I'm confused Christmas tree or not?

[rgcraig]

Wow -- I agree with Randy Wayne and Miss Bratt!

Glad you are leaving the tree up this year.

[crakjak]

Originally Posted by Paula

Thank you guys for all your well thought out and kindly put views on the subject. My husband decided to try it, I guess to make me happy. But as I sit here and look at our first Christmas tree, it doesn't feel right. This is not a tradition I would like to start in my home. I'm feel terrible that I put my family through this. It's not at all what I though it would be, it's pretty yes, but I don't feel like it's honoring God in anyway. Like someone said, if my church is against it and I'm forcing the issue, that's not a very good lesson to teach my kids. Besides, I belong to a great Church and they love my family very much.

Today when I pick my kids up from school, I'll have to figure out a way to tell them mommy made a mistake. Since I got you all involved in the beginning, I'll be honest and tell you how they handled it. But honestly, I think the tree is coming down. Thanks again for all your advice everyone especially Miss Brattified.

I am sorry that you are conflicted on this subject. I grew up without a tree ever in our home, even though my dad was not dogmatic about it for folks in our church.

Since adults we have had a tree for our children, have studied the scriptures and come to the conclusion that it is a matter of importance that is placed on it. It is simply a seasonal decoration, no different than pumpkins and harvest decorations in the fall.

So don't be so hard on yourself, anything will condemn you if you allow it to come between you and the Lord. No tree or decorations is anywhere near that level of importance. So lighten up, trust that the Lord has no problem with you having joy and fun in your home!! It is actually silly to equate such a natural thing on the level of worship or in conflict with your true love for the Lord and your faith. Give your children a hertiage of faith far greater than the legalistic manmade rules of fear!!!

May the JOY of the LORD be your strength, have a great Christmas celebration, joyously acknowledging the goodness of the LORD.

[Sam]

J. Lee Grady, contributing editor for Charisma Magazine has given his views on our Christmas celebrations.

this can be found at
http://www.charismamag.com/index.php...stmas#readmore

Please Stop Fighting About Christmas

It’s bad enough that rabid secularists hate Christmas. It’s downright tragic that some Christian purists judge others for celebrating the holiday.

Two weeks ago when I wrote about how God worked in the lives of people in the biblical Christmas story, several readers jumped in to remind me that the modern celebration of Christmas is a pagan holiday that is luring unsuspecting, gift-giving revelers into hell itself. One person who identified himself as “Albert” wrote in our online forum that he “isn’t comfortable celebrating Christmas” because of its demonic origins.

You probably know there are many Christians who boycott Christmas for various reasons --some factual and some quite debatable. These people insist:

--The holiday has become too commercialized and promotes greed. (I would agree.)

--No one knows when Jesus was born. (True—and the Bible is silent about the date. However, “Albert” and other anti-Christmas purists insist Jesus was born on Sept. 11, in 3 B.C., during Rosh Hoshanna.)

--The Dec. 25 date was chosen to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Saturnalia, an ancient winter solstice festival. (Probably true—but is there anything wrong with Christianizing something? I’m glad a pagan celebration was replaced.)

--Christmas trees are a pagan tradition, since Druids believed evergreen boughs were magical and had the power to scare away demons. (“Thursday” is also named for the Norse god Thor, but that doesn’t mean I worship him when I use the word.)

--Dec. 25 is the birthday of Nimrod, who later became known as the pagan god Baal, who later became known as Nicolas, who later became known as Santa Claus. For this reason, we can be sure that demons lurk behind all wreaths, candles, ornaments, fruitcakes, sleighs or anyone dressed in red and green. (I knew there was something weird about fruitcake!)

In all fairness to these Christmas critics, I must admit I never led my children to believe in Santa Claus. This was not because I was afraid he was Baal, Nimrod or an ancient Turkish bishop in disguise, but because (1) I felt I would be lying to my kids if I told them Santa brought them gifts; (2) I hate standing in lines at department stores; and (3) the prospect of inviting a strange old man into my house so he can “check” on my sleeping daughters is downright creepy.

But I unashamedly love Christmas. I love the trees, the ornaments, the lights, the smells, the foods, the music, the gifts and the family and friends who share the celebration with me. All the decorations point me to Jesus --from the bells on the front porch to the angel on top of the tree to the plastic manger scene that shows some wear (mainly because our dog, Flapjack, chewed one of the shepherds in 1996.) For me, Christmas is a wondrous time of year when I ponder the miracle of Christ’s birth and, hopefully, get lots of chances to share his generous love with people who are less fortunate than I am.

People have been fighting about Christmas for a long, long time. Christmas gift-giving was condemned by the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages because of the pagan origins of the holiday. Then, anti-Catholic Puritans declared war on Christmas in England and banned it from 1647 to 1660, calling it “a popish festival with no justification.” In the United States, Puritans outlawed Christmas in Massachusetts from 1659 to 1681, and it was an unpopular holiday after the Revolutionary War because Americans associated it with England.

Christmas became a federal holiday in 1870, long before the American Civil Liberties Union was there to stop it. Yet today, in spite of the fact that Christmas, for many people, has morphed into a meaningless mush of secularized snowflakes, reindeer, penguins, gift cards and year-end sales, the Scrooges of our day want to suck all the remaining Christian spirituality out of it.

I expect atheists to hate Christmas. I know they will try to ban nativity scenes from public parks, or remove Christmas carols from classrooms. But it is downright tragic when Christians—who should welcome every opportunity to bring the miracle of Jesus’ incarnation into public life—start bah-humbugging (or even demonizing) the holiday.

Keep Christmas in your own way, by all means. If it is offensive to you to hang mistletoe from your mantle or to send a Christmas card to friends, then don’t. I won’t judge you for that. But please don’t judge other believers simply because they want to celebrate all that is pure and decent and meaningful in this special time of year.

[Sam]

Only in America
do we bring a dead tree into our house, hang ornaments and lights on it,
and then sit around it and look at it while we eat candy out of our socks.

[Truthseeker]

Christmas became a federal holiday in 1870, long before the American Civil Liberties Union was there to stop it. Yet today, in spite of the fact that Christmas, for many people, has morphed into a meaningless mush of secularized snowflakes, reindeer, penguins, gift cards and year-end sales, the Scrooges of our day want to suck all the remaining Christian spirituality out of it.

Christian spirituality? Let's be real, christmas is not for God, it's about people having fun eating, drinking, gifts, etc.........

[Cindy]

Christmas to me is about family and friends being together. And yes, eating and exchanging gifts, but most of all fellowship and LOVE!!!!

[Truthseeker]

Originally Posted by Cindy

Christmas to me is about family and friends being together. And yes, eating and exchanging gifts, but most of all fellowship and LOVE!!!!

exactly, not a christian spiritual thing though.

[Sam]

God’s Christmas Gift

It’s that time of the year again when we in North America celebrate the biggest winter celebration of all. We call it Christmas. It is a great time of the year and we celebrate it in various ways. We celebrate with religious observances with Church services and programs. We celebrate in a secular way with gifts to each other and with food and parties and family get togethers. We celebrate with giving to others and to charitable agencies more than we do all year. And we celebrate socially by spending time with family and friends.

Christmas has it detractors. The name “Christmas” comes from a Roman Catholic celebration called “Christ’s Mass.” The date on which we celebrate probably comes from the time of the winter solstice when the birth of the “sun god” was celebrated centuries ago. Many years ago pagan customs came into the church as the church was elevated to a place of prominence in the Roman Empire and some of those customs are still part of our culture today like in the names we use for the months and for the days on our calendars and for some of our holidays and religious festivals.

I like Christmas. I like the way the attitudes of many people change to become more caring and more generous. I know it’s easy to get carried away with the many activities and some times we stretch our budgets and stretch our physical and emotional strength beyond what we should, but we often wind up with fond memories of the season.

We don’t know for sure when Jesus was born. Folks who work with the old Jewish calendar and the cycle of the priesthood and service of the Temple have come up with a date which would fall some time in our autumn time frame. The actual day is not important. What is important is that our God sent us a special gift over 2000 years ago. That gift arrived in a stable or animal shelter in Bethlehem in the form of a child given to a Jewish couple. The baby was different from all others before or since. He had a Jewish mother but God Himself was the Father. The baby was wrapped in “swaddling clothes” instead of bright gift wrap. The baby was the Word made flesh. God, the eternal Spirit, wrapped Himself in a body of flesh. God, all the while remaining God and not losing His Deity, took on a human nature and the person we know as Jesus Christ is Emmanuel --God with us.

Some 33 years after that birth, the Son of God was crucified. God’s special gift was hung on a tree. So when you look at your Christmas tree and admire the lights and ornaments, think of a rugged cross on a hill outside Jerusalem thousands of years ago where our special Christmas Gift was nailed to a tree to bring salvation to you and to me. When you exchange gifts with one another think of the gift of eternal life which our God has given us. And when you wonder what you might give Him, remember His request in Proverbs 23:26 where He says, “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”

[whoami]

Originally Posted by Sam

J. Lee Grady, contributing editor for Charisma Magazine has given his views on our Christmas celebrations.

this can be found at
http://www.charismamag.com/index.php...stmas#readmore

Please Stop Fighting About Christmas

It’s bad enough that rabid secularists hate Christmas. It’s downright tragic that some Christian purists judge others for celebrating the holiday.

Two weeks ago when I wrote about how God worked in the lives of people in the biblical Christmas story, several readers jumped in to remind me that the modern celebration of Christmas is a pagan holiday that is luring unsuspecting, gift-giving revelers into hell itself. One person who identified himself as “Albert” wrote in our online forum that he “isn’t comfortable celebrating Christmas” because of its demonic origins.

You probably know there are many Christians who boycott Christmas for various reasons --some factual and some quite debatable. These people insist:

--The holiday has become too commercialized and promotes greed. (I would agree.)

--No one knows when Jesus was born. (True—and the Bible is silent about the date. However, “Albert” and other anti-Christmas purists insist Jesus was born on Sept. 11, in 3 B.C., during Rosh Hoshanna.)

--The Dec. 25 date was chosen to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Saturnalia, an ancient winter solstice festival. (Probably true—but is there anything wrong with Christianizing something? I’m glad a pagan celebration was replaced.)

--Christmas trees are a pagan tradition, since Druids believed evergreen boughs were magical and had the power to scare away demons. (“Thursday” is also named for the Norse god Thor, but that doesn’t mean I worship him when I use the word.)

--Dec. 25 is the birthday of Nimrod, who later became known as the pagan god Baal, who later became known as Nicolas, who later became known as Santa Claus. For this reason, we can be sure that demons lurk behind all wreaths, candles, ornaments, fruitcakes, sleighs or anyone dressed in red and green. (I knew there was something weird about fruitcake!)

In all fairness to these Christmas critics, I must admit I never led my children to believe in Santa Claus. This was not because I was afraid he was Baal, Nimrod or an ancient Turkish bishop in disguise, but because (1) I felt I would be lying to my kids if I told them Santa brought them gifts; (2) I hate standing in lines at department stores; and (3) the prospect of inviting a strange old man into my house so he can “check” on my sleeping daughters is downright creepy.

But I unashamedly love Christmas. I love the trees, the ornaments, the lights, the smells, the foods, the music, the gifts and the family and friends who share the celebration with me. All the decorations point me to Jesus --from the bells on the front porch to the angel on top of the tree to the plastic manger scene that shows some wear (mainly because our dog, Flapjack, chewed one of the shepherds in 1996.) For me, Christmas is a wondrous time of year when I ponder the miracle of Christ’s birth and, hopefully, get lots of chances to share his generous love with people who are less fortunate than I am.

People have been fighting about Christmas for a long, long time. Christmas gift-giving was condemned by the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages because of the pagan origins of the holiday. Then, anti-Catholic Puritans declared war on Christmas in England and banned it from 1647 to 1660, calling it “a popish festival with no justification.” In the United States, Puritans outlawed Christmas in Massachusetts from 1659 to 1681, and it was an unpopular holiday after the Revolutionary War because Americans associated it with England.

Christmas became a federal holiday in 1870, long before the American Civil Liberties Union was there to stop it. Yet today, in spite of the fact that Christmas, for many people, has morphed into a meaningless mush of secularized snowflakes, reindeer, penguins, gift cards and year-end sales, the Scrooges of our day want to suck all the remaining Christian spirituality out of it.

I expect atheists to hate Christmas. I know they will try to ban nativity scenes from public parks, or remove Christmas carols from classrooms. But it is downright tragic when Christians—who should welcome every opportunity to bring the miracle of Jesus’ incarnation into public life—start bah-humbugging (or even demonizing) the holiday.

Keep Christmas in your own way, by all means. If it is offensive to you to hang mistletoe from your mantle or to send a Christmas card to friends, then don’t. I won’t judge you for that. But please don’t judge other believers simply because they want to celebrate all that is pure and decent and meaningful in this special time of year.

AMEN!!!

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker

exactly, not a christian spiritual thing though.

It is very christian and spiritual. For we always start with reading of the Word.
And we usually bring out a keyboard and guitar for singing carols and hymns.