yeh i was wondering if christmas was christian because i was told it was rooted in pagan celebrations not do with christ but to do with false gods etc but is this really so,think about it arent the days supposed to be named after gods and isnt the wedding ring pagan also so should we then not celebrate are wedding anniversarys then what about birthdays i think the birth of your child is something to celebrate dont you.
Is christmas christian?
by master chief 9 Replies latest jw friends
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Double Edge
The celebration of Christmas is and evolution in itself. Christians throughout history recognize the birth of Christ...take that and add it to other cultures 'winter celebrations' (along with numerous other things) and you get what we now celebrate on December 25th. It is a very interesting study in itself on how it evolved....but whatever, I myself along with countless others love that time of year, and whatever your beliefs I think for the most part it is a very positive and good thing for the human family in general....it's a magical time of year. But as a Christian, I find it a time to reflect on the great gift that a loving Heavenly Father has given his children...a Savior. I find it very strange that some 'christians' would put it down...even though a large part of what we now celebrate is very secular... so what ... for some non-believers it's a least opening the door on what Christianity is about without being in-your-face...and that can't be bad. People need to look at the good and value in things instead of dwelling on the negative. See if for it's worth.... I LOVE CHRISTMAS... and I don't think God thinks ill of anyone who celebrates it in any meaningful way (family's being together, etc.)...
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Amazing
I agree with DoubleEdge. Christmas is an evolved custom. It is about as Christian as it gets, albeit commingled with commercialism. The logic the Society uses to justify wedding rings and wind chimes as allowable for JWs can be used to justify Christmas, Birthdays, etc. The problem is not with any ancient and forgotten pagan roots, but with the JW theology that it is rooted in the world of brain dead idiots.
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apostate man
I have to agree with the above. I hate not seeing any manger scenes at Christmas time but LOTS of Santas in peoples yards. We all know that the 25th is just the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It does not give the exact day in the Bible and I dont think it can. Our own calender year started with the birth of Jesus and that is how we are now in 2002. The months are from greek origin (I think)and this is all an interesting topic.
But as to celebrating Christmas, I do not see the harm one bit at all. Funny thing is, JW's celebrate their Christmas in January. No tree, no wrapping paper but family does get together and exchange gifts. Whats up with that? I know this for a fact, for I was just present at one of these "gift exchanges" at a JW's house last month. Lets just make up the rules as we go people...Thanks for reading the above and remember, always add pepper to your vomit BEFORE you lap it back up. mmmmm good
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mikepence
Amazing...as compared to the Christian mindset that is rooted in the world of sanctimonious brain dead idiots?
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borgfree
During Christmas when I drive back and forth to work (30+ miles each way) I see all of the decorations, some are really outstanding, I think about the honor it brings to my Lord and Savour.
I know that many of the people in those houses do not even believe in God, but to me it all represents the birth of Jesus and all that He has done, is doing, and will do for the world.
We can make Christmas mean whatever we want to us, we do not have to worry what it means or does not mean to someone else.
"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents, but rather because its opponents die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." Max Planck
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anewperson
CHRISTMAS -- THE REAL TRUTH: More recent scholarly studies prove that the Christmas Tree is from the Tree of Eternal Life (Ge 2:9, 3:22) depicted in church plays of the Middle Ages, not Luther or Druid tree-worshippers, although outdated articles for example in World Book Encyclopedia still repeat the legends and Luther may have originated the use of candles attached to Christmas trees.
The giant cedars of Lebanon used to build the temple at Jerusalem themselves had bright green needles with tan-colored cones, and John 10:22-3 says Christ visited the successor temple during the Jewish "Festival of Dedication," namely Channukah, during winter. Also called the Festival of Lights, it had singing, the carrying of tree branches, homes filled with lights and joy. Celebrated 8 days each time, its date varies yearly but the first Channukah was December 25, making it an even more likely source for the December 25 celebration than Rome's Saturnalia which came later in the month. Some believe Christ was actually born about Oct 1, which would mean Mary conceived 9 months previously, that is about or on December 25. Indeed count 9 months backwards from October to see for yourself. As to Santa Claus, no, he did not come from a vaguely known Asian god who descended chimneys to bring gifts or Siberian wizards but instead the Christian Nicholaus in Turkey in the Middle Ages who had white hair, red robes and each Dec 6 night anonymously shoved gift pouches with gold through windows of homes with poor daughters so that they would not be sold into slavery and prostitution because too poor to pay a marriage dowery.
In fact Christ himself was wrongly attacked as a "glutton and drunkard" simply for believing in a good time (Mt 11:19). He once turned water to wine at a wedding party in Cana (Jn 2:1-11), told followers to invite needy persons to parties (Lu 14:13-14), and accepted gifts including expensive nard oil. As with Nicholas later, Revelation 1:14 even describes the resurrected Christ's hair as like "white wool" or "snow," his cloak red or scarlet-colored (red with a bluish tinge--Mt 27:28), and white symbolizes purity. True, all that just coincidentally reminds one of Santa Claus, but do note that the earliest Christians enjoyed balanced merriment at "love feasts" (Jude 12), the angels celebrated Christ's birth (Lu 2), and Job's children had enjoyed birthdays (Job 1:3, 3:1, 3).
Most Christmas trees are topped by a star remindful of the Christ star. According to John Mosley's The Christmas Star (1985) from September 3 BC to June 2 BC Jupiter, known as "the royal planet" passed Regulus "the king star" in the constellation Leo, reversed then passed again, turned and passed a 3rd time. By June 17 Jupiter and Regulus were so close they seemed a single star when seen by the eye. This then is one intriguing possible source for the Christ star in the Bible.
Before Christ's birth unspecified men called "magi" in Biblical Greek came from the East first to Jerusalem (Mt 2:1-2) then went on to find the Christ child in Bethlehem. Some translations render the word magi as astrologers because its root like the word "magician" is linked to the idea of being a person of great might but although magi may refer to people who try to predict the future by observing the stars, using omens and consulting spirit beings as forbidden by God at Deuteronomy 18:10-12, it can also refer to people who worked to predict future weather patterns, good times to plant and harvest, buy and sell crops, etc via careful observation of the clouds, stars and other natural phenomena and with very little to absolutely no special focus on the occult at all. So for solid reasons some Bible translations continue to translate magi as simply "wise men" or "stargazers" and this is also supported by the Bible’s positively saying they brought gifts for Christ then also protected him by leaving without telling his location to King Herod who wickedly desired to slay him. The oldest traditions of oral and written nature have called the wise men "kings," and Mesopotamia (Chaldea/Babylonia) did have sub-kings ruling city-states, often with the best education then possible.
Those who kept their families from celebrating Christmas should not be condemned if they acted out of lack of accurate knowledge in the past but also no one should claim that those who do celebrate the birth of Christ are out of harmony with the Bible even as the preceding information proves. Please read and meditate on what Paul writes at Colossians 2:16.... The writers are part of a nonprofit mostly house-and-computer-based fellowship called Jah Christians, part of the international Free Christians movement which directly emails the Free Christians Newsletter for free to nearly persons in all belief systems: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jahchristian, or contact jahchristian@y... for a free subscription today.
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willy_think
If the WT tells you Christmas is pagan, you can bet your bottom dollar it's Christian.
The Great and Powerful Oz:
pay no attention to the man behind the curtain
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Francois
I regard Christmas like I regard marriage. God had nothing to do with either one; being born on a day certain, nor creating the marriage institution. However, marriage is HUMANLY sacred and that counts for a lot. The people who believe they're celebrating the birth of Christ on whatever day do so because it's SACRED to THEM. Let 'em have at it absent the condemnation of a cult of narrow-minded, judgemental, self-deluded hypocrites. Who cares? God? I don't think so.
Francois