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  #111  
Old 12-02-2010, 04:16 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

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Originally Posted by Sam View Post
I was using the terms Grinches and Scrooges for those who do not celebrate Christmas and I was using the words pagans and heathens for those who do celebrate Christmas.
I know was just funnin around
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  #112  
Old 12-02-2010, 05:58 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

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Originally Posted by Truthseeker View Post
Yeah, but the customs/celebration is what being discussed not observing days.
What does "observing days" mean? When you 'observe' a day, there is usually some type of custom or celebration involved.
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  #113  
Old 12-02-2010, 06:14 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

I decided last night that I was finished with this thread but I have to chime in on this one.

The scripture that is being discussed mentions that some people esteem one day over another while others don't.

Now... please... surely none of us are of the opine that what is being said here is that... some of you keep pagan worship days and that's just okay with me.

You can all decide that once paganism has been a part of christianity for such a length of time it gets grandfathered in because people no longer "mean it" in a pagan way... but surely nobody in this forum is suggesting that Paul is saying... some people keep pagan days... some don't... but that is just beautiful.

Paul is the apostle to the gentile and what is being discussed is surely that some are judging the gentiles because they don't keep the Jewish holy days.

Please don't tell me that people are actually feeling that Paul is saying... hey... if those people do pagan rituals... don't go judgin'.
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  #114  
Old 12-02-2010, 06:53 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

I haven't kept up on the thread, but it seems the main underlying issue here is that some of us don't consider Christmas a pagan holiday and others do. Therefore, when verses are used that talk about "observing days" some say they didn't observe pagan days and others say it's widely known as a Christian holiday or that they are celebrating or commemorating Jesus' birth.

I don't think that, with that difference of opinion underlying the discussion, that everyone will ever come to agreement on this topic. It may be one of those things that we should agree to disagree on.
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  #115  
Old 12-02-2010, 07:05 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

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Originally Posted by missourimary View Post
I haven't kept up on the thread, but it seems the main underlying issue here is that some of us don't consider Christmas a pagan holiday and others do. Therefore, when verses are used that talk about "observing days" some say they didn't observe pagan days and others say it's widely known as a Christian holiday or that they are celebrating or commemorating Jesus' birth.

I don't think that, with that difference of opinion underlying the discussion, that everyone will ever come to agreement on this topic. It may be one of those things that we should agree to disagree on.
I don't think that some consider christmas a pagan holiday is specifically correct. It is that we understand that the date, traditions etc of christmas were adapted from ancient pagan customs such as Saturnalia.

This includes the date... evergreen trees... yule logs... etc. These things were adapted from pagan worship.
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  #116  
Old 12-02-2010, 07:21 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

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Originally Posted by Digging4Truth View Post
You can all decide that once paganism has been a part of christianity for such a length of time it gets grandfathered in because people no longer "mean it" in a pagan way... but surely nobody in this forum is suggesting that Paul is saying... some people keep pagan days... some don't... but that is just beautiful.

Paul is the apostle to the gentile and what is being discussed is surely that some are judging the gentiles because they don't keep the Jewish holy days.

Please don't tell me that people are actually feeling that Paul is saying... hey... if those people do pagan rituals... don't go judgin'.
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Originally Posted by Digging4Truth View Post
I don't think that some consider christmas a pagan holiday is specifically correct.
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  #117  
Old 12-02-2010, 07:45 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

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Originally Posted by missourimary View Post
What is your question?

The conclusion that the holiday is adapted paganism is foregone.

But some, apparently, feel that after a certain amount of time is past then this is no longer an issue.

Is there more info you need beyond that?
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  #118  
Old 12-02-2010, 09:05 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

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Originally Posted by Digging4Truth View Post
What is your question?

The conclusion that the holiday is adapted paganism is foregone.

But some, apparently, feel that after a certain amount of time is past then this is no longer an issue.

Is there more info you need beyond that?
I think missourimary thought you contradicted yourself in the two quotes she made from you that she emboldened.

I thought your response to me earlier, saying you thanked me for my point that if the accusatory demeanor against those who have no intention of worshiping a false god is not in your assessment of us, then our words against such legalism did not apply to you. But now you mistaken our point with a strawman argument and claim we believe pagan practices are fine after a few centuries, when that is not our point at all.

It is not a matter of time passing that makes the activity moot in our minds. If that was true, then we are taking conscious effort to worship a false god and think we can still worship this false god after so many centuries, but not when the false worship was new, which is not what we are doing. This clearly shows you miss our point entirely.

It is the intentions of the people involved that make it moot when there is no inkling of worship or honour of false gods. Why does the Lord discern our thoughts and intents if He could care less what we intend, and judges us as pagans when we do something similar in activity for which we have no intention of honouring any false god?

The common denominator between Paul's allowance for eating meats offered to idols and it being a moot point when people have Christmas is the intention towards any false god is fully absent, and our hearts are solely focused on pleasing the one true God alone while we simply enjoy giving gifts, which is not even worshiping Jesus by doing so! How can it be false worship to a false god when the heart absolutely sees no such thing in it?

It is the same thing as speaking "MONDAY" on the second day of the week, when such a thing ORIGINATED in paganism. Try as one might, they cannot make any difference between christmas and the days of the week. (But I guess we can excuse things like that since it is allegedly impossible to avoid. So when it is impossible to not worship a false god, you folks claim it is okay to do so, for there is no difference in the lack of intention towards idols in speaking the days of the week any more than involvement in activities at Christmas, but you claim such activities at Christmas make us heathens.)

Refraining from holidays is not legalism, but declaring that one is worshiping a false god when the heart has simply no intention towards such a thing is indeed extreme legalism. What could be more extremely legalistic than accusing someone of idol worship when one's heart has been fully directed towards the one true God but did something physically, without intent to do so, that looked similar to what pagans did to their false gods, and equating them as one and the same with that pagan worshiper? Hooboy!

How many other things do we do on a daily basis, without any intention to worship a false god, that are reminiscent of activities from pagan worship? Maybe waving a hand on Thursday at 3pm was done in honour to the god thor. We better find out! Otherwise we could be judged for honouring thor when we wave at someone on a Thursday afternoon at 3pm, whether we only waved at John Doe or not. Oh, and we better change the names of the planets, for they're named after false gods as well. Then there's the months! False god names as well!

If these myriad of other things we do unconsciously, that are reminiscent of false god worship, will not see us judged for idolatry, then what is the difference between that and giving gifts under a decorated tree without any intention whatsoever of worshiping any god?

There's still some more legalism some folks need to come out of.

'Nuff said. No sense saying any more.
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Last edited by mfblume; 12-02-2010 at 09:13 AM.
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  #119  
Old 12-02-2010, 09:43 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

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Originally Posted by mfblume View Post
I think missourimary thought you contradicted yourself in the two quotes she made from you that she emboldened.
I don't see the statements as contradictory. I am stating that there is a difference between saying that christmas is a pagan holiday and saying that christmas has a pagan origin. A small but relevant difference.

The reason I stick with the origins side is that one can make the statement "Christmas is a pagan holiday" and people can just say "No it's not" because the answer to that question is a matter of opinion in many minds.

But... I can say "The traditions of Christmas are adapted from pagan traditions that predate Christ" and when someone says "No they aren't" we have moved from opinion versus opinion to arguing against fact.

It is a more stable position to take as it is centered less on opinion and more on fact.

Therefore, even though they mean the same thing, I remove myself from the "Christmas is pagan" camp and pitch my tent in the "The practices, dates etc of Christmas are adapted from pagan rituals that predate Christ".

While those stances are, essentially, the same statements one is viewed more as opinion based and is therefore more open to personal interpretation while the other is viewed more often as a statement of fact and is not as widely viewed as something someone can just disagree with because they disagree with it.

Last edited by Digging4Truth; 12-02-2010 at 09:46 AM.
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  #120  
Old 12-02-2010, 10:28 AM
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Re: Why Is The "Christmas Spirit" So Different?

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Originally Posted by Digging4Truth View Post
Therefore, even though they mean the same thing, I remove myself from the "Christmas is pagan" camp and pitch my tent in the "The practices, dates etc of Christmas are adapted from pagan rituals that predate Christ".

While those stances are, essentially, the same statements one is viewed more as opinion based and is therefore more open to personal interpretation while the other is viewed more often as a statement of fact and is not as widely viewed as something someone can just disagree with because they disagree with it.
D4T, it appears that you are trying to extricate yourself from an ideology by a nuance. Yet you still (bolded) admit that one is the same as the other. Though I understand the historical argument for the origins of certain seasonal decorations, to say that Christmas itself is not pagan while asserting that most everything about Christmas is pagan and that therefore it should not be celebrated at all due to it's pagan origins is a circular argument. If you were to argue that you don't want a tree in your home due to the historic pagan origin involved with trees I could understand that. To argue against Christmas completely because certain aspects have a historically pagan origin doesn't work, IMO.

MBlume is right about my " ". What you said appeared extremely contradictory to me, and rather than continuing a confusing, circular argument, I simply quoted you and shrugged. Celebrate or don't. It's up to you. And I will celebrate fully and in a Christian manner. That is my choice as well.
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What we make of the Bible will never be as great a thing as what the Bible will - if we let it - make of us.~Rich Mullins
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.~Galileo Galilei

Last edited by missourimary; 12-02-2010 at 10:43 AM.
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