My background with Christmas goes back to birth and I loved the festivities. Loved the tree, loved the church programs, loved the gifts, loved the lights, loved the cookies, loved the music, loved the stockings, and above all loved the family times and memories. If you had told me four years ago I would be writing this I would have told you that your crazy! My favorite Christmas was one when we had no presents, the night before Christmas my parents and an older brother were fighting and my brother wouldn't come out of his room. I remember thinking that Christmas was going to be horrible. When I went to bed there was not even a stocking stuffer! Then a Christmas miracle happened. My Dad went out that night and filled our stocking with a huge summer sausage, nuts and other eatable things. I don't know why but that's the one I will never forget. I think it was because I knew it was my dad that bought the stocking stuffer and I knew it was a sacrifice for my parents. The rest of my Christmases always had lots of gifts and family time.
I thought my family had lost its way with Christmas when we had to stop giving presents because people were fighting over who's kids got more. It wasn't the presents that bothered me; because I was older and didn't care, I just thought it was ridiculous that we couldn't get presents for the kids because parents were fighting. I gave up on my family's Christmas and started going to my wife's family Christmas. Her family all got along and it was a fun Christmas celebration. Her family had a gift system where everyone made a Christmas list and agreed upon a budget for the gifts for each person. It was strange and I thought it missed the point of giving gifts but they didn't fight. Well they didn't fight until everyone was married and had kids and the gift opening was taking 8 hours. The gifts were eventually sized down to just the grand kids due to budgets and time, and it was again a nice time. Lots of great memories!
Most of all for me Christmas was always about Christ. I never believed in Santa, and never wanted to. I thought St. Nick was a fun story about a real Christian saint who loved children and brought them gifts. By the time I had children I was firmly against Santa because he took away from Christ's day and was essentially the first lie every child is told by their parents. I heard many stories about kids finding out the Santa myth wasn't true and how it hurt them very bad. I wanted nothing to do with lieing to my children and really questioned who the Santa myth is for; the parents and grandparents, or the children. It's a cruel thing to do to a child!
You can see I was a Christian who really understood what Christmas was all about and felt I was doing the best thing for my family by celebrating.
About four years ago I got a job working with a Christian man and things were going great we really had a good bond and felt God had brought us together. Then one day in December I asked him how his family celebrated Christmas and what his plans were. To my surprise he told me he didn't celebrate Christmas. When I asked why he told me Christmas wasn't Biblical! Nuts I thought and up went my walls. "How can a CHISTian not celebrate CHRISTmas?" I still liked this person and found his knowledge of God's word to be good. He was helping the guys on his crew with life issues and he was right on with his advice. I couldn't put it together. I just knew I needed to look out for this man and keep my guard up.
A year later I had a chance meeting with another Christian man(man 2). I forgot my cell, needed to use a phone and went into his office to see if I could. After the call we got to talking and found out we were Christians. He invited me to a Bible study with a few other men and I went. It was neat, I had never been to a small men's Bible study so it was awkward and different but fruitful. Around the season I again asked man 2 what his plans for Christmas were. He told me he didn't celebrate because he didn't think it was Biblical. BAM it hit me again, "How can a CHISTian not celebrate CHRISTmas?" He shared a little more with me about how Jesus wasn't born on December 25, how the roots of December 25 and Christmas were pagan and how the Christmas celebration is not in the Bible. Nuts! Again my walls went up, but I knew this man even better having been going to Bible study with him and he was definitely not crazy. He gave me a book about Christmas called "Truth or Tradition" that I didn't want to read it and I still haven't finished it. My Lutheran upbringing had taught me to look out for people like the ones I was meeting.
I decided I needed to study up on this topic so I could help my friends. To me Christmas was obviously good. What other day or time of year is Jesus talked about more? It's the one time of year that the world gets a bit of Jesus, most go to church on this day and everyone looks for the Christmas spirit of giving. Besides all that, doesn't the Bible teach that it doesn't matter what we do if we are Christian? How could the men I met miss this? We are not supposed to judge people by their celebrations, right? "How can a CHISTian not celebrate CHRISTmas?"
I went through my Bible for a year and built a case for Christmas from the amazing blessing of Christ's birth and how everyone should celebrate this occasion. It didn't matter what December 25 used to be, God can make things new and good, after all isn't that what God has done with us! I even found a passage in the Old Testament that says the Israelites should remember and celebrate what the Lord does for them. Isn't that what Christmas is, a celebration to the Lord? That's what it was to me! I brought my arguments to man 2 the next December, hoping to open his eyes. It didn't go as planed he wasn't receptive to all I said. He had read through the passages I found and countered with others like:
Deuteronomy12: 29 “When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
His point being we as Christians are not to take on pagan beliefs or practices and we should follow God's commands. He didn't come around to my way of thinking but he did show me that he was stuck in the Old Testament. I felt he was caught up in works righteousness. Now I had him. If there is one thing a Lutheran upbringing teaches you it's not to do works, because it's not about works! Right?
Another year of study on Christmas and works righteousness. I really felt I was going to help my friends see the light. Meanwhile in these two years I was really focusing on my Christmas celebration and making it all about Christ. I worshiped God more in those two years at Christmas time than I ever had before and I loved it! I just knew I was right about this holiday, however, during these two years I also watched people and talked with them about the holiday. Watching people gave me the opposite feeling, one of sadness. I could see people going through the motions and being very self centered. Even at the church's Christmas show members were fighting for good seats. Was Christ the reason or the excuse for Christmas? In my heart Christmas was all about Christ, truly, and I felt a separation from the people around me. That became the crack in my armor.
I had decided to continue Christmas but I was going to change some things. Get rid of gifts, read more about Christ, go to sing to the elderly, I was going to make Christmas right! I thought all I needed to do was to fix Christmas. Still I went to man 2 and discussed my points. He wasn't into works righteousness like I thought, he just felt we should do what the Bible says. Novel. Then while discussing this with him he told me something that would eventually change my life. He said something like, "The worst part of Christmas isn't the celebration or the pagan holiday stuff. The worst part is that Christmas takes away from the celebrations God has told us to keep." What? We are Christians we don't celebrate Jewish holidays was my response. Shortly after our discussion, and just before Resurrection Sunday, he sent me this video:
When I saw this video many pieces fell into place. I knew who Baal and Ashtoreths were, enemies of God. If what this video teaches is true we, Christians, are in grave sin for celebrating our God with the things of pagan gods. This had to be false!
I didn't know if the things in the video were true but I didn't need to wait to check. We immediately stopped our plans for Christmas, Easter and Valentines day. I was not even going to chance it, if the video was wrong we could always go back to celebrating. In shock of sorts I shared this with everyone I knew. You can imagine they all think I am NUTS! I got confirmation on the pagan roots from a friend's pastor and then found the same truths with online research. I wish I could say that it was a surprise to pastors and those I talked with but sadly it was common knowledge. I felt so duped. Most people said it didn't mater, or that lots of things have pagan roots.
Judges 2:13
They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths
I began asking myself how could I think the Christmas tree was Biblical, or what had I thought Easter meant? Why didn't I search out the obvious, like: Why, if it's Jesus birthday, do we give presents to others? Why do we celebrate on December 25 if we really don't know when Jesus was born? Why do Easter bunny's lay eggs? Why do we dye eggs? What does mistletoe have to do with anything? It's as though I just never thought to find out. I guess I just trusted the church and thought it couldn't be wrong if my parents did it. I do not blame my parents they certainly had no idea of the things in the video and they didn't grow up with the World Wide Web at their fingertips. I also don't blame other Christians that are keeping the holidays without this knowledge. I know God forgives our ignorance, I just wonder what He will say to those who know and don't do anything about it. I knew I had to stop keeping the pagan traditions with my family, it was painful.
Next I needed to find out what to do! Resurrection Sunday was coming up and some traditions our family keeps we were not going to take part in anymore. I told the children we are going to call the holiday the Resurrection instead of Easter. We would not be partaking of the egg hunt and informed the family we would not be eating ham. I felt this was the right thing to do besides all those things are not a big deal, at least that's what I thought.
I didn't just want to stop the questionable practices. I wanted to start doing what God wants my family to do. If you don't know, the Feast of Unleavened Bread starts with Passover and lasts for eight days and it's right in the time of the Resurrection so I thought we can try this feast. At least I knew it was Biblical. Something in the back of my mind was telling me "You can't keep Jewish feasts." I was having an Identity crisis. To my surprise that was the next video on the Passion for Truth site. I will post it here:
I know a bit about the Old Testament and after watching this teaching more pieces fell into place. I am convinced I am God's people and an Israelite. Israel means: a group considered by its members or by others as God's chosen people. Well if I am an Israelite then I better listen to what God tells the Israelites.
My family has, with God's help, begun to walk away from the traditions of man and we are in search of God's life that He has for us. It has been hard, we have cried over the changes and it hasn't been easy to be treated like we are NUTS! My mom thinks we have joined a cult. Our extended family doesn't even know what to say to us. Most, not all, don't like what we are doing but they don't want to take the time to understand. A few in our family have watched the video on Christmas and talk to us about it. They are where I was four years ago so I understand their questions and their doubts. I hope they will put God's thoughts and opinions above their own, because it really doesn't matter what we think it, only matters what God thinks.
I am someone that will be gone shortly, and I have only been here a short time. God is eternal and His word is eternal. It is the only truth.
I have found out that when God starts teaching He opens up things we have never even thought to put together. This has happened with Christmas and Baal. In totally unrelated news I heard Daniel Lapin speak about the practices of Baal worship. He listed excrement or grunge, earth worship, and killing babies I think. Any bells going off? There were for me. Grunge and earth worship grabbed my attention. I thought about global warming and green peace. I thought about the green movement and its mission to save the earth even at the cost of human existence. Then recently the last one, babies, came to my mind, 50 million killed by abortion since 1973. I'm thinking we are passing our children through the fire to the Baal through abortion. Wow! To think here we are in 2012 and as a country we are worshiping Baal. I don't know what else to think other than God knew and told His people not to do this.
I can't speak for all Christians but this is the reason I, as a Christian, do not celebrate Christmas. I love Jesus and want to worship Him His way, not mine. I want Jesus' best for me and my family. I want the truth and nothing else. God is Truth. I read many current and past preachers works and the cry I hear in their writing is in my heart. The cry is for God's people to stop following the world's ways and to start following God's ways. Lately I have a craving to study the Bible like never before and God seems to be opening my eyes everyday. For me the Bible was a book of two different parts now I can see it's a book with one part, beginning to end the Bible is all about God's love for His people. God's love has not and will not change and He is as loving in the new as He is in the old! Praise God our Father forever!
