Returning Soon.......

I'm still here....though I haven't been online much lately.

Thanks for the recent comments and handful of emails. God willing I'll be getting back to everyone soon....and publishing new posts.

In the meantime I've been pleased to see people have been perusing some of the older posts.

Should Christians 'proudly hail' an Imperial Symbol?

Here's an interesting blog post with accompanying links. Some of you will be aware of the controversy surrounding Goshen College in Indiana and the National Anthem.

As Mennonites they have eschewed playing it at their public events, but about a year ago they caved and started playing 'The Star Spangled Banner'... though many protested it.

Recently they reversed their policy again. It's interesting that there are still Mennonites who care deeply about this issue. They're hardly America-haters, but they seem to grasp the salient issue even though for many it is one clouded by emotional attachments. As the blogger points out the comments at the respective links are revealing. Apparently we are surrounded by many intellectual and spiritual cousins to Sarah Palin.

A Benefit for the Acholi of Uganda

And a general exhortation regarding Africa past and present.

For those who might be somewhere near Ohio on 12 June, there’s a worthwhile event taking place.


I tried to include some of the pictures but I'm afraid the Google Blogger programme didn't want to cooperate. I'm sure there's a way, but I'm not enough of a computer guy to know how to do it.

This is a benefit to aid some folks in Uganda. Africa is a pretty confusing place for most people, in fact so daunting that most people don't even try to understand it. We should.

Memorial Day 2011

I’ve remarked before how American Evangelicalism is increasingly embracing the Liturgical Calendar with Lent (not to mention Passover) and other Judaizing and Paganizing practices which most Protestants historically rejected.


Of course the American church tends to cast these things in its own narcissistic way, and certainly we’ve developed what might be called the Patriotic Season in the American church. Starting with Memorial Day, this new season extends through Flag Day, Independence Day, and might even be stretched to September 11.

The Moral and Metaphysical Foundations of Anti-Wisdom- Part 1

While Paul certainly exhorts us to eschew the wisdom of the world, what exactly does that mean? It can mean a lot of different things, but primarily in the context of the New Testament it seems to represent a thought process, a working out of knowledge that excludes God from the equation. More particularly it excludes the image of God in the person of Christ Jesus. If Humanism declares man is the measure of all things, this indeed is a perfect declaration of worldly and fleshly wisdom in its denial of our Lord Christ who IS Wisdom.

Paul also talks about the power of the gospel and how it was not only unnecessary but theologically erroneous to think the Word was in need of supplement. He didn't need gimmicks or flowery persuasive rhetoric for the gospel to work. The Word was not benefitted by accommodating it to the culture, nor was it more effective when preliminary conditions were met, i.e. the hearer being softened by emotional stories, music, etc…

In terms of the gospel, because it is Divine in origin, it an expression of the power and holiness of Almighty God and only a fool would think he could improve on it and only unbelief would assume it needs human-generated assistance.

Hyper-Solafideism Part 6- Two forms of the Law/Gospel Hermeneutic

 This also brings us to what is often called the Law/Gospel hermeneutic. As we've discussed, there are several dynamics at work in how the Old and New Testament relate to each other.

There is an overarching unity in substance...Salvation by Grace through Faith Alone rooted in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Everyone from Adam to now was saved the same way regardless of their chronological placement. The Eternal Covenant and Jesus Christ are inseparable and form the basis of the Unity.

Hyper-Solafideism Part 5- Vosian Hyper-Eschatology, Federal Vision's Bestial Agenda, and a few observations regarding the Lutheran Legacy

Thus far I have been in agreement with the Vosian crowd rejection of the Federal Vision understanding of Redemptive-History. But at this point I switch sides. Unlike the Federal Vision folks I certainly affirm the concept of merit, that Christ's Active Obedience helped to pay for our sins and I wholeheartedly agree with the Garden-Works principle, and the reiteration of this under the Mosaic order in typological form applied to the Corporate body of Israel.

Discerning Discernment Ministries Part 4- An Addendum: Obama, Israel, Christian Media and Strauss-Kahn

Anyone reading this series may think that Obama's speech on 19 May has negated what I've said here regarding Israel. Howse argues that Obama has betrayed Israel and some would argue Obama’s speech vindicates this argument. Certainly this morning (20 May), this is the language being used by the Right. A couple of points.

Hyper-Solafideism Part 4- The Adam problem and conditionality in the contemporary debate

I wish to touch on a few more issues. This series is not very popular. It's not being read by a lot of folks. Either people already decided they don't agree or some may find it unpractical or perhaps too difficult.

At this point this series is being written to those who are familiar with the contemporary debates and have some familiarity with the terms and players. I'm not taking a great deal of time to define some of these things because those interested probably already know and those who don't know the terms probably aren't bothering to read these.

For the handful of folks that aren't familiar and yet are interested, don't hesitate to comment or ask me directly. I'm happy to clarify or suggest resources. If you're interested and want to understand, don't get discouraged.

Someone might say...I don't need to know all this stuff. That's correct. You don't need to know the in's and out's, the little tweaks and nuances, the way the factions have formed up. You don't need to know these things to know God and to trust in Jesus Christ.

That said.....it is important and plays out even if not everyone can see just how. These ideas affect the Church. They have in the past, continue to do so, and will certainly shape the future. And, in my case I want to know and understand. It's not about knowing so we can keep up on the latest thing. Instead as we work through these things, we are driven to Scripture and forced to think it through. Doing this, we come to know our God even better and we can stand in awe as we consider His ways.

Hermeneutical Tea Party

I've mentioned this before but there's a scene in Fiddler on the Roof that always makes me chuckle.

The Ethics of Thuggery and Murder- John Ashcroft and Blackwater

Pardon the somewhat bitter tone……..

Some are apparently surprised by this, but I'm not. Apparently John Ashcroft, the Evangelical and former Attorney General who is also famous for losing an election to someone who was dead...is now the 'Ethics' advisor for Xe, the notorious company formerly known as Blackwater.

You would be hard pressed to find a company more universally reviled than Blackwater. To many especially in Iraq and Afghanistan they are nothing less than murderous thugs...and that's being nice. Of course they seem to benefit from quite a bit of support within the American Christian community. Blackwater's founder Erik Prince is president of a foundation that has donated large sums of money to the lobbyist Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, the Alliance Defense Fund, and Calvin College.

Compromised of ex-military soldier-of-fortune types, usually a pretty crude lot, the leadership is nevertheless intimately tied in with some of the power circles of American Evangelicalism. In fact, at times they have marketed themselves as some sort of Christian fighting force. Their latest endeavour can be read about here.

Dominionist Confusion- An Interaction with Iron Ink

Theonomist Bret McAtee's (IronInk) recent article, another critique of Two Kingdom theology provides a good opportunity to demonstrate why they can't seem to grasp what we're saying.

Discerning Discernment Ministries- Part 3

updated 5 Oct 2011- I removed a factual error I made regarding the Department of Education. It was started under Carter, not Reagan...but that's hardly the end of the story.- proto


Howse:

Romans 1 clearly states that a nation that rejects God over and over will suffer five specific consequences and America is experiencing all of these now.

Romans 1:21-32

1. A Nation of Fools: V. 21-22

This verse declares that a nation that rejects God over and over will become vain, useless, futile or foolish in their thinking. Despite claiming to be so wise and so smart, the nation will become so foolish in their thinking that they will succumb to spiritual deception and accept spiritual lies and false teaching.

The Politics of the Bin Laden Raid- A few observations

1. Obama obviously wants to ride this Bin Laden Raid Wave as long as he can. His numbers are poor, he’s been humiliated, and this gives him a significant arrow in the upcoming election. The Republicans can’t accuse him of being soft on terror or national so-called defense.

2. Despite his parading around, I have to give him credit. He’s a class act. He could have made a victory lap speech at Ground Zero. Instead he was pretty dignified about it.

3. It’s interesting that for years Bin Laden was described as merely symbolic but essentially irrelevant. Now that they’ve captured all the materials from his compound, the new story is that he was directly involved in operational matters. How convenient. Pardon my skepticism, but in light of the White House’s complete fumbling of the story, and the way they keep changing it…I am more than a little doubtful regarding this claim. It would seem that by building Bin Laden up, they are

A. Increasing the administration’s prestige in getting him. The old build your enemy up tactic to make yourself look stronger. And,

B. They may be trying to set the stage for a phased exit. The drones will continue to fly and there will be bases, but this may provide the exit opportunity the leadership has been waiting for. If they can make a big enough deal about Bin Laden’s death, they can declare victory and run. They’d probably like to push hard, bomb the Taliban badly and then come to the bargaining table with a strong hand, but the Pakistan situation is so volatile, they can’t push too hard.

Saving Faith, Temporary Faith, and Justification by Faith

Here's a link to the text of a good sermon pertinent to the Hyper-Solafideism discussion. He does well in defining Saving Faith... avoiding Faith without Knowledge (which is mysticism) but also avoiding Faith being defined as mere assent which results in easy believism.

He's dealing with the classic categories of Knowledge, Assent, and Entrustment. Removing any of these gets you into trouble. He covers them briefly but well.

Discerning Discernment Ministries- Part 2

Howse:

The second dangerous national tipping point that is inviting God's wrath is found in the book of Nahum. The prophet Nahum shows up in Nineveh about 150 years after Jonah to tell the nation that God is not going to give them the chance to repent this time but His wrath is going to come upon them. Why? Because in Nahum 1:11 we read that the people had begun to "plot evil against the Lord." Rejecting God is one thing; plotting evil against him is the tipping point for national judgment. In fact in Nahum 3:19 we read, that their national "injury has no healing, your wound is severe." One translation says, "Your wound is incurable."

Discerning Discernment Ministries Part 1

Now that I've probably lost or upset many by writing about Justification, I'm afraid I will probably only alienate more folks with this series. It's not deliberate on my part, but these are the issues I'm writing about. And, for those who disagree with me...that's fine. Maybe my writings can be helpful in either forcing you to re-think some issues or perhaps I can help solidify and convince you of the validity of your position.


Recently I've tried to navigate the rather confusing waters between the Dominionist tendency in so much of Evangelicalism, its variant of Americanism, as well as factors like Dispensational Theology. There are numerous ministries and programmes which are engaged in the task of 'discernment'.

They are very critical of the Prosperity Gospel, the Charismatic variations of Dominionist theology as well as the New Spirituality becoming popularized by the Emergents and people like Rick Warren. In addition they are also very critical of the growing Ecumenical Movement and globalist tendencies both within the Church and within the corridors of power.

Hyper-Solafideism- Part 3

The Bible presents us with a strange dynamic, one that defies Aristotelian-like attempts at systemization. As with the Incarnation, we are presented with a dialectical soteriology. We have seemingly opposite and irreconcilable truths that we cannot reconcile. We cannot systematize them either by reaching a synthesis or by reading one pole in light of the other.

Just as the Scriptures seem to teach God predestines our free choices, we are also given a doctrine of Salvation by Grace through Faith Alone, grounded in election, and yet somehow cast in conditional terms dependent on our perseverance. We could say 'seemingly' dependent and that would probably be correct, but I would prefer to avoid this and other attempts at systematizing, because when we do this, we start the process of explaining it away. By throwing the word 'seemingly' or some other term if you prefer...in front of a word like dependent, we're viewing the conditional passages through the lens of election...which raises the types of dilemmas we often see resulting from System problems gaps.

Questions like....are the warnings genuine? are they written to believers? Is the gospel offer really sincere?

Once were asking these questions, we're on the wrong path. We're second guessing the text because it doesn't fit with our systemic presuppositions.

Hyper-Solafideism Part 2

 The Scriptures clearly teach that Salvation is a free gift. We can do nothing to earn it. We are lost, alienated from God, cursed and deserving of physical and eternal death. Adam the first man acted for himself and for his posterity. He was the Federal Head of the entirety of the human race. His sin, whether the actual sin or the resulting curse, passes on to all of us, all of his descendants. As CS Lewis put it, being descendants of Adam we can hold our heads high and yet also hang our heads in shame. We bear the image of God and yet we're cursed by sin.

Like it or not, we're united to Adam, we're in Adam. We need a 2nd Adam to come along and create a new race, a new people. Old Testament Israel represented both the 1st and 2nd Adams…a sort of repeat performance of the first and an anticipation of the second. This point is often missed, certain groups emphasizing the one to the exclusion of the other. The 2nd Adam comes and passes the test, completes the tasks and yet to rescue those under the curse of the 1st Adam he must pay the penalty of sin and make a way of reconciliation to God. Christ the 2nd Adam does this and now we are 'in' Him…united to Him, 'under' Him.

There's nothing we can do to affect this, to earn this, or even to maintain it. It truly is a gift. God out of pure love for His treasonous creatures did this for us. All of mankind is shown mercy, but only those of us who are saved can grasp the wonders, the breathtaking wonders of Grace. Its foundations in the Person and Work of Christ are rightly called amazing, and its application via the Holy Spirit…well, even the Angels are in awe of it.

Hyper-Solafideism and Meta-System Part 1

For those unfamiliar with theological jargon, this article will delve into unfamiliar waters. As much as possible I'm trying to avoid using too many terms but I'm afraid it is somewhat inescapable. In this post and several subsequent parts I will be discussing the doctrine of Sola Fide or Justification by Faith Alone and how that works both in the Bible and how we in seeking to understand the Bible, and teach it, run into certain dilemmas. These dilemmas and the way we deal with them are actually the source of the many divisions within the Church today.

Over the course of history people have lived in different contexts and these contexts affect how they think. Due to these contextual factors, we read the Bible in different ways and one group may really focus on one thing while someone else in a different time and place focuses on something else. I'm arguing we tend to overly focus on certain things and that sharply affects how we understand or in some cases don't understand the rest of the Bible.

In this particular series I'm dealing specifically with those who are committed to the Bible being the very Word of God and claim it as the Sole Authority for faith and life....Scripture Alone/Sola Scriptura. Thus far we're in agreement. But now how do we read it and what tools do we employ in seeking to understand it? That's a different question and one that I wish to raise.

The Far Left Conspiracy- To Install A Centrist President?

 *updated 15 May 2011

Despite President Obama's evident humiliation in having after two years in office to produce the long form of his birth certificate, there are many on the Right who still refuse to let the issue die, or assume he's still engaged in some kind of subterfuge, or even suggest this was some kind of victory for him. I assure you it was not. A sitting president having his hand forced in this manner has been weakened. To have his very legitimacy questioned and then be forced to produce evidence after 27 months in office? That’s pretty humiliating. You could sense the frustration and bitterness in his demeanour, and then he uncharacteristically lashed out at Trump at the Correspondent’s Dinner a couple of days later. This is a guy on the ropes. He needed some political hit-back. He got it with the killing of Bin Laden…but we’ll see how long it lasts.


The whole argument that his birth certificate is forged is rooted in a belief that Obama is product of the extreme-left. They somehow, despite all evidences, wield so much power that not only were they able to co-opt the American electorate, they selected a foreign born national and even worked within the American intelligence establishment to pull off the greatest forgery in modern times.

Again this assumes Obama represents the interests of the Far Left.

Maybe they should look into what those are the Far Left are saying and how they are evaluating his presidency?

Emmanuel Goldstein Is Dead- The Power Paradigm, Bin Laden, Pakistan, and Three Cups of Castor Oil

Emmanuel Goldstein.

If you don't know what that refers to, then you definitely need to read George Orwell's 1984. Of the two major dystopian books, I think Huxley's Brave New World is probably closer in its hyperbolic view of our society, but Orwell's work is also indispensible in its assessments of power, media, and language.

Today while working, I listened to NPR's constant coverage of the Bin Laden killing which virtually lasted the entire day. Rather than real analysis, the supposedly left-wing NPR gave endless "double-plus good's" to the Military Establishment, interviewed soldiers, militaristic generals, and an endless stream of Establishment media experts and think-tank gurus who are often the very people shaping the policies…at least they're the folks that are turned to for strategic thought and analysis. I was very disappointed with NPR today. Not once in all their discussions about the so-called War on Terror and American policy objectives in Asia and the Middle East did anyone really call into question the official Washington line of American Superiority and Dominance…the one perpetuated by the supposedly 'leftist' Obama.

The Royal Wedding in the scope of history

 We watched the Royal Wedding Friday morning. I'm not a great fan of the British Monarchy, but it was a historic moment, the anachronistic flavour of the event is fascinating to see, and I've been to Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, and outside Buckingham Palace and to see them in this manner was almost surreal.

Anyway, watching the wedding I said to my wife, "The Christian Radio folks will be gushing, because they're singing hymns and talking about God."

And I wasn't disappointed. The mistakenly called Family Life Network sure came through and was just exuberant regarding all the talk of God, the hymns being sung and the traditional values being promoted. It was like they had never seen anything so Christian.

Answering Questions #11- The Framework Hypothesis and some additional considerations

Genesis 1-11, Old Testament Chronology and the Theological Implications

Many Christians have been stymied and frustrated by modern scientific observation and interpretation of the geological record and astronomical observations regarding the age of the universe.

In the past some responded by coming up with what is called The Gap Theory, which inserts millions of years between verses in the opening verses of Genesis. This is basically just a bad form of exegesis, actually akin to what Dispensationalism does with Daniel 9, by inserting 2000 years between two verses. Both interpretations destroy the obvious flow of the passage. The problem is solved, but at what cost, and by adapting what kind of principle?

Others have responded to the scientific dilemma by turning to Theistic Evolution and many among Mainline Protestant circles simply discount Genesis 1-11 as mythological and of no importance. By taking a different view of Scripture they maintain intellectual respectability, but as we know all too well. If Genesis is doubt, then why not the accounts concerning the Resurrection and many of the other miracles?

Rejecting this we understand the New Testament rests many key theological arguments, critical to the gospel on the events of the opening chapters of Genesis. Christ is the 2nd Adam and in order to interpret His work, we must have some understanding of the arrangement under which the 1st Adam operated. In addition, we run into serious problems if we fail to acknowledge the Fall, or the Flood as actual events. It is surprising how often they are appealed to. We even encounter problems with Christ himself who obviously treated them as historical events. Was Christ mistaken? Some have no problem saying so, but those of us who understand the Apostolic teaching concerning His Person…to suggest that Christ was wrong, fallible, subject to peccability, is to overthrow the Gospel itself.

Integration vs. Assimilation, Turkish Assertiveness, and the Rise of the Right in Europe

This link is quite interesting.


Erdogan the Turkish Prime Minister demonstrates….

Turkey’s increasing self-confidence. Rejected by the EU and yet a longtime and crucial member of NATO, the Turks are growing quite comfortable if not a little assertive with their ‘Bridge’ role between East and West. They’re not afraid to stand up to the EU and the United States. Erdogan proves this by urging the massive Turkish population in Germany to ‘integrate’ not ‘assimilate’. In addition the Turks have succeeded in irritating Washington by refusing to cooperate with the 2003 Iraq invasion as well as finally assuaging their longtime animosities with Syria. Also, notice the difference between integrate…function in society but maintain your identity vs. assimilate… basically become in this case, German.

Why do Christians in the United States think it so essential for immigrants to assimilate? It is literally a theological issue for them. Isn’t integration enough? If you don’t want your society to change, then don’t invite people in. Of course all societies change anyway, and many American Christians seems to suggest that America has changed so much because of….immigrants? It’s a strange assertion. Most of the immigrants that come to the United States are coming from cultures far more conservative than our own. I think a lot of Americans and probably some Europeans don’t want to face the consequences of their materialistic lifestyles and especially in the United States, the type of children and youth it has produced.

Of course when speaking of inviting immigrants, I’m not talking about the millions of Mexicans and Central Americans that have entered the country illegally. That’s a separate issue but not unrelated to the Materialism issue I just raised. They weren’t invited per se, but the American economy needs them, wants them, and in many cases has facilitated their movement north by American policy both here and abroad. Mexico (a longtime American fief) is on its knees. Turkey (a former satellite, increasingly ally and partner) is not.

The Babel Impulse

 We read in Genesis 11 that the men who sought to build the Tower of Babel were trying to build a tower to reach heaven and to make a name for themselves.

I remember as a kid being somewhat baffled by this. Were they that dumb that they really though they could build something to penetrate the sky?

That's not what they were trying to do. Reaching heaven didn't necessarily mean they were trying to punch through the atmosphere. Rather in ancient times there was a commonly held belief that the gods dwelt on mountains. Mountains are majestic, inaccessible, almost surreal. The Babylonian plain is pretty flat and we see something of a pseudo-mountain motif in the ziggurats of the day.

Establishment Media, The System It Protects, And The Blind Who Follow It

Our supposedly 'liberal' media refuses to report the real issue regarding America's financial situation...the one everyone refuses to ignore.

Why? Why don't they come out and say that America spends more on its Military-Industrial Complex than all the rest of the world combined?

Why do they persist to use to phrases like 'defense spending' when it has virtually little to do with defense? Ask the rest of the world if America's posture could be described as defensive.

The Spirit in which I say these things………

Am I really this narrow and severe?

Just a quick note, a final thought to wrap up the recent posts……I argue these points and I believe in what I'm writing. Nevertheless I am happy to overlook much for the sake of charity. I will sit in churches with many things going on that I do not agree with. I will tolerate them, but I often find they will not tolerate me. I make up my mind to be quiet and not to discuss these things with anyone, not to sow discord.

If we talk to any modern Evangelicals we either have to grit our teeth and smile or we try and lightly engage and inevitably offend someone when we don't celebrate Christmas, support Israel, or show enthusiasm for George Bush and Sarah Palin.

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.

22 April Note

Regarding Comments:

A few of you have expressed frustration at losing you comments in the vortex of cyberspace. I'm not sure what the problem is. There are no restrictions. Anyone can post and I moderate after the fact...just removing spam etc...

Make sure you select an identity.......anonymous is fine, but please sign your note even if it's with a nickname or something.

Try 'previewing' your note before you submit. Usually if there's a problem it will show up at that point.

Also, I've lost a few as well at other sites. I ALWAYS right click, select all, and copy. Then I click the dead space to remove the highlight and then submit. That way I can right-click paste if it got lost.

Does anyone else have any tips? Those of you that have commented, have you run into anything that others might find helpful. I've had quite a few emails from folks telling me their comments did not post.

I wish we could figure this out.

A Refreshing Grasp of Historical Nuance From An Unbeliever

This was both interesting and refreshing. This is a short news clip from NPR covering Robert Redford's new movie 'The Conspirator' which deals with the Lincoln assassination conspiracy and the trial and execution of Mary Surratt, a story few people know about.

While Redford could hardly be called a Southern sympathizer he and many others have picked up on the fact that the sainted Abraham Lincoln has been mythologized and the narrative we were all given in school doesn't quite tell the story. In other words the Civil War was far more complicated than the propagandists from either side are willing to discuss or portray.

Cluster Amnesia

Hilary Clinton was outraged at the possibility the Libyan government was using cluster bombs.

This is despite the fact that the United States has rendered the Convention on Cluster Munitions essentially meaningless. Without the backing of the United States, the Convention isn't worth much. The U.S. stands with Russia and China in refusing to sign on.

The United States has used cluster munitions in Iraq and Afghanistan and has received extensive criticism for doing so. In fact we could have a little discussion about which country generates and uses more chemical and anti-civilian weapons than any other country in the world, but that's for another time.

Clinton herself seems to be suffering a little amnesia as this 2008 article from the Guardian demonstrates.

Deceit at work in Christian Media and Politics

Here's a Christian guy that's trying to be reasonable. I don't agree with everything he says, nor do I endorse Ron Paul in any way.

But what's really interesting is that he exposes Gary Bauer the Christian Lobbyist for what he is....deceitful.

Are people starting to get it? I hope so.

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?