Can you show me where in the bible it says anything about Christmas trees?
Now, where did Christmas trees come from and what is their connection to Christianity? And as long as we're discussing things that cannot be seperated, surely one could not think of Christmas with out thinking about Saint Nicholas and his reindeer. The guy's a saint and apparently magic. Where does it say anything about him or reindeer in the bible?
Reindeer... Hmmmm... Now where do reindeer live? I wonder if any of the tradition for what we call Christmas might have originated where reindeer live? Hmmm... What an interesting thought. I wonder if the tree might've come from the same culture? Wow, maybe the tree has nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas or Christ and it just got co-opted into Christianity when it was realised people wouldn't let go of winter festival celebrations?
Hmmmm. Has Christ always had a part in winter festival or has he been merely a secondary player in it? I think the latter is more likely. Trees, reindeer, decorated eggs and bunnies... Goblins and ghouls on Halloween. What have any of these to do with Christianity or the birth/death of Christ?
Do you not find it profane to Christianity to tie the birth of Christ to paganism and pagan symbols?
"Get thee behind me, Satan." You didn't capitalize Bible, the Holy Word of God, which is a sign of disrespect.
What I find profane is attacking fellow Christians for pointing out that there IS evil in this world, and that Satan is a living creature determined to undermine Christianity in every way, shape and form, sometimes actually using Christians in the process!
Of course, I am assuming you are a Christian, you may also be one of those scripturally familiar atheists who likes to attack Christians with nitpicking of their religious beliefs.
I was referring to the religion of Christianity being attacked. We don't WORSHIP the Christmas tree, or Santa Claus, or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. But we *do* celebrate cultural and societal traditions in our home concerning the Christmas season.
We have a Christmas tree at our house, and we use Santa and snowmen and reindeer to demonstrate the season. My 6 year old knows that the day we celebrate is not the actual birth day of baby Jesus, but she knows that we share gifts with friends and family to demonstrate the love that Jesus shared with us by living and dying for ALL of us. You will never get me to believe that having a Christmas tree and pretending that Santa is delivering gifts on Christmas Eve is evil and will cut us off from the Eternal Love of Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit.
Merry Christmas to you, and hopefully less pharisee-ing in the New Year! :-)
(Oh, wait, celebrating the new year is evil too, I bet?)