Right, I think we would be in line with the confession of faith in saying that, "particular (true) Churches . . . are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the Gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them."

As for certain things being essential, certainly the early church testimony is interesting at the very least. "The Synod of Laodicea (A.D. 343) and the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) both opposed the introduction of uninspired "hymns." (source: http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/CRTPsSing.htm and http://www.apuritansmind.com/purita...-the-early-church-by-the-rev-jas-harper/ )

As for Christmas, that's very possible and I would be interested in hearing more views on this, however, to my mind, the question seems clear enough. Though, it's not always something that is practically easy to deal with. I know several folks whose wider-family has unfortunately become somewhat hostile because of their decision to distance themselves from Christmas, sadly.

Last edited by AlexM; Wed Jan 09, 2019 2:49 AM.