Short Answer: Why don't Christians celebrate Jewish holidays?

Dear Apologist, why don’t Christians celebrate Jewish holidays?

For most Christians it is perfectly obvious why we don’t celebrate Muslim or Hindu holidays. However, the matter becomes more confusing when we look at Jewish holidays. The Christian faith grew out of the Judaism, therefore we renounce none of it. However, there is evidence in the New Testament itself that the first Christians were already neglecting the Jewish holy days. In his letter to the Colossians, Saint Paul assures his readers:

“Let no one pass judgment on you with regard to a festival or new moon or Sabbath. These are shadows of things to come; the reality belongs to Christ” - Col 2:16

In other words, there were Christians at the time who were insisting we still have a duty to keep observe Jewish holidays. Paul replied, “No we don’t.” The core reason why we don’t celebrate these festivals is contained in Paul statement at the close of that verse; “These were shadows of things to come, the reality belongs to Christ.”

Consider the holiday Yom Kippur, the annual Jewish day of atonement. As Christians we have a day of atonement. It was Good Friday – the original one – when Christ atoned for the sins of the world. What Christ did on the cross made Yom Kippur obsolete. What’s more, to celebrate it as a Christian today could be viewed as a statement that Christ did not sufficiently atone for our sins. What about Hanukkah? Hanukkah celebrates the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. Now, the Temple was the place where God's presence dwelt in a special way. But the New Testament tells us the Temple was always pointing forward to Jesus, who identified His own body as the Temple. And wouldn't you know it, Christians have analogous feasts in the form of the presentation of Jesus and the Baptism of Jesus.

How about Passover? Passover involved the sacrifice of a lamb and the eating of unleavened bread. Saint Paul says Jesus Christ is our Passover lamb and we celebrate our Passover at the Mass. [1Cor 5:7]

One could go down the list of all the Jewish holidays and do this. They were signs pointing forward to their fulfillment in Christ. The early Christians who abandoned these festivals did so for very intentional theological reasons.

Numbering the 10 Commandments...

I learned the Ten Commandments back in the 3rd Grade... or at least I thought I did.  But an odd thing happened when I started talking to my other Christian friends.  Their 10 Commandments list seemed to be different from mine.

In fact, I even began to hear accusations that the Catholic Church had altered the 10 Commandments to remove the ban on "graven images".  That was, of course, all so we could continue worshiping statues.  Because we do that, apparently.

Today I want to look at the 10 Commandments and how they are numbered.  Perhaps we can get to the bottom of this.

How Does a Catholic Read: 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

If you listen to Catholic Q&A shows for any length of time, you will hear the topic of Purgatory brought up repeatedly.  The questions usually fall into one of three categories:

1. What is it?
2. Where is it taught in Scripture?
3. How is it reconciled with this Bible passage which I think contradicts it?

Today I wanted to look more closely at the passage most often cited by Catholics to answer the second question.  Namely, I want to examine 1Corinthians 3:10-15 and see if it is reasonable to draw the doctrine of Purgatory from the text.

[I previously made a post explaining the very concept of Purgatory.  You can find that here.]

Interpreting and Applying Amoris Laetitia

Dear Apologist:  What was the Pope getting at with Amoris Laetitia?  What IS the proper application of that document - and how does it fit into existing Church teaching?

The proper interpretation of Amoris Laetitia has been a contentious topic since its release.  Even today there are a handful of Cardinals who – concerned with widespread misreading of the document – have asked the Vatican to clarify and reiterate certain points.

So this will be my best attempt.

Current Events: Much Ado About Dubium...

Dear Apologist, I recently heard some controversy about a "Dubium" which was submitted to Pope Francis by four Cardinals.  Could you explain that to me?

Current Events: The Pope, Abortion, and Confession...

Dear Apologist, I heard recently that the Pope declared that priests could not forgive abortions in Confession?   Could they not before?  Was abortion unforgivable?

Here is the first thing to keep in mind;  If you are getting news about the Catholic Church from secular news sources such as the Associated Press or Reuters, you are only going to be misled.  Those people do not understand the Catholic faith and have no idea how to accurately present it to readers.  The sources you want to get Catholic news from are the National Catholic Register and EWTN. 

Onto the matter at hand.

My Recent Presentations on Martyrdom

I was recently asked to give a couple presentations to our high school youth ministry group.  The topic was martyrdom.

The first presentation focused on the early martyrs and how their deaths gives evidence for the truth of the faith - as well as explaining how it spread.  The second presentation focused on modern martyrs and how their example applies to the challenges we face today.

Presentation 1: Ancient Martyrs

Presentation 2: Modern Martyrs