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Excerpt from The Hidden Side of Christian Festivals These notes on the Church's Year were originally intended to be a chapter in the first volume of this series, The Science of the Sacraments. It was found, however, that that book was already becoming unwieldy, and that there was more to be said about the ecclesiastical year than could be compressed into a single chapter; so it seemed best to devote a separate volume to its consideration. This has also made it possible to add to it a few miscellaneous addresses on points of importance. The book is to a large extent the reproduction of a series of sermons given for the instruction of a congregation to whose members the ideas contained in it were novel. Amid much pressure of work along other lines I have not had leisure to weld these into a continuous treatise; and as it is not probable that in this incarnation I shall have that leisure, and as other congregations desire information on these subjects, it seems best to let the sermons go forth with but little correction or addition. Occasional repetitions and colloquialisms will no doubt be found in the book, therefore; but I hope that it may nevertheless be not without some value to students of liberal Christianity, and indeed of religion in general. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
This comparative religion book contains a startling perspective of the extraordinary history of the Egyptian religion and its profound influence upon the later Christian faith. The text demonstrates that the popular god Horus and Jesus possessed many characteristics and attributes in common.
From pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller comes the perfect gift for the Christmas holiday—a profoundly moving and intellectually provocative examination of the nativity story Even people who are not practicing Christians think they are familiar with the story of the nativity. Every Christmas displays of Baby Jesus resting in a manger decorate lawns and churchyards, and songs about shepherds and angels fill the air. Yet despite the abundance of these Christian references in popular culture, how many of us have examined the hard edges of this biblical story? In his new book Timothy Keller takes readers on an illuminating journey into the surprising background of the nativity. By understanding the message of hope and salvation within the Bible’s account of Jesus’ birth, readers will experience the redeeming power of God’s grace in a deeper and more meaningful way.
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1920 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VII LENT OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS LENT The word Lent means spring, for in the northern hemisphere, where the Christian faith began, Lent is necessarily always observed in that season of the year, as it is the time of preparation for the Easter festival, the date of which is determined by the vernal equinox. This period of preparation is intended to last for forty days, and as it has been made a penitential season it was felt that the Sundays, which are always joyous in commemoration of the Resurrection, could not be included; so that the first day of Lent, commonly called Ash Wednesday, is actually forty-six days before Easter. That curious name was given to the day because of a quaint mediaeval custom of smearing ashes on the forehead on that occasion as a token of sorrow for sin--a custom derived from the ancient Jews. Even now in churches of the Roman . obedience the sanctified palm-branches which have been preserved since Palm Sunday of the previous year are burnt on Ash Wednesday, and the priest, dipping his thumb into the ashes, makes a cross therewith on the forehead of each member of his congregation before beginning the Mass. We have not adopted this custom in our Liberal Catholic Church, as it is not in harmony with our attitude in these matters. The present idea of observing the forty days of Lent was unknown in the early Church. It began with a celebration of forty hours--nt forty days. 129 It was calculated that the Christ--or rather His body--lay in the sepulchre about forty hours, and it was thought by many earnest Christians that it was a meet and fitting thing to observe that time during which the body of our Lord was untenanted as a time of fasting. Fasting then probably meant absolutely going without food;...
A compelling history of radical transformation in the fourth-century--when Christianity decimated the practices of traditional pagan religion in the Roman Empire. The Final Pagan Generation recounts the fascinating story of the lives and fortunes of the last Romans born before the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Edward J. Watts traces their experiences of living through the fourth century’s dramatic religious and political changes, when heated confrontations saw the Christian establishment legislate against pagan practices as mobs attacked pagan holy sites and temples. The emperors who issued these laws, the imperial officials charged with implementing them, and the Christian perpetrators of religious violence were almost exclusively young men whose attitudes and actions contrasted markedly with those of the earlier generation, who shared neither their juniors’ interest in creating sharply defined religious identities nor their propensity for violent conflict. Watts examines why the "final pagan generation"—born to the old ways and the old world in which it seemed to everyone that religious practices would continue as they had for the past two thousand years—proved both unable to anticipate the changes that imperially sponsored Christianity produced and unwilling to resist them. A compelling and provocative read, suitable for the general reader as well as students and scholars of the ancient world.