Why is December 25th considered the birth of Jesus? Is Christmas Christian?

Jesus was born during the time of the Roman Empire. The Romans celebrated a festival called Saturnalia. This pagan festival was held during the winter solstice (December 21st in America). It was on December 17-24th. It was a time of feasting and giving of gifts to children and the poor. It was also a celebration of Saturn, the sun god of sowing (planting), and fire. Saturn was worshipped in the winter so that he would return and warm the earth which would cause the crops to grow. The planet Saturn was named after this god. Out of all the planets, Saturn with its rings and bright red color represents the god of fire.  

The Romans celebrated another festival on December 25th called natalis solis invicti, the birth of the unconquered sun, was decreed by the emperor Aurelian in AD 274 as a Winter Solstice celebration, and sometime (later)…was Christianized as a date to celebrate the birth of the Son of Light.” It has been said that during this celebration the Romans would grab their Christian friends to join them. By 386 AD church leaders created “Christ-Mass” (Christ’s Coming) on December 25th so Christians could join the pagan festival they felt without bending to their pagan Roman neighbors' debauchery. In other words, they attempted to “Christianize” the Roman festival. From that point up until now Jesus’ birth has been celebrated on “Christ-Mass” or as we know it, Christmas. 

By 529 AD, after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday. 

Jesus was not born on December 25th. History tells us He was born in the spring or the fall. Shepherds would not be tending their sheep in the winter due to the cold and rain. The in-climate weather also would have made it impossible to travel during that time as well. 

Who is Santa Claus? 

The Santa Claus legend is derived from a fourth century Christian named Saint Nicholas. His parents left him an inheritance when they died. He was known for his kindness and generosity. He supposedly had a reputation of throwing bags of money into people’s homes and sometimes down their chimney’s.  When he died on December 6th around 340-350 A.D. His death inspired an annual feast where children would put food out for him. The legend is he would come down from heaven through their chimneys and replace the children’s food left for him with toys and gifts for only good boys and girls. This is one of many stories of the legend of Santa Claus. 

Is the Christmas Tree Christian or Pagan? 

What we call the Christmas tree started in Germany. Supposedly the Germans adopted the tree from the Romans. The Romans adopted it from the Babylonians and Egyptians. The idea of decorating a tree came from the Romans. During the festival of Saturnalia, the Romans would decorate their fir trees with red berries (before Christmas was invented). We decorate trees with different colored ornaments now. Do you see the comparison? 

 

Some believe having a Christmas tree is idolatry. Here’s why. Jeremiah 10:2-5 says this, “Thus says the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen…For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.” 

The origin of the “Christmas tree” predates Christianity by thousands of years. Babylonians worshipped the tree as a god because supposedly it was the rebirth a Babylonian ruler named Nimrod. In his reincarnated state, he became the god Tammuz (means faithful son). In Sumerian he goes by the name of Dumuzi. In the Akkadian culture his name is Tamuzu. Tammuz was married to Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of fertility, sex and procreation. The prophet Ezekiel saw in a vision women weeping for Tammuz in the house of the Lord (idolatrous worship) which was an abomination (Ezekiel 8:14). 

I would say most do not see any harm in decorating a tree in their home. Their argument would be, “I’m not bowing down and worshipping the tree so what is the big deal? We love the look, smell and ornaments on the tree.  We all see it as a harmless tradition. Why ruin the season with the truth (Galatians 4:16)? 

We as parents have an obligation to teach our children the truth when we know it. We cannot allow our deep seeded traditions to usurp the authority of God’s word (Matthew 15:6-9). 

 

Deuteronomy 6:1, 6-7, 20-21, 25: 

“Now these are the commandments…which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go to possess it…And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up…And when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God has commanded you? Then you shall say unto your son, we were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand…And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us.” 

To be technical, there is no such thing as a Christmas tree. The tree has nothing to do with Christ; especially since the origin of the “Christmas tree” is rooted in paganism. Is there any harm in having a tree and decorating it? I personally see no problem with as it is not for idol worship. Some hardline extremists disagree. The individual needs to make up their own mind. 

There is no Santa Claus either. The “Christmas holiday” in America is a time for unbridled spending and commercialism. Most are not interested in honoring the Savior. Of course, it is great for the retailers as they base much of their budget during that time of the year.  

 

So, what the writer suggest is we do is not celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25th since we know He was not born on that day. I have shown in this article that date points to Roman paganism. We honor the Lord by sharing the gospel and declaring that He lives! We are also to commemorate His death till He comes in holy communion (1 Corinthians 11:23-34). 

If the Lord wanted us to celebrate his birth on a particular day, He would have commanded us to.   

Is Christmas Secular? 

In 1990 in Solon, OH a suburb of Cleveland, the School Board banned all nativity and Christmas scenes from their schools. They said Christmas violated the separation between Church and State. The parents were upset and filed a complaint against the board because they said they were taking away a worldwide tradition, and something their kids enjoyed. The school board lost. The parents argued Christmas is neither Christian nor religious, only secular. The courts saw it their way. The courts also argued if it were regarding Bible reading and prayer, then that would be a violation of Church and State and should be removed (Prayer in school was deemed unconstitutional on June 25th, 1962). So, in the minds of the parents of Solon, OH in 1990, Christmas is not Christian nor religious. Just an important international holiday and time-honored tradition that should not be banned from schools. 

Were they right or wrong? 

In closing, we should always investigate our traditions as Christians. We need to know if what we are doing is pleasing to God. If it isn’t, then we must stop it immediately. If it is a gray area, meaning the 

Word of God is silent on the matter, then we leave it to conscience: 

Happy is he (or she) who has no reason to condemn themselves for what they approve...whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:22b-23). 

Chapter 42 Summary - Job Repents and Is Restored to Health and Blessing

 

God enlightens Job’s understanding of who He is. Job is awestruck at the power and wisdom of God. He said, “I know You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You (vs. 2).  Job understood that his words against the Lord were uttered in sheer ignorance. Once Job encountered God personally (through a whirlwind), he despised himself. He humbly repented in dust and ashes (vs. 6).  God told Eliphaz that He was angry with him along with Bildad and Zophar because they did not speak what was right regarding Him. In order for the Lord not to chasten these three men, they had to offer seven bulls and seven rams, go to Job so he could pray for them, and that God would atone their sin. Once Job interceded for them, God restored and healed him and gave him twice as much as he had before (vs. 7-11).  God blessed Job with ten children again – seven sons and three daughters. The Lord gave him 140 more years and he died at a good old age.

Del’s Commentary: Job was the target in this epic drama. We like Job are guilty of the same foolish accusations against the Lord. We charge God with wrong when we do not understand why our lives are falling apart. It is never God’s fault – even if He is the one that is causing the affliction in our lives. As bad as Job’s life became, it was good that God decided to afflict him. Would Job learned the ways of the Lord better had his life remained easy without any pain? No. God saw fit to take everything away from Job - bring him to the point of complete despair so that He could encounter His servant, rebuke him for his unwise words and set him straight. Job learned his lessons well, repented of his sins and was blessed with twice as much as had before. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar also had their sins atoned for once Job prayed and interceded for them.

What do we learn from Job’s story? Job said it best. God can do whatever He wants to do. Any purpose He has determined will happen (Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:9-10). The plan to afflict Job and have him suffer was predetermined, by God. It was the will of God to afflict Job (Isaiah 53:10). The Lord used Satan as his instrument of affliction against Job. Now from the human perspective this seems unfair. Why would God harm a man whom He declared was righteous – none like him in all the earth? Job feared God and avoided evil. Shouldn’t he always be blessed and not suffer wrong? Remember, we are God’s clay. The Clay Maker always has the right to mold and shape the clay to any form He chooses. The biggest mistake I believe Job made was that he at some point believed God had abandoned him and had become his enemy (chapters 6 and 30). This was Job putting words in God’s mouth and thinking for Him – a mistake all humans make about God. God never told Job why he suffered so much. He encountered His servant to provide him a greater revelation of himself. This gave Job a renewed awe and worshipful fear of the Almighty. It also revealed to him his own sinfulness on a greater level.

So, when we are in great despair, we should go to the man Job and learn from him.  Pray that God would encounter us and hopefully provide us answers to our questions – not in the way that we desire, but in the way, God has already determined how He will answer us. Wait on the Lord.

The Christ in Job

Job is a type of Christ in that he suffered pain although He was innocent. Jesus Christ was also put to grief by the Father (italics added for emphasis). We read in Isaiah 53:4-6, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God (emphasis added) and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep has gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has the laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Jesus is infinitely better than Job in that He suffered having no sin. Point being is that God is just if He sees fit to put us through a season of grief in this life. It is not because He hates us. He has decided that He would use the mechanism of trials to perfect us and strengthen our faith in the Lord (James 1:2-8; 1 Peter 1:1-6). That is what He did with Job. Job’s friends missed that entirely and incorrectly assumed Job needed to repent of sins he committed.

So, Are You Homophobic? A Clarion Call To Reason

A definition of homophobic is one who has a dislike or fear of homosexuals. For years I have pondered why the homosexual lifestyle bothers and irritates me so much. As a man, it makes absolutely no sense for men to desire other men sexually-not when there are so many beautiful eligible women who are ready to give their love to a worthwhile man, the right way. I’m utterly disgusted by this fact. It is also deplorable for women to pine after one another. It never ceases to amaze me how low mankind has degenerated morally. Even the animal kingdom has sense enough to mate with the opposite sex. In Leviticus 18:22 it commands us that we are not to have same sex relationships. Many will argue that homosexuality is only mentioned in the Old Testament and not the New. I even recently saw someone say online that Jesus never talked about or condemned homosexuality. Both views are wrong. Jesus never mentioned the word directly, but Jesus clearly advocated for marriage between men and women only. In Matthew 19:4 Jesus said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female…” Clearly Jesus believed, supported, and defended the word of God which means  He condemned all sin. That would include homosexuality. Why in the world did He come to die in the first place? To save people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). It is absolutely ridiculous for anyone to insinuate because Jesus is never recorded saying homosexuality is a sin that He might have condoned it. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 says that those who engage in homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God. So, homosexuality is condemned in the New Testament as well as the Old. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God because the men there were homosexuals and wanted to have sex with men who came to Lot’s house who happened to be angels (Genesis 19).

In Romans 1:18-32 the writer Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit condemns those who reject the truth of God’s word. In these verses he condemns same sex relationships. It reads, “Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason, God gave them over to degrading and vile passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men turned away from the natural function of the women and were consumed with their desire toward one another. Men with men committing shameful acts and in return receiving in their own bodies the inevitable and appropriate penalty for their wrongdoing” (Romans 1:26-27; Amplified Version).

Around 30 plus years ago people were “in-the-closet" regarding their sexual deviancy. That is no longer the case. The LGBTQIA+ community and its many supporters celebrate this homosexual revolution. Every June there is Gay Pride Month where there is a parade locally in Long Beach California and cities across the nation.

So, are those of us who do not support same sex unions homophobic? By today’s societal standards absolutely. After all, God made them that way right? If that is the case, that gets them off the hook for how they are behaving. Just blame God for their gender confusion and correct the mistake(s) God made when He created them.

Please understand the views I express in this article are mine alone. I am not looking for anyone to co-sign on how I feel about the matter. As a Christian I am supposed to hate what God hates and loves what He loves. Neither I nor any believer will ever do this perfectly. Does God love homosexuals and lesbians? Yes. Does He hate what they stand for? Yes. What is the big deal if two consenting adults of the same sex want to love and commit to one another? That is their business, right? Yes, it is.

The problem I see is they are making it everybody’s business whether we like it or not. You can rarely see a television program or commercial without some homosexual/lesbian content – men marrying one another. Women marrying one another. Two men kissing on a HIV commercial. One of the most recent episodes of the NBC show called New Amsterdam had a homosexual male married couple in bed together in a passionate love scene. I had to turn away.

Why the proliferation of same sex filth? My guess is that if we are bombarded with these images enough, we will get desensitized to it and accept it as normal. For many, this is the new and accepted normal. That which was once taboo has become a virtue in the eyes of many – sadly many in the Church have fallen under the homosexual spell of "love" too.

We are in the last of the last days.

Would You Attend a Same Sex Wedding?

Two good friends and former co-workers of mine and I had a brief conversation via text regarding this matter. If I was invited to a same sex ceremony, I would lovingly and respectfully decline. If asked the reason why, my reply would be God created marriage between Men and Women for mutual sexual fulfillment and for the bearing of children. Marriages of the same sex dishonors God and His created order. Would my response be considered unloving and homophobic? In the eyes of many it would be. Why? In a perverted society that is blind to the truth, righteousness is unpopular and despised. People that think like me are ostracized and hated for speaking the truth in love. We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

What If the Person is a Family Member?

If I had a family member perhaps a cousin an uncle or even a child of mine were getting married to their same sex partner I would not attend. This makes the truth even heavier to deliver but necessary because you love that person too much let them go down a destructive path without warning them. Your commitment to Christ may cause a rift between you and your wayward family member or friend. Remember you are representing the light and they are representing darkness so expect them to not understand your convictions. Tell them that you love them, but you cannot support their lifestyle. You run the risk of them never speaking to you again. Are you ready for that? How committed are you to the Lord?

Where Do We Go from Here?

Homosexuality is gross sin. So is drunkenness, fornication, lying, adultery, theft, drug abuse, prostitution, pedophilia, gossip, etc. Why am I singling out same sex sin though? All the other sins mentioned are natural sins. Homosexuality is the only sin in the Bible other than bestiality that is unnatural sexual sin (Romans 1:18-32). It is against nature for men and women to be Sodomites. Sexual Intimacy between a husband and wife is the most beautiful and purest union on earth. God made no mistakes when He created the man and woman in the beginning for each other. Why does man have to pervert everything good thing God has created? It is a shame. Things are so bad now that many people do not even want to be regarded as male or female. Many want to be gender fluid, or they prefer to be pronoun identified as: we, us, they, them or those. Others say they are transgender like Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner) and Chaz Bono (formerly Chasity Bono).

As believers what should be our response? We need to show compassion. We must NOT Bible-Thump people! Don’t fire and brimstone and, damn them to hell for the way they are living. God can save anyone if they desire to repent. The same compassion God has shown us in forgiving our sins, we need to show others that are trapped in sin. While we cannot condone the behavior, we have to love and pray for them. All people no matter how vile they are living are made in God’s image (James 3:9). I imagine many of them are very confused about their sexual identity and perhaps may be experimenting with the same sex lifestyle. Many have decided to live their lives in rebellion and “love” whomever they want regardless of gender – bisexuality.

Keeping it real, homosexuality at its roots is satanic just like all sin is. We are all tempted in many ways, but we have the power to resist. Those that are practicing homosexuals are not tempted anymore because they have given in to their evil desires.

Why do we sin?

1)      Sin gives man pleasure. Jesus said men love darkness (a euphemism for sin) rather than light because his deeds are evil (John 3:19).

2)      Man does not fear God (Romans 3:18). For most people, God’s holiness is nonexistent. Man does not care what God thinks. When one does not submit to the rule of God, they become a god to themselves. As a result, man thinks, does and says whatever he wants and dares anyone even God Almighty to hold him accountable.

Since no one is perfect those that practice sinful behavior will always say, “Don’t judge me!” When one is sinning all the time, sin does not seem sinful anymore, to them. The world is trying their best to normalize homosexuality. In the eyes of many, it is already.

I for one am not homophobic. As a man of God, it defies all logic for men and women to go after strange flesh – unnatural. I also realize that no one wants anyone else to judge them for their lifestyle, no matter how scandalous it is. That is never going to happen as long as there are those of us who are boldly standing for truth. Truth will always expose evil which brings about conflict between the two forces. When Biblical truth prevails over wickedness, then those in this damnable lifestyle will be granted repentance so that God’s love in Jesus Christ can convert the soul and they abandon their sin to live a life pleasing to God.

Lastly, here’s a radical thought; if everyone decided to become homosexual the human race would become extinct. I’ll give you two reasons. 1) God has the right to destroy us all for the sin. 2) This one is biological, since same sex couples cannot reproduce, overtime we would cease to exist.

God had it right the first time. I wish man would stop trying to be His editor.