Pastor: First mention of thanksgiving is found in Leviticus
Question: Is Thanksgiving a Christian holiday and, if so, why?
- Dr. Don Crain, Mechanicsville, Va.
Answer: Christianity is actually a Judeo-Christian faith, rooted in the Old Testament and expanded in the New Testament. Any old covenant precedent that isn't set aside in our new covenant is available for Christian use. So, a better question to ask might be, "Is Thanksgiving biblical?" I think you'll find a positive answer!
Although not a holiday, the first mention of thanksgiving in the Bible is found in Leviticus, chapter 7, where Moses gave instructions for an offering to restore peace with God. There, Israel was told they might also include an offering of thanksgiving with their peace offering. This was optional, because in chapter 22, God said sacrifices of thanksgiving were to be self-initiated and free-will offerings.
The giving of thanks is the theme of many Psalms, such as 30:4; 50:14; 69:30; 95:2; 100:4; and the many other times they enjoin us to "Give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever." Daniel 6:10 tells us this was also that prophet's custom to offer thanks three times every day. But, is it continued in the New Testament?
Yes; eight times in the gospels Jesus, himself, gave thanks before eating or feeding others. In Matthew 11:25 and Luke 10:21 Jesus said thanks in his public prayers, and in John 11 he offered thanks before raising Lazarus. In Luke 17 Jesus commended the one leper out of ten who returned to give him thanks for being healed. What better reason could we have than to follow the example of our Lord? Paul admonished the Ephesians in 5:20 to give thanks in the name of Jesus for all things. Even the angels who live daily in God's presence offer thanks in Revelation 7:12, and in chapter 11 they're joined by all the saints in Heaven thanking God for his awesome power.
I believe Thanksgiving transcends any religion and is appropriate everywhere and at all times because it springs from the heart's desire to show gratitude. We're fortunate that our forefathers and leaders today in America have set aside a day for gratitude. They can't legislate our thanks, but they can provide a season of remembrance conducive to thanking God for all the blessings we often take for granted.
- I wish all my American readers a blest Thanksgiving. Please allow me to thank those who corrected me from last week's column concerning the earth's rotation causing our gravity. Earth's rotation is a factor in its centrifugal force; but we must also include mass, distance, and Einstein's space-bending theory when trying to explain earth's gravitational pull.
Dr. Tom Lovorn is pastor of God's Storehouse Baptist Church in Richmond and writes a weekly column on religion for The Progress-Index. Readers may send him Bible questions in care of The Progress-Index, 15 Franklin St., Petersburg, VA 23803.