(( Christmas TREE )) These Remarkable Carving Reveal Something About the Beliefs Of People who lived a very long time before THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST of NAZARETH . Some Researchers think that in Early Times in Areas of Present Day SWEDEN and NORWAY , EVERYGREEN TREES , such as SPRUCES , Were Used AS SACRED SYMBOLS . Why was it that People Living in These FAR NORTHERN COASTAL AREAS of THE WORLD made Rock Cravings of SPRUCES TREES ? The Evident rarity of those TREES during The PRE_CHRISTIAN TIMES when The Carving were Made . A TREE that Stays PERMANENTLY GREEN , or " ALIVE ," when other TREES Seemingly DIE in Cold Weather must have Been Somewhat of A MYSTERY . Trees have been SYMBOLS of LIFE , SURVIVAL , and IMMORTALITY in Many CULTURES  WORLDWIDE . Help Explain why TREE Images that Clearly Resemble EVERGREEN SPRUCES were Carved into Rocks in The Area of Bohuslan and Ostfold many Centuries before that TREE CECAME A COMMON SIGHT HERE . The " Book ROCK Carvings in The Borderlands , " The Images of TREES in Rock Carvingd Illustrate that as Early as The Bronze Age the Southern Scandinavian Region was part of a Larger Religious and Cultural Context that Covered The whole of EUROPE and Large Parts of ASIA . Religion and Cosmology wre Farming and ANIMAL Husbandry . They argely Worshipped THE SAME GODS , Although The Name of The GODS Varied . Nationalen-cyklopedin , THE SWEDISH National Reference Encyclopedia , notes : " The Marked Presence of Sexually Charged Depictions Shows how Important a FERTILITY CULT was in THE RELIGION of THE BRONZE AGE People in THE NORTH ,: Customs Involving EVERGREEN TREES Spread and Became Part of LIFE in Many PLACES . The Encyclopaedia Britannica States Regarding THE CHRISTMAS TREE : " Tree Worship was Common Among THE PAGAN EUROPEANS and SURVIVED Their Conversion to CHRISTIANITY ." It Did so in Various Rites and Customs , Including " THE CUSTOM ....... Of Placing a YULE TREE at an Entrance or Inside The House During THE MIDWINTER HOLIDAYS . The EVERGREEN TREE to Modern Popularity was Paved in " 1841 " when The British ROYAL FAMILY Used a DECORATED SPRUCE For THEIR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS . Today THE CHRISTMAS  TREE Is RECOGNIZED ALL OVER THE WORLD . The DEMAND FOR CHRISTMAS TREES Seems ENDLESS . The CHRISTMAS TREE IS NOT of CHRISTIAN ORGIN ( copy - by - ) Pastor Henry George , Sask.

(( TOLERANCE )) THE REALITY TODAY WORLDWIDE , winds of INTOLERANE are Blowing STRONGLY , Fanned by such THINGS AS RACIAL and ETHNIC Prejudice , NATIONALISM , TRIBLISM , and RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM . What THE BIBLE SAYS DURING HIS MINISTRY , JESUS CHRIST was Surrounded By INTOLERANCE , JEWS and SAMARITIANS in Particular HATED ONE ANOTHER , ( John : 4:9 ) WOMEN were TREATED as INFERIOR TO MEN . And JEWISH RELIGIOUS LEADERS SCORNED THE COMMON PEOPLE . ( John : 7:49 ) JESUS CHRIST Stood OUT as Vastly DIFFERENT ." THIS MAN WELCOMES SINNERS and EATS with THEM ,' Said THE OPPOSERS ( Luke : 15:2 ) JESUS CHRIST was KIND , PATIENT , and TOLERANT Because HE Came not TO JUDGE PEOPLE , but TO HEAL THEM SPIRITUALLY . LOVE WAS HIS PRIMARY MOTIVATION ( John : 3:17,13:34 ) Love . The Key to BECOMING MORE TOLERANT , OPENS OUR HEART TO OTHERS , DESPITE THEIR IMPERFECTIONS and IDIOSYNCRASIES . Says ( Colossians : 3:13 ) " Continue Putting Up with ONE ANOTHER and FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER Freely even If ANYONE Has a Cause FOR COMPLAINT AGAINST ANOTHER . THE BIBLE SAYS " ( LOVE ) Does Not Behave Indecently ." ( 1 Corinthians : 13:5 ) Although JESUS CHRIST was a Model of TOLERANCE , HE did Not Condone INDECENCY , HYPOCRISY , and OTHER FORMS of BADNESS , INSTEAD , He BODLY CONDEMNED SUCH THINGS ( Matthew : 23:13 ) " Whoever PRACTICES VILE THINGS HATES THE LIGHT ( OF TRUTH ) HE SAID (  John : 3:20 )  - copy - by - Pastor Henry George , Sask.

Last edited by PastorHenryGeorge (7/20/2019 9:49 pm)

((( SOUL ))) The BIBLE Describes A Mother as Giving BIRTH TO " SOUL " - That is , LIVING , BREATHING PERSONS . ( Genesis : 46:18  Footnote ) in Fact , The Hebrew Word used in THE BIBLE For " SOUL " can be Translated " A BREATHER ." Sometimes The Term is even used to Designate ANIMALS . Furthermore , THE BIBLE Describes THE SOUL as Needing FOOD ( Deuteronomy : 12:20 ) Footnote ) IF A SOUL Were an ENTITY SEPARATE FROM THE BODY , Would it Need TO BREATHE or TO EAT ? ( In THE BIBLE The WORD " SOUL " Most often Refers to a COMPLETE LIVING PERSON , INCLUDING THE BODY , THE EMOTIONS , and THE PERSONALITY . THE BIBLE Does Not Attribute IMMORTALITY TO THE " SOUL " . In Fact , It OFTEN SPEAKS OF THE " SOUL " as DYING . The PROPHET EZEKIEL , Whom GOD USED TO WRITE A PORTION OF THE BIBLE , STATED THAT A " SOUL Can be PUNISHED With DEATH . On Another OCCASION , THE BIBLE Uses THE TERM " DEAD SOUL " to Describe a CORPSE . ( Leviticus : 21:11 , Footnote ) Clearly , THE BIBLE Does Not TEACH that THE " SOUL IN IMMORTAL . The BIBLE Says as surely as OUR BODIES PERISH AT " DEATH " ," There is NO WORK nor PLANNING nor KNOWLEDGE nor WISDOM in THE " GRAVE " . ( Ecclesiastes : 9:10 ) THE SCIPTURES Definitively Tell US That when  SOMEONE DIES , : HE Returns to THE GROUND ; on that Very Day HIS THOUGHTS PERISH ," ( Psalm : 146:4 )A " DEAD SOUL " is in A STATE OF INACTIVITY , and THUS , THE SCRIPTURES Often Metaphorically Refer to THE DEAD as " SLEEPING " ( Matthew : 9:24 ) The BIBLE assures US that THE " DEAD " Are UNCONSCIOUS , We can Be COMFORTED In KNOWING That OUR " DEAD " Loved Ones Are Not SUFFERING ANYMORE . We can be Further COMFORTED In Knowing that JAHWEH GOD Promises to AWAKEN UNCONSCIOUS , DEAD SOULS BACK TO LIFE AT A FUTURE TIME ( ISAIAH : 26:19 ) { I CATCH IS " YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN GOD and JESUS CHRIST and LIVE WITH GOD'S LAW } - copy - by - Pastor Henry George , Sask.