Celebrating Christmas is an Insult to Christ

Ed: // So, Jesus being born on 25 Dec 001BC does NOT conflict with Holy Scripture.//

Hope of Glory: //Ah, but it does. He was born during the reign of Herod who died in 4BC, and Jesus would have been about two years old or so when Herod died.

You have to look at all the clues in Scripture if you want to pinpoint the date that he was born.//

Uh, 'history' and the 'Holy Scripture' are two different things.
BTW, which Herod was historically ruling when Jesus was born?
Which Herod died in 4BC? Which Herod ordered the destruction of
of the under two year olds when the Magi left?

Holman Bible Dictionary (Holman, 1991) says on page 638
HEROD - The name given to the family ruling Palestine
immediately before and to some degree during the first half
of the first Christian century. Their family history was
complex, and what information has come down has been frequently
meager, conflicting, and difficult to harmonize.

I had been asked to show a date for the birth of Jesus from
the Holy Scripture. I did so. Jesus was born (as Americans count birth)
on 25 December 0001BC; and was born (according to the custom of
Leviticus (Holy Scripture) on 1 Jan 0001AD. Let us face it, we have two
ancient daters, one who says Jesus was born some time in 0004BC and
another who says Jesus was born on 25 Dec 0001BC. I picked the
one of the two who acted like he had read Liviticus.

 

Procyon, Given wot you are saying, we ought to give more importance to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, which we also remember when we consider His birth.

I don't give any importance at all to December, but since the world has opened a door of opportunity, I take it.

Cheers,

Jim

 

The originator of this post is absolutely right. What right do we have to celebrate the birth of Christ? Why celebrate His resurrection? Why does Christ's words have to be printed in red in our bibles instead of the less expensive black ink? Why do we have to sit in religious services that go past noon - God doesn't need that much praise and attention!

If we celebrated Christmas in the Spring - when the shepherds would be back out in the fields with their sheep instead of keeping them enclosed in pens in the winter - then there would be some other pagan holiday that would prevent us honoring Christ's birth. Remember, there are thousands of pagan gods but there's only 365 days in a year.

This debate over Christmas is really about egos. Some people want to appear more intelligent and more logical than they really are. In a way, they are seeking to take attention from God and put it onto themselves because they think more highly of themselves than they ought to.

 

The forecast for Jerusalem for Christmas day,
25 December 2005 is
overcast with a Low of 41 and a high of 44.
Perfect weather, if you have a wool coat
(sheep and shepards generall have wool coats).

Compare with Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
with variable cloudiness, high of 04 and
low of minus 7.
I suspect the sheep in Edmonton will be
inside on the 25th.

 

procyon,

I really do understand your concern about Christmas. We of course do not want to be falling into line with paganism or participating with it in any way.

However, the Bible is silent on when Jesus was born. God never told us to celebrate His birth, God never told us not to celebrate His birth, God never told us when to celebrate His birth.

So it really doesnt matter one way or the other.

Celebrating the birth of Jesus is not inherantly an "evil" thing.

For instance, let's take the idea of putting up a Christmas Tree. Is a Tree evil? NO. Is a certain kind of tree evil? The only one we know of is the one in the Garden of Eeden that God commanded Adam and Eve NOT to eat from, right?

Is a bunch of flowers out in the field of nature evil, any more than a tree is evil? NO. Can we take a bunch of flowers and bring them into your house and set them in a vase on the coffee table and by doing so make the flowers evil? NO. Well what if at one time pagans had decided to commemorate the death of the "god of maui wowie" or what if they decided to start doing that tommorrow... would it from then on make you yourself bringing a bunch of flowers in the house and setting them onto your coffee table an "evil" act? I dont think so.

It is the same with taking a Christmas Tree and sticking it in your living room and putting presents under it for the purpose of giving the presents to your family members.

Now then look at the 7th day Sabbath by contrast. The Bible clearly says God commanded us to keep the 7th day Sabbath holy. The Catholic Church, borrowing from paganism declared they have the power to change the Ten Commandments and decide that the Sabbath day is now Sunday, the first day of the week. Thus, they book the "birthday" of the Creation of the world that GOD COMMANDED US to keep holy as a commemorative celebration and changed it,

2Thes:2:4: Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

NOW you have something to complain about and NOW you had better decide to do as Peter did "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." Acts:5:29

NOW its a very big deal.


WHAT GOD SAYS:


"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. " Exodus 20:8-1 1.


WHAT MAN SAYS AND COMMANDS:

"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws. " Daniel 7.25.

"The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret, even divine laws....The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth with most ample power of binding and loosing the sheep."-From the Prompta Bibliotheca published in 1900 in Rome by the press of the propaganda.

"The pope has power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ."-Decretal de Translat, Episcop. Cap.

The pope's will stands for reason. He can dispense above the law, and of wrong make right by correcting and changing laws."-Pope Nicholas, Dis. 96.


"The Catholic Church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."-Catholic Mirror, Sept. 23, 1893.

You will notice in this information that the Church declares that it was not God Who changed the day from Saturday to Sunday but that they, the papists, were the ones who made this change. The Sabbath was officially changed by the Papacy at the Council of Laodicea on March 7, 364 A.D. That was 43 years after Constantine declared Sunday the day for Christians to honor as a rest day.

"Question.-Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?"

"Answer.-Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her,-she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority."-Rev. Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, p. 174.


"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to any one who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, 'Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.' The Catholic Church says, 'No; by my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day, and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.' and lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church. 'Priest Enright, C.S.S.R., Kansas City, Missouri.


"In reply to a letter of October 28, 1895, to Cardinal Gibbons, asking if the church claimed the change of the Sabbath as her mark, the following was received: 'Of course the Catholic church claims that the change was her act .... And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.'-C.F. Thomas, Chancellor."


procyon, I hope you could see the difference now between celebrating the birth of Christ on any day of the year and how there really isnt anything wrong with that.

...but the Sabbath is another story entirely.


Claudia

 

Claudia,
This post has been deleted because:
1. It was taken word for word from an SDA website.
2. No link or any documentation whatsoever was given as to where you obtained that information.
3. That is an unethical practice called plagiarism.
4. Posting unreferenced material as such is against BB rules.
5. The length of your post is also far too long. Most people simply skip over lengthy posts.
Please adhere to the rules of BB in the future.
Thank you.
DHK

[ December 24, 2005, 03:59 PM: Message edited by: DHK ]

 

wrong spot

 

I'm sure the third time will be a charm

 

The forecast for Jerusalem for Christmas day,
25 December 2005 is
overcast with a Low of 41 and a high of 44.
Perfect weather, if you have a wool coat
(sheep and shepards generall have wool coats).

The average Dec lo each day at the Dead Sea is 56-degrees-F.
The average Dec hi each day at the Dead Sea is 71-degrees-F.
This is the same Weather and latatidue as Mexicali, Mexico.
Hello, Can anybody spell 'Desert" moderated by a sea/oclean to the west?

"There were shephedrs abiding in thier fields by Night is
perfectly reasonable for most Dec 25ths at Bethelhem.

 

all the ancient sun gods had their birthday at the winter solstice, for obvious reasons.

the church at rome couldn't beat them so they joined them.


http://www2.andrews.edu/~samuele/books/sabbath_to_sunday/8.html

 

And you bringing in old Pagan
religious follies fulfilles these commands how?

Ro 14:19 (nKJV):
Therefore let us pursue the things which make
for peace and the things by which one may edify
another.

1Co 10:23 (nKJV):
All things are lawful for me, but not all things
are helpful; all things are lawful for me,
but not all things edify.

1Th 5:11 (nKJV):
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another,
just as you also are doing.


The weather prediciton for Greater
Jerusalem for Christmas Day, 25 December 2005
is a lo of 41 in the morning and a high
of 47 in the afternoon.
I was outside this morning trying to fix
my low voltage lighting system. It was
47-Degrees-F with a 30-miles-per-hour
wind. I was quite comfortable with a long
sleve shirt and a WOOL cap.
Yes, friends, it is possible near
Bethelhem to have sheep out in the fields
5 out of 7 - 25th of Decembers.
BTW, 24 december was the beginning of
Winter (AKA: winter solstice) Currently
the winter solstice falls 20 to 24 Dec
and NEVER ON 25 Dec. But hey, grinches
never let little details like that spoil
the holiday. Merry Christmas to all, and
to all a good night.

God has a special gift for every sheep:
A WOOL COAT

 

Jesus and the Apostles didn't worship on the day of sol Invictus, perhaps we shouldn't either.

 

Right here: http://www.worldweatherserver.com/weather_in_ILZZ0001.aspx
is says that on Christmas Eve it is 50°F.
The predicted weather for 25 Dec 2005 is 45°F high and 39°F with a
chance of rain. I hear those wool coats that the sheep have are
fairly water proof

IMHO Jesus was born on 25 Dec 0001BC, circumsized on 01 Jan 0001AC.
So i'll be celebrating the birthday of Jesus on 25 Dec, starting here
shortly in my time zone. I also lighted my own personal candle
earlier this evening from an Advent set CHIRST CANDLE.
It is better to light a candle than to curse.

Yep, I'll be celebrating the birth of Jesus
at a SONday service in the morning.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a GOOD NIGHT!!!

[ December 24, 2005, 10:06 PM: Message edited by: Ed Edwards ]

 

There is so much controversy over this day or that being Christ’s day of birth its crazy.

Here are a few questions.

1. Do you believe Christ was born on Dec. 25?

If yes, we shouldn’t submit ourselves to the world’s commercialism. Our gifts should be to God through worship and praise not to one another we shouldn’t need a certain time of year to give gifts.

If no, then why follow a lie, if we look at the Biblical Calendar we can see that the Feast of Tabernacles happens in September and the feast of the Passover happens in March. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem for the census and there was no room in the inn because the Feast of the Tabernacles or The feast of the Passover combined with the census. So we can conclude that Jesus was if nothing else not born in Dec.

Q. So if we celebrate a lie and promote a lie what does that make us?
A. A liar.

We know according to the Bible there are 7 events to keep holy and the Sabbath is meant to be kept holy.

The Sabbath starts Friday at sunset and continues till Saturday sunset.
As do Holy Days they start at sunset the day prior.

If we look at Biblical text we know that Zacharias and Elisabeth conceived John in late June early July or late November early December because we know which course Zechariah was from and that’s Abia Luke 1:5 and 1 Chr. 24:10

The Biblical Year starts in spring, which would be end of April or the first of May.
Zacharias week of duty in the House of the Lord would have ended in late June early July.
So if Elisabeth was 6 months pregnant with John, Jesus was conceived in or around Late November early December, and would therefore be born in mid September. Which fit’s the feast of the Tabernacle and explains why the inns were full.

I am making a few assumptions though and I will cover those assumptions now


1. I assume that the first course of duty started the first week of the Biblical year and that each course lasts 1 Biblical week, which is from Sabbath to Sabbath.

2. I also assume that Zacharias was coming out of his first course.

Even if you take into account that Zacharias was coming from his middle or last course of the year Jesus still probably was not born in December.

The two times that do make sense are March and September, which are the feast of the Passover and The feast of Tabernacle’s.

I am not trying to say we shouldn’t worship the birth of our Lord and Savior only that we should do it in a Godly manner and not just be giving and caring at certain times of the year.

We shouldn’t in the name of Jesus cause ourselves debt and hardships to celebrate his birth. We should instead devote that time and money to spreading his word and prayer. If we do feel the need to give at the secular time of celebration then it should be a humble gift and one that uplifts His Holy and Precious Name.

Also I couldn’t find a time line for the completion of Solomon’s Temple if anyone has a Time line we would know at what point the first course started and we would know when Zacharias course was to start and end.

If anyone knows more please post or if you just wish to comment.
Again this is an assumption.


Rev. Jerry D. Lowery D.D.

 

The temp in Jerusalem this afternoon
(10AM EST) is 55-degrees-F. The expected
showers are delayed until Monday.
A nice day, if you are so fortunate as to
have a FULL LENGTH wool coat.

Merry Christmas

\o/ Celebrate the Birth of the Lord \o/

 

Merry Christmas Ed !