE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING

The gunman entered the school just after 12:30 p.m. local time, asking students where to find a specific teacher, according to police.

One explosive device, described as a Molotov cocktail, was detonated inside the school, the sheriff said, while a second device was later disabled by authorities.

"It was clear that he was armed with shotgun, no effort to hide or conceal it," Robinson said.

Tait Priser, a witness, told ABC News the suspect was wearing a black face cover and a black hoodie.

The school's custodian saw the gunman enter the building carrying a shotgun slung over his shoulder.

"I did see a young man...entering the building, running kind of military style and I looked and I double looked and [he was carrying a] shotgun," Fabian Llerenas told ABC News affiliate KMGH-TV.

Police initially said one of the students was wounded while confronting the gunman, but Robinson said it was no longer clear how the students got shot.

As shots rang out, the school was immediately placed on lockdown, with teachers dimming the lights and locking their classroom doors.

"I was in math and it happened three classrooms away," said student Berny Acosta from a nearby church where evacuated students assembled.

"There was a first shot and it happened from a classroom, and then I heard three or four more. There was a shot and then a pause and then four continuous shots. We went immediately into lockdown.... Turned all the lights off, got as far from the windows and doors as we could," Acosta told ABC News.

"I saw blood on the ground of the study center when evacuated. That's where there was a lot of blood on the ground. That's where the ambulance carried people out from," he said.

Within minutes, police were on the scene looking for the gunman. Robinson said it was just five minutes between the time the school resource officer reported the shooting and found the suspect's body.

THE SOURCE:http://abcnews.go.com/US/students-shot-arapahoe-high-school-littleton-colo/story?id=21211883