Mark, leave your righteousness at the door. If you can't partake in this discussion appropriately, I will delete all your posts from the thread. DO NOT BASH, DISCOURAGE, CRITICIZE OR INSULT ANYONE ELSE'S BELIEFS.

Most of you know (and ridicule :D) my beliefs. Which is good, because I am constantly asking myself if what I believe is still true with my day to day actions.

Now, just to give you guys a bit of background, we have major and minor "holidays", or esbats and sabbats. They are based on the calendar year, and some of you celebrate them, whether you know it or not.

Ever heard of Samhein? (Pronounced "Sow-hein") Probably not. But, you help celebrate it. You guys (and my kids) call it "Halloween". In pagan traditions, it is believed to be the time when the boundaries between the living world and the dead world are at their thinnest, and Samhein is a time to "remember your beloved dead". Traditional Samhein ceremonies involve having a nice family dinner, and leaving one seat empty with a filled plate for your deceased family members. It's a time of telling stories (around my house, usually of my Grandpa Ralph, a Norwegian fisherman who was just an awesome guy in every way), and just a good way to remind you and your family of where you've come from, of good times and bad, and it's usually a good time.

Other holidays include Yule, which is celebrated on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and symbolizes the re-birth of the Sun, as the days progressively grow longer.

Now, the thing that makes me question my beliefs is the fact that I know the 8 holidays, but it just seems like life gets in the way of doing the ritualized stuff to acknowledge them. It's tough with family, kids, work, hobbies, sports, whatever to find the time to do the full-on ceremonial stuff, and I have to admit, I've missed my fair share of them. And I wonder, am I doing myself a disservice by not following all these traditions? Or, am I being insulting to my beliefs by not doing them?

When I went to church when I was younger, the time investment of every Sunday morning was very difficult to deal with. There were plenty of better ways to spend our family time than something we didn't really want to go to.

I constantly ask myself if I am on the right path because it seems like I can't devote the time needed to either studies, traditions, or what-not. I know I am not drawn elsewhere, but at the same time, I feel I need to refine my beliefs, to weed out things that might be ceremonialized strictly for the sake of being "traditions". I guess it's all part of making it my own. I've found several people who have been doing it longer than I have, and they've been good friends and teachers, but for me, I just can't rely on what others say, do or think to formulate what is right for me.

Do you guys question yourselves?

Of coarse. If you ever stop questioning yourself you've closed yourself off from future Knowledge. I regularly question where my thoughts are going and weather or not I'm doing something thats a waste of time or something that's actually meaningful. I've been surprised at how often I get a new perspective on life/religion/science etc.

Questioning your religion is one way to become strengthened in your religion. It is one way to learn more about it and how you live it

I'm going to play the role of Mark and say that your post was delusional Kevin.

Is he banned again?

Is he banned again?


Yup.

Is he banned again?

He just couldn't help himself could he?

The OP brings to the table several valid questions. Various ceremonies and traditions have "evolved" over the years to become quite different from what they originally intended to be, both in intent and in action. We simply can't help but to add our own generational cultural changes to them.

This also happens within religious ceremonies, as well.

The point is to not become enveloped or entangled in tradition or vain ceremonies. In the Jewish tradition, many of these ceremonies began as the Jews were in exile in the desert under Moses' direction. God had sent specific directions as to how the Jews were to remember their Lord both in ceremony and in practice. Many of these ceremonies, etc, were temporary in nature and were never really designed to be binding for all of history. Case in point, we no longer are required to preform animal sacrifice. But, that much brings about another discussion in and of itself (many feel that animal sacrifice was exclusively Jewish and never meant for the Gentiles).

Regardless, with the coming of the Christ, and His substitutionary death on the cross, the need for animal sacrifice was swept away. Animal sacrifice was in fact, a mere temporary, representational rite until the coming of the Christ.

But when it came to stringent adherence to religious rites and ceremony, Peter and Paul finally came head to head on the matter. It was Peter's stance that Jewish tradition be preserved and taught amongst the Gentiles, even to the point of them following Jewish religious law. Paul, however, finally laid to rest the matter basically saying that the Jewish laws were not meant for the Gentiles, and they should not be held in offense, nor be subject to these laws and ceremonies.

Simply put, the coming of Jesus and His work on the cross washed away the old, and ushered in the new. All Jewish ceremony concerning sacrifice up to that point was directed to, and pointed to, the coming of Jesus.

We hear arguments today concerning this much. How could Jesus do away with these ceremonies? For one thing, the ceremonies conducted at the time that Jesus walked the earth became very different from when they originated. The Jewish sect leaders had taken the rites so far away from their original intent, that they barely had anything to do with what God had wanted. The Temples were overrun with thieves, tax collectors, lawyers, and such, that the Temples more resembled a free-for-all circus or bazaar then any kind of legitimate religious house. It was in this condition that Jesus found the Temples. Most of them, anyway.

In that sense, the people had become slaves to fake ceremonies rather than free men in God. This is exactly why the NT warns us against vain rites and ceremonies. He knows us, and knows just how we will sink into a comfort zone of going through the motions rather than remaining alive in our faith in Him. How easy it becomes to feel justified in plopping down ten bucks into a plate and feel satisfied that we have done our part for God's house. How much more would it be worth to actively pray for a sick member of the church, instead? How much more would we be serving our Lord if we were to go out once in a while and actively spread the Gospel to those that have never heard, or have only passively heard less than the basics of the work of Jesus?

I admit that tossing a few bills into a plate is much easier than going out to visit the elderly or the sick, but should we feel satisfied that we have done enough if left to that? If we do, then we have become satisfied that a vain repetition is good enough.

And of Baptism, are we to sit back satisfied that our children are now sufficient in the eyes of God once this rite has been accomplished on them?

Some churches rely more on rituals than others. It's easy to know which ones do, and which ones don't. Whichever ones they may be is not important to me nor to my post. What is important to me is that some of these churches may be sliding back to what the Temples were way back during Jesus' time on earth. Personally, I can't imagine sitting through a service that is spoken in a language that I do not understand, for example. Yet, this tradition remains in some churches.
As well, I fail to see how handling poisonous snakes and dancing with them brings me any closer to God, yet some churches continue even after members fall sick to the bites.

There are many ceremonies I do not agree with, nor do I think that God approves of, yet they remain a strong tradition within some churches and sects today.

What damage can come of these traditions?

Part II to come soon :)

Faith comes short in the spiritual world