Other nations MAY have worshipped trees;
No. They did worship trees in the times of the Old Testament. If you were going to rebuke these people back in their times, what part of God’s Word would you use? Jeremiah 10, Deuteronomy 16:21-22, and the verses that mention groves. That’s what you would have used to rebuke them if you were an Israelite during Old Testament times.
that does not mean that God's people did, nor that God was happy for anyone to do so.
Scripture says the Israelites had groves, along with traditional idols, etcetera.
Trees are not idols in themselves.
This is true. But if one decorates them, then it becomes an idol.
Some people - usually from other nations - would cut trees down and make idols from the wood. THAT was what was wrong.
The first part of the instruction in Jeremiah is talking about the cutting down of trees and decorating them and putting clothes on them. Nothing is said of how they would carve these trees into looking like people or animals (Although I am sure they did that as well).
When you get to verse 14 in Jeremiah 10, it is
not a continuation of the idol trees. It starts to talk about the graven molten image.
Jeremiah 10:14 says,
“Every man is brutish in
his knowledge: every founder is confounded
by the graven image: for his molten image
is falsehood, and
there is no breath in them.”
Molten images would be like the golden calf that the Israelites worshiped.
For the third time of asking, was Solomon wrong when he had trees cut down, made items for the temple and covered them with gold?
Did God give Solomon the instructions to put gold over trees?
In God's instruction to kings in
Deuteronomy 17:14-20, we learn that God specifically warns against multiplying horses, multiplying wives, and multiplying silver and gold.
1 Kings 4:26 says
"And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
There obviously was a downward spiral of problems involving Solomon, which led him to eventually have tons of wives, concubines, and with him worshiping other false gods.
Was Noah sinning when he made the ark from wood? Wad Moses sinning when he made the tabernacle, ark of the Covenant and other items from wood?
Noah‘s Ark is a boat and not an a tree that is decorated with gold, silver, and clothing (Which looks like a Christmas tree).
The Ark of the Covenant was a design instruction from God. It was to hold the tables of the Ten Commandments, and other sacred things at that time period. The angels faced an empty mercy seat. But this in no way resembles a tree that is decorated with gold and clothing that God forbids in Jeremiah 10. In fact, why would God forbid such a thing? Because people worshiped trees back then as they did all throughout history.
A tree is an idol in no one's mind except yours.
Nope. Druids worship trees in history, and this practice goes back to Old Testament times of which we can read about in the verses that mention the word “grove” (trees) many times.
Which is why churches celebrate Epiphany on Jan 6th.
But it’s a lie. The Bible does not refer to the wisemen as being kings.
Neither does the Bible say there were three wisemen.
Neither does the Bible say that the wisemen visited Jesus as a baby.
The Bible says he was a child when the wisemen visited Jesus. He was no longer a baby.
Only the shepherds visited Jesus as a baby. So the pictures on Christmas Day promoting how the wisemen visited Jesus as a baby is a lie not found in Scripture. This is just one of many lies told on Christmas.
People are either biblically illiterate or they simply do not care what the Bible actually says.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie if they are into such deceptions. This is just one of the many reasons why a person should stop celebrating Christmas. Christmas is a day of promoting things contrary to Scripture. If one values the truth of God’s Word over lies, then one will side with the Bible instead of favoring the lies.
"THEY say"? Who are "they"?
Whoever invented these false things of Christmas and those who continue to prorrogaste such lies.
I have never heard any preacher declare that Christ was definitely born on Dec 25th and it is false to believe otherwise.
Then you should stop celebrating Christmas because this IS promoted on this holiday. It’s why you celebrate Christmas on December 25th. It is to honor his birth, which is a day He was clearly not born on. It is the promotion of a lie.
That is the date that has been chosen to commemorate Christ's birth.
But the date that’s chosen is a lie.
I doubt very much that God will demand to know why his Son's birth was celebrated on the "wrong day".
So imagine if you called up your family and friends and told them happy birthday on a day they were not born.
Imagine if you celebrated their birthday on a day they were not born and tried to get them to participate?
They would think you were nuts; Especially if you insisted their birthday was on a date that was not when they were really born.
Now, imagine how God feels; Especially when He tells us to worship Him in spirit, and in truth. Your not worshiping Him in truth on some made up day of his birthday. That would be basing His incarnation on a lie. The Bible does not say anything in regards to telling us to celebrate birthdays. We are to celebrate the death of our Lord in the Lord’s supper.
In fact, the Bible says,
"A good name
is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.”(Ecclesiastes 7:1).
He may want you know why people didn't celebrate it at all, but even that's not too bad. What IS wrong is criticising fellow Christians who do want to celebrate the birth of the Son of God, accusing them of twisting, or ignoring, Scripture.
The correction is done in love, and with the hope that Christians will wake up to see they have been following a holiday that promotes lies and things that go against what the Bible actually teaches.
Jesus said we can't give gifts to people to show we love them?? Where did he say that?
I can tell you did not read the OP, which is what I asked folks to do before they even posted in this thread. Just go back to the beginning of the thread and read my points and you will see the verse. The fact that you do not even recognize this verse is scary.
And what do you think he was doing when he healed people and gave the gift of sight, hearing, cleansing from leprosy?
It was not an exchange of gifts in the sense of material gifts whereby money was spent so that they could exchange them under an idol tree.
No one thinks we are fellowshipping with darkness, except you.
Uh, no. There are other conservative Bible believing Christians who believe as I do.
Again, atheists, agnostics, psychics, religionists (non-Christians) all celebrate Christmas. So if the world is in on it, then its not a purely Christian holiday. It’s a national
worldly holiday or celebration with other like minded people. Is there a national holiday for the Lord’s supper celebrate primarily by Christians? No. Why? Because it is a Bible endorsed teaching. Christmas is not taught in the Bible. Nowhere do we see Jesus or the apostles give us any kind of instruction to worship Jesus as a baby when He possessed His adult human body.
Why do you post on these forums?
To preach the Word as it is written, and to give glory to Jesus Christ.
To help believers see what His Word says vs. what they prefer it to say to endorse their own worldly pleasures.
Don't you know that non Christians, atheists and some from Christian cults post on here too? What fellowship does light have with darkness? Why are you sharing a forum with non Christians?
The forums is not a place of celebration, but it is a platform of communication to reach others.
There is also a Christian section where unbelievers are not allowed to post, as well.
I should not have to tell you these difference but you appear to have the problem in not recognizing the difference of things.
You falsely conflate things that are not related as being the same to push the false Christ-mass agenda.
Why do you go to the shops, to work, to the library or wherever? Don't you know that non Christians, atheists, people from other religions go to the same place as you - and may work in the same office as you?
Again, you have a problem in being able to recognize the difference of things.
What is your education level?
Most Bible studying Christians know that fellowship involves worship together and it involves one connecting as a close friend when Paul says, what communion does light have with darkness in 2 Corinthians 6:14. We do not hang out with unbelievers as way of life. We do not run with them in their sinful practices or ways. Going to a store, work, or the library is not fellowship. You are not connecting with people there as close friends by just being there. I should not have to tell you this because it is obvious they are not the same thing.
What fellowship does light have with darkness? Don't you think you should stop doing all these things that non Christians do?
Again, you do not understand what this verse is actually saying if you think it could refer to going to the library.