Thank you Cinedigm for sending us this DVD to review!

Our family has watched many faith-based movies and most of them show the biblical figures as upright, holy, and serious.  While those films don’t stray from the Bible and teach valuable lessons, they are often hard to relate to in modern times.  Noah’s Ark (which originally aired on BBC television) changes that formula by telling a well-known story with a modern twist and personable characters.  Although Noah was close to 600 years old (Gen 7:6), he is shown as being a fit man who joins his sons (Ham, Shem, Japeth) in diving, swimming, rough housing and some joking around.  

Besides the added dialog, there are some new characters brought into the story including an adopted son named Kenan.  Ham, Shem, and Japeth are all married though having grandkids is a little challenging for them since everyone is all living and sleeping in close proximity.  Some of the couples are discussing the lack of privacy and the need to move out to start their own families.  Kenan is nearly eighteen and falls in love with a non-believing girl in the nearby town.  He sneaks out to go partying with her almost every night.

The townspeople are shown as evil with implied pedophilia and valuing science over an all-powerful and loving God.  Some of the arguments made by the townspeople are the same as those used by modern day skeptics.  Instead of being told directly by God (Gen 6:13), an angelic messenger is sent to Noah to build an ark for the upcoming flood.

I love how this film depicts his family’s (realistic) reactions to such a bold mission.  Having not seen rainfall in over a year, the family is doubtful to say the least.  Noah keeps his faith and embarks on building the ark on his own.  His family slowly comes around, but when Noah tries to warn the townspeople, they nearly kill him.  Some do come around and join him on the ark before the storm comes. A couple of Bible discrepancies include Genesis 7:7 stating that it was only Noah’s family onboard, and God shut the ark’s door (Gen 7:16) instead of Noah.

Thank you Falco Ink for sending us this DVD to review!

David Lyfe had a good life, a nice house, a great job, a pretty wife and daughter, and a baby on the way.  He was a wonderful dad and a loving husband.  Things couldn’t get much better until he found out that his company was merging with another bank.  He detested having to fly out to California to lay off the people he personally hand-picked for that location.  To make matters worse, once that was handled, he was given the same lay-off spiel by his boss! To cope with the news David decided to drown away his sorrows at the hotel bar.

It’s there that he meets a lonely housewife named Amy and they share stories about each other’s life and spouses.  David is happy in his marriage, but Amy is not since her husband doesn’t pay much attention to her and her desire to have kids.  I’d like to say that they parted ways but instead David makes a mistake that will cost him his family, house, and job opportunities.  

When David hits rock bottom, he meets up with a pastor and starts to stay at their homeless shelter.  The pastor’s daughter took an interest in David since she sensed her deceased mother’s “presence” around him and knew that he deserved a second chance.  Can David repent of his sins and regain his wife’s trust and earn her forgiveness?  You’ll have to watch this eighty-two-minute film that has earned Dove awards for yourself.  It’s recommended for audiences that are twelve and older and I agree with that rating.    Although intimacy is not shown, it is implied and there are alcohol references.

Overall I found the movie enjoyable, but predictable.  The acting is decent and the main character is a good guy who makes one mistake and pays dearly for it.  The wife is rightfully hurt and her mother (who was cheated on numerous times) is pushing for her to divorce him.  As a Christian I like the message of redemption, but I’m not so fond of the spiritual sensing that the pastor’s daughter had with the local homeless residents. 

Thank you BH Impact for sending us this DVD to review!

Most Christians agree that Mary played a crucial role in bringing our savior into this world in His human form.  His conception was divine since Mary was not yet married and a virgin.  When she was visited by an angel, she accepted God’s will without thinking about the social stigma that would be placed on her or the emotional suffering that was to come.  She is truly a role model of humble submission. 

With that said, there are arguments in Christian circles that some denominations put too much emphasis on Mary believing that she can mediate between Jesus and mankind, that she too was sinless, and remained a virgin after marriage.  The Bible clearly states that Jesus is our mediator (1 Tim 2:5), all have sinned (Rom 3:23, Luke 2:24), and that Jesus had earthly siblings (Matt 12:47).  

The movie Full of Grace does not show any of her offspring caring for her towards the end of her life.  Instead, a (presumably fictional) woman named Zara is shown tending to her.   Sensing that her time on earth is dwindling, Mary sends word to Peter that she would like to speak with him one more time.

Thank you Sony Pictures for sending us this DVD to review!

The Kendrick brothers have been upping the ante with each film they have released.  I have enjoyed their previous entries including Facing the Giants, Fireproof, and Courageous.  While I have heard good things about War Room, I wasn’t familiar with the movie’s premise.  I assumed it took place in strategy room during a major war.  While I wasn’t completely off-base, this movie wasn’t what I anticipated at all and it exceeded my expectations.  I think it’s safe to say that the movies from the Kendrick brothers get better with each release.  

War Room begins with Clara Williams by her husband’s grave forty years after his passing.  He was a decorated war strategist and was very good at his position.  She realizes that war is a part of life, especially when it comes to spiritual warfare.  Clara is a devout Christian and spends much of her day in her bedroom closet praying for her family and friends.  While her closet is lacking clothes, its walls are covered in Bible verses and prayer requests.  At first glance it does look like an old fashioned war room.    

When it comes time for Clara to put her house up for sale she meets Elizabeth Jordan (played by Priscilla Shirer), a real estate agent whose marriage is falling apart. Their biggest issue is that they are putting their careers over the needs of each other and their daughter, Danielle.  Their romance is gone and Danielle is growing more distant and feels neglected each day.  

Thank you MPRM for sending us a screener of this film!

Many people are familiar with the humanitarian work that Mother Theresa has done in India.  She tried to deflect all of the recognition to God and said that she was merely a “pencil in God’s hand.”  In fact, she nearly declined accepting her 1979 Nobel Peace prize in person, but was later convinced to go to spread awareness of the poverty situation in India.  All of her tireless and mostly thankless work took a toll on her spiritual life and she confessed to feeling alone and isolated from God in various letters between her and her spiritual mentor, Archbishop Ferdinand Perier.

The film, The Letters opens up with a miraculous healing being accredited to a picture of Mother Theresa healing a tumor from a woman in India in 1998, a year after Mother Theresa’s death.  A priest is sent to investigate this miracle, one of the two required for sainthood in the Catholic church.  While investigating her life, the priest talks to Archbishop Ferdinand Perier and is given access to the letters which Mother Theresa wished to have destroyed. 

Because the letters still existed, the Vatican priest was able to gain insight from her selfless life and devotion to the poor.  While Mother Theresa began as a teacher in the Loreta Convent in India, she longed to help the destitute that were outside of the convent walls.  There was civil unrest when India became its own nation in 1947 and streets were unsafe for the students and nuns in the convent.  On a sabbatical, Mother Theresa received a calling from God to devote her life and to serve the destitute.  The Mother General at the convent doubted her calling, but the Vatican approved it and the eventual founding of the Missionaries of Charity which began with a dozen nuns and is now four-thousand strong. Despite the decline of many Christian organizations and churches, this ministry for the poor is growing.

Thank you Rogers and Cowen for sending us this DVD to review!

I have read and listened to the Bible in different formats and in a few translations.  I have also seen many film adaptions of Biblical stories and the life, death, and resurrections of Jesus.  Many of these films and story books leave out verses and some context from the scriptures.  The Gospel of John doesn’t have that issue as this is a word-for word movie adaptation of the entire book of John.  It has support for many different languages and translations.  I found it humorous that the KJV version is in stereo while the NIV translation is in 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio.  I guess those still stuck on the old fashioned KJV don’t have modern stereo equipment?      

The Bible translation is spoken over the Aramaic dialogue of the actors.  I didn’t recognize any of the actors in this film or even Jesus at first.  He didn’t look like typical painting portrayals of being Caucasian with brown hair.  In this movie he was more Semitic with black hair and a beard with a touch of gray in it.    

While my kids watched this 161-minute movie with us, it did lose the attention of my youngest a couple of hours into it.  Thankfully the whipping and crucifixion scenes were not as graphic as depicted in The Passion.  The message was very clear and touching to the point of putting a lump in my throat a couple of times.  

Thank you Harper Collins for sending us a copy of this book to review! 

I've never heard of Tim Hawkins or the term Jackwagon before. Tim Hawkins is a Christian comedian whose humor is suitable for the whole family to enjoy, despite some whiskey references here and there.  Since I didn't get an explanation of the title in the 209 page book, I looked up the term jackwagon and discovered that it's another way of calling somebody lazy or worthless. 

Diary of a Jackwagon is a collection of humorous and random thoughts and stories compiled in a span of twenty years.  There are forty-one chapters that are typically  a couple of pages each and there is no chronological order to them.  At the end of each chapter is a "Tweet Thought" which is a short joke ideal for the likes of Twitter.  My favorite one is "Mr. Literal then proceeded punching himself in the face in an effort to fight back tears."

I must admit that I smiled most of the time when reading this book and there were several moments where I laughed out loud.  I showed a friend the Turquoise Toilet chapter and she laughed herself to tears.  I'm not sure if the story is true or not, but it talks about Tim taking his kids to Home Depot to give his wife a much needed break.  He didn't anticipate buying a toilet but felt obligated to do so after it was gently used by one of his children.  

I enjoyed the comparisons of today's playgrounds to the ones I grew up with as a kid.  I too remember the ground being made of gravel or concrete with real see-saws and slides made of steel that are both fast and HOT in the summertime.  The parody songs about junk food and home schooling are entertaining as well.  

Thank you Bohlsen Group for sending us a copy of this book to review!

There are many theories about the end times, the anti-Christ and the mark of the beast.  I have read theories of the anti-Christ being the current or future President or Pope.  While the Catholic church is referenced as the “wounded head of Revelation,” the author, Ezra Celestin believes that the Beast of Revelations is not an obvious target.

The Catholic church got its “wounded head” from the reformation movement and the Protestants are still in the dark to the truth, unlike the Seventh Day Adventists.  E.G. White is quoted in the first chapter saying “We have many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn.  God and heaven alone are infallible.  Those who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed.  As long as we hold to our own ideas and opinions with determined persistency, we cannot have the unity for which Christ prayed.”  Despite the obvious ties with the Seventh Day Adventist church, this book was an insightful read.

I got quite the history lesson with the fall of the Roman empire, the origins of the reformation movement, the French Revolution, and World War II.  There are many Bible verses quoted to back up claims of the four great kingdoms being Babylon as the head of gold, Media and Persia are the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs are Greece and the legs of iron represent Rome in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision.  Daniel’s vision of the four beasts are translated as the lion representing Babylon, the bear is Media and Persia, Greece is the leopard with four wings and four heads, and Rome is depicted as the beast with ten horns.  

*spoiler alert* As for the beast itself, it’s none other than the Unites States with its calling down fire upon Japan in World War 2.  Also, if you add up the number of people in the president’s cabinet, legislative and judicial branches the number comes out to 666.  With the Republican and Democratic parties, the United States fits the description of the two-horned beast while the United Nations is the image of it.  */spoiler*

Thank you SMT Entertainment for sending us a digital copy of this CD!

Ozwald Bozwald is a Harlem, New York City based recording artist, producer, and DJ.  He's been in the music industry for nearly fifteen years and most of his music was hip-hop and rap based.  In his new album, Transformed, he changes his music style to dance; and it's awesome!  It's not just his music style that has changed, but his whole life has been transformed from when he started making music.  

Ozwald is a full-fledged vegan, Christian, and a husband though he never planned on being any of those.  While the songs are pretty neutral without any scripture or praising of Jesus, Ozwald isn't shy about his faith on his social media sites.  In fact, his single 'Only One' is about being monogamous and the singer offers to break the law if needed for his love interest.  While that song isn't exactly teaching good values, it's not promoting sleeping around like many popular dance songs these days.

There are four tracks on this EP and they can be listened to freely on Sound Cloud.  If you like the music, you can buy it digitally on iTunes for $3.99.      His latest single 'Only One' is available on Amazon, but the rest of the album is not there yet.  Some of his older rap music is though. I'm definitely a fan of his newer music versus his hip-hop roots.

Trimillennialism: Revelation 20 and the Final Judgment 
Author: Ritchie Way

Thank you Bohlsen Group for sending us this book to review!

In Revelation 20, there is a passage that has been debated for thousands of years. Here it is, in full:

"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Thank you Bohlsen Group for sending us this book to review!

When Melinda Cerisano, the author of Heaven Is For Animal Too, was ten years old she asked a Methodist minister if animals go to heaven.  He told her that they did not since they lacked souls and were not made in the likeness of God.  As a certified animal trainer, behaviorist, and accomplished equestrian, she was not satisfied with that answer and  set out on a seven year journey to prove that animals do indeed go to heaven when they die.

This 257 page book began as eight verses in the Bible that comforted Melinda and several of her friends when they suffered the loss of their pets.  After seeing how these verses (Gen 1:30, Hos 2:18-19, Pro 12:!0, Ecc 3:21, Joel 1:18,20, 2:22, Rom 8:20-21) affected her friends and even brought some of them closer to God, she embarked on her journey to write a book. While she doesn't claim to be a theologian, she does cite and reference various Bible translations, texts, and scrolls in their original language.  

The Bible translations used include the New King James Version, the Darby New Translation, the New Living Translation, the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible,  and the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The Interlinear Bible is used for translating between Greek, Hebrew, and English.

I found it fascinating that most of the modern day translations replace the word "soul" for "creature" instead.  With the word soul in place, verses like Genesis 1:29-30 give animals more hope of joining us in heaven one day.  There is an entire chapter dedicated to explaining the word for word translation and its significance.  

Thank you Bohlsen Group for sending us this book to review!

John F. Hunter, the author of Living The Christian Life is a pastor, evangelist, chaplain, and a missionary.  He put together an eighty-eight page book that nicely summarizes the basics of Christianity without going over people's heads.  There are plenty of life stories, analogies, and scripture references to back up the fundamentals of living a God honoring life. 

There are thirteen chapters  discussing salvation, baptism, communion, praying, serving, and reaching out to others.  I like the analogy of the hub, spokes, and rim being all part of a tire much like God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all integrated into one God.  The author recommends spending some alone time with God and listening to what his purpose for your life is.  Though I'm not sure if I would spend a couple of weeks in the wilderness like he did and deal with ticks, raccoons, and thunderstorms.  To each their own.  

Some of the other life stories are fascinating as well including a vivid dream he had about his unborn daughter and got to meet her nine months later and the mysterious person/potential angel that helped his family out when their truck's engine threw a rod in the desert.  When they got their truck looked at, nobody knew of anyone by the helpful person's name.  

Since I was raised Christian, I can't really say that this book has changed my life much.  I have put into practice many of its teachings including: prayer, fellowship, Bible study, witnessing, worship, and giving.  However, I do recommend this book to new believers and those who are curious to what Christianity is all about.  The language is pretty easy to understand and the concepts are straightforward and easy to follow.  Because this book is so short and I was able to finish it in two sittings, I recommend getting the $3.99 digital version as opposed to the $15.99 paperback.  Unless of course, you're getting it as a gift for someone you love.

Thank you Bohlsen Group for sending us a copy of this book!

Many Christians often wonder if they are truly saved and many non-believers wonder what salvation is all about.  Is it simply praying a prayer and apologizing for your sins, or is there more to it?  Can a person lose their salvation?  Pastor Bill Parker has spent over thirty years studying the Bible and has put together a comprehensive guide for true salvation.

The book What is Salvation contains eight chapters and is 101 pages long.  It looks at salvation from the eternal realm,  legal realm, spiritual realm, and from the glorified realm.  Each of these realms have four common truths.  All four of them are of the Lord, all of them are necessary for the salvation of God's people, and they are all founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ as the salvation of His people.  According to this book "...Salvation, including faith, is a free gift that comes by the sovereign will, power, mercy, and grace of God, not by the sinner's will." (page 60)    The passage this statement is based on is Romans 9:15-16.  

There are many bold statements made by this book and each one of them is backed by scripture.  Many believers debate about the possibility of losing one's salvation.  The stance this book takes is that "Truly saved people can never be condemned or lost again" and that "the reason so many believe salvation can be lost is because they believe salvation can be gained/and or maintained by some condition(s) sinners meet, at least in some way, at some stage, to some degree."  (page 68)  Those quotes are based on passages like John 6:37-40, John 10:27-30, and Romans 8:31-39.  The whole passages are displayed which makes this book a little easier to read without having to crack open the Bible every five paragraphs to look up the reference verse.  

With that said, this book is very thorough and I could only read a chapter or two a day to have enough time to let the information absorb into my non-seminary student brain.   While it wasn't exactly a page turner for me, I did find it well written and relatively easy to follow.  The asking price is a reasonable $7.99 on Amazon and I recommend looking into it if you have any questions about your or any loved one's salvation.

Thank you Rogers and Cowan for sending us this DVD to review!

Skepticism is on the rise and Christianity has been under attack from scientists, scholars, and archaeologists.  Many consider the Bible to be nothing more than a history book or just a bunch of fairy tales.  For more than fifty years, many prominent archaeologists believe that there is no solid evidence for the events in Exodus taking place as the Bible claims.  This view is so widespread that prominent rabbis like David Wolpe consider the book of Exodus to be "historical fiction."

If the book of Exodus is myth then the rest of the Bible loses its credibility and purpose.  Director Timothy Mahoney sets out to validate or disprove the Bible's account of Exodus in a twelve year archaeological journey to Egypt and around the world. Throughout this documentary (narrated by Kevin Sorbo) there are interviews with prominent Egyptologists, historians, archaeologists, authors, and even the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Shimon Peres, the president of Israel.

What Tim discovers is that many people assume the Biblical Exodus took place during the New Kingdom era of Rameses II.  There is no evidence of a famine, infanticide, or vacating and destruction of Biblical cites in that time period.  However, if you examine the previous era, the Middle Kingdom, there is evidence that matches up perfectly with the Bible time frame and historical accounts.  The problem with these findings is that it would mean that all of the dating to this point would be inaccurate and this is a tough pill to swallow for  Egyptologists, historians, and archaeologists.  

Thank you Falco Ink for sending us this blu-ray to review!

Brother's Keeper tells the compelling story of identical twins, Andy and Pete Goodwyn who tragically lost their parents at a young age.  As a result, they rely on each other and go in completely opposite directions with their lives.  With their high school graduation drawing near, Pete is planning for his future by making arrangements to marry his girlfriend and attending a seminary to become a preacher.  His brother on the other hand, has no plans other than picking fights with those that look at him the wrong way.  

Both of their lives are forever changed when Pete is framed for a murder that he did not commit.  To complicate matters further, the town's police and witnesses are bribed to pursue the death penalty for Pete.  As a devout Christian, Pete's faith is greatly challenged as his situation is getting more and more dire.

Though he doesn't notice it right away, Pete does make a positive impact on the people he interacts with in prison.  Not to mention the transformation that his brother, Andy goes through.  Pete does have his dark moments and a fellow believing inmate (played by Travis Tritt), offers him some solid and Biblical advice.  

Thank you Bohlsen Group for sending us this book to review!

John Hayden is a Christian certified fitness trainer that uses his skills to train others to stay fit and glorify God.  The goal of Godfit is to challenge believers to be both spiritually and physically well.  If believers stay healthy, they can live and serve others longer.  This 117 page book is broken down into a six week program that has both exercise routines and devotional questions.

Before you begin, you should make sure you have the required equipment including dumbbells, kettlebells, and a Bible.  The book also recommends using a photo of yourself for inspiration.  There's a core strength assessment that is highly recommended to complete in order to gauge your fitness level.   There is a spiritual questionnaire to evaluate your religious life as well.

Each workout is between twenty and thirty minutes long.  There are various warm-up and cool down routines to choose from.  If you're unsure of how to do an exercise, there are video examples on http://www.godfit.com.  The videos are password protected but the password is in the book (page 5).

 Thank you Bohlen Group for sending us this book to review!

Extravagant Graces is written by Jeanette Chaffee, a survivor from the TWA Flight 840 that had a bomb detonate in mid-air. She goes into detail with her story and how she believes that a guardian angel was among the passengers to spare the structure of the plane and many of the lives within it. Upon sharing her story over the years, she has chronicled twenty-two other stories that defy luck and show God's grace in the midst of chaos.

There are two plane crash stories and two stories of martyrdom. Many people are familiar with the five missionaries who were speared to death by the Ecuadorian Acua tribe in 1955. Not only does this book retell that story, but it goes into details about the lives of the widows and how the Auca tribes people heard the musical score from the 2005 movie, Beyond the Gates of Splendor, before it was even released!

In the 1960s Phyliss and Phil Masters went to Dutch New Guinea to reach out to the cannibal Yali tribe. After converting several tribesmen, including the shaman's son, there was some hostility. This cost Phil his life in 1968. Amazingly, Christianity still thrived within the tribe and when a plane crashed nearby later that year, the only survivor was a nine year old boy that the tribe took in as an attempt at peace.

Not all of the stories are heavy hearted, like the one of Shirley Dobson leaving her hometown of thirty years to move to Colorado Springs. Her husband, James Dobson, joked that she left drag marks from California all across the Rockies. By their faithfulness, their ministry has flourished and is still going strong today!

Thank you James Samuel Gutshall for sending us a copy of your book to review!

Sweet Gentle Rain is a collection of poems and short stories that the author has written and gathered together since the mid 1980s.  In 2006, he received a trophy from the International Society of Poets for reciting his poem "Breakers" in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Inside this twenty-seven page book, you'll find poems about thankfulness, hardships, wonder, searching, time passing, grandkids, and annoyances. 

Some of the poems are light hearted while most of them are thought provoking.  Almost all of them are spiritual in nature and give thanks to God, our wonderful creator.  Each of the poems are accompanied by photographs or paintings.  All of them are fitting, but some of them are higher quality than others.   

As a mother of three, my favorite poem was "Ladybugs and Squirrels" talking about the curiosity and short attention span of his grandson, Nicholas.  My ten year old daughter enjoyed reading this book as well.  Sweet Gentle Rain can truly be enjoyed by young and old alike.  There is one alcoholic reference in the book and sadly it contains a grammatical error on page 19, "And drank way to[o] much wine".

 Sweet  Gentle Rain  is self published through Xlibris and is available online for over  $18.  I find that price too steep for my liking.  Fortunately,  the kindle version is more reasonably priced at $3.99.  

Thank you Romans 12LLC for sending us a sling backpack!

Romans 12:12 says "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer"

That's an awesome verse worth  memorizing and living by.  Romans 12 LLC aims to uplift and remind Christians to Hang On Pray Everyday® with useful products and attire.    On their website HopeinaBox.com you can purchase t-shirts, hats, backpacks, mugs, greeting cards, and blankets.  The prices are very reasonable too.  You can purchase a bookmark for 99 cents and red t-shirts are on sale for $4.99.  There are various styles of baseball caps  from $15 to $26.  

It's safe to say that they have something for everyone available on their website.  The sling backpack I was sent seems to be of good quality.  Apparently it's kid approved as my daughter has claimed the backpack as her own.  There are various H.O.P.E. in a box bundles available that range from $20 to $50.  The shipping rates are from USPS and go up if you need it sent priority or express.  

Thank you Bohlsen Group for sending us this book to review!

Many Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25th and Easter on a Sunday in late March or Early April.  What if our traditions were proven to be wrong?  Patrick Cavanagh is Putting Tradition on Trial using astronomy and ancient Greek texts as evidence against an Easter Sunday resurrection.

I recently did (and highly recommend) a Bible Study called The Life of Jesus Christ Love. Life. Message. Mission. with my small group at church.    It's a great study that's easy to read and one of the chapters had a nice day by day break down of the last week of Jesus' life on earth.   Most Christians accept that the Last Supper was on a Thursday and that he was captured later that night and put on trial and to death on Friday.   Traditionally, Christians believe and celebrate Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday.  

While united in celebrating Easter, Christians have often contemplated the year of Christ's death. Many believe it's either 30, 31, or 33 CE.    Using astronomical calculations of the full moon in 14 Nisan, Patrick Cavanagh suggests that Christ died on Tuesday, April 15th in 32 CE and that by late Friday (approximately 72 hours), the women were informed that He had risen.  These are some pretty bold statements and the author makes a compelling case for them by providing Greek text and the works of Josephus to analyze key dates and how they all piece together.  

Putting Tradition on Trial continues to assimilate other historical events like the births of John the Baptist and Jesus in 3 BCE and Herod's death in 1 BCE.  Most people believe that Herod died in 4 BCE.  The book also mentions how the former pope Benedict stated his beliefs that Jesus birth had to be sooner than the currently believed timeframe of 5 or 6 BCE.  Since I'm not Catholic, I usually take statements from the pope with a grain of salt.