We are to honor the Lord’s resurrection this Sunday, and next Sunday, and the Sunday after that. Today is not Special out of 52

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Les Lanphere (director, creator of Spirit & Truth: a film about worship), wrote online:
"We are to honor the Lord’s resurrection this Sunday, and next Sunday, and the Sunday after that. The fact that today is not a special Lord’s Day shouldn’t offend us, it should remind us how special every Lord’s Day is. Honor the Sabbath, every Sunday, per the Bible.
Easter is optional at best... a man-made holiday overshadowing the beauty of the weekly Sabbath, however, should not be an option."
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This year, I have been more convinced than before from the scriptures to completely abandon the RC “Holy” days (Easter, Christmass, and Halloween) in both the religious and even the secular sense. No matter if you look at the historically pagan roots or the ”Christian“ religious roots the practices and festivities seem to be idolatrous in either worshipping a false pagan deity or worshipping Christ in ways not commanded (The RC Mass). This also does not include the modern sinfulness of gluttony, drunkenness, and covetousness often associated with the secular observances. In the past, my family has only done secular festivities and avoided religious observance, such as my wife putting up a tree in December. However, as I have been leading my family through 2 Chronicles in Family Worship, I’ve become further resolved to abandon the secular observance as well. Specifically something hit me this week from 2 Chronicles 33:11-20 (NKJV) :

Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God. After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of Hozai. So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place

This was a time of reform under King Manasseh after his repentance; I would encourage you to read the full chapter. Check out Chapter 34 as well with King Josiah bringing further reform.

So what’s my point? In dozens of Old Testament narrative accounts, the Lord’s people can be seen as moving through a pattern of wickedness/repentance/reform, the people are often painted as being faithful by completely destroying OLD monuments of idolatry wether pagan or the will-worship of Yahweh. They are often condemned for trying to simply “clean-up” the old monuments and still retain some of the seemingly “lawful” aspects. I am open to a contrary biblical example that would demonstrate otherwise. The idea of “redeeming” some aspects or “well everyone else is thinking about it” seem to be at odds with the what the Bible shows as a faithful “tearing down”, ”breaking to pieces”, “making dust of them”, “burning”, and “scattering”. This has really hit heavy with me this Lord’s Day.:detective:
 
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Correct. We are to remove monuments to idolatry. This is a reformation principle which you can find in the Reformers and some confessions. It is a duty of the second commandment according to one's place and station in the WLC. I've posted on this at length move. For those who are new to the subject search the subject PB. I'll spare the recap.
So what’s my point? In dozens of Old Testament narrative accounts, the Lord’s people can be seen as moving through a pattern of wickedness/repentance/reform, the people are often painted as being faithful by completely destroying OLD monuments of idolatry wether pagan or the will-worship of Yahweh. They are often condemned for trying to simply “clean-up” the old monuments and still retain some of the seemingly “lawful” aspects. I am open to a contrary biblical example that would demonstrate otherwise. The idea of “redeeming” some aspects or “well everyone else is thinking about it” seem to be at odds with the what the Bible shows as a faithful “tearing down”, ”breaking to pieces”, “making dust of them”, “burning”, and “scattering”. This has really hit heavy with me this Lord’s Day.:detective:
 
Correct. We are to remove monuments to idolatry. This is a reformation principle which you can find in the Reformers and some confessions. It is a duty of the second commandment according to one's place and station in the WLC. I've posted on this at length move. For those who are new to the subject search the subject PB. I'll spare the recap.
Nothing wrong with a Recap from time to time brother! I know I’ve benefited from them. In further accord, think of how many times the Kings had to “rediscover” the Book of Moses. #2chronicles34

Maybe we need an Eostre 2020 PB Thread!:detective:
 
One thing that has really struck me this year, though I have been aware of it before, is just how much people actually think this Lord's Day is more special than every other Lord's Day. For that reason alone, the religious observance of Easter is superstitious.

While I am not convinced that everything associated with the secular aspects of this time of year or Christmas really falls into the category of monuments of idolatry, the impact that ascribing superstitious significance to this season has on how we view the Christian Sabbath is what alarms me most of all.
 
Even from a more practical perspective: If you know you have congregant(s) that have a special emphasis on today MORE than other Lord’s Days (an undeniable reality in most churches), then why give a foot hold for that error, why even give a morsel of a nod to it as an under-Shepherd? Seems like placing a stumbling block in an area that even our secular society idolizes.
 
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Even from a more practical stumbling block perspective: If you know you have congregant(s) that have a special emphasis (superstition) on today MORE than other Lord’s Days (an undeniable reality most churches), then why give a foot hold for that error, why even give a morsel of a nod to it as an under-Sheppard?
No good reason.
 
Rather than voices for reform having any effect, it does seems worse every year.
One thing that has really struck me this year, though I have been aware of it before, is just how much people actually think this Lord's Day is more special than every other Lord's Day. For that reason alone, the religious observance of Easter is superstitious.

None of the secular things might be monuments of idolatry; it is sufficient that done in worship is.
While I am not convinced that everything associated with the secular aspects of this time of year or Christmas really falls into the category of monuments of idolatry, the impact that ascribing superstitious significance to this season has on how we view the Christian Sabbath is what alarms me most of all.
 
PDF for 2020 and spreadsheets to calculate
 

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None of the secular things might be monuments of idolatry; it is sufficient that done in worship is.

When reading George Gillespie's critique of holy days in English Popish Ceremonies I noted that even though some of the points he raises may not be immediately relevant today, it is still unlawful for the church to hold such services in honour of holy days on the basis that they are monuments of idolatry - even if they are not accompanied with the same degree of superstition as they were in times past. That reason is why I do not buy into the argument that they are helpful as an evangelistic opportunity.
 
While the name is problematic (though this is more of an English problem than in other languages, and even the KJV uses the term "Easter"), I find Easter less problematic in the church than many holy days because it is honoring what we should already be honoring every other week of the year. While there are more pagan traditions that sometimes seep into families and the life the church (egg laying bunnies anyone?) they aren't usually too much in the church's worship. It seems to be mainly that the day has a particular emphasis on the Lord's Day, a particular emphasis in getting to worship to those that are not as regular (for legitimate or illegitimate reasons), and maybe dressing nice and putting nice flowers up front.

That said, I'm no defender of the day, I just find, at its core, it's emphasizing one Lord's Day what we should day every Lord Day, so not as bad as many other festival and falsely so-called holy days.
 
That said, I'm no defender of the day, I just find, at its core, it's emphasizing one Lord's Day what we should day every Lord Day, so not as bad as many other festival and falsely so-called holy days.
I find it worse; the Lord already underscored the event of Christ's rising from the dead in moving the old 7th day Sabbath to the first day of the week and mere man whose mind is an idol factor thinks it needs more underscoring once a year than that.
 
That said, I'm no defender of the day, I just find, at its core, it's emphasizing one Lord's Day what we should day every Lord Day, so not as bad as many other festival and falsely so-called holy days.

I find it worse; the Lord already underscored the event of Christ's rising from the dead in moving the old 7th day Sabbath to the first day of the week and mere man whose mind is an idol factor thinks it needs more underscoring once a year than that

There is a sense in which both sentiments are correct. On the one hand, Easter is not as bad as other festivals because people are only doing what they should be doing every Lord's Day. On the other hand, it is partly because of Easter that they are not doing what they should be doing every Lord's Day.
 
There is a sense in which both sentiments are correct. On the one hand, Easter is not as bad as other festivals because people are only doing what they should be doing every Lord's Day. On the other hand, it is partly because of Easter that they are not doing what they should be doing every Lord's Day.
In a way, the others are adding to, this faux holy day is both adding to and taking away. That's sort of my thinking on why I say it is worse.
 
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