"In former times the Reformed Presbyterian Church was solidly opposed to the religious observance of Christmas, Easter and other special days of the same kind. But in recent years this opposition has begun to weaken and here and there a Covenanter congregation is beginning to copy the big denominations and do more or less as others do in this matter of observing days.
Three hundred years ago the Westminster Assembly of Divines met in London, England, to compile the Confession of Faith, Catechisms and other standards that have become the heritage of all churches of the Presbyterian family throughout the world. Let me quote what the Westminster Assembly said about the observance of holy days. It is found in the Appendix to the Directory for Worship which they prepared. This is what they said: 'There is no day commanded in Scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord’s Day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival-days, vulgarly called ‘holy-days’, having no warrant in the Word of God, are not to be continued.' 300 years ago that was the accepted belief of all Presbyterians. Since then, the majority have gradually adopted the customs of the Episcopalians and Catholics, and today they observe a variety of special days in their religious services. But we should realize that we Covenanters, in opposing the observance of Easter and other 'holy' days, are only holding to the original principle which was once held by ππ₯π₯ Presbyterians everywhere. It is not the Covenanters that have changed." — π.π. ππ¨π¬, "The Observance of Days" in π΅ππ’π π΅πππππ πΉπππ‘β πππ πΏπππ (Jan.-March 1947), pp. 17-18
[ht: Virginia is for Hugenots]
No comments:
Post a Comment