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Is
it right to have body piercing? The New Testament
seems to be silent on the subject.
I view
body piercing, tattoos, odd-colored hair, bizarre
haircuts, cremation, the general lack of good
morals, the emergence of old gods and the rise
of the occult, child sacrifice (abortion), euthanasia,
misuse of drugs and alcohol, as all part of an
ancient pattern called "Paganism." Tragically,
large segments of Western Civilization are casting
off their Judeo-Christian heritage and replacing
it with a New Paganism. How sad that after centuries
of effort of throwing off its pagan past by embracing
the Word of God, Western Society is being "repaganized."
The new neighbor might not introduce himself by
saying, "Hi - I'm the New Pagan on the block,"
but if these things characterize his life, that's
what he is. So, what should we do? We certainly
should show these New Pagans the love of Messiah,
but we shouldn't imitate the ways of Paganism!
We should reject these practices and maintain
Biblical morals and values that have served Western
Civilization so well for almost 2,000 years.
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Why
has the Church rejected God's laws and substituted
pagan practices? Doesn't that make the Church
pagan?
No, the
Church is not pagan, although there are a few
pagan practices that should be eliminated. The
early Gentile Christian leaders understood that
salvation came through faith in Messiah alone,
and that Yeshua was sufficient for them. They
also understood that they didn't need to adopt
a Jewish lifestyle to be part of the people of
God. They understood the decision of the First
Jerusalem Council, that Gentile Believers were
not obligated to observe Jewish customs and days.
Apart from faith in Messiah Yeshua, only four
observances were considered obligatory for Gentile
Believers (see Acts 15, especially verses 19-20
and 28-29), along with obedience to the Moral
Law - laws such as not murdering, not stealing
or committing adultery - laws which God has already
written on everyone's heart. They understood the
admonition of Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles:
"Was any man called already circumcised?
Let him not be uncircumcised. Has anyone been
called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised...
Let each man remain in that condition in which
he was called" (1 Corinthians 7:18,
20). Jewish people don't need to stop living
the lifestyle and calling to which God has called
us, nor do Gentiles need to start living as Jews.
The early Gentile Christian leaders understood
that the best way to reach their own people with
the Good News about the Jewish Messiah was to
frame that message within the context of their
cultures. So, instead of eradicating certain pagan
practices, they felt the Kingdom of God would
be better served by introducing and integrating
Messiah into those practices. Patrick, whom the
Lord used to bring the Good News to Ireland, is
a great example. After Patrick arrived in Ireland
as a missionary, the greatest showdown of his
ministry occurred in the early morning hours of
his first Easter Sunday, when Patrick came face
to face with druid priests and Irish chieftains.
There were many kingdoms in Ireland, but one high
king who dwelt at Tara. Part of the pagan worship
marking the change of season from winter to spring
was lighting a fire. The fire at Tara was ignited
first. But on the hill of Slane, Patrick preempted
the high king and the druid priests by lighting
the Easter fire. Patrick was summoned before the
king and he explained that he was bringing the
new light, the Light of Messiah, the Savior and
Light of the world. Patrick was not punished,
but instead allowed to go his way and continue
his work. Patrick used this pagan custom to
proclaim the Good News, and the result was that
in 29 years of ministry, Patrick baptized over
120,000 Irishmen and planted 300 churches. Through
Patrick, much of Ireland came to the Messiah.
(This information about Patrick is based on the
article, " Who Was Saint Patrick?"
by David Kithcart,) Did Patrick instruct his new
Irish believers to begin living like the Jews?
Did he instruct them to have their own Passover
Seders and celebrate Sukkot? Was his message to
these new Believers, "Now that you have the
Messiah, you must also start observing the 613
commandments of the Torah, as the Jewish people
do?" No! The way the early church dealt with
Christmas provides another good example. David
Brickner, writing in the Jews for Jesus Newsletter
(December 2000), makes the following observations:
"Some Christians are quick to point out that
December 25th was regarded as the birth date of
the ancient Iranian mystery god Mithra, whose
followers worshiped him as the Sun of Righteousness.
The date also corresponds closely with the winter
solstice, that day when the sun shines furthest
from the equator and the daylight in the northern
hemisphere is shortest. Many ancient cultures
celebrated the winter solstice with traditions
of gift giving and merrymaking, as well as decorating
their homes with greenery and lights. Could such
traditions in Christmas celebrations be the devil's
plot to sow paganism into the body of Christ?
Some believe that destructive pagan roots are
so pervasive in the December Advent season that
Christians ought not observe Christmas at all.
But we need not hold such a dark view of Christmas.
It seems likely that the December celebration
was promoted in order to replace pagan celebrations.
It would have been a good choice on the part of
early Christian leaders who wanted to establish
Christ's preeminence in hearts of people from
a wide array of cultures. If some of these people
adapted familiar customs to worship Emmanuel rather
than the false gods they had rejected, shouldn't
we rejoice? As long as the customs are not
immoral, unbiblical or idolatrous, why not worship
the Lord in ways that are meaningful within the
context of one's culture? If new believers
were going to be tempted by their old pagan religions,
perhaps their old festivals and life cycle events
would present the greatest temptation. By focusing
on the birth of Christ at such a time, perhaps
those early church leaders were putting a wonderful
missions principle to work, sanctifying that which
was ungodly and pagan by giving the day a new
and wonderful meaning in Christ. The Lord Himself
employed a similar principle when He commanded
the children of Israel to observe certain festivals.
All three major Jewish feasts found in Deuteronomy
16 corresponded to Middle Eastern harvest times.
Pagan nations held festivals of their own during
these times, often filled with immoral rituals.
God knew that Israel might be tempted and drawn
into the corruption and idolatry of the surrounding
nations, particularly during these harvest times.
In His goodness, He gave Israel sanctified holidays
to observe during these times. He gave them holidays
to reflect His truth and not pagan myths. The
Israelites were celebrating God's provision at
the same time the pagans were celebrating and
entreating their gods for a good harvest the following
year. Yet they were very separate celebrations.
Perhaps we can view Christmas in a similar way
- not the exact same way, since it is a man-made
tradition, but with the understanding that there
is a godly principle at work here. Christmas need
not be dismissed as a pagan holiday. Those who
choose not to celebrate should have that liberty,
and those who do choose to celebrate should have
the same liberty." There are certain pagan
practices which so contradict the Word of God
that they cannot be sanctified and should not
be used at all. For example, many pagans had
shrines, in which they prayed to their gods, including
a mother-god figure. It seems that, instead of
giving up this idolatry, some nominal Christians
simply substituted Mary and the saints, and kept
their idols and pagan shrines. Praying to"the
saints" (fellow human beings who have died),
or using statues and icons, are practices which
are incompatible with Biblical worship. I also
find the "Sacrifice of the Mass," if
it is practiced with the understanding that we
are literally eating the body of the Messiah,
and literally drinking His blood, to be pagan,
since the Bible expressly forbids cannibalism
and the consumption of blood (Leviticus 17:10).
How can we tell if a tradition or practice
is good and can be engaged in, or pagan and must
be rejected? If a practice itself is neutral
(lighting candles, drinking wine, wearing a six
pointed star), good meaning can be brought into
it. But if the practice is specifically forbidden
by the Word of God, it must be rejected. Also,
when it comes to these traditions, they must be
understood to be optional, and not required. When
a tradition is insisted upon, that crosses the
line into legalism.
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