No comets, novae, or supernovae are recorded for 6 B.C., the estimated year of Christ’s birth.
But there was one odd celestial event that stargazing Wise Men might have observed and thought to be the Star of Bethlehem.
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn came close together in a small triangle, as they do once every 805 years.
Genesis 4:13-15 explains that the mark was placed on Cain to protect him from anyone who might want to kill him in retaliation for his murder of Abel. The mark was not itself meant as a punishment.
The Immaculate Conception does not refer to Christ’s being born of a virgin. Instead, it is the Roman Catholic belief that Mary was without original sin from the moment of her conception.
Islam is Arabic for “surrender,” or “submission,” to the will of God. A Muslim is “one who surrenders.”
Brahman is, in Hinduism, the great power of the universe, or “world spirit.” In the Upanishads, it also refers to a person’s spirit. A Brahmin is a member of the priesthood, or varna, in the Hindu social system.
It could have been any kind of snake that tempted Eve, or none at all. Eve was tempted by a “serpent”, which, in Biblical times, could refer to any creeping animal, particularly if it was venomous. Thus, Eve could have been tempted by anything from a snake to a salamander to a crocodile.
Peter, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles, was the first bishop of the Christian church in Rome, the office now referred to as the papacy. After Peter’s execution by the Romans in A.D. 67, Linus became bishop of Rome. Anacletus (also known as Cletus) succeeded him in about A.D. 76.