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Question about Easter
- Thread starter GeorgeB
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If you dont speak to Christian saints about sin, they dont know about sin, but when they hear, they have sin and now have no excuse for sinning and breaking the commandments. Whereas they cant use saved by grace as an excuse to sin and break the commandments.
RM 6:1-2, 11-13, JN 15:22, RM 1:19-20, JN 9:41, JAMES 4:15-17, RM 2:8-10, HEB 10:26; 6:4-6; 2ND PT 2:20-22
Some Christian saints presume they can invoke el to have compassion and perform every request without complying according to the Scriptures.
1st JN 5:14-15, HEB 2:4, LK 12:47-48, EX 20:6
Most Christians are adamant about believing that they can sin without having repercussions, and insist the punishment which they dont realize theyre suffering from sin will be rectified through sacrificial prayer and not obedience.
1st SAMUEL 15-22-23, GAL 5:20-21, LK 9:57-62; 13:25-28, ECCLES 5:1
Does it seem at times, some saints and Christians dont mind suffering from curses, even though you point out to them in the scriptures why they are experiencing trouble in their life? Whats wrong with these unbelieving Christian saints and how do you confront their denial in order to bring them from destruction?
RM 6:1-2, 11-13, JN 15:22, RM 1:19-20, JN 9:41, JAMES 4:15-17, RM 2:8-10, HEB 10:26; 6:4-6; 2ND PT 2:20-22
Some Christian saints presume they can invoke el to have compassion and perform every request without complying according to the Scriptures.
1st JN 5:14-15, HEB 2:4, LK 12:47-48, EX 20:6
Most Christians are adamant about believing that they can sin without having repercussions, and insist the punishment which they dont realize theyre suffering from sin will be rectified through sacrificial prayer and not obedience.
1st SAMUEL 15-22-23, GAL 5:20-21, LK 9:57-62; 13:25-28, ECCLES 5:1
Does it seem at times, some saints and Christians dont mind suffering from curses, even though you point out to them in the scriptures why they are experiencing trouble in their life? Whats wrong with these unbelieving Christian saints and how do you confront their denial in order to bring them from destruction?
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Oblio
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And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
(Luke 2:12-20 KJVA)
If it is good enough for the heavenly hosts, the angels and the shepherds who God was pleased to have greet His Son, it is good enough for me !
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Oblio
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Then why is He called such in the infallible word of God ?
Why does that matter ? Why do we celebrate Presidents day on a day when the President may or may not have been born ? What about the Queens birthday (always the same day) ? The important thing is to honor His Incarnation. Start another thread as it is not germane to this one.
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Iollain
Jer 18:2-6
BarbB said:We are going to celebrate his resurrection at Passover this year. Our Hebrew Class and Shabbat group will celebrate together.
Iollain, I couldn't do this if my family were closer! It would be too difficult! You are so perceptive!
Kewl. I would drag my family there if they liked the idea or not, wouldn't hurt them a bit to get a Messianic Jewish perspective on the Passover
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BarbB
I stand with my brothers and sisters in Israel!
Iollain said:Kewl. I would drag my family there if they liked the idea or not, wouldn't hurt them a bit to get a Messianic Jewish perspective on the Passover
Come on down - weather's in the 70's F and lots of sunshine. And I'm about 1-1/4 hours from Disneyworld!
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Iollain said:Oh, when is that?
It isn't a coincidence that the first 3 Miqra are 3 days in a row. They represent His sacrifice.
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Christmas came from Catholics which held services for pagan worshippers during the solstice festival which honored all the gods, are you Catholic?
In the Roman Empire, the celebrations of Saturn during the week of the solstice, with their climax on December 25th, were the main social event. In order to make it easier for the Romans to convert to Christianity without missing out on their festivities, Pope Julius I ordered in 350 that the birth of Christ be celebrated on the same date.
Some scholars maintain that December 25 was only adopted in the 4th century as a Christian holiday after Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity to encourage a common religious festival for both Christians and pagans. Perusal of historical records indicates that the first mention of such a feast in Constantinople was not until 379, under Gregory Nazianzus. In Rome, it can only be confirmed as being mentioned in a document from approximately 350 but without any mention of sanction by Emperor Constantine.
An alternative theory asserts that the date of Christmas is based on the date of Good Friday, the day Jesus died. Since the exact date of Jesus' death is not stated in the Gospels, early Christians sought to calculate it, and arrived at either March 25 or April 6. To then calculate the date of Jesus' birth, they followed the ancient idea that Old Testament prophets died at an "integral age" either an anniversary of their birth or of their conception. They reasoned that Jesus died on an anniversary of the Incarnation (his conception), so the date of his birth would have been nine months after the date of Good Friday either December 25 or January 6. Thus, rather than the date of Christmas being appropriated from pagans by Christians, the opposite is held to have occurred. [See Duchesne (1902) and Talley (1986).]
Another extremely popular cult of Persian origin, in those days was that of Mithras. The similarities between Jesus and Mithras are many. Mithras was born on December 25th of virgin birth, the son of the primary Persian deity, Ahura-Mazda. His birth was witnessed by shepherds and magi. He was reputed to have raised the dead, healed the sick and cast out demons. He was killed and resurrected, returned to heaven on the spring equinox after a last meal with his 12 disciples (representing the signs of the zodiac), eating "mizd" - a piece of bread marked with a cross (an almost universal symbol of the sun). The Mithraic cult peaked around the year 300 AD when it became the official religion of the empire. At that time, in every town and city, in every military garrison and outpost from Syria to the Scottish frontier, was to be found a Mithraeum and officiating priests of the cult. This is not to suggest that the Mithraic cult was the only factor in this syncretization, many pagan gods had similar aspects of mythology (e.g. resurrection, virgin mother etc).
Early Christians chiefly celebrated the Epiphany, when the baby Jesus was visited by the Magi (and this is still a primary time for celebration in Argentina, Spain and Armenia). Historians are unsure exactly when Christians first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. At times it was forbidden by Protestant churches until after the 1800s because of its association with Catholicism.
In the Roman Empire, the celebrations of Saturn during the week of the solstice, with their climax on December 25th, were the main social event. In order to make it easier for the Romans to convert to Christianity without missing out on their festivities, Pope Julius I ordered in 350 that the birth of Christ be celebrated on the same date.
Some scholars maintain that December 25 was only adopted in the 4th century as a Christian holiday after Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity to encourage a common religious festival for both Christians and pagans. Perusal of historical records indicates that the first mention of such a feast in Constantinople was not until 379, under Gregory Nazianzus. In Rome, it can only be confirmed as being mentioned in a document from approximately 350 but without any mention of sanction by Emperor Constantine.
An alternative theory asserts that the date of Christmas is based on the date of Good Friday, the day Jesus died. Since the exact date of Jesus' death is not stated in the Gospels, early Christians sought to calculate it, and arrived at either March 25 or April 6. To then calculate the date of Jesus' birth, they followed the ancient idea that Old Testament prophets died at an "integral age" either an anniversary of their birth or of their conception. They reasoned that Jesus died on an anniversary of the Incarnation (his conception), so the date of his birth would have been nine months after the date of Good Friday either December 25 or January 6. Thus, rather than the date of Christmas being appropriated from pagans by Christians, the opposite is held to have occurred. [See Duchesne (1902) and Talley (1986).]
Another extremely popular cult of Persian origin, in those days was that of Mithras. The similarities between Jesus and Mithras are many. Mithras was born on December 25th of virgin birth, the son of the primary Persian deity, Ahura-Mazda. His birth was witnessed by shepherds and magi. He was reputed to have raised the dead, healed the sick and cast out demons. He was killed and resurrected, returned to heaven on the spring equinox after a last meal with his 12 disciples (representing the signs of the zodiac), eating "mizd" - a piece of bread marked with a cross (an almost universal symbol of the sun). The Mithraic cult peaked around the year 300 AD when it became the official religion of the empire. At that time, in every town and city, in every military garrison and outpost from Syria to the Scottish frontier, was to be found a Mithraeum and officiating priests of the cult. This is not to suggest that the Mithraic cult was the only factor in this syncretization, many pagan gods had similar aspects of mythology (e.g. resurrection, virgin mother etc).
Early Christians chiefly celebrated the Epiphany, when the baby Jesus was visited by the Magi (and this is still a primary time for celebration in Argentina, Spain and Armenia). Historians are unsure exactly when Christians first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. At times it was forbidden by Protestant churches until after the 1800s because of its association with Catholicism.
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Would your Savior agree to this?
Many different dates have been suggested for the celebration of Christmas. The theories for the reason Christmas is celebrated on December 25 are many and varied; none are universally accepted.
From early antiquity, the days following the winter solstice on December 21 were of particular significance to cultures who worshipped sun gods. These cultures believed that their sun god was born on December 21st, the shortest day of the year, and that the days grew longer as their god aged. Other cultures believed that their deity died on this day, only to return for another cycle.
It is alleged that, according to Celtic Mythology, the sun god was crucified on the winter solstice, and three days later, as the days grew longer again, he rose from the dead. It is said that this was the origin of the Celtic cross, symbolising the crucified sun god, thus making it a few thousand years older than Christianity. Nevertheless, there is no record of the Celts actually ever practicing crucifixion or stories of any crucifixion of a "Celtic Sun God" before 19th century source. Crosses and circles are found worldwide as solar symbol, whether or not a particular culture practiced crucifixion.
The context in which Christianity, and thus Christmas, formed was during the Roman Empire. The Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, each year beginning on December 17. In a festival called Saturnalia, they glorified past days when the god Saturn ruled. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which according to the Julian calendar, fell on December 25. During Saturnalia the Romans feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. Such traditions resemble those of Christmas and are used to establish a link between the two holidays.
These and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month as well as the beginning of the religious year. As Isaac Asimov comments in his Guide to the Bible, "[c]onverts could join Christianity without giving up their Saturnalian happiness. It was only necessary for them to joyfully greet the birth of the Son rather than the Sun." Note that in Latin, the words for "son" ('filius') and "sun" ('sol') do not in the least bit resemble each other, making such pseudo-linguistic comparisons patently absurd.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Christmas is not included in Irenaeus's nor Tertullian's list of Christian feasts, the earliest known lists of Christian feasts. The earliest evidence of celebration is from Alexandria, in about 200, when Clement of Alexandria says that certain Egyptian theologians "over curiously" assign not just the year but also the actual day of Christ's birth as 25 Pachon (May 20) in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus.[2] By the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325, the Alexandrian church had fixed a dies Nativitatis et Epiphaniae. The December feast reached Egypt in the fifth century. In Jerusalem, the fourth century pilgrimEgeria from Bordeaux witnessed the Feast of the Presentation, forty days after January 6, which must have been the date of the Nativity there. At Antioch, probably in 386, St. John Chrysostom urged the community to unite in celebrating Christ's birth on December 25, a part of the community having already kept it on that day for at least ten years.
Many different dates have been suggested for the celebration of Christmas. The theories for the reason Christmas is celebrated on December 25 are many and varied; none are universally accepted.
From early antiquity, the days following the winter solstice on December 21 were of particular significance to cultures who worshipped sun gods. These cultures believed that their sun god was born on December 21st, the shortest day of the year, and that the days grew longer as their god aged. Other cultures believed that their deity died on this day, only to return for another cycle.
It is alleged that, according to Celtic Mythology, the sun god was crucified on the winter solstice, and three days later, as the days grew longer again, he rose from the dead. It is said that this was the origin of the Celtic cross, symbolising the crucified sun god, thus making it a few thousand years older than Christianity. Nevertheless, there is no record of the Celts actually ever practicing crucifixion or stories of any crucifixion of a "Celtic Sun God" before 19th century source. Crosses and circles are found worldwide as solar symbol, whether or not a particular culture practiced crucifixion.
The context in which Christianity, and thus Christmas, formed was during the Roman Empire. The Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, each year beginning on December 17. In a festival called Saturnalia, they glorified past days when the god Saturn ruled. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which according to the Julian calendar, fell on December 25. During Saturnalia the Romans feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. Such traditions resemble those of Christmas and are used to establish a link between the two holidays.
These and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month as well as the beginning of the religious year. As Isaac Asimov comments in his Guide to the Bible, "[c]onverts could join Christianity without giving up their Saturnalian happiness. It was only necessary for them to joyfully greet the birth of the Son rather than the Sun." Note that in Latin, the words for "son" ('filius') and "sun" ('sol') do not in the least bit resemble each other, making such pseudo-linguistic comparisons patently absurd.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Christmas is not included in Irenaeus's nor Tertullian's list of Christian feasts, the earliest known lists of Christian feasts. The earliest evidence of celebration is from Alexandria, in about 200, when Clement of Alexandria says that certain Egyptian theologians "over curiously" assign not just the year but also the actual day of Christ's birth as 25 Pachon (May 20) in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus.[2] By the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325, the Alexandrian church had fixed a dies Nativitatis et Epiphaniae. The December feast reached Egypt in the fifth century. In Jerusalem, the fourth century pilgrimEgeria from Bordeaux witnessed the Feast of the Presentation, forty days after January 6, which must have been the date of the Nativity there. At Antioch, probably in 386, St. John Chrysostom urged the community to unite in celebrating Christ's birth on December 25, a part of the community having already kept it on that day for at least ten years.
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