No, there is no verse in the Bible in which God commands us to
keep 40 days of mourning before Pesach. However, it is interesting
that we see the number 40 very often in the Bible. Jesus fasted for
40 days, the Israelites were in the desert for 40 years, Nineveh
was given forty days to repent.
Irregardless, Jesus did not get crucified immediately, but the fast
in the desert was before he began his public ministry, culminating
in His death on the Cross. Lent is the Christians way of
understanding these mysteries.
The names of the days of the week are also pagan-influenced.
Everyday is a sinful day then? For example, Thursday is derived
from Thors day. You know who that is so I shant educate you once
more.
When Easter was first being celebrated, nobody called it Easter. It
was called Pascha. And it still is. Therefore even if it Easter is
a pagan word, it does not matter because Pascha is not about
celebrating any pagan god.
Do tell us how the celebration of the Jewish Pesach commemorates
the death of Our Lord. I cannot see it. What I see is that this
festival has been recreated into Pascha by incorporating the
paschal mystery of the Lord. Pascha is the celebration of the
paschal mystery of Christ. It IS our Passover.
Old Covenant = Covenant made between God and Moses, where God
gives the people of Israel the Ten Commandments, and the Mosaic
Laws.
New Covenant = A new covenant, resulting in a new Law where God
will send the Holy Sprit to all people through faith in Jesus
Christ, thus making perfect the foundation set up by the Old
Covenant.
This is what Mother Church teaches. Paragraph 1968 of the Catechism
states The Law of the Gospel fulfills the commandments of the Law.
The Lord's Sermon on the Mount, far from abolishing or devaluing
the moral prescriptions of the Old Law, releases their hidden
potential and has new demands arise from them: it reveals their
entire divine and human truth. It does not add new external
precepts, but proceeds to reform the heart, the root of human acts,
where man chooses between the pure and the impure,22 where faith,
hope, and charity are formed and with them the other virtues. The
Gospel thus brings the Law to its fullness through imitation of the
perfection of the heavenly Father, through forgiveness of enemies
and prayer for persecutors, in emulation of the divine
generosity.23
What we do daily is important, but that is not the crux of this
debate. We are concerned with the public and communal celebration
of the mysteries of Christ.
Since Jesus Christ has given Mother Church the power to bind and
loose, His successors have the power and responsibility of
determining the customs and laws of the Church. Thats how we have
Christmas, and Sunday as the holy day. In any case we gladly
follow.
Furthermore God has granted the privilege of the Holy Spirit to
guide the Apostles and their successors. Does the Spirit fail? No.
Therefore it is in this confidence that we follow the leaders of
the Church.
I was wondering, why do you insist that it must be during the Feast
of Tabernacles? Do you know Jesus real birthdate? We dont claim
to do so. It is just an estimate.
I believe we have different perceptions here. You see it as
Christianity being corrupted by paganism. We see it as Christianity
conquering paganism by making their pagan festival unrecognizable.
And we ultimately have succeeded in conquering paganism.
Whos being unbiblical now? =P
As a parting shot, I will leave you to read the Acts of the
Apostles Chapter 15.
5Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the
Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and
required to obey the law of Moses."
6The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7After much
discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know
that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
8God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving
the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He made no
distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by
faith. 10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the
necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have
been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our
Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
Mosaic Law has been abolished; moral laws have been made perfect
by the New Law. Christianity has professed this for the past
thousand years. I dont know why your Torah-observant movement is
trying to re-invent the wheel. These ideas are recent innovations.
Furthermore it does not help that you quote crap such as Alexander
Hislop, whom is discredited even by Protestants. Stop misleading
the faithful.
