Posted on 12/12/2011 10:30:43 AM PST by Notwithstanding
It is a very nice thing. And as I sit here next to my Christmas tree with gifts under it, I am ever thankful for Christmas. It is a wonderful season.
It doesn’t say to celebrate Dec. 25 as a Holy day but it does say to give honor and glory to almighty God and celebrating the birth of His son, our saviour, does just that. So, it’s the universally accepted day as we don’t KNOW the exact day and I don’t see anything wrong with picking a date and keeping it each year.
Amen! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
Okay I’m not a Catholic, but I don’t think that NOT having a direct commandment to celebrate the birth of Christ makes it wrong TO do so. There is no direct commandment to brush our teeth, or shave, or go to church every Sunday but we know it’s fine and good to do those things. You talk about being judged for not wanting to see the day we commemorate the birth of God on earth as a Holy day yet you SEEM to be judging those who do?
Yup. The Bible tells us Christ was NOT born in December. Either way, Christ should be celebrated on a daily basis. Christmas is actually the Winter Solstice and the rebirth of the SUN which was celebrated by the Pagan Romans.
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That's good news.
I’m a Christian. And I see Christmas as a holy day as the early Christians chose to remember the birth of our savior on that date and have been doing so for centuries ever since. But if someone wants to get out the Bible and show me where it says the Bible is the SOLE source of authority for Christian doctrine, then....
This survey shows that almost 3/4 of American adults celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. I hate to be cynical, but I would guess these numbers are quite wrong. My bet is: most of this 71% think of Christmas as a religious holiday, but the smaller percentage actually celebrate it as a religious holiday.
It is indeed a holy day, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ (regardless of the exact day He was born). We celebrate Easter on an arbitrary date as Easter is always the first Sunday following the first full moon, following the vernal equinox. I don't know why some people feel that if you don't pin down the exact date, it cannot be a valid holy day. It matters not that the bible does not give us an exact date. Apparently these people would rather not celebrate the birth of Christ at all.
Please show me where in the Bible it says that Jesus Christ was *not* born in December. And before you answer, please keep in mind that the Magi visited the Christ when He was a toddler, not a newborn (the Greek terms are quite distinct), so the fact that animals were grazing on stubble when the Magi visited does not imply anything about the time of year in which Christ was born. The best evidence from the Bible about Christ’s conception was that it occurred on March 25, which is why Christians have celebrated Christmas on December 25 (9 months after March 25) since very early in the Church’s history. See my post #28.
As for the canard about December 25 being the pagan holiday of Sol Invictus and Christmas being commemorated on that date to co-opt the pagan holiday, it is 180 degrees wrong. It was the pagans who moved their Sol Invictus to December 25 to try to co-opt the Christian holiday of Christmas. Again, read my post #28 and the article linked therein.
So it’s ok to change your birthday to a different day other than the one you were actually born on then, right?
Which is beside R2nd’s point, since as he/she already stated, there is no scripture indicating that God wants us to commemorate the day.
Who sanctified it and made it holy? Seriously.
71% of American CHOOSE to recognize and celebrate Christmas as the day to celebrate the birth of the Savior, Christ, as a human babe in a stable.
Why would you demand to know why? Seriously.
The Bible is hardly clear or specific on the month in which Christ was born. People read between the lines and conclude one way, or they read between a different set of lines and conclude a different way.
As AuH2ORepublican notes, there's a Jewish tradition that a great prophet dies on the anniversary of his conception or birth. Since Christ certainly died around April 1, that could easily put his birth around January 1.
Unfortunately, the Bible doesn't even give us enough clear and unambiguous evidence to know for sure in what year Christ was born, to say nothing of what the exact date was.
Christmas is actually the Winter Solstice and the rebirth of the SUN which was celebrated by the Pagan Romans.
Practically every pagan culture celebrated something around the Winter Solstice (for obvious astronomical reasons), as they did around the Summer Solstice, around the end of the harvest, etc. I see no reason to cede those days, or any other days, to pagans. No pagan "god" created them; they were created by the God of Israel and belong completely to him.
Loads of adopted children end up celebrating their birthdays on the date that is the best estimate of the actual date. But in fact, it does not really matter because what is being celebrated is the fact that that person emerged from the womb to begin life on his own in this scary wonderful world.
There is scripture that tells us of the glories of God. I leap for joy at every single fact I know about Jesus from the gospels. And we are commanded to honor God and His word - so in fact to set a side a special day for the world to dwell on the gospel story of His birth is extremely biblical and it is absurd that anyone claiming to love the gospels is upset that the there is unity in celebrating His birth each year.
Objections to the worldwide gospel-fest known as Christmas are based on pride, and nothing else.
And who decided Luther or Calvin or your own particular faith leader was worth listening to - the bible does not mention their names?
Your question is a desperate attempt to justify rejection of something wholesome and attractive and entirely biblical.
There is no scripture stating you should have responded to that post, you filthy heathen.
I am no longer amazed at the absurd positions people will take to justify their novel view of what is biblical.
To think that one who claims belief in Christ would object to a worldwide acknowledgement of His birth - it boggles the mind.
For some the day is largely void of any worship of God - but even those who don’t worship Him on that day do acknowledge Him and at least part of His gospel. But for at least a billion people, the day actually includes worship of the Savior.
Those who reject Christmas as a holiday also reject Christ.
I'm beginning to think more and more that the ideal Free Republic would be sans religion forum. There's truly little value added; and it's just becoming a place for people to broadcast their idiocy and prejudices.
Merry Christmas!
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