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I dedicate this posting to Mom who has been sending me several emails concerning the secularisation of Christmas. Thanks, Mom. My thinking is that as long as our secular Western governments celebrate Christmas Day as an official holiday, governments, organizations and individuals in society should allow without protest the celebration of Christmas as a Christian holiday, and the celebration of Christmas as a secular holiday. If Christmas is deemed as discriminating against other religious or philosophical views by a government, organizations and individuals in a particular political jurisdiction, then a government could, I suppose, consider changing the name of the holiday to something other than Christmas.
However, to me it is unreasonable for an entity or person to legally or otherwise, oppose the Christian aspects of Christmas being celebrated in secular Western society when the holiday is at its roots, Christian, but has also developed into a secular holiday. Let us use common sense. With the way human beings can be, there may be some forces within radical liberal Christianity that want to maintain the religious nature of Christmas, but remove the gospel message from it. Keeping Christmas a Christian and/or religious holiday is not necessarily maintaining it in a traditional Christian sense.
What if my preference is Christmas?
Spending less money and more time with family and friends is a good idea, perhaps.
Some of the 'Banners' need to be banned.
Or the radical liberals can keep baby Jesus and just redefine him for 21st Century consumption.
Or celebrate the birth of the Jesus of choice, if the Biblical one is too exclusive for you.
Do complaints always merit change?
Facebook- I have no idea if this took place during Christmas season, but in warmer climates some people like to play golf during the holidays. This picture is apparently not a fake.
Thank you Russ for the accolades. This is a great blog. I pray that many will read and pass the message on to family, friends, and others who will hopefully then become friends. I am certainly not against the spirit of giving, but let's be reasonable and sensible! The gift of love does not deplete the pocket book, it is FREE, and it is the very finest gift one can give. Read John 3:16.
ReplyDeletesigned: All my love, Mom.
Thanks, Mom.
ReplyDeleteWith God's help this blog shall succeed. When I see news stories about people who spend huge percentages of budgets on Christmas, I have mixed thoughts. I can appreciate the generosity, but I wonder if materialism is taking too much priority.
Are you familiar with the C.S. Lewis spoof, "Xmas in Niatrib"? I reprinted it last year, and will probably run it a little closer to the Feast day!
ReplyDeletehttp://thomistic.blogspot.com/2006/12/xmas-in-niatirb.html
Also last year, with a blogger acquaintance, we launched a satirical blog called "The War on the War on Christmas"! Some good stuff there if I must say so myself!
http://waroc.wordpress.com/
D. Ox
Thanks, D.Ox
ReplyDeleteI reviewed some Lewis for my MPhil and checked out your posting. As well, I looked at the satirical site.
Good reading. Cheers.
Hi Russ,
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to start a dispute on your blog, but I don't endorse Christians celebrating x-mass at all, for very Christian reasons. Each must do what his own conscience tells them, as dicated by the Word of God, but imho, there is no Biblical warrant for celebrating x-mass. The only day the Bible tells us to make holy is the Christian Sabbath, yet we hve all these man made (secular) so called holy days without any Biblical warrant, and things like x-mass, have done much to put the sanctifying of the Christian Sabbath, on the backburner as far as Christians go. You can read some of my reasons at my blog if you wish to do so in an article I wrote a couple of years ago: http://www.crazycalvinist.com/?page_id=594
~Deejay
Hi Deejay and thanks for the good comment.
ReplyDeleteI do not view Christmas as a holy day, but as a Christian holiday. It is not a Biblical day. I am separating holy day from holiday with present 21st Century meaning. Christians are under no obligation to celebrate Christmas, but I reason that we are made to have a day of rest. I realize from course work that Jesus was probably not born in December. I glanced over at your article, thanks.
In Colossians 2:16, Paul writes that no one should be judged concerning a Sabbath day. I do believe in the day of rest, but the consensus I have received from scholars is that one particular day is not set in stone, but that Sunday, as resurrection day is part of Christian tradition. This would mean that Sabbatarians are not sinning by taking their day of rest on Saturday. Paul in Romans 14:1-12 would appear to support the idea that one day is not above the rest, but I do believe in obeying the commandment in principle. This is something I started doing at Bible School after a professor noticed I was burned out working seven days a week. I was wrong.
By the way, I am a member of the Presbyterian Church in America.
Cheers!
As for Sabbath Day Observance, this by J.G. Vos from his commentary on the larger Catechism may be of interest for you or any of your readers: Sabbath Day Observance
ReplyDelete~Deejay
Thanks, Deejay!
ReplyDeleteIt states:
Question: Does the fourth commandment require the observance of the seventh day of the week, or Saturday, as the Sabbath?
Answer: No. It is of course true, as a mater of fact, that the Old Testament Sabbath was on the seventh day of the week, but the fourth commandment does not require this. It commands diligent labour for six days, but does not specify on what day of the week is to begin. The fourth commandment, requires that the seventh day after six days of lab our to be observed as the Sabbath, but this does not imply that it must necessarily be on the seventy (or last) day of the week. The requirement of the commandment is met by the Christian practice of working from Monday through Saturday (six days) and then observing the first day of the following week as the Sabbath.
Question: Why was the Old Testament Sabbath the seventh day of the week?
Answer: The Old testament Sabbath was the seventh (last) day of the week because of God’s example and ordinance at the time of the creation (Gen 2:1-3). Apart from providing an appointed day for rest and worship, the Sabbath served as a reminder of God’s work of creation. This truth of creation, of course, implies that all things, including human beings, are absolutely dependant on God for their very existence. It also implies that human beings are morally responsible to God for their lives. Thus the weekly Sabbath, commemorating the creation, was calculated to serve as a continually repeated reminder of man’s dependence on God and his moral accountability to God—which is to say that the Sabbath was calculated to serve as a constant reminder of the very foundations of religion and morality.
Question: Why is the Christian Sabbath on the first day of the week?
Answer: Christian Sabbath, or the Lord’s Day, is on the first day of the week in remembrance of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Thus it may be said that the Old Testament Sabbath commemorated God’s original creation, while the Christian Sabbath in addition calls attention to God’s new creation, his great work of redemption in Jesus Christ.
Question: Who changed the day of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week?
Answer: Our Lord Jesus Christ, by the accomplishment of his great redemptive work, brought about the close of the old Testament dispensation and the opening of the New Testament dispensation of the covenant of grace. The change from the Seventh to the first day of the week is a part of this change of dispensation. It has been observed that our Saviour was crucified on the sixth day of the week, and buried on the evening of the sixth day, and remained in the tomb the whole of the seventh day, and arose from the dead on the first day of the week. Thus Christ buried the Old Testament seventh day Sabbath in the tomb with Himself, and left it there, and when he arose eh brought with him the New Testament Sabbath, which is to be observed on the first day of the week.
Question: Did the Roman Emperor Constantine change the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week?
Answer: Although this change of day has often been attributed to Constantine, the assertion is false. The Roman Emperor Constantine in the year 321 issues a decree providing for the civil observance of the first day of the week, forbidding courts of justice to hold sessions on that day and commanding the soldiers of the Roman army to abstain from their ordinary military exercises on that day. But the observance of the first day fo the week as the Lord’s Day goes back far earlier than from the time of Constantine is evidenced by the New Testament and other early Christian documents.
Question: How long is the Sabbath to be observed on the first day of the week?
Answer: Until the end of the world. This follows from the fact that God’s revelation through Christ and the apostles, which we call the New Testament, is God’s final word to the human race until the end of the world. Since the completion of the New testament, God has remained silent and has not spoken directly to the human race, nor can any new revelation be expected until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. [Johnanes G. Vos commentary on the larger Catechism—Question 116)
Hey Russ,
ReplyDeleteForgive me for having little to add to the the friendly debate between you and Deejay . . . instead I'll digress back to your original point.
I really struggle with how and why people seem to be offended by this holiday. I admit that it has become commericalized (and who could be surprised in a free market) and there's probably a lot that Christians have done to only encourage that fact.
But why should I change the way I celebrate the birth of Christ (I agree that is probably wasn't on Dec 25 - actually sometime in the spring is what I think I remember - because of the census) just because a non-Christian is offended by a nativity scene?
If there's anything that should be offensive it is the way Santa Claus has all but suplanted the navitity scene.
There are many homes that I drive by with jewish menorahs in the windows - I'm not offended! If you want to celebrate Hanakkuh then go right ahead!
And far be it from me to say how you should celebrate Hanakkuh. But the last thing I should do is to adopt certain aspects of Hanakkuh (such as 8 days of celebration and gift exhange) and then complain that the religious aspects of the holiday are offensive.
Disclaimer: By using Hanakkuh as an example I am not accusing our Jewish friends of being anti-Christian, only pointing out how our non-religious friends take from our holidays the things they like then call the rest offensive. You can't have it both ways!
Great post as always!
W
Disclaimer:
ReplyDeleteLol, I guess that is needed on here now. I put one on each of my blog front pages months ago.;)
Wade, I think we see eye to eye here.
And far be it from me to say how you should celebrate Hanakkuh. But the last thing I should do is to adopt certain aspects of Hanakkuh (such as 8 days of celebration and gift exhange) and then complain that the religious aspects of the holiday are offensive.
...non-religious friends take from our holidays the things they like then call the rest offensive. You can't have it both ways!
Exactly.
Yes, very good points and we agree.
Cheers:)
I'd agree that, although there is no Biblical admonition to celebrate Christmas (or Easter), and even though both holidays have become secularized, they are nevertheless a means to point people to the Gospel message. Paul said "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached." (Phil. 1:18) What I mean is that some people who may not normally any connection to Christianity, still come into contact with the Gospel message via Christmas songs, Christmas plays, concerts and other holiday events in which Christ is preached, due to their association with the holiday.
ReplyDeleteKingpin, for a good laugh, check out my newest topic on my food blog. Rick b
ReplyDeleteChucky and Rick, sorry. For whatever reason your comments were not emailed to me for moderation and I saw them on the blog Dashboard today awaiting moderation. I see that Chucky's comment is two days old.
ReplyDeleteChucky, I agree with you that Christians are not commanded to celebrate Christmas and that the event can be a good witness.
Joseph Smith becomes the first martyr to die while firing a pistol (1844)
Rick, that is funny...lol.
Thanks for the link.
LDS History
I am a real 'troublemaker' this week. My last two satire and theology articles have led to friendly debates. Please check out Deejay's interesting perspective on Christmas and a continuation of our friendly debate here.
Christmas sin
Hi Russ
ReplyDeleteThis one got some comments. I love Christmas. It's a holiday and all our family usually get together. This year I have two new daughters to celebrate with. It's going to be awesome. The commercial nature of Christmas does irk me a little but hey if people want to buy big gifts then that's their business. We do find it a great time of the year to talk about giving and the greatest gift of all to mankind.
I'm going to have a great Christmas with my family.
Russell. :)
Thanks, Russell.
ReplyDeleteI can understand your perspective and agree with it. Christmas is a time to appreciate family, and as a Christian family celebrate Christ as well. As for me, my family is not primarily local anymore and for some time it has been just Mom and I, but I can still appreciate the Christmas spirit to some degree despite the lack of family and large amount of commercialism in society. Artistically some of the Christmas lights and drawings are very impressive.
Cheers:)
Ronald!!!! Noooooo!!!
ReplyDeletePS. Added to to my readers list. *fanfare quickly followed by humble groveling and thanks for reading my blog*