Volume 2, Issue 44 – December 23, 2006Dear Friends,
Praise the LORD for the wonderful response to the last issue of Christian Heritage News, “Merry Christmas? – 12.21.06”
I am blessed to share “More Thoughts on the Observance of Christmas” with you in this issue of Christian Heritage News.
For His Glory,
Angela Wittman, editor
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A Reformed Pastor's Thoughts on the Observance of Christmas
December 18, 2005
By Pastor Chris Strevel
The last two weeks of each year are not easy ones for many Reformed Christians. Our culture's Christmas observances make us feel extremely uncomfortable. We loathe the materialism and worldliness associated with Christmas. We are troubled that so many churches feel the need to modify their worship services and physical appearances in order to "celebrate" the season. People sometimes ask why our church does not hold candlelight vigils on Christmas Eve, perform Christmas cantatas one Sunday near Christmas, or decorate a Christmas tree. Most Christians cannot imagine what could be wrong with these innocent traditions. Family members and friends view reformed Christians who have opted out of Christmas observance at all levels with intense suspicion. In addition, differences of practice within the Reformed community often cause us to view one another with a censorious attitude or hurt feelings. For these reasons and others, it has been my observation that many Reformed Christians experience anxiety and uncertainty respecting the Christian's proper attitude toward Christmas. As a Reformed pastor who has struggled with the issue, I have a few thoughts to share with you on the subject. The majority of them are mainstream Reformed principles respecting the inappropriateness of observing Christmas as a religious holiday. It is also my conviction, however, that Scripture nowhere forbids family gatherings, feast days, giving of gifts, and home decoration.
These are matters of preference or taste that are not under the province of the regulative principle of worship, and provided they are observed according to the general guidelines of modesty, sobriety, and good taste taught in the Bible, are legitimate for the Christian to enjoy as one of God's many gifts to his people and an expression of the Christian liberty granted to us through Christ Jesus.
I. The Observance of Christmas as a Religious Holiday
A. The regulative principle of worship forbids our observance of extra-Lord's Day holy days.
The Church has one King and Head, Jesus Christ, who rules over her by his Word (Eph. 5:25). In that Word, we learn in both Testaments that God is jealous over his worship (Ex. 20:3-5). We may only worship God in the manner he has commanded (cf. Deut. 12:32; Lev. 10:1ff.; 1 Chron. 15:13; Mark 7:6.7; Col. 2:18-23). As our Confession teaches, "But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture" (Ch. 21, Para. 1). Under the new covenant, by the example and teaching of the apostles of Jesus Christ, the Church is to meet for worship on the first day of the week, Sunday, now called the Lord's Day (cf. Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1,2; Rev. 1:10). The theological reason behind the change of our weekly Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday is the significance of Christ's resurrection for world history. We now build God's kingdom on the foundation of his accomplished work and in the grace he continually provides. Sunday is thus our only and weekly holy day, the day prescribed by God for her solemn assemblies of worship. Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to worship God by setting aside a special day to commemorate the observance of Christmas, Easter, or any other holy day except the Lord's Day. Accordingly, we must reject the observance of these in the Church as inconsistent with the will of our Head Jesus Christ and unsanctioned by his apostles.
Despite the prevalence of the practice in evangelical churches all other the world, we cannot in good conscience participate in the religious observance of Christmas. We neither censure those who disagree with us nor view them with animosity. We humbly affirm this position because we sincerely believe it is the one that our Savior dictates to us in his inspired, all-sufficient Word. We also mourn the doctrinal laxity that is directly responsible for errors in worship and practice in many evangelical and Reformed churches.
B. The Westminster Confession of Faith and the entire Reformed tradition do not allow the observance of extra-Lord's Day holy days in the Church of Jesus Christ.
In so affirming, our denomination fully concurs with the Westminster Divines' statement respecting the "Days and Places for Public Worship." "There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's Day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued." In the same place, the Directory states: "Nevertheless, it is lawful and necessary, upon special emergent occasions, to separate a day or days for publick fasting or thanksgiving, as the several eminent and extraordinary dispensations of God's providence shall administer cause and opportunity to his people." Some has seen in this statement an opening for the introduction of the observance of Christmas and even the liturgical calendar in Reformed congregations. This small passage, however, does not sanction such observances. Only special fasting and thanksgiving days are sanctioned, being commended and recorded in Scripture and practiced by God's people in all ages, are allowed. These are clearly dictated by the special needs of God's people as they face particular, extraordinary needs. Regular days like Christmas and Easter do not fit into this description, and therefore, this passage does not support their observance. Our Confession, Catechisms, and Directories forbid the religious observance of Christmas or any other holy day because Scripture does not enjoin them upon us. As a group, the Reformers of the 16-17th centuries rejected the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, with its multitude of holy days, feasts, fasts, observances, and rituals. While they did not dispute that that corrupted communion practiced these for 1,000 years, they correctly denied that the observance of holy days other than the Lord's Day was practiced in the apostolic church, commanded in Scripture, or binding upon the consciences of Christians. Through their influence and example, the Church returned to a much simpler worship service, in which the preaching of the Word was the focus. The life of the Church was no longer dictated by the liturgical calendar but by the teaching and example of Scripture.
Christian Heritage News Editor’s Note: You can also find this article at The American View Discussion Forum, under the thread: “War on Holidays.”
URL: www.theamericanview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1321
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Response to Rev. Strevel’s treatise on Christmas and regulative principle of worship
By Bob Wells
12-06
I appreciate Rev. Strevel’s careful and well-documented post regarding the correct understanding of the regulative principle of worship. However, I think it important to note a few observations regarding his application of this to the question of whether Christians can, or more importantly SHOULD celebrate the pagan-originated Christmas observation.
His treatise points out that “Accordingly, within certain limits, while we must resist observing “Christmas” as a religious holy day, it is a matter of Christian liberty for each family to determine how it will or will not observe Christmas within the home.” I find it extremely difficult to separate the observance of this obviously pagan-feast with the observance of a religious holy day. The very name of the observance, Christmas (the mass of Christ) makes this a difficult distinction. I don’t know ANY Christians who will acknowledge that Christmas has nothing to do with Christ and that they are celebrating purely out of a love for revelry, gift-giving and merry-making.
In fact, if I’m not mistaken, the very essence of this discussion thread was regarding the “War on Holidays” where thousands of well-meaning Christians are attempting to “put Christ back” into this pagan feast. “Jesus IS the Reason for the Season.” is another familiar refrain of most Christians at Christmastime. And if we associate Christ at all with this celebration of Christmas, are we not by definition “worshipping” Him (or at least attempting to worship Him) by its observance? Do all things as unto the glory of the Lord. (1 Cor 10:31)
I’m sure that some will attempt to confine “worship” as only those activity involved in official church liturgy, but it seems that the very nature of the Christian service and love towards our God is that EVERYTHING that we do is either a form of worship towards Him or disobedience to His Word (Rom 12:1)
As evidence of the inability for most Christians to separate the worship of Christ with this Christmas “holiday”, we find the inevitable explanations of how the various pagan symbolisms has been “sanctified” by a new meaning. The Christmas tree symbolizes “eternal life” as from Christ. The gift-giving symbolizes the application of the greatest gift given to us, in the birth of Christ. The festive lights celebrate Christ as the “Light of the World”, etc, etc, ad nauseum. Most Christians have been exposed to the truth about the origins of this celebration and feel, by necessity, an obligation to justify their observance by these very colorful, albeit completely unscriptural, explanations.
The capstone of this inherent connection between Christmas and the worship of Christ is the whole-hearted participation of the institutional church in this celebration. Few Christian churches can avoid the temptation of having the decorated evergreen tree littering the sanctuary – lights strung around the “altar”, wreaths hung on the doors. If the church building is a symbol of the “place of corporate worship” for Christians, then how do we separate this pagan celebration from the legitimate practice of worshipping Him in spirit and in truth according to His standards and practices?
Another point at which I wish to address, Rev. Strevel’s piece is his comparison of Paul’s exhortation in Romans 14 and 1 Cor 10 regarding the observance of certain food habits and holy days. This is one of the most common biblical citings regarding the justification for Christians to participate in the Christmas festivities. However, it appears a gross misapplication of the word of God. Paul is explaining that there are bonafide Christians who may be “weak” in their faith and still believe that they must observe certain “pre-cross” rituals in order to maintain favor with God. He is admonishing that we must accept them and not pass judgment which is obviously true and I totally agree. The problem is that these observances were indeed the very observances COMMANDED BY GOD HIMSELF, not some contrived syncretistic form of worship originated by man attempting to take heathen practices and making them holy. By this same reasoning, one might be tempted to think that Paul is condoning all forms of sin and debauchery as long as the person is sincere in his belief that he is honoring God. By rightly pointing out that “all things belong to the Lord”, as Psm 24 reminds us, we may be tempted to think that every practice that man has conceived in his perverse and wicked mind, “belongs to the Lord”. Indeed, everything that God created does belong to Him but there are many concoctions of man that, I’m sure, God will take no ownership of. God does not “own” brothels, nudist colonies, “gay” bars, bestiality, crack houses and the like, although He certainly has authority over each of these human abuses. In order to understand and properly apply this concept, one MUST distinguish between the things God has created and the practices which sinful man himself has devised.
Obviously, when Paul said “all things are lawful for me” (1 Cor 6:12, 10:23) he did not literally mean ALL THINGS. God does not change and those things that he declared unlawful in His word forever remain unlawful (with the obvious exception of the “ceremonial” law which was a pre-cursor to Christ). Regarding the moral law, God has not changed His mind about what is holy and what is not (Matt 5:17,18). In today’s Christian church, much has been made regarding the “liberty” that Christ has brought to the born-again believer. And in Christ there is indeed much liberty (Gal 5:1). But as Paul clearly reminds us, let us not let that liberty become an occasion to increase sin in our lives (Rom 6:1-2, Gal 5:13)
This brings me to the final and most important point regarding the Reverend’s post. If indeed, my assumption is true regarding most Christians and their inherent connection between Christmas and the celebration and worship of the birth of Christ, then we have a great problem with the Holy Scriptures. Rev. Strevel points out, that “God has forbid none of these practices. [e.g., feasting, gift-giving, home decoration, etc]” I would beg to differ. While none of these activities in and of themselves is forbidden, in the wrong context all of these activities can present a huge stumbling block for the obedient Christian.
At the heart of the Christmas issue for my family and me is a problem with God’s clear and continual injunction to His people, Israel, NOT to even attempt to worship Him in the way that the heathens worship their gods. It is an affront and abomination to Him.
“You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and you shall obliterate their name from that place. “You shall not act like this toward the Your GOD.” (Deut 12:3-4) [emph. added]
“…When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess and you dispossess them and live in their land, beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?” “You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods…”
(Deut 12:29-31) [emph added]
If indeed, as I would contend, it is impossible for Christians to separate the celebration of Christmas with the worship of Christ, then we have a grave issue to face regarding these commands of God. Are we free to employ just any practice or artifact in the worship and celebration of our God? Or are there indeed practices which He has forever forbidden for us because they will lead to impurity of heart and the compromise of His prescribed way of life for us as His children? Could this syncretistic attempt at blending heathenism with Christianity even be a contributing cause for the crass commercialism and heathen debauchery that we continually war against during this Christmas season…Why we have to continually scold and remind the world what the “true” meaning of this holiday really is? Instead of “coming out of her [the world]” (Rev 18:4) and being distinct during this period of the year, Christians have blended in perfectly with the world’s customs and therefore have little to offer in the way of truth and light during this “opportunistic” time.
I am always amazed that men whom I revere and respect for their prowess, scholarship and pinpoint accuracy at applying the word of God in other areas can quickly ignore those hermeneutical principals to be so blinded by this Christmas issue. It appears that the sentimentality, tradition and emotions that this pervasive “holy” day surrounds itself with, wins the day over all logic and sound biblical exegesis.
My family and I have abstained from the Christmas celebration for the last 20 or so years and have yet been able to live “in love” and communion with our local church brethren quite successfully for many a Christmas season. Although we never condemn anyone for their practice of this day, we do take the opportunity when it presents itself to enlighten our brothers as to our understanding of the scripture in this area. Although it is true that there is will always be the “weak” and the “strong” laboring together in Christ’s church, I am certain that Christ has no fondness for us intentionally leaving the weak in their state of weakness. If we can increase the revelation of the truth of scripture in every area of our daily living by highlighting the word of God, then I believe by all means that this is our obligation. It is with this intent that I offer this reply to my brother’s treatise. May the Lord lead his Bride in the purity and light of His revelation as we seek to please Him in all of our ways.
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Letter to the Editor
December 12, 2006
P. O. Box 2488
Mobile, AL 36601
Dear Sir:
Re: The Celebration of Christmas is not Biblical
This month we celebrate Christmas and have many battles ongoing to save Christmas as a celebration. The ACLU and many others are changing the name of Christmas to Celebrate the Holidays, or Holiday Season.
Many well-meaning people are fighting to save this holiday.
The Roman Emperor Aurelian chose the date of December 25th in 274 AD as the pagan birthday of the Unconquered Sun. This is the religion of Mithraism or sun worship.
The above from the Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. III published in 1908
In Ancient Rome Saturnalia (also Mithraism) was the largest holiday celebration. Business and Courts were closed for days. The halls were decked with holly branches and evergreen wreaths. People visited family and attended lavish banquets and holiday parties. Gifts of silver, candles, figurines and sweets often tied to evergreen wreaths. It was customary to light candles and roam the streets singing holiday songs. Even the Christmas tree was a common sight. (This paragraph from Io Saturnalia, a footnote on Wikipedia’s Christmas info.)
The Catholic Church instituted the Mass of Christ in 1030 AD
In England Christmas was forbidden by and act of Parliament in 1644
Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the USA in 1870
Christmas is not celebrated in the Bible.
The early Christians never celebrated Christmas.
The fact is that Christians should not celebrate this holiday. Jesus Christ never had a birthday. He came to this earth in his first coming but he had always existed so it was not his birthday but only his first coming in flesh. There is no date given in the Bible for his birth.
Jesus Christ earthly birth was important, but more important was his sinless life, his death on the cross and most important his resurrection. Because of the plan that he carried out we have the opportunity to become saved from hell and the lake of fire. Repent of your sins and believe on the finished work of our Savior Jesus Christ before it is too late.
Do not despair if you celebrate Christmas. Make sure you do not lie to your children about Christmas and Santa Claus. Forsake this worldly celebration and tell your children the truth about Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus Christ is coming again in his second coming as the King of Kings to redeem us from this evil world and judge the world with righteousness.
Richard A. Vining, Coden, AL
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"Christ"- Mass: a Biblical, Christian "Holy Day;" or rather, a pagan, Romanist "Holiday" ?
Was Jesus born on December 25th? No, He was not. He was likely born during the Biblical Feast of Tabernacles (e.g., John 1:14)."And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us,..." John 1:14, KJB
"Does any Christian reader imagine for a moment that when he or she shall stand before their holy Lord, that they will regret having lived "too strictly" on earth? Is there the slightest danger of His reproving any of His own because they were "too extreme" in "abstaining from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11)?
We may gain the good will and good works of worldly religionists today by our compromising on "little (?) points," but shall we receive His smile and approval on that day? Oh to be more concerned about what HE thinks, and less concerned about what perishing mortals think."
(Quote from A.W. Pink, www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/CHRISTMAS-AWPINK.htm)
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“Puritans (in both England and New England) nor confessional Presbyterians recognized so called "holy" days. The only special days to be recognized by the church were the Lord's Day and days of fasting or thanksgiving, the latter days called on the occasion of significant providential events.
There is no biblical warrant for special services connected with December 25th. Church meeting places should in general be simple and plain, without images or decorations. The pure preaching of the Word of God, the simple administration of the sacraments and the scriptural worship of God’s gathered people provide all the adornment needed for our assembly places. Faith comes by preaching, not by evergreen trees, colored lights, nativity pageants, or manger scenes with an idolatrous image of the Christ child.
While a Christian might resent the general hostile anti-Christian attitude of the ACLU and businesses, in truth, Christ NEVER WAS IN Christ-MASS.”
The MASS is an idolatrous perversion of the biblical ordinance of the Lord’s Supper.
(Quote from Pastor J. Glenn Ferrell, www.theamericanview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1321)
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The Origin and Practices of Christmas: Christian or Pagan ?
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS AND CALENDARS - AN ENCYCLOPAEDIC HANDBOOK, 1993
Christmas Day
December 25
Christmas is the day on which Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The Roman Catholic Church designates it as a day of holy obligation on which members of the Church must attend services.
Originally, the birth of Jesus was commemorated in the East on the Feast of Epiphany (January 6) but by 354, the Christmas Feast had taken hold in the West and was observed on December 25. Since the fifth century, most Eastern Orthodox Churches have celebrated the Nativity on December 25; however, some Eastern congregations, called "Old Calendarists," still use the Julian calendar and honor the birth of Christ thirteen days later, on January 7. The Armenian Church continues to celebrate "Old Christmas" on January 6.
As with many traditions surrounding Christmas, the selection of December 25 as a commemoration of Jesus' birthday may be an example of the blending of Christian ideas and the pagan traditions they replaced.
December 25 was the date of the Mithric observance of the "Birthday of the Invincible Sun." This also coincided with Saturnalia and the Winter solstice during the period when Mithraism was practiced in Rome.
Since the day was already being kept as a holiday, Christians may have adjusted the symbolism of the day, declaring it the birthday of their "Invincible Son." According to events in the Gospel of Matthew, the date of Jesus' birth may actually have taken place much earlier in the year.
The word "Christmas" means "the mass of Christ," and originated in the 11th century as a name for this feast. It was one of the most popular and universally celebrated holidays in Europe during the Middle Ages. During the Reformation, however, the celebration of Christmas began to decline in importance. Reformers engaged incomplex doctrinal arguments in an attempt to prove the celebration of Christmas was unscriptural. In some countries, the Protestant reforms brought about a ban of Christmas celebrations. By the time of the Restoration in 1660, however, the celebration of Christmas as a much more secular holiday was revived in these countries. In New England, Christmas remained outlawed until the mid-nineteenth century, and in Boston classes were held in the public schools on Christmas Day until 1870, with pupils who missed school that day being punished or dismissed. The mass immigration of Irish Catholics to New England brought about the reinstitution of Christmas celebrations.
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"Christmas.", DICTIONARY OF CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA, 1990
Both the northern European and North American custom of exchanging gifts at Christmas... are possibly related to pre-Christian celebrations at the close of the year. The celebration of Christmas has sometimes been opposed as pagan by religious leaders. New England Puritans considered Christmas "popish" idolatry, and the Massachusetts General Court in 1659 passed an act against its celebration, though the law was repealed in 1681."
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"Christmas", THE WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA, Vol. 3, "C-Ch", 1997
"The first mention of December 25 as the birth date of Jesus occurred in A.D. 336 in an early Roman calendar.
The celebration of this day as Jesus' birth date was probably influenced by pagan [unchristian] festivals held at that time. The ancient Romans held year-end celebrations to honor Saturn, their harvest god; and Mithras, the [sic] god of light... As part of all these celebrations, the people prepared special foods, decorated their homes with greenery, and joined in singing and gift giving. These customs gradually became part of the Christmas celebration."
"In the late 300's, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire... The popularity of Christmas grew until the Reformation, a religious movement of the 1500's. This movement gave birth to Protestantism.
During the Reformation, many Christians began to consider Christmas a pagan celebration because it included nonreligious customs. During the 1600's, because of these feelings, Christmas was outlawed in England and in parts of the English colonies in America."
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"Christmas", COLLIER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA, Vol. 6, 1992
"... The suppression of the Mass during the Reformation led to a sharp change in the observance of Christmas in some countries. In England, the Puritans condemned the celebration and, from 1642 to 1652, issued a series of ordinances forbidding all church services and festivities. This feeling was carried over to America by the Pilgrims and it was not until the nineteenth-century wave of Irish and German immigration that enthusiasm for the feast began to spread throughout the country. Objections were swept aside and the old traditions revived among Protestants as well as Catholics."
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"Christmas," COMPTON'S INTERACTIVE ENCYCLOPEDIA, 1997
THE CHRISTMAS WREATH
The use of evergreens and wreaths as symbols of life was an ancient custom of the Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews, among other peoples. Tree worship was a common feature of religion among the Teutonic and Scandinavian peoples of northern Europe before their conversion to Christianity. They decorated houses and barns with evergreens at the new year to scare away demons, and they often set up trees for the birds in winter. For these northern Europeans, this winter celebration was the happiest time of the year because it signified that the shortest day of the year--about December 21--had passed. They knew the days would start to get longer and brighter. The month during which this festival took place was named Jol, from which the word yule is derived. Yule has come to mean Christmas in some countries.
THE CHRISTMAS TREE
Trees and decorations.
Ancient, pre-Christian winter festivals used greenery, lights, and fires to symbolize life and warmth in the midst of cold and darkness. These usages, like gift giving, have also persisted.
CHRISTMAS GIFT GIVING
Gift giving is one of the oldest customs associated with Christmas: it is actually older than the holiday itself.
When the date of Christmas was set to fall in December, it was done at least in part to compete with ancient pagan festivals that occurred about the same time. The Romans, for example, celebrated the Saturnalia on December 17. It was a winter feast of merrymaking and gift exchanging. And two weeks later, on the Roman New Year--January 1, houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to children and the poor. As the Germanic tribes of Europe accepted Christianity and began to celebrate Christmas, they also gave gifts.
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive EncyclopediaCopyright © 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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"Christmas," THE WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA, 1966 Edition
THE CHRISTMAS TREE
There are several stories about the origin of the Christmas tree. People in Scandinavia once worshipped trees. When they became Christians, they made evergreen trees part of Christian festivals. The Custom of decorating homes and churches with evergreens began in ancient times. The Romans exchanged green tree branches for good luck on the Calends (first day) of January. The English took this custom over for Christmas.
THE YULE LOG
The custom of burning the Juul (pronounced yool) came from the Norse and Anglo-Saxons. They burned a huge oak log once a year to honor Thor, the god of thunder. After the Norse became Christians, they made the yule log an important part of their Christmas ceremonies. The Scandinavians adopted the word yule to mean Christmas. In Lithuania, the word for Christmas actually means log evening. The yule log became equally important in England. The English considered it good luck to keep an unburned part of the log to light next year's yule log.
MISTLETOE
Mistletoe decorates many homes in the United States, Canada, and Europe at Christmastime. No one knows exactly how mistletoe became connected with Christmas. Ancient Celtic priests, called Druids, used to give people sprigs of the plant as a charm. Hundreds of years ago, some people in Europe used it at religious gatherings.
HISTORY
In A.D. 354, Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered the people to celebrate on December 25. He probably chose this date because the people of Rome already observed it as the Feast of Saturn, celebrating the birthday of the sun.
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EXTERNALS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1917, page 134, authored by John F. Sullivan
SOME CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS
"When we give or receive Christmas gifts, and hang green wreaths in our homes and churches, how many of us know that we are probably observing pagan customs? We do not wish to assert that they are not good customs; but they undoubtedly prevailed long before Christian times. The Romans gave presents on New Year's Day, and our bestowing of gifts at Christmas is a survival of that practice, as well as a commemoration of the offerings of the Magi at Bethlehem. The Yule-log, a feature of Christmas in old England, goes back to the days of the pirate Norsemen. Holly and mistletoe and wreaths of evergreen have been handed down to us by the Druids. And even our friend Santa Claus, that mysterious benefactor of our childhood days, existed in one form or another long before Christianity had attributed his virtues to St. Nicholas; for the god Woden, in Norse mythology, descended upon the earth yearly between December 25 and January 6 to bless mankind.
But, pagan though they be, they are beautiful customs. They help to inspire us with the spirit of "good will" even as the sublime services of our Church remind us of the "peace on earth" which the Babe of Bethlehem came to bestow. May that spirit fill the heart of each of us on every Christmas Day!"
Life and Liberty Ministries
www.lifeandlibertyministries.com/archives/000339.php#more
Posted: December 6, 2006 06:17 PM
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Be a Truth-seeker Christian !
Here are some more sources of information about the true nature of "Christ"-Mass:
www.sabbatarian.com/TwoBabylons/Babylon3-1.html
www.sabbatarian.com/Paganism/Constantine.html
www.sabbatarian.com/TwoBabylons/BabylonIndex.html
www.daveblackonline.com/why_we_no_longer_celebrate_chris.htm
www.daveblackonline.com/christmas.htm
www.touchet1611.org/ChristmasOutofChristintro.html
www.av1611.org/othpubls/santa.html
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"I do not observe "Christ"-Mass as I do not believe it is a Biblical, Christian Holy Day; neither in its origins nor in much of its worldly practice, although many Christians see it as a time to celebrate Jesus' birth. My understanding is that Jesus was most likely born around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34) which is celebrated according to the Jewish lunar (biblical) calendar around our modern-day months of September or October."
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us,..." John 1:14, KJB
Steve Lefemine, pro-life missionary
dir., Columbia Christians for Life
Columbia, SC
www.ChristianLifeandLiberty.net
December 23, 2006
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For His Glory,
Angela Wittman
(Publisher/Editor of Christian Heritage News)
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