Christmas, Origins
Dear brethren, sisters and friends unmet:
With Christmas only a few days away, I am sure that those who have plans to celebrate it, already have lights twinkling, tree decorated, presents wrapped, and stockings hung. Cookies, candies, turkey and ham awaiting a feast of family and friends - all under the auspices of the birthday of Jesus Christ.
But where did these traditions come from? Why do we (protestants) continue in Romish ritual? Our answers may be innocent enough, but will that excuse us on judgment day? What does the historical and Biblical record declare about mixing and mingling with false religion? Read on and make up your own minds.
_______________________
The Historical Background of Christmas:
Christmas is believed by most to be the celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. The majority of so-called Christian religions accept Christmas as an essential part of their traditions, and few ever question when or how the whole celebration actually started. All of the usual gift-giving, festivity and decorations are supposedly in honor of the nativity of the Son of God, but a look at some historical information, coupled with Biblical facts, proves otherwise. Although it is considered to be a religious observance, this holiday originated from an ancient pagan festival and is contrary to the teachings of the Bible.
The time and place of the first Christmas celebration is not known; although history seems to indicate a date after the last great persecution of Christians as late as the third century.1 The observance of Christmas is not of "divine appointment", nor is it of New Testament origin.2 It is definite that the earliest followers of Christ did not observe Christmas: They did not even observe their own birthdays.3 It is believed that Pope Julius I declared Christ's birth to be celebrated on December 25th around 350A.D. The first time December 25th was referred to in any document as being Christmas Day, was 354A.D.4 By the fourth century, Christmas became an official holiday in Rome and most other parts of the so-called Christian world.
There are many speculations as to why the celebration of the birth of Christ does not appear earlier. Perhaps the most obvious is the fact that there is no record in history, scriptural or otherwise, from which the date of Christ's birth can be determined.5 It was not until several centuries after Jesus Christ lived and died on the earth that December 25 came to be recognized as his birthday. This date, in view of astronomers, historians, and Bible scholars, is decidedly not the correct date of his birth, nor does it rest on historical findings more than any other.6 The selection of December 25 as Jesus' birthday was due simply to the fact that it coincided with the winter solstice.7
The date of December 25th was originally known as the feast of Natalis Invicti Solis, or the "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun".8 The celebration, also known as the Roman Saturnalia (in honor of their god of agriculture, Saturn), was an annual feast long before the birth of Christ. The Saturnalia was actually a week-long celebration, with the final day being the Brumalia, or the first day of winter. According to the Julian calendar, that day fell on December 25.9
The celebration of Saturnalia was the greatest of all pagan festivals. It was a once-a-year time to indulge in feasting, drinking, the exchanging of gifts, and merrymaking in general. Although Saturnalia is more attributed to be of Roman origin, the ancient Babylonians celebrated the feast of the son of Isis (goddess of nature) on December 25. Boisterous celebration, with gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast as well.10
The pagan tribes of northern Europe also celebrated their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the birth of the pagan sun god, Mithras, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. They believed as the sun god grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras--and the sun--to reappear the following year. Huge Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun as well. The word Yule itself means "wheel", the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun.11 When pagan Germanic tribes (the Franks and the Alemans) found the Romans celebrating solstice during their early invasions, they, liking the custom, incorporated it into their own type of religion.12 Even the early Egyptians celebrated a mid-winter festival. They claimed their god Horus, the son of Isis, was born near the end of December.13
By the time Christianity took root in Rome, the Saturnalia was a popular and well-known festival among the pagan people. Consequently, the clergy of the day found this fact rather hard to deal with in converting the pagans to their religion. The religious leaders (predominately those of the outset of the Catholic church) realized they could not stop the Saturnalia from being celebrated, so they converted it--as well as the Romans themselves--to their beliefs.14 Authorities of the Roman Catholic church felt it was a wise idea to give a "sacred" meaning to pagan observances, rather than to discourage possible converts by eliminating their celebrations entirely. When the Emperor Constantine decreed Christianity as the "new faith" of the Roman Empire, the Saturnalia then became known as "The Mass of Christ", and was changed to honor the birth of Christ rather than the sun.15 Constantine could see no conflict between what he viewed as "Christianity" and the predominant Roman sun-worship. The result was an accommodation of the beliefs and practices of the two.16
With the celebration of Christmas set in place of the Saturnalia, religious authorities felt the holiday should be observed as a strictly religious one, instructing the people to celebrate it "after a heavenly manner, not an earthly manner."17 Although many people refused to celebrate the "new" holiday altogether, because it reminded them of the old pagan festival, the Christmas celebration closely resembled the Saturnalia for many centuries, with much feasting, drinking, and merrymaking.
As Christmas progressed through the years, many customs of the Saturnalia continued to persist. Finding they could not entirely abolish certain rituals, religious leaders expelled the worst features and changed them to seem "religious". Consequently, many of the customs observed even today at the Christmas season evolved from practices used long before that holiday ever began. Customs have become a mixture of pagan, religious, and cultural practices, as well as legend, superstition, and tradition.18
Christmas greenery and the Christmas tree are two such "adopted" customs, which originated directly from the Saturnalia. At the winter solstice, the Romans decorated their homes with boughs of laurel, evergreen trees and others. The Germanic observance of the solstice used holly, ivy and bay for both decoration and in their religious rites. Hollyberries were thought to be a food of the gods. In northern Europe, evergreen branches were used as a "devil-defying" means, and mistletoe was offered as a sacrifice to idols and was also linked to legends of their so-called gods. The use of the Christmas tree dates back to the early Druidic practice of tree worship. Later, when Christmas came to be celebrated, the tree supposedly became a tribute to baby Jesus, replacing the sacrifices offered to the trees. The sacrifices made to the fir and oak by the pagan religions were often human ones.19
Many people associate gift-giving with the wise men and their presents to the young Christ, but that practice is also of pagan origin. The Romans exchanged "good luck" presents during the Saturnalia. During that festival, the wealthy gave gifts to the poor in honor of the "golden age of liberty when the god Saturn ruled the known world".20 Other customs such as candles, the yule log, and the baking of small cakes and cookies began as pagan customs that were changed to supposedly honor the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Biblical Perspective:
The Bible provides some evidence, which shows that December 25 is the incorrect date for Jesus' birth. From the Biblical description, many historians believe that his birth probably occurred in the Fall.21 In Luke 2:8 it is written: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." Meteorologists have found December in Bethlehem to be quite cold, with the average temperature ranging near freezing to slightly above. December and January is also the time of year Bethlehem receives its greatest amount of precipitation. The climate has not changed to any great extent over the last 2,000 years, so it is highly unlikely the shepherds would be camped in the fields if it were so cold. To add to this, the Talmud (the body of Jewish law) states the flocks were put out to grass in March and were brought in at the beginning of November. In present Palestine, both animals and shepherds are under cover at the Christmas season.22
There is another clue in the Bible book of Daniel, which explains how Christ's earthly ministry was only to last for 3-1/2 years. He began that ministry when he turned 30 years old (Luke 3:21-23). The scriptures also show he was killed at the Jewish Passover (John 18:39), which occurred in the Spring, so it stands to reason that he would have to have been born in the Fall of the year.
Another Christmas belief disproved by the scriptures is that of the Magi, or wise men, arriving at the manger the night of Jesus' birth. The account in Luke 2:8-17 tells how the shepherds, not the wise men, found the baby lying in a manger after receiving word from an angel. This was the "sign" the angel told them to look for. The wise men, at a later time, traveled from another country, observing and following a star. When they arrived to offer their gifts to Jesus, they found the young child, not a baby, with Mary his mother in a house. (Matthew 2:9-11) There is a difference between the shepherds finding a "babe in a manger" and the wise men who found Jesus as a "young child in a house". It is also unclear how many wise men there actually were. Matthew 2:11 mentions three gifts presented to Jesus by them, but does not list the number of wise men who were there.
Another point in Matthew 2:16 explains what happened when King Herod of Judea discovered that the wise men had not returned to tell him where Jesus was: Herod became very angry and sent out a decree that all children, two years old and under, in Bethlehem and the surrounding coasts were to be killed. If Jesus were but an infant at the time, it seems unlikely that Herod would have deemed it necessary to kill the children up to the age of two years old. It appears he made this determination "...according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men."
There are other scriptures in opposition to the celebration of Christmas. There is no passage in the Bible that instructs people to celebrate Christ's birthday, or to celebrate any birthday for that matter. Ecclesiastes 7:1 says that the day of death is better than the day of one's birth, and Ecclesiastes 7:8 states that, "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof..."
There are only two birthday "celebrations" mentioned in the Bible. One was that of Pharaoh and the other of King Herod, both wicked men whose birthdays were each commemorated with a feast--and an execution. The account of Pharaoh's birthday in Genesis 40:20-22 tells how he hanged his chief baker. On Herod's birthday, John the Baptist was beheaded: "But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison." (Matthew 14:6-8, 10) This same account is given in Mark 6:21-28.
Some people argue that celebrating Christmas is just "innocent fun" that has nothing to do with observing pagan customs. But Christ did not tell his followers to celebrate his birthday or to commemorate his birth with a feast or pagan customs. Through God's true ministers in the Bible, who include the prophets and apostles, our Creator has warned of learning pagan customs. The prophet Jeremiah was instructed to write: "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." (Jeremiah 10:2-4)
The apostle Paul gave this warning: "Previously, however, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to gods that essentially are not gods. But now, when you know God, or better yet, are known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to those weak and beggarly rudiments to which you want to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months, festivals and years. You make me fear that perhaps I wasted my efforts on you." (Galatians 4:8-11, Revised Berkeley Version)
God commanded His people not to learn the ways of the heathen nations, knowing if they did, it could turn them away from following what was right. In Deuteronomy 18:9, God warned: "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations." See verse 14 also. Psalm 106:34-43 explains what happened when His people disobeyed Him by learning the ways of the heathen.
Can Christmas be right when it is founded on the pagan customs God warned us about? The celebration has remained much the same for centuries, retaining many pagan traditions which clearly have no scriptural association and which God opposes. Study of God's true word in the Bible teaches a person to question what things are right or wrong, what ways to follow, and what to avoid. The Bible is the guidebook Jehovah God has provided so an individual can make those distinctions. His instructions are to be taken seriously and followed. The apostle Paul wrote: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" (2 Timothy 3:16) He also wrote: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Ephesians 5:11)
Many people do not consider the reason that Jesus Christ, God's Son, was born as a man on the earth. It was not to give an excuse for festivity, but to fulfill the ministry his Father sent him to do. Christ came preaching about the good news of the new kingdom (government) which he and his heavenly Father would one day establish, and he taught how individuals could become a part of it. At the end of his earthly ministry, he was killed to become the sacrifice for those who wanted to be partakers of that offering. In John 9:4, Christ said, "I must do the works of him that sent me..." In Luke 4:43 he said, "...I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent." Another quote of Jesus Christ in Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
References
1 Earl W. Count, 4000 Years of Christmas, (New York: Henry Schuman, 1948), p. 11.
2 Cyclopeadia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, (1882), Vol. 2, p. 276.
3 Charles F. Vinson, "Why the World Needs Christmas", The Plain Truth, Vol. XXXVIII (December 1973), p. 19.
4 Werner Keller, The Bible as History, (New York: William Morrow & Co., 1969), p. 353.
5 Francis X. Weiser, The Christmas Book, (New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1952), p. 31.
6 Keller, p. 352.
7 Mary Imogene Hazeltine, Anniversaries and Holidays, (2nd ed.; New York : Harper & Bros., 1954), 178.
8 "Christmas", Encyclopedia Britannica, (1955), Vol. 5, p. 642A.
9 Vinson, p. 19.
10 de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm
11 de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm
12 Vinson, p. 19.
13 Alfred C. Hottes, 1001 Christmas Facts & Fancies, (A.T. deLamare Co., Inc., 1950), p. 14.
14 Count, p. 27.
15 Joseph Gaer, Holidays Around the World, (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1953), p. 133.
16 Barrie Ruth Straus, The Catholic Church, (Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1987), p. 36.
17 Maymie Richardson Krythe, All About Christmas, (New York: Harper & Bros., 1954), p. 3.
18 Encyclopedia Britannica, p. 642A. 19 Keller, p. 353.
20 "Christmas", Man, Myth & Magic, Vol. 4, p. 480
21 de.essortment.com.christmaspagan_rece.htm
22 Keller, p. 353.
With Christmas only a few days away, I am sure that those who have plans to celebrate it, already have lights twinkling, tree decorated, presents wrapped, and stockings hung. Cookies, candies, turkey and ham awaiting a feast of family and friends - all under the auspices of the birthday of Jesus Christ.
But where did these traditions come from? Why do we (protestants) continue in Romish ritual? Our answers may be innocent enough, but will that excuse us on judgment day? What does the historical and Biblical record declare about mixing and mingling with false religion? Read on and make up your own minds.
_______________________
The Historical Background of Christmas:
Christmas is believed by most to be the celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. The majority of so-called Christian religions accept Christmas as an essential part of their traditions, and few ever question when or how the whole celebration actually started. All of the usual gift-giving, festivity and decorations are supposedly in honor of the nativity of the Son of God, but a look at some historical information, coupled with Biblical facts, proves otherwise. Although it is considered to be a religious observance, this holiday originated from an ancient pagan festival and is contrary to the teachings of the Bible.
The time and place of the first Christmas celebration is not known; although history seems to indicate a date after the last great persecution of Christians as late as the third century.1 The observance of Christmas is not of "divine appointment", nor is it of New Testament origin.2 It is definite that the earliest followers of Christ did not observe Christmas: They did not even observe their own birthdays.3 It is believed that Pope Julius I declared Christ's birth to be celebrated on December 25th around 350A.D. The first time December 25th was referred to in any document as being Christmas Day, was 354A.D.4 By the fourth century, Christmas became an official holiday in Rome and most other parts of the so-called Christian world.
There are many speculations as to why the celebration of the birth of Christ does not appear earlier. Perhaps the most obvious is the fact that there is no record in history, scriptural or otherwise, from which the date of Christ's birth can be determined.5 It was not until several centuries after Jesus Christ lived and died on the earth that December 25 came to be recognized as his birthday. This date, in view of astronomers, historians, and Bible scholars, is decidedly not the correct date of his birth, nor does it rest on historical findings more than any other.6 The selection of December 25 as Jesus' birthday was due simply to the fact that it coincided with the winter solstice.7
The date of December 25th was originally known as the feast of Natalis Invicti Solis, or the "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun".8 The celebration, also known as the Roman Saturnalia (in honor of their god of agriculture, Saturn), was an annual feast long before the birth of Christ. The Saturnalia was actually a week-long celebration, with the final day being the Brumalia, or the first day of winter. According to the Julian calendar, that day fell on December 25.9
The celebration of Saturnalia was the greatest of all pagan festivals. It was a once-a-year time to indulge in feasting, drinking, the exchanging of gifts, and merrymaking in general. Although Saturnalia is more attributed to be of Roman origin, the ancient Babylonians celebrated the feast of the son of Isis (goddess of nature) on December 25. Boisterous celebration, with gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast as well.10
The pagan tribes of northern Europe also celebrated their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the birth of the pagan sun god, Mithras, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. They believed as the sun god grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras--and the sun--to reappear the following year. Huge Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun as well. The word Yule itself means "wheel", the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun.11 When pagan Germanic tribes (the Franks and the Alemans) found the Romans celebrating solstice during their early invasions, they, liking the custom, incorporated it into their own type of religion.12 Even the early Egyptians celebrated a mid-winter festival. They claimed their god Horus, the son of Isis, was born near the end of December.13
By the time Christianity took root in Rome, the Saturnalia was a popular and well-known festival among the pagan people. Consequently, the clergy of the day found this fact rather hard to deal with in converting the pagans to their religion. The religious leaders (predominately those of the outset of the Catholic church) realized they could not stop the Saturnalia from being celebrated, so they converted it--as well as the Romans themselves--to their beliefs.14 Authorities of the Roman Catholic church felt it was a wise idea to give a "sacred" meaning to pagan observances, rather than to discourage possible converts by eliminating their celebrations entirely. When the Emperor Constantine decreed Christianity as the "new faith" of the Roman Empire, the Saturnalia then became known as "The Mass of Christ", and was changed to honor the birth of Christ rather than the sun.15 Constantine could see no conflict between what he viewed as "Christianity" and the predominant Roman sun-worship. The result was an accommodation of the beliefs and practices of the two.16
With the celebration of Christmas set in place of the Saturnalia, religious authorities felt the holiday should be observed as a strictly religious one, instructing the people to celebrate it "after a heavenly manner, not an earthly manner."17 Although many people refused to celebrate the "new" holiday altogether, because it reminded them of the old pagan festival, the Christmas celebration closely resembled the Saturnalia for many centuries, with much feasting, drinking, and merrymaking.
As Christmas progressed through the years, many customs of the Saturnalia continued to persist. Finding they could not entirely abolish certain rituals, religious leaders expelled the worst features and changed them to seem "religious". Consequently, many of the customs observed even today at the Christmas season evolved from practices used long before that holiday ever began. Customs have become a mixture of pagan, religious, and cultural practices, as well as legend, superstition, and tradition.18
Christmas greenery and the Christmas tree are two such "adopted" customs, which originated directly from the Saturnalia. At the winter solstice, the Romans decorated their homes with boughs of laurel, evergreen trees and others. The Germanic observance of the solstice used holly, ivy and bay for both decoration and in their religious rites. Hollyberries were thought to be a food of the gods. In northern Europe, evergreen branches were used as a "devil-defying" means, and mistletoe was offered as a sacrifice to idols and was also linked to legends of their so-called gods. The use of the Christmas tree dates back to the early Druidic practice of tree worship. Later, when Christmas came to be celebrated, the tree supposedly became a tribute to baby Jesus, replacing the sacrifices offered to the trees. The sacrifices made to the fir and oak by the pagan religions were often human ones.19
Many people associate gift-giving with the wise men and their presents to the young Christ, but that practice is also of pagan origin. The Romans exchanged "good luck" presents during the Saturnalia. During that festival, the wealthy gave gifts to the poor in honor of the "golden age of liberty when the god Saturn ruled the known world".20 Other customs such as candles, the yule log, and the baking of small cakes and cookies began as pagan customs that were changed to supposedly honor the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Biblical Perspective:
The Bible provides some evidence, which shows that December 25 is the incorrect date for Jesus' birth. From the Biblical description, many historians believe that his birth probably occurred in the Fall.21 In Luke 2:8 it is written: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." Meteorologists have found December in Bethlehem to be quite cold, with the average temperature ranging near freezing to slightly above. December and January is also the time of year Bethlehem receives its greatest amount of precipitation. The climate has not changed to any great extent over the last 2,000 years, so it is highly unlikely the shepherds would be camped in the fields if it were so cold. To add to this, the Talmud (the body of Jewish law) states the flocks were put out to grass in March and were brought in at the beginning of November. In present Palestine, both animals and shepherds are under cover at the Christmas season.22
There is another clue in the Bible book of Daniel, which explains how Christ's earthly ministry was only to last for 3-1/2 years. He began that ministry when he turned 30 years old (Luke 3:21-23). The scriptures also show he was killed at the Jewish Passover (John 18:39), which occurred in the Spring, so it stands to reason that he would have to have been born in the Fall of the year.
Another Christmas belief disproved by the scriptures is that of the Magi, or wise men, arriving at the manger the night of Jesus' birth. The account in Luke 2:8-17 tells how the shepherds, not the wise men, found the baby lying in a manger after receiving word from an angel. This was the "sign" the angel told them to look for. The wise men, at a later time, traveled from another country, observing and following a star. When they arrived to offer their gifts to Jesus, they found the young child, not a baby, with Mary his mother in a house. (Matthew 2:9-11) There is a difference between the shepherds finding a "babe in a manger" and the wise men who found Jesus as a "young child in a house". It is also unclear how many wise men there actually were. Matthew 2:11 mentions three gifts presented to Jesus by them, but does not list the number of wise men who were there.
Another point in Matthew 2:16 explains what happened when King Herod of Judea discovered that the wise men had not returned to tell him where Jesus was: Herod became very angry and sent out a decree that all children, two years old and under, in Bethlehem and the surrounding coasts were to be killed. If Jesus were but an infant at the time, it seems unlikely that Herod would have deemed it necessary to kill the children up to the age of two years old. It appears he made this determination "...according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men."
There are other scriptures in opposition to the celebration of Christmas. There is no passage in the Bible that instructs people to celebrate Christ's birthday, or to celebrate any birthday for that matter. Ecclesiastes 7:1 says that the day of death is better than the day of one's birth, and Ecclesiastes 7:8 states that, "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof..."
There are only two birthday "celebrations" mentioned in the Bible. One was that of Pharaoh and the other of King Herod, both wicked men whose birthdays were each commemorated with a feast--and an execution. The account of Pharaoh's birthday in Genesis 40:20-22 tells how he hanged his chief baker. On Herod's birthday, John the Baptist was beheaded: "But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison." (Matthew 14:6-8, 10) This same account is given in Mark 6:21-28.
Some people argue that celebrating Christmas is just "innocent fun" that has nothing to do with observing pagan customs. But Christ did not tell his followers to celebrate his birthday or to commemorate his birth with a feast or pagan customs. Through God's true ministers in the Bible, who include the prophets and apostles, our Creator has warned of learning pagan customs. The prophet Jeremiah was instructed to write: "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." (Jeremiah 10:2-4)
The apostle Paul gave this warning: "Previously, however, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to gods that essentially are not gods. But now, when you know God, or better yet, are known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to those weak and beggarly rudiments to which you want to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months, festivals and years. You make me fear that perhaps I wasted my efforts on you." (Galatians 4:8-11, Revised Berkeley Version)
God commanded His people not to learn the ways of the heathen nations, knowing if they did, it could turn them away from following what was right. In Deuteronomy 18:9, God warned: "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations." See verse 14 also. Psalm 106:34-43 explains what happened when His people disobeyed Him by learning the ways of the heathen.
Can Christmas be right when it is founded on the pagan customs God warned us about? The celebration has remained much the same for centuries, retaining many pagan traditions which clearly have no scriptural association and which God opposes. Study of God's true word in the Bible teaches a person to question what things are right or wrong, what ways to follow, and what to avoid. The Bible is the guidebook Jehovah God has provided so an individual can make those distinctions. His instructions are to be taken seriously and followed. The apostle Paul wrote: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" (2 Timothy 3:16) He also wrote: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Ephesians 5:11)
Many people do not consider the reason that Jesus Christ, God's Son, was born as a man on the earth. It was not to give an excuse for festivity, but to fulfill the ministry his Father sent him to do. Christ came preaching about the good news of the new kingdom (government) which he and his heavenly Father would one day establish, and he taught how individuals could become a part of it. At the end of his earthly ministry, he was killed to become the sacrifice for those who wanted to be partakers of that offering. In John 9:4, Christ said, "I must do the works of him that sent me..." In Luke 4:43 he said, "...I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent." Another quote of Jesus Christ in Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
References
1 Earl W. Count, 4000 Years of Christmas, (New York: Henry Schuman, 1948), p. 11.
2 Cyclopeadia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, (1882), Vol. 2, p. 276.
3 Charles F. Vinson, "Why the World Needs Christmas", The Plain Truth, Vol. XXXVIII (December 1973), p. 19.
4 Werner Keller, The Bible as History, (New York: William Morrow & Co., 1969), p. 353.
5 Francis X. Weiser, The Christmas Book, (New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1952), p. 31.
6 Keller, p. 352.
7 Mary Imogene Hazeltine, Anniversaries and Holidays, (2nd ed.; New York : Harper & Bros., 1954), 178.
8 "Christmas", Encyclopedia Britannica, (1955), Vol. 5, p. 642A.
9 Vinson, p. 19.
10 de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm
11 de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm
12 Vinson, p. 19.
13 Alfred C. Hottes, 1001 Christmas Facts & Fancies, (A.T. deLamare Co., Inc., 1950), p. 14.
14 Count, p. 27.
15 Joseph Gaer, Holidays Around the World, (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1953), p. 133.
16 Barrie Ruth Straus, The Catholic Church, (Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1987), p. 36.
17 Maymie Richardson Krythe, All About Christmas, (New York: Harper & Bros., 1954), p. 3.
18 Encyclopedia Britannica, p. 642A. 19 Keller, p. 353.
20 "Christmas", Man, Myth & Magic, Vol. 4, p. 480
21 de.essortment.com.christmaspagan_rece.htm
22 Keller, p. 353.
posted by exhortingbrother at 10:29 PM
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