Ecumenical threads are closed to antagonism.
To antagonize is to incur or to provoke hostility in others. Unlike the “caucus” threads, the article and reply posts of an “ecumenical” thread may discuss more than one belief, but antagonism is not tolerable.
More leeway is granted to what is acceptable in the text of the article than to the reply posts. For example, the term “gross error” in an article will not prevent an ecumenical discussion, but a poster should not use that term in his reply because it is antagonistic. As another example, the article might be a passage from the Bible which would be antagonistic to Jews. The passage should be considered historical information and a legitimate subject for an ecumenical discussion. The reply posts however must not be antagonistic.
Contrasting of beliefs or even criticisms can be made without provoking hostilities. But when in doubt, only post what you are “for” and not what you are “against.” Or ask questions.
Ecumenical threads will be moderated on a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” basis. When hostility has broken out on an “ecumenical” thread, I’ll be looking for the source.
Therefore “anti” posters must not try to finesse the guidelines by asking loaded questions, using inflammatory taglines, gratuitous quote mining or trying to slip in an “anti” or “ex” article under the color of the “ecumenical” tag.
Lord, in this holy season of prayer and song and laughter, we praise you for the great wonders you have sent us: for shining star and angel’s song, for infant’s cry in lowly manger. We praise you for the Word made flesh in a little Child. We behold his glory, and are bathed in its radiance.
Be with us as we sing the ironies of Christmas, the incomprehensible comprehended, the poetry made hard fact, the helpless Babe who cracks the world asunder. We kneel before you shepherds, innkeepers, wisemen. Help us to rise bigger than we are. Amen.
The birth of Yashua is in your heart no matter where or when He was born. You carry His will in your heart, do good to those who persecute you and His love will abide with you always.
Interesting article. Especially after attending a Christmas Eve service at my local Church of Christ.
Well, I have always been for any excuse to have a celebration. The birth of our Lord and Savior is a pretty good one.
This kind of stick-in-the-mud-ism is exactly why we are declining in numbers and not effectively communicating the Gospel to a desperate and lost world. By hiding in your hole at Christmas, you are missing a prime opportunity to speak about the Savior.
Just speaking the truth here, brother.
The Angels God sent to the Earth to tell us of the birth of Christ asked us to celebrate and be full of joy. Christ was given gifts....and I’m sure Mary and Joseph used them!
Proud participant of the Campbellite wars here on FR back in 2006-7-8 when “they” tried to take over the Religion threads.
Then there are those “Cooneyites” who don’t believe in Christmas or Easter, or TV, or Radio, or movies.
Of course, the Bible mentions Our Lord observing the "Feast of the Dedication", better known by its Hebrew name, "Hanukkah". You'll find no commandment concerning that feast in the OT Bible used by the Church of Christ, nor is the incident it commemorates mentioned.
I always celebrate Christmas, the tempests are out in droves especially in churches.
Whatever Church of Christ congregants want to do is fine with me. I get worn down over “having” to celebrate certain things, myself. I could go “All Lent, all the time.”
I think I’d rather hear something that the Church of Christ does believe in, something a little more positive than this devisive stuff that keeps Christians (and others) separated. All you are doing is bragging about how much better and holier y’all are for wearing your panties a little tighter than the rest of us.
See the World Religions and Theology section of our website for the article Bible Questions for the Church of Christ: www.faithfacts.org.
Would the church present a service relevant to any socially acknowledged reason? Say, a 9/11 memoriam? There’s nothing wrong with a sermon about Christ’s birth, and nothing wrong with timing it for when the world in general is trying to acknowledge it.
Thank you for the “instructions”, if that is what they are in post #1. One is fearful to write anything at all, as it may be construed by whoever to be “antagonistic”. Like the previous sentence, for example. I sign my name under post # 19, in any event.
I am at the same time envious of those homogeneous countries in South America or Europe where everyone or nearly everyone belongs to one church, and the hair splitting among the many Protestant sects we have here, some as old as a decade or less, others maybe a 100 years old or a little more (as compared to the history of the Catholic Church and Her theology), do not take place, if only because they are long considered irrelevant.
IIRC, the Pilgrims didn’t celebrate Christmas, either; they viewed it as a pagan celebration. Not big fans of the pope. Christmas was a “ChristMASS”.
Perfectly sound, scripturally based advice from the good Pastor of The Church Of Christ. You are free to disagree and to practice otherwise, as many do, myself included.
However, you will have a difficult time in criticizing him or anyone else who believes similarly, because what he wrote is not at all inaccurate. If you observe Christmas as a Christian holy day, understand that it has no scriptural basis. That matters much more so to some than to others.
The holiday has veered into excess and error in the modern era, I suspect most would agree. Is this a condemnation of the observation or the celebration of Christmas? More so to some than to others.
Return to Paul and Romans 14 as often as you need to do so, in order to become more understanding and charitable toward your fellow brothers and sisters who do not hold to identical practices and observations. Observing or celebrating this holiday or any other is not a core, salvific matter. Upon core, salvific matters all Christians should agree, and do.
This particular topic is one with which I've dealt all my life. My father's family did not celebrate Christmas while my mother's family celebrated it thoroughly, Advent candles, greenery everywhere, caroling and all. They even had "Old Christmas."
whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven?
whoever hears you, hears me
on earth as it is in heaven ...
Church has no authority to name holidays?
some are terminally unique.
Remember how Jesus felt about the Pharisees and legalism?