Posted on 12/14/2013 2:56:27 PM PST by InHisService
All right, before you get your freckles in an uproar by reading that title and making a quick, errant assumption about me, let me clarify a few things.
I’m a bible believing, spirit filled Christian. I am not an atheist sympathizer. I do not doubt my faith, nor do I have any doubts about the deity of Jesus Christ. He is my Lord and Savior, and I believe the world is lost without Him.
For years I celebrated Christmas. But last year, I decided to stop celebrating it. Something awoke in me, and I just felt turned off by the whole thing.
As a kid, I was coddled just like most children. Every Christmas my brother and I unwrapped numerous presents, and always got what we wanted.
I remember a new bike one year, and an awesome stereo another. I never gave a thought about how hard my parents had to work to pay for the stuff, and I’m sure children these days don’t, either.
And, we did go to church. If fact, we weren’t the proverbial “once a year’ers;” we went weekly. But being a kid, naturally Christmas was all about the presents.
Raising my daughter, though I was a single mom, my daughter was never deprived at Christmas. And I enjoyed giving to her. She was not a spoiled child as she didn’t get much all year long, so Christmas was the time to indulge her.
Anyway, I’ve wanted to write this article for a while. It’s been niggling at me for quite some time. But I put it off because I didn’t want to appear as a snarky Grinch during the Christmas season. My position is a very unpopular one among Christians.
I believe the Holy Spirit has gotten a hold of me, and after seeing a video discussing a particular billboard American Atheists erected this season, I was compelled to write about my position.
One of the billboards, in New York City’s Times Square, reads, “Who Needs Christ During Christmas? Nobody.” The name of Christ is crossed out.
David Muscato, Public Relations Director at American Atheists had this to say about the billboard and about Christmas:
“Most people don’t care about any religious ties to the season because church and religion are not what Americans care about during this time of year—they care about family and friends and giving presents and food and having fun.”
And right he is. Christians can pretend they are honoring Christ this time of year, but they really aren’t. People are consumed with the retail aspect of it: spending.
Muscato goes on to say, “Many so-called ‘Christmas’ traditions celebrated by Americans have nothing to do with Christianity. For example, the North Pole and Santa traditions come from Nordic and Germanic pagan traditions, and caroling, Yule logs, mistletoe, holly wreaths all pre-date Christianity.”
He is absolutely correct in that statement. In fact, every single Christmas tradition we have was started by, and stolen, from the pagans.
That’s right, everything from the tree, to mistletoe to holly to gifts were all pagan traditions. (I’ve done a lot of research into the origins of Christmas; however, this article is not going to elaborate on it as it is very lengthy. An online search of “Pagan origins of Christmas” will yield a million and a half results. An excellent article on the topic can be seen here, True Origins of Christmas: http://rcg.org/books/ttooc.html )
Said David Silverman, President of American Atheists, “We all love this time of year.
“Christianity has been trying to claim ownership of the season for hundreds of years. But the winter solstice came first and so did its traditions. The season belongs to everybody.”
Right again. How can Christian’s claim Christmas belongs to them when we stole it from non-believers? Additionally, there is nothing in the bible about celebrating Christmas. The fact that atheists celebrate what is supposed to be a Christian holy day is alarming. But celebrate it they do, minus anything Christ.
Not only that, Jesus could not have been, and was not born, on December 25th. Most biblical scholars believe he was born in the fall and the biblical account of his birth testifies to that. The date was selected because it coincided with the idolatrous pagan festival Saturnalia. So the date of Christmas was chosen as a sort of in-your-face way of saying, “We as Christians are stealing your date for ourselves! Take that.” Nice gesture on behalf of God, but it hasn’t turned out well. No wonder why.
Now, I don’t like the group American Atheists. In fact, I despise them. I can’t stand David Silverman, who regularly appears on Fox News and elsewhere to tout his anti-God beliefs. To me, they are bullying militant atheists bent on wiping out God and particularly Jesus Christ from the public square. And they have been very successful in a lot of ways.
So, I’m not agreeing with them for any other reason in this area, but they are right on.
(I have written about some of the atheist lawsuits and their attack on Christianity in an article last year on this blog, “It’s not just a War on Christmas, It’s a War on Christianity,” which can be seen here: http://www.maryckirchhoff.com/2012/12/its-not-just-war-on-christmas-its-war.html )
Christmas has become completely distorted and perverted and what is supposed to be a day to honor Jesus has become a two-month long season of out-of-control shopping and spending, overindulgence of food and drink, massive debt and spoiled children.
Christmas, without a doubt, belongs to retailers, not to Jesus. The season begins around late October, and is in full swing right before Thanksgiving, and goes on til New Years.
So let’s be honest here: during this extended period we call Christmastime or the more politically correct Holiday Season, are we talking about Jesus and his birth? Are we marveling that God sent His Son to Earth to save man from his sins? Are we on our knees praying and thanking God for his provision in our life?
More than likely, if we are a believer we are praying that God will provide the finances to overindulge our children so they can open numerous gifts on that “magical” morning.
What really gets me is many of us in this country can’t afford to purchase unnecessary and over-the-top gifts for our kids. Millions of people either get heavily into debt or skip paying necessary bills so they can impress and coddle their kids. Not giving gifts is simply unheard of.
Kids must go to school upon the return of the break and brag about what they got. And what, pray tell, does this have to do with the birth of Jesus Christ? Absolutely nothing.
The wise men gave gifts to Jesus, you say? That happened when He was a toddler, not at His birth. Saint Nick? Another misconception about giving at Christmas.
While parties and gift giving and receiving is fun, for the majority of people, financial stress is increased at this time of year. Holiday parties (oops, can’t call them Christmas parties anymore) require bringing dishes or purchasing elaborate foods. The shopping, the parties, the drinking, the get-togethers, they are all supposed to be part of the merrymaking. Again, where is Christ in this? Decidedly MIA for most people.
When’s the last time you went to a (I’ll be a rebel here) Christmas party and people were excitedly talking about God? Were they marveling about Jesus being born 2,000 years ago, talking about what a gift it was for God to send His Son?
The only gift I’ll guarantee they were speaking of was most likely their Black Friday conquest where they acquired the latest and greatest gadgetry for their kids that they couldn’t afford and will be paying off for months to come.
Is this what God wants for us at Christmas? Or are we deluding ourselves saying “Keep Christ in Christmas.”? I believe so.
The truth is, Christmas is a great lie. Satan is laughing; being the great deceiver, he has really gotten away with a whopper here. Christ never was in Christmas. The entire Christmas season has millions of Christians deceived. It has been bought lock, stock and barrel by believers. The fact that atheists celebrate it should be a giant clue that it has nothing to do with Christ.
Sure, we can sing beautiful Christmas themed hymns, set up a manger and go to church. That will satisfy the God requirement of the holiday, will it not?
Church on Christmas Eve or Day is about the only time you’ll get an hour or so of pure God. A sermon, some singing, some well-wishing among peers. A couple hours of God stuff for over two months of the so-called “Christmas Season.”
I’m not a math person, but that amounts to a microscopic amount of time dedicated to the Birth of Jesus.
Frankly, Christmas is farce, and I’m betting the whole thing makes God very angry.
Below, the link for the aforementioned Atheist Billboard Targeting Christians:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2933104645001/atheist-billboard-targeting-christians/?playlist_id=930909812001
Thanks for the clarification. ; -/
As a believer everyday is Christmas and Easter.
Romans 14. Christmas haters need to go read it.
That is a huge compliment coming from someone on here. Especially when they disagree with my viewpoint. Thank you.
The whole Christmas / Saturnalia thing is pretty much a myth....
“...‘The majority of modern scholars would be reluctant to accept any close connection between the Saturnalia and the emergence of the Christian Christmas.’
Devout Christians will be reassured to learn that the date of Christmas may derive from concepts in Judaism that link the time of the deaths of prophets being linked to their conception or birth. From this, early ecclesiastical number-crunchers extrapolated that the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy following the Annunciation on March 25th would produce a December 25th date for the birth of Christ.”
http://www.historytoday.com/matt-salusbury/did-romans-invent-christmas
But more to the point...we celebrate the 4th of July with fireworks. That doesn’t mean we stole the 4th of July from the Chinese. Of course ancient people chose to celebrate Christmas using the customs that they had always used to celebrate things, it’s just natural.
This all seems to be like something that would be on a Twitter page. Like “I woke up, washed my hsnds,read the New York Times, fell back to sleep....”
Hmmmm. Sad that she ties her own religious celebration to “what everyone else is doing.”
The title said it all, therefore you did not have to read the article. You must have cared or wanted to know what I thought if you read it. Same with everyone else on here who disagrees with me and says they don’t care what I think.
Amen.
The secular parts, granted...
I’m not looking down on those who celebrate Christmas. Just making people aware of the truth. If after knowing the truth they continue to celebrate Christmas, that’s their choice. Celebrate away.
The writer being a Single Mom, tells me all I want to know.
Your assumption is your assumption.
Very elegant, I like it.
Oh full it
Oh full of it
You try so hard for vanity
Christmas is a time of remembrance, sharing, reconcilliations, celebrating Jesus birthday.
It can be a time of renewal as well.
Has it become over commercialized?
Dunno but, I celebrate The Saviors birth on some arbritrary day because it should be done so predictably and with at least some reverance.
We civivilzed peoples are too sophisticated to understand the lambing season
So what if we ripped off the Pagan’s? Did we? Maybe we swiped from the Hebrews?
Heck, their Hannukah never seems to fall on some predictable time table and interrupts some other days. Like this year it was on Thanksgiving Day.
Not really a problem for me. I’m not some religious snob.,
No, this year I figured it was a great time to combine the holidays and give thanks to a God who shouldn’t be bothered by a bunch of petty, ingrates who can only summon the barest of acknowldgement for his greatness and our gratuity only a couple days a year.
Back to Christmas....
If we weren’t arguing about Christmas on say “Christmas” and the numerous meanings it has for us or ought to, when would we otherwise consume ourselves with his awesomeness?
Easter? So I celebrate the death of The Savior, find meaning in the tri ity and it’s explanation by way of an egg and still ponder “Jesus was a Jew? Why do we eat ham on this day?”
Why of all nights is thus night any different from the others?
So we might remember, be called closer to our God and perhaps some renewal of our faith as we thank God, who sent his only begotten son, that we might not perish
If you don’t mind my bringing two verses together for the analogy.
Merry Christmas!
This was completely unnecessary shock value. Celebrate, don’t celebrate. Who cares about your self-absorbed opinion? That goes for both the author of this idiotic article and InHisService.
I know I’m very opinionated, I don’t hide that fact in my writing. People will be offended. I will be lambasted. That’s the way it goes!
Get 20 children in a room under the age of 14 and ask them what Christmas is all about. Maybe on a good day one or even two of them will mention Jesus.
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