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
Perspective, perspective, perspective... All good gifts come down from the Father of Lights. Light is what we crave... living, dazzling, wondrous light. Even for the none believer, the lights of Christmas spark a sense yearning for real living light. Some will argue that Christmas was a pagan holiday. Well, it has been redeemed, just as all pagans, when they believe, are redeemed. The believer who is free to see Christmas as a high holy day, in celebration to the king of kings, is not wrong, for his motivation is to praise God and to enjoy the good gifts from above. Rejoice, and again rejoice, for the Son of God was born in a world of darkness, to be a light to the world. I will celebrate Christmas, no matter the humbugs.
Constintine changed the date of Christmas to the 25th to coincide with ra,the sun worshippers holiday.
Jeremiah 10 in the ot is pretty clear
10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:
“Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
4 They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.
people can celebrate Christmas, their choice, just as the jews don’t celebrate , for a different reason. We all will answer for our deeds. I do like the Christmas specials though! LOL LOL
Okay. I’m a long time FReeper and I looked at your past posts. Sorry, that’s the nature of the internet.
You have a lot of unhappiness from stuff you had no control over in your life. I’m sorry you have so much hurt in your life. I’m a mom and feel bad for you and want to help.
Please don’t look to atheists to define your life. You have lost joy. I have at times too. It’s easy to slide into the ‘no joy’ zone and feel sorry for ourselves.
Been there, done that. I have lost joy, but never my belief in Christ. My father, who I loved dearly, died of a brain tumor on December 17th, 2010.
This time of year now generally beats the crap out of me. It’s dark. It’s cold. And the memories of what brain cancer did to my dad could wreck me. I spent the season of joy at a hospice house and then arranged my dad’s funeral. On the day of his service there was a big snowstorm that prohibited a lot of family members from attending. There was still a packed house.
Because, you know what? My dad wasn’t a “church” guy but he gave 24/7. Tipping the guy that did his car work. “Go get a couple of beers guys.” Gave to the disabled veterans and visited them. Taught me about money, served his country, and thanked God every day for his blessings.
What troubles me is that you don’t seem able to have Christmas in your heart all year long.
Look into your own heart.
The Winter Solstice for we that reside in the Northern Hemisphere is the shortest day of ‘sun’ light every year. This is the appointed time wherein Emmanuel = God with us was Divinely conceived.
It was at the Spring Equinox that marks His sacrifice for us.
The Autumn Equinox marks the time wherein the birthday as flesh baby of Christ.
So Christmas is the celebration of that appointed time of the conception not the literal birth.
Wonder if there is an appointed event yet to take place at the Summer Solstice?
I believe there is no way any person will ever remove Christ from Christmas. However, I will say that some people really go out on a limb every year attempting to relive childhood memories. OR to make up for lack of good childhood memories and they spend not one second in memory of what this date actually represents.
For me it is an attempt to not allow the personal emotions of any one individual to draw my attention from that remembrance. For God so loved the world .....
He gave His only son.
Interesting that a person gets persuaded by what other people do or don’t do and think or don’t think.
Well, I don’t know if you are being sarcastic, but the point he is trying to make is that some things that we can’t see, touch or measure are true, and they are very important things.
He gave His only Begotten Son.
December 25th may be the date of Christ’s conception...even MORE reason to celebrate His dwelling amongst us!
And, don’t forget, God said He was as a great Fir Tree (evergreen, undying).
I shall celebrate Christ’s conception and have a fir tree in my home and enjoy it—Christmas is a great gift.
Last night - but of course, most of the people there were Christians.
Love it!
I, too, have stopped fretting about gifts and parties and decorating and the inevitable let down the day after Christmas when the bills and pounds get piled on top that we KNOW must be addressed. I remember, as one of five kids, always being a little disappointed with the whole thing. The build up, seeing all the presents wrapped and stacked under the tree Christmas morning, hot cocoa and cinnamon bread waiting after the gifts were torn into and the smell of turkey beginning to roast in the oven, seemed to lead to a let down, and I didn't really know why.
These past several years we have made it a point to NOT make the season about gifts and treats and feasts. My husband and I exchange "mushy" cards and I usually get Mom some new slippers and maybe a robe or nightgown. Nothing expensive. Mom and I fix a special dinner for the three of us - though this year we are having a small Christmas Eve get together with a few close friends (we may do this every two or three years) and I have put up my collection of Boyd's Bears special holiday snowmen and a wreath on the door - no tree, though. All and all it's pretty low key and I find that I don't feel that same let down anymore. I will always love "Christmas" because of what it really represents - the celebration of the birth of the Lamb of God - remembering that precious ultimate gift and making new traditions that become our very own to be treasured year after year.
Thank you for your article.
Far fewer people really celebrate Jesus as the reason for the season anymore and commercialism has taken over. You are correct that remembering Jesus should be an EVERY DAY kind of thing as is helping the needy, being kind and cheerful and cherishing family and friends. Christmas traditions can be heartwarming and wonderful and are what we make of them. If more people remembered that, we'd be doing much better as a nation. I hope you and yours have a very merry Christmas.
Doesn't sound like she was wrong about that, though. ;o)
Gonna have to agree with you there, Arthur. If we teach kids that there is a Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and/or Tooth Fairy and they find out later that we were lying to them, I can’t help but wonder if they will think we lied to them about God, too.
No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus.
Amen, Fester!
I heard a girl say something along those lines about Jesus (i.e., that he was like Santa Claus, i.e., nonexistent and “something your parents tell you to try to make you be good.”) But I don’t know how common it is.
My parents didn’t tell us about Santa Claus or try to fool us into believing in him. I think all of us did briefly, but I had certainly figured it out by the time I was five, or even four.
That was God’s confirmation and celebration an event as it occurred in real time - and the event only occurred once. It had to be celebrated as it occurred - for at that time the only true God was incarnated in flesh in His only begotten Son.
It was NOT the celebration of a past event that had occurred on the same day. There WAS such a celebration of a single DAY that occurred annually for the Jews, and that was the Passover - so they’d never forget it and its significance.
Never in the first centuries of the church did they ever celebrate the birth of Christ. It was a practice - as the original poster noted - that was adopted around 300 AD when many pagan practices were adopted by formal Christianity - most brought in in the time of Constantine who wanted to satisfy the populace when he declared Christianity the national religion and pagans would have protested if they had not been able to keep their current practices. That’s just factual history.
The New Testament was written as late as 80 AD approximately, and there is not a word in any of the writings in the NT that speak of any practice of celebrating Christ’s birth. If it were practiced by the early saints, or was important, it would have been in Paul, Luke’s, Peter’s or James writings or another saints writings - but it is not.
But this disparity in views should not affect our fellowship in Christ. It is NOT a central matter, only a peripheral one.
“I didn’t want to appear as a snarky Grinch during the Christmas season. “
Why is it we never see gifty people say such a thing?
“A Christian celebrates the birth of Christ while observing Christmas. “
Well said. That’s what we do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.