An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Valentine's Day. This follows this post about the book of Acts. This follows this post about Europe becoming more dependent on Russia for energy. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

5 Reasons NOT to Celebrate Valentine's Day

Here's five tongue-in-cheek reasons not to celebrate Valentine's Day. But can you find another?

MP4 VideoAudio
MP3 Audio - 5 Reasons NOT to Celebrate Valentine's Day

[Steve Myers] Here's a little tongue-in-cheek discussion on 5 reasons not to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Number one: Flowers make you sneeze and they don't last very long.
Number two: Pink does not make you look thinner.
In fact, number three: Pink's a girly color that makes men feel wimpy.
Number four: Chocolate makes you fat.
Number five: Valentine's Day is just commercialism by the greeting card companies to make millions of dollars.
Are those any reasons that you shouldn't celebrate Valentine's Day? There is a more important reason, but it comes back to realizing what is life all about. What is romance after all because Valentine's Day is supposed to focus on romance? And we often think of the flowers and the candy and the meals out and all those kinds of things.
But you know what? Romance is sometimes vacuuming the house.  Romance is sometimes, yeah, cleaning the toilet or maybe changing a diaper or two or maybe making his favorite dessert. That's what real romance comes down to so much of the time, real life. And sometimes we get fooled by taking one day and trying to make something huge out of it when in reality love is a daily thing. It's something that we show every single day of our life.
Christ Himself said that whatever we want men to do to us, we should do to them. And it should be something that's on going, not just a onetime thing.
It reminded me of a passage that's over in Ecclesiastes in Ecclesiastes 9:9Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
See All.... Ecclesiastes 9:9Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
See All... says, "Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life, which He's given you under the sun." So it's all our days not just one day.
And so you could probably come up with a longer list of reasons not to celebrate Valentine's Day, but you know they're not all humorous. There is another reason.
You know that many of the world's holidays are focused and come from roots of paganism. That's where they're rooted. Valentine's Day is no different, named after a Catholic saint. It's rooted in paganism. Maybe that's a question you could ask yourself. What does God think about Valentine's Day?
Check it out a little bit. Look at what Deuteronomy 12 has to say about it . Check it out. Do a little bit of research . You may be very surprised what you find. In fact, you'll probably add one more big reason not to celebrate Valentine's Day.
That's BT Daily . We'll see you next time.

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Valentine's Day. This follows this post about three leaders.   For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

Where did Valentine's Day come from? Is it wrong for a Christian to celebrate it?

Like many of the world's major holidays, St. Valentine's Day is an annual observance with its roots entrenched firmly in pagan beliefs and customs. What would God think about Valentine's Day?

Answer:

Source: Photos.com

The ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, an annual three-day ritual believed to ward off evil spirits and increase fertility, was held on February 13 to 15.
Lupercalia (also known as Februatio, which is where we get the name for our month of February) was popular among many of the new converts to the quick-rising Catholic Church, and as Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays notes, "Everywhere that [mainstream] Christians came into power they immediately adapted the holidays and customs of the people to their own creed” (Robert J. Myers and the editors of Hallmark Cards, 1972, pp. 50-51).
Such was their course of action with this festival of Lupercalia. While Pope Gelasius officially condemned the pagan Roman festival and banned its observance at the end of the fifth century, many of its accompanying practices quickly appeared in a newly established holiday added by him to the official church list of feast days in A.D. 496—St. Valentine's Day.
Soon, people were no longer looking to obtain fertility by being beaten with strips of animal skin called februa. Instead, they turned their focus to St. Valentine, the patron saint of "engaged couples and anyone wishing to marry" (Celebrations, pp. 48-49), whose actual identity is even murkier than what connection he bore to romance.
What amounted to a renamed, refurbished Lupercalia then picked up steam, gradually adapting itself into the Valentine's Day we know today, which included the added elements of Valentine cards and Cupid, the Roman god of erotic love.
Friendship and sending cards are wonderful things, and God is not opposed to romance at the right time in the right way. But does the pagan religious history of Valentine's Day taint the modern practices? What does God have to say about observing pagan traditions, renamed or not?
"When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess…do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods... Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:29-32 [29] When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
[30] Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
[31] Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
[32] What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

See All...).
Though the practices of Lupercalia have been repackaged and dressed up in the form of Valentine's Day, these verses indicate they remain just as detestable as they have always been in our Creator's eyes. Instead of pagan days and practices, our focus should be on the Holy Days God has given us in the Bible, which point us toward His amazing and incomparable plan for all of humanity.
For more information, please read the free Bible study guide  "Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? "

Venus: What Science & the Bible Tell Us About this Fascinating Planet

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ analyzing the planet Venus. This follows this post analyzing the relationship of Greece to the rest of the Eurozone.  For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Venus: What Science & the Bible Tell Us About this Fascinating Planet

by Don Hooser

Venus

Source: By NASA via Wikimedia CommonsVenus has been called the “jewel of the sky” and “Earth’s sister planet.” The more I learn about Venus, the more amazed and inspired I am! The special cyclical relationships between Venus and Earth are like an intricate but graceful dance! God gave our solar system a complex and beautiful design!

I don’t know much about astronomy but I’ve been learning a tiny bit lately about the four “terrestrial” (solid, rocky) planets. Going away from the Sun, their orbits are in this order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. The few facts I’ll mention are like a grain of sand on the beach of modern knowledge—knowledge greatly expanded since 1962 by discoveries using exploratory space missions, primarily by Russia and the United States. There are several large books on the market just about Venus and there is a wealth of information on the Internet.



Venus is about the same size as Earth and is our closest planetary neighbor. But our twin is very different! Whereas the mean surface temperature of Earth is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the mean surface temperature of Venus is 870 degrees! Venus’s atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide with thick yellow-white clouds of sulfuric acid. These clouds, partly the result of active volcanoes, are largely responsible for the high heat because of their “greenhouse effect” on the incoming energy from the Sun. Venus is hotter than Mercury even though it is twice as far from the Sun as Mercury.



The atmospheric pressure on Venus’s surface is 92 times that of Earth! That is about the same pressure as being one kilometer (3,281 feet) deep under water. If we were to suddenly be on Venus, we would be instantly squashed and burned!



Venus experiences a constant, high-speed wind that carries its clouds on a complete trip around the planet every four Earth days!



Venus orbits the Sun relatively quickly—in about 225 earth-days as compared to Earth’s orbit of about 365 days. But Venus rotates on its axis so slowly that it takes 243 earth-days to make one rotation. Therefore one “Venus day” is longer than a “Venus year”! And Venus revolves in the opposite direction from all the other planets in our solar system except Uranus—on Venus and Uranus, the sun rises in the west and sets in the east!



The periods of Venus as “Evening Star” and “Morning Star” each average about 263 days. In between, Venus disappears from our view on the near side of the sun for about 8 days, and it disappears from our view on the far side of the sun for about 50 days, for a total of 584 days for the entire cycle.



Why is Venus so bright?



Venus is the third brightest luminary in our sky—only the Sun and the Moon are brighter. For long periods of time, Venus is bright enough to cast shadows on Earth. Venus’s cloud covering is highly reflective—reflecting about 70 percent of incoming sunlight back into space. That’s part of the reason for Venus’s brightness. The other primary reason is its closeness to Earth.



Venus has phases like the Moon has phases. It waxes (grows larger in appearance) and wanes (diminishes in appearance). Hence there are the phases of full Venus, half Venus, quarter Venus, crescent Venus, etc. What is surprising is that Venus appears to us earthlings to be its brightest when its phase is a quarter or less! How can that be?



Here is the answer: Venus appears brighter as it gets closer to Earth . When Venus is “full,” it is on the opposite side of the Sun, the farthest possible distance from Earth. As the orbits of Earth and Venus bring them closer together (more and more on the same side of the Sun), Venus appears brighter—even when we are seeing only a “quarter Venus” or less!



My interest in Venus has been kindled because this “Evening Star” has been especially bright in this April and May of 2012.



Earth will soon see a “Venus Transit”!



A Venus Transit occurs when we can see Venus passing directly in front of the Sun. This is similar to when the Moon passes in front of the Sun on a solar eclipse. Unlike the Moon, which covers most of the Sun, Venus appears as a small dot crossing the face of the Sun. A transit (sometime called a passage ) can only occur with the inner planets—Mercury and Venus—because they are the only two that can lie between the Earth and Sun during their orbits.



We are in the midst of the first Venus Transit of this millennium. Venus Transits usually come in pairs, with each transit in the pair spaced eight years apart. There was a transit on June 8, 2004 and the next one will be on June 5-6, 2012. In North America, it will take place on the late afternoon and evening of June 5 th . (Don’t look at the Sun trying to see the Transit unless you are using the right type of protective goggles.)



This pair of Venus Transits is a rare once-in-a-lifetime event. The last Venus Transit pairs occurred in 1874 and 1882. The next pair will occur in 2117 and 2125.



Venus and paganism



Venus has the shameful “honor” of being named after a pagan goddess (Venus was the Roman goddess of beauty and love). Several ancient civilizations practiced Venus worship, and veneration of the planet has persisted even into modern times.



The English word “Friday” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Frigedaeg , meaning “Venus day” ( Friga = Venus + dae = day), and many other languages also trace their names for Friday from root words meaning “Venus day.” The Spanish name for Friday is viernes .



God, Jesus Christ and metaphors



The Bible has many metaphors (symbolic word-pictures) for God and Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said I am the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, the good shepherd and the true vine . All these metaphors give us meaningful insight into the many different aspects of the character, roles and relationships of Christ.



A significant related point is that when we read in the Old Testament about God appearing and speaking to people, that was the Word, the One who later was known as Jesus Christ after He came to Earth for His earthly ministry. Many, many scriptures corroborate this truth. For example, see John 1:1-18 [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

[2] The same was in the beginning with God.

[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

[4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

[5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

[7] The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

[8] He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

[9] That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

[10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

[11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

[12] But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

[13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

[14] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

[15] John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

[16] And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

[17] For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

[18] No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.





See All...; John 5:37And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.



See All...; 1 Corinthians 10:4And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.



See All...; 1 John 4:12No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.



See All.... For thorough proof of this truth, see our booklet Who Is God?



We see that using metaphors for God is fine, but the Second Commandment forbids making any physical images to represent God (Exodus 20:4-6 [4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.





See All...). This also means that we must not incorporate visual images of God into our worship of God.



One metaphor for God is the Sun (Psalm 84:11For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.



See All...; Malachi 4:2But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.



See All...). It’s quite meaningful because the sun is the physical light of the world while Christ (and His true disciples) are the spiritual lights of the world (John 8:12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.



See All...; 9:5; Matthew 5:14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.



See All...). But both sun-worship and representing God with images of the Sun are inexcusable and abominable in God’s sight because they violate both the First and Second Commandments.



We can also say that a metaphor for God is a star because our Sun is a star. A star is a hot sphere that generates light whereas a planet merely reflects light from stars. Incidentally, the saints who are resurrected to be in God’s kingdom are also compared with stars in their glory (Daniel 12:3And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.



See All...; 1 Corinthians 15:40-42 [40] There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

[41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

[42] So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:





See All...).



Venus and Jesus Christ



In Numbers 22-24 is the account of King Balak summoning Balaam, a pagan prophet, to curse Israel. However, Balaam could only pronounce what God allowed him to say or what God forced him to say.



In Balaam’s fourth “oracle” (prophecy), he said, “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult” (Numbers 24:17I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.



See All...).



Regarding this verse, the Nelson Study Bible says, “This poetic language clearly refers to the Messiah. The pagan Balaam had a vision of the coming of the Hebrew Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ! He was visible from afar. He was like a Star, radiant and beautiful. He was like a Scepter, majestic and powerful.”



Now notice Revelation 22:16I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.



See All..., which says, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”



So we see that the planet Venus is a metaphor for Jesus Christ! Balaam’s prophecy will be wholly fulfilled with the second coming of Christ!



The Bible uses the word “star” to refer to any bright object in the sky other than the Sun and Moon. The word “planet” is not in the Bible, so the Bible does not distinguish between planets and true stars.



All of God’s creation should remind us of the Creator (Romans 1:20-21 [20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

[20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

[21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

[21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.





See All...). Now we have seen specifically that Venus should remind us of Christ.



We are in the pre-dawn light before the sunrise of Christ’s coming!



The earthly ministry of Jesus Christ introduced the pre-dawn light of the world (Luke 1:78-79 [78] Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

[79] To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.





See All...; John 8:12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.



See All...; Matthew 4:13-16 [13] And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

[14] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

[15] The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

[16] The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.





See All...; 2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.



See All...).



Now that Jesus has returned to heaven, His followers are commissioned to bring light to the world (Matthew 5:14-16 [14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

[15] Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

[16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.





See All...; Ephesians 5:8For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:



See All...). Only God and Christ are the source of light, like stars are sources of physical light. God’s people are to be like planets and moons that reflect the light of God. While they live “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,” they are to “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).



In Matthew 24:14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.



See All..., Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Jesus made it clear that the light of God’s truth would be powerfully preached and published in the years preceding Christ’s return. “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.



See All...).



In the New Living Translation, the latter half of 2 Peter 1:19We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:



See All... says, “You must pay close attention to what they [the prophets] wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day [Day of the Lord] dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.” So we see that the Bible uses both the appearance of the Morning Star and the sunrise to picture the return of Christ.



As the pre-dawn light becomes brighter and brighter, excitement is building in anticipation of the spectacular “sunrise” of Christ’s second coming!



God, speaking through Malachi, said, “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves” (Malachi 4:2But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.



See All...). That’s a prophecy of Christ’s return and the joyous resurrection of the saints!



One last lesson: As the dawn approaches, it’s urgent for those who are spiritually asleep to awaken and be prepared for the new day of Christ’s glorious reign on earth (Romans 13:11-14 [11] And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

[12] The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

[13] Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

[14] But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

See All...; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8 [1] But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

[2] For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

[3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

[4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

[5] Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

[6] Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

[7] For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

[8] But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

See All...).

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St. Valentine, Cupid and Jesus Christ

An interesting research article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Valentine's Day and a Patriotic take on this view! If you want to order a free book about this topic click here and for more interesting stories like this click here to follow this blog.

St. Valentine, Cupid and Jesus Christ

Its customs appear harmless, but is Valentine's Day really a Christian holiday? What are its origins? Could this seemingly innocent celebration promote unbiblical teachings?
by Gary Petty
Every year in mid-February millions of people express romantic desire for each other by exchanging heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, flowers and "valentines." Children express hidden infatuations by sending cards as "secret admirers." Retailers stock shelves with merchandise covered in stylized hearts and Cupids preparing for the popular observance of St. Valentine's Day, Feb. 14.
Where and how did these curious customs originate?
Valentine's Day acquired its name from a Catholic saint, although exactly who he was is a matter of debate. The two most famous Valentines were a Roman priest and a bishop, both of whom suffered martyrdom in the last half of the third century.
Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays records the story this way: "Everyone knows that St. Valentine's Day is that day of the year when friends and lovers express affection for one another, through cards, candy and flowers, whatever means the imagination can find. But no one is quite certain who this St. Valentine was—or, more appropriately, who these Valentines were. The early lists of church martyrs reveal at least three Valentines, and one source boosted this number to an unwieldy eight, each of whom had his feast day on February 14.
"The various Valentines eventually evolved into one. Lover's quarrels come under his jurisdiction and, naturally, he is the patron saint of engaged couples and of anyone wishing to marry" (Robert J. Myers and the editors of Hallmark Cards, 1972, pp. 48-49).
During the Middle Ages, Valentine's Day grew increasingly popular in Europe. Feb. 14 was significant not only for its religious meaning but because it was widely believed that birds begin to mate on this date. Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340-1400) mentions the mating of birds on Valentine's Day in his poem "Parliament of Foules."
"English literature, following Chaucer, contains frequent references to February 14 as sacred to lovers. Shakespeare, Drayton, and Gay are among those who mention it in this connection, and the diarist Samuel Pepys several times discusses the day and its related customs. The Paston Letters, covering the period from 1422 to 1509, contain a letter by Dame Elizabeth Brews to John Paston, with whom she hoped to arrange a match for her daughter, which runs this way:
" 'And cousin mine, upon Monday is St. Valentine's day and every bird chooseth himself a mate ...' " (Jane M. Hatch, The American Book of Days, 1978, p. 178).
For centuries St. Valentine's Day flourished as 24 hours of romantic superstition. A common belief was that a girl would marry the first bachelor she saw or conjure her future mate's image by visiting a graveyard on St. Valentine's Eve.
The custom of sending valentine cards grew popular in the 1700s. In the early 1800s commercial valentines appeared, and soon there was no end to how entrepreneurs could make money from the holiday. Valentine's Day became so popular in the United States that a 1863 periodical claimed it was second in celebration only to Christmas.
Valentine's Day is as popular as ever with children and couples. It is one of the biggest moneymaking days for florists, candy makers and gift shops.
Pre-Christian origins
But do the roots of Valentine's Day run deeper and further back into history?
The origins of Valentine's Day predate Christianity. "The most plausible theory for St. Valentine's Day traces its customs back to the Roman Lupercalia, a feast celebrated in February in honor of the pastoral god Lupercus, a Roman version of the Greek god Pan. The festival was an important one for the Romans, occurring when it did, naturally had some aspects of a rebirth rite to it" (Myers, pp. 50-51).
The original festival, celebrated on Feb. 15, was founded in the ancient legend of the infants Romulus and Remus. The two brothers were said to have been abandoned but discovered and nursed by a wolf, or lupus in Latin. The two boys are credited as the founders of Rome.
Lupercalia was celebrated in honor of pastoral deities, and ceremonies included the sacrifice of goats and a dog. Young men dressed in the sacrificial animal skins would run from a cave, said to be where Romulus and Remus were cared for by the wolf, brandishing strips of goat skins. Any women struck by these thongs were assured fertility. "These thongs were called Februa, the festival Februatio, and the day Dies Februetus, hence arose the name of the month February, the last of the old Roman year" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. XV, ninth edition, 1907, "Lupercalia").
Over the years many customs were added to the celebration. One was for the names of girls to be placed in a box to be drawn by boys. Each resulting match was then considered a pair for the coming year.
Lupercalia and Christianity
As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, it was common for pagan converts to retain their earlier religious customs and practices. Edward Gibbons, in his classic work The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, states: "After the conversion of the Imperial city, the Christians still continued, in the month of February, the annual celebration of the Lupercalia; to which they ascribed a secret and mysterious influence of the genial powers of the animal and vegetable world" (Vol. II, The Modern Library, p. 327).
Pope Gelasius is said to have eradicated Lupercalia from Christian observance in the last decade of the fifth century. But, in reality, the mingling of paganism and Christianity had become inseparable in much of the Western world. Saturnalia and Mithraism were incorporated into the church through claiming a December birth date for Jesus Christ. Various spring fertility rites merged to form the basis of Easter celebrations. Lupercalia evolved into the observance of St. Valentine's Day.
Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays comments: "Everywhere that Christians came into power they immediately adapted the holidays and customs of the people to their own creed. Now it was a simple matter to call the day that this drawing took place St. Valentine's Day ... To Christianize the heathen practice of picking lots for sweethearts, all that was needed was to replace the names of the girls with names of saints and to have the young people emulate the particular virtues of whatever saint they drew. Incidentally, this custom is not dead today and is still observed in some religious orders.
"It was always more fun, of course, to pick a girl's rather than a saint's name. Consequently, by at least the fourteenth century the custom had reverted to its original form" (pp. 50-51).
Roman gods and Christian saints
Why would people observe a day that honors pagan gods by associating it with Christian saints?
The ancient Romans worshiped gods and goddesses involved with every aspect of life. Jupiter, the chief of the gods, was the deity of rain and storms, while his wife, Juno, was the goddess of womanhood. Minerva was the goddess of handicrafts and wisdom; Venus, of sexual love and birth; Vesta, of the hearth and sacred fires; Ceres, of farming and harvests.
The Greeks considered Mercury to be the messenger of the gods, but the Romans worshiped him as the god of trade, and businessmen celebrated his feast day to increase profits. Others included Mars, god of war; Castor and Pollux, gods of sea travelers; Cronos, the guardian of time; and Cupid, god of love, whose magic arrows encouraged humans and immortals to fall in love. The list goes on and on.
Romans would generically call on "the gods," but each deity had its own cult, and worshipers would pray and conduct religious ceremonies to a specific god or goddess to ask for help. Christianity, with its emphasis on one God, was viewed by many Romans as a strange superstition or even a kind of atheism that denied the existence of the gods.
Members of the early Christian Church considered themselves "saints," meaning holy or separated to God. Paul greets the church at Philippi as "all the saints in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:1). However, it wasn't long before "saints," in the Roman tradition, began to take on the meaning of a special class of martyrs or performers of heroic virtue.
In the second and third centuries it became common for congregations to honor the death of a martyr by celebrating the anniversary of his or her demise. The local cult would offer prayers to the dead for intercession with God. A "saint" could eventually receive universal recognition by declaration of the bishop of Rome.
The Catholic Encyclopedia explains: "As was taught by St. Augustine ... Catholics, while giving to God alone adoration strictly so-called, honor the saints because of the Divine supernatural gifts which have earned them eternal life, and through which they reign with God in the heavenly fatherland as His chosen friends and faithful servants.
"In other words, Catholics honor God in His saints as the loving distributor of supernatural gifts. The worship of latria ... or strict adoration is given to God alone; the worship, or dulia ... or honor and humble reverence, is paid the saints; the worship of hyperdulia ... on account of her greater excellence, [is directed] to the Blessed Virgin Mary" (Vol. II, "Saints," 1907, Online Edition, 1999, Kevin Knight).
The evolution from the early Church's recognition of all members being saints to the veneration and worship of the dead is rooted in the early mixture of paganism with Christianity. The populace throughout the Roman Empire was accustomed not only to the worship of the Greek and Roman pantheon, but to cultic worship of local deities. It was an easy step for Christian congregations rooted in paganism to replace the customs of local cults with the worship of dead martyrs.
Over the centuries the Catholic Church canonized saints for many events, problems, illnesses and occupations, each celebrated with his or her own feast day. St. Stephen is the patron saint of stonemasons; doctors can pray to St. Luke, fishermen to St. Andrew, and carpenters to St. Joseph. Patron saints are there for farmers, hunters, shoemakers and even comedians. The primary saint in Catholic theology is Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The danger in a harmless holiday
What harm can there be in the celebration of lovers in the name of St. Valentine? Besides, what does it matter that some of the day's customs hark back to pagan rites?
For one thing, nowhere does the Bible approve of praying to dead (or living) saints. In fact, Jesus declared that no one except Himself has ascended into heaven (John 3:13). The saints wait in their graves for the resurrection to occur at Jesus' return. Venerating dead saints propagates an ancient heathen custom that has no basis in reality.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the resurrection: "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-16).
One of the roles Jesus Christ fulfills as our resurrected High Priest is Intercessor: one who pleads on behalf of another. The Bible declares: "Therefore He [Jesus] is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).
The Bible encourages Christians to pray for each other, but heavenly intercession is reserved for Jesus Christ. At Jesus' death the veil in the temple, a heavy curtain that separated the "holy of holies," representing God's throne, from the rest of the temple, was supernaturally torn from top to bottom. This action demonstrated that a new access to God was made available by the sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah. A Christian's relationship to God is with a personal and intimate Father. The supposed need for another heavenly intercessor denigrates this role of Christ.
Does it matter to God?
God warned ancient Israel, the people He chose to represent true religion, not to mix pagan customs with worshiping Him as the true God. "When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods ... Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:29-32).
Paul compares mixing paganism with Christianity to worshiping demons: "What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons" (1 Corinthians 10:19-21).
Holidays such as St. Valentine's Day metamorphose into icons of Western culture, parodying religion. Most people don't care that its origins lie in the Roman Lupercalia and are rooted in tenets that have nothing to do with the Bible. It's this apathy about how to worship God, and the corresponding moral decay, that is the result of mixing Christianity with paganism.
Jesus said His followers would "worship the Father in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). Observance of this holiday is just one of many traditions that must be questioned if Christianity is to return to its foundation laid by Jesus Christ. GN

Related Resources
Does God Allow Us to Choose Our Own Religious Holidays?Many think that under the New Covenant they have freedom to worship God however they want, including deciding on their own days of worship. But what does the Bible say?
St. Valentine, Cupid and Jesus ChristIts customs appear harmless, but is Valentine's Day really a Christian holiday? What are its origins? Could this seemingly innocent celebration promote unbiblical teachings?
Before You Ask Someone to Be Your Valentine...Millions send Valentine’s Day cards to express their affection for someone special. But how did this holiday originate? And does Valentine’s Day represent what true love is all about?
Bible FAQ: Where did Valentine's Day come from? Is it wrong for a Christian to celebrate it? Like many of the world's major holidays, St. Valentine's Day is an annual observance with its roots entrenched firmly in pagan beliefs and customs. What would God think about Valentine's Day?
Is Valentine's Christian? Should true Christians observe Valentine's Day?
What Kind of Love Does Valentine's Day Promote? If a Valentine's Day kind of love could be defined, what would it be?
Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?Many people are shocked to discover the origins of our most popular religious holidays. They are also surprised to find that the days God commands us to observe in the Bible—the same days Jesus Christ and the apostles kept—are almost universally ignored. Why? Also, why are today's supposedly Christian holidays observed with so many rituals and customs that are not sanctioned anywhere in the Bible? In this booklet you'll discover detailed answers to these questions.

Before You Ask Someone to Be Your Valentine...

An interesting research article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Valentine's Day and a Patriotic take on this view! If you want to order a free book about this topic click here and for more interesting stories like this click here to follow this blog.

Before You Ask Someone to Be Your Valentine...
Millions send Valentine’s Day cards to express their affection for someone special. But how did this holiday originate? And does Valentine’s Day represent what true love is all about?
by Jerold Aust
Every year, more than a billion Valentine cards are bought and sent throughout the world. The act of sending a nice card seems to fill a natural yearning to express how much we care for someone.
But does Valentine's Day really celebrate true, caring love? Or does this popular holiday actually promote something else?
Origins of Valentine's Day
When we think of Valentine's Day, we call to mind hearts, chocolates, flowers and expressions of love. Yet before joining in the fun, wouldn't it be wise to know where this tradition came from?
First, we should understand that Valentine's Day began when the early Roman Catholic Church tried to Christianize an ancient pagan Roman holiday called Lupercalia. That celebration was a licentious festival that honored Lupercus, the hero-hunter of wolves. This festival was so immensely popular among the Roman people that church leaders included it in their calendar, hoping to retain their new parishioners and turn them from sexual licentiousness to morality by linking it to a saint.
The saint they chose for this mid-February Roman festival was St. Valentine. One source explains: "St. Valentine is believed to have been a Roman priest who was martyred on this day [February 14] around [A.D.] 270. How he became the patron saint of lovers remains a mystery, but one theory is that the Church used the day of St. Valentine's martyrdom in an attempt to Christianize the old Roman Lupercalia, a pagan festival held around the middle of February.
"Part of the ancient ceremony entailed putting girls' names in a box and letting the boys draw them out. Couples would thus be paired off until the following year. The Church substituted saints' names for girls' names, in the hope that the participant would model his life after the saint whose name he drew.
"But by the 16th century, it was once again girls' names that ended up in the box. Eventually the custom of sending anonymous cards or messages to those one admired became the accepted way of celebrating St. Valentine's Day" (Helene Henderson and Sue Ellen Thompson, editors, Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, "Valentine's Day," 2005, p. 576).
Although all historical sources contain some of the same notions about how Valentine's Day developed, each one highlights another facet of the story. Another states: "Some people have tried to connect the historical Saint Valentine with the later practices of Valentine's Day by saying that the saint married couples despite the emperor's prohibition, or that he sent a note signed 'from your Valentine' to the daughter of his jailer.
"However, the early Christian saint Valentine probably had nothing to do with the traditions later celebrated on his feast day; it is simply by his placement in the Christian calendar that his name became associated with it. Later, the word valentine may have been confused with the Norman French word galantine, meaning lover of women, as the g and v were often interchangeable in common pronunciation.
"In any case, February 14 gradually became a traditional date for exchanging love messages, and Saint Valentine became the patron saint of lovers" (Macmillan Profiles: Festivals and Holidays, 1999, p. 363).
Theories differ as to how a holiday for lovers developed in February. Some think the mating of birds at that time of year is connected with the tradition:
"One is based on the belief throughout rural Europe during the Middle Ages that the birds began to mate on February 14. Chaucer, in his 'Parliament of Foules,' refers to the belief in this way: For this was Seynt Valentyne's day. When every foul cometh ther to choose his mate" (Stephen Christianson, The American Book of Days, 2000, p. 139).
Regardless of the varied sources and ambiguous history of Valentine's Day, a few identifiable points continue to surface: Valentine's Day originated with an ancient pagan Roman feast called Lupercalia. That festival was based on fertility and sexual licentiousness. In the third century, the Roman Catholic Church attempted to Christianize the ancient festival practice by naming it after a martyr.
The hope was that the festival adherents would thereafter follow the examples of church saints, no longer engaging in the ancient practice of free sex while honoring an ancient god. Despite some success, the holiday still contributes to immorality among many and promotes a wrong view of love.
A counterfeit holiday
Something that is counterfeit always indicates there is something real that it stands in place of, the genuine article. Could the same be true of a holiday? The roots of Valentine's Day lie in a pagan festival, not the Bible. In the Catholic Church's efforts to "Christianize" a pagan festival to gain adherents, did it overlook the real thing—holidays that reflect God's perspective on love and giving?
In fact, what was overlooked in the adoption of pagan holidays was God's true Holy Days and what they mean. We can find all of God's Holy Days or festivals listed in Leviticus 23. And you can also find in the New Testament that Jesus Christ, the apostles and the entire early Church all kept those exact same festivals. Jude is apparently referring to these when he writes of "your love feasts" in Jude 12.
In contrast, the holidays that are widely celebrated in modern Christendom, including Valentine's Day, are not found in the pages of the Bible. Instead, they are largely rooted in ancient pagan holidays that have been given a veneer of Christianity. (If you want to know more about God's festivals, please request or download our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.)
Where does God stand on Valentine's Day?
We learn from the Bible that God is strictly opposed to any religious or secular holiday that keeps humankind blinded from His precious truth. Jesus said, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). God wants people to be truly free, not held captive by false beliefs and ideas.
The Bible reveals God's Holy Days and festivals. Each one illustrates a significant part of His ultimate love for humanity and His plan to save mankind—a love that led Jesus Christ to die for us while we were yet sinners. Valentine's Day has no part in the salvation of humanity. In fact, it stands in contradiction to it—originating as it does in sinful, pagan worship.
Valentine's Day may be acceptable to millions of people, but not to God. It substitutes human reasoning for God's truth. It focuses the attention of people on infatuation, not a deep abiding love, on "getting love," not giving or sacrificing for others.
God warns all who claim to represent Him, who claim to be Christians, to avoid the ways of the ancient pagans and their counterfeit holidays and feasts: "Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
"When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.'
"You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods . . . Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:28-32, emphasis added).
In fact, God told the Israelites to eradicate all elements of pagan worship among them (see verses 1-4).
God is keenly interested in our welfare. He created us and gave us His manual, the Bible, to follow so we can get the most out of this life and that He might give us eternal life forever.
Valentine's Day is rooted not in God's Word, but in ancient paganism. It is not from the true God but from this world and its false god, Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). God says: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-17).
So to return to the issue raised up front: Should you ask someone to be your Valentine? Not if you care more about true love and about what God thinks. GN

Related Resources
Does God Allow Us to Choose Our Own Religious Holidays?Many think that under the New Covenant they have freedom to worship God however they want, including deciding on their own days of worship. But what does the Bible say?
St. Valentine, Cupid and Jesus ChristIts customs appear harmless, but is Valentine's Day really a Christian holiday? What are its origins? Could this seemingly innocent celebration promote unbiblical teachings?
Before You Ask Someone to Be Your Valentine...Millions send Valentine’s Day cards to express their affection for someone special. But how did this holiday originate? And does Valentine’s Day represent what true love is all about?
Is Valentine's Christian? Should true Christians observe Valentine's Day?
Bible FAQ: Where did Valentine's Day come from? Is it wrong for a Christian to celebrate it? Like many of the world's major holidays, St. Valentine's Day is an annual observance with its roots entrenched firmly in pagan beliefs and customs. What would God think about Valentine's Day?
What Kind of Love Does Valentine's Day Promote? If a Valentine's Day kind of love could be defined, what would it be?
Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?Many people are shocked to discover the origins of our most popular religious holidays. They are also surprised to find that the days God commands us to observe in the Bible—the same days Jesus Christ and the apostles kept—are almost universally ignored. Why? Also, why are today's supposedly Christian holidays observed with so many rituals and customs that are not sanctioned anywhere in the Bible? In this booklet you'll discover detailed answers to these questions.

Where did Valentine's Day come from? Is it wrong for a Christian to celebrate it?

An interesting research article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Valentine's Day and a Patriotic take on it! If you want to order a free book about this topic click here and for more interesting stories like this click here to follow this blog.

Frequently Asked Bible Questions

Where did Valentine's Day come from? Is it wrong for a Christian to celebrate it?

Like many of the world's major holidays, St. Valentine's Day is an annual observance with its roots entrenched firmly in pagan beliefs and customs. What would God think about Valentine's Day?

The ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, an annual three-day ritual believed to ward off evil spirits and increase fertility, was held on Feb. 13 to 15.
Lupercalia (also known as Februatio, which is where we get the name for our month of February) was popular among many of the new converts to the quick-rising Catholic Church, and as Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays notes, "Everywhere that [mainstream] Christians came into power they immediately adapted the holidays and customs of the people to their own creed” (Robert J. Myers and the editors of Hallmark Cards, 1972, pp. 50-51).
Such was their course of action with this festival of Lupercalia. While Pope Gelasius officially condemned the pagan Roman festival and banned its observance at the end of the fifth century, many of its accompanying practices quickly appeared in a newly established holiday added by him to the official church list of feast days in A.D. 496—St. Valentine's Day.
Soon, people were no longer looking to obtain fertility by being beaten with strips of animal skin called februa. Instead, they turned their focus to St. Valentine, the patron saint of "engaged couples and anyone wishing to marry" (Celebrations, pp. 48-49), whose actual identity is even murkier than what connection he bore to romance.
What amounted to a renamed, refurbished Lupercalia then picked up steam, gradually adapting itself into the Valentine's Day we know today, which included the added elements of Valentine cards and Cupid, the Roman god of erotic love.
Friendship and sending cards are wonderful things, and God is not opposed to romance at the right time in the right way. But does the pagan religious history of Valentine's Day taint the modern practices? What does God have to say about observing pagan traditions, renamed or not?
"When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess…do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods... Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:29-32).
Though the practices of Lupercalia have been repackaged and dressed up in the form of Valentine's Day, these verses indicate they remain just as detestable as they have always been in our Creator's eyes. Instead of pagan days and practices, our focus should be on the Holy Days God has given us in the Bible, which point us toward His amazing and incomparable plan for all of humanity.

Related Online Resources
St. Valentine, Cupid and Jesus ChristIts customs appear harmless, but is Valentine's Day really a Christian holiday? What are its origins? Could this seemingly innocent celebration promote unbiblical teachings?
Before You Ask Someone to Be Your Valentine...Millions send Valentine’s Day cards to express their affection for someone special. But how did this holiday originate? And does Valentine’s Day represent what true love is all about?
Is Valentine's Christian? Should true Christians observe Valentine's Day?
What Kind of Love Does Valentine's Day Promote? If a Valentine's Day kind of love could be defined, what would it be?
Does God Allow Us to Choose Our Own Religious Holidays?Many think that under the New Covenant they have freedom to worship God however they want, including deciding on their own days of worship. But what does the Bible say?
Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?Many people are shocked to discover the origins of our most popular religious holidays. They are also surprised to find that the days God commands us to observe in the Bible—the same days Jesus Christ and the apostles kept—are almost universally ignored. Why? Also, why are today's supposedly Christian holidays observed with so many rituals and customs that are not sanctioned anywhere in the Bible? In this booklet you'll discover detailed answers to these questions.