There is no Biblical
warrant, precedent, nor precept for remembrance of the day of Christ's birth as
a day of special religious celebration. This is not to say that we shouldn't
remember Christ's birth and its significance, but for religious commemorations
or celebrations, we must have Biblical command or precedent! The fact of the
matter is this -- the early church did not celebrate Christ's birth, but such
celebration only came into the church with the "Christianization" of
pagan rites as Catholicism was made the state religion by Constantine in the
fourth century A.D. Since the Word of God does not support the tradition of
Christmas, a Christian's conscience ought not and must not be bound.
The following outline describes the origin of Christmas (with its associated
pagan customs, symbols, and terminology), details the Scriptural support against
celebrating Christmas, attempts to show that celebrating Christmas violates the
spirit of every one of the ten commandments, attempts to demonstrate that
celebrating Christmas does not fall in the realm of Christian liberty, and
attempts to debunk eight of the major rationalizations Christians put forth for
celebrating Christmas.
II Scriptural Support Against Celebrating Christmas
III Christmas and the Violation of The Ten Commandments
IV Is a Christian's Decision to Celebrate Christmas a Part of Christian Liberty?
VI Conclusion
I. The Origin of Christmas
A. A Long Evolution -- Christmas customs are an evolution from times long
before the Christian period -- a descent from seasonal, pagan, religious, and
national practices, hedged about with legend and tradition. Their seasonal
connections with the pagan feasts of the winter solstice relate them to ancient
times, when many of the earth's inhabitant's were sun worshipers. As the
superstitious pagans observed the sun gradually moving south in the heavens and
the days growing shorter, they believed the sun was departing never to return.
To encourage the sun's return north (i.e., to give the winter sun god strength
and to bring him back to life again), the sun gods were worshipped with
elaborate rituals and ceremonies, including the building of great bonfires,
decorating with great evergreen plants such as holly, ivy, and mistletoe, and
making representations of summer birds as house decorations. The winter
solstice, then, was the shortest day of the year, when the sun seemingly stood
still in the southern sky. Observing the slowdown in the sun's southward
movement, and its stop, the heathen believed that their petitions to it had been
successful. A time of unrestrained rejoicing broke out, with revelry, drinking,
and gluttonous feasts. Then, when the pagans observed the sun moving again
northward, and a week later were able to determine that the days were growing
longer, a new year was proclaimed.
B. Not Among the Earliest Christian Festivals -- Christmas was not among
the earliest festivals of the Church. It was not celebrated, commemorated, or
observed, neither by the apostles nor in the apostolic church -- not for at
least the first 300 years of church history! History reveals that about 440
A.D., the Church at Jerusalem commenced the celebration of Christmas, following
the lead of Roman Catholicism (see I.C.). It was sufficient for the early
Christians that Jesus, their Lord and Savior, had been born. They praised God
that Jesus Christ had, indeed, come in the flesh. The day and the time of His
birth had no relevance to them, because Jesus was no longer physically on earth.
He had returned to heaven. And it was the risen, exalted Christ to whom they
looked, and that by faith -- not a babe laid in a manger. Jesus Christ is no
longer a baby; no longer the "Christ-child," but the exalted Lord of
all. And He does NOT somehow return to earth as a baby every year at
Christmas-time -- though this is the impression given even in certain hymns sung
in Protestant services. (See sub-report.)
C. The Role of Religion in Ancient Rome -- Seemingly forgotten is the
essential role religion played in the world of ancient Rome. But the Emperor
Constantine understood. By giving official status to Christianity, he brought
internal peace to the Empire. A brilliant military commander, he also had the
genius to recognize that after declaring Christianity the "state"
religion (Constantine forced all the pagans of his empire to be baptized into
the Roman Church), there was need for true union between paganism and
Christianity. The corrupt Roman Church was full of pagans now masquerading as
Christians, all of which had to be pacified. What better way than to
"Christianize" their pagan idolatries. Thus, the Babylonian mystery
religions were introduced by Constantine beginning in 313 A.D. (and established
a foothold with the holding of the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.). The
Constantine-led Roman Church was more than willing to adapt and adopt pagan
practices in order to make Christianity palatable to the heathen. Constantine
used religion as a political tool, totally devoid of any true spirituality:
a.. Pagan rituals and idols took on Christian names (e.g., Jesus Christ was
presented as the Sun of Righteousness [Malachi 4:2] replacing the sun god, Sol
Invictus ).
b.. Pagan holidays were reclassified as Christian holidays (holy-days).
c.. December 25th was the "Victory of the Sun-God" Festival in the
pagan Babylonian world. In the ancient Roman Empire, the celebration can be
traced back to the Roman festival Saturnalia, which honored Saturn, the harvest
god, and Mithras, the god of light; both were celebrated during or shortly after
the winter solstice (between the 17th and 23rd of December). To all ancient
pagan civilizations, December 25th was the birthday of the gods -- the time of
year when the days began to lengthen and man was blessed with a
"regeneration of nature." Moreover, all of December 25th's Babylonian
and Roman festivals were characterized by 5-7 day celebration periods of
unrestrained or orgiastic revelry and licentiousness.
December 25th was particularly important in the cult of Mithras, a popular deity
in the Old Roman Empire. Robert Myers (a proponent for celebrating Christmas) in
his book Celebrations, says:
"Prior to the celebration of Christmas, December 25th in the Roman world
was the Natalis Solis Invicti, the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun. This
feast, which took place just after the winter solstice of the Julian calendar,
was in honor of the Sun God, Mithras, originally a Persian deity whose cult
penetrated the Roman world in the first century B.C. ... Besides the Mithraic
influence, other pagan forces were at work. From the seventeenth of December
until the twenty-third, Romans celebrated the ancient feast of the Saturnalia.
... It was commemorative of the Golden Age of Saturn, the god of sowing and
husbandry."
In order to make Christianity palatable to the heathen, the Roman Church simply
took Saturnalia, adopted it into Christianity, and then eventually many of the
associated pagan symbols, forms, customs, and traditions were reinterpreted
(i.e., "Christianized") in ways "acceptable" to Christian
faith and practice. (In fact, in 375 A.D., the Church of Rome under Pope Julius
I merely announced that the birth date of Christ had been "discovered"
to be December 25th, and was accepted as such by the "faithful." The
festival of Saturnalia and the birthday of Mithras could now be celebrated as
the birthday of Christ!) The pagans flocked into the Catholic places of worship,
because they were still able to worship their old gods, but merely under
different names. It mattered not to them whether they worshiped the Egyptian
goddess mother and her child under the old names (Isis and Horus), or under the
names of the "Virgin Mary" and the "Christ-child." Either
way, it was the same old idol-religion (cf. 1 Thes. 1:8-10; 5:22 -- Paul says to
turn from idols, not rename them and Christianize them). Roman Catholicism's
Christmas Day is nothing but "baptized" paganism, having come along
much too late to be part of "the faith once delivered unto the saints"
(Jude 3).
D. "Christianization" of Pagan Customs, Symbols, and Terminology --
Christianity had to undergo a transformation so that pagan Rome could
"convert" without giving up its old beliefs and rituals. The actual
effect was to paganize official Christianity. "'A compound religion had
been manufactured, of which ... Christianity furnished the nomenclature, and
Paganism the doctrines and rights.' The idolatry of the Roman world, though
deposed from its ancient pre-eminence, had by no means been demolished. Instead
of this, its pagan nakedness had been covered with the garb of a deformed
Christianity" (W.E. Vine). Pagan customs involving vestments, candles,
incense, images, and processions were all incorporated into church worship and
continue today.
The following customs and traditions associated with Xmas all have pagan/heathen
origins. ("Xmas" is the more preferable form for the day, since it at
least leaves the name of our Savior out of the heathen observance.) Naturally,
Christians would not keep these customs for such evil and perverse reasons, but
the fact of their origins remain -- "the customs of the people are
vain" (Jer. 10:3), and should thereby be carefully considered by all who
know and love the Lord:
1. The blasphemous "Christ's Mass" shortened to "Christ-mas"
-- The Roman Catholic "Christ's Mass" is a special mass performed in
celebration of Christ's birth. In this mass, Jesus is considered both the priest
and the victim, represented by the Catholic priest who offers Him as a sacrifice
each time the mass is performed. In offering this "sacrifice," the
priest believes he has the power to change the bread and the wine of the
Communion into Jesus' literal flesh and blood, requiring the people to worship
these elements as they do God Himself. This is obviously a denial of the gospel,
and thereby, a false gospel (a re-doing of the sacrifice for sin -- Heb. 9:12,
24-26; 10:10,12,14). Yet, many who cry out all year long against the blasphemous
Roman Catholic system, at year-end embrace Rome's most blasphemous abomination
of them all -- Christmas!
2. Nativity Scenes (tainted with paganism) -- Nearly every form of pagan worship
descended from the Babylonian mysteries, which focus attention on the
"mother-goddess" and the birth of her child. This was adapted to
"Mary-Jesus" worship, which then easily accommodated the multitude of
pagans "converted" to Christianity inside Constantine's Roman Catholic
Church. If anyone were to erect statues (i.e., images) of Mary and Joseph by
themselves, many within Protestant circles would cry "Idolatry!" But
at Xmas time, an image of a little baby is placed with the images of Mary and
Joseph, and it's called a "nativity scene." Somehow, the baby-idol
"sanctifies" the scene, and it is no longer considered idolatry! (cf.
Exo. 20:4-5a; 32:1-5a; 9-10a).
3. Christmas Tree -- Evergreen trees, because of their ability to remain green
through-out the winter season when most other forms of vegetation are dormant,
have long symbolized immortality, fertility, sexual potency, and reproduction,
and were often brought into homes and set up as idols.
The full mystical significance of the evergreen can only be understood when one
considers the profound reverence the ancient pagans had for all natural
phenomena -- "To them, Nature was everywhere alive. Every fountain had its
spirit, every mountain its deity, and every water, grove, and meadow, its
supernatural association. The whispering of the trees ... was the subtle speech
of the gods who dwelt within" (W.M. Auld, Christmas Traditions). This is
nothing but nature worship or Animism.
The custom of bringing the tree into the home and decorating it as is done today
has legendarily been attributed to Martin Luther. In truth, the modern custom
has been lost in obscurity, but almost every culture has some such tradition.
For ages, evergreen trees would be brought into the house during the winter as
magic symbols of luck and hope for a fruitful year to come, It may also be that
the star with which many of today's trees are topped did not originate as a
representation of the star that the wise men followed, but rather a
representation of the stars to which the ancient Chaldean astrologers looked for
guidance.
The first decorating of an evergreen was done by pagans in honor of their god
Adonis, who after being slain was brought to life by the serpent Aesculapius.
The representation of the slain Adonis was a dead stump of a tree. Around this
stump coiled the snake -- Aesculapius, symbol of life restoring. From the roots
of the dead tree, then comes forth another and different tree -- an evergreen
tree, symbolic to pagans of a god who cannot die! In Babylon, the evergreen tree
came to represent the rebirth/reincarnation of Nimrod as his new son (Sun),
Tammuz. In Egypt, this god was worshiped in a palm tree as Baal-Tamar. (Heathen
people in the land of Canaan also adopted tree worship, calling it the Asherah
-- a tree with its branches cut off was carved into a phallic symbol.) The fir
tree was worshiped in Rome as the same new-born god, named Baal-Berith, who was
restored to life by the same serpent. A feast was held in honor of him on
December 25th, observed as the day on which the god reappeared on earth -- he
had been killed, and was "reborn" on that day, victorious over death!
It was called the "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun." Thus, the annual
custom of erecting and decorating evergreen trees was brought down to us through
the centuries by the pagan Roman Catholic Church -- the paganism of Tammuz and
Baal, or the worship of the sun, mingled with the worship of Aesculapius the
serpent. Whether erected in private homes or in churches, decorated or not, the
evergreen tree is a glaring symbol of this false god.
4. Christmas Wreaths -- In pagan mythology, evergreen means eternal life and a
never-dying existence. Made from evergreens, Christmas wreaths were most
frequently round, which symbolized the sun (just as do halos in most religious
art). Hence, the round Xmas wreaths stand for an eternal sun, a never-dying or
self-renewing sun. In addition, the round form can also relate to the sign of
the female, which stands for the regeneration of life. Because of these pagan
associations, the Christian church was initially hostile towards the use of
wreaths and other evergreen derivatives. But in the same way it Christianized
other pagan traditions, the church soon found a way to confer its own symbolic
meanings. For example, the sharp pointed leaves of the "male" holly
came to represent Christ's crown of thorns and the red berries His blood, while
the "female" ivy symbolized immortality (Sulgrave Manor, "A Tudor
Christmas," p. 6). Such wreaths now not only adorn churches at Christmas
time, but are also appearing during the equally pagan Easter season.
5. Mistletoe -- The use of the mistletoe plant (which is poisonous to both man
and animals) can be traced back to the ancient Druids. (The Druids were pagan
Celtic priests who were considered magicians and wizards.) It represented the
false "messiah," considered by the Druids to be a divine branch that
had dropped from heaven and grew upon a tree on earth. This is an obvious
corruption of God's prophetic Word concerning Christ, "the Man the
Branch," coming from heaven. The mistletoe symbolized the reconciliation
between God and man. And since a kiss is the well known symbol of
reconciliation, that is how "kissing under the mistletoe" became a
custom -- both were tokens of reconciliation. The mistletoe, being a sacred
plant and a symbol of fertility, was also believed to contain certain magical
powers, having been brought to earth from heaven by a mistle thrush carrying it
in its toes (hence the name). It was once known as the "plant of
peace," and in ancient Scandinavia, enemies were reconciled under it (yet
another reason why people came to "kiss under the mistletoe"). It was
supposed to bring "good luck" and fertility, and even to protect from
witchcraft the house in which it hung.
A kiss is also something which is, at times, associated with lust. So the
practice of "kissing under the mistletoe" also had roots in the
orgiastic celebrations in connection with the Celtic Midsummer Eve ceremony. At
the time the mistletoe was gathered, the men would kiss each other as a display
of their homosexuality. (The custom was later broadened to include both men and
women.) Kissing under the mistletoe is also reminiscent of the temple
prostitution and sexual license proliferating during Roman Saturnalia.
6. Santa Claus -- Santa Claus or "Father Christmas" is a corruption of
the Dutch "Sant Nikolaas." ("Saint Nicholas" was the 4th
century Catholic bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, who gave treats to children; he
was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, "regarded as a special friend
and protector of children." The red suit comes from the fact that Catholic
bishops and cardinals in Italy wear red.) Santa Claus was also known as "Kriss
Kringle," a corruption of the German "Christ Kindl"-- Christ
Child. This has to be one of the most subtle of Satan's blasphemies, yet most
Christians are unaware of it.
Originally, the Santa Claus concept came from the pagan Egyptian god, Bes, a
rotund, gnome-like personage who was the patron of little children. Bes was said
to live at the North Pole, working year-round to produce toys for children who
had been good and obedient to their parents. In Dutch, he was called
"Sinter Klaas." Dutch settlers brought the custom to America. In
Holland and other European countries, the original Santa Claus was actually a
grim personage who traversed the countryside, determined to find out who really
had been "naughty or nice." Those who had been acting up were
summarily switched. The association of Santa Claus with snow, reindeer, and the
North Pole suggests Scandinavian or Norse traditions of the Yuletide season. (In
Babylonia, also, the stag [reindeer] was a symbol of the mighty one, Nimrod. The
symbolism of antlers worn on the head of a noble leader would demonstrate his
prowess as a hunter, and thereby, influence people to follow him.)
Santa is the blasphemous substitute for God! He is routinely given supernatural
powers and divine attributes which only GOD has. Think about it. He is made out
to be omniscient -- he knows when every child sleeps, awakes, has been bad or
good, and knows exactly what every child wants (cf. Psa. 139:1-4). He is made
out to be omnipresent -- on one night of the year he visits all the
"good" children in the world and leaves them gifts, seemingly being
everywhere at the same time. He is also made out to be omnipotent -- he has the
power to give to each child exactly what each one wants. Moreover, Santa Claus
is made out to be a sovereign judge -- he answers to no one and no one has
authority over him, and when he "comes to town," he comes with a full
bag of rewards for those whose behavior has been acceptable in his eyes.
Santa Claus has become one of the most popular and widely accepted and unopposed
myths ever to be successfully interwoven into the fabric and framework of
Christianity. It is a fact that Christ was born, and that truth should greatly
rejoice the heart of every Christian. But the Santa Claus myth distorts the
truth of Christ's birth by subtly blending truth with the myth of Santa Claus.
When Christian parents lie to their children about Santa Claus, they are taking
the attention of their children away from God and causing them to focus on a fat
man in a red suit with god-like qualities. All of this teaches the child to
believe that, just like Santa, God can be pleased with "good works,"
done in order to earn His favor. Also, they teach that no matter how bad the
child has been, he will still be rewarded by God -- just as Santa never failed
to bring gifts. Even in homes of professing Christians, Santa Claus has clearly
displaced Jesus in the awareness and affections of children, becoming the
undisputed spirit, symbol, and centerpiece of Christmas.
7. Christmas Eve -- "Yule" is a Chaldean word meaning
"infant." Long before the coming of Christianity, the heathen
Anglo-Saxons called the 25th of December "Yule day" -- in other words,
"infant day" or "child's day" -- the day they celebrated the
birth of the false "messiah"! The night before "Yule day"
was called "Mother night." Today it is called "Christmas
Eve." And it wasn't called "Mother night" after Mary, the mother
of our Lord -- "Mother night" was observed centuries before Jesus was
born. Semiramis (Nimrod's wife) was the inspiration for "Mother
night," and "Child's day" was the supposed birthday of her son (Tammuz),
the sun-god!
8. Yule Log -- The Yule log was considered by the ancient Celts a sacred log to
be used in their religious festivals during the winter solstice; the fire
provided promises of good luck and long life. Each year's Yule log had to be
selected in the forest on Christmas Eve by the family using it, and could not be
bought, or the superstitions associated with it would not apply. In Babylonian
paganism, the log placed in the fireplace represented the dead Nimrod, and the
tree which appeared the next morning (which today is called the "Christmas
tree") was Nimrod alive again (reincarnated) in his new son (sun), Tammuz.
(Still today in some places, the Yule log is placed in the fireplace on
Christmas Eve, and the next morning there is a Christmas tree!)
Today's Yule log tradition comes to us from Scandinavia, where the pagan
sex-and-fertility god, Jule, was honored in a twelve-day celebration in
December. A large, single log was kept with a fire against it for twelve days,
and each day for twelve days a different sacrifice was offered. The period now
counted as the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany was originally the
twelve days of daily sacrifices offered to the Yule log. (What, then, are we
really doing when we send "Yuletide greetings"? Are we really honoring
Christ by sending greetings in the name of a Scandinavian fertility god? These
are the same customs being practiced today as in ancient paganism! Only the
names have changed.)
9. Candles -- Candles were lit by the ancient Babylonians in honor of their god,
and his altars had candles on them. And as is well known, candles are also a
major part of the ritualism of Roman Catholicism, which adopted the custom from
heathenism. Candles approached the Yule log in ritual importance. Like the Yule
log, they had to be a gift, never a purchase, and were lighted and extinguished
only by the head of the household. Such candles stood burning steadily in the
middle of the table, never to be moved or snuffed, lest death follow. The Yule
candle, wreathed in greenery, was to burn through Christmas night until the sun
rose or the Christmas service began (Sulgrave Manor, "A Tudor
Christmas," p. 9). Obviously, candles should have no part in Christian
worship, for nowhere in the New Testament is their use sanctioned.
10. Giving of Gifts -- The tradition of exchanging gifts has nothing to do with
a reenactment of the Magi giving gifts to Jesus, but has many superstitious,
pagan origins instead. One prominent tradition was the Roman custom of
exchanging food, trinkets, candles, or statutes of gods during the mid-winter
Kalends (the first day of the month in the ancient Roman calendar). This custom
was transferred to December 25th by the Roman Church in keeping with the
Saturnalian festival and in celebration of the benevolent St. Nicholas. [Is it
not the height of ridiculousness to claim that giving one another presents
properly celebrates Jesus' "birthday" (not that there is anything
necessarily wrong in giving each other presents)? But what are we giving Him, if
indeed we are specifically celebrating His incarnation?]
11. Christmas Goose -- The "Christmas goose" and "Christmas
cakes" were both used in the worship of the Babylonian "messiah."
The goose was considered to be sacred in many ancient lands, such as Rome, Asia
Minor, India, and Chaldea. In Egypt, the goose was a symbol for a child, ready
to die! In other words, a symbol of the pagan "messiah," ready to give
his life (supposedly) for the world. This is obviously a satanic mockery of the
truth.
12. Christmas Ham -- Hogs were slaughtered and the eating of the carcass was one
of the central festivities of the Saturnalia. Each man would offer a pig as a
sacrifice because superstition held that a boar had killed the sun deity Adonis.
Hence, the tradition of the Christmas ham on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
13. Christmas Stocking -- According to tradition, a poor widower of Myra,
Turkey, had three daughters, for whom he could not provide a dowry. On Xmas-Eve,
"Saint Nicholas" threw three bags of gold down the chimney, thereby
saving the daughters from having to enter into prostitution. One bag rolled into
a shoe, and the others fell into some stockings that had been hung to dry by the
fire. Hence, the beginning of the tradition of the "Christmas
stocking" or "boot."
14. Christmas Cards -- The first British Xmas card can be dated back to 1843.
The first cards featured pictures of dead birds! Evidently, the popularity of
hunting robin and wren on Christmas Day made the dead bird image an appropriate
one for "holiday" cards. Often the text of the cards would also have a
morbid tone. Later, the cards displayed dancing insects, playful children,
pink-cheeked young women, and festively decorated Christmas trees. The first
actual Xmas cards were really Valentine's Day cards (with different messages)
sent in December. Mass production of Xmas cards in the United States can be
traced back to 1875. Initially, the manufacturers thought of Xmas cards as a
sideline to their already successful business in playing cards. But the
"tradition" of sending cards soon caught on, leading to a very
profitable business by itself.
15. Christmas Carols -- What do you suppose the reaction would be by a church's
leaders if its pastor were to propose that the following hymns be introduced
into the church to commemorate the birth of Christ? After all, the tunes are
quite lovely.
Hymn #1 -- A hymn by a Unitarian minister (Unitarians reject the Trinity and
full deity of Christ) that does not mention Jesus Christ and reflects the
liberal social gospel theology of the 19th century.
Hymn #2 -- A hymn by an American Episcopal priest, the fourth verse of which
teaches Roman Catholic superstition about Christ coming to be born in people
during the Advent season.
Hymn #3 -- A song, the words by an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, the music by
a Roman Catholic schoolteacher, containing the Roman Catholic superstition about
halos emanating from holy people, with no gospel message.
Perhaps you would expect the church's leaders to be very upset. It might
surprise you to learn that they were upset when they suspected that the pastor
might somehow prevent them from singing them! You see, those three hymns were
already in the church's hymnals! The pastor did not have to introduce them. The
three theologically incorrect "Christmas carols" referred to above are
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Silent Night.
(See the sub-report for an evaluation of some of the most popular Xmas carols
found in church hymnals today.)
E. European Xmas Traditions -- In the early days of Christianity, as it
moved north and west into Europe, many pagan celebrations were encountered. For
example, in the late-6th century in England, the Angles and Saxons were found
celebrating Yule. The Christian evangelists thought they would fail in any
attempt to rival, suppress, or stamp out such long held customs, so they simply
adopted popular dates for their own "special rituals and hallowed
services." In other words, it was easier to establish a festival
celebrating the birth of Christ if it conveniently coincided with an existing
popular pagan feast day. In this way, the pagan peoples (albeit potential
converts to Christianity) could continue with their usual celebrations at this
time of year, but the reason for the merrymaking could be redefined and
attributed to Christ's birth rather than to any pagan rituals. As paganism
eventually died out and Christianity became widespread, Christmas became
increasingly more associated with its religious foundations than any others (Sulgrave
Manor, "A Tudor Christmas," p. 2).
It was left to the Puritans to denounce everything. For them, Christmas was
rightfully part popish, part pagan, and was forbidden to be kept as a holiday or
feast day. The attack began in 1644 when the Puritans controlled the Parliament;
December 25th was changed to a Fast Day. By 1647, even the Fast Day was
abolished as a relic of superstition, synonymous with the Church of Rome. No
observation on December 25th was any longer permitted, but the day was to be
observed as a normal market-day. Christmas was accurately depicted by such names
as the Profane Man's Ranting Day, the Superstitious Man's Idol Day, the Papist's
Massing Day, the Old Heathen's Feasting Day, the Multitude's Idle Day, and Satan
-- that Adversary's -- Working Day. In those days, any Christmas celebrations
would be broken up by troops, who would tear down decorations and arrest anyone
holding a service. Some who celebrated it in Europe were also thrown into
prison. Because of the riots that broke out following the banning of Christmas,
the celebrations and revelry were restored in 1660 by King Charles II, a Roman
Catholic (Sulgrave Manor, "A Tudor Christmas," p. 3).
F. American Xmas Traditions -- America's settlers (the "founding
fathers" of so-called "Protestant America") rightfully considered
Christmas a "popish" holiday. In fact, it was only in the early 1800s
that several founding members of the New York Historical Society
"invented" Christmas. Before then, it was illegal in colonial
Massachusetts to even take December 25th off work. Christmas was forbidden as
"unseemly to ye spiritual welfare of ye community." (It was banned in
Massachusetts in 1659, and this law remained on the books for 22 years. In
Boston, public schools stayed open on December 25th until as late as 1870!) It
wasn't until 1836 that any state declared Christmas a holiday (Alabama), and
then there were no more state declarations until the Civil War. It was not until
1885 that all federal workers were given Christmas Day off. The so-called Xmas
customs and traditions were later concocted more for commercial purposes than
for religious.
Quoting from a 12/23/83 USA TODAY article about Christmas: "A broad element
of English Christianity still considered Christmas celebration a pagan
blasphemy. The Puritans, Baptists, Quakers, Presbyterians, Calvinists and other
denominations brought this opposition to early New England and strong opposition
to the holiday lasted in America until the middle of the 18th century."
Henry Ward Beecher, a Congregationalist, wrote in 1874 of his New England
boyhood:
"To me Christmas is a foreign day, and I shall die so. When I was a boy I
wondered what Christmas was. I knew there was such a time, because we had an
Episcopal church in our town, and I saw them dressing it with evergreens, and
wondered what they were taking the woods in the church for; but I got no
satisfactory explanation. A little later I understood it was a Romish
institution, kept by the Romish Church."
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II. Scriptural Support
Against Celebrating Christmas -- Unacceptable Worship
A. 2 Chron. 33:15-17 -- The Israelites had kept the old pagan form (the
high places of Baal), but had merely introduced the worship of God into that
form -- a refusal to let go of pagan worship forms (i.e., God was to be
worshiped in the Temple, not on the high places). This was unacceptable worship
because the right object of worship was mixed with wrong forms of worship; i.e.,
the mixing of godly worship with ungodly form. Likewise, is not the celebration
of Christmas the taking of a celebration established by pagans and for pagans,
and then introducing the worship of Christ into that pagan form?
B. Deut. 12:29-32 -- God warned His people Israel to destroy all vestiges
of pagan worship that they found in the "Promised Land." Not only did
God want to prevent His people from being enticed to worship false gods, but He
also specifically revealed that He did not want His people to worship Him in the
same manner in which the heathen worshiped their gods. We know, therefore, that
our Lord is displeased by practices which profess to honor Him, but which are
copied from the tradition of false religions. The command here was to worship
God only in His way, i.e., do only what God commands -- not adding to God's
commands nor taking away from them. Therefore, is not "putting Christ back
into Christmas," worshiping "the Lord your God their way"? Is
there any command in the Bible to give special reverence to the Scriptural
account of Christ's birth more so than to any other Scripture, let alone even a
suggestion to celebrate or commemorate His birth in any way whatsoever? God
never intended for His people to be imitators of the pagan customs of the world,
but has called us to be separate and set apart.
C. Lev. 10:1,2 -- Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire to the Lord. Is
not the celebration of Christmas, with all its pagan symbols and forms, a
"strange fire" unto the Lord, and is not this form of worship contrary
to what God commands?
D. 1 Sam. 15:1-3, 7-9, 21-23 -- Saul disobeyed God's prophet in order to
worship God in his way. Is not the celebration of Christmas one of man's ways of
worshiping Christ? There is certainly no Biblical command to offer worship in
this manner.
E. 2 Sam. 6:2-7 -- David attempts to transport the ark on a "new
cart" instead of using the rings and poles as the Law required (Exo.
25:12-15). Additionally, the "transporters" of the ark were not even
authorized to carry it (1 Chron. 15:2, 13-15); i.e., the ark was not only
transported in the wrong way, but was transported by the wrong people! Is not
the celebration of Christmas the wrong way (pagan forms and tradition) with the
wrong people (the heathen of the world join right in with the professing
Christians)?
F. 1 Ki. 12:26-33 -- In order to unify the northern ten tribes of Israel,
ungodly King Jeroboam set up pagan idols, not in place of God, but as new focal
points for directing worship to God. He even instituted a new festival on a new
day; i.e., a new religious holiday of his own choosing. Even though the true God
of Israel was still to be the object of worship in the new religious holiday,
both the holiday and the worship were not authorized by God nor accepted by Him
(1 Ki. 13:1-3; 15:29,30). Why? Because the concocted mixture of error with truth
constituted false religion! Likewise, is not the celebration of Christmas a
religious holiday of man's own choosing, replete with pagan symbols and forms,
all under the guise (by sincere Christians at least) of worshiping the one true
God and Savior? But does not this worship form and system still constitute false
religion, and thereby, make it unacceptable to God? And besides, where in the
Bible do Christians have the right to add a new holy day to the so-called
Christian calendar, any more than King Jeroboam had the right to add a new holy
day to God's theocratic calendar?
G. 1 Cor. 8:4-13; Rom. 14:1-13; 1 Cor. 10:14, 18-21 -- These passages
concerning Christian liberty are discussed in more detail under Roman numeral
IV. [Christian liberty can best be defined Biblically as "the freedom to
engage in practices not prohibited by the Scriptures or denying oneself what is
permitted (i.e., a moral choice of self-discipline) in order to be a more
effective witness for God." So the question must first be answered,
"Is Christmas permitted?"] Briefly, some claim that Paul is teaching
that the participation in pagan forms condemns no one, and therefore,
participation in Christmas and its forms, even though arising out of pagan
idolatry, is inconsequential. However, Paul nowhere approves participation in
acts of idolatry, of which the participation in the pagan forms of Christmas
comes dangerously close to doing. Instead, Paul is speaking of the liberty to
continue in Jewish days of worship/festival that had been previously ordained
under the Jewish law. There is certainly no liberty to bring outside pagan forms
into the church's worship services. Likewise, there is no liberty to
Christianize Babylonian/Roman pagan holy days as special days.
Christians in the first century churches had the liberty to observe Old
Testament holy days and feasts (days that had previously been revealed by God)
if they were so immature as to do so. The weaker brother, Paul wrote, was at
that time not to be censured for continuing to attach some importance to the Old
Testament holy days, as a clear knowledge of their abolition in Christ was not
yet given to him (the weaker brother). But to observe a pagan holy day is
something this passage does not sanction. They certainly did not have the
liberty to regard Babylonian/Roman pagan holy days (days that were invented by
the devil) as special days. Again, that would have been idolatry, worldliness,
and perhaps even a form of Satan worship on their part. Therefore, how can the
observance of Christmas Day, or any other Babylonian/Roman Catholic holy day, be
a matter of Christian liberty?
Yet when some of us refuse to regard the pagan holy days as special days, we are
the ones often referred to as the "weaker brother" in this matter! Are
we opposed to such days because we are "weak in faith"? Faith would be
defined as believing what the Word of God says about a matter and acting upon
it. It was by faith that we stopped regarding pagan holy days as special days.
Would we be more mature Christians if we would start regarding such days again?
It would certainly be much easier on our families and us.
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III. Christmas and the
(Spiritual) Violation of the Ten Commandments (reverse order)
A. Do Not Covet -- Children learn to covet the gifts of others, to drool
over the Christmas catalog, to drag their parents endlessly through toy stores,
all in the name of "the Christmas spirit."
B. Do Not Bear False Witness -- "Jesus is the reason for the
season!" is the Christian battle cry to "put Christ back in
Christmas," when in actuality, there is not only no Biblical warrant for
Christmas, but its roots are in pagan worship systems. Nevertheless, professing
Christians lie to their children about Santa Claus, the supernatural, sorcerous
false "god" of Christmas, whose "gospel" is one of works
salvation along with unconditional acceptance and rewards. Parents lie to their
children for years about the god-like character of Santa Claus, in effect asking
them to trust in a false god and a lie, and then don't understand why later in
life their children won't believe and trust in the true God, Jesus Christ.
C. Do Not Steal -- Christmas spending patterns could never stand the test
of Biblical stewardship; i.e., Christians, in celebrating Christmas,
"steal" the Lord's resources by ignoring their proper use; lavishly
spend these resources on worthless and useless trinkets (in many cases); and
withhold resources from those in need, while at the same time claiming to never
have enough money to buy good Christian books, pay for home schooling, or buy
Bible helps for their children. (Christians could also be helping the
spiritually needy by buying and giving them tracts, books, etc.) We
"steal" from our families what they need and what we owe them in order
to buy gifts for those who don't need them.
D. Do Not Commit Adultery -- At this "special" time of the
year, lustful thoughts are actually encouraged; e.g., teens are allowed to go to
parties and stay out later, thereby having temptations put in front of them that
otherwise wouldn't be there. Christmas parties for adults also encourage evil
thoughts through the use of the mistletoe, etc. (According to Matt. 5, such
thoughts constitute adultery. At the very least, spiritual adultery is
encouraged by the "season.")
E. Do Not Murder -- Envy and hate of my brother (which, according to
Matt. 5, is equal to murder) because he has more than me or because he receives
a larger Christmas bonus than me, is encouraged at Christmas time. We also tend
to spiritually sacrifice our children to the "god of Christmas" via
greed, selfishness, etc.
F. Honor Father and Mother -- Christmas gift-giving is not an honor to
parents; the term "exchanging" gifts (i.e., giving in expectation of a
return) is a dead give-away of the mockery associated with this tradition.
G. Remember the Sabbath and Keep It Holy -- Although we recognize that
the Lord's Day is not the "Christian Sabbath," clearly the Lord's Day
is to be kept for worship and observed as such. Yet when Christmas Eve,
Christmas Day, or the day after Christ-mas falls on a Sunday, most churches
adjust the Lord's Day to accommodate Christ-mas, usually by canceling the
regularly scheduled Sunday evening service. Most of its members are too busy or
too tired to attend services anyway.
H. Do Not Take the Lord's Name in Vain -- "Christ" and
"mass" are two words that are totally opposite from one another, and
to connect the two is to blaspheme the name of Christ. By taking a pagan
celebration, "Christianizing" it, and calling it a celebration of the
birth of Christ, is most certainly taking the Lord's name in vain. (A good
example of the willingness of the professing church to profane the name of the
Lord would be the title of a popular children's Christmas concert production --
The Divine Ornament. Imagine, identifying our Lord with a pagan ornament to hang
on a pagan tree! What insult! What blasphemy!) In addition, some professing
Christians use religion ("Christ's birthday") as a cloak to cover the
evils of covetousness, idolatry, greed, immorality, etc. -- all excuses to give
vent to evil lusts.
I. Do Not Make Yourself Any Carved Image -- Nativity scenes,
"pictures" of Christ, Christmas cards with "pictures" of
Jesus, etc., all violate this command. God has given us His Word, not images, to
teach us about Christ (1 Pe. 1:23; Dt. 4:12, 15-19).
J. Have No Other Gods Before Me -- The "god of Christmas" is
idolatrous! Looking to the Christmas season for happiness, joy, and fulfillment,
rather than through a pure, personal, and Biblical relationship with Jesus
Christ, is idolatry.
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IV. Is a Christian's
Decision to Celebrate Christmas a Part of Christian Liberty?
A. Romans 14:1-13 -- This passage is speaking of Jews who were observing
the Old Testament Jewish holy days/festivals and dietary laws even though they
were now believers in Christ; but they were also judging their Gentile
brothers-in-the-Lord who did not observe the Jewish customs. Likewise, the
Gentile Christians were judging their Jewish brothers who were seemingly
caught-up in ceremonial law. Paul was thusly saying, "To you Gentile
Christians -- leave the Jewish Christians alone, because they are not violating
any Scriptural commands by their actions (i.e., it's a "disputable"
matter [doubtful or gray area] and not a moral issue). To you Jewish Christians
-- it's okay for you to observe the Jewish festivals and dietary laws because
they were given by God in the Old Testament, and thereby, are considered to be
previously approved worship forms, but don't judge your Gentile brothers,
because there is no Biblical command for either of you to continue to observe
these things." (Actually, it wasn't "okay" [see IV.C. below], but
Paul allowed it as an act of an immature/weaker brother [see II.G. above].) If a
moral issue is involved (i.e., a practice that is covered in Scripture), then
this passage and its application to Christian liberty (i.e., the freedom to
engage in practices not prohibited by Scripture) would obviously not apply. And
as brought out earlier in this report, the celebration of Christmas appears to
be such a moral issue, because its celebration is not only not from God, but is
from ancient paganism itself!
B. 1 Corinthians 8:4-13 -- The Gentile Christians, who had been raised in
an idolatrous system, were having a problem with their Jewish brothers who were
eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. (Apparently, this was the only
"healthy" meat available.) Similar to the Romans 14 passage above,
Paul says that eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols is not a moral
issue, and thereby, is not prohibited. However, Paul does not say that it is
okay to go into the pagan temple itself; in fact, in other passages (1 Cor
10:14, 18-21), Paul specifically prohibits getting involved with the pagan
feasts. In other words, it's not a moral issue to partake in the byproducts of a
pagan religious system (note, however, that there is no indication here that the
Jewish Christians were using the "idol meat" as part of their
worship), but it is not okay to partake in the religious system itself (because
the corrupt character of the participants would be harmful for believers).
Rather, we must be separate from the worldly system (2 Cor 6:14-7:1). Therefore,
when items (byproducts) associated with a pagan religious system not only
develop religious associations of their own, but have been integrated into what
would otherwise be true Christian worship (as the celebration of Christmas has
clearly become in our culture), then we should pull away from them so that there
is no confusion over our allegiances.
C. Galatians 4:9-10; Colossians 2:16-17 -- Both these passages of
Scripture refer to the Jewish holy days under Old Testament law. If Christians
were not even to observe the Old Testament holy days -- days that did have
divine sanction, for a time -- they certainly don't have the liberty to observe
pagan holy days!
D. James 4:11 -- James is saying that Christians may only judge a brother
on matters determined in God's Word (i.e., moral issues). If a matter is not
covered in the Word, then these are matters of Christian liberty (á la Rom.
14:1-13 and 1 Cor 8:4-13), and he who judges in these areas of Christian liberty
is, in effect, judging and condemning the Word of God as being an imperfect
standard to which the judge, thereby, refuses to submit. On the other hand,
since we have clear Scriptural precept that condemns the things that go on
around December 25th in the name of Christ, the celebration of Christmas does
not appear to be a matter of liberty, but one of moral conduct.
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V. The Right Response
A. Quench Not the Holy Spirit (1 Thes 5:19-22) -- Test all things against
the Scripture and line-up beliefs and actions with what is true (i.e., do not
treat with contempt the Word of God). If one is convinced that to celebrate
Christmas is sin, then he and his family must not compromise with the world or
the church by participating in any Christmas celebrations (Rom. 14:23).
B. Avoid Traps of the Devil:
1. Lack of Zeal -- One who never considers why he does certain things, but he
just does them because he always has or because his parents always have; one who
acts on emotions rather than on facts.
2. Lack of Truth -- One who does things for good reasons and right motives
(i.e., plenty of zeal), but not in truth.
C. Realize that Christians Celebrating Christmas as the Day of Christ's Birth
Makes No More Sense than Adding Any of the Following Days as Special Days of
Christian Celebration: -- (Remember, the Bible's focus on the birth of
Christ is for the sole purpose of documenting his virgin birth, his incarnation,
and the fulfillment of His prophetic Messiahship. Like the tongue-in-cheek
suggestions below, one must also remember that there is no Biblical warrant,
precedent, nor precept for the remembrance of the day of Christ's birth as a day
of special religious celebration.)
1. Baptism Celebration -- Why not have three days of swimming parties in the
summer in order to celebrate/symbolize Christ's three days in the grave? We
could even pick a time based upon our speculation of when John the Baptist
baptized Jesus!
2. Ascension Celebration -- Why not have one day set aside every year for
hot-air balloon rides in order to celebrate Christ's ascension to heaven?
3. Miracle Celebration -- There is considerable Biblical focus on Jesus'
miracles (even more than on his birth), so why not have one day set aside every
year to celebrate the first of Christ's miracles? And since that was the turning
of water into wine (John 2), why not have "Christian" wine-tasting
parties?
D. Avoid the Rationalizations that:
1. "Christmas Provides a Festive Time to Share the Gospel" -- One
cannot take something condemned in God's Word and "use it" to spread
the Gospel; neither will God bless it to spread His Word. Unacceptable worship
and the "mixing-in" of unholy/pagan forms is surely not the normal
means through which God blesses the faithful. Satan works to blend together his
system with God's system, because when unacceptable worship (paganism) is
blended with true worship (God's truth), true worship is destroyed. In fact, any
time one mixes pagan ideas and practices with the pure religion of Christ, it is
condemned in Scripture as the heinous sin of idolatry! God has always detested
taking those things dedicated to idols and using them to worship Him. As a
matter of fact, this "special time of the year" is probably more a
hindrance to the receptiveness of the gospel message than a help. Much of the
celebration observed by our contemporary society deludes people into assuming
that God is pleased, when in reality, He is offended by false religion,
pseudo-worship, and alien philosophies. The ecumenical spirit and a counterfeit
"love" under the guise of "peace and goodwill among men,"
more than likely dulls one's sensitivity to his desperate need to repent of sin
and be reconciled to a holy God.
2. "Christmas is Merely the Honoring of Christ's Birth" -- Someone
says, "I know Christmas is of pagan origin, but I still think it's not
wrong for a church to have a special time for honoring Christ's birth." But
since when did Protestants believe that Christians have the right to add to the
Bible? Is the church a legislative body? Are we to follow the Bible in our faith
and practice, or the thinking of fallible men? If we have the right to add a
special holy day to the Christian economy, then we can add 10,000 other things.
Then we will be no better than the false cults and the Roman Catholics who
follow heathen traditions! [Besides, celebrating Christ's birth is a form of
worship. But since Christmas is a lie, those who celebrate it are not worshiping
in "spirit and truth" (John 4:24).]
3. "All I'm Doing is Putting Christ Back into Christmas" -- The modern
conservative cry to put Christ back into Christmas is absurd. As detailed
earlier in this report, Jesus Christ was never in Christmas. It's a lie to say
He was. He has no part in a lie. When anyone takes the truth and mixes it with a
lie, they no longer have the truth. They have changed the truth into a lie.
Neither is it possible to take a lie and mix it with enough truth to change the
lie into the truth. You still come out with a lie. One may say, "Well, I
know it's not the truth, but I'll put Christ back in Christmas and glorify God
in it then." No, you won't. Christ never was in Christmas. You cannot
change a lie into the truth. It should in reality be called Baal-mass,
Nimrod-mass, Tammuz-mass, Mithras-mass, or Mary-mass. Christ-mass is a lie. Why
use a lie as a good time for a fundamental truth (the incarnation) of the
Christian faith?
4. "I'm Using Christmas to Witness for Christ, Just Like the Apostle Paul
Did" -- Some say that all they are doing is taking the "truth"
from Christmas (i.e., the incarnation of Christ) and "cultivating" it
as the Apostle Paul did (Acts 17/Mars Hill), taking the opportunity of the
season to witness to a lost world. This would be fine if these Christians were
actually doing only as Paul did. Paul, in addressing the Greek philosophers on
Mars Hill, proclaimed to them that their "unknown god" to whom they
had erected an altar, was none other than "the God who made the world and
all the things therein." Paul was not intimidated by the pagan surroundings
and symbolisms, nor did he berate the Greeks for their error, but merely showed
them the truth of the gospel of Christ.
But do Christians really use the "opportunity presented by the season"
in the same way as Paul used the opportunity of the pagan altar? Do Christians
personally stand in front of their hometown public displays of Xmas (Nativity
scenes, etc.) and preach the gospel? To paraphrase Paul, do they say: "Men
of Indianapolis, I see that in every way you are very religious; what you
worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you"? Do they come
out of the public schools, where they have just attended their children's Xmas
programs, and preach to the attendees about the true God who has been grossly
misrepresented in the program they have just witnessed?
Hardly. Even to most of those who understand the true origin of Xmas, this
"unique time of year" means inviting unbelievers into their homes to
gather around the Xmas tree, to enjoy the beauty of the wreaths, absorb the heat
from the Yule log, etc., reasoning that they are only using the pagan forms and
the pagan festival season as an opportunity to witness. If Paul meant this in
Acts 17, he would have met the people in the Athenian temple or in his or their
homes, gathering around their idols that he had Christianized and was now using
as a part of his worship. Most of the people who decorate their homes and
churches with Xmas trees, holly wreaths, Nativity scenes, etc., all supposedly
to be used as "opportunities" via "Xmas coffees,"
neighborhood "grab bag" gift exchanges, Xmas concerts, etc., are
thoroughly convinced that they're doing God a service. And since they are not
involved in the crass secular "commercialization" that the world
revels in, but have instead "put Christ back in Xmas" (so to speak),
they reason that all is Biblical and pleasing to God.
5. "It Doesn't Mean Anything to Me" -- Many Christians who routinely
make a habit of picking-and-choosing which Biblical commands they will or will
not obey, have likewise carried this practice over into a justification for
celebrating Christmas. They claim, "but the Christmas tree, mistletoe,
Santa Claus, etc., don't mean anything pagan to me, so I'll exercise my
Christian liberty and partake in all of it." Obviously, if one were to take
such a cavalier approach to the physical world (i.e., "I can drink rat
poison because I choose not to regard it as poison"), it would likely lead
to a quick physical death. Why, then, do Christians think they can avoid
spiritual harm by ignoring God's spiritual warnings?
6. "The 'Connection' Has Been Broken" -- There are those who clearly
recognize the pagan nature of the various Christmas worship forms and practices.
Nevertheless, many of these Christians claim that because of the long passage of
time from their pagan inception to the present (6,000 years?), the
"connection" to paganism has been sufficiently diminished to allow the
adoption of these forms and practices into our Christian worship and
celebration. While it may be true that most symbols have lost their original
demonic meaning and significance in a modern society, it is strangely bizarre
and ironic that Christendom seeks to commemorate Christ's birth with the faded
symbols of Satan. And even though some of God's people may be naive and ignorant
about the source of these things, surely God is not. Can such things please Him?
And think about this -- if it were possible to "disconnect" current
practices from their pagan/occultic roots, why does Scripture not provide us any
guidelines as to:
(a) how much time is necessary for the "neutralization"/disassociation
process to occur; and
(b) which of the hundreds of ancient pagan rites would then be acceptable for
adaptation into Christian worship (since some are obviously much more pagan/occultic
than others)?
7. "There Are Hundreds of Other Items of Daily Life that Have a Pagan
Origin" -- It is said, "Such things as the wedding ring, certain
clothing customs, the modern division of time into hours and minutes, the names
of the days of the week, etc., all have pagan connections in their origins, so
isn't it a contradiction on your part to say that their meanings have
sufficiently changed while Christmas's meanings have not?" But we are not
saying that their meanings have changed. The question is one of using things of
pagan origin in our worship of Christ. So we would ask the question back,
"Which of these pagan items do we focus on to celebrate the birth of
Christ? Or which of these is 'Christianized' and brought into our weekly worship
of, or our daily devotion to Christ, as you do with the pagan forms and
traditions of Xmas?" The origin and meaning of a custom, tradition, or form
does not take on significance unless it is somehow specifically incorporated
into, or lined up with, our worship. As we have already detailed in the section
on Christian liberty (Section IV.B.), these rings, clothing customs, etc. would
be merely the byproducts of paganism, not paganism itself, and they have
developed no religious connotations or associations of their own, as have the
Xmas customs and traditions.
8. "Baptism (and Circumcision) Have Pagan Origins and God Still Gave Their
Use in Scripture, So What's Wrong With Using the Pagan Forms of Christmas?"
-- This argument is frequently made by pastors who say that to be consistent,
those who would have us forbid the forms, symbols, and traditions of Christmas
should also be calling for us to abandon believer's baptism; i.e., shouldn't the
would-be banners of Christmas be saying, "Since the ancient mystery
religions practiced forms of baptism, therefore baptism is a pagan custom and
should be outlawed for the believer in Christ"? This is a strange argument
for anyone to make, particularly a theologian (and, in our opinion, reveals a
low view of Scriptural admonitions). If baptism were absent from the Bible, as
using pagan forms and traditions to celebrate or commemorate the birth of Christ
are totally absent, there would then be no Biblical justification for baptism.
But God has not commanded us to celebrate or commemorate Christ's birth in any
way. He has commanded us to baptize (Matt. 28:19).
E. Abstain From the Observance of Christmas -- What, then, ought to be
the Christian's response to this and other pagan and Roman inventions? It cannot
be denied that they are pagan, pure and simple, from beginning to end. God gives
us specific instructions in His Holy Word: Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the
way of the heathen ... (Jer. 10:2). These words are perfectly clear. What
rational options do we have as Bible believing Christians?
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VI. Conclusion
The very popularity of Christmas should cause the Christian to question it.
Anyone and everyone can celebrate Christmas without question -- outright pagans,
nominal Christians, and even Buddhists and Hindus. If, in reality, December 25th
were a date set by God to remember the birth of Jesus, there is no doubt that
the world would have nothing to do with it. After all, God has commanded one day
in seven -- the Lord's Day -- to worship Him. Does the world observe it? Of
course not. As expected, the world loves Christmas, but hates the Lord Jesus
Christ (John 15:18, 23-25). It shuns anything pertaining to true religion.
Shouldn't the Christian be just a little suspicious of a celebration in which
the whole sinful world can join without qualms?
One way to test the Scripturalness of our practices is to reflect on what we
would expect missionaries to teach new converts in a foreign culture. We assume
that they would use the Bible as their guidebook. If they could start new local
churches without importing American culture encumbered with Roman Catholicism,
liberal Protestantism, and crass commercialism, wouldn't it be wonderful?
Missionaries who have urged new converts to forsake all pagan superstitious
relics have later been questioned about the apparent inconsistency of their own
American Christmas customs. Nationals perceived them as idolatrous even though
the missionaries were oblivious to that possibility!
When Christmas is exposed for what it really is, this angers people. It angers
Evangelical Protestant people! And there is reason why it does so. When the
pagan celebration of Christmas is rooted up, and rejected, then what has become
a Protestant tradition is, in effect, being rejected! And that is why people
become angry. It began as a Roman Catholic holy day, and then it became a
Protestant holy day. And if anyone dares show it up for what it really is, they
face the wrath of the Protestant religious machine. And these days, that can be
very ugly.
Christmas is a thoroughly pagan holiday -- in its origin, in its trappings, and
in all its traditions. Perhaps we should contemplate the words of Charles Haddon
Spurgeon, delivered in a Lord's Day sermon on December 24, 1871:
"We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not
believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas: first,
because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be said
or sung in Latin or in English; and secondly, because we find no Scriptural
warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Saviour; and
consequently, its observance is a superstition, because [it's] not of divine
authority. Superstition has fixed most positively the day of our Saviour's
birth, although there is no possibility of discovering when it occurred. ...
"It was not till the middle of the third century that any part of the
church celebrated the nativity of our Lord; and it was not till very long after
the Western church had set the example, that the Eastern adopted it. Because the
day is not known, therefore superstition has fixed it; ... Where is the method
in the madness of the superstitious? Probably the fact is that the holy days
were arranged to fit in with the heathen festivals. ... We venture to assert
that if there be any day in the year of which we may be pretty sure that it was
not the day on which the Saviour was born, it is the twenty-fifth of December.
... regarding not the day, let us, nevertheless, give God thanks for the gift of
His dear Son."
And from Dr. H.A. Ironside's Lectures on the Book of Revelation (1920: p. 301):
"It is a lamentable fact that Babylon's principles and practices are
rapidly but surely pervading the churches that escaped from Rome at the time of
the Reformation. We may see evidences of it in the wide use of high-sounding
ecclesiastical titles, once unknown in the reformed churches, in the revival of
holy days and church feasts such as Lent, Good Friday, Easter, and Christ's
Mass, or, as it is generally written, Christmas. ... some of these festivals ...
when they are turned into church festivals, they certainly come under the
condemnation of Galatians 4:9-11, where the Holy Spirit warns against the
observance of days and months and times and seasons. All of them, and many more
that might be added, are Babylonish in their origin, and were at one time linked
with the Ashtoreth and Tammuz mystery-worship. It is through Rome that they have
come down to us; and we do well to remember that Babylon is a mother, with
daughters who are likely to partake of their mother's characteristics ..."
And, finally, from Alexander Hislop's 1916 classic, The Two Babylons: Or the
Papal Worship:
"Upright men strove to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts,
the apostasy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant,
was submerged under Pagan superstition. That Christmas is a Pagan festival is
beyond all doubt. The time of the year and the ceremonies with which it is still
celebrated, prove its origin."
We can summarize by saying that nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to
commemorate the birth of our Lord, and God the Father evidently deemed it unwise
to make the date known. Hence, it will always remain unknown and is not to be
ceremoniously remembered and celebrated. (In fact, as pointed out in the
Ironside quote above, God has warned us about getting entangled with any special
days [Gal. 4:10]). Notice though, that we are commanded to remember Him in His
death (but no special day was specified for this either):
"Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; this DO in remembrance
of Me" (Luke 22:18,19; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
To commemorate His death is Scriptural. Any day of the year will do. To
commemorate His birth is non-Scriptural, even extra-Scriptural (Deut. 4:2;
12:32; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:19), whether one chooses December 25th or any other
day.
If God had desired us to remember the day of Christ's birth, He could have left
us the precise date. But if He had, He would have vindicated every astrologer in
the past 2,000 years. In occult circles, the anniversary of a person's birth is
the most important metaphysical day of the year. The Bible recognizes no such
significance. It is intriguing that there are only two birthday celebrations
recorded in the entire Bible and they were both those of ungodly kings -- and
both resulted in an execution (Gen. 40:16-22 and Matt. 14:6-10/Mark 6:21-27)!
The Apostle Paul says: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the
cross [not the manger] of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14). By itself, we find no salvation
in the birth of the Lord Jesus, for salvation was only made possible through His
death (i.e., His shed blood) and resurrection. Our focus should be on the cross
and our ascended Savior, not in a cradle.
Those who love Jesus should certainly rejoice that He was born and lived amongst
us as a man. But if we truly want to glorify Him and bear testimony of who He
is, we must stop marrying that blessed gift with the debauchery of paganism. If
we want to honor His birth, let it be done as He would have done it: year-round
unselfishly serving our fellow man as an unending act of love for our God. Let
us put away all of the mixture of pagan customs and take up His mantle and His
pure worship, and show the confused world that there is a difference.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
1. Assemblies of Yahweh. The Case Against Christmas. Sacred Name Broadcaster,
Bethel, PA,23 pp.
2. Becker, R.F. The Truth About Christmas. Chapel Library, Venice, FL, 36 pp.
3. Blanton, Raymond. The Christmas Lie. Highways & Hedges Tracts, Liberty,
SC, 13 pp.
4. Buday, George. The History of the Christmas Card. Putman Pub., New York,
1954, 304 pp.
5. Dager, Albert James. "The Origins of Christmas Traditions," Media
Spotlight Special Report Redmond, WA, 1985, 2 pp.
6. Dickey, D.J. & Shetler, Earl. "Should A Christian Celebrate
Christmas?" Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Vernonia, OR, 10/89: three-part
sermon series -- each on a 90-minute audio cassette tape.
7. Dossey, Donald. Holiday Folklore, Phobias and Fun: Mythical Origins,
Scientific Treatments & Superstitious "Cures." Outcomes Unltd.
Press, Asheville, NC, 1995 (paper ed.), 232 pp.
8. Elwell, Walter A. (Ed.). Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Baker Book
House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984, pp. 218-221.
9. Halff, Charles. The Truth About Christmas. The Christian-Jew Foundation, San
Antonio, TX, 13 pp.
10. Halff, Charles. "Is Christmas a Jewish Holiday?" Message Of The
Christian Jew. November-December 1993, pp. cover, 1,2 & 7.
11. Helgerson, John C. Considering the Christmas Issue. The Church of the Open
Bible, Burlington, MA, 12/31/90, 12 pp.
12. Hislop, Alexander. The Two Babylons: Or The Papal Worship. Loizeaux Bros.,
Neptune, NJ, 1959:Second Edition, 330 pp.
13. Kohler, John. Our Baptist Heritage. Heritage Baptist Church, Salem, IN, Vol.
2, No. 3, 11/92, 8 pp.
14. McCurry, Robert. The God Man Has Made. Heritage Press, Sharpsburg, GA, 8 pp.
15. Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas. Alfred A. Knopf, New York,
1997, 381 pp.
16. Pink, A.W. Xmas . Chapel Library, Venice, FL, 6 pp.
17. Schneider, Michael. Is Christmas Christian? Chapel Library, Venice, FL, 15
pp.
18. Spurlin, Ed. Where Is The Christ In Christmas. Voice in the Wilderness,
Milford, NH, 11/92, 8 pp.
19. Spurgeon, C.H. "Joy Born At Bethlehem," A Sermon: Delivered on
Lord's Day Morning, December 24th, 1871. Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, pp.
697-698.
20. Unknown. My Lord Has Not Told Me To Do It: The Christian and
"Christmas. " Chapel Library, Venice, FL, 4 pp.
21. Unknown. 10 Reasons Why Christmas Is Unscriptural. Chapel Library, Venice,
FL, 8 pp.
22. (Vine, W.E.), Gospel Tract Publications. The Collected Writings of W.E.
Vine, Volume 5. Glasgow, Scotland, 1986, pp. 436-439.
23. Willcock, Shaun. The Pagan Festivals of Christmas and Easter. Bible Based
Ministries, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 1992, 76 pp.
24. Wilson, Greg. Let's Keep Christ Out of Xmas. Landmark Independent Baptist
Church, Homestead, FL, 4 pp.
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Biblical Discernment Ministries - Revised 11/2002