Against Pagan and Roman Catholic Holy-days
(Holidays) Like Christmas and Easter (Because of the Regulative Principle of
Worship - Reformation, Covenanters, Puritans, et al.)
Still Waters Revival Books (www.swrb.com)
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Against Pagan and Roman Catholic
Holy-days (Holidays) Like Christmas and Easter (Because of the Regulative
Principle of Worship - Reformation, Covenanters, Puritans, et al.)
The Regulative Principle of Worship and Christmas by Brian Schwertley (See the summary for the free MP3 audio Is Christmas Christian (1/2 & 2/2)
below, also by Brian Schwertley, for more information on this book, The Regulative Principle of Worship and Christmas.
This book is must reading if you are a Christian
[especially if you are a Calvinist, as this book deals with the sovereignty
of God over worship] and you are studying
Christmas or any of the worship issues! Schwertley also makes the application
of Sola Scriptura to worship in
this important work.)
FREE ebook at: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CHRISTMAS.htm
Christmas: A Biblical Critique by Kevin Reed, M. Schneider &
D.W. Cason (Three
excellent articles: 1.) "Is Christmas Christian?" by Michael
Schneider; 2.) "Christmas: An Historical Survey Regarding Its Origins and
Opposition to It of Creeds and Confessions" by Kevin Reed; 3.)
"Christmas-Keeping and the Reformed Faith: A Response to Professor David
Engelsma" by David W. Cason. Regarding the last article: "In 1994 and
1995, Professor David Engelsma defended Christmas observance in the pages of
the Standard Bearer,
a denominational publication of the Protestant Reformed churches. In support of
Christmas-keeping, the professor used arguments which bear upon Reformed
principles of worship in general, as well as Christmas observance in
particular. In this booklet David Cason examines Engelsma's remarks, showing
that the professor has seriously misrepresented principles of worship which are
foundational to the Reformed faith. Cason shows how biblical principles of
worship apply to ecclesiastical festivals, and he reviews the historic
testimony of Reformed churches and authors regarding Christmas observance. The
chapter 'Christmas Versus John Calvin' is especially interesting."
XMAS (Christmas) by A.W. Pink
FREE ebook at: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/CHRISTMAS-AWPINK.htm
Biblical Worship by Kevin Reed
BLOG: DO DEMONS LOVE CHRISTMAS?
http://www.sermonaudio.com/new_details3.asp?ID=12188
Foundation For Reformation: The Regulative Principle Of Worship - Greg L.
Price
Free book at: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/REFORMATION-RPW-GP.htm
What
Fellowship Hath Christ and Belial?
An examination of the religious celebration of Christmas in light of the
Scriptural duty of separation and the Regulative Principle of worship.
by Douglas W. Comin
"The real meaning of Christmas is compromise - a sinful fusion between
the worship of the true God and the worship of the pagan world that was
instituted by a church which was not prepared to cast down the idols of the
nations and burn the Asherah poles - or Yule logs - and enforce the pure worship
of the God of the Bible. We must not join with them. We must not follow in the
ways of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. We must not be yoked together with unbelievers.
Let us reclaim instead the glory and delight of the Lord's Holy Day and learn
to call the Sabbath a delight. Let us rejoice together in the precious
sacrament which Jesus has given to His Church as a celebration of His life,
death, and resurrection. And in doing these things we are promised a blessing
from God:
Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no
unclean thing and I will receive you and you will be My sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty. Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us
purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting
holiness out of reverence for God."
· Christmas Is Part
Of Roman Catholic (Papacy/Antichrist) Missionary Strategy And High-Handed
Idolatry
· CHIRSTMASS,
REFORMED ICONOCLASM, THE SCRIPTURAL LAW OF WORSHIP & WE NEED A NEW WAR
AGAINST THE IDOLS
· DO DEMONS LOVE
CHRISTMAS? - Mather, Calvin's Geneva, the Westminster Assembly, American
Puritans ...
· CHRISTMAS: FREE
BOOKS, MP3s & Videos By The Best Reformers, Puritans and Covenanters
· BIRTHDAYS:
PAGAN/OCCULT ORIGINS & THE HIGHEST OF ALL HOLY DAYS (HOLIDAYS) IN THE
SATANIC BIBLE
An Article from the Reformed Presbyterian Magazine on Christmas.
http://www.covenanter.org/HolyDays/christmas.htm
An Article from the Reformation Advocate Magazine on Christmas Trees.
http://www.covenanter.org/HolyDays/christmastrees.htm
An Article from the Reformation Advocate on Faith in Christmas.
http://www.covenanter.org/HolyDays/faithinchristmas.htm
An Article from the Associate Presbyterian Magazine on Christmas.
http://www.covenanter.org/HolyDays/xmass.htm
Testimony
against Several Profane and Superstitious Customs, Now Practiced by Some in
New-England, by Increase Mather (1687). - See chapter three, " Against profane
Christ-mass-keeping. In the Apostolical Times the Feast of the Nativity was not
observed. The very name of Christmass savours of superstition. It can never bee
proved that Christ was born on December 25. It is most probable that the
Nativity was in September. The New-Testament allows of no stated Holy-day but
the Lords-day. Objections answered. It was in compliance with the Pagan
Saturnalia that Christ-mass Holy-days were first invented. The manner of
Christ-mass-keeping, as generally observed, is highly dishonourable to the Name
of Christ. "
Christ-mass
and Lady-Day: What are the origins of Christmass? by Rev. Alexander Hislop
Christmas-Keeping
and the Reformed Faith David W. Cason
Why No Christmas or Easter by
Loughbrickland Reformed Presbyterian Church
http://www.loughbrickland.org/articles/mass-easter.shtml
The
Christian and "Christmas" - Author Unknown
http://apuritansmind.com/Christmas/UnknownChristmas.htm
BLOG: Against
(Christmas and Easter) Pagan & Roman Catholic Holy Days (Holidays) - FREE
BOOKS & MP3s
Martin
Luther on Holydays
FREE PURITAN WORSHIP
SERIES (33 free MP3s!) by Greg Price, Greg Barrow and R. J. George at:
http://tinyurl.com/26fgn
The Puritan Principle of Worship by Dr. William Young
http://apuritansmind.com/PuritanWorship/YoungWilliamPuritanRegulativePrinciple.htm
Free Protestant HoHo (i.e. Christ-mass)
Carols
Introductory Essay to John Knox's True
and False Worship by Kevin Reed
A Vindication of the Doctrine that the
Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry (1550) by John Knox
The Present Evangelical Crisis: A Book
Review With Commentary by Kevin Reed
PAGAN
ORIGINS OF BIRTHDAYS & BIRTHDAYS THE HIGHEST OF ALL HOLY DAYS (HOLIDAYS) IN
THE SATANIC BIBLE
FREE
ON-LINE AUDIO (MP3s) and FREE VIDEO on CHRISTMAS
The Christian
and Christmass by
Charles Spurgeon, A.W. Pink, John Knox, et al. (Puritan Worship Series, Revelation
18:4)
FREE audio (MP3) at: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=23011394
Christmass
Condemned By Christ 1/3
by Greg Price (Puritan Worship Series)
FREE audio (MP3) and video at: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=51001173548
Christmass
Condemned By Christ 2/3
by Greg Price (Puritan Worship Series)
FREE audio (MP3) and video at: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=5140112918
Christmass
Condemned By Christ 3/3
by Greg Price (Puritan Worship Series)
FREE audio (MP3) at: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=5170134541
The Regulative Principle of Worship and
Christmas by Brian Schwertley
(OFFSITE)
13 free MP3s begin at http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7506111921
Free PDF copy of all 13 messages in PDF (print format) at http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7506111921
Is Christmas
Christian (1/2 & 2/2) by
Brian Schwertley (OFFSITE)
FREE MP3 audio at: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonid=92703223958
SUMMARY: A very strong and
thorough testimony about why the celebration of Christmas is a violation of
the commandments of God and is therefore sinful. Also touches on foundational problems
in the Christian Reconstruction movement, with a specific testimony against
Doug Wilson, and demonstrates how real Scriptural (and national) reformation
will come about according to God's Word. Furthermore, Brian Schwertley writes,
The Puritan/Presbyterian wing of
the Reformation accomplished a purity in worship not seen since the apostolic
church. This purity was attained by making the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments the only infallible standard and authority in determining worship
ordinances. Any ordinances solely based on church tradition or man's authority
were discarded. However, this purity attained by our spiritual forefathers has,
with the passage of time, been cast aside. Pragmatism, tradition and human opinion
are exalted in determining how God's people are to worship Him. The attitude
among many in church leadership positions is to give the people what they want,
rather than to submit to God's divine revelation.
The purpose of this booklet is
to show that God does not leave it up to man to make up his own rules regarding
worship. Christians are to learn and submit to what God says in this area. The
first part of this booklet discusses the "regulative principle" of
Scripture and worship. God has set down in Scripture how He is to be
worshipped. Man is not to add to or detract from what God says. The second part
of the booklet examines the keeping of Christmas. Christmas is a good example
of how many people violate this regulative principle of worship. It is celebrated
almost universally, even by those who claim to adhere to the regulative
principle.
Is Christmas
Christian (1/2) by
Brian Schwertley (OFFSITE)
FREE MP3 audio at: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonid=92703223958
Is Christmas
Christian (2/2) by
Brian Schwertley (OFFSITE)
FREE MP3 audio at: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonid=92703235136
Remember the Sabbath Day 5/5 by Greg Price
(sermon five in this series deals with Christmas)
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=980111053
The Paganism of Christmas #1 by Harold
Chase
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=4270615118
A Puritan Reformed Discussion of Holy Days
(Lord's Day/Christian Sabbath, Christmas, Easter, etc.) by Greg Barrow
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8140513249
Christian Opposition To Man-Made Holy Days
(Christmas, Easter, etc.) by James Gilfillan
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9180521859
Presbyterians Do Not Observe Christmas,
Easter, etc. (A Reformation Argument Against Popish Holy Days) by Samuel Miller
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=91805205440
Christmas: Why Protestants Oppose Its
Celebration by Evangelist
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=51607123545
Christmas (Christ-mass), Babylonianism,
Paganism, Romanism and Reformation... by Matthew McMahon
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=3210711187
X-Mas: The Biggest Pagan Holiday/Holyday of
the Year by Dr. Scott Johnson
Free MP3 at http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6250719659
Reasons Against Festival Days, Christmas,
Easter, Etc. (By the Perth Assembly) - David Calderwood
The First of Four FREE MP3s Begin At: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=51107133713
Against Man-Made Holy Days & Ceremonies
by George Gillespie (Scottish Commissioner to the Westminster Assembly)
Excerpted from Gillespie's classic, A Dispute Against the English Popish
Ceremonies Obtruded on the Church of Scotland (the full book is available at http://www.swrb.com/catalog/g.htm)
The First of Six FREE MP3s Begin At: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=81405114231
Halloween, Satanism, the Satanic Bible,
Separation, the Devil's Tricks, Idolatry and Paganism by Matthew McMahon
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32007163759
The Way of the Heathen: A Brief History of
Halloween by Matthew McMahon
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=102071134610
Should a Christian Celebrate Christmas?
part 1 of 2 by Dr. William Crews
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12806144416
Should a Christian Celebrate Christmas?
part 2 of 2 by Dr. William Crews
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1280614525
On Shunning the Unlawful Rites of the
Ungodly by John Calvin
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=21901175234
Classic Charles Spurgeon Quotes on Christ,
Calvinism, Christmas, Covenanters, Separation, Reading, Affliction, Atonement,
etc.
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=130422417
The Scriptural Law (Regulative Principle)
of Worship by William H. Vincent
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7110513355
Regulative Principle of Worship in the New
Testament by Greg Price
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=380119184
Regulative Principle of Worship in the Old
Testament by Greg Price
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=380103046
Covenanter Terms of Communion 8 of 19:
Presbyterian Worship and Government ½ by Greg Price
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1260514421
Reformation
Worship & Separation by John Owen
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=82806152752
Some Comments For Those Who Attend
Idolatrous Worship by John Philpot
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=5907163744
Necessity of
Reforming the Church 1 of 4 (1544) by John Calvin
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1280211493
Separation From False Worship, Idolatry
& Popish Principles by John Calvin
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8310101619
What is Occasional Hearing? (1/3) On
Biblical Separation by Greg Price
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6201223051
Strictures on
Occasional Hearing 1 of 7(1820, second edition) by James Douglas
FREE MP3: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8605225744
RELATED
Worship: The Regulative Principle of
Worship in History by Reg Barrow (Discusses the very foundation of all faithful public worship.
Dovetails splendidly with Calvin's Necessity of Reforming the Church.
Cites numerous examples from Reformation history (Calvin, Knox, Owen, the
Westminster Divines, etc.) exhibiting the Reformation consensus regarding the
basis of biblical faithfulness in this area. A good short, easy-reading
introduction to this topic.)
Psalm Singing in Scripture &
History by Reg Barrow
(Discusses Reformed worship-song in the context of the regulative principle of
worship [Sola Scriptura in Worship]. Defends exclusive Psalmody
from Scripture and the writings and testimony of the most prominent Reformers.)
FREE The Psalms of David in Metre
(being the Scottish Metrical Psalter, first authorized by the Westminster
Divines and then also by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland [in
1650], with notes by John Brown of Haddington.)
A Warning Against the False and
Dangerous Views of James Jordan Concerning Worship: A Book Review of Kevin
Reed's Canterbury Tales by Reg Barrow
An Essay on Psalmody by Dr. William
Romaine
The Psalms: the Divinely Authorized and
Exclusive Manual of Praise by Dr. W.I. Wishart
Still
Waters Revival Books (www.swrb.com)
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(in over 100 countries) for 24+ years.
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Links to all 90 SWRB CDs related to
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PRICE,
GREG
Christmass Condemned By Christ (1998)
Price shows how the
teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ condemns all man-invented holy days. Scripture and
history are brought to bear most specifically on the celebration of Christ-mass,
demonstrating why it is a sin to celebrate this day. It is also noted that Scripture never commands the
celebration of this day and that there is no evidence that Christ and the
Apostles ever celebrated this day -- in fact, this sycretism of paganism and
"Babylonian" Christianity was not first celebrated until 354 A.D.
(when December 25 was chosen, in accord with the Pagan feast of Saturnalia, as
the day of "celebration"). Price also clearly shows that
to call yourself Reformed while you hold on to this Roman Catholic/Pagan
monument of idolatry makes for a serious contradiction in your testimony -- as the best Reformed churches have always disciplined those
(in accord with Scriptural teaching) who broke the second and fourth
commandments by keeping antichristian festival days like Christ-mass, Easter,
etc.. Citations from Luther, Calvin and the company
of Geneva Pastors, the Church of Scotland's First Book of Discipline,
the 1620 Dutch Synod, the Civil Government of Holland (1625), the British Colonies
in the U.S. and the Westminster
Assembly all speak with one voice against
this Romish corruption. Common objections against the classic
Reformed position are also answered. "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the
way of the heathen" (Jer. 10:2). For more information see Christmas:
A Biblical Critique
by Kevin Reed free at: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Xmas_ch0.htm.
(3 Cassettes) $4.99 (US
funds) [$7 off!]
(3 Videos) $14.99 (US funds) [$20 off!]
These sermons are also available
on various Reformation Bookshelf CDs
at:
http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/reformation-bookshelf-CDs.htm
PINK,
A.W.
The Christian and Christmas
An excellent introduction to
Christian opposition to the Roman Catholic/Pagan holy-day commonly called
"Christ-mass" (which proves that Christmass is essentially a pagan
holiday; and that its religious elements foster an imitation gospel which
actually keeps the world from understanding the true gospel). Authors: C.H.
Spurgeon, A.W. Pink, et al.
The printed version of this booklet is available at http://www.swrb.com/catalog/s.htm.
Free MP3 at http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=23011394
Part of this item is also FREE in etext at: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Xmas_ch0.htm
Also see Kevin Reed's book Christmas: A Biblical Critique.
FREE at: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Xmas_ch0.htm
+++ SCHNEIDER,
MICHAEL
Is Christmas
Christian?
An excellent introduction to
Christian opposition to the Roman Catholic/Pagan holy-day commonly called
Christmass. 16 pages.
SWRB SUPER SALE
PRICE
(Booklet) $.47 (US funds)
(Five cassettes by Greg Price on the fourth commandment, $14.90
[US funds] for the set.)
Why Keep the Sabbath? (1/5)
($2.98)
Is Sabbath Keeping for the Jews Alone? (2/5) ($2.98)
Sabbath Keeping & Building the Kingdom of God (3/5) ($2.98)
There is Left a Rest For the People of God (4/5) ($2.98)
Lordship, Sabbath Keeping, Holy Days & Christmass
(5/5) ($2.98,
against Xmas, Easter, & other Roman Catholic
festival days)
These sermons are also available
on Reformation Bookshelf CD
volume 21 at:
http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/reformation-bookshelf-CDs.htm
BECKER,
R.F.
Lent, Good Friday, and Easter
Against superstition and man
made holy-days (not instituted of God).
(Booklet) $3.95-50%=$1.97 (US funds)
Reformation Worship Sale
http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/reformation-worship.htm
Reformation
Bookshelf CD 19 contains many classic Reformed books on many worship issues and
the regulative principle of worship.
"This
collection of... CDs is a truly astounding accomplishment. There is nothing
like this available to the ordinary Christian on the whole face of the earth.
Now, for the
first time ever, ordinary Christians can have direct and near effortless access
to the very cream of Puritan and Reformed, as well as Covenanter, literature.
These books are
often in fascinating first editions and many are electronically linked and indexed
for the first time. The ordinary Christian may here dig into a simply
staggering wealth of literature, from devotional and sermonic material to
technical and scholarly works. Even in the days of the Long Reformation itself
ordinary Christians didn't get to see this kind of library -- most couldn't
read for a start, and even those who could, would never have been able to
afford to buy even a hundredth part of the material on these CDs. Truly we are
without excuse!
And the
significance of this collection goes even beyond that. No longer do we have to
wait for modern Reformed publishing houses to predict that a particular
Reformation or Puritan book will be sufficiently popular to make it economical
to reprint, or to deem it "safe" enough to be let loose on the modern
evangelical church. Rather, we are now able to see for ourselves the whole
range of the Puritan and Reformed publishing enterprise, including views that
are usually suppressed by most modern devotees of "Puritan" piety!
Buy these CDs
while you can, and find out for yourself what the First and Second Reformations
were really all about! You'll be truly amazed, and, by God's grace, will grow
from being an ordinary Christian to being an extraordinary one.
What they used
to say of the Puritan John Flavel's preaching, can be said of these CDs: they
are 'hissing hot'!"
- Dr.
Jonathan D. Moore,
Cambridge, UK.
(Scholar of 16th
and 17th century Calvinistic literature.)
Many more
comments (by Banner of Truth magazine, Calvin Beisner [Professor of Historical
Theology and Social Ethics at Knox Theological Seminary], Dr. E.P. Elliott
[Christian Observer magazine], et al.) on both the new Reformation Bookshelf CD
set of 30 CDs and the Puritan Bookshelf CD set of 32 CDs can be found at the
end of the page at: http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/reformation-bookshelf-CDs.htm
.
Links to all 90 SWRB CDs related to
our new 3 for 1 CD SUPER SALE (LIMITED TIME OFFER) .
Spurgeon and Other
Biblical/Reformation Quotes on
Christ-mass.
+++ From C.H.
Spurgeon's Treasury
of David,
on Psalm 81:4.
Ver. 4. For this was a statute
for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
When it can be proved that the observance
of Christmas, Whitsuntide, and other Popish festivals was ever instituted by a
divine statute, we also will attend to them, but not till then. It is as
much our duty to reject the traditions of men, as to observe the ordinances of
the Lord. We ask
concerning every rite and rubric, "Is this a law of the God of
Jacob?" and if it be not clearly so, it is of no authority with us, who
walk in Christian liberty.
+++ C.H. Spurgeon
(December 24, 1871, http://www.swrb.com/catalog/s.htm)
We have no superstitious regard
for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present
ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas: first, because we do not believe
in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be said or sung in Latin or in
English; and, secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the
birthday of the Savior; and, consequently, its observance is a superstition,
because not of divine authority.
+++ George Gillespie
(Scottish Commissioner to the Westminster Assembly) on Christmass Keeping and
More
George
Gillespie, one of the Scottish Commissioners at the Westminster Assembly, waxes
eloquent on this matter, including festival days among those
"ceremonies that are unlawful, because they sort us with idolaters."
He writes,
"by communicating with
idolaters in their rites and ceremonies, we ourselves become guilty of
idolatry; even as Ahaz, 2 Kings 16:10, was an idolater, eo ipso, that he took
the pattern of an altar from idolaters. Forasmuch, then, as kneeling before the
consecrated bread, the sign of the cross, surplice, *festival days*,
bishopping, bowing down to the altar, administration of the sacraments in
private places, etc., are the wares of Rome, the baggage of Babylon, the
trinkets of the whore, the badges of Popery, the ensigns of Christ's enemies,
and the very trophies of antichrist, -- we cannot conform, communicate and
symbolise with the idolatrous Papists in the use of the same, without making
ourselves idolaters by participation. Shall the chaste spouse of Christ take
upon her the ornaments of the whore? Shall the Israel of God symbolise with her
who is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt? Shall the Lord's redeemed people
wear the ensigns of their captivity? Shall the saints be seen with the mark of
the beast? Shall the Christian church be like the antichristian, the holy like
the profane, religion like superstition, the temple of God like the synagogue
of Satan?" (A Dispute Against English
Popish Ceremonies, in Gillespie's Works volume one, p. 80, SWRB
reprint http://www.swrb.com/catalog/g.htm, emphases added).
+++ From Christmas: An
Historical Survey Regarding Its Origins and Opposition to It by Kevin
Reed, free at http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Xmas_ch2.htm
From the outset of the Scottish
Reformation, the discussion focussed upon the nature of true worship. John Knox
repeatedly confronted his papal adversaries by contending that true worship
must be instituted by God. True worship is not derived from the innovations of
men.
At the heart of Knox's argument
is an appeal to Deuteronomy 4 and 12. These portions of scripture teach that it
is unlawful to add to, or subtract from, the worship which God has instituted
in his Word. Consequently, all religious ceremonies and institutions must have
direct scriptural warrant if they are to be admitted as valid expressions of
worship. This statement of the regulative principle of worship was a hallmark
of the Scottish reformation.
Knox made his case for the
regulative principle at the beginning of his ministry, before he had studied on
the Continent. Knox condemned the false worship of Roman Catholicism. In a
public debate against the Papists, Knox declared:
"That God's word damns your
ceremonies, it is evident; for the plain and straight commandment of God is,
'Not that thing which appears good in thy eyes, shalt thou do to the Lord thy
God, but what the Lord thy God has commanded thee, that do thou: add nothing to
it; diminish nothing from it.' Now unless that ye are able to prove that God
has commanded your ceremonies, this his former commandment will damn both you
and them.[17] With this understanding of worship, the Scottish Church cast out
a multitude of the monuments of idolatry which were part of papal worship;
graven images, the Mass, false sacraments, Romish liturgical ceremonies, and
Roman bishops were all removed from the Church. Ecclesiastical holidays were
also expelled from the Church of Scotland.
In 1560, Knox and several others
drew up the First Book of Discipline. In this book, the First Head of Doctrine
begins with a general statement on the nature of the gospel.[18]
After the opening statement, an
"explication" is given which asserts the sole authority of scripture
as it relates to doctrine and worship. Note the firm condemnation of holidays,
as incorporated in this remarkable document:
"Lest upon this our
generality ungodly men take occasion to cavil, this we add for explication. By
preaching of the Evangel, we understand not only the Scriptures of the New
Testament, but also of the Old; to wit, the Law, Prophets, and Histories, in
which Christ Jesus is no less contained in figure, than we have him now
expressed in verity. And, therefore, with the Apostle, we affirm that 'all
Scripture inspired of God is profitable to instruct, to reprove, and to
exhort.' In which Books of Old and New Testaments we affirm that all things
necessary for the instruction of the Kirk, and to make the man of God perfect,
are contained and sufficiently expressed.
By contrary Doctrine, we
understand whatsoever men, by Laws, Councils, or Constitutions have imposed
upon the consciences of men, without the expressed commandment of God's word: such as be vows of chastity,
foreswearing of marriage, binding of men and women to several and disguised
apparels, to the superstitious observation of fasting days, difference of meat
for conscience sake, prayer for the dead; and keeping of holy days of certain
Saints commanded by men, such as be all those that the Papists have invented, as
the Feasts (as they term them) of Apostles, Martyrs, Virgins, of Christmas,
Circumcision, Epiphany, Purification, and other fond feasts of our Lady. Which things, because in God's
scriptures they neither have commandment nor assurance, we judge them utterly
to be abolished from this Realm; affirming further, that the obstinate
maintainers and teachers of such abominations ought not to escape the
punishment of the Civil Magistrate.[19]
...
In 1899, the General Assembly of
the pcus was overtured to give a "pronounced and explicit
deliverance" against the recognition of "Christmas and Easter as
religious days." Even at this late date, the answer came back in a solid
manner:
There is no warrant in
Scripture for the observance of Christmas and Easter as holydays, rather the
contrary (see Gal. 4:9-11; Col. 2:16-21), and such observance is contrary to
the principles of the Reformed faith, conducive to will-worship, and not in harmony
with the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (emphases added).[63]
+++ From
Is Christmas
Christian? by Michael Schneider, free at http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Xmas_ch1.htm
How then did we receive our
holidays (holy days) with their customs and traditions -- Christmas as well as
Easter, Halloween, and Mardi Gras? Each of them has come to us from ancient
Babylon, through Rome, through the Roman Catholic church.
It was for this very reason that
in Calvin's Geneva you could have been fined or imprisoned for celebrating
Christmas. It was at the request of the Westminster Assembly that the English
Parliament in 1644 passed an act forbidding the observance of Christmas,
calling it a heathen holiday. In an appendix to their "Directory for the
Public Worship of God" the Westminster divines said: "There is no day
commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's day,
which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called 'Holy-days',
having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued." (See also,
James Bannerman, The Church of Christ,
Vol. i, pages 406-420).
When the Puritans came to
America they passed similar laws. The early New Englanders worked steadily
through December 25, 1620, in studied neglect of the day. About 40 years later
the General Court of Massachusetts decreed punishment for those who kept the
season: "...anyone who is found observing, by abstinence from labor,
feasting, or any other way, any such days as Christmas Day, shall pay for every
such offense five shillings."
It was not until the 19th
century that Christmas had any religious significance in Protestant churches.
Even as late as 1900, Christmas services were not held in Southern Presbyterian
churches. ...
Take, for instance, the very
date of Christmas, December 25. As you are probably aware, no one really knows
the time of Christ's birth and December 25 is a highly unlikely time. Why then
December 25? Well, at the time of year when the days began to lengthen again,
the Babylonians celebrated the victory of their sun god. The Roman copy of this
Babylonian custom was called Saturnalia, the feast of the birth of Sol. It was
for centuries an abomination to Christians. The celebration was an orgy of
pagan revelry. But the Church, instead of standing firm against paganism, began
to compromise. It wanted to "help" weak young Christians who didn't
want to give up the fun and merrymaking surrounding the winter solstice. So the
Church said, "Go on with your fun and celebration. Only now we'll call it
a celebration of the birth of the Son of God. Instead of losing people to
paganism, we'll combine the two and gradually even win some of the pagans of
our day to profess Christianity. Let's not force men to choose between the
two."
Then think about the name
Christmas itself. What does it mean? Many people do not even know that it is a
combination of Christ and mass. Christmas is the Roman Catholic celebration of
a particular mass in honor of the birth of Christ. Perhaps it would impress on
our minds the real meaning of Christmas if we would refer to it as Christmass.
What is the significance of the mass? At its heart the Roman Catholic mass is a
denial of the sufficiency of Christ's atonement. It professes to be a
reenactment of the sacrifice of Christ for sin. It is a denial of the gospel
(Heb. 9:12, 24-26; 10:10, 12,14). The Roman Catholic Church has many other
masses, such as Michaelmass, but it is their Christmass that Protestants have
singled out for observance. ...
The very popularity of Christmas
should cause the Christians to question it. Anyone and everyone can celebrate
Christmas without question! Outright pagans, nominal Christians, even Buddhists
join in the celebration. If, in reality, December 25 was a date set by God to
remember the birth of Jesus, you can be very sure that the world would have
nothing to do with it. After all, God has commanded the observance of one day
in seven, a day when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ, the first
day of the week, the Lord's day -- but does the world observe it? Of course
not. The world totally disregards it. Shouldn't the Christian be suspicious of
a celebration in which the whole sinful world can join without qualms? There
are multitudes of people who continually desecrate the Lord's Day, but somehow
have great zeal about being in church at Christmas.
The crucial question for the
believer is the Lordship of Christ: "Know ye not that ... ye are not your
own? For ye are bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Are you sincerely
willing to think whatever God would have you
think about this whole matter?
Are you willing to do whatever God would have you do, even though it may mean a
drastic change in your thinking or practice? It's at this point that the
conflict really comes.
I have heard many people say
about this subject, "No I don't want to read a book about it. No I don't
want to think about it. I don't want to talk about it. I'm going to have my
Christmas no matter what. I enjoy it, and no one is going to take it away from
me" (the implication being, not even God). It's then that Christmas
becomes an idol. An idol is anything that comes between you and God: anything
you refuse to give up, even at his command. General exhortations to surrender
all don't affect us greatly; but discipleship really counts when it affects
some concrete area we really care about. The real question is, can you
sincerely say to God about this issue, "Thy will be done in earth as it is
in heaven" -- "Thy will be done?"
+++ Of Religious
Worship and the Sabbath-day
(Westminster
Confession of Faith, chapter 21).
I. The light of nature showeth
that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is good, and
doeth good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called
upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart, and with all the soul, and
with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is
instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he *may
not be worshipped* according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the
suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation or *any other way not
prescribed in the holy Scripture* (emphases added).
VII. As it is of the law of
nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship
of God; so, in his Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment,
binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven
for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world
to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the
resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which in
Scripture is called the Lord's Day, and is to be continued to the end of the
world as the Christian Sabbath. (Westminster
Confession of Faith on the Reformation
Bookshelf CD set (http://www.swrb.com/Puritan/reformation-bookshelf-CDs.htm), Still Waters Revival Books, 2002).
+++ Acts of the
General Assemblies of the Church of Scotland on Festival Days
Festival days
not commanded nor warranted by scripture. General Assembly seeks total abolition
not reformation of abuses only.
December 10, Session 17, 1638.
And next in particular,
concerning festival days findeth that in the explication of the first head of
the first book of discipline it was thought good that the feasts of Christmas,
Circumcision, Epiphany, with the feasts of the Apostles, Martyrs and Virgin
Mary be utterly abolished because they are neither commanded nor warranted by
Scripture and that such as observe them be punished by Civil Magistrates. Here
utter abolition is craved and not reformation of abuses only and that because
the observation of such feasts have no warrant from the word of God. (The Acts of the General Assemblies of the Church of
Scotland, pp. 37-38 [Still Waters Revival Books, reprint, 1997],
at http://www.swrb.com/catalog/c.htm under
"CHURCH OF SCOTLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1638-1649").
+++ Observation of
festival days censurable.
February 13, 1645.
Act for
Censuring the Observers of Yule-day and other superstitious days especially if
they be scholars.
The General Assembly taking to
their consideration the manifold abuses, profanity, and superstitions committed
on Yule-day and some other superstitious days following have unanimously
concluded and hereby ordains; That whatsoever person or persons hereafter shall
be found guilty in keeping of the foresaid superstitious days shall be
proceeded against by Kirk censures and shall make their public repentance
therefore in the face of the congregation where the offence is committed. And
that Presbyteries and Provincial Synods take particular notice how Ministers
try and censure delinquents of this kind within the several parishes. And
because scholars and students give great scandal offence in this, That they
(being found guilty) be severely disciplined and chastised before their
Masters. And in case the Masters of Schools or Colleges be accessory to the
said superstitious profanity, by their connivance, granting of liberty of
vacancy to their Scholars at that time, or any time thereafter, in compensation
thereof, That the Masters be summoned by the Ministers of the place to compear
before the next ensuing General Assembly, there to be censured according to
their trespass; And if Scholars (being guilty) refuse to subject themselves to
correction, or be fugitives from discipline, That they be not received in any
other school or college within the kingdom. (The
Acts of the General Assemblies of the Church of Scotland, pp.
285-286 [Still Waters Revival Books, reprint, 1997, at http://www.swrb.com/catalog/c.htm
under "CHURCH OF SCOTLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1638-1649").
"The PRELATE, by his doctrine, practice, example, and neglect of discipline,
declareth that he hath no such reverend estimation of the Sabbath. He doteth so
upon the observation of Pasche [Easter], and Yule [Christ-mass], and festival
days appointed by men, that he preferreth them to the Sabath, and hath turned
to nothing our solemn fasts and blessed humiliations."—David
Calderwood, The Pastor and the Prelate. (1628).
http://www.covenanter.org/HolyDays/xmasshomepage.htm
In the early 1640s, as power passed from Charles I (who largely supported
the existing rituals and festivals) to the Long Parliament, parliament began
the process of clamping down on the celebration of Christmas, pressing that
"Christ-tide‚" (as they preferred it called, thus doing away with the
"mass‚" element and its Catholic echoes) should be kept, if at all,
merely as a day of fasting and seeking the Lord. In January 1642, shortly
before civil war began, Charles I had agreed to parliament's request to order
that the last Wednesday in each month should be kept as a fast day; many hoped
that Christ-tide, 25 December, would come to be seen and kept as just an
addition to these regular fast days. The Long Parliament, in fact, met and
worked as usual on 25 December 1643. In late 1644 it was noted that 25 December
would fall on the last Wednesday of the month, the day of the regular monthly
fast, and parliament stressed that 25 December was strictly to be kept as a
time of fasting and humiliation, for remembering the sins of those who in the
past had turned the day into a feast, sinfully and wrongfully "giving
liberty to carnal and sensual delights." Both Houses of Parliament
attended intense fast sermons on 25 December 1644 (http://www.olivercromwell.org/faqs4.htm).
To start this study out lets look at some quotes from a book entitled:
Sabbats: A Witch’s Approach To Living The Old Ways by Edain McCoy (A
Practicing Witch)
(Page 53): “Yule is a time of mixed emotions for pagans. All around us we
see
evidence of the Christmas celebration…one which we know takes its form
and
meaning from ancient pagan practices.
Virgin births, decorated trees,
festive lights, feasting, wreaths, bells, and fragrant fires, were-and
still areat
the heart of pagan Midwinter observances.”
(Page 59): “For pagans, this usurping of Yule (by Christians) has one
great
advantage-it has preserved for us many ancient Yule customs which might
otherwise have been lost. Look in any book and Christmas customs
around the globe and you will find a plethora of pagan traditions.”
(Pages 85 and 86): “Music is another important part of Yule, and Christmas
carols are yet another idea taken from paganism. Many common Christmas
carols contain pagan images that are not so subtle. “Carols are form an Old
/French word meaning “joyous songs”, and were also the name of round dances
celebrating the rebirth of the Frankish pagan gods. The English Christmas
Carol “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly” contains not one Christian
religious image.” (Note: That
is because the images mentioned are pagan in
their origin as we will see.) “When
Yule rolls around you should feel free to
have a lighted tree in your home, hang a wreath on your door, ring the
jingle
bells, and give gifts in memory of loved ones. Remember
that this is a Sabbat,
a pagan festival, a time that marks the return of
the Sun god both to his
Goddess Bride and to his joyous people.”
II Corinthians 6:15-19: “Be ye not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with
Belial?
or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath
the
temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God
hath
said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and
they shall
be my people. Wherefore come out from among them,
and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;
and I will receive you, And
will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord
Almighty.”
I Corinthians 5:6: “Your glorying is
not good. Know ye not that a little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump?”
Her son had many names as well. Some of them are Horus, Harpocrates,
Mithras, Sol
Invictus, Hercules, Attis and Tammuz. What do these god-babies have in
common?
Well, for one, they were all born on December 25th. Which is where we
derive the
pagan celebration of Christmas from, which was originally known by the
Romans
as Saturnalia. December 21-22 -- Winter Solstice/Yule. One of the
Illuminati's
Human Sacrifice Nights December 21-22 -- Yule -- When the sun begins its
northward trek in the sky, and days began to grow longer again, pagans
celebrated the Winter Solstice by burning the Yule log. Since the sun had
reversed
itself and was now rising in the sky, pagans believed this was a sign
that the
human sacrifices carried out in Samhain (Halloween) had been accepted by
the
gods. The Roman Catholic Church later changed the
day of celebration to
December 25, calling it Christmas.
Roman Catholicism is a demonic blend of ancient pagan religions made to look
like
Christianity.
--------
Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. It was
not celebrated, commemorated, or observed, neither by the apostles nor in
the apostolic church -- not for at least the first 300 years of church
history! … The
Constantine-led Roman Church was more than willing to adapt and adopt
pagan
practices in order to make Christianity palatable to the heathen
Pagan holidays were reclassified as Christian holidays (holy-days).
December 25th was the "Victory of the Sun-God" Festival in the
pagan
Babylonian world. In the ancient Roman Empire, the celebration can be traced
back to the Roman festival Saturnalia, which honored Saturn, the harvest
god,
and Mithras, the god of light; both were celebrated during or shortly after
the
winter solstice (between the 17th and 23rd of December). To all ancient pagan
civilizations, December 25th was the birthday of the gods -- the time of
year
when the days began to lengthen and man was blessed with a
"regeneration of
nature." Moreover, all of December 25th's Babylonian and Roman
festivals were
characterized by 5-7 day celebration periods of unrestrained promiscuous
revelry
and licentiousness.
In order to make Christianity palatable to the heathen, the Roman Church
simply
took Saturnalia, adopted it into Christianity, and then eventually many of
the
associated pagan symbols, forms, customs, and traditions were reinterpreted
(or
"Christianized") in ways "acceptable" to lukewarm
Christian faith and practice. (In
fact, in 375 A.D., the Church of Rome under Pope Julius I merely announced
that
the birth date of Christ had been "discovered" to be December
25th, and was
accepted as such by the "faithful." The festival of Saturnalia and
the birthday of
Mithras could now be celebrated as the birthday of Christ!) The pagans
flocked
into the Catholic places of worship, because they were still able to worship
their
old gods, but merely under different names. It mattered not to them whether
they worshiped the Egyptian goddess mother and her child under the old names
(Isis and Horus), or under the names of the "Virgin Mary" and the
"Christ-child."
Either way, it was the same old idol-religion (cf. 1 Thes. 1:8-10; 5:22 --
Paul says
to turn from idols, not rename them and Christianize them). Roman
Catholicism's
Christmas Day is nothing but "baptized" paganism, having come
along much too
late to be part of "the faith once delivered unto the saints"
(Jude 3). … "'A compound religion had been manufactured, of
which ... Christianity furnished the vocabulary and Paganism the doctrines
and
rights.' The idolatry of the Roman world, though deposed from its ancient
preeminence,
had by no means been demolished. Instead of this, its pagan
nakedness had been covered with the garb of a deformed Christianity"
(W.E.
Vine). Pagan customs involving vestments, candles, incense, images, and
processions were all incorporated into church worship and continue today.
The blasphemous "Christ's Mass" shortened to
"Christ-mas" -- The Roman
Catholic "Christ's Mass" is a special mass performed in
celebration of Christ's
birth. In this mass, Jesus is considered both the priest and the victim,
represented by the Catholic priest who offers Him as a sacrifice each time
the
mass is performed. In offering this "sacrifice," the priest
believes he has the
power to change the bread and the wine of the Communion into Jesus' literal
flesh and blood, requiring the people to worship these elements as they do
God
Himself.
Christmas Tree (The sacred tree of
the Winter-god) -- Evergreen trees,
because of their ability to remain green through-out the winter season when
most
other forms of vegetation are dormant, have long symbolized immortality,
fertility,
sexual potency, and reproduction, and were often brought into homes and set
up
as idols. For ages, evergreen trees would be brought into the house during
the
winter as magic symbols of luck (Lucifer) and hope for a fruitful year to
come.
The five pointed star is a sacred symbol of Nimrod and also is a
representation of
the stars to which the ancient Chaldean astrologers looked for guidance.
It was left to the Puritans to denounce everything. For them, Christmas
was
rightfully part popish, part pagan, and was forbidden to be kept as a
holiday or
feast day. The attack began in 1644
when the Puritans controlled the Parliament;
December 25th was changed to a Fast Day. By 1647, even the Fast Day was
abolished as a relic of superstition, synonymous with the Church of Rome. No
observation on December 25th was any longer permitted, but the day was to be
observed as a normal market-day. Christmas was accurately depicted by
such
names as the Profane Man's Ranting Day, the Superstitious Man's Idol Day,
the
Papist's Massing Day, the Old Heathen's Feasting Day, the Multitude's
Idle Day,
and Satan -- that Adversary's -- Working Day. In those days, any Christmas
celebrations would be broken up by troops, who would tear down decorations
and arrest anyone holding a service. Some who celebrated it in Europe were
also
thrown into prison. Because of the riots that broke out following the
banning of
Christmas, the celebrations and revelry were restored in 1660 by King
Charles II,
a Roman Catholic (Sulgrave Manor, "A Tudor Christmas," p. 3).
--------
From X-Mas: The Biggest Pagan Holiday/Holyday of the Year by Dr. Scott Johnson
Free MP3 at http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6250719659
Jer. 10:2 Thus saith the LORD,
Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven;
for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Jer. 10:3 For the customs of the
people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the
hands of the workman, with the ax.
Jer. 10:4 They deck it with
silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move
not.
Why no Christmas or Easter?
http://www.sermonaudio.com/new_details3.asp?ID=9694
DEMONS LOVE CHRISTMAS?
Also, if you listen to the free MP3 at http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6706153329,
titled "Demon Possession (1 of 3) in Early America," you will hear
how the demons consider Christmass a very special day for them. On one occasion, the particular demons is this
account even instructed a person who wanted to make formal covenant with them
(and ultimately, Satan) to wait especially for Christmas day to transact this
great wickedness. This example is at about 8:50 to 9:50 on this MP3. A second
historic example, where the demons desired to keep Christmas with one they
oppressed, can be heard in the free MP3 at http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6706155859,
titled "Demon Possession (2 of 3) in Early America." This second
example is at about 20:20 to 21:20 on this MP3.
"Sect. XXX. After this, we had no more such entertainments. The Demons it
may be would once or twice in a Week trouble her for a few minutes with perhaps
a twisting and a twinkling of her eyes, or a certain Cough which did seem to be
more than ordinary. Moreover, Both she at my house, and her Sister at home,
at the time which they call Christmas, were by the Demons made very drunk, though they had no strong Drink (as we are fully
sure) to make them so. When she began to feel her self thus drunk, she
complain'd, "O they say they will have me to keep Christmas with
them! They will disgrace me when they can do nothing else! " And immediately the Ridiculous Behaviours of
one drunk were with a wonderful exactness represented in her Speaking, and
Reeling, and Spewing, and anon Sleeping, till she was well again. But the
Vexations of the Children otherwise abated continually. They first came to be
always Quiet, unless upon Provocations. Then they got Liberty to work, but not
to read: then further on, to read, but not aloud, at last they were wholly
delivered; and for many Weeks remained so" (Cotton Mather, Memorable
Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions (1689). From http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASA_MATH.HTM,
but disregard the silly note by the editor.)
Satan loves his demon-inspired, man-made holy days, and this is a
clear example of one of the ways in which devils come as "angels of
light" (2 Corinthians 11:14),
feigning unscriptural religiosity to deceive the ignorant and scandalous. When
the church has been at her strongest these Papist/Pagan/demonic holy-days
(Christmass, Easter, etc.) have been matters of discipline, as noted in the
free online quotes at http://www.swrb.com/newslett/freebook/holyday.htm.
These quotes also demonstrate that civil sanctions, in accord with
Scripture, have at times also been enacted. For example,
"It was for this very reason that in Calvin's Geneva you could have
been fined or imprisoned for celebrating Christmas. It was at the request of
the Westminster Assembly that the English Parliament in 1644 passed an act
forbidding the observance of Christmas, calling it a heathen holiday. In an appendix to their 'Directory for the Public
Worship of God' the Westminster divines said: '
There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but
the Lord's day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called
'Holy-days', having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued.'
(See also, James Bannerman, The Church of Christ, Vol. I, pages 406-420).
When the Puritans came to America they passed similar laws. The early New
Englanders worked steadily through December 25, 1620, in studied neglect of the
day. About 40 years later the General Court of Massachusetts decreed punishment
for those who kept the season: '...anyone who is found observing, by abstinence
from labor, feasting, or any other way, any such days as Christmas Day, shall
pay for every such offense five shillings'" ( Is Christmas Christian?, Schneider, http://www.swrb.com/newslett/freebook/holyday.htm
and http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/Xmas_ch2.htm).
Is Christmas
Christian?
An excellent introduction to
Christian opposition to the Roman Catholic/Pagan holy-day commonly called
Christmass. 16 pages.
SWRB SUPER SALE
PRICE
(Booklet) $.47 [$.50 off!]
SWRB REGULAR
DISCOUNTED PRICE
(Booklet) $.97
This item is also FREE at: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Xmas_ch0.htm
Also see Kevin Reed's book Christmas: A Biblical Critique (which
proves that Christmass is essentially a pagan holiday; and that its religious
elements foster an imitation gospel which actually keeps the world from
understanding the true gospel).
FREE at: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Xmas_ch0.htm
+++ BARROW, GREG
A Puritan
Reformed Discussion of Holy Days
Covers the fourth commandment
and how it is related to man-made holy days like Christmass, Easter, etc.
Argues that these man-made days are unwarranted and have the effect of
diminishing the zeal with which the Lord's Day is kept holy, even, in some
cases, leading to a disregard for the sanctity of the Sabbath altogether.
(Cassette) $3.98 (US funds)
THIS BOOK DEALS
WITH BOTH "CHRISTMASS" AND EASTER:
+++ HISLOP,
ALEXANDER
The Two Babylons
or the Papal Worship Proved to Be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife (1916)
Contrasts the distinctive
characteristics of the truth with the lies and idolatry of the Roman
antichrist. Chapters cover the "Objects of Worship,"
"Festivals," "Doctrine and Discipline," "Rites and
Ceremonies," "Religious Orders," and the development of the two
systems considered "Historically and Prophetically." The prophetic
section is especially interesting and shows how far Protestants have moved into
Rome's camp concerning eschatology. The whole book, in fact, shows in a most
explicit manner how much Romanism has infected the modern Protestant churches
and their thinking. And as Hislop notes,
it has been known all along that
Popery was baptised Paganism; but God is now making it manifest, that the
Paganism which Rome has baptised is, in all its essential elements, the very
Paganism which prevailed in the ancient literal Babylon, when Jehovah opened
before Cyrus the two-leaved gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron."
A welcome rebuke to those who
would offer the right hand of fellowship to the "beast from the sea."
330 pages.
SWRB SUPER SALE
PRICE
(Hardcover) $29.95 (US funds) [$10 off!]
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(Hardcover) $39.95 (US funds)
+++ GILLESPIE, GEORGE
A Dispute
Against the English Popish Ceremonies Obtruded on the Church of Scotland (1637,
reprinted from the 1660 edition)
George Gillespie was one of the
Scottish commissioners to the Westminster Assembly, the youngest member there, and
undoubtedly one of the most influential. William Hetherington observes
"The effect produced by this singularly able work may be conjectured from
the fact that within a few months of its publication, a proclamation was issued
by the Privy Council, at the instigation of the Bishops, commanding that all
copies of the book that could be found be called in and burned by the hangman.
Such was the only answer that all the learned Scottish Prelates could give to a
treatise written by a youth who was only in his twenty-fifth year when it
appeared" ("Memoir," from the Works of George Gillespie, p.
xviii.). James Bannerman notes, "This was Gillespie's first work, and it
may be truly said to have settled the controversy which called it forth, so far
as argument was concerned. No answer to it was ever attempted by the Prelatic
party; and no answer was possible. It displays singular acuteness, learning,
and force of reasoning; and the thoroughness of the discussion is as remarkable
as the power with which it is conducted" (The Church of Christ, vol. 2.,
p. 435). Possibly the best uninspired book ever written on biblical worship, an
extensive and thorough masterpiece that leaves no stone unturned. For advanced
study.
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(Hardcover photocopy) $19.00 (US funds)
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