Sponsor |  usmjam | Dec 1, 2005 10:15am | We are all grateful and overjoyed that the Word became flesh in order to carry out the Plan of Salvation.
My question is in regards to the origin of the holiday known as Christmas. Is the placing of said holiday in the place of a high holy pagan feast day directly contrary to bible passages that instruct us to not mix our worship with the world's methods of pagan worship? Is all the fighting about putting "Christ back in Christmas" just leading us to con-join Christian worship with pagan ritual as in the latter days of Solomon, among others? |
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|  FrankParker | Dec 4, 2005 2:16pm | I think celebrating Christmas is a good idea. However, it depends on how it is celebrated. Our family does advent. For 28 evenings before Christmas we sit around the dinner table, read a scripture, discuss the coming of Christ. We follow the guidline put out by Focus On the Family and many other web sites. family.org/fofmag/pf/a0026154.cfm [family.org/fofmag/pf/a0026154.cfm]
We have made it a tradition now for about 4 years and our children love it. On Christmas eve we finally light the white candle and read about the birth of Christ in Luke. We celebrate with a birthday cake. |
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|  kidethekid | Dec 5, 2005 8:57am | | It is hard to tell what is and what is not pagan in christian celebrations and rituals because all the people had some paganic religion before accepting the christianity and have tryed to keep the memories of paganic gods through the new christian rituals.For example in serbian orthodox celebration of cristmas tree named "badnjak" is burned.All my life i thought that it is normal christian ritual, but then i have heard that on that day(we celebrate christmas on 7th january) slavic god named "Badnjak" was burned on stake.So i think that we should all celebrate christmas because it is not the form that matters it is the essence that matters.(Sorry for bad English) |
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Sponsor | | TS-guy | Dec 5, 2005 11:54am | | 4: I agree with "it is not the form that matters it is the essence that matters." It is the meaning of the celebration that counts. Just because various mid-winter cultural traditions from around the world were absorbed into the Christmas celebration does not make it less about the Birth of Christ, it just makes the celebration more fun. |
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Sponsor | | CelticWarrior | Dec 5, 2005 1:07pm | # 5 - I agree. When it comes to biblical matters both "form" and "essence" matter. In this, however, the celebration of the birth of the Christ child, we focus on Him and the spreading of joy. As long as this is our purpose the traditions that we follow (family and/or cultural) can only add to our joy.
Find the Greatest Christmas Gift of All in the Gospel
by Whitney Hopler
Christmas turns your attention to gifts like no other season. You rush to choose and buy them to give to those you love; you savor the thrill of receiving them from family and friends. And in the midst of all that activity, you try to stop long enough to remind yourself of why you're celebrating with gifts in the first place: It's Jesus' birthday, the time to remember when God visited our planet in the flesh.
That visit made even greater gifts possible - spiritual gifts such as salvation, healing, freedom, grace, mercy, peace, joy, forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation. Yet even these spiritual gifts aren't the greatest gifts of all. In fact, they don't truly matter unless they point you toward the ultimate gift of God Himself.
Here's how you can find the greatest gift of all - God Himself - in the Gospel:
* Understand that nothing is truly good unless it leads to God. Realize that God is the source of all goodness, and all the good gifts He gives must help you connect to Him if they are to bring true goodness to your life. Remember that only God makes the good news good.
* Take the focus off yourself and place it on God. Honestly examine what makes you feel happy. Is it the affirmation of God lavishing gifts on you? Is it a sense of satisfaction that comes from knowing you're worth God's attention? Know that your good feelings should be rooted in God's worth, not your own. Recognize that true joy can only come in the way that God designed it - from knowing and celebrating Him. Understand that the point of the Gospel isn't just to give you a variety of powerful gifts. It's to help you see and savor God's glory. He is the true treasure.
* Communicate what salvation really means. Think about whether or not you'd be truly fulfilled in heaven if God weren't there with you. Realize that no amount of pleasurable experiences can make up for the lack of His presence. Whenever you present the Gospel message to others, don't focus on its power to help them avoid the pain of hell or to get into a heaven full of privileges. Instead, emphasize what's most important about salvation. Let people know that salvation enables them to live with their Creator and enjoy His presence forever. Don't say, "Salvation is great!" Say, "God is great!" because His saving love is the gift of Himself. He is the Gospel. Understand that the Gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it's a way to get people to God. Know that if you don't desire God above all other things, than you haven't yet truly believed or obeyed the Gospel.
* Let the Gospel help you see God's image. Rejoice that, although you don't have any video recordings of Jesus from when He walked the earth as God incarnate, you can see Him when you let the Gospel message and the Holy Spirit's affirmation of that message draw you closer to Him. As you learn more about Jesus in the Gospel, pray to see His face more clearly and understand the image of His glory more fully.
* Ask the Holy Spirit to awaken you. Understand that the Holy Spirit authenticates the Gospel as God's own word. Ask the Spirit to awaken your soul to see God's manifest presence in the Gospel. Rely on the Spirit's power to help you confirm that the Gospel is both reasonable and spiritual. Remember that God's glory is what the Gospel events and promises are meant to show.
* Realize that seeing God's glory is the key to becoming more holy yourself. Understand that you are transformed more into Jesus' image by means of focusing your attention on His glory. As you admire Jesus' purity and holiness, your sinful habits will begin to feel foreign and distasteful. His worldview will gradually shape your values, thinking, and decisions. His wisdom, power, and promises will give you greater confidence to choose faith over fear. His glory will inspire you to delight in His fellowship and yearn to see Him face-to-face in heaven. His love will empower you to love others more.
* Join God in His joy. As you see how glad God is to have His Son, Jesus, rejoice with Him that He thought of the perfect plan to extend His love to all people through Jesus. Don't be somber when pondering the Gospel. Realize that it's a message of great joy.
* Let your love for God lead you to repentance. Know that you can't appreciate how the Gospel makes forgiveness possible for you if you don't first feel genuine remorse for your sins. Recognize that the only way to truly experience that remorse is to ponder how glorious God is, and to let your love for Him motivate you to repent because you want to please Him.
* Appreciate how God's gift of pain leads you to Himself. Understand that when you're willing to suffer for the sake of the Gospel message, you're choosing the beauty of God's truth over the ugliness of Satan's lies, and you'll be able to see God's beauty more clearly. Remember that you can trust God to meet every genuine need you have, no matter what your circumstances, but true needs are only those that are necessary for you to do God's will and bring glory to Him. Know that the Gospel's aim is not an easy life. Rather, it is deeper knowledge of, and trust in, God.
* Don't let miracles distract you from the One who performs them. Remind yourself that the material world God has created, the spiritual power He gives believers, and the signs and wonders He sometimes unleashes in answer to prayer are meant only to draw you closer to God. Make sure you're not focusing on God's miracles at the expense of God Himself.
* Consider why you truly want to grow to be more like Jesus. Ask yourself: "Do I want to be strong like Christ, so I will be admired as strong, or so that I can defeat every adversary that would entice me to settle for any pleasure less than admiring the strongest person in the universe, Christ?", "Do I want to be wise like Christ, so I will be admired as wise and intelligent, or so that I can discern and admire the One who is most truly wise?", "Do I want to be holy like Christ, so that I can be admired as holy, or so that I can be free from all unholy inhibitions that keep me from seeing and savoring the holiness of Christ?", and "Do I want to be loving like Christ, so I will be admired as a loving person, or so that I will enjoy extending to others, even in sufferings, the all-satisfying love of Christ?" Make sure that your goal to become like Jesus is rooted in a passion to see and savor Him in the Gospel message. |
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| | Seolyk | Dec 17, 2005 8:53pm | | I think the only thing wrong with the Christmas holiday nowadays is the commercialism. It is good to give to others in honor of God´s gift to us, but this has become a cash cow for commercial corporations and an excuse for atheists and agnostics to worship their money and honor themselves with ´look ... I gave this to you, now show your appriciation´. Also the concept of Santa Claus has been blown out of proportion and nearly worshiped. I don´t think the people who started the original Christmas traditions or Saint Klaus meant for any of whats happening today to happen, but it has happened... its sad. |
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Sponsor | | TS-guy | Dec 17, 2005 9:05pm | | Yes the commercialism is out of control. So that's where I don't get why all the sudden complaints about the commercial establishment using 'holidays' instead of 'Christmas'. To me, this just pushes Christmas into a more commercial vein, instead of the actual religious celebration. It makes me question wether the folks pushing this actually understand their religion, or have they been co-opted by the money religion? |
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| | Seolyk | Dec 18, 2005 9:31am | I don´t think its either. Most people don´t care! I have atheist friends whos families celebrate it. they buy christmas trees, christmas cards, give christmas presents. really no one cares, its just a few people who hate the idea of a Christian dominated society and want to make a fuss about it. I mean really... hannakah doesnt use a tree, Ramadan is a fasting week, and what is Kwanza anyway?
crap.jinwicked.com [crap.jinwicked.com]
my answer to the above is.. well theres something called Advent which begins in december which celebrates the coming of Christmas. although she does have a point with the origin of the word ´holiday´... I wouldnt try and argue with her... she wont listen to anything said. |
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Sponsor | | TS-guy | Dec 18, 2005 9:56am | Christmas tree, holiday season. I'm all for keeping separate the religious observance and commercial holiday separate. leave the commercialism outside the church and don't ruin the religious observance with the commercial holiday.
BTW, all the biblical research I've seen points to the actual Birth of Christ in March, probably 5 or 6 BC. |
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Apologetics → Discussion