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Can celebrating pagan holidays open up doors ; Christmas


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6 minutes ago, turtletwo said:

I've found that people are more willing  to listen to me sharing the gospel then.

That is so true.   I get information from Christian Aid Mission.   They get reports from native missionaries/pastors who tell how the Christmas season opens many doors to reach out to even Muslims and Hindus who are normally opposed to the Gospel.   People listen, accept Bibles and more.

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20 minutes ago, Debp said:

That is so true.   I get information from Christian Aid Mission.   They get reports from native missionaries/pastors who tell how the Christmas season opens many doors to reach out to even Muslims and Hindus who are normally opposed to the Gospel.   People listen, accept Bibles and more.

@Debp :)Praise the Lord! Thanks for sharing this. 

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"Can celebrating pagan holidays open up doors ; Christmas"

Some say yes; some say no. Either way, it is not about us, but about the hearer. There are times to walk away, and times to use what we have. The ultimate aim is to draw others to Christ by being all things to all people that we may win some.

In South Africa, there was a cannibalistic tribe who the Missionary, Stanley Livingston, came upon. He tried to share with them Christ's love, but he made no headway because they had nothing in their vocabulary for the word "love." He asked the Chief what the greatest thing was to him. The Chief replied, "umboi"---the smoked meat of a man's arm. Livingston spoke about Christ telling his followers they must drink his blood and eat his flesh. Well that got their attention. It did not take long before his listening audience began to understand, and soon the entire tribe was converted to Christianity.

So many Christians are too dogmatic, needing it to be their way and no other, but we are to be wise in the Spirit, knowing that Jesus meets people where they are, not where we think they ought to be! 

Edited by Coliseum
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15 hours ago, other one said:

I just disagree with your assessment of the situation.....    if you are using Christian resources you will get the idea of your view....   if you've walked with the dark side you get a totally different view of things....    One would think that paganism isn't a real problem today but it is thought that because no media outlet that is open will dare to get into it.    We have child sacrifice happening all over the world today.....    human trafficking happening everywhere today.....    the Muslims even have active slavery in Africa....

Hi Other One,

I respect that you “disagree” with my assessment, but I don't think you can assume that my analysis was biased just because we disagree (i.e. assuming that I only considered Christian resources).

If you can show me a direct line of evidence tracing any Christian tradition to paganism, I'll happily consider it. The difficulty from my end is that all I can provide are examples of when I did not find such a direct link – which doesn't really mean much. Most of what I did find was people interpreting similarities between Christianity and paganism as evidence of Christianity 'stealing' the ideas from paganism (which is a very weak, logically specious argument). I've also found many claims about what pagans believed to be very poorly evidenced (in some cases – seemingly completely made up). By contrast, I've found that most Christian traditions can be traced to earlier Christian practices stemming from Christian thought. And in a few cases, the origins of the traditions are historically ambiguous.

So I don't personally see much potential danger in celebrating common Christian traditions – so long as we do so with a Godly conscience. I'd be more inclined to distrust what “the dark side” tells me about history. But ultimately, our arguments should prioritise the available evidence over what people say.

 

EDIT/ADDENDUM

You mentioned Christmas trees in a later post. The earliest records of Christmas trees are from late medieval Germanic Christians - who re-enacted Biblical stories under large decorated trees on Christmas Eve. It was common for pagans to bring cut-offs from evergreens into their homes because they were considered to posses some form of magic - but I could find no direct link between that pagan practice and the Christian tradition of Christmas trees.

 

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9 hours ago, Betha said:

I have noticed that people showing their love to others will 'repeatedly foist their merry xmas wishes on those who don't want them....is that how you are to 'love each other ? NOT ! they secretly get a kick out of 'needling people....very christian. NOT !

Expressing that some one has happiness is hardly unloving, whether they want that or not. I pray for people, who do not want prayers, because I love them. Love is not about granting people wishes, is is about seeking their benefit. That IS very Christian. They probably do not want to hear about Jesus. That is too bad. I am hardly going to disobey God, when perhaps something I say might help move them toward eternal life!

As Penn Gillette (Atheist) asked:

"How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"

I have to agree with him. If you are a Christian, and not telling others how to receive eternal life, you are not loving them. Of course, if they persist in rejecting the message, you are relieved from the obligation so that that they may choose to harden their hearts and it seems as though God is willing to help them attain their goal of eternal separation from Him and His blessings.

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OK, the day after Christmas, and this thread is pretty much exhausted and time to be laid to rest. Now, the new year is coming up, do your best to avoid drunkeness, and be safe, and watch out for those who may lack that wisdom. If you party, and someone has had too much to drink, consider doing the loving thing and assure that they do not endanger themselves and others. Provide wisdom and help, where foolishness reigns. Tank you all for listening, the thread is now closed.

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