Should Christians Celebrate Thanksgiving?

We here at As Bereans Did would like to take a moment in advance you wish you a happy Thanksgiving! We hope our readers in the United States will enjoy a meaningful day with family and friends giving thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I discovered something interesting while doing research for an upcoming post. Last week I was looking back at one of xHWA’s posts that refuted the pagan origins of Christmas. I found that one of the ancient festivals in question was really several weeks away from December 25th. Instead, it falls uncomfortably close to the American Thanksgiving holiday.

The ancient Roman festival Bruma – one the Churches of God associated with the “so-called” Christian Christmas holiday - was held on November 24. Some scholars believe that Bruma was a one-day celebration that marked the unofficial beginning of winter and heralded the coming solstice. Others believe that Bruma was the beginning of the Brumalia festival, which lasted until December 17.

Wait a minute. A November 24 Roman holiday associated with the solstice? Gasp! Could this possibly taint the American Thanksgiving holiday? Thanksgiving is November 26 this year. When you are gathered around the table with your turkey next week, it will be on the third day of the Brumalia! And next year, Thanksgiving will actually fall on Bruma! Gasp!

No, no, no, you say. Bruma was a Roman holiday. Thanksgiving is totally unrelated. It’s a uniquely American celebration.  Its roots only go as far back as the 1621, when the Pilgrims held a feast to thank the true God for a bountiful harvest. Sure, most did not worship God “in Spirit and truth,” since they kept a Sunday “Sabbath”. But that doesn’t make Thanksgiving wrong.

Hmmm. That’s an interesting point of view.  One which the COGs have used in reverse to criticize anything deceived “Christianity” does for decades. But anyway, back to that first Thanksgiving. Who else celebrated it with the Pilgrims?  Native Americans, of course! Specifically, the Wampanoag Indian tribe.

Now, accounts of how the Wampanoag warriors ended up at the Thanksgiving feast are mixed. We have the classic storybook explanation – that the grateful Pilgrims invited the Native American tribe to share in their harvest feast. Wampanoag historians tell it differently – they say the tribe heard celebratory gunfire and sent warriors to discover whether the Pilgrims were being attacked, or about to attack them. Either way, the Wampanoag warriors came back with their own contribution to the feast – venison and berries and corn and whatnot.

Perhaps the Wampanoag were quick to contribute because they themselves held similar festivals. In fact, the Wampanoag gave thanks many times a year, following each of their harvest seasons. These particular Native Americans held celebrations thanking both Mother Earth and the god Kehtannit at the end of each harvest season. Over time, some came to associate Kehtannit – the supreme deity and creator – with the Christian God.

One celebration during which the Wampanoag thanked the gods was Cranberry Day, an official tribal holiday that celebrates the ripening of the last wild berry.  On Cranberry Day, the Wampanoag thank the creator for this staple fruit that’s stored and used throughout the winter. Some tribal calendars place the celebration in the first week of October; while other Wampanoag experts place it, in antiquity, around the time of the winter solstice.

Many historians date the first Thanksgiving celebration to between September 23 and November 11, 1621. Could it have possibly overlapped with the pagan Wampanoag tribal holiday? If Cranberry Day was in October, then it definitely could have overlapped. And if it were around the time of the winter solstice… GASP!  Could the Wampanoag have subtly influenced the Pilgrims to participate in a solstice celebration? Does the fact that Kehtannit became associated with the true God redeem the celebration of the cranberry harvest? Or does the cranberry celebration’s association with earth-worship taint Thanksgiving?

Bruma, which occurred on November 24, looks forward to the solstice. Bruma kicks off the Brumalia season of debauchery. The Wampanoag tribe, which was a key part of the first Thanksgiving story, celebrated a harvest festival - sometimes associated with the solstice - around the time of Thanksgiving. It even featured a traditional Thanksgiving food! And oh, did I mention that modern researchers have determined Yule did not start as a solstice holiday, but instead was celebrated in mid-November?

There’s no getting around it. Sure, I'm speculating here. But the dates and subject matter do rise to the level of reasonable doubt. There's a good chance that Thanksgiving - or at least elements of it - could be pagan, if you use the same standards the Churches of God and Alexander Hislop use to malign Christmas.

No, Martha, you’re wrong! It doesn’t matter what the Romans, Germanic tribes or Wampanoag were doing! We are not worshiping Cronos, Saturn, Mother Earth or Kehtannit! We are giving thanks to the true God.

Hmmmm… now where have I heard that argument before? Oh right. In the United Church of God's latest issue of The Good News. According to UCG, no matter how well-intentioned a celebration is, worshiping the true God with practices taken from paganism is considered syncretism and an abomination to God.

"No matter how warm and family-oriented your festival is, it is futile and empty before God. Even if you don't care, He does." (The Good News, November-December 2015, p. 15)

So which is it, UCG? Can we create celebrations to honor the true God or can't we? If so, must they be 100 percent free of items that any pagan culture, anywhere, used for non-Christian celebrations on proximal dates? And if the humble cranberry isn't safe, then what is?

I hope by now you realize that I am not trying to discourage anyone from celebrating Thanksgiving. I am just showing how easy it is to create speculative associations with pagan symbols and holidays, superimpose them on an innocent celebration and malign anyone who celebrates it. Speculative associations and proximal dates alone do not make something pagan. There are only 365 days in the year (at least on our modern calendar) and thousands of years of pagan cultures. Put a calendar on the wall, throw a dart at it and you're bound to hit a date that was associated at some time with something pagan.

It is appropriate to thank God for your blessings on any day of the year, no matter what else may have occurred on that date. Just like it is appropriate to thank God any day of the year for sending His Son Jesus Christ to die in your place. And to rejoice in the fact that his birth, life and death make it possible for your sins to be forgiven and for you to inherit eternal life. I hope you’ll be just as generous and open-minded as you are about Thanksgiving when, in the coming weeks, we explore the speculative claims the COGs make about Christmas. For a head start, please read The Quotes Before Christmas and The Plain Truth About December 25th - after you emerge from your turkey coma, that is.

All joking aside, Thanksgiving is positive celebration that's consistent with Christian ideals. Scripture exhorts Christians to show thankfulness, engage in fellowship, share meals and praise God - all elements of a meaningful Thanksgiving holiday . This festival provides a wonderful opportunity for families to reconnect and offer gratitude to their Creator. We sincerely hope our readers enjoy a happy Thanksgiving.

Although you might want to pass on the cranberries. I’m just sayin’.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )
Acts 17:11
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Happy Thanksgiving, From My Gentile Family to Yours!

I've always loved Thanksgiving. The emphasis on gratitude, the blessings of great food and the family togetherness. What a God-focused time! And in a post-1995 Church of God family, it's one of the few occasions when everyone is guaranteed to be gathered.

But there's always that point in the meal where the conversation inevitably devolves into politics. You know, the issues where the COGs are emotionally invested, yet believe abstaining from punching a ballot-card keeps them righteous and pure. Anyway, I know you've all been there. The discussion turns to how the United States is going to hell in a hand basket. Abortion. Socialized medicine. Gay marriage. One of these three laments is sure to follow:

a. Well, Americans are just like their forefathers, the Israelites, stubborn and refusing to follow God. What do you expect?

b. See, it's all happening, just like Mr. Armstrong said it would!

or, the ever popular

c. If only the people of the United States knew who they really were!

These conversations are only a microcosm of nearly every COG item ever published about Thanksgiving. I have yet to see a Thanksgiving article that doesn't include British Israelism - the theory that the majority of the United States is physically descended from the ancient Israelite tribe of Manasseh (and also that Britain is descended from Ephraim, and that many Western European nations are descended from the other "lost" tribes). What would a good discussion on Herbert W Armstrong's fruit and teachings be without a post on how British Israelism has been completely dis-proven?

Armstrong alleged that Israel and Judah are not two names for the same nation - they were two separate nations, and always will be, until Christ's return:

"The House of Judah always means Jew... the term applies only to those of the House of Judah. There are no exceptions in the Bible."
-Herbert Armstrong, Where are the Lost 10 Tribes, p. 8

Perhaps he never read Luke 2:36-38, which says that Anna the Prophetess was from the tribe of Asher, yet called her a Jewess of Jerusalem. And if the tribes left Palestine well before Christ's birth, and were already settling in Europe, how did Jesus send the twelve disciples to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" in Matthew 10:6? Sounds like He knew where they were - within reasonable walking distance! Jesus repeats this phrase in Matthew 15:24, where He says He "was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Note that Jesus never left Palestine. And then there's Peter, who ended his Acts 2 Pentecost address by proclaiming his message to "all the house of Israel" (verse 36). This language is inclusive - Peter didn't follow up that he was speaking to the Jews as well.

Those who have gone before me at As Bereans Did have done some amazing work untangling the Biblical case against British-Israelism. Rather than rehash this ground, I will direct you to their articles and focus here on how modern genetic research has completely overturned Herbert W Armstrong's apple cart. We'll also take a look at the "inspiration" behind HWA's theories.

For past ABD posts about British Israelism, please visit the following:

The US & Britain; In Prophecy? Pt.1 of 2
The US & Britain; InProphecy? Pt. 2 of 2
True History of the True Church??
Flurry's Follies
More COG Theological Ancestry
The Genesis Prophecies

Pack's Proofs on Peter's Pontificate

And now, without further adieu...

DNA research has proven Jews do not share a common ancestor with Americans and Brits

Do not disregard this finding just because it came from the same guys who brought you evolution. This is not scientists looking for the missing link. This is very specific research, done on a specific portion of human DNA, from actual people with proven ethnic and national origins who are walking the earth today. Or at least they were walking the earth during the Human Genome Project. It also included DNA gleaned from tribal artifacts and intact bodily remains. This scientific evidence is solid enough that it would be considered "proof in a modern court of law." For more information about the Human Genome Project, please click here.

In the portion of the project I'm discussing here, scientists examined the Y chromosome to determine a person's haplogroup - those with whom they share a common ancestor. (If you want to get more technical, which I don't, scientists test Single Nucleotide Polymorphism mutations on the Y chromosome to determine haplogroups). The Y chromosome has been demonstrated to be stable over thousands of years.

Palestinian Jews belong to the J haplogroup, as do the the Arabs. This makes sense, since scripture specifically states that Jews and Arabs both descended from Abraham. So research is able to trace a common father between Jews and Arabs even several generations before Jacob, the father of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

In contrast, Brits and Americans primarily belong to the haplogroup R1b1a2-M269. The haplogroup R1b is the most common one in Western Europe. More than 100 million Western European men belong to this haplogroup.

An Oxford University study further broke down the genetic mapping in the British Isles. The Romano-Britons (the region's original Celtic inhabitants who lived when the Roman Empire fell in Britain, in the 4th century AD) were found to be closely related to the modern inhabitants of France and Ireland. In contrast, the invading Anglo and Saxon tribes were Germanic. They are believed to have come to Britain at the request of the Celtic warlord Vortigern, who wanted help in defeating rival Celtic tribes like the Picts. They came, invaded and eventually took over the country.

BRITONS

A contender for first place in HWA's awkward linguistic arguments was the claim that the name "British" came from the Hebrew word for "covenant man." The Hebrew word for "covenant" is beriyth or berith, and the word for "man" was iysh or ish.

"In the original Hebrew language vowels were never given in the spelling. So, omitting the vowel "e" from beriyth but retaining the 'I' in its anglicized form to preserve the 'y' sound, we have an anglicized Hebrew for covenant, brit. The Hebrews, however, never pronounced their 'h's'... so the Hebrew word for 'covenant' would be pronounced it its anglicized form as brit. And the word for 'covenant man' or 'covenant people,' would therefore be simply 'Brit-Ish.' And so, is it mere coincidence that the true covenant people are called the 'British'? And they reside in the 'British Isles."
-Herbert W Armstrong, United States and the British Commonwealth in Prophecy, p. 95-96.

Simply? Huh? There is nothing simple about that twisted mess of a theory.

Understand that all Israelites were "covenant people". Why is it, then, that none of them, not a single one, call themselves "Berith Ish"? Dan doesn't call themselves Berith Ish. Judah doesn't call themselves Berith Ish. Manasseh doesn't call themselves Berith Ish. The Saxons don't call themselves Berith Ish. Not in the least.

The whole British name came from the Britons - the Celtic tribes whom the German Anglo-Saxons pushed out. In case you missed it, I shall reiterate. The Brits are Celts and the Anglo-Saxons are Germans. They are two completely different people groups. Their DNA was tested and neither are Hebrew, let alone one single Hebrew tribe of Ephraim. The word British comes from the Celtic tribe of Britons and the English suffix "-ish", which means "belonging to." It doesn't mean "covenant man." It means "belonging to the tribe of Britons".

So according to British Israelism, who would be the real "covenant people"? The Celtic tribes who gave the British Isles their name, or the Anglo-Saxons who pushed them out? It can't be both. It's likely actually neither, but it definitely can't be both.

And what about the other non-Briton Celts in the Isles? For instance, the Welsh, Irish, Scots, Picts, and others. Are they Ephraim, too? You should be aware that all of these Celtic groups, including the Britons, were already on the Isles while the northern ten tribes were still in Palestine. Before Tigleth-Pileser III subjugated Israel, the Celts were already established on the Isles. And this is well before the prophet Jeremiah. It is simply impossible that these groups populated the Isles centuries before the exile into Assyria - and - that they migrated there centuries later because of the exile. It can't be both.

SAXONS

HWA would have us believe the Saxons are genetically descended from Ephraim and Manasseh on rock solid proof like this:

"They were descended from Isaac, and therefore are Isaac's sons. Drop the 'I' from "Isaac" (vowels are not used in Hebrew spelling), and we have the modern name "Saac's Sons," or as we spell it in shorter manner, "Saxons"!
-Herbert W Armstrong, The United States and Britain in Prophecy, p. 95-96

Vowels weren't written, but they were pronounced. We aren't talking here about how Isaac was spelled, where the "I" was already dropped, but how it was pronounced, where vowels are never dropped. Dropping the I makes no sense. Think about it. If vowels are dropped when spoken, then why was the "A" pronounced? The "A" was not written any more than the I was. If dropping vowels from spelling means dropping vowels from pronunciation, why are there any vowels pronounced? Why isn't Isaac pronounced "Sc"? Claiming that the "I" was simply dropped inadvertently would have been one thing. But you see, claiming the "I" was dropped because it wasn't written makes the opposite of sense.

What happens when you drop a vowel from pronunciation? It's gone forever. The truth is, one does not drop vowels in spoken Hebrew.

Herbert Armstrong also tried to skirt the issue of the Saxons being a Germanic tribe in his 1980 version of the USBC booklet, where he claimed the Anglo-Saxons are an entirely different people from the "Old Saxons," who still live in Germany.

Um. Ok.

So where did the migrating Saxons come from? The Anglo-Saxons are a combination of two of the tribes, the Angles and the Saxons, that took over the Britons' land after the fall of Rome, after Vortigern's fateful invitation. The Anglo-Saxon designation is actually more of a politico-religious label than an ethnic designation. They were all Germanic "barbarians". That's where the Saxons of the Anglo-Saxons came from. From the "Old Saxons," who were just plain old Saxons until the ones who migrated to the Isles and joined the Angles needed to be differentiated from the ones who stayed in Germany. They aren't Hebrew, they are Germanic - also known as Teutonic - the very people that HWA said were Assyrian. There is no Hebrew "Saxon" and Germanic "Old Saxon", there is only Teutonic "Saxon". They are all the same tribe of people. And this doesn't even address the Angles.

The Angles were just another closely-related Germanic barbarian tribe along with the Saxons. The name England comes from the Angles, as do several place-names in England (eg. East Anglia). They migrated to central and northeastern England from the Jutland peninsula in the northernmost area of Germany and the southernmost area of Denmark. Denmark? You would expect them to be from the tribe of Dan, then, not Ephraim. But they are neither Dan nor Ephraim. They are Germanic.

SCYTHIANS

But wait! Maybe the "Saxons" of the Anglo-Saxons descend from the Scythians, whom the United Church of God and other COGs assert suddenly appeared on the world scene just after Israel's lost 10 tribes disappeared?

Well, the nomadic Scythian tribe does appear to have colonized in Eurasia north of the Black Sea, around parts of Russia and the Ukraine. So at least that much is true. But are they the displaced 10 tribes? Most everyone else believes they descended from Sarmatian tribes like the Alans. Don't worry, I've never heard of them, either. But the Sarmatians were Persian - like the Iranians, who are fiercely proud of their non-Arab heritage. If they aren't genetically related to the Arabs, then they aren't genetically related to the Jews, either.

"But," you may interject, "we don't have Scythians today to test. So isn't UCG's theory just as good anyone else's?" Not really. Because we do have Scythian DNA, thanks to the discovery of tombs containing Scythian warrior bodies in the Monglian-Alatai mountains.
From 2005 to 2007, researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona worked together with French and Mongolian researchers to excavate more than twenty tombs. Many of the tombs contained frozen and mummified human remains of soldiers buried with their horses, artifacts and possessions, which identified them as Scythians.

GENTILES!

So am I telling you these Saxons, whom Herbert W Armstrong claimed were Israelites, are actually from the nation he labeled as Assyria, the Israelites' mortal enemy? IF the Germans are Assyrians, then yes. Yes I am. However, even if they are not Assyria (and DNA seems to support the idea that they are not) then they are still Gentiles through and through. Assyria or no, either way they are Gentiles.

Even the COGs themselves seem to support this thinking - in December and April, when they gleefully bash the Christmas and Easter traditions we got from our Germanic European ancestors. How is it that the rest of the year we are descended from Israel?

The Angles and the Saxons are German and therefore Gentiles. The Britons and Scots and Irish are Celts and therefore Gentiles. The Roman conquerors were primarily Gentiles. The Gauls were Celts and Gentiles. The Franks are Germanic and Gentiles. The Goths were primarily Germanic and Gentiles. The Vikings, among whom are the Norsemen and Swedes, are Gentiles. The Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe and Russia are Gentiles. The seemingly unstoppable Huns who ravaged Europe are Gentiles. The Moors, who for centuries controlled the Iberian Peninsula where Spain and Portugal are today, are Gentiles. And you most likely are, too, if your descendants came from Europe and up into the British Isles.

ORIGINS

How can this be? Didn't God specifically reveal these things to Herbert Armstrong, His end-time prophet? Funny you should mention that. The theory that the British people descended from Israel has been around since at least 1649, when John Sadler (who had nothing to do with any proposed COG ancestry) published his pamphlet "The Rights of the Kingdom."

The teaching gained more traction as put forth by Richard Brothers, an 18th Century lieutenant in the British Royal Navy who claimed to have his first call from God in 1790 (he also had nothing to do with any proposed COG ancestry). On May 12, 1792, he wrote to the king and other heads of state, warning them he would declare the imminent fulfillment of Daniel 7 on May 17. He later proclaimed the king would die and the crown would be given to him; he then was committed to Newgate Prison in London.

Brothers was eventually released and went on to pen 15 books, most arguing for an Israelite ancestry for the English people. Two of the titles included "A Correct Account of the Invasion" and "Conquest of This Island by the Saxons." Brothers attracted numerous followers thanks to his mixed record of political predictions. He talked some into selling their property so they could come with him when he built his New Jerusalem, on both sides of the Jordan River, 1795. The government later committed him to the Bethlehem Royal Hospital, England's first asylum for the mentally ill. He was once again released in 1806 and died twenty years later, his New Jerusalem unbuilt.

Undeterred by the failures of the past, historian John Wilson built on Brothers' theoretical foundation, publishing a book version of his "Lectures on Our Israeltish Origin" in 1840. Then the theory crossed the pond when preacher William Miller, from whom the COGs descended, encouraged his followers to read books by Wilson and others. By 1876, five editions of Wilson's book had been published.

Just before Wilson's fifth edition was printed, Edward Hind issued his "Identity of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel with the Anglo-Celto-Saxons," which explained the basics of British-Israelism. Hine, also the editor of a magazine called The Banner of Israel, sold more than 250,000 copies of his book.
Remember how we dealt earlier with the Germanic Angles and Saxons, and the Celts. They are not the same peoples, yet Gentiles all.

You can read more about Brothers, Wilson and Hind here.

As I discussed in a previous post, John Harden Allen published his book, Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright, in 1902. There is compelling evidence to believe Herbert Armstrong plagiarized large portions of this book in his United States and the British Commonwealth in Prophecy, which was published in 1954. (See our article, "This Has All Happened Before" for more details. And you can compare excerpts from both books here).

G. G. Rupert, an Adventist pastor who greatly influenced Herbert Armstrong, also espoused British Israelism. Many in the COG community accept this fact, including "cogwriter" Bob Thiel, who admits that Rupert and others who crossed paths with HWA espoused forms of British Israelism. Herbert Armstrong fell into the same error by extracting the man yet perpetuating his failed teachings. (As an aside, Rupert was also was a major force in popularizing the idea of the Yellow Peril - the idea that the "yellow" "oriental" races would invade the United States. Some may look at the current economic conditions in the world and say that Rupert was right, the "yellow races" have invaded the United States! But, no. No they haven't. Rupert stated exactly what he meant, and none of it has come to pass as he said. He was not right).

CLOSING

Simply put and in summary, the teaching that Americans, Brits and Western Europeans are descended from the "lost 10 tribes" of Israel is wrong. Disproven. Unbiblical. Unhistorical. Created by false prophets and perpetuated by false prophets. God did not divinely reveal it to Herbert Armstrong. HWA was hundreds of years late in even making the claim.

Armstrong taught over and over and over again that this blatantly false set of claims is the key to understanding Biblical prophecy. He said no one can understand prophecy without this "vital key". Without the vital key of British-Israelism no one could understand where Israel is today, and thus no one could know how prophecy was going to play out. But British-Israelism is false and all predictions made using it have come to nothing.

With a starting point like that, is there any wonder that his predictions of the future failed, and more importantly, the very foundation of his understanding of Biblical prophecy altogether have failed? And continue to fail to this day? The COGs still attempt to build on this same foundation to this very day. No wonder at all that relying on Armstrong's inaccurate foundation has led the COGs to think the Apostles and even Jesus were confused about prophecy. Is it good, oh sought after by God, to claim that the Bible is wrong in order to defend your prophetic missteps, as the UCG has done? Wouldn't it be better to just let those assumptions go?

I certainly don't blame anyone for being drawn in by Herbert Armstrong's teachings about British Israelism back in the days of the Radio Church of God or Worldwide Church of God. Especially in the hopes that doing so would help you escape the Great Tribulation. We didn't have the benefit of things like the Human Genome Project, Google, or hindsight about HWA's 200+ failed prophecies. But now you have a choice. You can either check out the links and consider the evidence, or you can stick your fingers in your ears and ignore what I've said.

I'm sorry if you're disappointed that you're probably a Gentile. But guess what? I have good news!

In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male, nor female. Jesus loved you enough to suffer and die on the cross for you, whether you are Jewish, Kenyan, Greek, Irish, Japanese or American. He is the means through which God promised Abraham that the whole earth will be blessed. He is the descendant of David who sits on the throne forever. Don't worry about who is descended from whom, or which ethnic group has inherited whose blessings when. His grace was sufficient for Paul, and it's more than enough for you, too. Avoid those genealogies; they are useless (TIT. 3: 9). So when you sit down this Thanksgiving and give thanks, be sure to thank God for the greatest blessing of all - salvation by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus. That's better than any special "gnosis" about prophecy, even better than the undeniable blessing of being born of an American. His grace was sufficient for Paul, and can be for you, too.

God bless you all, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; ) Acts 17:11

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Thanksgiving Proclamations

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! From the members here at As Bereans Did.

Many of you know that in the United States, the last Thursday of the month of November is dedicated as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to God for His gracious and generous mercy towards saint and sinner alike. We would like to wish you a thanks-filled day with a little interesting American history.

Over the years, several days of thanksgiving to God were proclaimed by various Presidents of the United States. These were each unique events. It wasn't until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln set aside a recurring date of Thanksgiving. This article on Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations at Pilgrimhill.org has a lot of good information for you on this if you're interested.

I would like to republish two specific proclamations, one from George Washington, and one from Abraham Lincoln, because these two deal with thanksgiving proclamations on the last Thursday in November.

May God bless you and help you to find many reasons to be thankful. And remember, it's not about the turkey, it's about the One who invented the Turkey. All the best to you!

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

[From the United States Library of Congress article on George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/GW/gw004.html]

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

[Taken from the National Park Service "ABRAHAM LINCOLN From His Own Words and Contemporary Accounts" article #27 "BLESSINGS OF FRUITFUL FIELDS" at http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/source/sb2/sb2w.htm]


Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! From the members here at As Bereans Did.