posted on Mar, 3 2008 @ 10:00 PM
On a Sunday Sabbath:
Rev 1:10 - John specifically points out that he witnesses the heavenly Eucharistic liturgy on Sunday, the Lord's day, the new day of rest in Christ.
Matt. 16:19; 18:18 - whatever the Church binds on earth is bound in heaven. Since the resurrection, Mass has been principally celebrated on
Sunday.*
Regardless of your opinion on the above, what are your thoughts on:
Colossians 2:16
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
On the date of Christmas:
There is a very widespread theory that Christmas began in Rome as a response to pagan festivities centering around the winter solstice, which was
locally considered to be 25 December. The pagan celebration, which was first established by the Roman emperor Aurelian in AD 274, was called The Birth
of the Invincible Sun. However, there is evidence that, some years earlier, Christians had made a sincere attempt to calculate the actual date of
Jesus’ birthday. People commonly believe that Christmas was instituted on the date of a pagan holiday to supplant it, but it was actually the other
way around. Christmas was there first.
In ancient Judaism, there was a common belief, which ancient Christians inherited, that the prophets of Israel died on the on the same date as their
birth or conception. This may be behind the long-standing Christian custom of referring to the date of a martyr’s death as their “birthday in
heaven.” According to ancient western calculations, Jesus was crucified on 25 March, so they assumed that 25 March was the date of Jesus’
conception. The Annunciation is still commemorated on that date to this day. Nine months after 25 March leads to 25 December, which would be the
birthday of Jesus Christ if all those assumptions and calculations were correct. They aren’t correct, but the fact remains that the date has a
Christian origin. footnote
In AD 354, Philocalus wrote a Christian martyrology that dates the nativity of Jesus Christ on December 25, and cites an earlier work as backup. From
this we can deduce that Christmas was celebrated on the present date at least as early as AD 335 in Rome.*
The Catholic Church never banned the reading of the Bible.
*Quoted from someone else. I don’t want to take undue credit.
Eric