What denomination does not celebrate Christmas?

Daniel Marsh · Dec 4, 2019

Ignatius the Kiwi said:
I've never been able to find the direct proof of this claim. I've also heard a counter argument that Christmas was based on the belief that Christ was conceived on the 25 of March. 9 Months from that date is Christmas, hence why we celebrate the birth of Christ on that day.

Overall I don't take this argument seriously as it seems to only want to disestablish instead of establish anything good to replace it. What would you suggest we do instead on December the 25th? Would you replace the theme of Christ's birth, move it to another day and then have pastors talk about what exactly? What do we stand to benefit from doing away from Christians that we couldn't just benefit by having us focus on the incarnation?

What is so terribly wrong with a day focused on the incarnation?

Also, a lot of people go to church for a Christmas service and hear the Gospel.

bbbbbbb · Dec 4, 2019

Daniel Marsh said:
Also, a lot of people go to church for a Christmas service and hear the Gospel.

Sometimes. I went to church for eighteen years every Sunday and never heard the gospel. If it was there I certainly did not comprehend it amidst all the other stuff at church.

Daniel Marsh · Dec 4, 2019

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Christmas

Albion · Dec 4, 2019

bbbbbbb said:
My point was merely to illustrate the fact that Christmas has never been a solely religious holy day, but has always been a syncretic holiday carrying various degrees of non-Christian cultural traditions.

You think the story about VietNam shows us that? I'd have to disagree.

Whether or not Constantine or anyone else can be proven to have originated this celebration is actually quite irrelevant.

Okay.

bbbbbbb · Dec 5, 2019

Albion said:
You think the story about VietNam shows us that? I'd have to disagree.

Okay.

Okay.

The Liturgist · Dec 9, 2019

bbbbbbb said:
Sometimes. I went to church for eighteen years every Sunday and never heard the gospel. If it was there I certainly did not comprehend it amidst all the other stuff at church.

That’s unfortunate. At liturgical churches, the reading of the Gospel is the highpoint of the liturgy of the word. I like to have the congregation stand, in the Apostolkc tradition, for the Gospel lesson.

Daniel Marsh · Dec 9, 2019

The Liturgist said:
That’s unfortunate. At liturgical churches, the reading of the Gospel is the highpoint of the liturgy of the word. I like to have the congregation stand, in the Apostolkc tradition, for the Gospel lesson.

Stand keeps me from falling asleep.

Radagast · Dec 9, 2019

seeking.IAM said:
I am unaware of any organized Christian denomination that does not celebrate the birth of Christ.

Certain ethnic groups celebrate the birth of Christ, but don't do the whole "gift-giving" thing (they do that on another day, like St. Nicholas or Epiphany).

Certain conservative denominations, in line with the regulative principle, have no public worship on Christmas, because it's not specifically commanded in Scripture (but they do celebrate Christmas within the family).

Certain denominations, believing incorrectly that Christmas is pagan, do not celebrate Christmas at all.

Radagast · Dec 9, 2019

timothyu said:
Considering her son saw himself as a trinity, a Caesar god man, the reincarnation of Jesus and of course the sun god whose festival day was dec 25th

Pretty much everything in that sentence is false.

Radagast · Dec 9, 2019

The Liturgist said:
That’s unfortunate. At liturgical churches, the reading of the Gospel is the highpoint of the liturgy of the word. I like to have the congregation stand, in the Apostolkc tradition, for the Gospel lesson.

I think that @bbbbbbb was suggesting that reading from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John in church is not necessarily the same thing as preaching the Good News.

Radagast · Dec 9, 2019

Ignatius the Kiwi said:
I've also heard a counter argument that Christmas was based on the belief that Christ was conceived on the 25 of March. 9 Months from that date is Christmas, hence why we celebrate the birth of Christ on that day.

That is correct.

Ignatius the Kiwi said:
What is so terribly wrong with a day focused on the incarnation?

Well, the Incarnation is celebrated on 25 March. It happened 9 months before Christ was born.

bbbbbbb · Dec 9, 2019

The Liturgist said:
That’s unfortunate. At liturgical churches, the reading of the Gospel is the highpoint of the liturgy of the word. I like to have the congregation stand, in the Apostolkc tradition, for the Gospel lesson.

I agree with you entirely on this. Unfortunately, even in the best of churches it is easy to get distracted. I do remember attending a Lutheran church for some time in which the pastor was a very godly man. One Sunday he conducted the entire service without the use of musical accompaniment, emphasizing the scriptural meaning of each segment. To say the least, it caught the attention of the members who had been lulled over time into a rather trancelike approach to going through the motions.

bbbbbbb · Dec 9, 2019

Radagast said:
I think that @bbbbbbb was suggesting that reading from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John in church is not necessarily the same thing as preaching the Good News.

Yes, see my post above. Merely reading without explanation is weak, at best.

bbbbbbb · Dec 9, 2019

Radagast said:
Certain ethnic groups celebrate the birth of Christ, but don't do the whole "gift-giving" thing (they do that on another day, like St. Nicholas or Epiphany).

Certain conservative denominations, in line with the regulative principle, have no public worship on Christmas, because it's not specifically commanded in Scripture (but they do celebrate Christmas within the family).

Certain denominations, believing incorrectly that Christmas is pagan, do not celebrate Christmas at all.

Quite true. I personally find much merit in the regulative principle and try to avoid the extreme of ignoring the vast significance of the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ, on a daily basis.

Deade · Dec 9, 2019

The Liturgist said:
That’s unfortunate. At liturgical churches, the reading of the Gospel is the highpoint of the liturgy of the word. I like to have the congregation stand, in the Apostolkc tradition, for the Gospel lesson.

Some people disagree on just what is the gospel. Many are surprised when you tell them the gospel is not about the birth-death-resurrection of Christ. The gospel Yeshua brought is about God's Kingdom.

There are many churches of the Adventist Movement of 1844 that broke away from the SDA Conference. They are all Sabbath keeping and do not celebrate Christmas. There is no ban on the celebration thereof but most allow some flexibility.

timothyu · Dec 10, 2019

Deade said:
The gospel Yeshua brought is about God's Kingdom.

Ah! The narrow path.

bbbbbbb · Dec 10, 2019

timothyu said:
Ah! The narrow path.

Or, the clean sidewalk on the broad way.

Daniel Marsh · Dec 10, 2019

The Egyptians were the first to invent mortar using the material gypsum as a base. The Romans later developed the concept further, using a mixture of lime, water and sand which is the process still used today. The ancient city of Pompeii was built using bricks and mortar.

....

Concrete is most often associated with fairly modern buildings and is still widely used all over the world. Not so many people realize that the Ancient Romans invented it and used it widely in their building activities throughout the Roman Empire.

Who Invented Bricks, Mortar, and Concrete?

So, those churches who want to avoid anything pagan, should tear down their church buildings.

Daniel Marsh · Dec 10, 2019

Radagast said:
Certain ethnic groups celebrate the birth of Christ, but don't do the whole "gift-giving" thing (they do that on another day, like St. Nicholas or Epiphany).

Certain conservative denominations, in line with the regulative principle, have no public worship on Christmas, because it's not specifically commanded in Scripture (but they do celebrate Christmas within the family).

Certain denominations, believing incorrectly that Christmas is pagan, do not celebrate Christmas at all.

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners
Nehemiah 9:1-2

Using this text out of context, we should not have mixed race worship services?

10. Characteristics of Acceptable Worship | Bible.org

Daniel Marsh · Dec 10, 2019

The Freedom of the Regulative Principle

What denomination does not celebrate Christmas?

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