Print
Is Christmas Contaminated?
I had a colleague (this was years ago) who was assigned to a small town church whose members opposed any celebration of Christmas. When December came, the church members would drive past and peer in the parsonage windows, to check whether the new pastor’s family had Christmas decorations. So when my friend’s wife insisted they have a Christmas tree for their little boy, they had to set it up in the bathtub, that being the only room the church members couldn’t readily see into!
That Christmas is contaminated by paganism and popery is an article of faith to Jehovah’s Witnesses, and pops up occasionally among the rest of us. Here, at least, one needn’t rely on florid imaginings to fuel his or her paranoia, for unquestionably some of the trappings of Christmas—trees, candles, holly and mistletoe—can be sourced back to pre-Christian winter solstice celebrations. When this became known among the 17th century Cromwellians, they banned Christmas altogether.[1]
As long as I’m not its target, I find mildly entertaining the idea that a certain thing shouldn’t be done or enjoyed or expressed or looked at for no other reason than that if you trace back far enough you’d find it was done or enjoyed or expressed or looked at by someone whose beliefs differed from ours. So if ancient pagans found evergreen boughs cheering in the dead of winter, we shouldn’t decorate with them or we may, without knowing it, become a little pagan ourselves.
I suppose these things could be explained in Jungian terms as archetypal symbols that attack Christianity in our subconscious, silent carriers of a spiritual ebola, like Satanic messages backmasked in “Stairway to Heaven.” I’ve never heard an explanation that coherent, though. Usually it smells of superstition, like bad luck emanating from the number 13. Someone said to me once of the symbol of the cross, “When you use that symbol you are actually worshipping Tammuz, whether you know it or not!” Another time a woman accused me that the medieval paintings of the Holy Family I’d used in the slides for my Christmas sermon had introduced demonic presences into the church, because the subjects had halos, which she believed, in her extensive study of all things spiritually befouling, had some such sinister significance. (I wasn’t sure, and am not to this day, what damage was supposed to have occurred in the congregation, because everyone else assumed the halos showed the radiance of God’s glory until she told them otherwise—which raises the question of who introduced the alleged demons. Fortunately, even after seeing the pictures, the rest of the church members didn’t seem any more demonic than usual.)
I suspect this way of thinking is better explained by another Jungian concept: the dark shadow side of the personality that tries to process, in the tenebrous antechambers of the subconscious and under other (sometimes unrelated) figures, unadmitted fears and shameful aggressions. For almost always these symbol interpretations are illogical, rooted in fear, and employed for spiritual one-upmanship.
As for Christmas, I’m inclined to agree with Charles Dickens, one of two people most responsible for the revival of the holiday: “I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore. though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it.” (The other Christmas revivalist was Queen Victoria, who from childhood had loved traditional Christmas customs. She married her cousin, the German Prince Albert, who brought with him from Saxe-Coburg a robust Christmas tradition. After the royal family was pictured in a popular magazine engraving standing by a decorated tree, everyone wanted one.)
Interestingly, our own Victorian founder didn’t think Christmas particularly sinister. Ellen White did with the Christmas tree what we have occasionally accused Roman Catholicism of doing with other pagan practices: she co-opted it for a good purpose, recommending that “churches present to God Christmas trees in every church, and then let them hang thereon the fruits of beneficence and gratitude—offerings coming from willing hearts and hands, fruits that God will accept as an expression of our faith and our great love to Him for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.”[2] Some believers questioned this: “Some have said to me, ‘Sister White, what do you think of this? Is it in accordance with our faith?’ I answer them, ‘It is with my faith.’”[3]
We needn’t rely on the doubtful significance of pagan traditions to identify the spiritual problem with Christmas. It’s hiding in plain sight. When a Friday named after the change in ink color on retailers’ balance sheets becomes a sort of ersatz holiday, then we know that some deep cultural currents have intersected and crossed. I know it’s a familiar and tiresome rant, but it’s no less true for having been said before: what irony that an infant born in poverty, choosing as an adult to live in poverty, is celebrated by gluttish consumption! Yet in our gimme culture this may be the the closest we can come to understanding Christmas, for our giving good gifts to our children is at least a sort of louche adaptation of a comparison Jesus made to our heavenly father’s willingness to give good gifts to us.[4]
Thank God, all the allure of free market capitalism is no match for that barn-born babe! A favorite passage from Frederick Buechner: “The claim that Christianity makes for Christmas is that at a particular time and place God came to be with us Himself. When Quirinius was governor of Syria, in a town called Bethlehem, a child was born who, beyond the power of anyone to account for, was the high and lofty One made low and helpless. The One who inhabits eternity comes to dwell in time. The One whom none can look upon and live is delivered in a stable under the soft, indifferent gaze of cattle. The Father of all mercies puts Himself at our mercy.”[5]
Whatever else happens at Christmas, it reminds us that God loved us so much that He became, through Jesus, vulnerable to us. The Father of all mercies placed himself at our mercy. And He remains vulnerable. God still rejoices with us, still weeps with us. He loves to see us succeed, and His heart still breaks for us when we fail. He would die for us again were it necessary. Whatever fearful meanings should be found skulking in the Yuletide frippery, let us remember that Jesus’ birth disclosed the world-changing power of the incarnation with perfect clarity, without camouflage or encryption. It is all there on the surface of the story: that He loves us more than His own life, that He is far stronger than the enemy, that we need not live in fear. This is the reason for joy in the world. And when all the crumpled wrapping paper has been stuffed in the bin, the dead tree left at the curb, the decorations replaced in the attic, and the toys pushed to the back of the closet, what is left is this: God came to be with us Himself, and that changed everything.
[1] They believed the Bible specifically condemned Christmas trees in Jeremiah 10:13-14: "For the customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan. People deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move."
[2] Review and Herald, December 11, 1879
[3]Review and Herald, January 29, 1884
[4] Mt. 7:12
[5] Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons by Frederick Buechner & Brian D. McLaren, p.93
User login
Recent
- Joe Erwin Ethics, Evolution, and Ben Carson
- dl Ethics, Evolution, and Ben Carson
- Maggie Ethics, Evolution, and Ben Carson
- Anonymouswon Ethics, Evolution, and Ben Carson
- dl Ethics, Evolution, and Ben Carson
- Maggie Ethics, Evolution, and Ben Carson
- dl Ethics, Evolution, and Ben Carson
- Carrol Grady Should Seventh-day Adventists be Republicans?
- Sirje Ethics, Evolution, and Ben Carson
- Fred Eastman The Role of Institutions in Evangelism – A Call to the Adventist Business Community
Newsletter
Organizations
Fri, 08/31/2012 - Sun, 09/02/2012
Job Dybdahl, Sigve Tonstad, Harri Kuhalampi
Sat, 09/08/2012
|
San Diego Adventist Forum
Sigve Tonstad, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Religion, Loma Linda
University
Current Issue
Not yet a subscriber? Subscribe today!
It is funny how Adventists make a big deal out of worship on Sunday, saying it was the day the Pagans worshiped the Sun god, but then go ahead and keep the 25th of December as a holy day, when it really is the birth day of the Sun god. The Xmas tree represents the rebirth of Nimrod!
So if it is ok to keep Xmas now as a celebration of Christ's birthday, even though it is really the Pagan Sun Gods, than why shouldnt Christians be able to keep Sunday as the day of Christ's glorious resurrection?
I know several SDAs who think that celebrating your own birthday is "paganism". It seems to be something lots of Messianic Jews believe in, too.
Also, Christmas isn't connected to Babylonian mythology (Nimrod). It's based on customs appropriated from the Roman festival of Saturnalia. If you're going to be obsessed with the supposed pagan origins of everything, at least get your history correct.
Actually Christmas is on December 25th because it is 9 months after the feast of the Annunciation which is on March 25th. It has nothing to do with the sun god or Nimrod. Pagans were quite aware that Christians were not pagans.
Here's a great piece on why Christmas is on December 25. Father Jim is correct that the winter solstice celebration isn't the only theory.
http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/christmas.asp
Thank you for a balanced article on a topic that confuses many people. I have often wondered why any ancient pagan tradition should be a threat to us now. Should we stop playing any instrument or tune that was once used for a pagan dirge? The meaning of an object only matters in its context for those using it.
Comparing Christmas to Sabbath is like comparing apples to oranges. The reason we keep the seventh-day Sabbath is because Jesus has asked us to, but there is nothing wrong with worshiping on Sunday or Monday or any other day. We can't keep Sunday as holy because it was never made holy and set aside by God. As created beings we have no authority to make any day holy. Celebrating Christmas on a pagan date doesn’t make that day holy either. It is simply a traditional time to remember that God came down to live among us and share our struggles. Since we do not know the exact date it hardly matters when we celebrate. Because most of the Christian world is thinking of Jesus during this time, much good will can be spread among Adventists and our Christian friends when we join in mutual celebration. The incarnation is a point that we can all acknowledge--the wonder of Emmanuel--God with us!
It's pretty sad when any Christian, Adventist or not, feels they must live an inauthentic life (i.e. hiding their Christmas tree in the tub) because someone else feels the need to pressure (bully) them into living out their pet convictions. We once had a church member visit our house, take one glance at our Christmas lights and tell us they could no longer hang out with us because we celebrated Christmas. (The friendship continued despite their initial fears.) If people desire their friends to think exactly like them, the friendship is probably not a good match.
If Jesus were physically walking among us today, I think He would be much more concerned about the way we treat others than the innocuous pagan instruments and symbols on our bodies and in our houses. As a matter of fact, I imagine anyone who takes pride in NOT celebrating Christmas, would probably have their pride targeted by Jesus. He might say:
"How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, 'We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.' John came fasting and they called him crazy. I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riffraff. Opinion polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating." -Matthew 11:16-19
Thank God for the exquisitely balanced perspective on Christmas we find in the writings of Ellen White!! Just look up the word "Christmas" on the Ellen White CD-ROM, and you will see how utterly groundless it is for any professedly conservative Adventist to attack the Christ-centered recognition of this season.
And for those living in Berrien Springs who might be on this blog, come down Grove Street alongside the University entrance, and you'll see the display of decorative lights outside my house. My place is the jewel of the block this year!!
God bless!
Pastor Kevin Paulson
Let's see. The Egyptians committed circumcision and so did Israel when they left. The Babylonians honored Saturnsday. So did Israel when they left. The Babylonian calendar's months synchronized with the new moons and had Babylonian names. So did Israel's when they left. The Canaanites had two room temples facing east with the holiest room in the western half. So did the Israelites. Many pagan gods were believed to be born of virgins and to be the son of god. Etc. Etc.
Do we want to dump all these features?
No successful religion has ever started from scratch.
Harry
The reason we keep the seventh-day Sabbath is because Jesus has asked us to?
Where can you find that?
And Xmas and Easter are Babylonian festivals. December 25 is celebrated as the birth day of the Sim God all around the world by different cultures who had no contact with each other.
Vote up!
0
Vote down!
0
The reason we keep the seventh-day Sabbath is because Jesus has asked us to?
Where can you find that?
And Xmas and Easter are Babylonian festivals. December 25 is celebrated as the birth day of the Sun God all around the world by different cultures who had no contact with each other.
The problem isn't so much where some of the Christmas traditions originated but what is our focus. Do we tell our children that Christmas is all about Jesus, but they can see from our actions that it's all about Santa Claus and his 12 reindeer bringing presents?
It's the mixture of the Christian and the pagan/common/mundane that ruins Christmas for SDA's. Singing about Christ the King one minute and Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer the next. If it was one or the other I wouldn't mind and would probably be more inclined to celebrate it, but because it's both, I'd rather not spoil a golden opportunity to share Christ by mixing it with silliness.
Likewise with Easter, do we tell people we're commemmorating the death and resurrection of Jesus but they can see from our actions that all we're interested in is eating a lot of chocolate eggs and easter bunnies?
If studied too closely, one will find that all religions have so many mutual symbols and practices, and as Harry Elliott said above:
"No successful religion has ever started from scratch."
Along with Nathan, I'm waiting for the request Jesus made for us to keep Sabbath. After the cross, when the veil in the temple was rent, signifying the death of the Old Covenant, there is not one mention of the sabbath being a sign or a benefit, nor is there any hint that sabbath-breaking is a sin, totally contrary to the Jewish law.
Of such assumptions are dogmas created.
Elaine
About appropriating pagan holidays for Christian symbols -
When ... you displace the (heathen) nations take heed ... that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, "How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise." YOU SHALL NOT WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD IN THAT WAY; FOR EVERY ABOMINATION TO THE LORD WHICH HE HATES THEY HAVE DONE TO THEIR GODS; ..... WHATEVER i COMMAND YOU, BE CAREFUL TO OBSERVE IT; YOU SHALL NOT ADD TO IT NOR TAKE AWAY FROM IT. - cherry picking time!
Sorry, that was Deuteronomy 12.
Christmas is pagan through and through and should not be celbrated by Christians especially those who do not worship on Sunday.Part of the reason EGW should not be seen as a messenger of God is because she was so wishy washy about Xmas.
If one must keep Xmas do it in the spirit of the pagans lots of booze and self indulegence and do not bring Christ into it at all. He might forgive sin but He never forgave hyprocracy.
Here where I live the local SDA church participates in the Xmas foolishness with all the Sunday keeping churches. It is only the JWs that stand firm at Xmas time.
Strange no one has focused on the commercial emphasis on Christmas. Jewlery, Cars, Victoria Secret, food, food, food, gifts, gifts, gifts.
The Incarnation but a whisper. Emmanuel the Lord With Us Forgotten. Betty and I enjoy the Messiah and family--the great grandchildren get gifts. We thank God for another year under His Grace.
Tom Z
Harry, the Aztecs had pyramids so they must have gotten them from Egypt. Similarity doesn't mean descent. Also many of the alleged pagan aspects of Christianity are overblown.
>>Strange no one has focused on the commercial emphasis on Christmas. Jewlery, Cars, Victoria Secret, food, food, food, gifts, gifts, gifts.
Tom, it's in the article.
Loren
I was addressing the commentary Sir. Tom Z P.S. I read the article thank you.
Nathan the Prophet--
It is true that Jesus didn't ask us to keep the Sabbath in any of the gospels. OK, so that issue is settled.
So, just as a starting point, where did Jesus say that it was a sin to observe Christmas or have a tree?
Review Harry Elliott's comments above. His list is just the beginning of things that Israel was "commanded" to do that were predated in other surrounding cultures. You can add baptism to his list. John the Baptist wasn't the first. Essenes weren't the first. Instances of pagan baptism appear to have predated any Christian or pre-Christian practice of baptism.
Thus, it cannot be _inherently_ evil to borrow and transform meaning from pagan culture. If one takes scripture at its word, God himself has done that. One _could_ argue that only God has the authority to borrow and sanctify practices of Pagan culture. But if that's what you're arguing, then it would be difficult for you to ascertain if God _had_ actually spoken to someone else to do that. Unless, of course, your Capital-P-Prophetic office qualifies you to decide.
On the other hand, 1 Corinthians 8 demonstrates that there is nothing wrong with eating something offered to pagan idols. Yet for the sake of "the Weak" and their consciences, believers should avoid it. Why? Because we don't want to cause a weak Christian, even a weak Capital-P-Prophet, to stumble.
So here's my offer. I will consider scaling back on my Christmas celebration when you admit that your philosophy is a sign of your weakness rather than your knowledge about God and "gods."
-- Tim
Jesus, as the Creator (John 1) blessed and hallowed the Sabbath day at creation. Jesus, according to Paul was the rock the Children of Isreal drank from and some believe it was Jesus who wrote out the Ten Commandments with His own finger. Regardless of how we interpret those events, if we believe Jesus' own words that the Father and He are one, then He is the Lord of the Sabbath. How the Sabbath should be celebrated is less obvious.
Christmas is a warm, wonderful time of family reunions, and beautiful music, of devotional reminders of our Savior. That is why we love Christmas so much.
Friends
Just like many issues in life "balance" and "common sense" come into play in how we view this issue.
Our local SDA church/school rents the Yreka Community Theater and adjacent community center for our yearly Christmas gift to our community, in the form of our musical (religious in nature) program followed by a dessert reception for the attendees. This is performed by our church with the addition of numerous community members who also like to sing in the choir etc. This years program marked the 30 th year we have done this. The community looks forward to this and we combine this with asking the community to bring canned food to the program that goes to the community food pantry that many organizations support. We "sell out" the theater on Friday and Saturday night each year and the food collected is a great help to the pantry.
I have always viewed Christmas as a truly "family" celebration. When I was growing up in Takoma Park my Father and I always had a fun time together putting up lights outside our home in addition to the tree indoors. This has turned into a fun tradition since we arrived in Yreka. The day after Thanksgiving we go into the local mountains and harvest a number of trees for our family and other community groups like the YMCA. It is a fun family event that my kids look forward to each year and travel from far and near to attend!! I also enjoy putting up outdoor lights at our home and also at our local hospital. The neighbors and the hospital employees get great enjoyment from this tradition. Some will even ask me when the lights are "going up" if I am a little late.
Is it wrong to bring joy to the community and our neighbors?? I think you know the answer to that one!!
This also builds a sense of friendship and comm"unity" that is sorely needed in this age of "self first".
This is what Jesus is emphasizing in John 15 where He says the relationship He treasures most is "friendship"!!
Commercialization of Christmas is a matter of choice and how we choose to celebrate Christmas says a great deal about the "picture of God" we want to share with the world and our own church family. It is a great opportunity to share our God with the community!!
Merry Christmas to you all !!
Fred
ROFL!
"Fortunately, even after seeing the pictures, the rest of the church members didn’t seem any more demonic than usual."
ROFL!
Looks like Ebenezer Scrooge's grandchildren still have the old "Chrismas Spirit"!
Elaine
Ha!....I just found this delightful blog about how many think that Dickens had alot to do with how we celebrate Chrimas now.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16184487
Jesus DID come to Earth, He WAS born as a child unto Joseph and Mary. We may not know for sure which day of the year it was, but we should celebrate and remember THAT event. If people do not like having it in December, then they could try to push that celebration to another time, say in June or whenever, and that is fine too.
We remember the Sabbath because it marks the creation of this world. But without the birth of Jesus Christ, remembering the creation would be useless because we would all be lost. So as much as we celebrate the creation, we need to remember the event that marks the moment when God's plan for Salvation for this world, became a reality.
Jesus never asked anyone to celebrate His birthday. Quite the opposite there is no record whatsoever as to when He was born. However He did ask us to follow Him and sorry but buying overpriced trash made in China and giving it to people who don't need it is not the way to do it.
The joy of little children on Xmas morning soon turns to tears when the junk gets busted before dinnertime.
We are a sick society but it gets even sicker around Xmas time.
If you all want to learn the truth about Xmas and Easter, watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GF5iRgYWpo
Goetia, you haven't read a thing here have you?
"It's the mixture of the Christian and the pagan/common/mundane that ruins Christmas for SDA's. Singing about Christ the King one minute and Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer the next. If it was one or the other I wouldn't mind and would probably be more inclined to celebrate it, but because it's both, I'd rather not spoil a golden opportunity to share Christ by mixing it with silliness." --Pagophilus
Leave objectionable silliness aside. No one forces us to sing about Rudolph, etc. Christmas & Easter provide wonderful opportunities for witnessing because everyone's aware of the holidays & so the authentic religious aspects are easy to emphasize. To not celebrate them, simply leaves the impression that one is a member of a non-Christian faith or of no faith at all.
And when are we ever able to be spiritual outside of the constraints of the common/mundane? The baby Jesus took on all the commonness/mundaneness of humanity, because that's what human means. The King of the universe was born surrounded by farm animals w/ their smells & dirt, to a girl accused of premarital sex, exactly to show that God is with us. Common-mundane we are, & more the miracle that God loves us when that is all we are & have to offer.
____________________________________________________
"be reverent in behavior, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good" titus 2:3
Go Tim!
Shall we discuss Easter next? :-)
hopeful wrote: "To not celebrate them, simply leaves the impression that one is a member of a non-Christian faith or of no faith at all."
But do we want to be identified as a Christian when most people have a warped idea of what Christianity is all about? This is why I would rather be identified as a Seventh-Day Adventist and have to explain it, and not conform to supposed "Christian" traditions because people will think I'm the same as everyone else. Any person with strange ideas about Christ and the Bible an call themselves Christian, but you have to narrow that down considerably to call yourself Seventh-Day Adventist. It's the progressives that would like to broaden that up to be inclusive to the point that we would be just like all other Christians except for the Sabbath - and we would probably eventually lose that too because they would have us give up Creation in 6 days and have no basis for our Sabbath. Then we would be "Christian" just like all the others.
It's when you have a point of difference that you have a chance to get your message across. If you're the same as everyone else your witness gets lost in the noise around you.
I don't want to be known as a Christian when other people monopolize the right to define what a Christian is. It reminds me of a time when a pentecostal-inclined Christian asked me if I was saved. I had to answer "it depends on what you mean by saved". When others hold the definitions, we should be wary of accepting their labels. In an Islamic country I would definitely not like to be known as a Christian, but a Seventh-Day Adventist.
It seems to me that if Christians spent as much time focusing on the Incarnation of Jesus the rest of the year as they do in December, they might have more of a positive impact on the world. To the extent that Christians participate in the commercialization of Christmas; to that extent do they demean the significance of the Incarnation.
In this part of the world most of us have more than we need, and would do better spending our gift money on those who are in real need. It would be more meaningful to give a useful gift to a friend or relative, if it was at another time of year, thus making it a real surprise, and probably more appreciated. Let's face it, most of us expect to get gifts from our parents, children, or close friends. But if we got one in July, and it was just what we needed for whatever . . . .
I'm no Scrooge (may he rest in peace ;) ), but I'm disgusted with all the hype and nonsense that occurs at this "festive" season.
Excellent and well written article. I too am puzzled that Satan is thought to have dibbs on any sort of symbols or imagery he may have employed. I also agree that focusing on hidden symbols and meanings distract from the obvious ways in which the Christian meaning of Christmas is distorted.
Pago, don't worry. I won't accuse you of being a Christian.
There is a danger in seeing our identity in a church name rather than having our identity in Christ which is what it means to be a Christ-follower or Christian. It really doesn't matter who has messed up the name with their bad reputation. The disciples botched the job first, but Jesus didn't disown them. If we use an institution to identify ourselves we are doing exactly what the people did who killed Jesus. Who were better "Seventh-day Adventists" than the Jews? Their point of reference was their denomination and they took pride in separating themselves from others and the end result was that they didn't recognize God when He came and killed Jesus. We would do well to learn from their mistake and identify with Christ first and foremost above everything else. Christ's birth is the grandest event to ever grace our world with the exception of the resurrection. Celebrate His birth with other Christians or celebrate alone, but by all means please celebrate!
I fully agree that we should find identity in Christ, that said I don't think there's anything particularly sacred about the term Christian. The Bible only gives passing reference to the term in Acts, in the Apostolic era they seem to have been more identified by the term "The Way." And of course the Bible emphasizes the term Evangelizo, so I suppose Evangelicals have a claim to using the right term. I certainly consider myself a Christian. However, I think Pagophilus has a point that there may be times and places when the term closes the door to conversation rather than opening it, and thus ceases to be a useful identification. I would add that this is certainly also the case with identifying oneself as a Seventh-day Adventist or really any label for that matter.
I guess the question about Jesus asking us to keep the Sabbath would depend on who was Creator, and who gave the law from Sinai. If it was Jesus doing these things, then he was indeed the one who asked us to do it.
While we are on the subject of Christmas (and Easter, too), being "contaminated" with pagan this-that-and-the-other, how about weddings?
For example, the wedding ring has been a topic of debate for years. Many contend that it's a practical sign of one's married state, while others argue against rings for the sake of "adornment." Then some, such as Doug Batchelor, even preach that the wedding ring is of pagan origin (in contrast to the Church Manual which "do[es] not condemn this practice" in most cultures [page 141]).
But then, I have yet to hear of any married couple eschewing a wedding cake as part of the marriage celebration. Besides the possible argument the confection goes against "our health message" with a usually high content of sugar, salt, fat, and refined white flour, it is rooted in ancient "pagan" Roman customs.
The idea of bridesmaids dressing alike was supposed to ward off evil spirits. Even kissing after being pronounced "husband and wife," I've been told, supposedly was a pagan tradition, too (I noticed at That April Wedding in England that the bride and groom did not kiss inside the church!). Carrying flowers was another means to ward off evil spirits, but I have yet to hear of any Adventist church banning this "pagan" practice, either.
We could also bring up Halloween, and write reams of comments and retorts on how "appropriate" it is for us or family member to partake in any aspects of its "pagan" practices such as costumes, trick-or-treating, and carving pumpkins.
And then there is Valentine's Day, which in spite of "pagan" Roman roots in fertility festivals, it's naked winged baby mascot (also a pagan god), and strong ties to Catholic traditions, it is still approved of by the North American Adventist subculture. This is evidenced by Valentine exchanges in "our" elementary schools, Valentine's Banquets by "our" academies and colleges, and even "our" churches will throw Valentine's dinners as well.
Yet with all this debate on whether one practice or another is deemed sinful, sanitized, or sacrosanct, I sometimes wish that Adventists could have been more inventive by creating holy days and "holidays unto the Lord" (to borrow a phrase from Ellen White) if certain holidays and their symbols are that offensive.
Do we like to point out the "pagan-ness" of things such as Christmas trees, December 25, holly, and mistletoe as a way to encourage people to become closer to Christ? Rather, it seems to me such exposés often become a means of smug finger-pointing in a "holier-than-thou" manner, meant to shame and judge people rather than encourage and edify. But yet as quick as one is to denounce these dubious traditions, there is hardly a positive (let alone fun) alternative offered.
I'm someone who temporarily believed that as a new Adventist. What actually happened is I lost at least one good year of interacting with my extended family and neighbors in a positive way. I lost opportunities to use Christmas as an evangelistic tool. It's a time of year when people expect you to talk about God. You have permission to witness. Refusing to take part in any way leaves a sour taste that can produce negative ripples far into the future. Don't do it. Use the time people! Don't waste it.
Wow! Pagophilus, are you really interested in eating Easter bunnies?
Explaining the mysteries of incarnation and resurrection to our children is difficult. But they know joy without explanation, and long for its sweetness. I sense that the real concern for some Adventists may be a need to stamp out joy and gladness wherever they glow.
Carol June Hooker
>Part of the reason EGW should not be seen as a messenger of God is because she was so wishy washy about Xmas.<
I'm always fascinated by people building their whole philosophy around one issue. This reminds me of a passage I read by a Victorian prohibitionist, who said something to the effect that if Jesus drank wine, he was not a Christian. When we evaluate each person and each truth by one issue, it's bound to get very distorted.
Thank you, Loren, for your excellent essay and also for your gracious responses to your critics. I am afraid I could not conscienciously be so "gracious". By such thoughts as have been posted here... and the example with which you opened your essay... I am reminded of Jesus' words about those who "offend one of the little ones".
I met these negative sentiments for years when I was active on SDAnet. I had thought that by now surely all those among us who try to blacken Christmas by throwing handfuls of pagan "mud" on it would have seen how it is they who perpetuate the very thing they claim to be against... so-called pagan connections with Christmas.
I apologize in advance for the length of my post which will follow.... I hope it will help some who are honestly disturbed by and struggling with these issues to come to the Peace and Joy of the Christmas season.
Oh Come Let Us Adore Him ...
It was 1992 when I wrote and first posted this essay as a "Christmas card" to my net families. I wrote it originally as a response to a debate that raged on SDAnet the first Christmas that I was a part of that group over whether we as Christians, and especially as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, should observe Christmas in celebration of the birth of Christ.
It was indeed encouraging to me when after posting this essay that year, I received a very heart-warming letter in which the writer expressed thanks for the new peace that had come to their home in regard to celebrating Christmas....and how they had, for the first time, been able to reconcile the observance of Christmas with the facts of its pagan associations and its not being the actual day of Christ's birth.
Each Christmas season since then I have sent it again to my net family, as well as making it available year round on this section of our At Issue pages, hoping that those who enter in to the joy of the season may find some new thoughts about the holiday you hold dear...and that those who may have had prohibitions or reservations about celebrating Christmas may be encouraged to look at the day in a more joyful way...and join with us, and with the angels, in singing...
Joy to the world,
The Lord is come....
Reflections on Christmas...
...and solstice and pagans and Jews and Gentiles and times and seasons and angels' songs and Christmas trees--and a baby born in a stable.
On winter Solstice... Could one born in the tropics comprehend the long, dark, winter arctic night? Or even we of temperate zones, in our warm, well lighted rooms--what can we know of the feelings of earlier tribes who watched the sunlit hours grow fewer and fainter each day, until there was solstice and the sun stopped its retreat and began to return. Those who knew the Lord--that it was He who made the sun, and ordered the seasons--these surely celebrated and gave Him thanks, and praised the Lord when they saw the sun returning. When they saw the season turning, surely they worshiped Him.
But not all knew the Lord. Some saw only the things that were made--the sun and the earth that provided their food. And they (some ignorantly, some willfully) turned from worshiping the Lord to worshiping instead those things the Lord had made. We call them pagans. At the turning of the season they called solstice, they celebrated, and gave thanks, and praised and worshiped those things that were but the signs of the turning of the year.
And then came Jesus. And Christians chose the solstice celebration and appropriated it as a celebration of His coming. And some Christians think this was a very bad thing to do--for Solstice had "pagan origins", and Christ was not born at Solstice.
But think with me a little farther. Perhaps it should not be so quickly condemned.
First of all, did Pagans really *originate* the celebrations of Solstice? I tend to agree with C. S. Lewis when he observes that Satan does not "originate" anything. He has no creative power. He only rebels, he perverts, he turns men from worshiping the creator to worshiping the creation. But it is the function of the gospel to turn men's hearts back to worshiping the true God. So why should we think of Solstice as being only a pagan holiday which was "Christianized"? (This term meaning, I suppose, only a thin veneer of respectability which covers a pagan--and therefore evil--heart.) Might we not better think of it as a holiday, a holy day--a day of celebration, praise, and worship which Christianity reclaimed--that is, removed its pagan heart--and redirected its praise and worship back to the true Creator God?
It is true, Christ was not born at winter solstice as men count the turning seasons of the year. Yet Christ was born at winter solstice--in the turning of the history of the world.
When "the light of truth seemed to have departed from among men, when faith had grown dim, and hope had well-nigh ceased to illuminate the future." when "the dark shadow that Satan had cast over the world grew deeper and deeper," when even the "priests who ministered in the temple had lost sight of the significance of the service they performed," when "the deception of sin had reached its height," when all the world, it seemed, lived in an arctic winter darkness...
"When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son". . . "Wonder, O heavens! And be astonished, O earth!" (quotes from Desire of Ages by Ellen White) Then it was that angels brought light and song and celebration to temple shepherds keeping watch...for Christ the Lord was born that day! It was "Christ-mas" day--the first glimmer of the "return of the Son", the beginning of God's "Christ-mass"--"Christ- sacrifice"--that was to culminate at Gethsemane and Calvary and burst forth on the resurrection morning in light more glorious than the noonday summer sun.
The gods of field and forest and star and sun and Roman Empire were shown to be no gods. And the day of praise which they had usurped was given back to God. The day of celebrations for the sun's return was made a day of celebration for the coming of the Sun of Righteousness, the babe in the manger.
Oh, yes, from our vantage point in history, we know that not all men gave their full allegiance to the King of Kings. We know that Christians allowed pagan thoughts to infiltrate the church, causing a period of great darkness even in the church. We know that Christians today are not single minded in their worship. We even know that paganism is arising again, that Christ is being outlawed from public schools and government property while neo-pagan and Gaia (earth) rituals are encouraged. Solstice is once more being celebrated by some. So let's be against pagan elements that have clung to (or grown upon) the holy day called Christmas. Let's be against the secular commercialization of Christmas. But please! Let's not let (or help) these same elements squeeze Christ out of our Christmas!
If the celebration of solstice had not existed, would Christians have started it? We just might have--we who lived in lands of ice and snow and long winter nights--we just might have. Darkness is depressing. We just might have cheered each other with tales of light and song and Bethlehem. I hope we would have. Maybe, in fact, we did. Our present day pagans (and their true leader) would like to take credit for much more than history actually records. Let us not glorify them. Paganism never quite lives up to its own self-portrait.
There's a song that keeps running through my head, "Christmas helps us to remember, to do what other folks hold dear." Not all the spending, or even the over-spending, that goes on at Christmas has to do with "greed" or gratification of "lusts". This is the time of year when we can lay aside our timidities and give to those we love. What if we sacrifice a bit of our selves. What if the merchant is enriched as well as our friend--it's Christmas. God gave Himself to us. It is that thought that helps us step outside ourselves and give a bit extra to each other.
At our house, we have a tree. It is a fir tree. (We can still get real trees where I live--though we can't go out and cut our own as we once did.) It will die. And as it dies it will release its perfume. More than it does in its living, it will bless us in its dying. I see symbolism here that looks beyond the manger to a life of blessing and a death of saving. We have lights on our tree--and an angel on the top--the one my oldest son picked out the Christmas he was five. We will remember--stars and angels and Bethlehem and Christmases past. Our tree trimmings all have history--some we made when our children were little, some were gifts from very dear friends, some are merely decorative. Our traditions bind us as a family--and not just our visible family. We celebrate the birthday of our Elder Brother.
For you who do not see beyond the commercialization or paganization of Christmas, I pray that your eyes may be opened. May you see, and feel, and know, along with those of us who celebrate, the peace and love and joy and hope that is kindled anew with each remembrance of His birth.
For you who sing the songs of Christmas...May your hearts open to his love and peace in a new and joyfully intense way on this Christmas.
God bless,
Bille
http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/Christmas/reflections.htm
Yes, Tom and others, Christmas is big business with chimes making carollike noise in the malls since six weeks now, with the whole Vienna downtown air full of alchol fumes from the booths selling hot punch - for charity of course -- - but this perversion of the feast showed up only in the time about after WW II. I had acquaintances born around 1880, out of families with good economical state - Christmas peresents to the little ones were austere - one little homemade block of marzipan and one orange for each - , not so the singing and the midnight worship.
And you do not get the beautiful Christmas greetings cards any more, not even downtown - because people do no more want to be reminded of the "Newborn King" and it might offend the Muslims.
Fr. Jim, I believe there was Christmas first and then Annuciation came into the calendar - both dates are random as in concern of the real happening, just like some emperors or queens birthday being celebrfated on a day with most probably good weather for the parade. And I find no Biblical proof for handshakes and if you had taken a flight recently : The mathematics used to construct the aircraft come from Babylon as much as the navigation and guiding system. Your churchs tresurer also uses non - Biblical figures and arithmetics for his records.
SDAs misssed a lot of spiritual experience by neglecting the annual possibility to recapituate the first Advent, an event at least two Gospels give detailed attention. (The same with Easter !) - -
Sadly I must say that the really forming impression on Christmas I have comes from my public college maintaining the tradition to have the Christmas Gospel solemnily read in Greek and German every year ( EGENETO DE EN TAIS HMERAIS EIKEINAIS EXHLThEN DOGMA PERA KAISAROS AUGUSTOU APOGRAPhESThAI PASAN THN OIKOUMENHN - - - ) Durng the last years I had the priviledge of traditionally having the sermon on Christmas Sabbath and on Easter Sabbath in our local church. The last one was on Gal 4 : 4 - 5, Jes 9 : 1 and 60 : 2, 40 : 3 and 5, 62 : 10, 11 : 1,2,5,6; Micah
5 : 1,3,4. .
For us in the Northern hemisphere it just is the anual experience of the days getting shorter, the darkness increasing, the cold season coming - - and the first Advent being remembered as the first appearance of the new hopeful light. We always closed the worship with the first chorale taken into J.S. Bachs "Christmas Oratorio" - singing all the stanzas and including the last one : "Er kommt zum Weltgerichte - - " - the vision of the Last Judgement.
Just a humble addition to Billie.
Merry Christmas !
Thanks Billie!!
Excellent thoughts and perspective and "balance"!!!
May we all continue to bring the message of "Joy" to a hurting world, especially now!!!
Fred
PS I tried to give you a "two thumbs up" but it would only let me vote once!!
:>)
For those who are concerned about the "connotation" of being unduly "cast" as a "Christian" , a short anecdote story.
Graham Maxwell was flying on a long airplane flight in years past and was working on some paperwork etc. while on the way. A fellow passenger struck up a conversation and asked Graham "are you a Seventh-day Adventist?" Graham, wisely asked him, "what do you think an SDA is?" The passenger then recited a list of "negatives" that he thought represented "SDA beliefs", most of which were rather trivial with a healthy dose of legalism tossed in for good measure. Then Graham responded, "by that definition NO I am not a SDA!!"
Graham then went on to have a good conversation with the gentleman and largely set the record straight with his beliefs. It turned out to be a very good opportunity to "witness" for his understanding of God and turned into a very positive experience!!
Christmas presents that same "opportunity" to each one of us!! I recommend we "seize the moment" for good and for God, so to speak!!
Fred
Fred
Loren, thank you for your powerful eloquent essay on the meaning (and necessity) of Christmas. Tom Z. even the commercialism isn't all bad. The American economy (therefore Americans) will be helped this year if everyone would go out and do a bit of Christmas (or Hannakuh and Kwanzaa) shopping.
g, see the links. The reason the date was picked was because of when the conception occurred. In the East they celebrated the Annunciation on April 6th which is why Orthodox Christmas is on January 6th.
Karen
The profit of Chrstmas commercialism is gained largely by the non-Christian world. Gift giving is not a sin even at Christmas--but trafficing on the name and nativity of Christ is. Note that Christ chased out the money lenders from the Temple twice. I used my Christmas present this morning---a new set of bath towels.
Tom Z
When one wants to do something bad enough one will always find a way to salve ones conscience and pretend it is okay.
But there is a reason the Bible is silent on which day Jesus was born and not just because it was quite a bit soon after the wedding..The 25th of December is pagan through and through and no amount of self righteous double talk will change that period.
I can see where Fr Jim is coming from because his religion is based on the pagan culture of old Rome but for SDAs who claim Rome is the w-----of Babylon it is unacceptable that they have anything to do with the pagan Xmas.
Thank you g.svrcek-seiler and Fred Eastman for your affirmation and amplification of my thoughts on Christmas. It is, I think, important... and true... in this area as in so many other areas of life the we see what we look for. We become that on which we focus. And the picture we hold and share of ourselves is the only picture some will ever have of us.
I would like others to know that both the Advent Season and the Christmas season is not overlooked in the vast majority of Adventist churches and publications nor is there any official voice which denigrates celebration of this season in the way that some have done here on Spectrum. Those not familiar with Adventism and its history should be made aware that the smearing of Christmas with accusations of pagan connections comes from those who pay way too much attention to the voices from communions other than ours. They are an intrusion into Adventism, not, as some have claimed, the voice of "true Adventists".
But enough comment of a negative sort. I'll move back to the positive.
Bille
Several years ago, when I was more active in building up the At Issue site, I had dreams of a collection of articles on both Advent and Christmas. Unfortunately, those dreams never materialized, though the initial materials are still there in place. Here is the url of the index page and I'll quote from that here as well as invite you to enjoy some of the material http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/Christmas/index.htm
Here is my introduction there... which is also a position statement, and one that I still hold.
------
For centuries, even though we have no record of the actual date of his birth, Christians have observed December 25 in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ. Because many religions of the world ... and many people of no religion at all ... have celebrations near this same date, some Christians question whether it is acceptable to observe Christmas. We of At Issue believe that it is. We have no objections to the secular and mythic elements in personal celebrations. But we believe that Jesus Christ IS "the reason for the season", and that as Christians, we should keep uppermost in our minds the religious significance of Christ's birth, which we celebrate with a special intensity during this season of the year.
We also note that many do not understand this significance. If Christians do not tell them, who will? Materials on our site, therefore, are written with this dual purpose in mind ... to remind ourselves as Christians how important the incarnation of Christ is, and to enlighten those who do not yet understand. We believe in Christmas. We believe that Christians should actively celebrate it, in private family gatherings, in the church family, and in reaching out beyond these 'families' to those in need ... whether that need be for physical help, emotional support, or spiritual nourishment and invitation to join in worship of Jesus Christ, God's supreme gift to the world.
-------
Oh come let us adore Him . . .
Christ the Lord.
-----------------------------------------------
I submit to you that this is an accurate reflection of the views of the Adventist church as a whole, and is the one that predominates in most Adventist churches today. Obviously there are SDAs and ex-SDAs as well as others do not share this view. I would hope that they would be gracious enough to the rest of us so that they would present their views as their own rather than as somehow representative of the SDA church.
In separate posts I'll share with you two essays from our site, "The Meaning of Christmas" by Tony Zbaraschuk and "The Light in God's Window", by Dave Sparks.
I would hope that these might spark more positive posts from those who also value Christmas as a special season of rejoicing in the Gift of God's Son.
Bille
Thank you for this balanced and humorous look at Christmas.
I guess the question about Jesus asking us to keep the Sabbath would depend on who was Creator, and who gave the law from Sinai. If it was Jesus doing these things, then he was indeed the one who asked us to do it.
-----------------------__------------
Alan needs to read Galatians, and also learn about the Old and the New Covenant!
abe, it has nothing to do with paganism. Catholics were persecuted by pagans for not being pagan. They knew the difference even if you don't. But let's play the game. In the OT temple the Jews sacrificed animals to God. At the same time in pagan temples they sacrificed animals to their gods. So the Jews were imitating the pagans, right? So the Jews were pagans, right? But I don't think you will get it. As one Protestant minister said "prejudice did not get into the bigot by reason and it won't be gotten out by reason."
g.svcek-seiler, you mention it: what would be Christmas without Bach....He has used his unique God-given talent to celebrate Christmas. I have heard people say: there is a God, because there is Bach...
No doubt here, God was and is using our Christmas celebration and Bach, with or without Christmas tree..once you are in one of those wonderful cathedrals, listening to the Christmas Oratorio, you just don't care if there is a tree or not and where it came from...
As promised earlier today, here is the essay by Tony Zbaraschuk as found on the At Issue website at http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/Christmas/meaning.htm
I have always thought he made some very good points in this. "Something to think about".
-------------------------------
The Meaning of Christmas
Be it admitted from the start that we do not know the day on which our Lord was born. His early biographers did not think it of sufficient importance to record.
We do not know why the Church chose to celebrate that birth when they did. Perhaps to stay concealed from Roman sight, perhaps to assimilate converts more easily, perhaps because old traditions told them that it was the day, after all. But they chose better than they knew, when they picked the turning of the seasons to celebrate the turning of the ages.
Winter is the season of despair. It is the time when darkness creeps over the earth, when hunger huddles around a dying fire, when sorrow rises and spirits fall. This is less evident today than long ago; today we can summon light at our will by flicking a switch, and bring food from the warm summer on the far side of Earth. But even today, depression is more common in the winter, and accidents more frequent. Winter is the time when all the world seems harsh and hostile.
It was at just such a time that the Lord entered this world. The land in which he was born lay exhausted under the iron hand of empire. A bloody tyrant sat on the throne in Jerusalem, and beyond Herod was the terrible strength of Caesar, master of the world. The priests of that time, even in the chronicles of their own people, are not remembered favorably for learning or compassion. A winter of despair lay over the world.
But amid that winter, the Sun of righteousness rose up to reveal Himself, and the world was changed forever.
How so? What does this season mean, this season in which we celebrate the Incarnation?
It means that God became a human. That is a stunning thing, when you consider it. The Omnipotent surrendering omnipotence, the Monarch subjecting himself to his own subjects, the All-Powerful emptying himself of power, the Maker of the Universe consenting to be bound by the same laws He Himself had made. God would not require of His people anything that He did not also require of Himself. He faced the same tests and dangers that they did, with no strength or support that they did not have.
And in so doing, He would show them who He was, and what moved him. Not power; he had renounced it. Not strength; he had not enough to lift His infant head. No; He came so that He might love us, and show his love. And this is the thing we celebrate this season, when all the world is bleak and love seems far away.
We might celebrate the power of the first words God is recorded to have said: "Let there be light!" We have seen that light ourselves: the first light of Creation still shining between the stars. We might (and do) celebrate the Resurrection, when God showed his strength triumphant even over death, and proved that no power and no law could prevent Him from claiming His own, forever. We might celebrate the sure assurance that the One who left us will return to us, and in His second coming perfect all things.
We might, but then again without Christmas we might not. For if God had not come to us, could we ever have come to Him? Would we even have wanted to, if we knew nothing but that He was the Maker and Ruler of all things? We might have come out of fear, or in trembling obedience, but we would not have come in hope, with joy.
But we come, in love and faith. We are not afraid of the child lying in the manger, or of the boy who grew up in a little village, or of the man who walked and talked in the highways of Galilee and the courts of Jerusalem. When we hear the birth-cry of the Universe, when we look upon the empty tomb, when we shall see the heavens opened and the Son of God descending—we say, and will say again: "We know the One who does this. We know You. Take us to Yourself."
Because He became one of us, we can know Him. Because we know Him, we can love Him.
That is what we celebrate this season. In the words of the hymn:
"Love was when —
God became a man.
Locked in time and space,
Without rank or place."
Merry Christmas, all.
Tony Zbaraschuk
December, 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tony Zbaraschuk is the Special Collections Librarian & Archivist at La Sierra University, Riverside, CA
Here is Part 2 of the video about the truth of Xmas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W52y1USfAg&feature=relmfu
The 25th of December was the birth date of Nimrod's Son, Tammuz.
Nimrod's wife claimed that when Nimrod died he became the Sun God and impregnated her with the rays of the sun, and when Tammuz was born on the 25th of December, she claimed it was the re-birth of Nimrod, the Sun God.
Goetia probably every day on the calendar was a special day for some Pagan ritual at one time or another, and every day on the calendar commemorates tragedies that happened as well. However, that all pleads the question: so what? Should we live in sack cloth and ashes every day lest we unwittingly celebrate a Pagan holiday? Of course then we might unwittingly be following a pagan mourning ritual. Maybe we could just consider that Pagans don't have Dibbs on whatever days they use.
Most human beings in history have been too "insignificant" to have their birthdates recorded, just like the babe of Bethlehem.
"Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, his place is with those others who do not belong, who are rejected by power, because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied the status of persons, tortured, exterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in this world."
—Thomas Merton
____________________________________________________
"be reverent in behavior, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good" titus 2:3
In reply to some who equate Christmas with Sunday, it is my understanding that Christmas does not replace any Jewish or Christian holy day, whereas Sunday clearly replaces the Sabbath.
Rather than avoiding Christmas because of pagan associations, perhaps it was God's purpose to allow it to become a celebration for His followers. Like everything else, it can be used for evil or good; for indulgence and drunkenness or for spiritual renewal.
In Christ's era the date of death was more important than the date of birth and birth dates were not always accurate. Therefore, Easter is more close to the actual date of the crucifixion since it can be tied to Passover. In some countries, Easter is celebrated more than Christmas by Christians. By the way, I don't fault anyone for choosing to take part in Passover at this time even though some consider it "fulfilled." Maybe Easter is a replacement for Passover. I don't think Jesus came to start a new religion, and perhaps we should keep in touch with our Jewis roots. (Just an opinion, and not one I would evangelize on.)
I am seeing such a hypocritical side to all the Adventists commenting on this blog. Look at all the excuses you all are coming up with to hang on to this patched over pagan tradition that started in Babylon, and was kept by other nations, but came through the Roman religion and Roman Catholicism!
You all would rather hang on to tradition here instead of following truth!
What a joke!
Goetia, the pagans also believed in gods who died and rose from the dead. So if you believe that then you believe in paganism. You might want to give up those Jack Chick comics as your New Years resolution.
In reply to some who equate Christmas with Sunday, it is my understanding that Christmas does not replace any Jewish or Christian holy day, whereas Sunday clearly replaces the Sabbath
--------------------------------------------
Christ replaces the Sabbath in the NT and becomes the real rest!
Vote up!
4
Vote down!
-3
Goetia probably every day on the calendar was a special day for some Pagan ritual at one time or another, and every day on the calendar commemorates tragedies that happened as well. However, that all pleads the question: so what? Should we live in sack cloth and ashes every day lest we unwittingly celebrate a Pagan holiday? Of course then we might unwittingly be following a pagan mourning ritual. Maybe we could just consider that Pagans don't have Dibbs on whatever days they use.
--------------------------------------------
Xmas and Easter are Pagan Holy days that started in Babylon, and were kept by the Romans.
When Christianity flourished through the Empire they wanted to join the 2 main religions together, Mithraism and Christianity. So they changed the 2 biggest pagan holy days of the year, Xmas and Easter into Christian holy days.
Why is that so hard to see?
a
Goetia, the article, which you didn't read, refutes that old canard. The ancient Babylonians did not celebrate Easter. Mithraism in fact borrowed from Christianity.
It is hard to see because it is not true.
Hislop was a poor scholar and quite wrong. Ralph Woodrow, a Protestant, once wrote a book updating Hislop. He discovered that Hislop was totally wrong and repudiated him. He has written several books about this. See the following articles:
http://www.ralphwoodrow.org/articles/Xmas-Easter-Cross-Mar-07.pdf
http://www.ralphwoodrow.org/articles/sunday-worship.pdf
Christmas is a contraction of Chrst's Mass. It has a Christian origin--one that is anathma to most bloggers on this site.
Yet regardless the day or season, God sent His angels to annouce the birth. Wise men from the East to bring gifts. There are four glories in the Christ Event. The Glory of the Manger, The Glory of the Cross, The Glory of the Empty Tomb, and the Glory of the Ascention.
Just as the temple service was polluted so has Christmas and Easter. That doesn't mean that either be avoided or denigrated. Both are dear to the Christian heart and mind. Let the Joy Bells Ring.
Tom Z
Christmas is a PAGAN not a Christian festival.
The 25th December was celebrated in ancient days as the birthday of the unconquerable SUN god, (variously know as Tammuz, Mithra, Saturn, Adonis or BAAL) centuries before Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.
Nowhere in the Bible are believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob required to celebrate Christmas.
The early Christian church did not celebrate Christmas. Instead it celebrated the sacred festivals mentioned in the Bible, in Leviticus chapter 23.
In order to win Gentile converts to the Christian faith, the Roman Church, centuries after the apostolic era, adopted this ancient pagan winter festival of the SUN god and renamed it 'Christmas' mistakenly thinking that it would honour the SON of God.
Scholars have for centuries known these facts. They can be confirmed in any reference library.
"it is my understanding that Christmas does not replace any Jewish or Christian holy day, whereas Sunday clearly replaces the Sabbath."
This "understanding" has long been taught by Adventism. Check it out to determine if it is true.
That Christians began meeting on the first day of the week before the end of the first century, it was in celebration of the Resurrection (an unimportant act in Christianity?) and was never a replacement for sabbath. Sabbath observance was never given to Christians. In the entire NT there is not one single text requiring Gentile Christians to observe the seventh day, or any day. This is an old, untruth spread by Adventists, and believed by those who have not checked the records. Write back when you can support this statement by the Bible and history.
Elaine
Good luck getting a reply Elaine. I have now witnessed a hypocritical side to Adventism where they pick and choose what they want to believe!
Seeing as though they refuse to see Xmas for what it really is, I am wondering what sort of explanation they have for a man in a red suit, that gets pulled in a flaming red chariot by reindeer? And also the significance of decorating a pine tree and placing presents beneath it?
How do these things fit in to Christianity?
And when we are done on Xmas, let's take a look at Easter or should I say, Ishtar!
Goetia, in fact it is the opposite. The pagans adopted celebrations on the 25th in order to copy and counter the Christians. But since you worship on the venerable day of Saturn i.e. SATURNday, then you must worship the pagan god Saturn. Tsk tsk. And the real name for east is Pascha btw.
But if you are interested in the truth, however unlikely that is. then read this:
http://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-10-012-v
Another good article:
http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2011/12/dec-25-biblical-argument-of-birth-of...
Goetia,
Let's say that all your comments regarding Christmas are true that Christmas is based on paganism not Christian practices, etc., etc. Most bloggers here will most likely not care because of their past memories and feelings about Christmas . In short, what you say about Christmas simply isn't relevant to them and isn't likely to change their celebrating Christmas as usual.
Kim
First- there are no pagan gods, so worshiping them amounts to nothing - (eating food given to idols - Paul)
Secondly -There are all kinds of holidays that have nothing to do with religion that we all celebrate - New Year; 4th of July; our birthdays; veteran's day; whatever. Christmas is just one of them - hang the stockings, light the Jule log, drink the eggnog - enjoy!
Sirje
I agree. Even the name Christ Mass refers to a Roman Catholic event that they created. It puzzzles me as well how not only Adventists, but all so called Protestant churches all go home to Rome for the pagan feasts like Christ Mass, Ishtar (Easter) and I have also seen some Adventist churches promoting Lent .
I recommend watching this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrdBDar28xk&feature=player_embedded#!