Traditions handed down through generations will mark the way thousands of East Valley families celebrate Christmas this weekend. The Tribune invited several people to explain how they will add a different cultural twist to the holiday this year.

In 1691, the first Thanksgiving, where the protestant pilgrims thanked their Lord, Jesus Christ, for giving them a bountiful harvest, began. That could never happen today.

While reading the New Living Translation of Acts 2: 43-47, I had to stop and wonder how conservative “Born-again” Christians, especially those who strongly advocate slashing the social safety net to make up for cutting taxes for wealthy billionaires would respond to this text?

I would like to reply to the U.S. Air Force Colonel who said science has all the answers and there is “no God.”  I know that you are a very intelligent man; you could not be an Air Force Colonel and not be smart. But before you destine everyone to hell, I would like to express the opinion of a person that would like everyone to believe God.  Please notice I did not say believe in God. Satan believes in God and trembles. The God you would like everyone not to believe in said, “Let there be light,” and everything was made.  And, believe it or not, there wasn’t a scientist around to give Him advice.  Science can only theorize what they find.

Origin: Founded by Charles Taze Russell in Pittsburgh in 1972, who believed in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

MESA: A Messianic congregation, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah), will have a Hanukkah service at noon today at Life’s Destiny Church, 2601 E. Brown Road. For more information on the new congregation, call (480) 600-2777.

Spiritual news from around the Valley

I grew up in a small Midwestern town with my grandparents living just across the street. On Christmas morning, we would have to wait at the end of the hallway until they made it across the street. It was grueling. We knew that they would not come over until he shaved and she finished whatever she had in the oven. It seemed endless.

I grew up in a small Midwestern town with my grandparents living just across the street. On Christmas morning, we would have to wait at the end of the hallway until they made it across the street. It was grueling. We knew that they would not come over until he shaved and she finished whatever she had in the oven. It seemed endless.

When it comes to in-yourface drama, the Valley’s theater scene can be woefully lacking. So it’s a welcome oddity to find Martin Mc-Donagh seeing such welcome reception here lately.

In “The Fountain,” Darren Aronofsky’s masterful, moving symphony of romantic devotion, Hugh Jackman plays three different men — a 16thcentury conquistador, a modern-day cancer researcher and a space traveler — all poised at the cusp of loss, all prepared to penetrate the frontiers of science and spirituality to save their beloved.

The latest Mideast conflict adds to long-term tensions roused by the anti-Israel fulminations and nuclear ambitions of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Observers say the president is preparing for the return of Shiism’s Hidden Imam, a Muslim equivalent of Jesus’ Second Coming.

Though “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” elegantly preserves the Christian themes of C.S. Lewis' famed fantasy novel, it's unlikely to inspire the religious fan devotion of “Star Wars,” “The Lord of the Rings” or even “The Passion of the Christ.”

Though “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” elegantly preserves the Christian themes of C.S. Lewis' famed fantasy novel, it's unlikely to inspire the religious fan devotion of “Star Wars,” “The Lord of the Rings” or even “The Passion of the Christ.”

A recent analysis by Roger Simon of PJTV Media maintains that Obama is showing signs of mental illness. A wide variety of commentators have observed that Obama displays severe narcissism. Obama is conceited, and he is demonstrating a serious disassociation from reality.

Don't fault President Barack Obama for reconsidering his strategy in Afghanistan. Fault him for reconsidering his strategy only in Afghanistan. Nearing the end of his first year in office, his administration has not yet developed a coherent and comprehensive plan to defend Americans from the movements, groups and regimes that declare themselves our enemies, explicitly state their intentions -- e.g. "Death to America!" -- and, unless we take steps to prevent it, will soon have nuclear capabilities to help them accomplish their mission.

An actor so effortlessly charming and endearing that you assume, deep down, he must be harboring some kind of filthy secret, Greg Kinnear has been perfectly cast in “Flash of Genius,” Marc Abraham’s fact-based drama about an all-American family man driven to madness when corporate America tries to take credit for one of his groundbreaking inventions.

Barack Obama has made his economic thinking excruciatingly clear, so it also is clear that his running mate should be Rumpelstiltskin. He spun straw into gold, a skill an Obama administration will need in order to fulfill its fairy-tale promises.

MEXICO CITY - A presidential election without a clear winner Monday set up the greatest test yet of Mexico's young democracy, with ruling-party candidate Felipe Calderon starting to build a government even as his rival vowed to challenge every last vote.

MEXICO CITY - A presidential election without a clear winner Monday set up the greatest test yet of Mexico's young democracy, with ruling-party candidate Felipe Calderon starting to build a government even as his rival vowed to challenge every last vote.

July 17, 2004

Moments after nearly 425 Valley clergy and religious leaders watched Jesus Christ incessantly beaten to a bloody pulp in the debut of “The Passion of the Christ,” a faith panel passionately endorsed the controversial film Wednesday as God-inspired cinematography.

Once a Jew and now a Roman Catholic, Roy Schoeman says his spiritual journey follows much the same transition as Christianity’s development from the seeds of Judaism.