I do celebrate Christmas but I try to not dwell on the more pagan elements of it. I don't judge anyone for having a tree but I felt uncomfortable still having one , same.reasons as you, so threw mine away some years ago.
I t doesn't bother me having no tree or decorations up. My home is already filled with some lovely figurines and art, so am happy. I must admit it if I wasn't worried about electricity meter costs or fire risks (was in a house fire a long time ago so get anxious about fire risks) I would hang fairy lights up around my home all autumn and winter long. Just to brighten the dark evenings a bit and make the place cosy
In any time we are living, ask yourself how can this be "gospel" or "something Jesus did" then do it that way instead.How do we redeem the times? Is not our sole job on this earth to live for Jesus and preach the Gospel?? Isn't it God who redeems the times?
I'd tell them to quit ceding things of God to the pagans. Who after all made trees? Just because a pagan religion may have misused what God made, they have no claim over it. Some other examples:My protestant relatives recently told me that Christmas trees are pagan and thus Christians should not have them in their houses. How would you respond to this concept?
That isn't describing tree worship, it is describing the carving of wood into an idol.Sorry, I have to agree with your protestant relatives after reading something in scripture regarding trees. I will not have one in my house. Tree worship is spoken of in the bible and about offerings and sacrifices.
Thus says the Lord:
“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
Sounded too close to Christmas tree to me, personal choice for me not to have one.
That passage is about finding a tree in order to carve the wood into a pagan idol. They are decorating the god figurine, not the tree.Sorry, I have to agree with your protestant relatives after reading something in scripture regarding trees. I will not have one in my house. Tree worship is spoken of in the bible and about offerings and sacrifices.
Thus says the Lord:
“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
Sounded too close to Christmas tree to me, personal choice for me not to have one.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him
We no longer look to be served. We look to serve and give our lives for others. No longer fight for privilege, influence and status. We esteem others better than ourselves and put their interests above our own.
Peace be with all those in the body of Christ
My protestant relatives recently told me that Christmas trees are pagan and thus Christians should not have them in their houses. How would you respond to this concept?
Graven images are pagan too but we still like decorating our homes with paintings, three dimensional figures and televisions. I love the artwork on my comic books, love collecting wrestling belts with various etchings and figures, and like the shinto art of bonsai trees (though I don't have one of those trees don't have the green thumb to keep it alive)My protestant relatives recently told me that Christmas trees are pagan and thus Christians should not have them in their houses. How would you respond to this concept?
Graven images are pagan too but we still like decorating our homes with paintings, three dimensional figures and televisions. I love the artwork on my comic books, love collecting wrestling belts with various etchings and figures, and like the shinto art of bonsai trees (though I don't have one of those trees don't have the green thumb to keep it alive)
I tend to agree with C S Lewis when he said "a Pagan, as history shows, is a man eminently convertible to Christianity. He is essentially the pre-Christian, or sub-Christian, religious man. The post-Christian man of our day differs from him as much as a divorcée differs from a virgin".
Where the pagan is expressing beauty, even in pagan ways, he is approaching the true divinity.
I have no attachment to them but I wouldn’t split hairs with loved ones over this. Harmony matters more than being right in this instance. I can enjoy the festivities and decorations with no complaints.
Yours in His Service,
~Bella