Evaqngelical Churches will close on Christmas...

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Are these the same pastors and church leaders that are screaming about removing Christ from Christmas by saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas and then CLosing their doors on Christmas day? That kinda sounds hypocritical to me. If they really want to put Christ back in Christmas, worship him on his birthday no matter if it falls on Sunday or not. Thats what I love about the CAtholic Church, we celebrate his Holy DAy no matter what day it lands on. A protestant friend told me if Christmas fell on thursday for example, half the congregation would not attend. What does say about how those people REALLY feel about Christmas and what it stands for.
 
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Shibboleth:
In other words we are not to judge who Celebrates what on what date or time or how they do it…
Who are you to judge the servant of God because he doesn’t celebrate this or that….
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Wait…are you suggesting Sunday is not THE Holy Day the third commandment requires us to reserve to honor Him?

Does anyone really believe the thousands of people who would normally fill those megachurches on any given Sunday spend Christmas Sunday honoring our Lord? I submit most will be traveling, eating, playing, shopping, sleeping…how is that keeping His day holy?

Who has a birthday party and insists their guests celebrate at their own home instead of at the home of the person remembering his/her birthday?

Can you picture the shepherds staying away on that day? There must have been a reason the angel told them to GO, honor Him…
geez :rolleyes:
 
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Shibboleth:
Incidentally I would have to look at my references but I believe that if a Catholic attends a Midnight mass they have fulfilled their Sunday obligation… in fact I am almost sure if it….
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Can. 1248

§1. A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.
 
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YinYangMom:
Wait…are you suggesting Sunday is not THE Holy Day the third commandment requires us to reserve to honor Him?
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Actually yes it was Saturday
 
– A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.–

So what is your point with this part?
Tamara
 
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Shibboleth:
Actually yes it was Saturday
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For the Jews it is Saturday - marking the Old Covenant between God and his Chosen People from whom salvation would come.

For Christians, it is Sunday - the day of the Resurrection - marking the NEW Covenant between God and salvation for **all **people.
 
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Shibboleth:
Can. 1248

§1. A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.
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A midnight mass is something Catholics celebrate - it includes the Eucharist - which is why you find Canonical references to define vigils.

These megachurches don’t offer the Eucharist, therefore, they don’t offer mass…they gather for worship…and would not be bound by our Canons.

But, Sunday is the Holy Day to be honored according to the commandments by which all Christians are bound, so not offering services on Sunday,** because** it is Jesus’ birthday, is ridiculous. Christians will not find such an exception to the 3rd commandment in scripture or Tradition.
 
carol marie:
According to the Chicago Tribune, many Evangelical mega-churches are not planning to hold services on Christmas this year, despite that the holiday falls on a Sunday. According to the article, they want people to have a “personal” experience on that day - rather than filling the pews (and what… worshiping Jesus?) The article goes on to say that many Catholic Churches have added services to accomodate those who wish to worship on Christmas. So I’d like to invite all my Evangelical brothers & sisters who find themselves without a Church on Chirstmas… your local Catholic Church welcomes you to celebrate the birth of our Savior. It’s what we believe Christmas is all about.

chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512060228dec06,1,6644133.story?coll=chi-news-hed
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Just goes to show you how lost they really are.
 
TamaraS said:
– A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.–

So what is your point with this part?
Tamara
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Well you would kind of have to follow the argument from the beginning.

Where this descended from was the fact that we have one person that doesn’t understand how the Sabbath now relates to the Christians and the Church. I wanted to show that the Sabboth was now no longer binding and that the sin comes from disobedience to the Church and not from the breaking of a completed commandment. I then reiterated that point to show that the Church exercises this power by determining what days are obligatory and what days and what instances are not obligatory. The Levitical Priests could never have excused a person from observing the Sabbath on Saturday. It was not in their power…

Anyways here is a statement by Catholic Answers that has an Imprimatur:
Scripture such as Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, Colossians 2:16-17, and Revelation 1:10 indicate that, even during New Testament times, the Sabbath is no longer binding and that Christians are to worship on the Lord’s day, Sunday, instead.
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Remember I am arguing with a person about the nature of the Sabbath not the Lord’s Day. They simply are not well catechized. I thought I was helping. I really need to change my Profile because it has deleterious affects on how people react to my comments.
 
Look I have not said one thing yet, that I know of, that isn’t in line with Catholic Doctrine.

I used the quotation from Romans 14 5-6 earlier but perhaps I wasn’t clear on why…

Here is another quote from Catholic Answers that should give more clarity.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, written around 57–58, he says, “For one person considers one day more important than another, while another person considers all days alike. Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind. Whoever observes the day observes it to the Lord” (Rom. 14:5–6). The apostle is speaking here about the day which is being observed to the Lord, i.e., the day of worship. He notes that this is up to each person to decide. It must be noted, however, that Paul does not specifically mention the Sabbath here.
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From these texts it seems clear that** Paul considered Sabbath observance a matter of personal conviction that was not important in itself. ** Moreover, since Paul was presumably responding to the churches in Colossae, Galatia, and Rome about matters which concerned them, it seems clear that some Christians were worshiping on days other that Sabbath in Rome and in Asia Minor around 54–58.
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As one person pointed out Non-Catholics are not bound by Canon Law therefore it is not sinful for them to get married out of the Church nor are they bound by Obligatory Feast or Worship Days. They are however in sin for being separated from the Catholic Church but lets not confuse the two…

The Scriptures are clear that we are not to judge a person on whether or not they keep the Sabbath or a Feast Day or a Holiday.

I don’t like the fact that certain Synods are not having Service on Christmas Sunday but one man may worship on Sunday or one may worship on Saturday or Friday or everyday – it does not matter it is their right to do so and we are not to judge on this…

These Christian organizations have much more to worry about than what day they gather on and I suppose that is where we should put our effort also in anathema and denunciation.
 
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YinYangMom:
But, Sunday is the Holy Day to be honored according to the commandments by which all Christians are bound, so not offering services on Sunday,** **

See comments above…
because
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it is Jesus’ birthday,.
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No it is a day that some have chosen to recognize as Christ’s birthday. We have no idea what date he was born on…The Coptic, Jerusalem, Russian, Serbian, and other Orthodox Churches celebrate Jan 7.
 
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Shibboleth:
Anyways here is a statement by Catholic Answers that has an Imprimatur:
Scripture such as Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, Colossians 2:16-17, and Revelation 1:10 indicate that, even during New Testament times, the Sabbath is no longer binding
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and that Christians are to worship on the Lord’s day, Sunday, instead.

Remember I am arguing with a person about the nature of the Sabbath not the Lord’s Day.
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And I was talking about the Lord’s day, not the sabbath.

In this post you offer the imprimatured statement by CA clearly stating CHRISTIANS are to worship on Sunday.

In a later post you quote CA again, this time in support of being free to worship on any day one chooses.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, written around 57–58, he says, “For one person considers one day more important than another, while another person considers all days alike. Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind. Whoever observes the day observes it to the Lord” (Rom. 14:5–6). The apostle is speaking here about the day which is being observed to the Lord, i.e., the day of worship. He notes that this is up to each person to decide. It must be noted, however, that Paul does not specifically mention the Sabbath here.
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Which is it then?

Considering the megachurches in question here have, for all other Sundays prior to Christmas, worshiped on Sundays, this exception becomes all the more obvious a ‘wrong’ decision. They had established the pattern of selecting Sundays as days of worship, and now, have changed their mind for this one Sunday.

Now, I still don’t understand how they consider Sunday the Lord’s Day and then decide not to honor the Lord’s birthday on His day. And, yes, while the birthday is not historical, it is traditional and they have already acknowledged they accept Christmas as His birthday so there’s no evidence suggesting they were disputing that tradition.

Based on their own patterns, we can judge their decision to be wrong. Certainly it isn’t sacriligious, they are damned to hell, and that’s not what we’re saying anyway. The action itself is incorrect by any Christian standard.
 
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Shibboleth:
No it is a day that some have chosen to recognize as Christ’s birthday. We have no idea what date he was born on…The Coptic, Jerusalem, Russian, Serbian, and other Orthodox Churches celebrate Jan 7.
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Those churches still use the Julian Calendar, while we have changed to the Gregorian. So, they celebrate Christmas on December 25 Julian, which is Jan 7 Gragorian.
 
I celebrate Christmas on 6 January I do however go to mass on 25 December I do not have any family so The holy family is my family so I spend time onboth days with them by going to mass on both of those days I am so glad that 25 december is holy day of obligation although I would still go to mass onthat day even if it wasnt to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior
 
Do’nt think there will be any Baptist Churches closed for Christmas Sunday, think attendence will be up that day
 
I actually smiled when I read this post. I mean, the Evangelicals really MEAN well, don’t they? Give 'em some grace. Several responders reasoned ‘don’t they want to worship Jesus’…or something to that extent. BUT, if you think about it, do most evangelical churches REALLY worship anyway? There are praise songs and a lengthy sermon, which really amount to a glorified Bible study, but without any liturgy or the Eurcharist (not even the symbolic demonstration of the Lord’s Supper at many contemporary churches!), it’s no wonder that many familes/churches feel that family time at home, reading the Bible for ourselves, is just as well. You Catholics have been blessed immensely to have been brought up believing in Christ’s Church in a completely different way than Protestants, so never take that for granted! I guess it’s just not that clear to a lot of people…
 
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