quote:Originally posted by smokey1:quote:Originally posted by beternU:
Lent, nolwhere sanctioned in Scripture, is preceeded by Mardi Gras, another observance nowhere found in Scripture, as one might suspect, given the often vile and sensual things that are carried out in Mardi Gras observances. Mardi Gras is modeled after the Roman Lupercanal Festival, with its debauchery and hedonism. These practices were brought in by a corrupted church in order to provide pagans with something to continue to attach themselves to while at least nominally becoming "Christians" and subject to the politico-ecclesiastical authority of that day. A similar substitution is found in the exaggerated role of Mary prescribed in Catholic doctrine. This unscriptural quasi-deification of a human being was derived from a perceived need to find a surrogate for the feminine gods of paganism. Thus, instead of coming out from the evils of the world, the corrupted church of that dismal era co-opted the practices of heathens and pagans in modified forms, all with the goal of pacifying and attracting the former idolators into a corrupted form of "Christianity."
Those who follow the clear teachings of Jesus and the New Testament have no need for such perverse practices and doctrines.
Just what I expected from you.
And just what I expected from YOU--namely a "response" that utterly fails in any way to address the substance of what I posted. What's ther matter with you? Have you no capability to defend what you believe? Have you no competence to dispute what you disagree with?
It would seem that you strike out on both counts.