Christmas//Easter???

[True-believer]

Hello everyone,

I am feeling kinda depressed currently.

I had a very intense debate//discussion with a group of Filipino's from my Church today on Sabbath about Christmas and Easter, and they are dead against both saying it is too pagan.

I tried to tell them Easter is a special time in the year that Christians unite to celebrate together the crucifixion and ressurection of Jesus Christ.

I also tried to tell them that Christmas on december 25th--yes, it's not Jesus birthday, but it is the one day we as Christians have been given to celebrate the birthday of Jesus and His birth.

But they had their minds closed to those ideas and just kept on preaching it was pagan.

I need help from you all to please comment back and tell me your thoughts on Easter and Christmas.

This is a very important issue.

Please respond......................

[phkrause]

Luke I think or believe that most SDA know that these 2 holidays are not at the correct time and were originally of pagan origin. We choose to cellibrate christmas with the rest of the christian world because we do not know the exact date. As far as easter is concerned its also based on a pagan holiday but I prefer Passover, not sure why the church doesn't do the Lord's Supper at or around Passover time. Because don't forget Jesus was crucified the friday after he celibrated passover and instituted the Lord's supper and the foot washing. And being of Jewish descent myself I prefer this. Also the other reason I would do the foot washing and Lord's supper at or around passover is because the Jews have the correct time period. Anyway I hope this helps a little. And don't be depressed, no reason to. And never force something on people, it just might take them away from following the Lord. Allow people to grow and learn, the HS will do the rest. Hope you had a good Sabbath.

pk

[Woody]

Luke ... These people typically think that once pagan ... always pagan. IOWs ... pagans can control what Christians do. If at ANY time ... a pagan does something on a particular day ... then it is forever devoted to that cause.

This is the way the Devil gains a foothold on Christian beliefs and celebrations. No matter what day a Christian would want to set aside ... the pagans will have some hold on the day. It is not possible to escape them.

It is my belief that we as Christians can choose any day we want. And if it was at one time pagan ... so be it. We can change it into something good and make it our own.

How many pagans do you know of that celebrate either Christmas or Easter? Who OWNS Christmas and Easter? Who has turned it into something good? It is what we do on these days that make it good or bad. Don't let the pagans own either day. They don't. If they had their way ... we would not be able to celebrate the birth of Jesus on ANY day. Don't let them pagans win.

It is my opinion that your friends are worshipping pagans by their stance. Don't tell them that. Just pray for them. But, don't expect them to change. Just let them be. They are missing out. But they will just have to find a way to fill the void and counter the bad influence they have on others.

[olger]

HEY LUKE ADAM GOSS

both Christmas and Easter are pagan holiday

the Catholic church tried to change the dates so

more pagans would join the catholic church

THE pagans believe that the sun was going to fall

to the earth and would burn it up the believed this

because in the winter months the sun seemed to get close

to the earth they also notice that on DEC 22 the sun did

not coming closer and that on DEC 25 sun was going

back up into the sky since the pagans believed this]

the catholic church said he you can worship on this day

but why not worship the son of GOD

IT was easy for pagan to change to another god...

EASTER is a pagan holiday that was to celebrate the

beginning of the new life of the earth so the catholic

again said why not celebrate the new life of CHRIST

the pagans did not really accept JESUS in either case

as the creator of all things they just look at this

as a new thing to worship...... they were in both cases

worshiping nature not the creator

hope this helps you

dgrimm60

Succinctly put,

`oG

[ChildofChrist]

Much of our culture is based on paganism.

When I was studying with JW last summer; they pointd out that the Trinty is pagan. Does not the devil have his counterfakes as well? Fact is, through out Greek and Roman mythology and other 'beliefs' we have truth mixed with error so unless one is lead by the Creator Jehovah, one can easily be lead astray and start nitpickin'.

[True-believer]

Thankyou,

In my mainstream sda church their is a group of Filipino's who were sda's since birth and in everything they do and act and even speak is just the same as the Reformed SDA's, I know that for a fact because I went to the Reformed first so I do understand the difference between both the Reformed and Mainstream SDA Churches.

The Filipino group at my mainstream church are defiantly Reformed SDA.

www.sdarm.org.au

They are more legalistic and more tough against anything that the Catholic church or Pagans created.

The Reformed SDA's are too closed-minded to the real meaning of Christmas and Easter.

[carolaa]

I don't quite understand why this makes you feel depressed. Are you trying to change their thinking and feeling unsuccessful at doing that? Why does it bother you how they think? Are they trying to force their views on the entire church?

[Kountzer]

Years ago I used to be strident and more upfront in pointing out that x mas,easter and sunday worship are pagan. I have since become more laissez-faire in my approach to such practices. As the saying goes let sleeping dogs lie. People are very passionate about their traditions. If an opportunity presents itself to pass on some info I do, if not I don't worry about it too much.

[GoLions]

I look at christmas and easter as being holidays, not holy days. The Bible never tells us how or when to celebrate Jesus birth. I don't believe for one minute that God forgot to mention it. If you can use these days to teach someone about Jesus, Amen to that. If you get time off from work for these days, praise the Lord, spend it with family. Try to convince people to keep these days as holy, find something better to do. We have a hard enough time teaching people to keep the Sabbath day holy, which we are commanded to keep.

I come from a Calvinistic back ground, once I had heard about the truth of the Sabbath day and of the clean and unclean foods...I had to look very closely at whatever I was taught was the truth or not, and then decide how to handle it. My position is one of stick to the basics, be sure of where I stand, be patient with others who do not see the things the same way I do (because maybe they're right). I am still growing in my walk with Jesus, and I have a big plank in my eye, which I am trying to remove, so that I can help my brother remove the speck in his eye.

[phkrause]

Good thoughts, I really like what you have said here. And welcome to Club Adventist GoLions.

pk

[True-believer]

I don't quite understand why this makes you feel depressed. Are you trying to change their thinking and feeling unsuccessful at doing that? Why does it bother you how they think? Are they trying to force their views on the entire church?

I've been to the Reformed SDA Church (before I attended the mainstream sda church.)

And I can discern false teaching within this mainstream sda Church, because this Filipino group have got Reformed Theology while in mainstream.

They are dead against Christmas and Easter saying they are paganised and that Christians should NOT celebrate those days.

I'm starting to see holes in the SDA statement of faith.

I am a natural born-again spirit-filled believer in Jesus Christ, I have been my whole life.

And I've just started to see some false teaching come across in the mainstream sda church from the Reformed sda church through the Reformed Filipino group at my church.

I have to say that it is turning me away.

Yes, I do believe in the Sabbath and in God's law, but I do NOT want to be influenced by the Reformed Movement sda church because I know what they are like--very dangerous.

www.sdarm.org.au

Since they are very dangerously twisting God's words and very legalistic I do not want to be apart of the Reformed sda church but only mainstream but I can't because Reformed people are taking over.

[carolaa]

Originally Posted By: carolaa

I don't quite understand why this makes you feel depressed. Are you trying to change their thinking and feeling unsuccessful at doing that? Why does it bother you how they think? Are they trying to force their views on the entire church?

I've been to the Reformed SDA Church (before I attended the mainstream sda church.)

And I can discern false teaching within this mainstream sda Church, because this Filipino group have got Reformed Theology while in mainstream.

They are dead against Christmas and Easter saying they are paganised and that Christians should NOT celebrate those days.

I'm starting to see holes in the SDA statement of faith.

I am a natural born-again spirit-filled believer in Jesus Christ, I have been my whole life.

And I've just started to see some false teaching come across in the mainstream sda church from the Reformed sda church through the Reformed Filipino group at my church.

I have to say that it is turning me away.

Yes, I do believe in the Sabbath and in God's law, but I do NOT want to be influenced by the Reformed Movement sda church because I know what they are like--very dangerous.

www.sdarm.org.au

Since they are very dangerously twisting God's words and very legalistic I do not want to be apart of the Reformed sda church but only mainstream but I can't because Reformed people are taking over.

If they are indeed trying to take over the church, then you should be concerned (not depressed, but concerned). Have you discussed this with the pastor and gotten his/her take on it?

I doubt you need to worry about being "influenced" by them. It sounds like you are pretty clear with what you believe, so they aren't a threat to you. But if they are trying to force their personal beliefs onto the church, then the pastor needs to take some action.

[True-believer]

Thankyou all,

All these comments back really encouraged me.

I'm seeing the pastor later today to discuss this issue.

But thankyou all for your valueable input.

[phkrause]

Good luck with that Luke.

pk