Christian Festivals

[Qnts2]

 

Acts 21:25

"But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

I believe this concerns clean and unclean meats not the Holy day festivals-some accused Paul of forsaking Moses but he refutes this in Acts 24:14.

 

But my question remains: If so called Christian holidays, like xmas and easter weren't introduced until several centuries after Paul's death, what Holy days did Paul teach and celebrate in the New Testament then?

 

 

The question in Acts 21 was, do Gentile need to convert and be physically ritually circumcized, becoming Jewish since they believed on the Jewish Messiah. Being Jewish means a person is obligated to the Mosaic law. The answer was no. Since God already showed that He fully accepted Gentiles who believe on the Messiah as Gentiles, they do not need to become Jews.

 

Paul was Jewish, and kept the Mosaic laws, especially in Jerusalem, as that was the law of the city for Jewish people. Paul did not teach Gentiles that they must obey the Mosaic law.

 

In Judaism, the books of the Maccabees are not canonized scripture and never have been. Yet, in Judaism, Chanukah is celebrated, but it is not commanded in scripture. Chanukah is essentially a tradition to honor the re-dedication of the Temple of God and to honor God. It is not in scripture, and neither is the story of the battle, capture and re-dedication of the Temple. Jesus went to the Temple on Chanukah. He did not object to the unscriptural tradition. Jesus took part in other traditions which were not commanded in scripture. There is nothing wrong with traditions unless these traditions contradict scripture. Christmas is about Jesus birth. Celebrating Jesus birth is not contradicting scripture. Easter is about the resurrection. It is not contradicting scripture.    

[OneLight]

Acts 21:25

"But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

I believe this concerns clean and unclean meats not the Holy day festivals-some accused Paul of forsaking Moses but he refutes this in Acts 24:14.

 

But my question remains: If so called Christian holidays, like xmas and easter weren't introduced until several centuries after Paul's death, what Holy days did Paul teach and celebrate in the New Testament then?

This goes beyond more then clean or unclean meats. It talks about the laws the Jewish lived by, circumcision being one of them.

Why are you trying to discern the hearts of others through holidays?

[fruitfull77]

The ceremonial and sacrificial rituals like circumcision did not need to be followed by gentiles but they did keep " The feasts of the Lord " as covered in earlier posts.

 

The main reason to examine today's holidays is to see if they have any Biblical history and whether they violate any of God's commandments.

If you research them through the regular sources-encyclos,  google, historical records, etc you will discover their pagan connections.

And mixing other gods with the one true God would be sinful. The xmas celebrations shifted focus away from Christ's promised return, to His birth, and Christ told us to celebrate His death not His birth.

Easter with its pagan symbols and fertility gods date long before Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

Although Christ's resurrection is an important basis of our hope that we too can be resurrected neither God, the Father, Christ, nor the scriptures ever directs us to celebrate this event.

His death saves us from the penalty of sin as our Redeemer. this we are told to celebrate.

Jesus warns us to beware of things that masquerade as something they are not.-Matt 7:15

Edited September 10, 2013 by fruitfull77

[Qnts2]

The ceremonial and sacrificial rituals like circumcision did not need to be followed by gentiles but they did keep " The feasts of the Lord " as covered in earlier posts.

 

The main reason to examine today's holidays is to see if they have any Biblical history and whether they violate any of God's commandments.

If you research them through the regular sources-encyclos,  google, historical records, etc you will discover their pagan connections.

And mixing other gods with the one true God would be sinful. The xmas celebrations shifted focus away from Christ's promised return, to His birth, and Christ told us to celebrate His death not His birth.

Easter with its pagan symbols and fertility gods date long before Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

Although Christ's resurrection is an important basis of our hope that we too can be resurrected neither God, the Father, Christ, nor the scriptures ever directs us to celebrate this event.

His death saves us from the penalty of sin as our Redeemer. this we are told to celebrate.

Jesus warns us to beware of things that masquerade as something they are not.-Matt 7:15

 

I think you have been reading to many conspiracy sites. I see these claims but no proof. Easter was named before the first Nicean council. It was named Easter and the date shifted because of anti-semitism, not to make it pagan. If you dislike the name Easter, rip the book of Esther out of your bible also. The root is the same.

 

Neither Christmas or Easter are pagan, no matter how much some want it to be. Pagan holidays worship pagan gods. That is the requirement for them to be pagan holidays. Christmas and Easter celebrate Jesus who is not a pagan god. And although celebrating Jesus birth is not commanded, it is also not forbidden, so there is no law against celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is a tradition which is perfectly alright.  

[JDavis]

Fruitful...

Are you married?

[OneLight]

The ceremonial and sacrificial rituals like circumcision did not need to be followed by gentiles but they did keep " The feasts of the Lord " as covered in earlier posts.

 

The main reason to examine today's holidays is to see if they have any Biblical history and whether they violate any of God's commandments.

If you research them through the regular sources-encyclos,  google, historical records, etc you will discover their pagan connections.

And mixing other gods with the one true God would be sinful. The xmas celebrations shifted focus away from Christ's promised return, to His birth, and Christ told us to celebrate His death not His birth.

Easter with its pagan symbols and fertility gods date long before Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

Although Christ's resurrection is an important basis of our hope that we too can be resurrected neither God, the Father, Christ, nor the scriptures ever directs us to celebrate this event.

His death saves us from the penalty of sin as our Redeemer. this we are told to celebrate.

Jesus warns us to beware of things that masquerade as something they are not.-Matt 7:15

What the ungodly do with any day is their choice. If I decided today to honor God , then to God I honor Him this day. It does not matter which day it is, or if it falls on a feast day or a holiday, the reason of the heart is what God looks at, not the date on the calendar.

This is beginning to sound a lot like whitewashing the outside of the cup instead of worrying about the inside.

[fruitfull77]

 

The ceremonial and sacrificial rituals like circumcision did not need to be followed by gentiles but they did keep " The feasts of the Lord " as covered in earlier posts.

 

The main reason to examine today's holidays is to see if they have any Biblical history and whether they violate any of God's commandments.

If you research them through the regular sources-encyclos,  google, historical records, etc you will discover their pagan connections.

And mixing other gods with the one true God would be sinful. The xmas celebrations shifted focus away from Christ's promised return, to His birth, and Christ told us to celebrate His death not His birth.

Easter with its pagan symbols and fertility gods date long before Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

Although Christ's resurrection is an important basis of our hope that we too can be resurrected neither God, the Father, Christ, nor the scriptures ever directs us to celebrate this event.

His death saves us from the penalty of sin as our Redeemer. this we are told to celebrate.

Jesus warns us to beware of things that masquerade as something they are not.-Matt 7:15

 

I think you have been reading to many conspiracy sites. I see these claims but no proof. Easter was named before the first Nicean council. It was named Easter and the date shifted because of anti-semitism, not to make it pagan. If you dislike the name Easter, rip the book of Esther out of your bible also. The root is the same.

 

Neither Christmas or Easter are pagan, no matter how much some want it to be. Pagan holidays worship pagan gods. That is the requirement for them to be pagan holidays. Christmas and Easter celebrate Jesus who is not a pagan god. And although celebrating Jesus birth is not commanded, it is also not forbidden, so there is no law against celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is a tradition which is perfectly alright.  

 

In the case of Easter and xmas we are not worshipping pagan gods -we are worshipping our God with pagan practices and traditions-.there is the difference.-we continue the customs of pagan Saturnalia but we apply them to our Creator even though the intent is honorable the means are wrong.

In the beginning Christians were opposed to Christmas. Most of the controversy erupted over whether Jesus' birthday should be celebrated at all.

The Fathers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries such as Clement, Origen, and Epiphanius contended that Christmas was a copy of pagan celebration.

No matter how you spin it, no matter how much integrity you try to instill in it along with your faith based reverence it's an abomination to God when you mix your faith with the heathen rituals.

 

And furthermore, I am married. I'm not sure how relevant that is to the subject matter.

 

I'm not harping on this to be confrontational, I found after checking out the history and origins of today's seasonal holidays they reek of humanistic manufacture and are basically anti-Christian. We all know the commercial aspects out weighs any  religious significance we mistakenly attach to them.

The lack of divine authorization is enough for me to try to establish whether today's holidays are legitimate in God's eyes not ours.

Edited September 11, 2013 by fruitfull77

[other one]

 

In the case of Easter and xmas we are not worshipping pagan gods -we are worshipping our God with pagan practices and traditions-.there is the difference.-we continue the customs of pagan Saturnalia but we apply them to our Creator even though the intent is honorable the means are wrong.

In the beginning Christians were opposed to Christmas. Most of the controversy erupted over whether Jesus' birthday should be celebrated at all.

The Fathers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries such as Clement, Origen, and Epiphanius contended that Christmas was a copy of pagan celebration.

No matter how you spin it, no matter how much integrity you try to instill in it along with your faith based reverence it's an abomination to God when you mix your faith with the heathen rituals.

 

And furthermore, I am married. I'm not sure how relevant that is to the subject matter.

 

I'm not harping on this to be confrontational, I found after checking out the history and origins of today's seasonal holidays they reek of humanistic manufacture and are basically anti-Christian. We all know the commercial aspects out weighs any  religious significance we mistakenly attach to them.

The lack of divine authorization is enough for me to try to establish whether today's holidays are legitimate in God's eyes not ours.

 

definitely something to ponder.

[Qnts2]

 

 

The ceremonial and sacrificial rituals like circumcision did not need to be followed by gentiles but they did keep " The feasts of the Lord " as covered in earlier posts.

 

The main reason to examine today's holidays is to see if they have any Biblical history and whether they violate any of God's commandments.

If you research them through the regular sources-encyclos,  google, historical records, etc you will discover their pagan connections.

And mixing other gods with the one true God would be sinful. The xmas celebrations shifted focus away from Christ's promised return, to His birth, and Christ told us to celebrate His death not His birth.

Easter with its pagan symbols and fertility gods date long before Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

Although Christ's resurrection is an important basis of our hope that we too can be resurrected neither God, the Father, Christ, nor the scriptures ever directs us to celebrate this event.

His death saves us from the penalty of sin as our Redeemer. this we are told to celebrate.

Jesus warns us to beware of things that masquerade as something they are not.-Matt 7:15

 

I think you have been reading to many conspiracy sites. I see these claims but no proof. Easter was named before the first Nicean council. It was named Easter and the date shifted because of anti-semitism, not to make it pagan. If you dislike the name Easter, rip the book of Esther out of your bible also. The root is the same.

 

Neither Christmas or Easter are pagan, no matter how much some want it to be. Pagan holidays worship pagan gods. That is the requirement for them to be pagan holidays. Christmas and Easter celebrate Jesus who is not a pagan god. And although celebrating Jesus birth is not commanded, it is also not forbidden, so there is no law against celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is a tradition which is perfectly alright.  

 

In the case of Easter and xmas we are not worshipping pagan gods -we are worshipping our God with pagan practices and traditions-.there is the difference.-we continue the customs of pagan Saturnalia but we apply them to our Creator even though the intent is honorable the means are wrong.

In the beginning Christians were opposed to Christmas. Most of the controversy erupted over whether Jesus' birthday should be celebrated at all.

The Fathers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries such as Clement, Origen, and Epiphanius contended that Christmas was a copy of pagan celebration.

No matter how you spin it, no matter how much integrity you try to instill in it along with your faith based reverence it's an abomination to God when you mix your faith with the heathen rituals.

 

And furthermore, I am married. I'm not sure how relevant that is to the subject matter.

 

I'm not harping on this to be confrontational, I found after checking out the history and origins of today's seasonal holidays they reek of humanistic manufacture and are basically anti-Christian. We all know the commercial aspects out weighs any  religious significance we mistakenly attach to them.

The lack of divine authorization is enough for me to try to establish whether today's holidays are legitimate in God's eyes not ours.

 

 

Has it ever occurred to you that pagans use what God created to honor Himself, to honor a pagan god? Santa and Easter bunnies are an issue, as they have been given magical qualities, but most real Christians avoid these things. Other then that, I find nothing in Christmas or Easter which is a pagan practice or tradition. Neither Christmas or Easter are celebrated by human sacrifices.

 

I personally think one of the tricks of Satan, is to relate Gods creation to pagan practices. Then he sends Christians on the run trying to avoid all of those things of Gods creation. In my test of this, I entered in and internet search, geometric figures preceeded by the word pagan, pagan triangle, pagan star, pagan square, pagan cross. I got hits on all of them. I then tried heavenly bodies, like pagan moon, pagan stars, pagan planets, pagan sun, and got hits on all of them. I then tried animals, pagan horse, pagan cat, pagan cow, and got hits. Also pagan fish, pagan eagle. Got hits on those too. There are also loads of pagan plants. If we as Christians try to avoid everything Satan has caused people to use in a corrupt manner, all that Christians end up doing is chasing their tails, and getting so focused on avoidance, they create a mess load of laws. Of course Satan has caused some false religion, pagan, to celebrate something every single day of the year, so if we must avoid days to worship God which pagans use, we would never be worshipping God.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating God on any day. And when a community of believers decide on a common day to celebrate and honor God for what He has done, that is good. If you don't like the name 'Easter' just do as others do, call it resurrection day. But, do not let Satan send you running in circles or majoring on minors. Whenever Christians are worshipping and honoring the Lord, God is pleased.   

[fruitfull77]

Excuse me for being off the net for a while.

Try studying under subject matter -the origin of easter, the origin of xmas, the two babylons, the history of Christianity.

Everything is God's creation-it's how we use or apply it God condemns.

A person will find in their research most of today's holidays have been adopted from pagan mythology.

Lent-the Bible has no instructions on it but a 40 day lenten period was observed by pagan Egyptians and Greeks.

The feast of Ascension is kept on the same day as the pagan Germanic festival called Mjollnir. There are endless examples.

When we give pagan traditions new names and continue to observe them we put those customs before God's instructions.

Who should we believe?-God, the author of the Holy Scriptures and our Creator or a church council presided over by a sun-worshiping Roman Emperor who was only converted to what was the Christianity of the day on his death bed. They simply overruled the bible and disregarded the examples and teachings of Jesus and the apostles.

Does God care what days you think you should keep and when?

It was serious enough for God to destroy certain peoples and places.

God shows from scripture He expects more from those who claim to follow Him in spirit and truth-not in corrupted , vile practices rooted in worship of other gods.

Paul addressed the issue of whether pagan customs and practices had any place among God's people - 2 Corinthians 6: 14-18.

Edited September 16, 2013 by fruitfull77