VCM Letters to the Editor: March 2000

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Letters to the Editor
If Everyone Kept God's Commandments

THANK YOU! I am going to use this article in my high school Sunday school class this morning. Keep up the good work!!!

-- Debbie
A Lesson From Tony

I just read your story on Tony. It was a good one. I just found out that a friend of mine just took their life four months ago. I have the same questions you had. What if I had taken more time to with them? Would it had made a difference?

Thanks for the encouragement.

-- Doris Smith

I am inspired by reading the article about Tony and choices. It was extremely helpful. Thank you.

-- Ken
St. Valentine, Cupid and Jesus Christ

I read your article about the origins of Valentine's Day and I was especially surprised to know cupid was an image carried over from the Roman Gods. Very interesting information. Thank you. My question is:

Why would the Christian TV Network TBN not have this information and with it choose not to air such a large valentines celebration as they did tonight (Sun. 2/13).

I watch TBN frequently and frankly even before I read your page I was surprised to see the display of celebration of Valentine's Day they were exhibiting.

I respect them and the ministers who air on their Network but this is confusing to me. What's your opinion of the Holiday being portrayed as good by Christians in such an influential position as they are?

ED: It's normal for human beings to accept their family, regional and national culture as proper. Few people ever question why they observe certain holidays. Few even question why they worship God the way they do and if their practices are pleasing to Him.

It is our hope at VCM to motivate people to explore their Christian culture and see if it is pleasing to God as revealed in His Word.

For further information on this subject you can request these free booklets from the United Church of God, P.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027 or visit our web site at www.ucg.org: and

-- Gary Petty

I perused with interest your article on Valentine's Day. Imagine someone wanting to get a card with a heart for his beloved....! I now await an even more important article regarding the pagan origin of many wedding customs. (You do want to protect Christians, don't you?) I have a small book How to Plan a Beautiful Wedding by Sallie Newton. She obviously did some historical research on weddings. (Not nearly the details of the article on Valentines, to be sure.) This information (and more that can be found in so many encyclopedias) is critical for all Christians who want to avoid doing pagan things. Please research and write about: Engagement and wedding rings, white worn by the bride (most pagans have something significant to say about white!), bridesmaids and groomsmen (just in case these antedate the Middle Ages), and most of all, throwing rice--does birdseed count for those worried that expanding white rice will kill birds--clearly a fertility rite. I may have left out something obvious, but I know you will be able to offer the complete picture.

I await an article in VCM or the Good News so all true Christians can eschew anything that might have a pagan derivation.

By the way, what wedding traditions do you allow?

Your Brother in Christ,

-- Garvin G.

ED: Obviously it is impossible, and undesirable, to remove all ancient non-biblical influences from our lives. It can be argued that certain aspects of Western culture, including our school systems and democracy, are traced to pagan Greece. The diversity of human beings and geography produces different customs, dress, music, etc. which in no way reflect spirituality. The point of this article, and our stance on Christmas, Easter and Halloween, is, "How does God want to be worshipped?" It is a proclivity for human beings to try and create God in our own image. This way we can make images, worship saints, or declare Mary as co-savior. A person who loves His Creator wants to please Him, not because it earns the person salvation, but because of a Father/child relationship with Him. One of the most important aspects of our relationship with God is that we bring nothing to the table.

He is the One who creates, forgives, calls and converts. He determines how human beings are to relate to Him. Jesus said "true worshippers with worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." As I mentioned in the article the apostle Paul commanded the New Testament Church not to syncretize paganism with the worship of God. Either this is still true today, or we must take the approach that Paul is only writing to first century Christians and we've outgrown his teachings.

You mentioned weddings in your letter. I feel that Christians should be careful about mingling any custom that reflects the character of pagan gods, goddesses, demons or superstitions like fertility rites. On the other hand, the Bible doesn't reveal a God ordained marriage ceremony. This would allow for local customs in a greater degree than a religious holiday that promotes a form of worship condemned in the New Testament.

Thanks for the letter. I hope you find more of the GN and VCM thought provoking.

-- Gary Petty

True Freedom

Thanks to John Rutis for the article on "True Freedom". It is very helpful and encouraging, in addition to corrective. I thought the expression "another leg to the stool" was great. I don't remember hearing that one before - very effective. Thanks so much ... I plan to print it out and read again, and probably again and again.

-- Lois Baughman, Oregon
The Christian Battle

I think Christian writers tend to idealize the life of a soldier, looking upon him as someone with far vision and high ideals. About the only place I've ever seen any is in the movies. In most cases soldiering is a matter of survival, of yourself and your buddies. Viet Nam surely taught us that.

As to soldiers keeping themselves from entanglements in the world, it just isn't so. Paul's words to Timothy are dated. They may have applied in the case of mercenary or slave soldiers recruited in the days of the Roman Empire. But we're talking about hired murderers here, and I suspect what kept them dedicated and pointing forward was a very undesirable fate if they turned back or got defeated. Fear is a great motivator. Today's soldier is very much entangled in his world, with mortgages, car payments, night school, family, and social life. Sure, he has to be ready to go off at a moment's notice, but he has no illusions of grand purpose to it all. Rather, its "get in, get the job done, and get home". And hope to survive. And hope the politicians don't mess up the peace. The world has changed a great deal since the days of the "Timothy" soldier. Soldiering is a lot more complex. Christian living is a lot more complex. The "soldier" model needs an update that we can relate to. There are a whole lot of new threats: untrustworthy leadership, squandered funds, internal division, misguided zeal, unclear objectives, enemy propaganda, sniping and sabotage, lack of support. A lot of these threats also are experienced by the modern Christian.

Yours truly,

-- J. Knutson
God's Plan for Eternity

I am downloading articles from VCM to take to church tomorrow and while this one--God's plan for us--was printing, I read it for myself. My niece's father died last week, and I thought I'd send the article to her. But, since we believe that no one has "gone to heaven, except Him who came down from heaven" I decided against sending it to her. I wouldn't want her to receive any misinformation about this subject.

I have no way of knowing her thoughts on this subject, but I do know she is seeking God's will in her own life and I would not be at all surprised if God called her one day soon. Please pray for her. Her name is Cynthia. Thanks for all the spiritual food. You serve a wonderful "meal."

-- B. Childs
Dispelling Myths of Christ's Birth and Childhood

The time of Jesus' conception is documented in the book of Luke 1:26: "And in the Sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth." The following 5 verses is when the angel Gabriel prophecies the birth of Jesus. The sixth month would of course be counting from God's first month, April (Abib).

The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc.) defines Abib as, "First month of the Hebrew year." See Exodus 12:2, "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you." This was when the Passover was instituted and when God delivered Moses and his people from Egypt. (see Ex. 13:3)

So counting six months from April would mean that Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary, from the prophetic word of the angel, Gabriel, in the month of September. Since we all know that a woman bears a child for approximately nine months, than that proves that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was born sometime in the month of May. This also means that the observance of December 25 as the birth of Jesus is a lie. Since Jesus said, "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life..." (John 14:6). He would be going against His Word if He honored the fact that the majority of Christians celebrate December 25 as His birth, which I must state again is a lie. Besides, no where in scripture does it say to honor his birthday to start with.

This is why I will not celebrate Christmas. I'm not sure of the exact pagan history of the holiday of Christmas, but I do know it is a form of blasphemy to the Lord, it is not scriptural, and it is a lie.

Thanks,

-- Brian W. Davis

Copyright 2000 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved.

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				Letters to the Editor If Everyone Kept God's Commandments THANK YOU! I am going to use this article in my high school Sunday school class this morning. Keep up the good work!!! -- Debbie A Lesson From Tony I just read your story on Tony. It was a good one. I just found out that a friend of mine just took their life four months ago. I have the same questions you had. What if I had taken more time to with them? Would it had made a difference? Thanks for the encouragement. -- Doris Smith I am inspired by reading the article about Tony and choices. It was extremely helpful. Thank you. -- Ken St. Valentine, Cupid and Jesus Christ I read your article about the origins of Valentine's Day and I was especially surprised to know cupid was an image carried over from the Roman Gods. Very interesting information. Thank you. My question is: Why would the Christian TV Network TBN not have this information and with it choose not to air such a large valentines celebration as they did tonight (Sun. 2/13). I watch TBN frequently and frankly even before I read your page I was surprised to see the display of celebration of Valentine's Day they were exhibiting. I respect them and the ministers who air on their Network but this is confusing to me. What's your opinion of the Holiday being portrayed as good by Christians in such an influential position as they are? ED: It's normal for human beings to accept their family, regional and national culture as proper. Few people ever question why they observe certain holidays. Few even question why they worship God the way they do and if their practices are pleasing to Him. It is our hope at VCM to motivate people to explore their Christian culture and see if it is pleasing to God as revealed in His Word. For further information on this subject you can request these free booklets from the United Church of God, P.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027 or visit our web site at www.ucg.org: and -- Gary Petty I perused with interest your article on Valentine's Day. Imagine someone wanting to get a card with a heart for his beloved....! I now await an even more important article regarding the pagan origin of many wedding customs. (You do want to protect Christians, don't you?) I have a small book How to Plan a Beautiful Wedding by Sallie Newton. She obviously did some historical research on weddings. (Not nearly the details of the article on Valentines, to be sure.) This information (and more that can be found in so many encyclopedias) is critical for all Christians who want to avoid doing pagan things. Please research and write about: Engagement and wedding rings, white worn by the bride (most pagans have something significant to say about white!), bridesmaids and groomsmen (just in case these antedate the Middle Ages), and most of all, throwing rice--does birdseed count for those worried that expanding white rice will kill birds--clearly a fertility rite. I may have left out something obvious, but I know you will be able to offer the complete picture. I await an article in VCM or the Good News so all true Christians can eschew anything that might have a pagan derivation. By the way, what wedding traditions do you allow? Your Brother in Christ, -- Garvin G. ED: Obviously it is impossible, and undesirable, to remove all ancient non-biblical influences from our lives. It can be argued that certain aspects of Western culture, including our school systems and democracy, are traced to pagan Greece. The diversity of human beings and geography produces different customs, dress, music, etc. which in no way reflect spirituality. The point of this article, and our stance on Christmas, Easter and Halloween, is, "How does God want to be worshipped?" It is a proclivity for human beings to try and create God in our own image. This way we can make images, worship saints, or declare Mary as co-savior. A person who loves His Creator wants to please Him, not because it earns the person salvation, but because of a Father/child relationship with Him. One of the most important aspects of our relationship with God is that we bring nothing to the table. He is the One who creates, forgives, calls and converts. He determines how human beings are to relate to Him. Jesus said "true worshippers with worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." As I mentioned in the article the apostle Paul commanded the New Testament Church not to syncretize paganism with the worship of God. Either this is still true today, or we must take the approach that Paul is only writing to first century Christians and we've outgrown his teachings. You mentioned weddings in your letter. I feel that Christians should be careful about mingling any custom that reflects the character of pagan gods, goddesses, demons or superstitions like fertility rites. On the other hand, the Bible doesn't reveal a God ordained marriage ceremony. This would allow for local customs in a greater degree than a religious holiday that promotes a form of worship condemned in the New Testament. Thanks for the letter. I hope you find more of the GN and VCM thought provoking. -- Gary Petty True Freedom Thanks to John Rutis for the article on "True Freedom". It is very helpful and encouraging, in addition to corrective. I thought the expression "another leg to the stool" was great. I don't remember hearing that one before - very effective. Thanks so much ... I plan to print it out and read again, and probably again and again. -- Lois Baughman, Oregon The Christian Battle I think Christian writers tend to idealize the life of a soldier, looking upon him as someone with far vision and high ideals. About the only place I've ever seen any is in the movies. In most cases soldiering is a matter of survival, of yourself and your buddies. Viet Nam surely taught us that. As to soldiers keeping themselves from entanglements in the world, it just isn't so. Paul's words to Timothy are dated. They may have applied in the case of mercenary or slave soldiers recruited in the days of the Roman Empire. But we're talking about hired murderers here, and I suspect what kept them dedicated and pointing forward was a very undesirable fate if they turned back or got defeated. Fear is a great motivator. Today's soldier is very much entangled in his world, with mortgages, car payments, night school, family, and social life. Sure, he has to be ready to go off at a moment's notice, but he has no illusions of grand purpose to it all. Rather, its "get in, get the job done, and get home". And hope to survive. And hope the politicians don't mess up the peace. The world has changed a great deal since the days of the "Timothy" soldier. Soldiering is a lot more complex. Christian living is a lot more complex. The "soldier" model needs an update that we can relate to. There are a whole lot of new threats: untrustworthy leadership, squandered funds, internal division, misguided zeal, unclear objectives, enemy propaganda, sniping and sabotage, lack of support. A lot of these threats also are experienced by the modern Christian. Yours truly, -- J. Knutson God's Plan for Eternity I am downloading articles from VCM to take to church tomorrow and while this one--God's plan for us--was printing, I read it for myself. My niece's father died last week, and I thought I'd send the article to her. But, since we believe that no one has "gone to heaven, except Him who came down from heaven" I decided against sending it to her. I wouldn't want her to receive any misinformation about this subject. I have no way of knowing her thoughts on this subject, but I do know she is seeking God's will in her own life and I would not be at all surprised if God called her one day soon. Please pray for her. Her name is Cynthia. Thanks for all the spiritual food. You serve a wonderful "meal." -- B. Childs Dispelling Myths of Christ's Birth and Childhood The time of Jesus' conception is documented in the book of Luke 1:26: "And in the Sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth." The following 5 verses is when the angel Gabriel prophecies the birth of Jesus. The sixth month would of course be counting from God's first month, April (Abib). The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc.) defines Abib as, "First month of the Hebrew year." See Exodus 12:2, "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you." This was when the Passover was instituted and when God delivered Moses and his people from Egypt. (see Ex. 13:3) So counting six months from April would mean that Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary, from the prophetic word of the angel, Gabriel, in the month of September. Since we all know that a woman bears a child for approximately nine months, than that proves that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was born sometime in the month of May. This also means that the observance of December 25 as the birth of Jesus is a lie. Since Jesus said, "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life..." (John 14:6). He would be going against His Word if He honored the fact that the majority of Christians celebrate December 25 as His birth, which I must state again is a lie. Besides, no where in scripture does it say to honor his birthday to start with. This is why I will not celebrate Christmas. I'm not sure of the exact pagan history of the holiday of Christmas, but I do know it is a form of blasphemy to the Lord, it is not scriptural, and it is a lie. Thanks, -- Brian W. Davis Copyright 2000 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved.