The shocking truth is that egg nog isn t in the Bible, yet Christians continue to drink it at Christmas time.
Yes, but how do you penalize a chariot racer for "taunting"?
One of my confirmation class church history recollections (dim after so many years) is that the early Christians might have wanted to use a pagan festival as cover. If the date was approximate anyhow, it was prudent during the era of the underground church to wait until the jpagans were lining up for their roast goose and Yorkshire pudding, and blend in with the crowd.
As best I understand, these objections are based in the legacy of how the early historical church evangelized pagan societies. The church suggested different meanings for the symbols that were important to the pagans. These were generally accepted, and the result was that both the church and the new converts celebrated in this manner.
It worked so well that hardly anyone of the common people remembers the old pagan deities. And thus it could stay such until the end of history, except for people who bring the old deities back to mind for various reasons, either because they are anti-Christian and want to mock a weak version of Christianity back, or because they believe they have the “only correct style.”
Now as a rascally evangelical I have to say that sometimes the historical church went too far and invented doctrines that the scriptures don’t show any way of getting to — i.e. not new witnesses to old truths like most of the “Christmas” symbols are, but new claims to truth as it were. But this really is an independent topic of concern. It is so easy to lump together everything you hate about a situation and then just damn it. That’s not illuminated from Christ. That is darkened from pride. Christ looks for something to move forward with, even amidst the darkest situation. Our pride says we refuse to bear with the flaws while this is going on. Our pride says that Christ can’t be more powerful than hypothetical opportunities for evil.
My $0.02 and Christians may differ and I understand that they do. But what I have said is where I believe the heart of Christ is.
Jer 10: 2 Thus says the Lord:
“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3
For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4
They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
I remember that as a young person I became very disturbed to learn that there were ancient pagan beliefs that bore similarities to beliefs in my own religion.
In time, I came to realize that the human heart is programmed by our Creator to seek to learn His truths and that these people were glimpsing just parts of the the whole picture.
Ever since the proto-evangel—”And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”—Satan has been sowing his lies. He had NO idea what God kept hidden for long ages, though. Humiliation was fittingly given when Christ triumphed over him through the Cross!
That there are "sophisticated, intellectual" chrstians (who look down their noses at people who simply believe the events asserted in the Bible actually happened) are now claiming that J*sus was literally born on 12/25 is insulting, and another position based on nothing other than wanting to make a distinction between themselves and "inbred rednecks." They forget that the nativity was originally celebrated on 1/6 (the Egyptian Nile celebration) as the "sanctification of the waters" (the baptism of J*sus), with the celebration of the birth only added later. It wasn't until later that the celebration of the birth migrated to the winter solstice because of the liturgical lessons to be learned from that event.
And you people say Genesis 1-11 is mythology. Faugh.
My position is “even if”. Even if there were a pagan holiday that corresponded to that same date, it means nothing. People who had honored pagan god “x” on that date, having become Christians, began to honor Christ instead. As more and more of their neighbors became Christian or at least christianized, the earlier pagan meanings were forgotten. It became a Christian holiday not out of some kind of subterfuge, but organically, because the people themselves became Christian.
No one, including non-christians, who celebrates Christmas is celebrating any pagan god. It wouldn’t even enter their minds.
Thanks for posting this!
The Sami (These are polar people)
A DNA test indicates that these were my mother's people.