Christmas a pagan holiday?

Should devote Christians participate in Christmas traditions based in pagan history?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sheree

Should devote Christians participate in Christmas traditions based in pagan history?

---

Greetings Sheree,

Any particular traditions in mind?

MacG

By participate do you mean in the ritual / ceremony / worship of false gods?

Obviously not.

But if you mean refuse to take a day off of work because the holiday is pagan... then I say enjoy the day off.

Christ M*** is an apparent Roman Catholic holy day (holiday). The slurred word like holiday and Christmas tend to disguise the meaning of what is being done. When the Jewish leadership abdicated their positions by refusing to believe in the Jewish Messiah and the New Jewish / Israeli Covenant (read Jeremiah 31:31-34 carefully) the Gentile believers (God bless 'em) did the best they could.

But it was not until Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity could the Gentile believer leaders poke their heads up out of hiding long enough to council to hash out basic Christian doctrines based on the newly canonized New Testament scriptures (which was also put on indefinite hold while the Church underwent three centuries of Jewish and Roman persecution).

Only then, for the first time in all history was the complete word of God manifest and were the Church leaders able to study them as a whole and discover the triune nature of God (for one).

The late Dr. J. Vernon McGee put forth an interesting point about Emperor Constantine and his efforts. In his own words... "For three hon'red yee'ers the de'evill tried to lick the chur' and then along come Constantine an' his crum'lin' empire needed the cohesiveness he found in the chur'. No matter how the Christians were tormented and persecuted and mutilated... their num'ers only increased. So, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity... as if the chur' needed any man's permission to exist... But Constantine saw in burgeoning Christianity the mortar his fractured empire needed so in the person of Constantine the de'evill joiwned the chur'. He coul'nt lick 'em, so he joiwned 'em so he could undermine the chur' from within... one degree at a time."

Dr. McGee went home to be with the Lord a few short years before Walter Martin did. In the twenty five years since then the world has lost several other giants in the faith as well. Many impostors and hucksters have tried to take up the mantle since then... which makes me wonder if the era of Dr. Martin and Dr. McGee and of Donald Gray Barnhouse and G. Campbell Morgan and the like were not a last effort to warn the world about a time of judgment when the word of God would be silent and silenced while self-help and can't we all get along teachings too its place.

Many believe (including yours truly) that the Roman Empire morphed into the Roman Catholic Church. And it was just the empty shell of the adder's nest that collapsed when "the Roman Empire" fell. King and Kingdoms shall all p*** away. But religions are forever.

Constantine laid the ground work as did his mother who took a particular interest in building this new hybrid religion. This is how the Church of the holy sepulcher was founded west of Jerusalem instead of north where the scriptures indicate and why sinai is located on the Egyptian peninsula rather than in Saudi Arabia also where the scriptures indicate.

Eventually Roman Catholicism was born and their leaders undertook ecumenism (mostly at the point of a sword) and to appease conquered pagan religions often times some of their rituals were incorporated into Roman Catholic traditions and rituals. Yule logs and Christmas trees are two examples of the appeasement of tree worshipers who believed their ancestors died to inhabit trees. Where such expressions like "knock wood" comes from.

Some of the Roman leadership sought to impose their hybrid religious beliefs on the traditional pagan holidays like Saturnalia (a winter fertility feast of orgies and whatnot) on or near December 25th. The Roman leadership decided to grandfather in the birth of Christ (which by scripture was sometime in the autumn harvest season) to December 25th, Christ-m***, to overrun the pagan fertility feast. The same was done with the fertility feast in the Spring worshiping the goddess Astarte (Easter)... while keeping the Christmas tree / yule log in the winter feast and the eggs and bunnies in the spring feast.

All in the name of Christ / Christianity... in name only.

Christmas (pronounced by all "kriss miss") has a spirit all it's own. "the spirit of Christmas." A feeling in the air of happiness despite the weather conditions, a time of celebrations in offices and homes. Parties and all the good and bad things that accompany them.

Then there's the tradition of saint nick based on a Roman cardinal who brought clothing and a few toys to impoverished children on his donkey. Given a century of two and the spirit of Christmas (kriss miss) and we have Santa Claus (Kris Kringle) with omniscience (at least as far as people behaving or not goes) and omnipresence (able to deliver presents all around the world in one night).

And believers and well meaning unbelievers all lie to their children about this mythical character. And that's not to mentions the trillions of dollars capitalized on by this character and this holiday by ad agencies and manufacturers all too willing to exploit people for a lot of money.

And there's just enough "Jesus" in the tradition of Christmas to shut up those who dare question the practices of the season. Or to keep the lesser informed happily tolling along with the tradition.

Don't get me wrong... there is a merriment to be had in the season. It's just not Christian.

Jesus is not the reason for the season and you can't keep Christ in Christmas because it was never really about him in the first place. These are just slogans to patronize people so they will patronize their stores.

Some speak these things from the pulpits (which have been the soap box of compromise for quite some time anyway)... and they prolong the myth.

The angels from heaven sang the real contata praising God and singing of peace on earth... in the Autumn (September - October). Later in the year the shepherds could not be watching their flocks in the fields by night.

But no ordinance was ever imposed to observe the birth of Christ. None. Only the death of Christ in the communion table, and that (properly done) in the setting of a Messianic P***over Seder.

All the Hebrew feasts pointed humanity to Christ. And the Roman Catholic leadership expunged them all from the faith. Every one. And in their place imposed pagan traditions with Christian names and themes. Which even atheists (until recent years because they are trying to make a point) could observe with no threat to their unbelief. Merry Kriss Miss...

In Romans chap 14 Paul reminds us of our freedom and responsability in Christ.
Celebrating Christmas or Easter as a holiday is not a problem as Christians see these days as a reminder of Christ's birth and ressurection.

"One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:


“ As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

yes, very true.

Im sure at some point lost in history the form of a cross was used in the worship of false gods...but it does not matter a hoot