An interesting Christmas Message

"democracy was not practiced in the days of Jesus. Baby Jesus was born at the time when a census was called by Ceasar Augustus for the land of Judah." - there is no historical record of a census at this time - there was one about 20BC though

"” According to the edict of the census, all those who lived in Judah were duty bound to register their name in the city of their birth" - there is no historical evidence for this - can you imagine the logistical nightmare this would have caused.

"“We ask ourselves: Did Joseph and Mary stand to gain anything in return for enduring so much trouble in order to fulfill their duty? " presumably not being fined or put in jail

"“For their part, all citizens are to offer their contribution in order that society can achieve its objective in sharing the common good among all citizens. Jesus taught us how to do this: his principal message to us is to love one another and serve one another in concrete ways. He gave us a prime example by becoming human and by giving up his life for us. The good citizen is the one who does not only look after his own interests in such a way that he is always on the look-out for what benefits he can gain from the State; he is to ensure that others enjoy these benefits also.

“Even more so, if he realizes that his fellow-citizens are not being treated with dignity, then he should stand up for them. Besides fulfilling his duty, the good citizen looks after his country and contributes towards its livelihood by paying taxes justly and offering voluntary service for the benefit of others."

JFK put it somewhat more succinctly, but a good message for us all

Ignoring the fables presented as historical fact (which is part of his job), its a good message, and surprisingly non-religious - wouldn't have been out of place as a CoE sermon.

Merry Christmas .........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvM-I0j5emA

View with full screen -)))

Ricky

nice one Ricky :-)

Excellent! Thanks.