Jesus (7–2 BC to 30–33 AD) is the central figure of Christianity, whom the teachings of most Christian denominations hold to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah of the Old Testament. Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that a historical Jesus existed, although there is little agreement on the reliability of the gospel narratives and how closely the biblical Jesus reflects the historical Jesus. Most scholars agree that Jesus was a Jewish preacher from Galilee, was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate. Christians generally believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, performed miracles, founded the Church, died by crucifixion as a sacrifice to achieve atonement, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from which he will return. The great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three Persons of a Divine Trinity. A few Christian groups reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, as non-scriptural. In Islam, Jesus is considered one of God's important prophets and the Messiah. (Full article...)
After the pardoning of businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky(pictured), an amnesty law in Russia leads to the release of thousands of prisoners, including two members of Pussy Riot, and the dropping of charges against participants in a Greenpeace protest.
"The Lamb" is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence and of Experience in 1789. In the first stanza, the speaker asks the lamb – considered a pure and gentle creature – who his creator is. In the second stanza, comparisons are made between the lamb and the infant Jesus, as well as between the lamb and the speaker's soul. In the last two lines the speaker identifies the lamb's creator as God.
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