Celebrating Christmas is an Insult to Christ

That's what we do, but we also go trick or treating.

 

Howabout nailing copies of the 95 Theses onto people's doors, then, whilst you're doing it

[ETA - new version of 'trick or treat': "95 Theses or Papal Bull?" ]

 

Eliyahu said,"The problem is that celebrating the Christmas was not originated from the true believers but from pagan festivals, full of carnal misconducts."

Amen.

Apparently, it does not matter among "paganized christians". Should not the Mass of Christ be for those who celebrate the Mass? There are a sizeable number of Christians who regard "trans-substantiation as an abomination, as well as the celebration thereof.

Selah,

Bro. James

 

Hey Matt:

"Bull" is the operative word there!!



Peace,

Tam

 

And Sunday, Monday Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are exempt? How about the months of the year too?

Do you buy gas for your car and support Muslims in doing so?

 

And Sunday, Monday Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are exempt? How about the months of the year too?

Do you buy gas for your car and support Muslims in doing so? </font>[/QUOTE]Brother gb93433,
I think the point our brother Eliyahu and others here who share his beliefs are trying to make is that these pagan things have been incorporated into our worship, whereas the names of the days of the week or buying gas have nothing to do with our worship of God.

Also, a thought for everyone:
There are many other true Christians and many Baptists for that matter who adhere to the Regulative Principle of Worship and who also would consider the celebration of Christmas to be worshipping God in the same manner of worship of the heathens, which God would forbid. I think if they wish to point out why they think the celebration of Chistmas is unscriptural and/or blasphemous that is fine, and if others wish to point out why they believe the celebration to be scriptural and not blasphemous, that is also fine, but frankly, it pains me to see others in this forum using such terms as "sticks-in-the-mud" or "bull", to name a couple I've read here, just because these Christians happen to hold a minority view.
Just my very brief 2 cents worth.

 

I Love Christmas
By John R. Rice

Romans 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it…

I love the Christmas season. I find great joy in preaching on the Christmas themes of the angels, the shepherds, the manger, the virgin birth, and the wise men. I have great joy in the Christmas carols. There is a joyful, happy note of worship in our home, and thank God, in my heart, through the Christmastime. I love the gathering together of my loved ones and family for Christmas. I love to give gifts, and I rejoice to be remembered by my loved ones and friends. I love the Christmas season.

Perhaps my own feeling is colored somewhat by the fact that, for many years, I have been away from home most of the year, but at the Christmas season, when churches and groups of churches do not want revivals, I have been at home with my family. That makes it extra precious to me.

It makes me sad that many people do not enjoy Christmas. Some devoted Christians feel sour, cantankerous, and full of objections about Christmas. To them I would say in the words of Scripture, that if you regard the day, regard it unto the Lord. And if you do not regard the day, Christmas, then be sure that you are Christian about it and do it as unto the Lord. But let nobody be judging and criticizing others for honest, worshipful, spiritual, and loving attitudes about Christmas.

I want to answer some of the objections about Christmas.
1. They Say Christmas Is Not Christ's Birthday
Actually, no one knows exactly when Christ was born. The Bible does not say. There are no other trustworthy sources from which we can learn when Christ was born. So, some people think it is therefore wrong to observe Christmas. But that does not necessarily follow. I knew a little girl born on February 29, leap year. Now would it be wrong for that little girl to observe a birthday on the last day of February on other years when February had only twenty-eight days? Or would it be a sin for her to observe her birthday, or for others to observe her birthday anytime except on leap year. No, the important fact was not the precise date, February 29, but that another year had gone by for which people should praise God, and the little girl had grown a year older, and that fact ought to be recognized by those who loved her.

Would you say that it is wrong to have Thanksgiving Day on a certain Thursday in November, when not all of our blessings have come on that day? Or would you say it is wrong to set a more convenient day if all of us should agree that it was proper and convenient to have a national day of thanksgiving? Whatever the day, it is still right for people to agree on a time when we would publicly thank God and officially, as a nation, express our gratitude to the Father of Mercies for all of His goodness to us. The important thing is not what day of the calendar, but whether or not we honor God on the day.

December 25 is as close to the birthday of Christ as we can come. We love the dear Lord Jesus, we want everybody to remember His birth, we want to teach our children about the Baby in the manger, about the wise men who came from the East to worship Him, about the angel's announcement to Mary and the angel chorus who told the shepherds. And why is not December 25 as good a day for that as any other? Do you think it is wrong to remember the birth of Christ on the day which is as close as we can come to the birthday of Christ?

2. Some Claim That Christmas Means Only "Christ's Mass," a Catholic Holiday to Many
We are told that Christmas comes from Christ's Mass, that it was instituted by Catholics, and that therefore good Protestants ought not to observe it. That objection seems a little foolish to me. Nearly all of the names we have we inherited from heathen people. Many of the names of cities, towns, counties, and rivers in America are Indian names. But when we see the Susquehanna River, or Shawnee, Oklahoma, or Comanche, Texas, we are not thinking about the Indians, and the names have no connotation of heathendom. Names mean what they mean, no matter what the origin.

The Seventh-Day Adventists sometimes make much of the fact that the name of our day, Sunday, comes from the worship of the Sun. I reply that Saturday is named for the god Saturn. But nobody has any reference to the Sun when they use the word Sunday or when they worship on Sunday, and no one has any reference to the god Saturn when they work or serve on Saturday. It is foolish to make an artificial distinction when none exists in the mind and heart of people who observe Christmas. January was named for the Roman god Janus. Are Christians therefore sinning when they call the month by that name? To every sensible person, Christmas simply means Christmas. It does not mean any kind of mass. Catholics may observe it with a mass, but Protestants do not.

3. It is Claimed That Christmas Was a Former Heathen Holiday
I shall not go into the argument pro and con, but it is not well proven, I think, that Christmas was a former heathen holiday. But if it were, that would not change the fact that heathen people did something on every day, and we cannot do away with all the days that heathen people used, whether for worship, or for ceremonies about sowing, or about reaping, or about the solstices, or the new moons. We use the same Sun that heathen people worshiped, and we love the Sun rising and Sun setting, though we do not have the heathen ceremonies about that. This argument is not important.

I held a blessed revival campaign in the Binghamton Theater, Binghamton, New York, sponsored by eight churches, in 1936. The fact that here people had seen lewd movies, or burlesque shows, or legitimate theater productions, did not change the fact that now the building was used for the glory of God and souls were saved. I myself am under new management, too. Once the Devil lived within; now Jesus Christ lives within. So if heathen people used the twenty-fifth of December for idolatry, why should Christians not use it now to honor Jesus Christ and His birth? If we have any day to represent Christ, it will be a day somebody else has used for bad purposes; but, thank God, all the days belong to Christ now, and none of them belong to heathen gods. Why should any Christian be grieved if I especially think about the birth of Christ on December 25? Is that a worse sin than working to make money on that day? Why should anybody grieve if I sing Christmas carols, if I have a happy celebration with a feast, and if I go over the Bible story of the birth of Christ and teach it to my children, on Christmas day? Does that dishonor God? Do you think you would honor God more by having less Scripture, less songs, less of the spirit of giving, less manifestation of love for others? I do not think so! All the days belong to Jesus Christ, and December 25 should be used to honor Him, too, in one way or another.

4. Christmas Trees and Decorations Are Counted by Some an Abomination
Some have even said that the Bible forbids the use of Christmas trees. A woman called my attention to Jeremiah 10:3, 4, thinking it referred to Christmas trees. That Scripture says:
Jeremiah 10:3 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 axe.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

But does that Scripture talk about the Christmas tree? Not at all. It speaks of an idol made out of wood, covered with silver and gold. The next verse says:
Jeremiah 10:5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

The idol is not a real god; it cannot see, nor hear, nor do good, nor bad. So verse 8 below says that the stock [or idol] is a doctrine of vanities. And the rest of the Scripture tells how elaborately and expensively the idol is made out of silver and gold, and dressed in purple. And then verse 10 tells us: But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God. Verse 11 says: The gods that have not made the Heavens and the Earth, even they shall perish from the Earth.
No, the Bible does not forbid Christmas trees.
It is true that heathen people have sometimes worshiped trees. They have also worshiped animals, worshiped the wind, worshiped the ocean, and worshiped the Sun. But there is no worship of idols in setting up a green Christmas tree as a decoration, as a symbol of joy and gladness.

Is there harm in decorating the house with holly, mistletoe, or other evergreen? No more than decorating the house with pumpkins, and oak leaves, and cornstalks at Thanksgiving time! No more than decorating graves with flowers on Memorial Day. Flowers are suitable for the springtime. The pumpkins and corn and autumn leaves are suitable for the fall season. In midwinter there are few flowers, so it is most natural that the evergreens should be used to decorate the home. Surely God is not displeased if we pay attention to some of His natural beauties.

But the decorations on a Christmas tree could not possibly be called heathen, could not possibly have any idolatrous significance. Who thinks that heathen people worshiped their gods with paper chains? Who thinks that popcorn on a string is a form of idolatry? Who thinks that electric lights on a tree, for the joy of little children and to brighten for the home while people sing Christmas carols, are sinful? I love Christmas and Christmas decorations, and I do not think they are wrong. They are but an expression of that joy that is in the heart as I think how God became man, how the Creator became a baby, how though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich [2CO 8:9].

5. Some Object to Christmas Because of Worldliness and Unchristian Revelry That Takes Place During the Holidays
It is true that a great many people do not honor Jesus Christ at Christmas. I think they greatly sin. Some people drink more liquor during Christmastime than at any other time in the year. That is a sin. Many business people think of Christmas only as a time to make money. In this they are wrong. Sometimes even Christian people tell the lie about Santa Claus and deceive little children with a heathen legend, when they could tell about the dear Lord Jesus. I think that is wickedness. A lie is always wrong and always hateful to God. Deceit is the poorest possible way to honor the birth of the Lord Jesus. I do not believe in having Santa Clauses at Sunday School or church services unless everybody understands that it is only a little parody, it is only play-acting. Certainly to deceive little children with a lie about Santa Claus is a sin. No Christian ought to condone it. Here the truth is so much better than a lie. We should tell people that the dear Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Yes, people often dishonor God at Christmas. I am sorry they do. I hope no Christian who reads this will grieve God by such sins.

But we should not turn Christmas over to Satan and wicked people because some sin at Christmas.
Should we abandon Sunday because it is often misused? On the Lord's Day there is more drunkenness than on any other day of the week. There is more revelry. Should Christians, therefore, count the Lord's Day the Devil's day and give it up? Certainly not! There are a great many people who teach that baptism is essential to salvation. They give more honor to the water than to the blood of Christ. That is wrong. But should we, therefore, disobey Jesus Christ about baptism because some others have overstressed baptism and made it a false doctrine?

The second coming of Christ has been a greatly abused and perverted doctrine with many. False cults have greatly perverted the doctrine of Christ's coming. People set dates. They speculate on signs. Should the rest of us honest Bible Christians, then, ignore the clear Bible doctrine of Christ's imminent second coming because the doctrine has been abused? Certainly not!

Nor should we ignore the Bible doctrine of the fullness of the Spirit because many people associate it with talking in tongues and with sinless perfection.

Just so, we would be very foolish if we turned Christmas over to Satan and worldlings. If the world has a Christmas of revelry, let us make it a day of Christian love and fellowship and a day honoring to Christ. Let us make much of the Christmas story in the Bible, of Christmas carols, of Christian love and fellowship.
Do other people make giving of gifts a mere form? Well, it does not need to be so for Christians. Christians can give gifts that really express love. They can make the gifts the response of an honest heart. We can send greetings with Scripture verses and with holy admonitions on them.

Is it wrong to have a day of rejoicing? Is it wrong to feast and to send portions to others? No indeed! When the remnant of Israel went back to the land of promise from the captivity in Babylon, under Nehemiah, the law was read and explained, and the people wept. But it was not a time for weeping, but a time for rejoicing. The wall of Jerusalem had been rebuilt. The gates had been hung. The city had been restored as the city of God, and the worship had begun.
If Israelites would honor God by having a day of joy and feasting and of sending portions to others because the Wall was rebuilt, and the gates were set up, and the worship established, then Christian people today do well to have a day of rejoicing over the birth of the Savior and to send portions to one another and to make merry with spiritual joy!

Yes, I love Christmas! I feel near to God at Christmas time. I love the Word of God at Christmas. We read it and quote it again and again at our house. I like to use the Christmas time as a good excuse to get into people's hearts and win them to Christ. And, thank God, many have been saved because I brought a Christmas message, or because I urged sinners to accept God's great Christmas gift at Christmas time.

Let us have, then, a happy Christmas, and make Christ supreme on this day which we remember in honor of His birth!

 

I know that some Christians don't like to celebrate Christmas. That is fine. Granny Gumbo is the prime example of this.

Then there are Christians who do like it. As long as it is Christ-centred and doesn't cause you to run up your credit card too much, then fine, enjoy the day that marks Christ's birth.

But for those who try and stop people from celebrating Christmas ---- I have to ask what kind of tin foil you use for your hat.

 

I don't understand any of this. I can't think of a single original Christian Holiday. Christams was co-opted from pagans; hence the Christmas tree, winter solstice, etc. Easter is rife with pagan traditions. The rabbit, eggs, etc.

Why don't people understand that there are several religions that are millenia older than Christianity and Christians merely used the older religious traditions for their own? It's simple.

 

If you consider Catholic as Christian, then Valentine's day was started as a Christian holiday to honor Valentine. However, he was martyred to appease a pagan god, and the pagan elements are more prevelant in the holiday now than the Christian ones.

 

James, the winter solstice is a scientific fact. If pagans chose to celebrate the fact in sun worship, that is entirely beside the point. There is evidence that Jesus was born in the autumn, in fact on a Sept. 11. If so, a Dec. 25 conception would not be out of line! In addition, there is also good evidence that Dec. 25 was the day the Magoi found and worshiped the Christ child.

Not a bad reason for Christians to take over the holiday, eh?

Resurrection Sunday is indeed a purely Christian holiday. The fact that it coincides with the ancient pagan celebration of spring and new life is not an entirely bad thing.

It sort of depends on what you decide to make of it.

We can always abandon circles because witches use them...

 

Oh, we all know that Valentine's day is really a holiday created by the card, chocolate, and jewelry companies in order to sell there wears.

 

What a blessing it was when the Lord brought us out of doing the mass years ago. Since then, we have stumbled across a whole mess of folks, including Baptists who have had their eyes opened.

We've stood at several xMASS parades in the past couple of weeks with our signs, while the preachers preached. Here's an example of the christmass "spirit" that was permeating the air-

Last Saturday night, one preacher was set on fire. A couple of signs were ripped right out of our hands, and our '84 van (our only means of transportation) had 3 slashed tires, busted windshield, and more dents & scratches than I could count (just more battle scars)... one of the signs on it were tampered with (we've had 'em stolen before), but praise God we are blessed.

People can shout all they want that Jesus is the reason...but I say christmass is only a season looking for a reason.

Why is everyone celebrating the christmass SEASON? I thought y'all were celebrating the birth of Jesus! Jesus was born on ONE day...not an accumulation of days.

If a man is going to observe Dec. 25th as the birth of Jesus Christ then he should be able to back-up everything that is done during this observation with the Word of God, wouldn't ya say?


Hiya PamK!

 

In case anyone is interested as to what our signs look like, see if this site works for ya. The one in front is da granny and the one behind is my grandaughter, Molly.

http://tinypic.com/eq9x6q.jpg

 

If it's an unsult to you, then don't do it. I will support that. As for me, it's no insult, and I will partake of the festivities.

 

Granny, Christmas is what you make of it. For us, as a family, the Advent season and the culmination of Christmas day was ALWAYS about the birth of Christ being celebrated. It was not about greed and presents were simply not the biggest part.

It is light in the middle of gray skies and cold and darkness and snow.

Just as Christ is the Light in the middle of greed and sin and death and pain.

During this time of year, partly because of the lack of sun in the northern hemisphere and partly because a person's lonliness is magnified when others are getting together, it is a PERFECT time to reach out to others who are hurting especially badly and touch them with the love of Christ. They are most receptive now, actually, and Christmas provides us with an ideal time for reaching people who are lost. I know they are lost every day of the year, but it seems to be at this time of year when they are most receptive to the love of Christ through us.

That is enough reason for me right there!

I LOVE Christmas! I love knowing that at that time, even though the days may be colder for awhile, the days are starting to get longer. Warmth will be coming. And that is just the way I feel about Christ coming, too, only more so.

The days, the seasons, the HOLYdays are what you make of them. If people choose greed, I suppose the economy benefits -- except they run into so much debt! But if people choose Christ, God bless them and have the Merriest of Christmases!

 

I rather like Father Christmas. I don't trouble about any so-called religious holiday. It is a season, however, that people generally to be more receptive for good wishes and perhaps opens doors to be good to your neighbour. I like that.

As to the birth of Christ, there has been speculation for years as to the actual birthdate. I have always held that it is most likely in spring time. Shepherds had their flocks in a fold during December and not in the fields.

At any rate, I go to church on Christmas Day and then go to see the old folks left in the nursing homes in our area. We have a Bible reading, a word of prayer and sometimes I use my personal communion set to celebrate the Lord's Supper with them........the lonely and left alone folks who never get to church because of their circumstance.

Cheers, and take opportunity to bless the Lord whatever your views on the event. God bless.

Jim

 

"Last Saturday night, one preacher was set on fire. A couple of signs were ripped right out of our hands, and our '84 van (our only means of transportation) had 3 slashed tires, busted windshield, and more dents & scratches than I could count (just more battle scars)... one of the signs on it were tampered with (we've had 'em stolen before), but praise God we are blessed."

 

"one preacher was set on fire."


'cause that one needed repeating.