The word 'Easter' is not in the Bible, so why do so many churches celebrate it?  Is it okay to celebrate Christmas and Easter as Christ's birth and resurrection?

 

Sincerely,
Easter Egg Hunter

Dear Easter Egg Hunter,

Christmas, Easter, St. Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Lent, and Good Friday are all examples of religious holidays that are not mentioned in the Bible.  So where do they come from?  The following history of Easter comes directly from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, an accepted and respected source of religious history:

"The English word comes from the 'Eastre' or 'Estera', a Teutonic goddess to whom sacrifice was offered in April, so the name was transferred to the paschal feast.  The word does not properly occur in Scripture, although the Annotated Version has it in Acts 12:4 where it stands for Passover, as it is rightly rendered in Revised Version.  There is no trace of Easter celebration in the New Testament, though some would see an intimation of it in 1 Cor 5:7." (ISBE)

Easter's roots are not Biblical - but pagan.  It's very name is a reflection of that fact.  There is nothing wrong with celebrating Easter as a holiday, but it is important that we not confuse a secular holiday with a Biblical commandment.  Paul warned that we can't place importance upon any day beyond what Christ has already commanded His church (Col 2:16-17).  Unfortunately, society has emphasized non-Biblical days such as Christmas, Easter, Lent, etc. as being of great value and importance.  Easter Sunday and Christmas mass are traditionally the most significant events of the year to much of the Judeo-Christian world.  That ought not to be.  Christ commands that we remember His death and resurrection every Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 11:26).  That is where Christ placed His emphasis.  We should do the same.

My question revolves around the gift of tongues.  I was invited to a church to be prayed for as a teacher in the community.  As I was on stage, a pastor started praying for me. During the prayer, he started speaking in tongues without an interpreter. I have read the passages in the bible discussing tongues; however, I am confused on the "proper" use of tongues. What do you think about the gifts of tongues?

 

Sincerely,
Tongue Tied

There was a proper way to use tongues back in the first century, but speaking in tongues today has no resemblance to that practice.  God endowed certain christians with the ability to perform miracles through the apostles (Acts 8:18).  One of those abilities was speaking in tongues - the ability to miraculous speak in other REAL languages (Acts 2:4-11).  Paul re-emphasizes this point in 1 Cor 14:10.  That is exactly why Paul instructed the Corinthians to have an interpreter.

The modern practice of speaking in tongues involves people speaking in what they call "hidden" or "spiritual" languages that make no sense to anyone, anywhere.  There is no example of this type of speaking in tongues anywhere in the New Testament.

Miraculous gifts were given to the first century church because they did not have the complete Bible as we do.  Miracles were a confirmation that those preaching were sent by God (Mk 16:20); they were how God bore witness that these men were His servants (Heb 2:2-4).  These miracles were necessary at that time, but now that the perfect Word of God has been completed, they are no longer needed (1 Cor 13:8-10).  We have all the prophecies of God written down, all the divine knowledge is in God's Word, and the Bible is translated into every language on the planet.  Now that is something worth talking about!

     Hello again, and may God continue to bless you all.  My question is concerning a trend in the Lord’s church and its consequences.  I am having trouble concerning fellowshipping with the denominational world.  I don't believe it is a good idea for the Lord’s church’s members to be thrown up together with speakers that are not Christians… i.e. at Christian youth rallies, inviting them in during Bible study, or holding breakfast with them to show our support for each other.  We are to be in the world, NOT of the world.  I think it shows an acceptance of their false doctrine, and waters us down… not to mention confusing our own on where we stand and why.

I don't hate the sinner, just the sin, but we need to draw the line and say, “That's it.”  Thanks a lot.

Sincerely,
Influenced

Dear Influenced,

There is nothing wrong with studying with people from the denominational world in hopes of converting them to the one true church of Jesus Christ (Eph 4:4-6), but it is dead wrong to support false teachers.

2 Jhn 1:10 says that we shouldn’t even give a greeting to those that are false teachers.  We cannot in any way confuse people by supporting the denominational world.  The denominations have left the basic teachings of Christ, and these religious leaders are destroying people’s souls.  They nullify God’s laws in order to keep their traditions (Mk 7:9).  Jude warned that false teachers are like hidden rocks that sink ships and shepherds that fail to protect the flock (Jude 1:12).  God’s church should have no communion with the doctrines of demons (1 Tim 4:1).

     The first lady (the title for our pastor’s wife) sent out an e-mail to the leaders of the church containing a grocery, toiletry, and cleaning supply list which details the first family's needs for the month of November.  The leaders passed out the list to the entire congregation last Sunday.  They want everyone in the congregation to contribute to all fifteen items each week.  There are fifteen items on the list for week one, fifteen items for week two, and fifteen items for week three.  On week four, they are asking for a monetary donation of at least ten dollars from each member.  We have one hundred members.  Should we comply with this list?  The pastor and his wife are well-off.  They have three luxury cars and a four-bedroom house with a two-car garage… while most of the people in the congregation, including myself, can’t afford food and have to go to the food bank each month.  They told us that 100% of the items will go to the first family and that God will bless us for doing so. Please advise.

Sincerely,
Church Mouse

Dear Church Mouse,

We get buckets of questions from people asking for help because every church they find seems to only care about money… it’s horrid what people have done in the name of religion.  Unfortunately, there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9).  Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for the same greedy behavior (Lk 20:46-47).

In the end, you want to be a Christian – not a Baptist, Methodist, Calvinist, Lutheran, etc.  Baptist churches only make Baptists, Methodist churches only make Methodists, and so on.  You need to find a church that belongs to Christ, not men.  This “first family” has warped and twisted the Scriptures to make religion all about them… and not about God.  Such people have a very strict judgment awaiting them (Jas 3:1).  We would be happy to help you find a faithful church that will teach the Bible and leave all the manmade garbage out.  E-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org if you would like help finding a peaceful, faithful, and godly church to attend in your area.

What is British Israelism?

Sincerely,
Yankee

Dear Yankee,

British Israelism is a small, fringe, religious movement based around the idea that Europeans are the direct descendants of the ten destroyed tribes of Israel.  This has no basis in Bible fact and has no bearing on actual Christianity.  After all, we are told that today those who turn to Christ, whatever their lineage and background, are God’s people (Col 3:11, Gal 3:27-28).