Posted on 12/06/2010 5:34:52 PM PST by DouglasKC
My house doesn't do Christmas...and I'm okay with that. But some who read this won't be okay with it. They may think it's strange or weird. And they're right. In America, at this point in our history, it is strange and weird NOT to observe Christmas.
It hasn't always been this way in America. In fact Christmas was once banned in Boston and other American cities. This was due to the influence of the Puritans in the mid 1600's. The Puritans were a protestant religious sect who vowed not to bring anything non-biblical into their worship. They recognized that Christmas was a tradition of man and that it had pagan elements closely associated with it.
Of course many religious people today also recognize this about Christmas. It's common knowledge. These people don't have a problem observing Christmas. So as a Christian why do I?
It's not that I have a problem with others observing Christmas. Up until ten years ago I observed it every year...though not as a religious celebration. I observed it in a secular manner...you know...lights, trees, gifts, etc. But eleven years ago something happened. I became convicted that God was real. I became convicted that Jesus Christ was who he claimed to be...the messiah and the saviour of mankind. And I became convicted that the Christian bible contained the wisdom that God wanted to pass on to us.
What kind of wisdom? I had known about the Puritans. I had recognized that holidays like Christmas were products of traditional belief. But did God have real, non-traditional holy days that he expected his children to observe? Does Jesus Christ have real, non-traditional holy days he expects us to observe?
I found the answer in the pages of the bible. And the answer is yes, he does.
These holy days of the the Lord God, Jesus Christ, are outlined in Leviticus chapter 23.
Leviticus 23:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts"
The text then goes on to define when, why and how these holy days are to be observed. Now at first glance someone might look at the text and offer a variety of reasons why Christians don't observe them. Believe me I went through every argument to try and justify NOT observing these holy days. But it always came back to the same thing: Christians don't keep them because of tradition.
So it came down to a choice. Observe these days or go with tradition. I decided to skip tradition and observe these days.
So why not observe these days and observe Christmas too? Because further study led to the realization that observation of the Lord's holy days and Christmas are mutually exclusive. I couldn't in good conscience combine the worship of these holy days with what I knew to be man made inventions.
Does this mean I condemn others for observing Christmas? Of course not. As I said I used to observe Christmas too. I can't condemn others for what I used to do. Am I offended by your observation? Again, no. It's part of our culture and tradition. If I were to be offended by every tradition that I don't observe my life would be stressful indeed.
Will I return your greetings of Merry Christmas? Nope. If you say it without knowing my belief I will say thank you because I know you mean it in a good way. But to me it's essentially an empty greeting...one devoid of any significance. It's the same as if I were to greet you with "Have a great feast" as the Feast of Tabernacles began. Or if a Muslim wished you a happy Ramadan. It's just weird to express these types of greetings to people who don't observe the event.
So no, my house doesn't do Christmas and I'm okay with that. Are you?
My question is do you observe all the feasts then? I know some religions and cults who say they do. Doesn’t do any good.
Does celebrating Christmas have anything to do with salvation? No. What it does is present me with a wonderful opportunity to tell others about the reason we celebrate Christmas. CHRIST.
Really want to blow people away, read Jeremiah chapter 10 to them.
Spooky stuff.
We have a 3 foot brass “mission trip” tree we keep up all year. We hung trinkets from the countries where we have taught ESL with a Christian group.
Heck yeah I’m Ok with that - even better is that Midnight Mass will be less crowded without you.
The children of Israel were not Christian. That and the fact that Christ was not even born yet when this was written, of course they would not have observed Christmas. The Jews still don't and that's who this was speaking. The feasts, which you didn't name specifically, could not have been for the Lord God, Jesus Christ since Christ had not even been born.
I would say that it DOES do good. Jesus Christ created His holy days for a reason.
Does celebrating Christmas have anything to do with salvation? No.
Possibly. I think it can be an impediment to salvation. But my salvation is certain and I once observed Christmas.
What it does is present me with a wonderful opportunity to tell others about the reason we celebrate Christmas. CHRIST.
I thought the same thing once. But Jesus Christ created holy days that are in the bible. Tradition created Christmas. That's how my thought process works.
You're welcome.... :-)
You’re free to observe or not observe anything you want.
Colossians 2:16 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”
I quit observing Chr*stmas a while back...less stress, and more money to spend on those after-holiday sales...yahoo! :-)
AMEN!
That's true. But Christians are children of Israel.
That and the fact that Christ was not even born yet when this was written, of course they would not have observed Christmas.
There was nobody in the bible that observed Christmas though...not even after the death of Christ.
The Jews still don't and that's who this was speaking.
You're confusing modern Jews, primarily descendants of the tribe of Judah, with Israelites. This command is being spoken to the children of Israel which is comprised of more than just Jews.
The feasts, which you didn't name specifically, could not have been for the Lord God, Jesus Christ since Christ had not even been born.
Lev 23:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.
Jesus is Lord. These were the words of the Lord before he incarnated on earth as Jesus.
The feasts are outlined in Leviticus 23.
This is why I've always advocated that people wear T-shirts listing which events they observe and which events they don't observe. I get really PO'd when people wish me a Happy Earth Day.
Earlier today there was a thread on how parents who allow their children to believe in Santa are liars and blasphemers. Now this thread with the topic of not celebrating Christmas at all. Just not a good day for Christmas Spirit on Free Republic today.
His house might not ‘do’ Christmas, but mine enjoys conjugating transitive verbs and celebrates the birth of our Savior, Christ Jesus.
>>I’m okay with that. Are you?<<
Why wouldn’t I be?
It’s your life.
If I wish you a Merry Christmas, I’m only wishing you a Happy December 25th.
Are YOU okay with that?
Colossians 2:16 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”
That's the traditional interpretation. But that's not the meaning the author, Paul, gave his words. This is what Paul believed:
Act 24:14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.
The holy days of the Lord Jesus Christ, the ones he observed while on earth, are in the law and prophets.
Act 28:17 And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: "Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,
If Paul had been teaching that observing the holy days of the Lord were optional he would surely be doing something against his people and the customs of their fathers.
It's amazing how often you hear the word "stress" associated with this time of year.
That's a good one.
I was at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts a few years ago. They try to re-create an 1830’s village, and they make a point out of telling people that in 1830, in Sturbridge, they did not observe Christmas as a special day.
Not really. It's kind of rude and a little weird to me.
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