Merry Christmas to all!
Posted on 12/04/2005 7:27:20 AM PST by DouglasKC
One day, years ago, someone asked me why I kept Christmas. "The Bible says to keep it," I responded. "Somewhere in the Gospel of Luke, it speaks of the nativity scene. An angel told some shepherds that were keeping their sheep in the fields at night that the baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem. I think they went to see Jesus at that time.
"That was the first Christmas! And that's why I keep Christmas, because the Bible supports Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ."
"That's not true and here's why," my friend replied.
I soon learned that the Bible didn't teach Christmas. I also found that its origins have nothing to do with the Bible. It was an important lesson about things I'd long assumed to be true.
Just because some 2 billion people—roughly 1 billion Catholics and another billion in Protestant faiths—observe Christmas, does that make it right? Does it really matter one way or the other?
Why do so many people observe it?
If you were asked, "Why do you celebrate Christmas?" how would you respond? Many would say Christmas honors the birthday of Jesus. Others feel that Christmas is a good Christian family get-together. Many do it simply because they've always done it.
Christmas can appear tantalizing to the eye and ear. People appear happy, generous, full of good cheer. Twinkling lights decorate many houses. Santa Claus and his reindeer are pictured as poised to lift off from snow-covered front yards or rooftops, although in the southern hemisphere and tropics there is no December snow. The colorful, peaceful-appearing Christmas scene can be intoxicating, addicting.
Shoppers pack stores, browsing for gifts they hope to buy at bargain-basement prices. Soaring strains of "White Christmas," "Silent Night" or "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" resonate everywhere.
The December weather of the northern hemisphere might be frightful outside, but the feeling and warmth inside is delightful. Christmas trees with twinkling lights and bright, sparkling ornaments create a mystical and glowing environment. Entire families want to experience the special mystery that only comes with the Christmas season. There is no religious holiday quite like it for the millions everywhere who observe it.
Was Jesus really born on Dec. 25?
But stop and ask yourself: Was Christ really born on Christmas Day? After all, the Bible nowhere tells us the day of His birth.
In fact, most credible secular historical writings tell us that Christmas, more than 200 years after Jesus' death, was considered sinful: "As late as A.D. 245 [the early Catholic theologian] Origen . . . repudiates as sinful the very idea of keeping the birthday of Christ" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, 1910, Vol. 6, p. 293, "Christmas").
In A.D. 354, a Latin chronographer mentioned Christmas, but even then he did not write about it as an observed festival (ibid.).
There is no biblical evidence that Dec. 25 was Jesus' birth date. In fact, the Bible record strongly shows that Jesus couldn't have been born then.
For example, Luke tells us that the shepherds were keeping their sheep in the fields at night when Jesus was born. "And she [Mary] brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:7-8, emphasis added throughout).
But late December is Judea's cold and rainy season. Would shepherds actually keep their fragile flocks out in the open fields on a cold late-December night near Bethlehem?
No responsible shepherd would subject his sheep to the elements at that time of year when cold rains, and occasional snow, are common in that region.
"The climate of Palestine is not so severe as the climate of this country [England]; but even there, though the heat of the day be considerable, the cold of the night, from December to February, is very piercing, and it was not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October" (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, 1959, p. 91).
Luke also tells us that Jesus was born at the time of a census ordered by the Roman emperor (Luke 2:1-3). The Romans were brilliant administrators; they certainly would not have ordered people to journey to be registered at a time of year when roads would have been wet and muddy and traveling conditions miserable. Such a move would have been self-defeating on its face.
The belief that Jesus was born on or around Dec. 25 simply has no basis in fact, even if 2 billion people have accepted it without question. As the famous playwright George Bernard Shaw said, "If 50 million people believe a foolish thing, it's still a foolish thing."
Does Christmas really honor Christ?
If the Christmas holiday is an important celebration to honor the birth of Jesus Christ, why is it nowhere mentioned in the Bible? Why didn't Christ instruct His closest followers, His 12 chosen apostles, to keep Christmas? Why didn't they institute or teach it to the early Church?
Before you answer, consider that Jesus gave great authority to His 12 apostles, assuring them that they will hold positions of great importance and responsibility in His Kingdom (Matthew 18:18; 19:28; Luke 22:29-30). But since Jesus never taught His apostles to keep Christmas, nor did they ever teach it to the Church though they had years of opportunity to do so, shouldn't that make us question whether Christmas is something Jesus really wants or appreciates?
So how did Christmas become such a widespread practice if the Bible doesn't sanction it, if Christ didn't observe it and if He never taught His disciples and the early Church to celebrate it?
True origins of Christmas
Most people never stop to ask themselves what the major symbols of Christmas—Santa Claus, reindeer, decorated trees, holly, mistletoe and the like—have to do with the birth of the Savior of mankind. In
the southern hemisphere summer climate of December, few people question why they observe a Christmas with northern hemisphere winter scenery!
The fact is, and you can verify this in any number of books and encyclopedias, that all these trappings came from ancient pagan festivals.
Even the date, Dec. 25, came from a festival celebrating the birthday of the ancient sun god Mithras. (If you'd like to learn more about the origins of the many customs and symbols associated with Christmas, request our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep?)
Jesus never told His followers to celebrate Christmas, but He did warn us not to adhere to false, man-made religious doctrines: "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7). The truth is, Christmas and other non-biblical religious holidays constitute vain or empty worship of Christ.
The Catholic Encyclopedia indicates that the Christmas season came from an ancient midwinter festival that occurred at the time of the winter solstice. Interestingly, the previously noted Origen, despite the early period in which he lived (ca. 182-251), never even mentioned it (The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Vol. 3, 1967, and "Christmas and Its Cycle," The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913, Vol. 3, "Christmas").
Tertullian, another Catholic theologian who lived at about the same time (ca. 155-230), referred to compromising Christians then beginning to join in the pagan midwinter festival celebrated in the Roman Empire, which eventually evolved into what is now Christmas:
"The Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year's day presents are made with din, and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians" (Tertullian in De Idolatria, quoted by Hislop, p. 93).
In time Catholic religious leaders added solemnity to this pre-Christian holiday by adding to it the Mass of Christ, from which it eventually came to be known by its common name of "Christmas."
A matter of whether, not what
The purpose of The Good News magazine is to share with you the living truth of Jesus Christ. A true Christian cannot decide what he will obey, only whether he will obey God's truth.
We strive to publish God's pristine truth; people who read that truth have to decide what to do about it and whether they will honor it. Our commission from Jesus Christ is to teach the truth of God and to welcome as disciples and fellow workers those few who hear and obey the truth. We hope the truth about Christmas starts you on the road to true happiness and God's purpose for you.
History shows that Christmas does not represent Christ. It misrepresents sound biblical teaching and is in opposition to God's truth. God wants us to worship Him in truth (John 4:23-24), not fable.
In Deuteronomy 12:28-32, God told His people to worship only in the ways He commanded, telling them "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it." He explicitly ordered them not to copy or adopt the religious practices of the pagans, calling such practices "abomination[s] . . . which He hates."
Yet hundreds of millions of men, women and children unwittingly observe Christmas, not knowing or caring from where it came. They assume that 2 billion Christians can't be wrong or that it doesn't matter how we worship God so long as our intentions are good. But why should we think we honor God or please Him when we worship contrary to His commands?
Crucial questions only you can answer
The crucial question is, do we worry more about what others think or about what God requires? Also, can other human beings give us salvation? If honoring God's truth determines our salvation, then why honor men over God?
Jesus Christ said to those who appeared religious but denied the power of His true teaching, "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46; compare Matthew 7:21). Since Christ is opposed to Christmas, why would any thoughtful Christian observe it?
Walking in Jesus' footsteps in a world that doesn't is never easy. But it is much better and eminently more rewarding than following the empty ways of the world.
God tells us in 1 John 2:15-17: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." GN
Does Christmas really honor Christ?
It does the way I and many Christians celebrate it. Maybe the author would be happier if a holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ was eradicated, like sweeping the Ten Commandments from courtrooms. 1) Unrealistic. 2) Stupid.
Pardon me for saying so, but this self-righteous, sanctimonious approach is completely asinine.
Does God require that we not celebrate Christmas? Of course not.
Also, can other human beings give us salvation? If honoring God's truth determines our salvation, then why honor men over God?
We are saved by faith in Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross, not by works. (Eph. 4)
Jesus Christ said to those who appeared religious but denied the power of His true teaching, "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46; compare Matthew 7:21). Since Christ is opposed to Christmas, why would any thoughtful Christian observe it?
The assertion that Christ is opposed to his people celebrating his birth, whether it was in December or not, is ridiculous.
Walking in Jesus' footsteps in a world that doesn't is never easy. But it is much better and eminently more rewarding than following the empty ways of the world.
True. But to say that God is upset with us for celebrating Christmas is a load of malarkey.
Merry Christmas to all!
One can honor the denoted day of Jesus' birth. It's a biggie. After all, that is how the human race marks the passage of time. All calendars go by the current calendar, even if it's to mark Haj, Hindu or Chinese dates. Perhaps it IS a GIANT coinkydink that we do that, but we do.
The secularists, athiests and Christ-haters want to use "common era" and "before common era," but THAT is still based on Jesus' birth. It isn't exact by our modern tools of measurement but, in the long view of history, Jesus' birthday is extremely accurate. Jesus was born into an extremely literate area where all cultures wrote, spoke and kept records in Greek, Latin and Aramaic. Not so with other cultures where our knowledge of their past history is from oral traditions.
Celebrating Christmas with the pagan rituals, which was, by the way, done by all conquerors (using indigenous days to bring in the conquerored), isn't a bad thing but it's not the nub of the celebration. Going overboard and celebrating ONLY the pagan rituals disgraces the REAL celebration.
This article is typical of the stuff that comes out this time of year, every year.
Time and Newsweek usually do it at Christmas and Easter, just to remind us of their opinion of Jesus' birth, passion, death and resurrection. They tell the "story" as if it were 99% myth and children's foolishness.
Now the History Channel joins in on the same kind of thing. Even FOXNEWS had the garbage "Birth of Jesus" crap, beginning their version with the same "telling-a-story-to-morons-about-how-really-silly-this-Christ-thing-really-is.
It's a tried-and-true way of denegrading.
* The Liturgical Year: Dom Gueranger
And firstly, with regard to our Saviour's Birth on Dec. 25, we have St. John Chrysostom telling us in his homliy for this Feast, that the Western Churches had, from the very commencement of Christianity, kept it on this day. He is not satisfied with merely mentioning this tradition; he undertakes to show it is very well founded, inasmuch as the Church of Rome had every means of knowing the true day of our Saviour's Birth, since the acts of the enrollment, taken in Judea by command of Augustus, were kept in the public archives of Rome.The Holy Doctor adduces a second arguement, which he founds upon the Gospel of St. Luke, and he reasons thus: we know from the sacred Scriptures that it must have been in the fast of the sevent month (Lev 23.the 7th month, Tsiri, corresponded to out Sept, beginning of October) that the Priest Zachary had the vision in the Temple; after which Elizabeth, his wife, conceived St. John the Baptist; hence it follows that that the Blessed Virgin Mary having, as the Evangelist St Luke relates, received the Angel Gabriel's visit, and conceived the Saviour of the world in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, that is to say March, the Birth of Jesus must have taken palce in the month of December.
* Or, one could ignore the Records of the Enrollment, the Bible, Tradition, Ecclesiastical Calendars etc and continue to sow enmity and error in an attempt to discredit the Church Jesus established (matt 16:18)
I'm fairly certain that the author would not advocate sweeping the Ten Commandments from courtrooms. I think the main objection to Christmas as a Christian holiday is that Christ created holy days, listed them in the bible, and told His worshippers when to observe them. When Christ incarnated, he observed the very same days he created. He did this for a very good reason. Christmas was not one of these days.
Celebrating Christ's birth honors him in how we do so. So long as we treat it as a time for charity, generosity, forgiveness, and joy - it is a credit to His life and mission.
Merry Christmas!
Not really. Christ knows what his people need to worship him. He created specific days, called them "his" and then commanded his followers to observe them. Christmas, or the celebration of his birth, was not one of them. Observing his birth with disctinctly non-biblical traditions at the exclusion of the days HE commanded is certainly at the least disobedience to his written word.
Thank you Dr. Scrooge.
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*Yes. And He had to teach us how to worship the Triune God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.;. He taught that at the Last Supper/First Mass and Commanded His Apostles (Catholic Bishops) to worship Him in that way until He comes again.
The pluperfect Sacrifice of the New Covenant is His Sacrifice on the Cross re-presented in a Sacramental manner in real time via the Priesthood He established and it is through the Priesthhod He established that Jesus, as both Priest and victim, offers Himself to God as an act of propitiation and we Redeemed Christians gather with Him at the altar to offer this perfect Sacrifice of the New Covenant and then we Redeemed Christians consume the New Covenant Meal/Heavenly Banquet, the Eucharist.
Why do you think "New Covenant" is only spoken about by Jesus at the time of the Last Supper/First Mass? Why would anyone refuse to participate in this New Covenant Sacrifice and Banquet?
LOL Touche
Not to be contentious (and I really do not mean this in a hostile wat), but what other holidays do you celebrate? The Feast of Unleavened Bread? Feast of Tabernacles?
I like what it says in Romans 1:5-6:
" One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."
I feel quite certain that what you do is to honor God, and with that confidence, may God bless you.
SD
* And you know that because...
Do you think it impossible God migh have CHOSEN to be born on that date? God uses Grace to build upon nature. nature. I think God make a great choice..talk about a sense of humor. "These clowns worship the Sun? OK, soon hey really WILL worship the Son"
I've been laughing for days at the people who think that calling a decorated evergreen a "Holiday tree" rather than a "Christmas tree" somehow denigrates the Savior.
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