Valentine's Day What's Wrong With Showing Love?

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Valentine's Day

What's Wrong With Showing Love?

 by Dan Dowd 4 comments Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Valentine's Day has long been hugely popular as a romantic tradition despite its ancient and unseemly origins. So what's wrong with celebrating this holiday?

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Valentine's Day it is definitely not a holiday with true Christian values.

Valentine’s Day is all about showing “love,” giving a card or flowers or chocolates to a loved one. All of that’s good, right?  Wrong.
Valentine’s Day is big business. According to the National Retail Foundation, Valentine’s Day for 2012 added around $17.6 billion to the U.S. economy—making retail spending for this day the second-largest behind Christmas.

It does matter to God how we worship Him.

For a lot of people it’s the holiday to express your love to someone special. According to Kemberly King, a business instructor at South University, young adults ages 25 to 34 spend the most on Valentine’s Day gifts. Interestingly, men will outspend women—almost 2 to 1—with the biggest categories for all spending being restaurants, candy, romantic getaways and flowers.
A quick Web search for the origins of Valentine’s Day will give you the basics of the accepted history of the day. A deeper search will acknowledge its pagan origins. The Good News has published a variety of articles on both of these aspects of the holiday.
While Valentine’s Day is the most promoted holiday after Christmas and Easter even among traditional Christian churches, it is definitely not a holiday with true Christian values.

How can “love” be wrong?

There’s nothing wrong in showing love to others—after all, isn’t that the most valued Christian characteristic? But what’s been lost in how we go about it, and how we worship God for that matter, is whether we are actually following what God teaches in the Bible.
It’s like an automobile manufacturer telling you to put only gasoline in the fuel tank, but then you decide that diesel fuel is just as good! It just won’t work.
Here’s a quick review of the background of Valentine’s Day—before exploring a deeper point about this holiday.
By most accepted historians, Valentine’s Day was an adaptation by the Catholic Church of the ancient pagan Roman celebration of Lupercalia, a fertility festival. The Catholic Church updated and connected it to a “Saint” Valentine sometime late in the third century A.D.(though there is some confusion as to who this person actually was). It really took off commercially as a holiday in the late 1800s, promoted as a day to show your “love” to others—especially romantic love to your special someone.
So what’s wrong with that? Here’s the problem: Lupercalia was an immoral fertility festival also featuring gluttony and drunkenness. At the end of the festivities young men would draw the name of a young lady from a box, and the two were considered a pair (sexually and otherwise) for the coming year.
As a festival, Lupercalia was dedicated to the Roman god Pan, recognized as the god of fields, groves and wooded glens—and pictured as having the hindquarters, legs and horns of a goat. This pagan deity was connected to fertility and the season of spring. None of what is connected to the feast of Lupercalia is worthy of a Christian’s observance.

But what’s wrong with a little paganism?

What about showing love on Valentine’s Day if I’m not doing it for pagan reasons? Isn’t that okay? No, because the expression of that kind of “love” is still rooted in a former pagan holiday. True Christians must not adopt pagan festivals as holidays, for they are to strive to please God in everything they do.
Even when you think you’re innocently observing a holiday like this, you’re still advancing the origins and meanings of the day—especially from God’s perspective, as He certainly knows where it came from. God said not to do this. He told the Israelites entering the pagan land of Canaan:

“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise . ‘ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:29-31, emphasis added).

When we merge pagan teachings with what God instructs through the Bible, we weaken the truth and violate God’s clear command.

God’s way is true love

Showing love as God instructs is not wrong—romantic love included. It’s a good thing to express your love toward others through a card, flowers, dinner out or any number of other ways. But don’t do it under the trappings of a pagan holiday like Valentine’s Day! If someone is special to you, then do those things throughout the year rather than waiting until February 14th.
Our worship of God must first and foremost be according to His truth (John 4:24). Carryovers from pagan worship don’t honor Him!
God is personified by the characteristic of love (1 John 4:8). Godly love is genuine outgoing concern for others as God would love them—not as a selfish love. Divine love is reflected in keeping God’s commandments (1 John 5:3), including the Ten Commandments and instruction like that in Deuteronomy cited above.
True Christians should desire to faithfully observe God’s own Holy Days found in the Bible (see Leviticus 23 for a list of them). Celebrating holidays like Valentine’s Day in opposition to God’s instruction does not honor or obey Him—no matter how well intentioned or innocent we believe it to be.
It does matter to God how we worship Him. He expects us to understand the difference between what He has declared holy and the profane teachings, customs and traditions masquerading as godly worship (Ezekiel 22:26).

Valentine's Day true love Lupercalia paganism

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  Dan Dowd

  Dan currently pastors 3 congregations in Wisconsin (Eau Claire, Milwaukee and Oshkosh) and was also the Assistant Managing Editor of the Vertical Thought magazine. He has been associated with God's church since he was a young boy.
  Dan has an Associate degree in Commercial Art with almost 25 years in the publishing/advertising field. He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ambassador College (graduating in 1986), was ordained an elder in 1997 and then was hired full time in 2004 as a minister in United Church of God.

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What are Ash Wednesday and Lent? Does the Bible tell us to celebrate these days?

 by United Church of God 4 comments Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

After Mardi Gras comes Ash Wednesday and 40 days of Lent. Did the early New Testament Church observe these days?

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The Bible does teach the importance of fasting and self-examination, but it does not teach a 40-day period called Lent or an Ash Wednesday of putting ashes on the forehead.

The Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday or Lent, and the early New Testament Church did not observe these days. Here is how the BBC Religion page describes Ash Wednesday and Lent:
“Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches. It’s a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lent fast.
“Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other churches hold special services at which worshippers are marked with ashes as a symbol of death and sorrow for sin…
“The Christian churches that observe Lent in the 21st century (and not all do significantly) use it as a time for prayer and penance. Only a small number of people today fast for the whole of Lent, although some maintain the practice on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It is more common these days for believers to surrender a particular vice such as favourite foods or smoking” (BBC ).
Lent is counted differently by those of the Western Catholic tradition and those of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. “ The western church excludes Sundays (which is celebrated as the day of Christ’s resurrection) whereas the eastern church includes them. The churches also start Lent on different days. Western churches start Lent on the 7th Wednesday before Easter Day (called Ash Wednesday). Eastern churches start Lent on the Monday of the 7th week before Easter and end it on the Friday 9 days before Easter. Eastern churches call this period the ‘Great Lent ‘” (BBC ).
Various biblical events and customs are referred to by those who celebrate these days. The Bible mentions people mourning in sackcloth and ashes. The Bible also talks about repentance and fasting, and the number 40 is prominent in various biblical events.
“The justification for the Lenten 40-day preparation for Easter is traditionally based on Jesus’ 40-day wilderness fast before His temptation by Satan ( Harper’s Bible Dictionary, ‘Lent’; Matthew 4:1-2; Mark 1:13). The problem with this explanation is that this incident is not connected in any way with Jesus’ supposed observance of Easter. The 40-day pre-Easter practice of fasting and penance did not originate in the Bible” (The Good Friday—Easter Sunday Question ).
Some have suggested that Lent may be connected to earlier, pagan holidays. In Ezekiel 8:14, the prophet in vision saw women weeping for the pagan god Tammuz. “It has been suggested by some scholars that the practice of ‘weeping for Tammuz’ was the actual origin of Lent, the Roman Catholic 40-day period of abstinence prior to Easter (starting after Mardi Gras, ‘Fat Tuesday,’ on Ash Wednesday). Consider that the name Easter itself is derived from Ishtar, the ancient Babylonian fertility goddess and Tammuz’s mother”. (See the Bible commentary on Ezekiel 8 for details. )
The Bible does teach the importance of fasting and self-examination, but it does not teach a 40-day period called Lent or an Ash Wednesday of putting ashes on the forehead. These customs appear to have pagan origins, and are not practiced by the United Church of God. We seek to follow the customs and practices of the early New Testament Church as described in the Bible. For more on the biblical religious festivals, such as the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the spring, see God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind .

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What's wrong with Ash Wednesday?

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Ashes, sacrificing for Lent, what could be wrong with that?

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[Darris McNeely] If you happen to see anyone today with an ashen cross on their forehead, don't think that it's just a smudge of dirt. It's Ash Wednesday. And for people who keep this day, that's part of the custom, the ritual of putting a cross on their head in commemoration of Christ, His life, His birth, and the beginning of Lent and the 40 days of fasting.
[Steve Myers] Is that something we need to be a part of? Is that something you should be doing, putting an outward symbol on your forehead? Or for the next 40 days giving up some things like a pack of gum? Or I read on a Catholic website, give up a half an hour of TV because somehow that connects with the sacrifice of Christ? Is that what we should really be doing or is there a whole lot more to it?
[Darris McNeely] These practice that take place during this 40 day period are very interesting. They tend toward a works based approach toward religion, and it's the very opposite of what the Bible says regarding our relationship with God and what we should learn from the very important events of Christ life, and His death, and His resurrection. And it gets down to a more spiritual application than something external and physical.
[Steve Myers] Right. Rather than just being sorry about something or being penitent, you have to repent, you have to change, and that's an inward thing not an outward thing. And there's a connection here in Matthew:6:16Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.. Christ was talking about fasting, but the same applies to putting ashes on your head or giving up a pack of gum for 40 days. Here's what He says, He says, "When you fast, don't make it obvious." That's the New Living translation. He says, "As the hypocrites do for they try to look miserable or disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting." That's not the approach. Christ points to the inside. He says, "When you fast, comb your hair, wash your face, then no one will notice what you're doing," what you're fasting about. He says, "Except your Father who knows what you do in private, and your Father who sees everything will reward you" (Matthew:6:16-18 [16] Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
[17] But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
[18] That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.). So what's God most concerned about? The inside, what's happening inside. Not some outward show. But He wants a relationship with you.  He wants true repentance, not just something to feel sorry about. So it's more important about what's going on inside.
[Darris McNeely] It's the inward man, that change that takes place that really defines our relationship with God. That's what God is most interested in, not in placing ashes on our forehead in some type of symbol.
[Steve Myers] So let's make it our goal to draw closer to God, not on the outside, but on the inside where it really counts.
[Darris McNeely] That's BT Daily . Join us next time. 

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• Man's Holidays

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Does the Bible forbid women from wearing pants?

What does the biblical statute about a woman not wearing anything that pertains to a man mean today?

Answer: Deuteronomy:22:5The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God. says: "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God." Like many of the statutes, this law had to do with pagan customs of the time, and as we will see, does not refer to women wearing pants. The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary explains:
"Disguises were assumed at certain times in pagan temples. Maimonides...mentions that a man attired in a coloured female dress, in honour of Venus, Ashtaroth, or Astarte, and a woman equipped in armour, worshipped at the shrine of the statue of Mars...
"Asiatics, when they engaged in the worship of Ashtaroth, were accustomed, according to Philocorus, quoted by Townley (in his edition of Maimonides, note 33), to exchange the male and female dresses. In fact, all idolators confounded the sexes of their deities—representing them sometimes as male, at other times as female; and hence, their worshippers, male and female, fell gradually into the custom, which became extensively prevalent, of changing their attire in adaptation to the sex of a particular divinity."
God's command to Israel forbade the people from incorporating pagan religious rites into true worship. In spite of this instruction, today's Christianity commonly mixes paganism in with the worship of Christ.
Does Deuteronomy:22:5The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God. forbid women from wearing pants? No, it doesn't. In fact, even men in the Middle East through the history of the Old and New Testaments did not wear pants; they wore a robelike garment. However, there is an underlying principle that applies today. Men should dress in an appropriately masculine manner and women should dress in an appropriately feminine manner. Clothing manufacturers make pants designed for men and pants designed for women.
For more insight, please read our article The Modesty Question: How Far is Too Far?

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Where did Valentine's Day come from? Is it wrong for a Christian to celebrate it?

Like many of the world's major holidays, St. Valentine's Day is an annual observance with its roots entrenched firmly in pagan beliefs and customs. What would God think about Valentine's Day?

Answer:

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The ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, an annual three-day ritual believed to ward off evil spirits and increase fertility, was held on February 13 to 15.
Lupercalia (also known as Februatio, which is where we get the name for our month of February) was popular among many of the new converts to the quick-rising Catholic Church, and as Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays notes, "Everywhere that [mainstream] Christians came into power they immediately adapted the holidays and customs of the people to their own creed” (Robert J. Myers and the editors of Hallmark Cards, 1972, pp. 50-51).
Such was their course of action with this festival of Lupercalia. While Pope Gelasius officially condemned the pagan Roman festival and banned its observance at the end of the fifth century, many of its accompanying practices quickly appeared in a newly established holiday added by him to the official church list of feast days in A.D. 496—St. Valentine's Day.
Soon, people were no longer looking to obtain fertility by being beaten with strips of animal skin called februa. Instead, they turned their focus to St. Valentine, the patron saint of "engaged couples and anyone wishing to marry" (Celebrations, pp. 48-49), whose actual identity is even murkier than what connection he bore to romance.
What amounted to a renamed, refurbished Lupercalia then picked up steam, gradually adapting itself into the Valentine's Day we know today, which included the added elements of Valentine cards and Cupid, the Roman god of erotic love.
Friendship and sending cards are wonderful things, and God is not opposed to romance at the right time in the right way. But does the pagan religious history of Valentine's Day taint the modern practices? What does God have to say about observing pagan traditions, renamed or not?
"When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess…do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods... Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy:12:29-32 [29] When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
[30] Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
[31] Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
[32] What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.).
Though the practices of Lupercalia have been repackaged and dressed up in the form of Valentine's Day, these verses indicate they remain just as detestable as they have always been in our Creator's eyes. Instead of pagan days and practices, our focus should be on the Holy Days God has given us in the Bible, which point us toward His amazing and incomparable plan for all of humanity.
For more information, please read the free Bible study guide  "Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? "



 

• Holidays and Holy Days
• Man's Holidays
• Valentines Day
• What Holy Days and holidays does God want (or not want) us to celebrate?
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Cardinal Dolan, You Can't Have It Both Ways

 

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What does God have to say about religious leaders who call good evil and evil good?

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[Gary Petty] In a recent edition of NBC's Meet the Press, New York's Cardinal Dolan was asked about a situation involving a nationally known athlete who had come out, claiming that he was gay. Cardinal Dolan's response was this: "The same Bible that tells us – that teaches us well about the virtues of chastity and the virtue of fidelity in marriage, also tells us not to judge people, so I would say, 'bravo'."
Well, Cardinal Dolan, you can't have it both ways. You see, the opposite of virtue is vice. The opposite of right is wrong. The opposite of good is evil. Mr. Dolan, what I would suggest you do is read your Bible more – especially the passages that talk about how God is going to judge religious leaders who claim good is evil and evil is good (Isaiah:5:20Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!).
That's BT Daily . Join us next time.

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St. Patrick & St. Patrick's Day

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article by Milan Bizic

Who was this Patrick guy, anyway? Known as the patron saint of Ireland, he's an almost mythological figure in the Christian world, with tall tales of his legendary exploits known far and wide.

Theologian and historian James Moffatt said, "So much legend and fiction has been written about him that one is almost led to believe that there were two individuals—the real Patrick and the fictitious Patrick" ( The Church in Scotland , 1882, p. 140).
There are few hard facts about Patrick's life, but we can draw some reasonable conclusions from what we do know.
Patrick is credited with establishing the Roman Catholic Church throughout Ireland. But does history match tradition? Moffatt commented, "He should not be placed where certain historians seem determined to assign him … He was in no way connected with the type of Christianity which developed in Italy" (ibid).
As it turns out, Patrick probably wasn't even Catholic! His belief system was evidently quite different than that of continental Europe.
It's probable that Patrick even honored God's seventh day Sabbath! "It seems to have been customary in the Celtic churches of early times, in Ireland as well as Scotland, to keep Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as a day of rest from labor" (ibid).
Other historical records and Patrick's own writings reveal him to have been closer to biblical instruction than to traditional Christianity. Part of the Bible's teaching includes rejecting the use of pagan practices in the worship of the true God (Deuteronomy:12:29-32 [29] When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
[30] Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
[31] Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
[32] What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.).
The real Patrick likely wouldn't even have approved of observing his own namesake holiday! This holiday on March 17 was supposedly to commemorate his death, but that date was in fact the time of the Roman Bacchanalia—celebrating the god of wine and partying. It seems the pagan party goes on in another guise. Bear that in mind when March 17 comes around. Forget the leprechauns, and put God first!
Read the related article "Do You Feel Lucky Today? "

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What's wrong with Ash Wednesday?

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Ashes, sacrificing for Lent, what could be wrong with that?

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[Darris McNeely] If you happen to see anyone today with an ashen cross on their forehead, don't think that it's just a smudge of dirt. It's Ash Wednesday. And for people who keep this day, that's part of the custom, the ritual of putting a cross on their head in commemoration of Christ, His life, His birth, and the beginning of Lent and the 40 days of fasting.
[Steve Myers] Is that something we need to be a part of? Is that something you should be doing, putting an outward symbol on your forehead? Or for the next 40 days giving up some things like a pack of gum? Or I read on a Catholic website, give up a half an hour of TV because somehow that connects with the sacrifice of Christ? Is that what we should really be doing or is there a whole lot more to it?
[Darris McNeely] These practice that take place during this 40 day period are very interesting. They tend toward a works based approach toward religion, and it's the very opposite of what the Bible says regarding our relationship with God and what we should learn from the very important events of Christ life, and His death, and His resurrection. And it gets down to a more spiritual application than something external and physical.
[Steve Myers] Right. Rather than just being sorry about something or being penitent, you have to repent, you have to change, and that's an inward thing not an outward thing. And there's a connection here in Matthew:6:16Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.. Christ was talking about fasting, but the same applies to putting ashes on your head or giving up a pack of gum for 40 days. Here's what He says, He says, "When you fast, don't make it obvious." That's the New Living translation. He says, "As the hypocrites do for they try to look miserable or disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting." That's not the approach. Christ points to the inside. He says, "When you fast, comb your hair, wash your face, then no one will notice what you're doing," what you're fasting about. He says, "Except your Father who knows what you do in private, and your Father who sees everything will reward you" (Matthew:6:16-18 [16] Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
[17] But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
[18] That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.). So what's God most concerned about? The inside, what's happening inside. Not some outward show. But He wants a relationship with you.  He wants true repentance, not just something to feel sorry about. So it's more important about what's going on inside.
[Darris McNeely] It's the inward man, that change that takes place that really defines our relationship with God. That's what God is most interested in, not in placing ashes on our forehead in some type of symbol.
[Steve Myers] So let's make it our goal to draw closer to God, not on the outside, but on the inside where it really counts.
[Darris McNeely] That's BT Daily . Join us next time. 

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Mardi Gras - Modern Idolatry?

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The strange revelries of modern culture have their roots in ancient rites and religion.

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[Steve Myers] It's Fat Tuesday. It's the day before Ash Wednesday and it's party time all around the world whether you're in Rio de Janeiro, Paris, New Orleans here in the United States is the party town. And it's the celebrations that are just before Ash Wednesday when people are going to repent and hopefully get right with God is the idea behind it.
[Darris McNeely] Mardi Gras bets up against the period of Lent , which leads up to Easter when some…when according to many religious beliefs something has to be given up as a form of abstinence. And so, the partying, the excess, the revelry right up until Ash Wednesday and that 40 day period becomes…has become more or less just a reason and an excuse to celebrate.  You used to live in New Orleans.
[Steve Myers] Yeah, we used to live in New Orleans and it's interesting Fat Tuesday comes from the idea that you eat as much as you can, you overindulge, you drink as much as you can and then you repent at midnight tonight is when Ash Wednesday begins. They clear the streets. And it's an amazing time. Normally we got out of town because we saw our fill of things just if you watch the newscast and the debauchery down in the French Quarter. People doing unimaginable things just to get little beads to hang around their necks. I mean, it was surprising to see the things that people would do.
[Darris McNeely] When you look at celebrations like this that really have their roots in Medieval history and even in the ancient world, you recognize that in our own modern expressions of culture we have some blatant examples of what really comes down to idolatry and revelry—something that the Apostle Paul warned against in 1 Corinthians 10:7Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
See All..., to the Corinthian church itself a church in a party town. The first century Corinth was quite a…had quite the reputation. But he did say to the people there in verse 7, "Do not become idolaters as were some of them." And he's referring to the example of the children of Israel from Exodus 32. "As it written, 'The people sat down to eat and drank and rose up to play." The NIV translation puts it, they rose up to indulge in revelries, and it's a perfect description of any type of excessive celebration that involves alcohol, drinks, sex, immorality that takes people, you know, against the law of God. And in this case, it has religious connotations at least in it's earliest manifestations as far as what led people to do this.
[Steve Myers] In fact, New Orleans is known for its masks. Well, the masks come from New Orleans where they would cover themselves on Mardi Gras, cover their faces so no one would know who was sinning. And that way they wouldn't be able to hold that against them personally, but they'd repent before God supposedly the next day. But to associate this with religion is, you know, really inexcusable because you cannot. In fact, Paul told the Romans chapter 6 and verse 1. He says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" (Romans 6:1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
See All...). And Paul says certainly not! We cannot. We cannot sin and then think that somehow we can be right with God when we purposely do that. It's unacceptable.
[Darris McNeely] When He gives explicit teaching in this regard, it really is a lesson for every one of us wanting to live by every word of God to look at the examples that are around us in our culture of excess, of immorality, of partying and what the Bible describes as revelries and ask some very hard questions about what we do, what goes on, and how far one should go in taking part in those matters—if they should at all.
[Steve Myers] That's BT Daily . We'll see you next time.

Bible FAQ: What is Mardi Gras? Should Christians celebrate Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday)? 
Bible FAQ: What are Ash Wednesday and Lent? Does the Bible tell us to celebrate these days?

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632.

College Professor Discusses Differences in Christianity

article by Kristin Yarbrough

Jesus said that He didn't come to bring peace to the earth, but division. And that has definitely happened.

Vertical Thought recently interviewed Ronald Wroblewski, who has been an instructor at Spoon River College in Canton, Illinois, for the past 12 years. He teaches such courses as World Religions, Introduction to Philosophy, Ethics, and Logic and Critical Thinking.
Mr. Wroblewski earned a bachelor's degree in political science at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a master's degree in health care administration from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois. He received a bachelor's degree in theology and a master's degree in religious studies from Ambassador College in Pasadena, California.
Mr. Wroblewski attends the Canton, Illinois, congregation of the United Church of God and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. from Bernelli University.
Vertical Thought: At the beginning of your World Religions course, you mention that there are thousands of different Christian churches. If they all trace their beliefs to the Bible, are they really all that different?
Ron Wroblewski: Yes. There are major differences in governance, how rituals are carried out and many other things. It also seems there is a different church for each variation of doctrine that has occurred during the centuries.
There are major differences between Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, of course. Then you have the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists and the Church of God groups. And then there are Pentecostal churches, which are very different from traditional mainline churches like Lutherans and Methodists.
Jesus said that He didn't come to bring peace to the earth, but division. And that has definitely happened.
VT: When did all the differences first start to appear, and why did these Christians—whose name indicates that they are followers of Christ—deviate from what He and His disciples taught?
RW: As we know, differences were referred to in the letters of the New Testament. By the middle of the second century, several major doctrinal divisions were developing. For example, debate began on what happens after death. The controversy over whether human beings have an immortal soul versus whether they are waiting to be resurrected is still with Christianity today.
My personal feelings are that since the early Church expected Christ to return quickly, hope of that was fading after two generations and people began to look for other explanations of what happens after death. When the hope of the early Church didn't come to pass, many people gave up on it.
VT: Where did the alternative ideas originate?
RW: It looks like the Gnostics were the first to attempt to combine portions of Christianity with Greek philosophy. They rejected the resurrection of the body and replaced it with Plato's doctrine of the immortality of the soul. They believed the spirit is everything, the body nothing, and fell into moral licentiousness. Much of their time was spent learning the "correct" magic passwords that would enable the delivered soul to pass back to its heavenly home.
In the second century, [the Catholic theologian] Origen taught that souls might be eternal—preexisting birth and surviving death through reincarnation. He was very sympathetic to the Platonic doctrine of the soul as being akin to God but obliged to live in a material world that is not its true home.
Another church father, Augustine, also attempted to combine Plato's ideas about the immortality of the soul with Christian teachings. Many of these doctrinal divisions came to a head in the fourth century when the Roman emperor Constantine forced them to be settled by the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.
VT: How did the Roman emperor get involved in Christianity? Didn't the Romans persecute Christians?
RW: At first, many Christians were killed for refusing to worship the emperor. Later, Constantine saw Christianity as something that could bring unity to his far-flung empire. But to do so, the disputes that divided Christianity had to be resolved. He called for a meeting of all bishops at Nicaea [in what is now northwestern Turkey] in A.D. 325 to discuss these issues.
After heated debate at the Council of Nicaea, Constantine made several declarations, one of which established Sunday as the official day of worship. It is noteworthy that Constantine's stated motive for introducing this custom was respect for the sun. He was not aware of any mutual exclusiveness between Christianity and his faith in the sun. The transition from solar monotheism (the most popular form of contemporary paganism) to Christianity was not difficult.
Constantine also decreed that Christians would observe Easter, and it would be forbidden to keep Passover. In fact, he stated that Christians were to stay away from anything that was "Jewish."
VT: Is that why other observances listed in the Bible, like Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, disappeared from modern Christianity?
RW: Yes. The Romans turned to persecuting all things Jewish, and Christians often had to decide whether to hold what appeared to be Jewish beliefs and likely suffer persecution or to worship on different dates and avoid that persecution.
Easter definitely replaced Passover. Wiccans claim Christians stole Easter from them. One text I use in class, Phyllis Curott's Book of Shadows , explains that the name Easter comes from the name of the German fertility goddess Eostre. Eggs and rabbits—commonly associated with the holiday—are symbols of fertility.
The Catholic Church timed Easter to coincide with the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox, another remnant of the old (pagan) religion just below the surface of the new.
VT: Did this happen with other modern Christian holidays?
RW: Other holidays were adopted to add numbers to the church without requiring people to give up their cherished practices. There are letters between bishops that discuss ways to convert pagans. The answer was to attempt to eliminate the worst of the practices and put the others under the umbrella of Christianity. They simply changed the name of who was being worshipped. Christmas, originally the birthday of the sun god, became the day to worship the Son of God.
VT: So did the controversy stop after the Council of Nicaea?
RW: No. The [Catholic] church split in A.D. 1054 into the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East. Some of the issues that led to this split included the pope's authority, the use of statues in worship versus the use of icons and whether priests would be allowed to marry.
A second major split—known as the Protestant Reformation—happened in the 16th century. There had been growing dissatisfaction with some of the church's teachings and in 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to stimulate discussion on several of these issues, such as the belief in purgatory, the sale of indulgences [buying one's or another's way out of purgatory] and confession to priests. Ultimately, this led to the start of the Lutheran Church.
King Henry VIII of England also broke away from the Catholic Church to establish the Anglican Church. Still other issues led to further splits within the Christian community. Some of those include transubstantiation (whether the bread and wine become Christ's actual body and blood or whether they are just symbols) and whether works (good deeds) were necessary for salvation. Others debate what happens to people when they die, at what age one must be baptized and whether immersion in water is necessary for baptism or whether sprinkling is sufficient.
VT: Which doctrinal shift do you think changed Christianity most?
RW: The Council of Nicaea was definitely a major shifting point, with the settling of the controversial questions. The Protestant Reformation was another major turning point. But the Protestants, while eliminating several of the serious abuses of the Catholic Church, didn't go far enough in restoring the original faith of the first-century Church. VT
Editor's note: If you'd like to learn more about the original Christianity taught by Jesus and practiced by the first-century Church, request our free booklet The Church Jesus Built .

What are Ash Wednesday and Lent? Does the Bible tell us to celebrate these days?

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632.

What are Ash Wednesday and Lent? Does the Bible tell us to celebrate these days?


After Mardi Gras comes Ash Wednesday and 40 days of Lent. Did the early New Testament Church observe these days?



Answer:







Source: Photos.comThe Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday or Lent, and the early New Testament Church did not observe these days. Here is how the BBC Religion page describes Ash Wednesday and Lent:



"Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches. It's a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lent fast.



"Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other churches hold special services at which worshippers are marked with ashes as a symbol of death and sorrow for sin…



"The Christian churches that observe Lent in the 21st century (and not all do significantly) use it as a time for prayer and penance. Only a small number of people today fast for the whole of Lent, although some maintain the practice on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It is more common these days for believers to surrender a particular vice such as favourite foods or smoking" (BBC ).



Lent is counted differently by those of the Western Catholic tradition and those of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. "The western church excludes Sundays (which is celebrated as the day of Christ's resurrection) whereas the eastern church includes them. The churches also start Lent on different days. Western churches start Lent on the 7th Wednesday before Easter Day (called Ash Wednesday). Eastern churches start Lent on the Monday of the 7th week before Easter and end it on the Friday 9 days before Easter. Eastern churches call this period the 'Great Lent'" (BBC ).



Various biblical events and customs are referred to by those who celebrate these days. The Bible mentions people mourning in sackcloth and ashes. The Bible also talks about repentance and fasting, and the number 40 is prominent in various biblical events.



"The justification for the Lenten 40-day preparation for Easter is traditionally based on Jesus' 40-day wilderness fast before His temptation by Satan ( Harper's Bible Dictionary, 'Lent'; Matthew 4:1-2 [1] Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

[2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.





See All...; Mark 1:13And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.



See All...). The problem with this explanation is that this incident is not connected in any way with Jesus' supposed observance of Easter. The 40-day pre-Easter practice of fasting and penance did not originate in the Bible" ("The Good Friday—Easter Sunday Question).



Some have suggested that Lent may be connected to earlier, pagan holidays. In Ezekiel 8:14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.



See All..., the prophet in vision saw women weeping for the pagan god Tammuz. "It has been suggested by some scholars that the practice of 'weeping for Tammuz' was the actual origin of Lent, the Roman Catholic 40-day period of abstinence prior to Easter (starting after Mardi Gras, 'Fat Tuesday,' on Ash Wednesday). Consider that the name Easter itself is derived from Ishtar, the ancient Babylonian fertility goddess and Tammuz's mother".



The Bible does teach the importance of fasting and self-examination, but it does not teach a 40-day period called Lent or an Ash Wednesday of putting ashes on the forehead. These customs appear to have pagan origins, and are not practiced by the United Church of God. We seek to follow the customs and practices of the early New Testament Church as described in the Bible. For more on the biblical religious festivals, such as the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the spring, see God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind .

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What is Mardi Gras? Should Christians celebrate Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday)?

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632.

What is Mardi Gras? Should Christians celebrate Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday)?


Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French (called Pancake Tuesday in England) and is associated with the Roman Catholic custom of Lent. But is it taught in the Bible? Would God want Christians to celebrate it?



Answer:







Source: Photos.comThe idea behind Mardi Gras or carnival celebrations is that people overindulge before giving up something for Lent, which begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. (Lent is the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter observed by the Roman Catholic, Eastern and some Protestant churches as a period of penitence and fasting.)



Note the following encyclopedia article excerpt:



"Some scholars have noted similarities between modern Mardi Gras celebrations and Lupercalia, a fertility festival held each February in ancient Rome. However, modern Carnival traditions developed in Europe during the Middle Ages (5th century to the 15th century) as part of the ritual calendar of the Roman Catholic Church.



"Today pre-Lenten Carnivals are celebrated predominantly in Roman Catholic communities in Europe and the Americas. Cities famous for their celebrations include Nice, France; Cologne, Germany; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. New Orleans, Louisiana, holds the most famous Mardi Gras celebration in the United States. Residents of New Orleans have been celebrating Mardi Gras since the 18th century" ("Mardi Gras," Encarta).



Mardi Gras "is a lively, colorful [not to mention bawdy and debased] celebration held on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins," says the World Book Encyclopedia. It "goes back to an ancient Roman custom of merrymaking before a period of fast." In places like New Orleans, the period of merrymaking with fancy balls and parades goes on for weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday itself.



It has been suggested by some scholars that the pagan practice of "weeping for Tammuz" that Ezekiel decried (Ezekiel 8:14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.



See All...) was the actual origin of Lent. Tammuz was a pagan god associated with death and rebirth in nature and the husband of the goddess Ishtar (See the Good News Bible Reading Program's commentary on Ezekiel 8 for details.)



The idea of partying before repenting seems to be to get as much revelry and additional sin out of the way before you decide to do anything about it. But that attitude doesn't show a belief that God's way is really right and that sin is really wrong, harmful and something to be avoided because it wars against us (1 Peter 2:11Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;



See All...) and is contrary to God's instruction (Romans 13:13-14 [13] Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

[14] But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.





See All...). It doesn't show the 100 percent commitment that God wants (Romans 12:1-2 [1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

[2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.





See All...).



God says we should always live holy lives and obey His laws because they are good for us (Deuteronomy 10:12-13 [12] And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

[13] To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?





See All...). Satan is the one who wants us to think that doing wrong things is fun, and his deception has been quite successful (Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.



See All...; 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.



See All...).



Neither Mardi Gras nor Lent are commanded in the Bible but come from pre-Christian, pagan customs. What does God think about such pagan customs?



"When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess…do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods... Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:29-32 [29] When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;

[30] Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.

[31] Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

[32] What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.





See All...).



The New Testament continues this theme. The apostle Paul addressed the issue of whether outside religious customs and practices had any place among Christians:



"What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'



"Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.' Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 6:14Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?



See All...–18; 7:1).



Instead of renaming some of the pagan customs as Christian or allowing the new converts to retain some of their former practices, Paul commanded them to leave behind all of these forms of worship.



Mardi Gras celebrations have nothing to do with God's commanded Holy Days. On the contrary, they are part of the system from which God's people should separate themselves.



For more information, please read our booklet "Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?"

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