Christmas Really Isn't about Christ - Why I'm not Celebrating Christmas Even Though I'm a Christian

>> Is there ANY day, acceptablt to you, that is not STAINED by some pagan using it?<<

I have only addressed those days that are specifically associated with pagan worship of Baal that God has condemned. I couldn’t care less if Christians want to celebrate the birth of Christ. But to have incorporated it into the pagan celebration of the mythical birth date of Baal the sun god is not by coincidence and that is specifically what God was addressing in Deuteronomy.

There is nothing wrong with commemorating the death and resurrection of Christ but again, incorporating that into the celebration of the worship of the goddess Oestre (pronounced Easter) is what God was addressing in Ezekiel. Easter there was referenced with “"worshipping the sun towards the east" when referencing abominations that were being commited. Using symbols and rituals that the pagans used in worshipping their gods is what God was addressing in Deuteronomy when He said “Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God”.

Each person has to determine for themselves whether to follow as closely as possible what God has said. I’m simply pointing to scripture which addresses what is still being done today. They just need to understand what God said about including those practices that were first used in worshipping the pagan gods.

"Your appointed feasts My soul hates" (Isaiah 1:14–15)

"I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies" (Amos 5:21–23)

"I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts" (Hosea 2:11)

Ezekiel 20:7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. 8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt. 10 Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. 11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. 12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. 13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

God is clear about combining pagan practices and rituals in serving Him.

Scoff if you choose. We were told that would be coming.

God did not “make” evil. God did not “make” demons. ..I would suggest you run your “theory” by a competent Calvinist pastor before you continue to “preach” your theory.

I would suggest you gain a better understanding of what is "evil".

Evil, in its most general context, is taken as the opposite of that which is ascribed as being good. - Wikipedia on Evil

Evil is the loss of God's goodness. And, yes, God did make us knowing that we would lose our goodness. God did not create (make) evil. But He certainly made us just as He made the demons. In both cases He knew we (and they) would lose our goodness. To say anything else is to say God didn't know. I personally won't go down that road.

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3)

That is so inclusive that John states it both ways, in the positive and negative. All things were made through Him. There is nothing that was made without Him. It's very clear that everything is made by God for His divine purpose and plan.

Before we get into one of these fanatical, hand-wringing "God is not the author of evil" debate for which we both would agree, I would suggest reading this short article about Augustine on Evil . The writer is a very competent pastor.

Nothing wrong with taking something pagan and turning it around for Christ? I see a LOT of things wrong with that.

OK, let's just take one example. The Christmas tree was originally a pagan solstice symbol, which is, in my home and in my church, a tree covered with lights symbolizing the light of Christ, and with Christian-related symbols, such as the cross, the key, and miniature nativity scenes, combined in my home's case with family-related memorabilia, representing the joining together of Christ and the people He has saved in His body, the Church. Why should the devil get all the trees, when God is the creator and sustainer of the trees? Satan doesn't deserve the glory of the tree; God deserves it.

And that is the bottom line: Satan deserves nothing, because evil is no-thing--it is the emptiness that is the absence of goodness. Christ deserves everything, because He, as the Word of God, created it and sustains it, because He, as the Lamb of God, redeemed it, and He, as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, will, with us, rule over it when He returns.

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