Sunday, May 5, 2013

Today in History - May 6, 1937 - The Hindenburg Disaster

Today in History - May 6, 1937 - The Hindenburg Disaster

   On May 3rd, of 1937, the Hindenburg, a large airship, started its journey from Frankfurt, Germany on its way to Lakehurst's Navy Airbase inAmerica. It was the largest airship that was ever built and it was the pride of Nazi Germany.
   The airship was lifted into the air by being blown up with hydrogen and was able to fly at a speed of 6 miles per hour. It would take about two and a half days for the airship to reach its destination at Lakehurst. It carried 61 people and as it was nearing its landing place, something caused the airship to burst into flames. The airship and all aboard fell quickly at about 200 feet above the ground. Thirty-five people died and many had serious injuries due to the accident. This happened today in History in the year 1937.
                                         
                                                         

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Today in History- April 30, 1945 - Hitler Commits Suicide

   For those of you who are not familiar with the name 'Adolph Hitler' allow me to inform you of who he was and why he did what he did, that made its mark on History.
   Adolph Hitler was born to Alois and Klara Hitler in 1889 in Austria. There is somewhat of a mystery of his father's ancestry, as he was an illegitimate child of Maria Anna Schickelgruber. It is not known exactly who Alois Hitler's father was, but it may have been Johann Georg Hiedler, who married Maria Anna after Alois Hitler was born. So Johann and Maria were married and now Alois took on the last name of Hiedler, which is where Hitler comes from.
   Adolph Hitler must have liked art, but his art work was not accepted by his teachers. He became a German citizen in 1932. He seemed to have a hatred for Jewish people, and there are speculations as to this, but no one knows for sure the reason. He obviously did not see the human race as one group, but rather a divided group with those who were not looked at with dignity. He believed his race (caucasian, white) was the superior race compared to other so called races, especially the Jewish 'race'. As time went on, it became obvious that he had plans to eliminate those other 'races' so that the superior race, the white people, would be able to be the only race that existed. What Hitler failed to understand is that all 'races' are part of one race called the human 'race'. Hitler appeared to embrace what Darwin taught in his evolutionary views, that there are some people groups that are not as developed as others (such as the black people). Of course, Darwin also believed that humans came from apes, and his belief system was based upon that idea. So Hitler wanted to eradicate the Jewish people and also those who were handicapped as well.
   Those who were alive during that time remember well the horror of this event. Many documents were written and many people died (at least six million Jews were killed). Older people who are still alive to tell about it are doing so.
  Hitler made his mark, and his name is not spoken of with honor. Two things that are amazing that I see today; One is that some people actually deny that the Holocaust ever happened. The reason could be that these people are embarrassed at how evil human beings can be, and don't want to accept the fact that we are really that evil. The other thing that is amazing is that on our college campuses, when a student is asked his opinion on Adolph Hitler, many have never even heard of him! What in the world have these students been taught (or not taught)? It's easy to assume that everyone knows about the Holocaust, but not everyone does. I personally believe that it is intentionally not taught, because if our students understand how horrible a Socialistic government (Fascism) is, they would rise up and do whatever they could to prevent it from happening. But there are those in our government today that do not want us to look at History in order to learn from our mistakes because they want to begin to implement a powerful government and in turn give less freedom to the people.
   Things were not going well for Hitler in 1945, and on this day, shortly after he was married to his mistress, both committed suicide in his bunker by taking cyanide pills. The day before this, Mussolini also died. Hitler was sensing that this was the end of the 'Third Reich' and took his own life.
   Adolph Hitler sadly believed many lies during his lifetime. He rose to power with these lies as part of his being. One thing that was ironic was that on the belt buckles of those in the German army were the words 'Gott mit uns' which means 'God with us'. Many mistake this to think that Hitler had some kind of trust in the true and living God, but that was not so. Everyone has something or someone they trust in, whether it be an idea, a living being, or something else. Hitler trusted in something, but it wasn't in the God of the Bible, for if he really did trust in what the Bible said, he would never have done what he did to hurt so many people. There are two specific commands in the Bible. One of them is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The other is to love your neighbor as yourself. Our love for God is evidenced by how we love our neighbor. If we hate our neighbor, then realistically speaking, we hate God. The Bible says that if we hate our brother, than we don't know God. It continues and says that we are a murderer, and no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. This shows us that we can have all the Christianese talk and lingo, we can have the bumper stickers and T-shirts describing our love for God, but if we don't love our neighbor, we really don't know him, no matter how many T-shirts we have. By their fruits we will know them, the Bible says.


http://history1900s.about.com/od/1940s/a/Hitler-Suicide.htm

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Where Did Germany Get It's Name From?

I thought this was interesting as I read from an article called, 'The Table of Nations' by Tim Osterholm. He explains the origin of the term 'German' and how this name came to be.
   The term "German" comes from Latin (Roman) sources.  The Assyrians occupied a Mesopotamian city on the lower Tigris River called "Kir" and placed captive slaves there (also referenced in 2 Kings 16:9, Isaiah 22:5-6, Amos 1:5, 9:7).  The city was populated by the Assyrians for many years, and the inhabitants became known as "Kir-man."  The Assyrians (Kerman) were driven from their land shortly after their fall about 610 B.C.  They migrated into central Europe where they were called "German" or "Germanni," a general name used by the Romans to represent all Assyrian tribes.  The known Assyrian tribes were the Khatti (also, Chatti, Hatti and Hessian)—Chatti is still the Hebrew term for German, and Khatti was also used by the Romans to represent various Germanic tribes; the Akkadians (Latins called them Quadians); the Kassites (or Cossaei); and the Almani (or Halmani, Allemani was the Latin name).  Almani or Almain were historical terms for Germans living in southern Germany.  Without question, these Assyrian Germans assimilated with the previously established tribes of Askaeni (descendants of Gomer) and adopted their Indo-European language, becoming one people. http://www.soundchristian.com/man/

Monday, April 22, 2013

Today in History - April 22, 1934 - Gangster Kills FBI Agent

Today in History - April 22, 1934 - Gangster Kills FBI Agent

Today in the year of 1934, Gangster George 'Baby Face' Nelson killed FBI agent W. Carter Baum during a raid. George Nelson was born Lester Gillis, and retained his 'baby face' as he retained his youthful look. In 1929, Nelson joined Al Capone's gang, and was later kicked out of the gang because of his unpredictable violent behavior.
   After living many years in criminal behavior, he ended up in Illinois where he was spotted while driving. He ended up in a gunfight with two FBI agents, and he shot and killed them. The next day Nelson's body was found in a ditch. He had been on the run since he killed FBI agent Baum, months prior to this.

FBI Agent killed in a raid

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Today in History - April 7, 1963 - Tito is Named President For Life

Tito is Named President For Life - April 7. 1963

   Today in History, Josip Broz, known as 'Tito' was made president for life of the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He was born 1892 in Croatia, fought in World War I against Serbia, was captured, and converted to Bolshevism, then fought in the Russian Revolution. After that, he returned to Croatia.
   He joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and became a political agitator and was arrested in 1928. After his release, he climbed the ladder of the ranks of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, and took on the name 'Tito' as he went underground to serve the Party's work.
  He died in May, 1980, a few days prior to his 88th birthday.

Source: Tito Made President-for-life- History.com

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The History of Amazing Grace

History of Amazing Grace

    Many of us have heard the song, 'Amazing Grace', but we probably don't have the appreciation for this song that it deserves. Here is a brief summary of the story behind it:

    One night, on March 21,1747, there was a terrible storm at sea, and the ship that John Newton was on, was starting to experience the effects of the storm. John did what he could to help relieve the ship of all burdens as he saw the impending dangers that could be ahead. At this moment, he remembered those things that were installed in him as a child. Although he was well taught in the Scriptures, and knew that the Bible was true in what it said, John Newton had not personally responded to the Gospel. In fact, what he was doing was evil, for he was involved in the slave trade. He became a bitter man toward God.

  As he was thinking back on his life, he concluded that his sins were too great to be forgiven. He looked at the situation with the ship he was on, as an act of his doom. But when he realized that the ship was going to be ok, he understood God's sovereignty and mercy of God on him in that moment. He meditated on the death of Jesus that He took in order to pay for his sins and was astonished at God's mercy and grace to him.

   The ship arrived in Ireland, and John had now had a genuine conversion. There was no turning back for him! Over time, he began to see that slavery was wrong, and he became an abolitionist. As he reflected on his life, he penned the words to this most famous hymn called, 'Amazing Grace'. This song came out of the heart of a man who really saw his sin as evil, and the grace of God as amazing.

  Parents, this is an encouragement to you, to be diligent in teaching your child the Gospel, and the Scriptures. It is an encouragement to always be praying for our children. Many times they leave home without responding to the Gospel, but God can work in their circumstances many years later and bring them to repentance and faith.

Source: http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/john-newton-converted-by-amazing-grace-11630250.html
John Newton Amazing Grace for Children


Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.
The Lord has promised good to me...
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be...
as long as life endures.
When we've been here ten thousand years...
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise...
then when we've first begun.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Saint Patrick

Everyone knows that today is Saint Patrick's Day. We think of the Irish and shamrocks, and wearing green. But, there is a real person we call Saint Patrick, whose real life is in obscurity.
Saint Patrick was born around 390 in Great Britain. His parents may have been followers of Jesus Christ, but we don't have enough information on that. When Patrick was 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and brought to the land of Ireland where he learned to shepherd sheep. Some time later, he managed to escape and returned to England. It is not really known when he came to Christ, but when he returned to his home land, he received a vision of God calling him back to Ireland. Perhaps he was able to see the desperate need for the Gospel to be there while he was living in captivity in that land.
Here is a quote from Saint Patrick, himself: “Thus I am a servant in Christ to a foreign nation for the unspeakable glory of life everlasting which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
From what we can tell, from some of his own words, Patrick identified himself as a sinner. He realized his own need for a Savior, and went to Ireland to spread the Gospel to the Irish people. The religion of the day that was in opposition to the Gospel was that of the Druids. It is said that this divine call of the Gospel went forth from Ireland for at least 600 years.
   Here is a good web site with information on Saint Patrick: Christian Answers
Here is another source, although a little more vague:
History.com-Saint Patrick