November 23rd, 2012
NewsRescue– The third of three books on the life of the blessed Jesus, the center of Christianity and prophet of Islam; Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives has been released by Pope Ratzinger, Benedict XVI. The book adds to his earlier published discussions on Jesus’ life, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration on Amazon in 2008 and Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, released in 2011.
This 176 page book(144 pages on Amazon with a forward; selling for $12), the million(s) copies of which is being translated into very many languages for over 70 countries, and was released for sale on Amazon on November 21st, challenges some fundamental beliefs about the time of Jesus’ birth and the circumstances of his birth.
That there were animals around at the time of Jesus’ birth is straightforward debunked. This information which obtains in the Bible is believed to have been included in the script centuries later. Though untrue, the Nativity scene would only be complete with the animals to spice it up, the Pope expresses.
In stiring up these questions and clearly challenging the infallibility of the Bible, Pope Ratzinger a great theologian, who writes this book without self imposition, but merely in studious fashion, taking the reader along and utilizing the works of scholars, mostly from Germany, advices the public to keep the traditions, even if clearly not based on the truth as he believes that there is purpose and use for these very strong traditions shared by many Christians most predominantly within the Western world.
It has been known that the Ethiopian Christians for instance do not celebrate Christmas at the time and date celebrated in the Western Church, the coinciding of this celebration in the West with events of the Winter solstice have frequently been debated as either an accident or a purposeful manipulation in order to synchronize Christmas with Roman pagan celebrations, done to encourage a seamless transition into Christianity for the Roman pagans.
According to the book, The Pope says the historian who declared the timing of Jesus’ birth was simply off on his records.
Christmas – Wikipedia
The Christmas tree is considered by some as Christianisation of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship;[48] according to eighth-century biographer Æddi Stephanus, Saint Boniface (634–709), who was a missionary in Germany, took an axe to an oak tree dedicated to Thor and pointed out a fir tree, which he stated was a more fitting object of reverence because it pointed to heaven and it had a triangular shape, which he said was symbolic of the Trinity.[49]
In any case, the timing of the book release by the Pope is certainly one thing we can take as accurate and on point. Right ready for Christmas 2012, perfectly coincided to provoke discussion, stir controversy and produce peaking sales.
NewsRescue also queried him for claiming the Jewish Holocaust was the greatest tragedy in recent time, in effect being ignorant about or deliberately denying the African colonialism ‘Holocaust’ experience which included single events like the “Massacre of over 25 Million Africans in Congo by Belgian King Leopold,” an event which made the Jewish Holocaust minor in comparison.
Pope Ratzinger has also come under the limelight in 2010 for being involved in Catholic Church sex abuse scandals. During his pre-Pope days, Cardinal Ratzinger was in charge of these investigations and he infamously failed to repudiate and merely transferred a Priest who had preyed on 200 deaf boys. See: NewsRescue-Vatican and Pope Ratzinger Declined to Defrock U.S. Priest Who Abused 200 Deaf Boys.