Contoh teks Ricount.

Is Jesus God?

Have you ever met a man who is the center of attention wherever he goes? Some mysterious, indefinable characteristic sets him apart from all other men. Well, that’s the way it was two thousand years ago with Jesus Christ. But it wasn’t merely Jesus’ personality that captivated those who heard him. Those who witnessed his words and life tell us that something about Jesus of Nazareth was different from all other men.

Jesus’ only credentials were himself. He never wrote a book, commanded an army, held a political office, or owned property. He mostly traveled within a hundred miles of his village, attracting crowds who were amazed at his provocative words and stunning deeds.

Yet Jesus’ greatness was obvious to all those who saw and heard him. And while most great people eventually fade into history books, Jesus is still the focus of thousands of books and unparalleled media controversy. And much of that controversy revolves around the radical claims Jesus made about himself---claims that astounded both his followers and his adversaries.

It was primarily Jesus’ unique claims that caused him to be viewed as a threat by both the Roman authorities and the Jewish hierarchy. Although he was an outsider with no credentials or political powerbase, within three years, Jesus changed the world for the next 20 centuries. Other moral and religious leaders have left an impact---but nothing like that unknown carpenter’s son from Nazareth.

What was it about Jesus Christ that made the difference? Was he merely a great man, or something more?

These questions get to the heart of who Jesus really was. Some believe he was merely a great moral teacher; others believe he was simply the leader of the world’s greatest religion. But many believe something far more. Christians believe that God has actually visited us in human form. And they believe the evidence backs that up.

After carefully examining Jesus’ life and words, former Cambridge professor and skeptic, C. S. Lewis, came to a startling conclusion about him that altered the course of his life. So who is the real Jesus? Many will answer that Jesus was a great moral teacher. As we take a deeper look at the world’s most controversial person, we begin by asking: could Jesus have been merely a great moral teacher?

WAS JESUS REALLY FROM NAZARETH?

Jesus’ Hometown Discovered?

On December 21st, 2009, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced an archaeological discovery that may cause red faces for those who have doubted the New Testament’s historical accuracy. For the first time in history, archaeologists cite evidence of the 1st century town of Nazareth, the reputed hometown of Jesus.

Moreover, this discovery has the backing of scientists; Archaeologist Stephen Pfann, president of the University of The Holy Land, states: "It's the only witness that we have from that area that shows us what the walls and floors were like inside Nazareth in the first century."1

Although Nazareth exists today as a thriving Arab city of 65,000 in northern Israel, some scholars have believed it didn’t exist during Jesus’ lifetime. For example, the Encyclopedia Biblica in 1899 stated, “It is very doubtful whether the beautiful mountain village of Nazareth was really the dwelling-place of Jesus.”2

In 2006, American Atheist Press published a book by Rene Salm entitled, The Myth of Nazareth. The author summarized his argument before this recent discovery. He writes, “What must matter to all Christians, however, is the inescapable fact that the evangelists invented this basic element in the story of cosmic redemption. The proof is now at hand that ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ a long-standing icon of Western civilization, is bogus.”3

In the face of this new discovery, Salm still defends the conclusions in his book. However, 1st century clay shards discovered in the Nazareth location seem to undermine his theory that Jesus’ hometown was mythical.

Archaeologists have also discovered other relics in recent times that confirm the existence of New Testament characters such as Pilate and Caiaphas (see, “Was Jesus a real person?” http://www.y-jesus.com/bornid_1.php).

(text ricount) A Legend of Candy Cane

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the church, and firmness of the promises of God.

The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It also represents the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used the tree small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Jesus on the Cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life, if only we put our faith and trust in Him. Unfortunately, the candy became known as a Candy Cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who "have eyes to see and ears to hear".

The Purse of Gold

A beggar found a leather purse that someone had dropped in a market place. Opening it, he discovered that it contained 100 pieces of gold. Then he heard a merchant shouted, "A reward! A reaward to the one who find my leather purse!"

Being an honest man, the beggar came forward and handed the purse to the merchant saying, "Here is your purse. Will you keep your word to give a reward now?"\

"Reward?" scoffed the merchant greedily counting the amount of gold. "The purse I dropped had 200 pieces of gold in it. You've already stolen more than the reward I'll give to you.! Go away or I'll tell you to the police."

"I'm an honest man," said the beggar defiantly. "Let's take this matter to the court!" In the court, the judge patiently listened to both sides of the story and said, "I believe you both. Justice is possible! Merchant, you stated that the purse you lost contained 200 pieces of gold. Well, that's a considerable cost. But the purse the beggar found had only 100 pieces of gold. Therefore, it couldn't be the one you lost."

And, with that, the judge gave the purse and all the golds to the beggar.

Snow Maiden

Once upon a time there lived a couple in a village. They had got married for a long time, but so far they did not have a baby yet. Every single minute they prayed to God, begged for a baby, but it never came true.

Oneday, they went to a snow mountain. They made a girl from snow and they dressed her beautifully. When it got dark, they decided to go home and left the snow girl alone. The following morning, someone knocked the door. "Any body home?" she said. The old women inside opened the door and asked, "Who are you?" The girl said "I'm Snow Maiden, your daughter". The old woman was surprised and happy. "Oh really? Thanks God! Come in, please!" Since that meeting, Snow Maiden lived with her parents. She was beautiful, kind, diligent and helpful. Her parents and all of her friends loved her very much.

Oneday, Snow Maiden played with her friends. They played fire. At first, Snow Maiden just looked at their play. Suddenly, her friends asked her to jump on the fire. Of course she refused it because one thing that made her afraid was the fire. It's because Snow Maiden was made of snow, so she should avoid the fire. But her friends kept on forcing her to jump on.

Finally, she could not do anything, andd then she did it. She jumped on the fire and as result she melted. Her friends were sorry about this, they cried and cried hoping Snow Maiden could live again, but it was useless. Snow Maiden would not be back anymore.

Her mother tried to entertain Snow Maiden's friends and asked them to make a new Snow Maiden again. They went to a snow mountain and started making it. They expected to have the new Snow Maiden. Days passed but their dreams never came true. Poor them!

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was born in 1879 in Ulm. Germany. He graduated from the University of Zurich in Switzerland in 1905. In 1905 he also did some of his most famous work in physics. In 1919 he won the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Between 1919 and 1933 he lived in Germany and traveled a lot to talk to other scientists. Then in 1933 he had to leave Germany because of Hitler and the Nazi party.

He moved to the United States. From 1933 until his death he lived in Princeton, New Jersey. He died on April 18, 1955.

van Winkle

One day Rip van Winkle didn’t want to work. So he went walking in the woods. There he met some funny little men who danced and sang:

“Come, van Winkle, dance and sing. You don’t have to do a thing. Having fun is what we do. We want you to have fun too.”

Rip danced all day with the funny little men. At the end of the day, he was very tired. He slept and he slept and he slept. When he got up, all the little men were gone.

Rip went back to town. Everything was different! His house wasn’t there! His friends weren’t there! Rip asked, “Where is everyone I know?” A woman said, “Rip, you went away twenty years ago. Where did you go?” He told the story about the funny little men. He told about sleeping. “Rip,” said the woman, “Look at your beard. It’s all white. You slept for twenty years!”