Chronic Difficulties
Richard Ritenbaugh observes that over two billion people faithfully observe an annual "holy week," consisting of Palm Sunday, Good Friday (the supposed time of the crucifixion), and Easter Sunday. Human tradition and Bible truth do not squa... 

Dealing With the Holidays
David Grabbe, finding ironic humor in Halloween clashing with the venerable day of the Sun, observes that our culture is saturated with paganism—Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Mardi Gras—all derived from the world's religions and culture. Th... 

Gray Areas in Human Reasoning
Martin Collins describes the multi-cultural assimilation, compromise and adoption of Gentile Christmas customs into Jewish family celebration —compromises also made by members of our prior fellowship. We need to be on guard about the incrementa... 

Halloween
As soon as we return home from the Feast of Tabernacles, we must face several months of the world's holiday season, and first off is Halloween. This holiday has seen a steady growth in popularity over the past several years, now ranking second only t... 

May Day: A Pagan Sabbath
Charles Whitaker, focusing on May Day, a Celtic and Germanic witches Sabbath (Walpurgisnacht), suggests that May Day has become a cardinal day for worshipping demons and the greenery of the earth. May Day is a confrontation with God’s way of life. Ma... 

The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part 23)
In this twenty-third installment of the Covenants, Law and Grace series, John Ritenbaugh focuses upon two sets of verses (Colossians 2:16-18 and Galatians 4:9-10) which certain Protestant theologians have blasphemously charged that Paul was referring... 

The Fear of the Lord is to Hate Evil
David Grabbe, affirming that the fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil, defines evil as that which has the intention of doing harm or injury. The ancient Israelites saw no harm in temple prostitutes and child sacrifice, while modern Israelites see n... 

The Occult
Is there a distinction between black and white magic? Martin Collins in his exploration of the fastest growing religion in the United States (witchcraft) traces both practices to Satan the Devil. The Bible clearly condemns charmers, divination, gnost... 

The Origin of Hanukkah
Bill Onisick explores the origin of the Feast of Dedication, Feast of Lights or Hanukah, the only civil or national Jewish holiday mentioned in the Bible. Greek tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes defiled the temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar and force... 

What's So Bad About Valentines Day?
Richard Ritenbaugh reveals that Valentine's Day dates back to the Roman fertility rite and ritual honoring Lupercus, the god of the hunt and fertility, commemorating a time young men would whip women with goat thongs to improve their fertility. Many ...