In this episode of Religion Today, Host Martin Tanner presents the true, authentic Christmas Story from the New Testament, of the birth of Jesus Christ, in easy to understand modern English.

Host Martin Tanner covers the major proposed ideas for the Star of Bethlehem, including a comet, Super-nova, conjunction of planets, and a special miracle. There is more evidence for the comet idea than any of the others.  Who were the Wise-men?  In ancient Christian tradition the Wise-men were astrologers who although not Jewish, were familiar with Jewish prophecy of a Messiah. They were included in the account of Jesus' birth because they brought gold (representing royalty), incense (representing priesthood), and myrrh (representing embalming and death).  The star and Wise-men both demonstrated to the early Christian reader that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah and king of the Jews.   

This episode consists of a series of Gospel questions from listeners, and the answers of Martin Tanner, Host of Religion Today, The questions include: (1) Have modern Egyptologists proven the LDS Book of Abram a fraud; (2) Were ancient temples in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Book of Mormon different from LDS Temple, and if so, why?; (3) Church policy on ordinances for the children of LGBTQI individuals and couples; (4) Hasn't archaeology disproven the Book of Mormon?, and, (5) was the First Vision of Joseph Smith just a dream?

Whatever happened to the Ark of the Covenant?  In this episode of Religion Today hear the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant, its construction and purposes.  The primary purpose of the Ark was to be the place where God YHWH physically appeared to Moses, Joshua and other prophets.  "Mercy seat" should be translated in English as the "place where merciful God appears."  There are many ideas about what happened to the Ark.  Martin Tanner describes those found in the Bible, the Apocrypha, and in rabbinic tradition.  

How similar and how different were the beliefs of Early Christians and the organization of the Early Christian Church, compared to Catholicism, Protestant Faiths and the LDS Faith?  In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner discusses the similarities and differences between the Early Christian Church and the major Christian denominations today.

What does is mean to say the Bible is the "word of God"? That God gave every word?  That God inspired the contents by concept? Something else entirely? In this episode of Religion Today Martin Tanner explores how Protestants generally believe God inspired each word of the New Testament, while Catholics, the Orthodox Church and Latter-day Saints believe the contents were inspired, but not necessarily word-for-word. Martin Tanner gives a brief history of the entire Bible from the 650 BC Ketef Hinnom amulet, to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Gerome's Latin translation, the great English translators Wycliffe and Tyndale, the King James Version, and modern English translations.

In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner gives advice on responding to critics. Most issues and questions posed by critics will be answered and resolved over time.  Others by immediate research.  Others by understanding the fallacy or false assumption which underlies the criticism. One example is that in some places the CES Letter criticizes the quotes of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, saying they are identical and thus stolen from the King James Version.  In other places the CES Letter criticizes the Book of Mormon for changing slightly the wording of Isaiah quotes.  Critics can't have it both ways.  Another example is the CES Letter's claim there could not possibly have been enough people in Meso-America as the Book of Mormon claims.  But Lidar research in just the last few years proves the Yucatan Peninsula had about 20 million or more living there during Book of Mormon times, more than in Europe at that time. Will this critic retract?  Not so far. Time and research resolve criticisms. Keep your faith.

Halloween is a Christian holiday.  The word "Halloween" comes from "Holy" or "Hallowed" and "Evening."  It was the holy evening before All Saints' Day on November 1st, which celebrated all deceased Christians.  In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner describes the origins of Halloween, and the Christian reason and purpose for asking for candy, which was originally the hungry and poor asking for food in exchange for a promise to pray the deceased Saints and other Christians.  Costumes were to trick evil spirits.  Carved pumpkins and parsnips with a candle inside were to scare evil away spirits, Satan's follows.  Halloween traditions and pagan influences are also discussed.  

In this episode of Religion Today, host Martin Tanner describes Joseph Smith's earliest known account of his first vision describes as happening as a result of his prayer for two things:  (1) to know if he could be forgiven, and, (2) to know which Church was true.  Joseph Smith learned something he hadn't asked for, that God's love was always there for him, that it was incredible and greater than he had imagined.  This love of God is something that is always there for all of us, no matter how far astray we may have gone.  We are to love God in return, with all our might, mind and strength.  Explore how to love God and understand how much he loves you.

Jeremiah is under-appreciated.  He prophesied for 40 years, incredibly long, from when he was a young boy during the time of Isaiah, through when Lehi left Jerusalem, during the siege of Jerusalem by Babylon, then its utter destruction, and the scattering of the Jews.  He was, along with the other Jews, led captive away from Jerusalem into Egypt.  Jeremiah was a very emotional prophet.  If he were alive today, we might say from his anguishing, emotional descriptions, that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the suffering, death and destruction he saw. In his writings, Jeremiah describes crying, great sadness and feelings of inadequacy.  Unusual for a prophet, he was also an actor.  God told him how to act out prophecies in metaphors, of what would befall kings, the Jews and the city of Jerusalem.