Paganized Christianity 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 says * Belial: Worthless, reckless, lawless. This should not be regarded as a proper name. It is generally associated with the words "man", "son", "daughter" or "children". Hence, "son" or "man" of Belial simply means "a worthless person". In the New Testament, the form of the word is "Beliar" as given in the common version. Source: Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible This passage makes it clear that we are not to allow the influence of false worship or idolatry to come into our worship of God. It also makes clear that we must not "match" ourselves to unbelievers in our worship. Unfortunately though, purity of worship has been stained over time with the ungodly influences mentioned in the above scriptural passage. Although many people are unaware of this, there are still many who do know, but choose to accept those stains regardless/anyway/in spite of it. They may feel the influences are so ancient, and from so long ago, that they are rendered extinct now. Are they correct in their assessments? No, they are not. Today, there are several pagan groups that continue to honour these ancient gods and goddesses. These groups include Wiccans who worship earth deities, Nova Romans who worship ancient Roman deities, Druids who worship celtic deities, and followers of Asatru/Heathens who worship Norse deities, just to name a few. The ancient gods and goddesses are not rendered extinct any more than those of the Hindu pantheon are. Continuing to use traditions based on false deities means continuing to honour them as gods and goddesses in opposition to Yahweh, the only True God. Consider this: Let's say a group of Christians want to commemorate the day of Christ's resurrection. They happen to live among a population of Hindus and therefore they want to draw the Hindu community into the Christian faith too. In order to do so, they attempt to make their Christian celebration more "friendly" towards Hindu culture. As a result, they continue to decorate with crucifixes and palm leaves and read scriptural devotions, but then they add the lotus flowers of Vishnu and name the day "Vishnu (the name of a major Hindu god), so that the Hindus would be more comfortable with the celebration. Is this an acceptable way to commemorate the day of Christ's resurrection? Of course not, the Hindu elements do not belong in a Christian celebration. The inclusion of Hinduism would be a slap in God's face! Christians simply don't pollute their worship in such a manner, right? Wrong. The Bible itself sets a precedent for us on this matter, as early as the book of Exodus. The passage of states Exodus 32:1-8 (Young's Literal Translation): And the people see that Moses is delaying to come down from the mount, and the people assemble against Aaron, and say unto him, `Rise, make for us gods who go before us, for this Moses -- the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt -- we have not known what hath happened to him.' And Aaron saith unto them, `Break off the rings of gold which [are] in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring in unto me;' and all the people themselves break off the rings of gold which [are] in their ears, and bring in unto Aaron, and he receiveth from their hand, and doth fashion it with a graving tool, and doth make it a molten calf, and they say, `These thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' And Aaron seeth, and buildeth an altar before it, and Aaron calleth, and saith, `A festival to Jehovah -- to-morrow;' and they rise early on the morrow, and cause burnt-offerings to ascend, and bring nigh peace-offerings; and the people sit down to eat and to drink, and rise up to play. And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Go, descend, for thy people whom thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt hath done corruptly, they have turned aside hastily from the way that I have commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and bow themselves to it, and sacrifice to it, and say, These thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' God punished the people for this action, as you can see in the further reading: (33)And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Whoso hath sinned against Me -- I blot him out of My book;... (35)And Jehovah plagueth the people, because they made the calf which Aaron made.
Unfortunately, this is where it becomes difficult for many people. So many elements of false worship have become so deeply entrenched into modern Christian events that the average Joe doesn't want to part with those traditions. Parents want to give their children the fun of an Easter Egg hunt, a Christmas Tree, or a Valentine's card. Therefore, they rationalize that it is harmless fun, since they don't really believe in those false gods anyway. Well, they might as well bring out the Vishnu statues and lotus flowers while they're at it, because what they are doing is no different. We aren't saying that it's wrong to celebrate Christian events in general. We are simply saying that God tells His people to worship without the inclusion of pagan traditions. Christians are fully capable of commemorating Christ's resurrection without bunnies, eggs and chicks, fully capable of commemorating Christ's birth without mistletoe, holly, and trees, and showing love without resorting to a day honoring a pagan love god. The scripture passages at Exodus 32:1-8 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 leave no wiggle room for exceptions. Some modern Christian traditions that stem from the honour of false gods include: Valentine's Day: This day originated from the Roman festival named "Lupercalia", which was celebrated on February 15th each year. It was a licentious holiday celebrating fertility, and included nude men chasing after women. Over time, the false god Cupid/Eros, the god of love, also became associated with this time of year. Therefore, those who observe Valentine's day honour a false god that is associated with an immoral, sex-laden festival. There are groups today who still honour the Roman and Greek gods, therefore these are not "extinct" gods. Easter: The name comes from the pagan goddess of Spring. This goddess is known by many names: Ashtoreth (1 Samuel 7:4), Astarte, Ishtar, Ostara, Eostra, and Eastre. She is the goddess of fertility, and rebirth, and is associated with the symbolism of rabbits and eggs. Therefore, those who use these elements in their commemoration of Christ's resurrection are honouring a pagan goddess and her festival. The name "Easter" itself honours the goddess, and therefore the holiday should be re-named something more Christ oriented. Christmas: Decorating one's home with Christmas greenery originates from the Roman festival of Saturnalia, in honour of the god Saturn. Nova Romans continue to celebrate Saturnalia today. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe comes from honouring the Norse goddess Frigga, the goddess of fertility. Followers of Asatru still worship her today. The Yule log was burned in honour of the Norse god Thor, another diety worshipped by followers of Asatru. And of course, the Christmas tradition of encouraging children to believe in a magical man who brings gifts is a lie, which is an unscriptural thing to promote (John 8:44). Of course, these are just a few examples of how polluted Christianity has become. We realize that this can be an issue in some homes, as some family members won't want to relinquish their beloved traditions. In these cases it's helpful to remember that we are to be peaceable with others as much as we can (Romans 12:18). This means we must continue to show respect, kindness, and patience towards them (Galatians 5:22-23) in spite of our misgivings. Just as Yahweh doesn't force His will on us, we shouldn't force our will on others. Continue to teach your children the truth as you know it, and pray for the others in your household to see the truth as well. It behooves us to investigate customs that lack an obvious connection to Yahweh or His Christ so we can learn to clean up our worship habits. Simply keep everything centered on God and Christ, and dispose of the traditions that are not centered on God and Christ. We realize this will take lots of prayer, lots of consideration, and even a dose of self-education on each individual's part. However, we can each work on our individual selves to clean up our Christian worship so we can benefit from the promise Yahweh gives: 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch any unclean thing, and I will welcome you. (18) I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to Me", says the Lord Almighty.
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