Happy Valentine's Day

[HappyChristian]

Our church started the Marriage Course. We did this last fall. It was a 10 week course where you are served great food in a romantic atmosphere at tables for two, there is a short presentation about a given topic, and then you and yoru spouse talk about it to work on your relationship (topics such as communication, family backgrounds, expectations, finances, sex, confilct resolution, etc.)

This year we kicked off the course on Valentines Day. There were 30 couples. We helped prepare and serve meals, and prayed that God would strengthen, mend, deepen, and heal relationships. It was a wonderful way to spend Valentines Day with my wife. There is nothing like ministering to other people with your spouse to strengthen your own relationship.

Sounds great!

[Invicta]

Someone wrote that Christmas is a time when most christians return to their Catholic roots for the day to celebrate a papish festival. I suppose Valentines day is another. I would equate both wit hwearing a Saint Christopher, or praying to St Jude.

I once worked in a famous London Paper when it had ads on the front page. In the personal columns there were often ads such as Thanks to St Jude for favours received. One advertiser asked for his notice to be placed near the top of the column as the saints only read the first few ads. Obviously Romish saints are lazy.

Edited February 17, 2011 by Invicta

[John81]

Someone wrote that Christmas is a time when most christians return to their Catholic roots for the day to celebrate a papish festival. I suppose Valentines day is another. I would equate both wit hwearing a Saint Christopher, or praying to St Jude.

I once worked in a famous London Paper when it had ads on the front page. In the personal columns there were often ads such as Thanks to St Jude for favours received. One advertiser asked for his notice to be placed near the top of the column as the saints only read the first few ads. Obviously Romish saints are lazy.

Don't forget St. Patrick's Day, it's only about 4 weeks away. I noticed a bunch of stuff for this in the store the other day taking the place of where the Valentine's Day stuff had been.

[Invicta]

Don't forget St. Patrick's Day, it's only about 4 weeks away. I noticed a bunch of stuff for this in the store the other day taking the place of where the Valentine's Day stuff had been.

Not to mention St George's day, St Andrew's day and St David's day. (I am not sure what St George, who I believe was a N. African villan, has to do with England.)

These are patron saints, or demigods who look over the various countries. Do you have a patron saint?

In the next town to us, where I formerly lived,Faversham, there were once two shoemakers called Crispinus and Crispianus, they became Romish saints and the patron saints of shoemakers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Crispin%27s_Day

We have some friends near here who live in a road called St Swithins Road. They called their house Saints Within. (Hislop says that St Swithin is just another name for Satan deified by Rome.)

Rome has her patron saints for everything, just as the pagans had a patron god for everything St Valentine is the Patron Saint of lovers, just as Eros was the patron god of lovers. Edited February 17, 2011 by Invicta

[John81]

Not to mention St George's day, St Andrew's day and St David's day. (I am not sure what St George, who I believe was a N. African villan, has to do with England.)

These are patron saints, or demigods who look over the various countries. Do you have a patron saint?

In the next town to us, where I formerly lived,Faversham, there were once two shoemakers called Crispinus and Crispianus, they became Romish saints and the patron saints of shoemakers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Crispin%27s_Day

We have some friends near here who live in a road called St Swithins Road. They called their house Saints Within. (Hislop says that St Swithin is just another name for Satan deified by Rome.)

Rome has her patron saints for everything, just as the pagans had a patron god for everything St Valentine is the Patron Saint of lovers, just as Eros was the patron god of lovers.

Only Valentines Day and St. Patrick's Day get much attention. Here they are mostly about chocolate, flowers, sex, green beer and kissing.

I've known some Catholics and Orthodox who are really into the "saint for every occasion" thing. They would pray to one saint for this, another for that and yet another while travelling and yet another for something else!

[Invicta]

We have been married 42 years, 43, next month and we have never consi8dered Valentines day. If I said to my wife "Happy Valentines Day" she would think I had apostacized and she would be right. In fact, I know of no bible believing Christian who would,

[John81]

We have been married 42 years, 43, next month and we have never consi8dered Valentines day. If I said to my wife "Happy Valentines Day" she would think I had apostacized and she would be right. In fact, I know of no bible believing Christian who would,

Most professing Christians in America celebrate Valentines day, special "Valentines day" sermons are preached, and some churches give away Valentine goodies or hold special events.

[Alimantado]

Might be worth repeating here your words about lent, John:

"Lent is a man-made tradition, not something biblical. If an individual feels led of the Lord to set something aside as ina fast and devote special time to pursuing personal holiness then that's wonderful, but in keeping with Scripture, this should be a private matter. Keeping a yearly ritual is not what the Lord desires. The Lord desires our obedience on a daily basis throughout the year. "

Ditto for doing 'special' acts of love/affection on St Valentine's day?

[Invicta]

Most professing Christians in America celebrate Valentines day, special "Valentines day" sermons are preached, and some churches give away Valentine goodies or hold special events.

I know of no church that would do that. I would expect Anglicans and the like may, and perhaps some of the Charismatics, but I have not heard. Catholics would, no doubt.

If our church introduced it, we would leave tout de suite.

[John81]

I know of no church that would do that. I would expect Anglicans and the like may, and perhaps some of the Charismatics, but I have not heard. Catholics would, no doubt.

If our church introduced it, we would leave tout de suite.

Most of the watered down and wayward churches get into this, United Methodists, Episcopal, Charismatic, etc.

[Seth Doty]

Most professing Christians in America celebrate Valentines day, special "Valentines day" sermons are preached, and some churches give away Valentine goodies or hold special events.

I agree that this is generally true and nothing catholic or pagan is really meant by it. It has come far enough from the original source that it has become more cultural than anything and basically amounts to a "lady appreciation day" revolving mostly around chocolate and flowers as has been said. Rather like christmas trees, christmas lights, and so forth are practically speaking more cultural today than pagan as they were in their origin. That said I certainly have no bone to pick with those who wish to avoid such ties with a cultural practice originating in paganism and have some sympathies that way myself. Sometimes as Americans it is easy to recognize dubious cultural practices in other nations while missing or dismissing a few in our own nation. There are doubtless many far bigger fish to fry than diluted cultural holidays that no longer really mean what they once did but nothing says you can't work on frying a big batch of fish of all sizes at the same time. :wink

[Invicta]

I agree that this is generally true and nothing catholic or pagan is really meant by it. It has come far enough from the original source that it has become more cultural than anything and basically amounts to a "lady appreciation day" revolving mostly around chocolate and flowers as has been said. Rather like christmas trees, christmas lights, and so forth are practically speaking more cultural today than pagan as they were in their origin. That said I certainly have no bone to pick with those who wish to avoid such ties with a cultural practice originating in paganism and have some sympathies that way myself. Sometimes as Americans it is easy to recognize dubious cultural practices in other nations while missing or dismissing a few in our own nation. There are doubtless many far bigger fish to fry than diluted cultural holidays that no longer really mean what they once did but nothing says you can't work on frying a big batch of fish of all sizes at the same time.

I guess that is what the Jews in the Old Testament thought. They tried to mix the worship of God with paganism with disastrous results. And just what early christians did, ending up with the RCC. Edited February 20, 2011 by Invicta

[John81]

I guess that is what the Jews in the Old Testament thought. They tried to mix the worship of God with paganism with disastrous results. And just what early christians did, ending up with the RCC.

I have actually wondered about this at times. Why do some Christians say it's okay to be involved in certain false religion holidays but are passionately opposed to any form of observing Halloween, another false religion holiday, even if it's observed as a harvest festival where folks gather to thank God for the harvest, give praise and worship and celebrate and fellowship? Is that consistent?

[Seth Doty]

I have actually wondered about this at times. Why do some Christians say it's okay to be involved in certain false religion holidays but are passionately opposed to any form of observing Halloween, another false religion holiday, even if it's observed as a harvest festival where folks gather to thank God for the harvest, give praise and worship and celebrate and fellowship? Is that consistent?

If I were to venture a guess as to "why" some Christians appose halloween but don't mind "valentines day" I would say it has to do with what those "holidays" currently mean and how they are practiced today. Halloween even today cannot reasonably be perceived as having any good aspects. At best even in our current culture it is a time when things that would be horrible if they were real and terror itself is celebrated. Not really the sort of things that should be celebrated by Christians. Valentines day on the other hand is celebrated primary by giving flowers, chocolates, and expressing love for someone which isn't in and of itself automatically a bad thing. If a practice in and of itself is not a bad or impure thing it can reasonably be equated to the situation that unfolded in the new testament of eating meat offered unto idols. There was nothing wrong with the meat in and of itself if it was eaten with a clear conscience, but it had past ties with things that were wrong which bothered some people. The solution was to defer to the conscience of the people it bothered when they were around. As for my personal opinion I do not really think things like "valentines day" as currently celebrated, "christmas trees", "christmas lights", and so forth are wrong in and of themselves given that they no longer have any real association with paganism or evil. On the other hand I don't have a problem with people who wish to avoid even a distant association with pagan practices and avoid those things due to their origins. I have slowly drifted toward the later position myself but not so much because I think the aforementioned practices are wrong or would condemn someone else for doing them as because I am not really sure they are helpful or for the best precisely because of their potential for sending mixed signals.

[JerryNumbers]

Yes, in the Old Testament each time Israel got drawn in with the people of this world, and the things they did, they got in trouble with God.

Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Strong word, yet few heed them.