i don't do mardi gras. for the record. in my 20 years of training in the religious system in which i was raised, mardi gras represented the last hoorah of revelry & debauchery (see dictionary.com) before the plunge into the fasting season of lent which was a time in which penance was made in order to cleanse me of the stain of the intentional debauchery enjoyed during mardi gras (and every other) season of the past year of my life.
when i was 23 years old i was brought to the realization that Jesus Christ died once for me. His shed blood paid the penalty for my sin. In His death, burial, and resurrection, the way was made fully open for me to enjoy unhindered fellowship with my Creator & Father God. if i received this as truth in my life, the bible says i became "a new creation". my spirit was made alive by the Spirit of God. that same Breath breathed into father adam's spirit at his creation, the same Breath that was exhaled at his fall, the same Breath that my Savior received back into his newly resurrected body....that same Breath at my surrender & appropriation of the truth of the Gospel into my life... was breathed anew into these dead, dry brittle bones....and my spirit man stood and lived again. well, hallelujah.
annny way....mardi gras.
1. the day before Lent, celebrated in some cities, as New Orleans and Paris, as a day of carnival and merrymaking; Shrove Tuesday. 2. a pre-Lenten carnival period climaxing on this day. 3. the festival of Shrove Tuesday, celebrated in some cities with great revelry
Cultural origin: An annual festival held in France on the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday” — meaning it is the last opportunity to eat rich food before the fast of Lent begins. It is related to celebrations elsewhere, called “carnivals,” from the Latin words carne and vale , “meat” and “farewell,” meaning a farewell to meat before the abstinence of Lent.
sounds innocent enough. but those of us who have been steeped in the traditions know that mardi gras/carnival has become a holiday honoring (albeit unintentionally by the masses) mythical greek gods and goddesses whose attributes are definitely at odds with those of my Creator Father God. the celebration of this holiday has no place in God's vision for His Kingdom. i need only to search His Word to find this. i have only to look up the meaning of the various new orleans parade namesakes to get a good education on the basis for the various mardi gras parades, krewes, balls, etc.
i know, i know. the debaters can come out of the woodwork on this. i mean constantine pretty much made the hodgepodge of amalgamated--- (i love that word amalgamated. once as a teenager i heard the word “amalgamated meatcutters…don’t ask me what it was referring to, the butchers' union i guess….but i was so enamored with the word that i wrote it on a sticky and put it on my mirror. it stayed there until I moved out of my parents house and in fact i kept it and may still have it somewhere in my treasure chest of adolescent angst souveneirs…..what a teenage weirdo)---- anyway, thanks to constantine who mucked up a whole lot of stuff concerning “religion” we in our greek mindset western world have some pretty strange traditions (biblically speaking) surrounding christmas, easter, yada, yada, yada, so we could get technical. i have the literature, a lot of the knowledge…...and the internet of course. but that would involve so many more words. and i really suck at debating. God gave us all the ability to seek out the truth. that i try to do on a regular basis for myself. suffice it to say that for me, engaging in mardi gras festivities is not in agreement with my life as a consecrated believer in Jesus Christ and a born-again child of God.
so....do i believe that parades and festivals are inherently evil? nope. God instituted plenty of those. still does. besides, is there any greater way to celebrate than to throw a parade and toss (and catch) cool trinkets? do i believe that drinking alcoholic beverages is evil? no. not unless it leads to abject drunkenness and debauchery. is abject drunkenness and debauchery evil? duh. God judged plenty of that. still does. is the premise upon which the celebration of present day mardi gras/carnival rests evil? inherently, in my estimation. do i condemn those who take part? well, that's not my job. this is me. working out my own salvation and life of consecration. it is written…..i was bought with a price…..my life is not my own. we do our best to order and orchestrate our lives according to the revelation and the truths we embrace (i hope).
so for me mardi gras has no redeeming qualities. except for maybe king cake. yes, most definitely king cake. oh dago, you’re such a hypocrite <:-b
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