Tis the Season?

Today I made a choice. A choice that goes against the traditions I have grow up around. That tradition is Christmas. If one seeks out the origin of Christmas (Christ Mass) one will find many disturbing things. Christmas is not ordained by our Creator, Advocate and Judge. Seek the truth. The time is short, and it is upon us.

Jesus was not born on December 25th... This is just to a lie from the snake, the serpent of old. I can't sit back and deny Jesus who died on the cross. Does any one else on here feel the same way? Going back to the roots. Being grafted in the true vine and not the vine of Catholicism and Protestant Movement?
 
From what I can glean in some quick research of Luke chapters 1 & 2, as well as some internet sources on the historical and archeological evidence: it appears that Jesus Christ would have been born around mid-summer of year BC 4. (Taking into account the reign of Cyrenius and historical records of the census, tax and archeological evidence supporting these records.)

We can also glean that John the Baptist would have been born in the November-December time frame of year BC5. This is important because it is the key clue in determining Christ's birth month from the Jewish calendar. This should be correct if I am reading the Jewish calendar correctly.

December 25th was associated with a known festival after the winter solstice summed up as the 'Return of the Sun': S-U-N. So we can clearly see the pagan connection here.

The mid-summer BC4 birth date seems to be supported from both Church and secular accounts of examination.

I think most Christians know December 25th is not Christ's actual birth date. I am fairly confident that the early Church knew this as well. What is interesting is that Christ's birth celebration historically has taken over the pagan holiday and December 25th is almost universal recognized as a day to celebrate the coming of the LORD in the flesh.

Now these last few years Christmas has been all but eradicated from the 'Holiday Season' in the USA; at my second job in retail; we have wrapping paper that literally only says "Merry" all over it in different fonts and sizes with no 'Christmas' to be found. "Happy Holidays" is the new norm or "Seasons Greetings". Corporations send out memos every year 'encouraging' their employees not to use the word "Christmas" as not to be offensive to anyone. So it appears that the pagans/ heathens are reclaiming their 'holi-day'.

The only remotely true Christian Holiday on the calendar is Thanksgiving in the USA; which is why the secular world skips it and goes from Halloween, to Black Friday to "Happy Holidays".

"Christ-mass" I don't believe is a totally God sanctioned event; however, it is my belief that God will turn the sin of nations and generations and tribes to His purposes: and I believe that what used to be the traditional Christ honoring "Christmas" in the USA was an example of this.

God ordained 'feasts' and fellowship times in the Bible for us to remember Him; if Christmas was purely an event that remembered what God did for mankind, I believe that God would use it. I believe there is still value in this "Holiday Season"; IF we honor Christ in it. The LORD constantly tells us in His Word to remember what He has done for us so that we don't find ourselves in an estranged relationship with him.

If we DO what God commanded us to do this season,(when hearts seem to be tender) LOVE the lost: preach the Gospel, serve your fellow man, care for the poor, just be like Jesus-would God not honor that? After-all; aren't we ambassadors trying to reach the lost?
 
Yea, I hate this time of year... "Thankgiving" is turning into Turkey Day :( Besides, Jesus was born Oct 8, 7BC [Tishri 15, 3755] :)
 
So, is this scripture about Christmas?

Jeremiah 10:3-5New King James Version (NKJV)
3 For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
5 They are upright, like a palm tree,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”

And if it is, does it condone celebrating Christmas or not?
 
December 25th, though everyone knows is almost certainly not the birth date of Christ, it is regarded as the Feast Day of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord.

It is not evil to focus on this day and give thanks for the gift of the Holy Son. It is not blasphemous to celebrate with family and friends. It is not wrong to go to church to worship Christ on this special day, celebrating His birth.

I understand if this time of year is tough for people -- it is. And I also understand when people get upset about the overshadowing of celebrating Christ with commercialism. But one thing that bothers me is when people try to discourage others from merely taking a day to celebrate the gift of Christ -- to meditate on the obedience Mary and Joseph had to God despite the struggles.

There is nothing edgy, intelligent, or holy about shaming others who do celebrate Christ's birth on this day. It is the climax of the Advent season where people focus on the anticipation of a savior.
 
So, is this scripture about Christmas?

Jeremiah 10:3-5New King James Version (NKJV)
3 For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
5 They are upright, like a palm tree,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”

And if it is, does it condone celebrating Christmas or not?

Maybe... to the pure all things are pure. I love Christmas trees. I love the lights. I celebrate Jesus' birthday, not buying more junk. To each their own. It's not a god to me or a must. I just do it for tradition and fond memories of families long past.
 
Maybe... to the pure all things are pure. I love Christmas trees. I love the lights. I celebrate Jesus' birthday, not buying more junk. To each their own. It's not a god to me or a must. I just do it for tradition and fond memories of families long past.

Hmm...that's an interesting statement...'to the pure all things are pure'.

I'm not saying Christmas is bad or good. I was curious what people thought of that scripture in Jeremiah I had posted.

Me, myself, I don't get much into Christmas other than to think and focus on Christ. I try to shy away from all the commercialism that Christmas has become.

I can enjoy the memories, like you stated, also.
 
So, is this scripture about Christmas?
Jeremiah 10:3-5

This scripture seems to be about demystification of physical idols. A paraphrase might be something like: "Idols don't actually have any power, so you have no reason to be afraid of them. They're just objects made by people."
 
Today I made a choice. A choice that goes against the traditions I have grow up around. That tradition is Christmas. If one seeks out the origin of Christmas (Christ Mass) one will find many disturbing things. Christmas is not ordained by our Creator, Advocate and Judge. Seek the truth. The time is short, and it is upon us.

Jesus was not born on December 25th... This is just to a lie from the snake, the serpent of old. I can't sit back and deny Jesus who died on the cross. Does any one else on here feel the same way? Going back to the roots. Being grafted in the true vine and not the vine of Catholicism and Protestant Movement?

For me, participating in Christmas is going against the traditions of my family. My father in particular was against celebrating Christmas, because of its pagan origins.

We've talked about this subject a lot of this forum, so I won't say a ton about it now. I've thought about it a lot because of the way I grew up to think about Christmas, so if you want to talk about the process I went through to arrive at the position I'm at now, feel welcome to send me a pm. I'll just leave a few ideas to think about:

- The version of Christmas celebrated by the West reflects its origins in only the most superficial of ways. It's really not even the same celebration.

- If the "meaning of a thing" must always be determined by the original representation of that thing, then the "original meaning" of Dec 25 is simply another day God created, and the meaning of a tree is simply a thing God created, and things that God created good cannot be forever defiled for everyone simply because a group of people at a certain time used them for purposes less than good.

- In modern tradition, Christmas actually teaches some pretty good values, like generosity, the value of family, friends and togetherness, kindness toward strangers, and joy and gratitude about life in general (basically Scrooge's lesson in A Christmas Carol). Perhaps these values are not ideally realised in many families' Christmas celebration, but if there is any general cultural awareness of what Christmas is "about," it's probably these things. It's not really "about Jesus," but it's not "wrong" either. Generally, my position on most things is to not get too worked up about things that aren't sin.

- I don't personally feel any particular need to make Christmas about celebrating Christ's birth (although I don't object to people who do). However, on Christmas, my unbelieving nieces and nephews will happily sit and listen to me tell them about Christ's birth. If their traditions present an opportunity where they will willingly engage me in conversation about the gospel of Christ, I am going to take advantage of that opportunity. In this culture, it's rarely socially appropriate to talk about God, so it seems to be a chance way too good to pass up.

I get where you're coming from, though. I mean, what you're talking about is what I grew up with. Ultimately, if it bothers your conscience, you probably shouldn't do it.

Peace.
 
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