A Thanksgiving Model that Must be Rejected

https://churchandfamilylife.com/podcasts/6540dea48035f112bf38cdf8

Modern Thanksgiving was born out of the US Civil War – In 1863, Lincoln wanted the country to be thankful for the turning of the tide post-Gettysburg and following his lead the government issued proclamations in the 1870's.  

In 1939 FDR moved the date up a week wishing to extend the Christmas shopping season – and this remains the practice today.

In other words it's a familiar theme to us even today – it's about the troops and the consumerist economy.

Sabbatarian Hermeneutics and Some Resulting Misapplications

I've mentioned it before but I wish to briefly revisit the question of the Sabbath and the mandate regarding six days of labour. There are some who insist that our culture's five day work cycle (which is certainly not applicable to everyone, as many work six or even seven days) is in fact sinful and that as Christians who would take Dominion, we need to be working a full six days.

Thus, is the five day work week an expression of sinful modernism and a paradigm Christians should reject?

To deal with this question I must first address some of the assumptions rooted in the question. First there is the question of the Sabbath itself and secondly even if I grant the Sabbatarian position does this necessitate a six day work week?

The Temptation of the Tactile

This could be seen as a part 3 to the Easter discussion, but this goes far beyond Easter.

Interestingly not that many years ago, Protestants were somewhat apologetic about the pagan elements that had crept in their holy days. But today, Sacralist impulses have driven them to be proud of the 'conquest' and appropriation of these elements. Suddenly, the eggs, bunnies, candy and the rest are good things…just as they've done with all the symbols floating around Christ-mass celebration.

It's interesting how the early church quickly lost the authority base after the apostles. There are several factors here.

One the Scriptures had been recently completed and while the canon was mostly recognized quite early, there were a few books being debated.

Two they were trying to survive both in the face of civil persecution as well as the twin threats of Judaizing and Paganizing…mostly in the form of Gnosticism.

Consequently the church got off track pretty early and the occasional voices that tried to pull them back were ignored. Days and seasons were invented and kept, relics venerated, and slowly the Church introduced many new things and borrowed things……candles, vestments, crosses, altars, buildings/temples, clerical offices, and eventually the cult of saints, purgatory, monasticism and the papacy.

Easter and Holy Week - Part 2 (Binding the Conscience Where God Does Not Bind)

As I said in the last post (#1) we can apply the concept of binding the conscience and legalism to a host of issues.

What about the notion that to be a good Christian you need to give up certain foods for 40 days prior to the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox?

Easter and Holy Week - Postscript

This is a connected supplemental discussion.....

A few points on Apostolic Authority, Canon, and Text

What if indeed John the Apostle went along with the growing practice of Easter? Let's say for argument's sake that it began in the first century.

Irenaeus in the 2nd Century relates that Polycarp his teacher kept Easter on the 14th of Nisan as he learned from the John the Apostle.

Does that mean then that we should also celebrate Easter?

I suppose if it did, then we should be celebrating it on 14 Nisan instead of Easter Sunday.

But were the Apostles authoritative in everything they did? Could they err? Was everything they were doing meant to be applied to the Church? Can we answer 'no' and yet still claim the New Testament as authoritative?

Easter and Holy Week (Part 1)

As usual, I'm behind. This was supposed to be done last week, but here it is...just in time for Maundy Thursday!

Well, the full moon is illuminating the night sky. Beautiful. It must be getting close to Easter. You know the connection right? A lot of people seem unaware. We all know the date of Easter varies from year to year, but how many know why?