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Where do we draw the line?
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This is meant for discussion and to really get you thinking. Not for arguments or pointing fingers. How well do you know your "Christian" holidays and the way they are celebrated? Have you ever looked into the word "Easter" and where it originated from along with the Easter Bunny and eggs? Why do we mix this bunny in with the death and ressurection of Christ. Why do we mix Santa Claus in with the birth of Christ? Are we not celebrating paganism also? Why? Oh, it's about the children. Are we not lying to our children then? I do not sit here and consider myself anything but a servant of God. My faults and sins are just as numerous as the other guys. But when you try to serve a living God when walking around in a sinful world, you have to ask yourself these questions. Am I participating in something that my Father in heaven finds unpleasing and down right blasphemous. Is what we are doing or celebrating a sweet aroma and well pleasing to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?
Father I pray you help us to seek out the truth and make sure what we do and say is well pleasing to you.
This post was edited by Mark Duell at March 25, 2016 9:04 AM EDT -
Hi, Mark, while it's true that many of our "holidays" have pagan roots, I don't think they are really pagan anymore. I think they have been so watered down over time that they're not really anything anymore just things we do with our families as our forefathers have done. It's almost like a tradition. We do it because its how we were brought up and we don't really know any better, we just know the tradition. For example, the Easter Bunny is a part of Easter and Santa Claus is a part of Christmas and brings gifts to the children who were nice that year. I may not see any fault in it personally because I was brought up with those things, I like those things I think those things are fun for children and good stories and activities like the easter egg hunts at easter time, and trick or treating at Halloween. But that's just my two cents, I am just a man like you and have no real knowledge or understanding on how the Lord sees those things. I can't really say if they are appauling to Him or not. If you really want to know for sure, I think you should ask Him though that is just a suggestion.
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Hi Mark! I do get what you're saying, that such practices may seem to belittle the person and sacrifices of God. We should all be led by the Holy Spirit in these practices (and in all things, of course). If we do anything that involves people's feelings, I pray we can do it in kindness and love.
In practice this subject can be complicated. For instance, my family members (at least the living ones) are not even believers. When my little niece and nephew believe in Santa Claus and my sister (their mom) thinks it's fine, I would not say it's a great witness to make the kids cry :-). The kids will outgrow these ideas anyway, just like we all did, and I believe they will be fine.
Naturally, if we were talking about a Christian family, I would hope they would teach them the birth and the resurrection. If they do include a bit of Santa and the bunny in there, I tend to think our God is big enough to show who He is, especially after the childish things fall away :).
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Somehow watching alll of the hoopla over politics and especially the recent furor over Orlando and homosexuals and the LGBT agenda to convert and pervert our young people into paganism is certainly disturbing to me as a Christian! This began with the rise of New Age Philoosophy in the early 80's; it would seem that Biblical prophecies about the New Rome and Babyon are directed at the Nation in which we reside. Living in the USA and watching the slide of all that seemed good and right about her, I believe we are going to witness something our fathers and grandfathers would never believe possible. Christians should be preparing themselves for persecution and heretofore unthinkable circumstances as not seen in nearly two thousand years for Followers of the Way!
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Brother, we are all entitled to our opinions, but personally, I would rather spend my time being thankful that God has not condemned me for my sins, rather than pointing fingers at other people. The incident in Orlando was a tragedy, and I plan to continue to pray for all involved.
[blockquote]Rev.Donald L Mercer said:
Somehow watching alll of the hoopla over politics and especially the recent furor over Orlando and homosexuals and the LGBT agenda to convert and pervert our young people into paganism is certainly disturbing to me as a Christian! This began with the rise of New Age Philoosophy in the early 80's; it would seem that Biblical prophecies about the New Rome and Babyon are directed at the Nation in which we reside. Living in the USA and watching the slide of all that seemed good and right about her, I believe we are going to witness something our fathers and grandfathers would never believe possible. Christians should be preparing themselves for persecution and heretofore unthinkable circumstances as not seen in nearly two thousand years for Followers of the Way!
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Mr. Mercer, I respectfully disagree with your statement, but I agree with Mrs. Todd's. We all have the right to our own opinions and we have all been gifted with free will by the Father to believe whatever we want. The incident in Orlando was a tragedy and so was the loss of life over a needless act of violence. I pray not only for the victims of this henious act, but also for those responsible because I feel it is how Jesus would prefer us to respond. Rather than fight hate with more hate, which has proven to be ineffective, why not fight hate with prayer and let God take whatever action He deems necessary? I don't know anything about this "New Age Philiosophy" of which you speak, I've never heard anything about it. I have a different view of politics but perhaps one just as ugly as yours. That is why I pray that God comes back to this country and straightens things out for us. And I apologize for getting into politics here on this site, and I hope Sylvia and Pastor Dion can forgive me for what I am about to say; but I think Donald Trump is the best candidate for the presicency.
He is not a politician but a businessman anc CEO of a multi-billion dollar business, while it's true that I don't trust his motives, I think he is the most likely to Bring Jesus to Washington with him as that's another prayer of mine :) And I would happy trust Jesus to run this country.
This post was edited by Tyler Velau at June 15, 2016 5:46 PM EDT -
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Agreed, Tyler, and we do not care who you support :). We know your heart is with Him!
[blockquote]Tyler Velau said:
Mr. Mercer, I respectfully disagree with your statement, but I agree with Mrs. Todd's. We all have the right to our own opinions and we have all been gifted with free will by the Father to believe whatever we want. The incident in Orlando was a tragedy and so was the loss of life over a needless act of violence. I pray not only for the victims of this henious act, but also for those responsible because I feel it is how Jesus would prefer us to respond. Rather than fight hate with more hate, which has proven to be ineffective, why not fight hate with prayer and let God take whatever action He deems necessary? I don't know anything about this "New Age Philiosophy" of which you speak, I've never heard anything about it. I have a different view of politics but perhaps one just as ugly as yours. That is why I pray that God comes back to this country and straightens things out for us. And I apologize for getting into politics here on this site, and I hope Sylvia and Pastor Dion can forgive me for what I am about to say; but I think Donald Trump is the best candidate for the presicency.
He is not a politician but a businessman anc CEO of a multi-billion dollar business, while it's true that I don't trust his motives, I think he is the most likely to Bring Jesus to Washington with him as that's another prayer of mine :) And I would happy trust Jesus to run this country.
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Thank you, Pastor Dion and Sylvia :) Not sure if politics is an "off limits" topic here or not because this is a ministry and it's about Jesus and not who's running what country. And on that note, I would like an opportunity to touch on something I mentioned. The thing I noticed some people do, myself included, is we jump into rash judgement and we're raising our fists in the air and we shout "Down with those jerks!" That isn't what I think we should do, but it happens especially after a tragic event occurs, you could say it's a natural response. But I think a better response would be to ask ourselves "What would Jesus want us to do?" "What did Jesus teach his deciples to do in such situations?" I think if people were to ask those questions, they would at least stop to think and maybe, just maybe they would calm down and realize what the answer is, peace, love, mercy, forgiveness, those are things that he spoke of, those are things the Lord says to show one another. And, at least to me, they are the answers that pop into my head which is why I am able to pray for the ones who committ attrocities like the horrible event in Orlando. Why I can pray for corrupt politicians and CEOs who don't give a rat's behind about anything but their bank accounts. I can pray for them because I think it's what Jesus would want me to do. I pray out of peace, and mercy because it is written in the bible as the thing to do, right? Pray and let God do the heavy lifting, isnt that what the Bible says? I know I paraphrased there, but I think that's the jist of it. It is my hope that more people would join me and pray rather than get angry and fight hate with hate. I think hate is wrong no matter how you look at it.
This post was edited by Tyler Velau at June 15, 2016 9:38 PM EDT -
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Very well said, brother :)! One thing I try to remember is that the person I may dislike most in the world is still loved by God just as much as He loves me. It's true, the mob mentality seems to lower people's ability to think clearly, but hopefully as time goes on, clearer thoughts will prevail.
As for politics, I would not say that it is "off limits", but I would say that most people don't seem to be able to discuss it civilly (not you, of course ;)). We are not up for having people be rude or disrespectul anywhere on this website, but I'm sure you realize that :).
[blockquote]Tyler Velau said:
Thank you, Pastor Dion and Sylvia :) Not sure if politics is an "off limits" topic here or not because this is a ministry and it's about Jesus and not who's running what country. And on that note, I would like an opportunity to touch on something I mentioned. The thing I noticed some people do, myself included, is we jump into rash judgement and we're raising our fists in the air and we shout "Down with those jerks!" That isn't what I think we should do, but it happens especially after a tragic event occurs, you could say it's a natural response. But I think a better response would be to ask ourselves "What would Jesus want us to do?" "What did Jesus teach his deciples to do in such situations?" I think if people were to ask those questions, they would at least stop to think and maybe, just maybe they would calm down and realize what the answer is, peace, love, mercy, forgiveness, those are things that he spoke of, those are things the Lord says to show one another. And, at least to me, they are the answers that pop into my head which is why I am able to pray for the ones who committ attrocities like the horrible event in Orlando. Why I can pray for corrupt politicians and CEOs who don't give a rat's behind about anything but their bank accounts. I can pray for them because I think it's what Jesus would want me to do. I pray out of peace, and mercy because it is written in the bible as the thing to do, right? Pray and let God do the heavy lifting, isnt that what the Bible says? I know I paraphrased there, but I think that's the jist of it. It is my hope that more people would join me and pray rather than get angry and fight hate with hate. I think hate is wrong no matter how you look at it.
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