Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] [RELIGION] Good christians celebrating pagan holidays...

["Christian M. Cepel" <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Now that I actually read the articles, I see that a lot of the stuff I 
made reference to was in the articles as well... Sorry to rehash.  I'll 
read the articles before posting next time.

Christian M. Cepel wrote:
> I've always just considered it common knowledge and frankly a little 
> worthless to dwell on.  I have however wished we that we would some day 
> see the wisdom of trying to alter the dates of these celebrations to try 
> to approximate their true dates.  Even so, it would just be 
> approximations.  We know of certain 'hints' towards dates based on 
> things like growing seasons of palm fronds, gestation & breeding seasons 
> of donkeys, (fortunately, passover is a bit more pinned down), whether 
> or not at X time of year there would be shepherds in the hills keeping 
> watch on their flocks by night, etc.  We know I believe fairly vaguely 
> that the wisemen never saw Jesus in the manger, but well after, etc. The 
> gospels aren't always clear and sometimes conflict, and there's not as 
> much overlap as one would like on details like shepherds, angles, stars, 
> wisemen, Herod, little drummer boys (kidding), etc.  Each gospel 
> reflects the 'view' of men with vastly different world views, and 
> priorities, and their accounts reflect those views.
>
> As far as things being on pagan holidays specifically.... if one were to 
> try to apologize for all the rubbish the Catholic church has pulled over 
> the last two millennial, one would be apologizing pretty much non-stop.
>
> In one sense, it was a very good PR/Propaganda/Manipulation strategy. In 
> another sense, people aren't the ignorant sheep they were back then and 
> are quick to see the dichotomy.
>
> The fact remains that Atheists/Agnostics gleefully trot out little 
> 'factoids' like this over and over and think that it will disrupt our 
> world/worldview and undermine our foundation.  That's simply because 
> they don't understand that we don't, or should not have a worldview, but 
> a heaven view, and things like this aren't all that important.  We are 
> supposed to be in this world, but not of it.
>
> Clive Staples Lewis...
>
> "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can 
> satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another 
> world."
>
> --Mere Christianity
> Rick Buford wrote:
> > This one's been bugging me since I first heard it, so I did a (very) 
> > little digging...
> >
> > Many of today's widely celebrated Christian holidays, over which much 
> > debate has raged regarding nativity scenes and "Christian" 
> > decorations, were at one time pagan holidays that were adapted to 
> > Christian use to make the conversion of pagan to Christian more 
> > palatable.
> >
> > Christmas:
> > http://de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm
> > http://www.origin-of-christmas.com/
> >
> > Easter:
> > http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm
> >
> > So, my question/discussion point is: how do Christians feel about the 
> > fact that many of the traditions widely accepted as "Christian" ones 
> > appear to have been adopted from pagan religions?
> >
> >
> > On a side note, I ran across this little pebble that I was previously 
> > unaware of:
> > http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jckr.htm
> >
> > Rick
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> discussion mailing list
> EMAIL:PROTECTED
> http://mlug.missouri.edu/mailman/listinfo/discussion


_______________________________________________
discussion mailing list
EMAIL:PROTECTED
http://mlug.missouri.edu/mailman/listinfo/discussion