Recognizing Christmas

[Dennis1209]

11 minutes ago, Justmemyselfandi said:

There are no technical this or that. It was apart of the law of Moses and it does not aplly especially when taken in the context of what the topic is, which is the day called Christmas. As I have stated several times. My arguement was not with the celebration, but with the date, how it came to being and the trappings around it.

I'm not going to argue... Goodbye

[4LdKHVCzRDj2]

5 hours ago, frienduff thaylorde said:

but IF I point to JESUS and HIS sayings ,  HOW am I the Pharisee.

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." - Matthew 5:11-12

 

5 hours ago, frienduff thaylorde said:

I get called Pharisee all the time.  NOT saying you said I was, but many do.

The only people who get offended when we say we should walk in the light as the Lord Jesus walked are those who rejoice living in sin and do not want to change.

"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." - John 8:12

 

Today we see many people resisting to the calling of Jesus and living as they believe is right, mostly are deceived by the world who says those things are normal.

"From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more." - John 6:66

 

Make a decision and surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, before it is too late. There is no life in the world.

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." - Matthew 11:29

[Justmemyselfandi]

4 hours ago, Steve_K said:

I could have quoted several people but I need to chime in here:

I gotta be honest, I'm becoming impatient with the content of this thread. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. There isn't anything "pagan" about that, no matter how much some of you try to make it that way.

Secondly, MG said that Jesus didn't "want us to celebrate anything." I beg the differ. Jesus wanted us to remember him in communion, so, in a sense it is celebrating. ALTHOUGH JESUS NEVER SPECIFICALLY USED THE TERM.

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS And I will not be deterred by cynical opinions on a msg board. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!

There is no cynics here. Being cynical is believing that Christmas was done for self-centered reasons and that is not the case.  I don't believe that anyone celebrates Christmas for their own selves, but the fact is that it has nothing to do with the Birth, the death or the life of our savior. There is no getting around this and I for one would think it more appropriate to have an unblemished day, untarnished by false religion, in which to celebrate the only perfect person to ever walk the Earth and one who sacrificed everything, including his life for us, so that we could have everlasting life. What Christmas is is a hand me down day, like a pair of pants given to a younger sibling by and older.

What is happening in this thread is those who back the traditions of man are going up against people who have come to the conclusion  that only with the full and unmitigated truth being known about things can we honestly and forthrightly deal with the subject at hand

  The 25th of December was a day of celebration It was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home. A time for feasting, goodwill, generosity to the poor, the exchange of gifts and the decoration of trees. But it wasn't Christmas. This was Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice festival. The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December.

Edited December 6, 2017 by Justmemyselfandi

[missmuffet]

2 minutes ago, Cletus said:

Yes, yes, yes.  every christmas i say Happy birthday Jesus... even though i do not believe that was the day He was born.  

Some people have made it a tradition to have their children make Jesus Christ a birthday cake on Christmas. Of course that is of this world but God does know the heart.

[Justmemyselfandi]

3 hours ago, Justmemyselfandi said:

There is no cynics here. Being cynical is believing that Christmas was done for self-centered reasons and that is not the case.  I don't believe that anyone celebrates Christmas for their own selves, but the fact is that it has nothing to do with the Birth, the death or the life of our savior. There is no getting around this and I for one would think it more appropriate to have an unblemished day, untarnished by false religion, in which to celebrate the only perfect person to ever walk the Earth and one who sacrificed everything, including his life for us, so that we could have everlasting life. What Christmas is is a hand me down day, like a pair of pants given to a younger sibling by and older.

What is happening in this thread is those who back the traditions of man are going up against people who have come to the conclusion  that only with the full and unmitigated truth being known about things can we honestly and forthrightly deal with the subject at hand

  The 25th of December was a day of celebration It was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home. A time for feasting, goodwill, generosity to the poor, the exchange of gifts and the decoration of trees. But it wasn't Christmas. This was Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice festival. The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December.

Could someone please tell me how to get rid of this attachment. I have no idea how it got here and I don't want it in my post.

Edited December 6, 2017 by Justmemyselfandi

[Justmemyselfandi]

1 hour ago, Dennis1209 said:

I'm not going to argue... Goodbye

There is no argument here. I am not arguing with anyone. I'm stating fact that what you are talking about is apart of the OT law. It was written down in the book of Moses. That is an established fact.  Christmas, which is the topic of the conversation here has never been a part of anything that is in any way Biblical. That is what I am saying.

Edited December 6, 2017 by Justmemyselfandi

[Heleadethme]

11 hours ago, Cobalt1959 said:

In other words, you chose to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to support your bogus interpretation of Jeremiah 10 using external sources that, just like you, use the same kind of skewed logic driven by things you already think are true and shock value, but highly arbitrary assigning of values to things based on what they might sound like on some ancient Christmas tree.  Predictable, but proving nothing.

This is not the first time we have seen these old chestnuts pulled out of a closet and taken out of the box they have been sitting in for a year.  Someone takes them out, brushes the dust and Lint Bunnies off of them and starts parading them in front of the board like a collection of Bogey men.  "LOOK!  SCARY!!!"  No more substance than that, but they always try.

You astutely avoid dealing with what the text actually says, because if you did, it would quickly show that what you are claiming it says is not what it actually says.  So you default to some 3rd party source that is supposed to be some authority on the subject.  I just let the text say plainly what it actually says.  I don't need 3rd party sources.

Jeremiah is pointing to worship.  He is saying don't worship.  Even if this thing he is talking about were a Christmas tree, even though we already both know it is not, he is saying don't worship it.  You have hinted that worship is involved, but you have failed to state exactly how.  You failed to deal with that subject at all.  That is because you cannot display worship of a 21st Century Christmas Tree.

The trouble is......many are worshiping and in bondage but don't know it.  If someone can't live without a Christmas tree then they are in bondage and worshiping it, in effect.  Just think what we do with a Christmas tree......we "offer" it gifts when we place the gifts under the tree, we then kneel down and retrieve those gifts to be "consumed" by someone.  Think about the sacrifices...how the worshipers participated in the sacrifice by eating of it, and how we eat the Lord's Supper, participating in His sacrifice.  I stopped having a Christmas tree when I saw that passage in Jeremiah, and it is hard to put into words, but i find Christmas to be a "freer and cleaner" time because of that.  Being rid of that bondage and spiritual dirt.  Also celebrating it more simply, more temperately I think would be the right word.  We can use the things of this world, but we are not to abuse or be enamored with them....don't go overboard or be excessive, and don't set our hearts on them. 

[missmuffet]

8 minutes ago, Heleadethme said:

The trouble is......many are worshiping and in bondage but don't know it.  If someone can't live without a Christmas tree then they are in bondage and worshiping it, in effect.  Just think what we do with a Christmas tree......we "offer" it gifts when we place the gifts under the tree, we then kneel down and retrieve those gifts to be "consumed" by someone.  Think about the sacrifices...how the worshipers participated in the sacrifice by eating of it, and how we eat the Lord's Supper, participating in His sacrifice.  I stopped having a Christmas tree when I saw that passage in Jeremiah, and it is hard to put into words, but i find Christmas to be a "freer and cleaner" time because of that.  Being rid of that bondage and spiritual dirt.  Also celebrating it more simply, more temperately I think would be the right word.  We can use the things of this world, but we are not to abuse or be enamored with them....don't go overboard or be excessive, and don't set our hearts on them. 

Anyone who gets a Christmas tree is not worshipping it. It is only a tree. You are off. The scripture you posting about Jeremiah is not restricting Christmas trees.

There is nothing in the Bible that either commands or prohibits Christmas trees. It has been falsely claimed by some that Jeremiah 10:1-16 prohibits the cutting down and decorating of trees in the same manner as we do at Christmas. However, even a cursory reading of the text makes it clear that the passage is one in which Jeremiah sets forth the prohibition against idols made of wood, plated with silver and gold, and worshipped. A similar idea appears in Isaiah 44, where Isaiah speaks of the silliness of the idol-worshippers who cut down a tree, burn part of it in the fire to warm themselves, and use the other part to fashion an idol, which they then bow down to. So unless we bow down before our Christmas tree, carve it into an idol, and pray to it, these passages cannot be applied to Christmas trees.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Christmas-tree.html

[MorningGlory]

2 hours ago, Justmemyselfandi said:

There is no cynics here. Being cynical is believing that Christmas was done for self-centered reasons and that is not the case.  I don't believe that anyone celebrates Christmas for their own selves, but the fact is that it has nothing to do with the Birth, the death or the life of our savior. There is no getting around this and I for one would think it more appropriate to have an unblemished day, untarnished by false religion, in which to celebrate the only perfect person to ever walk the Earth and one who sacrificed everything, including his life for us, so that we could have everlasting life. What Christmas is is a hand me down day, like a pair of pants given to a younger sibling by and older.

What is happening in this thread is those who back the traditions of man are going up against people who have come to the conclusion  that only with the full and unmitigated truth being known about things can we honestly and forthrightly deal with the subject at hand

  The 25th of December was a day of celebration It was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home. A time for feasting, goodwill, generosity to the poor, the exchange of gifts and the decoration of trees. But it wasn't Christmas. This was Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice festival. The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December.

Why on earth did you copy and paste my post?  You weren't responding to me.

[Heleadethme]

1 minute ago, missmuffet said:

Anyone who gets a Christmas tree is not worshipping it. It is only a tree. You are off. The scripture you posting about Jeremiah is not restricting Christmas trees.

There is nothing in the Bible that either commands or prohibits Christmas trees. It has been falsely claimed by some that Jeremiah 10:1-16 prohibits the cutting down and decorating of trees in the same manner as we do at Christmas. However, even a cursory reading of the text makes it clear that the passage is one in which Jeremiah sets forth the prohibition against idols made of wood, plated with silver and gold, and worshipped. A similar idea appears in Isaiah 44, where Isaiah speaks of the silliness of the idol-worshippers who cut down a tree, burn part of it in the fire to warm themselves, and use the other part to fashion an idol, which they then bow down to. So unless we bow down before our Christmas tree, carve it into an idol, and pray to it, these passages cannot be applied to Christmas trees.

That was just my testimony.  It's helpful to understand that many of the Old Testament examples are to us living shadows of spiritual realities......if anyone is in bondage to a thing, that thing IS an idol to the person, knowingly or unknowingly.  When we grow up with things like that we can be so used to them we don't even know we are in bondage.  People don't usually carve or sculpt figures to bow down to in our society......but they do have idols in other ways which are just as spiritually impure.....this is a very idolatrous society now, in spite of the fact that we don't bow down to graven images.