Thanksgiving's Pagan and Catholic Origins

http://www.medievalists.net/2013/11/02/thanksgivings-roots-in-old-world-harvest-feasts

"It would be misleading not to point out that virtually all cultures around the world who’s societies were built around agriculture had (and many still do have) their own harvest feasts wherein thanks is given to whichever gods are honored in that culture."

Be sure and check out the pdf at the end of the teaser article for the full load on thanksgiving's history, including its catholic origins as well, something the Puritans and Pilgrims would have been aware of in the context of history.

So, again, it's like I've been saying for years; Thanksgiving is no less pagan than Christmas, Halloween, or Easter. If you celebrate any of those holidays "for God," you can stop bad-mouthing the others. Either you accept the Psalmist' s decree that, "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," and that nothing is "pagan" in origin because as Creator He has first ownership, or you passively reject it through your deeds.

Random Questions On Reality.

Just a few of the random questions that run through my head while showering....

1. If there are multiple realities, when did they begin in reference to a literal Genesis account of Creation? Did they begin before the fall of Adam? If so, then how was Creation "very good"? If they began after, was part of the curse a fractured reality?
2. If multiple realities exist, then many would say the number of realities that exist are infinite. If that's so, then there must be a reality where Adam didn't sin and the world is still perfect. Was Christ's death, then, a sacrifice necessary to bring all the other realities into coexistence with the perfect reality? Is the end of the world an event where God hand-waves and destroys all imperfect realities and merges the souls that have come to a saving knowledge of Christ with the perfect reality?
3. If multiple realities exist, could it be possible that we as humans really have no true imagination? Imagination could simply be one person's mind becoming attuned to another reality. Story writers are merely penning the history of another reality. If that's the case, I want to stay in Middle Earth.

And we wonder why I don't fit into most churches....

Symbols and Imagery in Christianity.

Why is it that we are so small as to recognize the Trinity in nature in the form of plants, states of matter, among other things, but we cannot bring ourselves to recognize the five wounds of Christ, or the five senses?

We are quick to say that "sevens and threes" are "holy" numbers, but we fail to see that if God did make this universe, then not just the sevens and the threes are holy, but all the numbers are? The fact that Holy Writ points out instances where sevens and threes are of note does not make the twos and the fives any less meaningful or holy, it just means that they have another divine, holy purpose. God told Noah to take two of every kind of animal, but to take seven of every "clean." This doesn't have to mean that the "unclean" animals (the ones gathered in pairs) were evil, they just had a different divine purpose.

We are so quick to label His Creation as, "this is holy and that is not," but we have no place to do so. God declared creation "very good," and though fallen, creation is still a shadow of that goodness.

We do live in a fallen world. However, it is man's sin that makes it so, not nature's existence. Any unpleasantness in nature is a result of man's doing, and not nature's. We, humanity, need to own up to that fact.

Symbols, and the meanings behind them, are transient. The Greek Alphabet has little meaning to the common man today beyond symbolizing what fraternity or sorority you belong to. Egyptian hieroglyphs have even less meaning. The common man has no idea what those symbols meant to the Egyptian, but we do know that a hieroglyph depicting a bird looks like a bird. The symbol's meaning has lost value over time. 

In the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the pentagram, or pentacle, was used as a symbol of Solomon, giving power over demons, and of infinity, fidelity, among many other virtues. Today, many Christians ironically balk at the pentacle's presence, since the symbol is used by some pagan groups.

We have lost sight of the very notion that the pentacle, a geometric shape present in many naturally occurring things, like the apple pictured, has no inherent evil. It isn't a demon. It isn't a devil. It isn't a bodily manifestation of Satan himself. It is a work of nature; a nature that was designed by a Holy God,  and while fallen, the inherent sin is not in existence, but in death and decay. The Bible says when Adam sinned, death came into the world, not pentacles, not spiders, not the color black. All of those things were present in a very good Creation. While death and decay will fall to apples, and the paper or metal that pentacles are drawn or fashioned from will decay, the symbols themselves are not created evil. It's how man uses them that makes a difference.

The cross was in existence long before Jesus Christ Himself long before our Lord was nailed to it. And mankind ascribed many different meanings to it. But after the Messiah was crucified, the cross slowly became a symbol of Christianity. In fact, most people today see the Cross as a Christian symbol, and so do most Christians. Why can't we do the same with the rest of Creation? As the Psalmist says in Psalm 24, "The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas." In short, God made it, it's His. The rest of the Psalm goes on to call on all nature to give God praise, for as the Creator, He's earned it.

Why can't we do the same instead of constantly finding symbols and styles of art to rant at each other about? A pentagram is not a symbol of evil unless by man's actions he makes it associated with evil, and even then, that five-pointed star is made by God. It's not mine to let fall by the wayside. My God made it. He cared enough to speak its beauty into existence, I should care enough to not allow it to be perverted by a pagan.  A cross is not a symbol of Christ's death and redemption unless man makes a conscious decision to allow it to represent that. The earth is our Lord's, live like it. Don't just shove a symbol in a box labeled evil because it gives you the willies or you don't care for it. It's beautiful in His eyes.

Easter is far from pagan.

This time of year, I see a lot of people proclaiming Easter as a Pagan holiday. I call bullshit. Yes, bullshit.

In name, and a few of the "traditional" symbols, yes. The time of year that Christ's historical ressurection took place corresponds to many pagan equinox and first rites of summer celebrations. And the birth of new life is definitely a theme of the season. But it celebrates Christ's Ressurection in Christianity. That ressurection took place after the Passover week, as Christ was Cruicified during Passover. Passover takes place near the spring equinox. The exact date has been argued and debated throughout history, but the general timeframe remains the same.
If you have a problem with celebrating the equinox itself, see my post on Christmas for why an astronomical event is made by God, and stated in Genesis that its purpose is to mark the passage of time. Celebrating that time is not a problem. It was Created by God for that observance.
If you have a problem with the pagan trappings; the name and the fertility symbols, fine. Don't use them, call Easter by another day.
But this Spring, by all tradition and Biblical fact, is the anniversiary of the event that rocked the ancient world, this spring is when the Jews were given the sign of Jonah, when more than 500 witinesses saw a living, risen Savior, and when the "New" Religion was born.
In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son. The stars given for signs, seasons, and years proclaimed His birth, and those same heavens marked His death, and the world was changed by His ressurection. He is risen, indeed.

The Reason behind the Seasons

"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him." (Colossians 1:16)

"And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years'"
(Genesis 1:14)

I'm posting this, and just saying, before anybody else starts sending requests for me to "keep Christ in Christmas," and refuse to acknowledge "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Solstice," I'm not going to.

My God is greater than such petty drivel because He's always been there. Before Bethlehem, He was the reason for the season before time began.
The pagans are right. Christmas was originally a Solstice celebration. No honest examination of history can say otherwise. Solstice celebrations were taking place before the Birth of Christ.

However, it doesn't stop there.

Christ, as the self-existent, eternal Creator God, is the reason for the Solstice. He made it.
It's right there in Genesis 1, He made the stars "for signs, seasons, and years." That means the Solstice, an astronomical event marking the passage of time, the passing of a season, is His design. He built it into nature; He put it there for us to observe and celebrate if we chose.
Throughout Scripture we see this thread,
"the earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1.)

It doesn't matter if you're saying, "Merry Christmas," or "Happy Solstice." God was behind it. He made it. He's still the reason behind the season. He created  the Solstices, and He, not some pagan, set the Solstices and the phases of the moon aside to mark events, the passage of time.
How we as Christians choose to celebrate these events is crucial. We can acknowledge Christ as the reason behind them all, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all, or we can ignore His handiwork.
The world is going to celebrate without us. They are going to have feasts, light menorahs, acknowledge the passing of His solstice with or without us.
We have simple choices. We can ignore it, not celebrate, and by our silence keep the truth of the Creator to ourselves. We can pick petty fights over whether we call the Season Christmas, Hanukkah, or the Solstice, as if Christ were only the reason for the season for the Christ Mass, a Catholic holiday celebrating the Virgin Birth, and not the fact  that He made the Solstice; He was behind it. He also led the Maccabees; He was behind preserving His people. He made this world, and as the Great Giver, the One who gave the ultimate gift of Himself is behind the gifts and the presents.
He's behind it all, regardless of the name you give the Season, He is there, standing boldly, the Creator, the Giver of Salvation, the Preserver of His People, Jesu the Messiah. 

I can no more force my fellow man to acknowledge Christ in the season by insisting on calling it "Christ mass" than I can force them to believe in His redemptive work.
We would do well to take a page from the early church. Point people back to the Creator, not shove Him down their throats.
Next time someone says "Happy Holidays," or "Happy Haunukkah," remember, what God blessed the Maccabes' Revolt and miraculously kept the menorah lit? What Creator made the solstice? Yahweh.
All things were made by Him. He is the reason for the Solstice, He preserved the Nation of Israel; He's the Reason for Haunukkah. When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son; He's the reason for the Virgin Birth. (And really, whether Christ was born on Christmas day or not is a mute point. We don't celebrate Washington's birthday on His birthday, either.)
No matter how you spin it, He's the reason. Stop nitpicking over names. He's behind them all.
EDIT: For those that want a more detailed look at what the Scripture says about Christmas: link

True Science

Washington Post
The problem with what Bill Nye is saying is, I personally know many PhD's that  found scientific conflicts in the scientific data on assertive statements like, “The Earth is not 6,000 or 10,000 years old,”  and they changed their scientific stances accordingly.
It wasn't religion that changed their mind, at least initially. It was when they found that the thories put forth by Creationists better fit the data they saw that they came to faith.
If you want to start with the science, please do, but do so honestly. If the "facts" so strongly supported evolution, you wouldn't have a (rising) near majority of the population disbelieving that the "facts" presented to them in the classroom are true. Especially when, not a generation ago, that percentage of disbelief was much smaller.
If you truly believe in science, in facts, truth will out. I know many Creation scientists, including my father, who are more than willing to let the facts fall where they may, as long as you don't supress the other side of the scientific coin.
It's a viewpoint based on science whether the earth is 10 thousand or 10 billion years old. If the facts speak as strongly as Nye is saying, then truth will out. If the facts aren't so strong, then causing these young minds to question the status quo is probably a good thing and may lead to many scientific advancements.
I always find it interesting that questioning the status quo is alright as long as it only leads to a viewpoint that the speaker agrees with. If it doesn't, it's dangerous and shouldn't be tried. Then again, my own questioning of the status quo in Christianity puts me in a minority among most Christians, liberal or conservative, so I see this happening a lot on both "sides."
Anyway, back to my point.
What Bill Nye is suggesting is unscientific. Telling people to supress their theories, supress facts and knowledge, despite how well the facts may fit, simply because they don't agree with the prevailing theory is just as bad as telling people not to believe that the earth orbits the sun simply because the prevailing theory says the sun orbits earth.
Truth will out. Shut up an let freedom speak.