www.apostasyalert.org/
December 4, 2006
Who Took Christ Out of Christmas?
The e-mail I received shouted, "The War
Rages On! What can YOU do?" The group,
Operation: Just Say "Merry Christmas"
is putting a call out to all Christians
to "Proclaim to the world that you
intend to ‘Keep Christ in Christmas!"
They say it is long past time for Christians
to stand firm in their faith. They are offering
wristbands that say "Just
Say Merry Christmas" and magnetic car stickers
with a nativity cutout with
the caption "Keep Christ in
Christmas". The cause sounds so noble - what
committed Christian wouldn’t answer the call?
It may surprise you to know that the
wristbands and car magnets were designed
and made by the Knights of Columbus and
the Just Say "Merry Christmas" organization
is Roman Catholic; however their call is
to everyone who calls themselves
Christian to join the crusade. Not surprisingly,
they are promoting the ecumenical
movie "The Nativity Story" that premiered at
the Vatican and had Roman Catholic
advisors.
In reality, no one has taken Christ out
of Christmas because Christ has never
been in "Christmas". It is another pagan
holiday "Christianized"
by the Roman Catholic Church. The
word Christmas is derived from Middle English
Christemasse and from Old English
Cristes mæsse
. It is a contraction meaning "Christ's
mass". The mass refers to
the Roman Catholic celebration of the Eucharist.
The Eucharistic Christ is
not the Christ of the Bible. He is conjured
up over and over as flesh and
blood through the Eucharist via
the incantations of the priest. Millions
upon millions of dear precious people are
led to believe they are ingesting
Christ and receiving saving grace through this sacrament.
The idea that December 25 is Jesus' date of birth was popularized by
Sextus Julius Africanus
in
Chronographiai
(AD 221)". He calculated that December 25
th
was nine months after Mary conceived
Christ and this happened to be the
date the Romans celebrated the winter
solstice. This is the only account
that has any validity as to December 25
th
being the birth of Christ, but that is
only speculation and lacks practicality
as gestation periods vary.
Nevertheless, unlike other
pagan celebrations that have been coated with
a Christian veneer, Christmas
is universally celebrated as a commemoration
of Christ’s birth. Most Christians have
come to accept it as such and it
is often used as an opportunity to bring
glory to the Lord. Countless souls
have been saved at fundamental
evangelical Christmas services as the Gospel
is presented to audiences that might
never otherwise darken the door of a
Bible-preaching church.
Controversy has always surrounded the
Christmas holiday. During the Reformation,
Protestants condemned Christmas
celebration as "trappings of popery" and
the "rags of the Beast". The Catholic Church
responded by promoting the festival
in a more religiously oriented form. The
Puritans of New England disapproved
of Christmas and celebration was outlawed
in Boston (1659-81). Meanwhile,
Virginia and New York celebrated freely.
No one can deny that the major emphasis
at Christmas is materialistic and
worldly. In fact, it is so secularized
that unbelievers have no problem celebrating
it. Dominionist types get up in arms when
governmental authorities refuse
to allow nativity scenes in public areas,
but seem to ignore the fact that
as private citizens we can still utilize
our personal freedoms to display
nativity scenes in our front yards. The Magi can
be omitted if desired to
be biblically correct and the scene need not have
a "Madonna with Child"
appearance. All the displays would send a
powerful message that the households
are celebrating the birth of Christ.
Too much time, expense and energy is
spent wrangling with secular governments
and the ACLU on this issue – they
are not the enemy. The battle lines have
been drawn and the love of Christ
is not seen. Demanding our rights is not
the answer. Christ was never universally
accepted and He never will be. We will never
succeed in Christianizing the
world at large, and we should not be shocked when
the world rejects Him.
Saying "Merry Christmas" and displaying a
nativity scene has the potential
to impact our culture by creating a heightened
level of awareness that could
lead to open discussion. But unless
that opportunity is capitalized upon
the effort is an end in itself.
Any discussion of Christmas brings up the
question: Should Christians celebrate
Christmas given its connections to
paganism? Certainly Christmas is not a
biblical observance. Sincere believers
are lined up on both sides of the
discussion. Purists say absolutely not and don’t
acknowledge it at all. Others
believe in using it as a bridge instead of throwing up a wall.
Pragmatism is certainly a blight on the
Church, but can’t truth be honored
as we commemorate the birth of Christ
even with all the "baggage"? The population
is "forced" to think about Jesus during
this time and opportunities
can arise to share Christ if we are prepared. The
average person tolerates
the non-threatening Babe in the manger, but the
risen Christ and His gift
of salvation call for a personal decision and
the need to address one’s eternal
destiny. This requires a
gentle persuasion toward self-examination and repentance
which is far from comfortable, but
necessary. The Christmas season provides
a natural atmosphere to present the
Gospel and declare the love of Christ
and why He came.
Since the holiday is permanently woven
into the fabric of our society, if
Christians reject the observance of
Christmas it could send a confusing message
to a world that does not understand. They
simply see it as a day the Christian
world remembers the birth of Christ. Christians
who opt out may be perceived
as strange or legalistic, damaging their ability
to witness. It could drive
a wedge between family members who do not
understand. At this point it is
written in granite as a national holiday
and proverbially speaking, the horse
is out of the barn never to return. Most
importantly, every believer must
follow their personal conviction and
extend grace to one another, not judge
each another or allow the issue to become divisive when we disagree.
Christmas is traditionally the time to
keep in touch with distant friends
and relatives, recapping the activities
of the year, sharing both joys and
sorrows, giving opportunity to testify of
what Christ has done. There are
ways to set an example of how to have a
Christ-centered observance. For example,
one family I know is sending gifts to
national pastors and their families
in a 3
rd
world country in lieu of a family gift
exchange. What a wonderful way to
stem the tide of materialism in one’s own family.
We should not miss the
opportunity to glorify the Savior during this
window of opportunity when
He is center stage.
The Bible is our ultimate authority, but
where it is silent, it seems appropriate
to consult trusted Bible teachers. I
wanted to know what John R. Rice and
H.A. Ironside, a couple of my favorites, had to say about Christmas.
Brother Rice comments:
I LOVE the Christmas season. I find great
joy in preaching on the Christmas
themes of the angels, the shepherds, the
manger, the virgin birth, and the
wise men. I have great joy in the
Christmas carol. There is a joyful, happy
note of worship in our home, and thank
God, in my heart, through the Christmastime....I
love to give gifts, and I rejoice to be
remembered by my loved ones and friends.
I love the Christmas season….It makes me sad that
many people do not enjoy
Christmas. Some devoted Christians feel sour,
cantankerous, and full of objections
about Christmas. To them I would say in the
words of Scripture that if you
regard the day, regard it unto the Lord. And
if you do not regard the day,
Christmas, then be sure that you
are Christian about it and do it as unto
the Lord. But let nobody be judging and
criticizing others for honest, worshipful,
spiritual and loving attitudes about
Christmas. He was familiar with all
the pagan connections and addressed it
this way:….thank God, all the days
belong to Christ now and none of them
belong to heathen gods….Why should
anybody grieve if I sing Christmas carols, if I have a happy celebration
with a feast, and if I go over the Bible story of
the birth of Christ and
teach it to my children, on Christmas Day? As to
the secular celebration
of the day, he says," …we would be very foolish
if we turned Christmas over
to Satan and worldlings. If the world has
a Christmas of revelry, let us
make it a day of Christian love
and fellowship and a day honoring to Christ.
Let us make much of the Christmas story
in the Bible, of Christmas carols,
of Christian love and fellowship…Yes, I
love Christmas!...........I like
to use Christmas time as a good excuse to
get into people’s hearts and win
them to Christ. And, thank God, many have
been saved because I brought a
Christmas message, or because I urged sinners to
accept God’s great Christmas
gift at Christmas time.
Dr. Ironside’s devotional for December 25th
from The Daily Sacrifice published in 1948
ends with this poem titled "The
Triumph of Christmas". The words, though
penned some 58 years ago are timely
in our day.
"Can we say ‘Merry Christmas!’
When all around it’s night
When war spreads death and sorrow;
And wrong o’ercomes the right?
Is love the greatest power?
Or is it hate and greed?
If we speak now of Christmas,
Will anyone give heed?
‘Ah, yes!’ comes back faith’s answer;
The hearts of men still cry
For that one Consolation,
To cheer them ere they die.
Then still sound forth the Message
The angel heralds sang:
That o’er the hills of David
In peals of rapture rang.
Then from the lowly manger,
Shall rise a mighty Throne;
The Babe become earth’s ruler:
And men serve God alone."
--Author Unknown
No one has taken Christ out of Christmas
– He does not dwell in Christmas.
He abides in the hearts of those who have
repented, accepted His gift of
salvation and invited and welcomed Him into their lives.
???
Sherry Neese: The only child of an alcoholic
father and abusive, mentally-ill mother
who disowned her, Sherry received Christ through
a radio broadcast as a child. He
has been faithful to sustain her through many
challenges in her walk of faith. She
is a wife, mother and “Mimi” to her
grandchildren. She is active in foreign missions
and evangelism and has a special heart for those
who are emotionally hurting, especially
children. The Lord has given her a burden for the
Church in these last days, to expose
error and speak the truth in love to all with an ear to hear.
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