DID YOU KNOW.....

The real meaning of "Amen"
"Amen" is generally acdepted as meaning "so be it". But in the Hebrew language from which it comes, amen literally means "truly".
When we use the word at the end of a prayer or hymn we assert its truth and sincerity. "Amen" is also the last word in the Bible.
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How "Amen Corner" got its name
Though today the term refers to the section of a revival meeting where the approving sit and signify their approval by interjecting
frequent "Amens", it originally meant the end of a street in London.
On Corpus Christi Day the priests went in procession to St. Paul's Cathedral - reciting the Lord's Prayer in latin as they walked along.
The prayer begins "Pater Noster" and so the street was called Paternoster Row.
When they got to the end of the prayer they were at the end of the street and they turned the corner - Amen Corner.
As the priests turned down the lane they began chanting their Ave Maria or Hail Mary, and so the lane was called Ave Marie Lane.
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Origin of the word "Belfry"
Belfry was originally the name of a military tower erected near the walls of a besieged city by the attackers so they could more easily
throw their spears and shoot their arrows at the defenders.
The church steeple resembles these towers and quite possibly the pun was appreciated by the first persons to call a steeple a belfry.
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Why a silly person is said to have Bats In The Belfry
The belfry at the top of a church corresponds to the head atop a human body. Bats will take up abode in a befry that is empty and
cavernous - likewise, by analogy, in an empty head.
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Why poverty is referred to as "Poor As A Churchmouse"
There is no cupboard or larder in a church to produce crumbs for a mouse to feed upon, so to be poor as a churchmouse is to be poor indeed.
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Why a person who questions every statement is playing the "Devil's Advocate"
When any name is proposed for anonization in the Roman Catholic Church two advocates are appointed.
One is called "God's Advocate" and says all he can in support of the proposal; the other "the Devil's Advocate", says all he can against it.
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Origin of the word "Christmas"
The word is just a shaortened form of "Christ's mass".
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Origin of the term "Good Friday"
The term comes from "God's Friday" - since Christ was crucified on that day.
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Origin of the word Minister
The word literally means an "inferior person" or "servant". The original idea was the minister was supposed to serve his parishioners.
This idea has not yet completely disappeared.
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Origin of the word Pope
The word comes from the Italian "papa", meaning, of course, "father".
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Why "Potter's Field" is used as a term for a burial place for the poor
It comes from the Bible (Matthew 27:6-7). After Judas had hanged himself for betraying the Saviour for thirty pieces of silver,
the chief priests picked up the silver which he had cast down. The said "'It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury,
because it is the price of blood.' And they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.
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The word 'God' appears in the bible 3,358 times.
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The word 'Lord' appears in the bible 7,736 times.
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Whilst the Bible is the world's best-selling book, it's also the world's most shoplifted book.
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In a 1631 printing of the Bible, an English printer left out the word 'not' from the Seventh commandment, causing it to read - 'Thou shalt commit adultery'. This printing was referred to as the Wicked Bible.
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Almonds and pistachios are the only nuts mentioned in the Bible.
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Although not named in the New Testament, tradition names the two thieves crucified at the same time as Jesus as Dismas and Gestas.
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Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer are the three angels mentioned by name in the Bible.
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In Christian theology there are nine choirs of angels. From highest to lowest, they are:

seraphim,
cherubim,
thrones,
dominions,
virtues,
powers,
principalities,
archangels,
angels.

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Salt is mentioned more than 30 times in the Bible.
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The longest name in the Bible Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:1).
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The shortest verse in the Bible consists of two words: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).
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There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible: 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 chapters in the New Testament.
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There are 49 different foods mentioned in the Bible.
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Zipporah was the wife of Moses.
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The Longest Sermon - 51 hours 30 minutes – Shawsville, USA. It was presented by the Reverend Norman Ramsey in April 2003 at White Memorial United Methodist Church.
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One of the holiest Christian holidays is named after a pagan goddess. The name "Easter" derives from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, who governed the vernal equinox.
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Seven suicides are recorded in the Bible.
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The Bible devotes some 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but over 2000 verses on money and possessions.
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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, named in the Bible's Book of Revelation, are:

Conquest,
Slaughter,
Famine,
Death

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The Hindu holy day begins at sunrise, the Jewish holy day begins at sunset, and the Christian holy day begins at midnight.
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The Seven Deadly Sins are:

lust,
pride,
anger,
envy,
sloth,
avarice
gluttony

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The seven virtues are:

prudence,
courage,
temperance,
justice,
faith,
hope
charity

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First evidence that members of the Church were referred to as 'Christian' appears in Acts 11:26 in Antioch, during the time of Paul and the Apostles.
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The term "scapegoat" comes from the use of a goat that was to receive the sins of people and be released into the wilderness.
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It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. It was made from gopher wood. It had three stories, with a door in the side and a window in the roof. It was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high. There were only 8 people on it.
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Daniel 4:37 contains all the letters of the alphabet except "Q."
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Three words that only occur once in the Bible are "eternity," "grandmother," and "gnat."
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The word "hate" is used 83 times in the Bible. The word "love" is used 262.
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The cat is the only domesticated animal not mentioned in the Bible.
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Amen appears exactly 773,692 times in the King James Bible.
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Lebanon is the Arab nation with the highest percentage of Christians.
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St. Patrick used the Shamrock to explain his theory of the Holy Trinity.
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Zionism is the political movement that got its name from the hill in Jerusalem boasting the Temple of Solomon.
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Brazil boasts the largest number of Catholics.
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John is the name shared by the most popes.
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Italy and France claim two-thirds of the world's 2,000-plus registered saints.
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The Orange is depicted in Leonardo's Last Supper, even though it did not arrive in the Holy Land until long after Jesus' death.
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There are more nonreligious people in the world than Hindus or Muslims.
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Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, was the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad.
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Babylon was on the Euphrates River 55 miles south of Baghdad.
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Eden means "pleasure".
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The Vatican City has 1,000 permanent inhabitants and produces no export goods. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Constantinople was the world's principal Christian city before it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
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The Sheep is the animal most frequently mentioned in both the New and Old Testaments.
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St. Peter was the first pope.
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An ecclesiophobic evangelist fears Churches.
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Christians often placed the Bible on their foreheads to cure insomnia in medieval times.
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Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale.
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According to the Bible, pitch, or natural asphalt was used to caulk Noah's ark and to seal the basket in which the infant Moses was set adrift on the Nile.
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Jesus believed to have spoken Aramaic.
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According to the Bible, there are 12 pearly gates (Revelation 21:12-21).
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David and Bathsheba were the parents of King Solomon.
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Two books of the Bible are named for women - Ruth and Esther
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In the Old Testament, Ahab, King of Israel was Jezebel's husband.
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