Oh Pagan Tree

Paraphrasing Joe Parsons, "Don't take away my Christmas. It's the only time of year I get new underwear."

Or was it socks? I can't remember now.

I'm of the opinion that a Christian can take any traditional holiday and make it what they want. I'm not bound to not worship Jesus my way just because it was originally pagan. I know many churches that put on a "harvest party" on Halloween. I also know churches that have a New Year's Eve service, as opposed to a drunken party in Time's Square. It's really all in what you make of it.

Now on to the jokes...

If you want to be really strict, and have scripture to back it up, try these out:

Santa Clause: [Zec 2:6] Ho, Ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord.

Santa, turkeys, Easter bunnies, and Halloween spooks: [Rom 1:23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

 

As far as the song goes, my youngest son used to sing it like Ernest and use only the words "O Christmas tree" all the way through.

Know what I mean, Vern?

 

I believe that is actually 'written' as "Nowhutahmean, Vern?" :laugh: :laugh:

Ed

 

I stand corrected.

LOL!

 

Got any evidence to back up your assertions, Antiaging?

 

So, do you celebrate Christmas at your house?

 

We put up two (pagan) trees, with the last one put up last night --- filled with decorations from when the ninos were in grade school. Under one of the trees, we have the manger scene minus baby Jesus -- who is there on Christmas morning.

At church, we put up a Chrismon Tree.

 

Ours is plastic - does that mean we're fake pagans?

 

I didn't think calendars that far back, pre NT or even NT times, had the month of DECEMBER on them.
I think we need to start right there, proving that OT time period calendars had the month of DECEMBER on them.

 

He never does, in every post ridiculous post he's ever posted here he's never had proof.

 

Isaiah 30:22

22Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

 

I don't think that it is comely in the eyes of God to mock ones convictions.

Jeremiah 10
1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

Frankly, I have a tree. Yet there are times that I must confess, I am convicted for it. raying:

 

We have two artificial ('pagan') trees that are pre-lit, that way there's less mess and the cats don't freak out.

 

Perhaps this is a liberty issue. I personally feel liberty to have a Christmas tree (though I don't have one---long story for another time, perhaps), while others may be bothered by it. If it can't be done in faith, don't do it. It's not for you. However, one shouldn't condemn someone else's liberties.

The "fake pagan" joke did make me laugh!

 

Your points would have merit if any of us bowed down to and worshipped the baubles on our trees. We don't, so your points are devoid of any such merit.

 

I wish the same could be said of our cat, but then she is a fruitcake at the best of times and has endeavoured to remove the decorations from our tree at regular intervals thus far this December: last night she made off with a miniature Santa who had been hitherto hanging happily on an artificial branch and I caught her trying to disembowel him. Still, at least I can say with a reasonably straight face to the kids: "Santa's dead, the cat's killed him, so no stocking presents this year."