How come some Christians deny that the Catholic Church adopted pagan holidays, dates, symbols and traditions?
I was born and raised as a Christian, specifically Catholic, I believe that Jesus is the son of God, he preached and inspired millions to live better lives, he preached about love, kindness and equality, I believe in the spiritual significance of the sacraments, and I do not deny that the Catholic Church adopted pagan holidays, dates, symbols and traditions, nor am I bothered by it, but as I observed, some Christians deny it, and some are bothered by this. Religion in ancient Rome consisted of various pagan cults and sects, however, a growing religious turmoil was gripping the Empire, as Christians were refusing to join pagan celebrations, causing pagans to fear that Christians were angering the pagan gods, and when it was decreed that the Empire's military, political, and economic crises were caused by Christians angering the pagan gods, the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire had began, it lasted over a period of about three centuries until the time of Emperor Constantine, and so in order to unify the Empire, Emperor Constantine decided to legalize Christianity, and shortly thereafter Emperor Theodosius I made the Catholic Church the state religion of the Roman Empire. The Catholic Church converted the pagans of ancient Rome by adopting pagan holidays, dates, symbols and traditions, effectively turning them Christian, and this was also done to make converting to Christianity for pagans less shocking. December 25, in the Philocalian calendar of 354 AD, was originally a pagan holiday celebrated in ancient Rome, it was called Natalis Invicti, the birthday of Sol Invictus, the official sun god of the Roman Empire, and December 25 is also the date of the Winter solstice on the ancient Roman calendar, the Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianisation of pagan tradition surrounding the Winter solstice.
Why did Jesus Christ and his disciples not collect tithe but Christians do so today?
Christians collect tithes because they take the bible out of context. Truly anyone that knows his/her bible knows that tithing is not for today. Those that still believe they do, is because of what man has taught them. They will go to the same passages and verses to state their case but do not go to the passages within context that will totally go against all they have been falsely instructed. Apart from no Levites leaving today and no temple standing today, the law that inforced tithing on these Jews has passed away. God does not need your money, what He wants more than anything is a relationship with you. For those that love to say that Abraham gave tithes from the spoils of war before the law was given, well go ahead and give your tithe once! just as Abraham did. The Bible has been fulfilled! When Jesus said it is finished! He meant it! ..not one letter shall pass till! heaven & earth passes away.. Brothers and sisters, the old heaven and earth which was the old covenant law has passed away in 70AD! We are under the new heaven and earth!Isa 6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate. (First by the Babylonians and then by the Romans)Deu 4:26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you….Deu 31:28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.Seriously if you haven't understood this than you have not read your Bible. Stop using preconceptions and read for yourself. Stop being carried about by every wind of doctrine and search the scriptures to see what is the truth.I'm not saying that you shouldn't support your church, but just beware what it is that you are actually supporting.Grace & peace always..
Does the Bible say that God instituted marriage?
Does the Bible say that God instituted marriage?Some Christians often like to lay claim to marriage but it has been around a lot longer than the Bible. It has been around before the Jews. It has been a very long time. Australian aboriginals have a 30,000 year history with marriage. Different societies have implemented it in different ways. Hindus have 8 different types of marriages. The ancient Egyptians allowed marriage between members of the same gender. Western Zhou Dynasty in China, over 1,000 years before Jesus, had restrictions on the age of those that could be married. For males it was 20 and females it was 16. We have records of incestuous being outlawed over 10,000 years ago, sorry to Christians, not this isn’t all or even most Christians, that think that the world is only 6,000 years old.Marriages occurred for dieties and humans alike. Even Yahweh had a bride in the early days. Asherah was worship along side Yahweh, who was just a local god of war, at that time, in a much larger pantheon of gods.Does the Bible say stuff about marriage? Sure there are lots of passages. Hell there tons of laws saying who you can marry and who you can’t. Thing is there is no reason to think that a particular god is responsible for the concept of marriage.
How do we turn America into a Christian theocracy?
Remove the Second Amendment and then the First Amendment.Removing the second and taking away people weapons will do a lot to prevent a civil war after abolishing the first.The removing the Second Amendment will remove the right to speak out against any on in office. Government can legally control all media. Enact more religious based laws than we already have to the point you have to be bless in order to pee once. I hope your child like spending half their day be learning about why they should first serve the leaders and then god. BTW is will not be the nice kind leader you might find in church that are in control. It will be the worst of the fanatics.Then they would burn the Constitution an not care about your rights. For they will speed for god, and who can deny the word of a living god. Just see what happens when you do.
Where did Christmas, Easter, etc. dates come from?
Where do the dates that Christmas, Easter, Palm Sunday, etc. are celebrated on come from? Are they in the Bible? Why do Christians celebrated things like Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday and such? Did that come from the Bible? If not from the Bible, then where?