XPost: alt.religion.christian   
   From: usenet@christrose.news   
      
         • It does not follow that if God wants believers to thank Him   
           always and every day, then it's therefore wrong to celebrate a   
           day of Thanksgiving to Him. For example, Israel’s Feast of Weeks   
           (Pentecost) and Feast of Tabernacles both centered on   
           thanksgiving for harvest and God’s provision (Deuteronomy   
           16:9–17). These were annual, God-appointed celebrations.   
           Setting aside a day to thank God does not contradict continual   
           thanksgiving; it reinforces it.   
      
         • You operate on the false ASSUMPTION that if someone celebrates   
           thanksgiving to God on one day, then it must mean he doesn't   
           thank him at any other time. This is stupid and false. You   
           weave together twisted lies and false assumptions to promote   
           false guilt.   
      
         • It does not follow that every practice must be defined by the   
           worst pagan similarity you can scrounge up to associate with   
           it. For example, pagans use the word "theos" to refer to their   
           false gods. Yet the Holy Spirit used "theos" to refer to the   
           one true God. You can't poison and contaminate the meaning of a   
           word or holiday, merely by claiming that pagans once used that   
           word for something evil or did something similar for wrong   
           purposes. It is therefore not "pagan" or "sinful", to use the   
           word "theos" or celebrate a day of thanksgiving, simply because   
           pagans use it to refer to false gods.   
      
         • As for the historical claim, the original 1621 thanksgiving at   
           Plymouth was not a celebration of murder, but a communal meal   
           shared between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people after a   
           successful harvest, with mutual peace and cooperation. Later   
           conflicts in North America were grievous, but they do not   
           redefine the meaning of gratitude to God for provision.   
           Christians distinguish between civil or national observances   
           and the spiritual heart of thankfulness. Romans 14:6 applies:   
           “The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the   
           Lord.”   
      
   --   
   Have you heard the good news Christ died for our sins (†), and God   
   raised Him from the dead?   
      
   That Christ died for our sins shows we're sinners who deserve the death   
   penalty. That God raised Him from the dead shows Christ's death   
   satisfied God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans 3:25; 1 John   
   2:1-2). This means God can now remain just, while forgiving you of your   
   sins, and saving you from eternal damnation.   
      
   On the basis of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins, call on   
   the name of the Lord to save you: "For 'everyone who calls on the name   
   of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:13, ESV).   
      
   https://christrose.news/salvation   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)