nebula Posted August 27, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.92 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Muslim Syria Full of Christian History By George Thomas CBN News Sr. ReporterSaturday, August 20, 2011 The image of Christians sharing their faith in a Muslim-dominated country may come as a surprise to some, but Christianity has actually had its roots in Syria since early in the first century. Following his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul established the first organized Christian church at Antioch in ancient Syria. John the Baptist's head is said to be located in Syria's Omayyad mosque, which was a church at one time. And up the road from the mosque is the Chapel of Ananias, where locals say the Lord used Ananias to cure Paul's blindness. "This is the place where the apostle Paul received his calling to share the gospel across the Roman world," a Syrian pastor said. "Today, Christians have the freedom to worship openly here. And we are proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ everywhere in Syria." Christians make up 10 percent of the Syrian population. The majority are Muslims. Most of the Christians live in the cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Hamah and Latakia. <snip> "The church today in Syria is living in its Golden Age. We see a hunger for God among the youth. And many families are expressing openness to the message of Christ," he explained. "The church is also moving in freedom." Full report Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted August 28, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.92 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 Interesting. I wonder if the head - or what's left of it - actually is (still) there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted August 28, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.92 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 I doubt it ever really was. It's akin to the claim the vatican makes that Peter was buried in Rome. Yeah, there is that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noobie Posted August 29, 2011 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 18 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 177 Content Per Day: 0.02 Reputation: 23 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/29/2004 Status: Offline Share Posted August 29, 2011 Great read.. Thanks for sharing guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiloh62 Posted August 30, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 83 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 1,683 Content Per Day: 0.30 Reputation: 51 Days Won: 1 Joined: 11/14/2008 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/14/1962 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Muslim Syria Full of Christian History By George Thomas CBN News Sr. ReporterSaturday, August 20, 2011 The image of Christians sharing their faith in a Muslim-dominated country may come as a surprise to some, but Christianity has actually had its roots in Syria since early in the first century. Following his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul established the first organized Christian church at Antioch in ancient Syria. John the Baptist's head is said to be located in Syria's Omayyad mosque, which was a church at one time. And up the road from the mosque is the Chapel of Ananias, where locals say the Lord used Ananias to cure Paul's blindness. "This is the place where the apostle Paul received his calling to share the gospel across the Roman world," a Syrian pastor said. "Today, Christians have the freedom to worship openly here. And we are proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ everywhere in Syria." Christians make up 10 percent of the Syrian population. The majority are Muslims. Most of the Christians live in the cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Hamah and Latakia. <snip> "The church today in Syria is living in its Golden Age. We see a hunger for God among the youth. And many families are expressing openness to the message of Christ," he explained. "The church is also moving in freedom." Full report I can remember way back when Americans had that same hunger. No, really! They did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amor Posted September 21, 2011 Group: Removed from Forums for Breaking Terms of Service Followers: 1 Topic Count: 13 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 2,194 Content Per Day: 0.30 Reputation: 34 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/18/2004 Status: Offline Share Posted September 21, 2011 This is great news. I wonder how John the Baptists head is supposed to have ended up in a mosque? It ended up there because it was previously the Cathedral of St John and after the Muslim conquest the Christians were moved out and compensated with a new cathedral. However, St J the B stayed because he's also in the Koran. It's not his only head however. I've been to the location this one and at least one other, in Italy, but I can't remember where and there are a few others on google. This had much to do with the medieval pilgrim industry, Christendom and the Islamic world was and to a significant degree still is awash with sites containing dodgy relics that provided a nice source of tourist income for the churches and monasteries that housed them. It's almost certainly not the head of John and even if it were, would that justify venerating it? The "discovery" of Noah's Ark in Turkey is a contemporary manifestation of this phenomena. Of course despite my above mentioned dismissiveness, I still got a little thrill when I got to visit the "street called straight" and the putative house of Ananias. More interesting than the head is doing some research into Christianity in Syria both contemporary and historically.The churches in Communion with Rome the Orthodox church and the so-called Eastern Orthodox churches, groups that have maintained their distinct identity from each other and from the Greek, Roman and Protestant traditions for 1500 and more years. For example Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shiloh357 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 This is great news. I wonder how John the Baptists head is supposed to have ended up in a mosque? I found the answer on this site... http://www.sacred-destinations.com/syria/damascus-umayyad-mosque It seems that Christians and Moslems have and can coexist in peace. All this hatred on both sides is very unnecessary. Well it depends on your definition of "peace." Christians can live peacefully in Muslim countries so long as they adhere to the rules of dhimmitude. It's not that there is a sense of mutual goodwill. They live in peace because for the time being the Muslims are satisfied with letting them remain as dhimmis instead of beheading them. In many muslim countries, churches are heavily regulated and even the state-approved "Christianity" that is allowed to exist there is monitored and regulated by the Muslim authorities. The freedom to worship Jesus is not like it is here in the US. What you get in a lot of Muslim countries is a brand of Christianity that does not have Christ in it, except for the underground church that actually contains authentic followers of Jesus Christ and do not practice the state-approved "Christianity" that is tolerated by Muslim authorities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amor Posted September 21, 2011 Group: Removed from Forums for Breaking Terms of Service Followers: 1 Topic Count: 13 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 2,194 Content Per Day: 0.30 Reputation: 34 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/18/2004 Status: Offline Share Posted September 21, 2011 This is great news. I wonder how John the Baptists head is supposed to have ended up in a mosque? I found the answer on this site... http://www.sacred-destinations.com/syria/damascus-umayyad-mosque It seems that Christians and Moslems have and can coexist in peace. All this hatred on both sides is very unnecessary. Well it depends on your definition of "peace." Christians can live peacefully in Muslim countries so long as they adhere to the rules of dhimmitude. It's not that there is a sense of mutual goodwill. They live in peace because for the time being the Muslims are satisfied with letting them remain as dhimmis instead of beheading them. In many muslim countries, churches are heavily regulated and even the state-approved "Christianity" that is allowed to exist there is monitored and regulated by the Muslim authorities. The freedom to worship Jesus is not like it is here in the US. What you get in a lot of Muslim countries is a brand of Christianity that does not have Christ in it, except for the underground church that actually contains authentic followers of Jesus Christ and do not practice the state-approved "Christianity" that is tolerated by Muslim authorities. A casual dismissal of the faith of millions, you are not in a position to judge the souls of others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shiloh357 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 This is great news. I wonder how John the Baptists head is supposed to have ended up in a mosque? I found the answer on this site... http://www.sacred-destinations.com/syria/damascus-umayyad-mosque It seems that Christians and Moslems have and can coexist in peace. All this hatred on both sides is very unnecessary. Well it depends on your definition of "peace." Christians can live peacefully in Muslim countries so long as they adhere to the rules of dhimmitude. It's not that there is a sense of mutual goodwill. They live in peace because for the time being the Muslims are satisfied with letting them remain as dhimmis instead of beheading them. In many muslim countries, churches are heavily regulated and even the state-approved "Christianity" that is allowed to exist there is monitored and regulated by the Muslim authorities. The freedom to worship Jesus is not like it is here in the US. What you get in a lot of Muslim countries is a brand of Christianity that does not have Christ in it, except for the underground church that actually contains authentic followers of Jesus Christ and do not practice the state-approved "Christianity" that is tolerated by Muslim authorities. A casual dismissal of the faith of millions, you are not in a position to judge the souls of others. Actually, I get my information from former Muslisms AND from people in my church who have been missionaries to muslim nations. Genuine followers of Christ in muslim nations are entirely different than those who simply go through the motions in the state-approved" churches that exist in muslim nations. Genuine followers of Christ are not even permitted to have dhimmi status and many genuine followers of Christ have died for their faith and their conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amor Posted September 21, 2011 Group: Removed from Forums for Breaking Terms of Service Followers: 1 Topic Count: 13 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 2,194 Content Per Day: 0.30 Reputation: 34 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/18/2004 Status: Offline Share Posted September 21, 2011 This is great news. I wonder how John the Baptists head is supposed to have ended up in a mosque? I found the answer on this site... http://www.sacred-destinations.com/syria/damascus-umayyad-mosque It seems that Christians and Moslems have and can coexist in peace. All this hatred on both sides is very unnecessary. Well it depends on your definition of "peace." Christians can live peacefully in Muslim countries so long as they adhere to the rules of dhimmitude. It's not that there is a sense of mutual goodwill. They live in peace because for the time being the Muslims are satisfied with letting them remain as dhimmis instead of beheading them. In many muslim countries, churches are heavily regulated and even the state-approved "Christianity" that is allowed to exist there is monitored and regulated by the Muslim authorities. The freedom to worship Jesus is not like it is here in the US. What you get in a lot of Muslim countries is a brand of Christianity that does not have Christ in it, except for the underground church that actually contains authentic followers of Jesus Christ and do not practice the state-approved "Christianity" that is tolerated by Muslim authorities. A casual dismissal of the faith of millions, you are not in a position to judge the souls of others. Actually, I get my information from former Muslisms AND from people in my church who have been missionaries to muslim nations. Genuine followers of Christ in muslim nations are entirely different than those who simply go through the motions in the state-approved" churches that exist in muslim nations. Genuine followers of Christ are not even permitted to have dhimmi status and many genuine followers of Christ have died for their faith and their conversion. And I get mine from the Arab and Iranian Christians I know, trust and love. And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 39But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40For he that is not against us is on our part. 41For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.03b9a592ab3fbf402fba028ca0d40a97.thumb.jpg.2258d605d3ad1f34b6effde23d20e7d7.jpg)
Recommended Posts