Christmas is important.

[Strong in Him]

It is when we remember, and give thanks for, the Word who became flesh; the God who loved us so much that he gave us his Son, and the Son who loved his Father so much that he was willing to be born as a human, experience our lives, circumstances, disappointments and emotions and then finally die a horrendous death so that we could be reconciled to his Father God.

We Christians should be trying to reclaim Christmas - to make sure the world knows the true Christmas story, so that generations of children don't grow up thinking it IS about flying reindeer. We should be proclaiming the Gospel, giving out tracts etc; taking advantage of this great evangelistic opportunity. Maybe a lot of us are. But it's rather depressing to come onto a Christian forum year after year and see the same kinds of threads; either quibbling about dates etc, or expecting chapter and verse for a particular activity before we can consider engaging in it.

If you want a discussion on the secularisation of Christmas with suggestions of how we can make it less so - excellent.
If you want a serious debate on whether we need something to be specifically outlined in Scripture before we engage in/embrace it - fine. Though doing that on a computer when computers aren't mentioned in Scripture, kind of defeats the motion before we have started.
But please, can we have an end to the argumentative, negative Christmas posts which no doubt do nothing to help any non Christians who may be lurking here?

 

[faroukfarouk]

The Incarnation is very important: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1.14)

 

[Strong in Him]

For my part, I hate the fact that Christmas stuff is already in the shops, that chocolate and other foodstuffs are put into boxes with pictures of holly on them or "festive games" and the price is bumped up, that people feel pressured into creating the perfect day, buying far more food and drink than they need, and buying all the latest fashionable toys, and fashions. Though if they don't worship God, I suppose it's not surprising if they choose to worship things.) I dislike the fact also that sometime next month a series of children may come to our front door, sing one verse of "we wish you a merry Christmas" or "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer" - popular Christmas carols - and expect money or sweets for their efforts.

But I am overawed every year by the Word who became flesh; the Son of God who laid aside his majesty and squeezed himself into a tiny baby. No wonder love, holiness, power, compassion and so on oozed out of him; his human form was not enough to contain it. A bit like Solomon who built a temple and then said "but how can this contain God?"
I am not at all surprised that the angels sang for joy at this event, and that people, ordinary people, travelled to see what was happening, and to worship him.
And Jesus did all this for me , and for you.

 

[MKJ]

I also think Christmas is a wonderful and for me very emotional feast in the liturgical year.

I like many of the secular parts of it as well, and at best they are just a way of celebrating something special, like any feast. I like Christmas dinner, and I like filling my kids stockings with things from St Nick, and I like the Mr Bean Christmas special and A Christmas Story and The Snowman, and going out to cut a Christmas tree and holly. I like listening to A Child's Christmas in Wales, and The Shepherd read on the radio.

I like a lot of the things at Church too - the Advent lead up and hymns and quiet days, the St Nicolas Day festival, making the big garland for the church, the Children's pageant, the Lessons and Carols and midnight services. I love the Christmas music, and it includes a lot of my favorite religious music.

I don't much like the consumerism, but I think that is a much wider and deeper cultural problem. I do think it is one that should profoundly touch us as Christians, and something that Christian churches have not fought enough against. I really think that Christians have talked far to much about homosexuality, which affects few, and far too little about usury, where we are all complicit. There are things I have done to try and balance our own Christmas out - our kids don't get many gifts, nor expensive ones, and our extended family rather than exchanging adopts a family in need and supplies a few gifts and Christmas dinner, and we try to be involved in the wrapping and delivering as well.

But I cannot imagine NOT setting aside time as a Christian community to acknowledge, contemplate, and celebrate, the Incarnation.

 

[Strong in Him]

The Incarnation is very important: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1.14)

That's what I think I meant. I was just getting fed up with anti Christmas threads so thought I'd start a more positive one.

 

[Strong in Him]

I also think Christmas is a wonderful and for me very emotional feast in the liturgical year.

I like many of the secular parts of it as well, and at best they are just a way of celebrating something special, like any feast. I like Christmas dinner, and I like filling my kids stockings with things from St Nick, and I like the Mr Bean Christmas special and A Christmas Story and The Snowman, and going out to cut a Christmas tree and holly. I like listening to A Child's Christmas in Wales, and The Shepherd read on the radio.

I like a lot of the things at Church too - the Advent lead up and hymns and quiet days, the St Nicolas Day festival, making the big garland for the church, the Children's pageant, the Lessons and Carols and midnight services. I love the Christmas music, and it includes a lot of my favorite religious music.

I don't much like the consumerism, but I think that is a much wider and deeper cultural problem. I do think it is one that should profoundly touch us as Christians, and something that Christian churches have not fought enough against. I really think that Christians have talked far to much about homosexuality, which affects few, and far too little about usury, where we are all complicit. There are things I have done to try and balance our own Christmas out - our kids don't get many gifts, nor expensive ones, and our extended family rather than exchanging adopts a family in need and supplies a few gifts and Christmas dinner, and we try to be involved in the wrapping and delivering as well.

But I cannot imagine NOT setting aside time as a Christian community to acknowledge, contemplate, and celebrate, the Incarnation.

Lovely post. I agree about the consumerism.

 

[Bobinator]

Christmas originated from the worship of Tammuz, the son god of Babylon. How can that possibly hold any importance? Jesus never commanded us to observe his birth, or any holiday for that matter. Holidays today are contrivances of man.

Col. 2:16- "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect to any holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days."

Jesus' birthday wasn't even worth mentioning here.

Birthdays are primarily a western custom. Besides, a person truly only has 1 birthday in their life.

 

[faroukfarouk]

That's what I think I meant. I was just getting fed up with anti Christmas threads so thought I'd start a more positive one.

I love to be postive about Christmas, too! there is such a lot of joy associated with it, and such opportunities for Christian testimony.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Christmas originated from the worship of Tammuz, the son god of Babylon. How can that possibly hold any importance? Jesus never commanded us to observe his birth, or any holiday for that matter. Holidays today are contrivances of man.

Col. 2:16- "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect to any holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days."

Jesus' birthday wasn't even worth mentioning here.

Birthdays are primarily a western custom. Besides, a person truly only has 1 birthday in their life.

You're wrong on two points.

1) Christmas has nothing to do with Tammuz. It would seem you've been drinking from Alexander Hislop's personal kool aid. I suppose you also believe that Tammuz was the offspring of Semiramis and Nimrod.

2) Christmas isn't Jesus' birthday. It's the liturgical celebration of His birth. It is when, on the Christian liturgical calendar, we honor His birth.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[James Is Back]

This is what I wrote in another thread:

I like the lights on a Christmas tree,the tinsel,the ornaments and the star on top
I like the lights on houses
I like the peace and harmony that Christmas brings(except when people go way overboard when it comes to fighting for the latest gadget,etc)
I like the holiday music especially the choir/choral stuff
I like how God sent his only Begotten Son to save us
I like to give presents
And yes I like to receive presents
I like when if I have the money to drop a few dollars into the Salvation Army's bucket
I like the snow on the ground and on trees

What I don't like is when people take it to far. When people fight over toys,gadgets like playstations and iPhones. This to me isn't Christmas it's become a major secular problem. People like that forget the spirit of Christmas and the true meaning of it. The birth of our Savior.

I went to 2 black fridays in my life time and it was awful which is why I'm sticking with online purchases. In fact got all or most of my Christmas shopping done. No lines,not fighting no hassles,no being trampled over people,no waiting nothing.

Now tell me is there something wrong with that?

 

[MoreCoffee]

I reckon a fairly decent case for 25th-December being the birth date for Jesus Christ can be made but the point of Advent season and Christmas season is to teach the faithful about the incarnation and second coming of our Lord and the specific day for celebrating the birth of Christ is more a matter of the Church's timetable for its teaching program than celebrating the exact date.

 

[elliott95]

Christmas originated from the worship of Tammuz, the son god of Babylon. How can that possibly hold any importance? Jesus never commanded us to observe his birth, or any holiday for that matter. Holidays today are contrivances of man.

Col. 2:16- "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect to any holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days."

Jesus' birthday wasn't even worth mentioning here.

Birthdays are primarily a western custom. Besides, a person truly only has 1 birthday in their life.

Christmas is not celebrating a birthday.
It is recognition the joy involved with the Incarnation of God into the world that is being recognized.
Birthday is just the way that the modern mind interprets Christmas.

 

[Strong in Him]

Christmas originated from the worship of Tammuz, the son god of Babylon. How can that possibly hold any importance? Jesus never commanded us to observe his birth, or any holiday for that matter. Holidays today are contrivances of man.

Col. 2:16- "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect to any holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days."

Jesus' birthday wasn't even worth mentioning here.

Birthdays are primarily a western custom. Besides, a person truly only has 1 birthday in their life.

The birth of Jesus, the Messiah and Word made flesh, is certainly an event to celebrate and Scripture records the announcements, the event and the aftermath. Christmas is the time when we remember his incarnation and how he came to earth as one of us and for us. It is not Jesus' birthday, as such, though I admit I have used that image when explaining it to children. It is also true that the Bible doesn't command us to celebrate it each year, but it doesn't forbid it either - it's not against God's will if we remember the occasion when his Son was made flesh.

I appreciate you taking time to reply. But I wanted this to be a positive thread on celebrating the birth of our Saviour, rather than a debate. As Christians, I think it is important for us to promote this against the secular and commercial aspects of the day; we need to reclaim Christmas.

 

[Strong in Him]

I reckon a fairly decent case for 25th-December being the birth date for Jesus Christ can be made but the point of Advent season and Christmas season is to teach the faithful about the incarnation and second coming of our Lord and the specific day for celebrating the birth of Christ is more a matter of the Church's timetable for its teaching program than celebrating the exact date.

Well said.

 

[Strong in Him]

Christmas is not celebrating a birthday.
It is recognition the joy involved with the Incarnation of God into the world that is being recognized.
Birthday is just the way that the modern mind interprets Christmas.

Thank you.

 

[rockytopva]

Great thread strong'n'him!

Let's not intertain the grinches who would like to steal Christmas yet again!

 

[MKJ]

Christmas is not celebrating a birthday.
It is recognition the joy involved with the Incarnation of God into the world that is being recognized.
Birthday is just the way that the modern mind interprets Christmas.

Yes, I do not understand why people keep talking about it being a "birthday". That is just a way to explain the celebration to rather young children, who probably understand birthdays better than the idea of God incarnate.

 

[elliott95]

Yes, I do not understand why people keep talking about it being a "birthday". That is just a way to explain the celebration to rather young children, who probably understand birthdays better than the idea of God incarnate.

It is a good and useful analogy for Christians to make to their children. I think though that people who enter into some of the more sophisticated theological discussions that become possible on discussion boards such as these, it is the mature thing to do to raise the level of discussion to what Christians really do believe about Christmas.

No Virginia, there is no Santa Claus, not in Christian theology at any rate.

 

[James Is Back]

This is what I wrote in another thread:

I like the lights on a Christmas tree,the tinsel,the ornaments and the star on top
I like the lights on houses
I like the peace and harmony that Christmas brings(except when people go way overboard when it comes to fighting for the latest gadget,etc)
I like the holiday music especially the choir/choral stuff
I like how God sent his only Begotten Son to save us
I like to give presents
And yes I like to receive presents
I like when if I have the money to drop a few dollars into the Salvation Army's bucket
I like the snow on the ground and on trees

What I don't like is when people take it to far. When people fight over toys,gadgets like playstations and iPhones. This to me isn't Christmas it's become a major secular problem. People like that forget the spirit of Christmas and the true meaning of it. The birth of our Savior.

I went to 2 black fridays in my life time and it was awful which is why I'm sticking with online purchases. In fact got all or most of my Christmas shopping done. No lines,not fighting no hassles,no being trampled over people,no waiting nothing.

Now tell me is there something wrong with that?

Well I'm happy that no one has attack my position here

 

[Radagast]

Christmas is not celebrating a birthday.
It is recognition the joy involved with the Incarnation of God into the world that is being recognized.

Well, the Incarnation began 9 months before Christmas, of course.