Divide and conquer always seems to work for those who attack Christianity in this country.
It's worked this way at least since Julian the Apostate. First people who claim to be Christian spread little bits of propaganda supporting the next thing on the anti-Christ agenda. Then a few "Christian authors" start to discuss "both sides of the issue", an issue created by anti-Christ propaganda. Then, the academic anti-Christian "theologians" start talking about how in the name of equality and fairness, to set a good "Christian" example to the world, "Christians" shouldn't be imposing their beliefs on others.
Finally, the popular media and media personalities promote the "new normal" that eliminates something Christian from society while they mock and slander anyone who doesn't go along to get along in the interest of "true" freedom of religion. The result is that very few people who claim to be Christian ever stand up for what has been Christian practice and/or tradition for generations if not for hundreds of years or even dozens of centuries.
At least two thirds of the people who spread the garbage about Christmas or Easter being "pagan holidays" and say "real Christians" shouldn't celebrate those holidays just have a screen name and associated legend they use while pretending to be Christian. They're no more Christian than Richard Dawkins or King Barry. At best, they're deluded members of the Watchtower crowd or some other Russelite anti-Christ cancer pretending to be Christians of sorts. The fact of the matter is that they're propagandists helping the anti-Christ agenda along by trying to spread doubt and divisions among Christians as a way to undermine resistance to the anti-Christ agenda.
The others, maybe a third of the total, are just pathetic dupes who drift in the wind and go along with whatever strokes their ego this week. Due to their beliefs being entwined with their desire to go along to get along and their need for acceptence, they're easy pray for anti-Christ propaganda disguised as "Christian insight".
Either Jesus Christ makes all things new, or He doesn't. If He doesn't he isn't God.
How can anyone actually believe He does make all things new then go along with the idea that if Christians celebrate His Resurrection or anything else on a day some pagan group, at some time in ancient history, may have celebrated something else, it's Christians who should yield to the pagans and denounce their Christian celebration?
When you see a few people who claim to be Christian start spreading "Biblical" reasons for Christians to retreat on a particular issue, what you're seeing is the opening gambit of the next anti-Christ push by the Father of Lies. We're already seeing the anti-Christ crowd assume victory over Easter and Christmas to start work on their next agenda item, which is the same one that always preceeds the establishment of a State religion; siezing all church owned property of any kind.
The opening gambit shows up on FR from time to time as comments about how no Church needs to own a building, hospital, or any other property anyway. Everyone can just worship in their own home. Intrinisic to that view are other thins, like we're not supposed to live our beliefs to the extent that they're visible in our public behavior, surrendering society to anti-Christian principals isn't any big deal, and being free to hide and read the Bible is the same thing as religious freedom.
I figure it occurred before Julian.
Early Church fathers suppressed the Gospels of Peter, Thomas, and Judas. They did so because they didn’t care for the messages contained in those gospels.
Julian’s great oppression of Christianity was to forbid Christians from teaching the Iliad and Odyssey, just as Pagans were not permitted to teach the Gospel. Roman Pagans prefer to refer to Julian as “the Divine”.