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Christmas Or No Christmas?


Ukulelemike

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In the American colonies and early America this was a major point of contention between those Christians who did and didn't celebrate Christmas. If you can find some of the writings on this it can be interesting, sometimes even humorous reading what they had to say about this.

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Well, and the customs we relate to Christmas today, a majority of them, were invented more or less by Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol. Before that, Christ-Mass was usually celebrated by drinking, gambling and general over-indulgence...well, much like it is beginning to be again today. The Puritans weren't against people having solemn reverence for Christ, they were against it ebcause the celebration was little different than the old Saturnalia celebrations.

 

Now, we have the Santa Crawls, where, in the name of Christmas, people dress like Santa or elves, often "sexy Santas," and go from bar to bar drinking. Its called a crawl because it usually ends up with people so drunk they can't walk. This is directly like they did for Saturnalia.

 

I understand Christians, generally, don't do such things-the point is, you can't keep Satan out of his celebrations for long: the inherent wickedness of the holiday will always return, no matter how we tru to Christianize it. There can be no concord between Christ and Belial, and that is exactly what Christ-Mass is.

 

Funny-I am writing this at work, and the guys in the warehouse with me, not knowing what I am writing about, are actually talking about the recent Santa Crawl, and talked about the women in literally painted-on santa costumes, actually going naked from bar to bar.  I am absolutely serious about this, they really are talking about this, just after I wrote about it.  

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Charles Dickens invented most of the Christmas stuff?????

Unless you can prove that statement I am calling it rubbish.

He wrote of what happened in his time.
He was sometimes a bit romantic about it, but his settings were real.

That story MAY gave influenced people in other places to copy some of the traditions from England, but to suggest he invented them is a far stretch......

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Charles Dickens invented most of the Christmas stuff?????

Unless you can prove that statement I am calling it rubbish.

He wrote of what happened in his time.
He was sometimes a bit romantic about it, but his settings were real.

That story MAY gave influenced people in other places to copy some of the traditions from England, but to suggest he invented them is a far stretch......

Just telling as I've been told. However, I can tell you that during the 18th century in both America and England, the typical activities of Christmas we gambling, drinking and banqueting; it was for these particular activites that the Puritans were so against it, as well as being of Romish invention, which they also sought to avoid.

Perhaps, as you say, his story did nore to solidify those activites, rather than invent them, make them more the mainstream. But for the majority of the time that the Christ Mass has been OBserved, it has far more followed the pagan pattern of Saturnalia and Sol Invectus then what we know today, and true believers, for these many reasons, shunned it.

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Ma's church had their first program, the teenagers show. In it saved people tried to get lost family members to attend church for Christmas. The lost ones didn't go like usual they gave excuses. During bedtime that night the rapture took place and the saved members disappeared. The lost actors walked around the pews holding up pictures saying "Have you seen my son or daughter?" The teens said, "have you seen my parents?" After the play two people was saved. They are a big church and will have more shows.

 

My church will have its show on the Lord's day if He tarries. But on the 24th we will prOBably have service for those who want to come and it will be songs and preaching. There will only be a few in number, most people prefer the play. 

 

One big side note. One of the very smallest churches here is holding revival!! 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Christmas crawl sounds truly ungodly and I wonder how long until they are doing that here. And Krampus must be Satan from the looks of their costumes.  

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I have often heard this used to justify the keeping of Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc.  The prOBlem is, we have to keep such things in context.

 

I don't participate in Halloween and I can't see a Christian using anything from scripture to justify them doing so.

 

How ever, I've come to the conclusion that celebrating the birth and death/burial/resurrection of my Savior, Jesus Christ is no damnable heresy. 

 

Christmas, yes I celebrate Christ's birth. Easter, yes I celebrate Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.

 

CBDR is a Navy acronym/term for constant bearing decreasing range. It means your on a collision course with another ship. I've adapted it to witness to military (especially sailors). CBDR  Christ's Birth, Death, and Resurrection. That doesn't make me a Romish Style Church.

 

 

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We had our play at church, no one was saved. I keep thinking I would feel different if I saw people saved after the play. We had a packed house with only few empty places on the pews. All of the parking lots was full. 

 

The show was about creation, quick overview of details until Jesus is born, at birth lots of details with people dressed for the parts, very small children dressed as animals, quick overview of Jesus' life and death. Lots of christmas songs was mixed into the play.

 

Because many of the 24th churchgoers will be absent this year that service was canceled. So after the play we had a singing with lots of regular hymns. It was the best part with a few of the visiting preachers shouting and testifying about being saved. I really like it when the Holy Spirit touches visiting preachers and they preach for few minutes each in front of the pews.

 

There was visitors last night whose names are on the men's prayer list to get saved, but no one came forward to be saved. I'm praying they get another chance. 

 

After the service we had Christmas (a meal) in the fellowship hall. Many of the guests stayed and ate with us. There was lots of good food. The kids exchanged gifts or maybe the church bought them gifts, I'm not sure which one.

 

I was trying to be friendly to our visitors and found out we had people from other denominations. I wonder what they thought of the part after the play, when the singing and shouting took place. 

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Our church holds a night service on the 23rd (so many folks are away or busy on the 24th). While most today say there must be a bit of excitement, a show or some form of entertainment to get folks into church, our "eve-eve" service is a very solemn and traditional, quiet time. A few old hymns are sang. A sermon which always contains a strong salvation message is presented. There is a time of quiet prayer followed by a pastoral prayer and a congregational singing of "Silent Night".

 

Though by many folks standards these days it's a "boring" service, our church is packed each year at this time. EVERY pew and chair is filled, people are standing along the back wall, some are sitting on the stairs, some stand in the aisle.

 

No "flash", no program, no entertaining singers, no skits, no videos; just an old fashioned, simple, reverent service and the church is packed. Praise God!

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What if an unsaved person asks you about Christmas?
Do you run off the whole spiel about its roots, it's nature, and it's dangers?

I would discuss with them about this as anything else. Find out just what it is they want to know, what they already think they know, why they ask, where their heart is, etc. All of this with the aim of continually turning the conversation to Christ and the Gospel.

 

Over the years I've had many lost people bring up Christmas, most often as a means to attack Christians over the consumerism, Santa, Christians and the lost acting the same on Christmas, etc. If they are intent upon antagonism the conversation will go nowhere. If they are sincerely curious there is opportunity to present the Gospel.

 

Just as if someone asks me about Jeb Bush I don't go into a historical recital of the Republican Party or the Bush family, I don't do that with questions regarding Christmas either. I try to determine their motive for asking, narrow the topic, pray silently, and look for the opportunity to present the Gospel.

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What if an unsaved person asks you about Christmas?
Do you run off the whole spiel about its roots, it's nature, and it's dangers?

It kind of depends on the question. If someone is pOBviously looking for information about Jesus as a baby, then I explain that to them, though I would indeed make it clear, gently, that the Christmas most celebrate really doesn't have anything to do with it.

 

More than likely, even doing that explaining, I would try to do so in my overall teaching about Jesus' birth, making reference that we don't know for certain when he was born, possibly in September with the Passover lambs, maybe another time. And I would also extend that explanation to His death and resurrection, because that's the whole reason he was born.

 

If they asked about Christmas specifically, and maybe why I don't celebrate it, then yes, I would give them as much of an explanation as they were willing to hear. AND I would tell them that it really has nothing to do with jesus' birth.

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What if an unsaved person asks you about Christmas?
Do you run off the whole spiel about its roots, it's nature, and it's dangers?

Had someone yesterday ask, "What about the Virgin Mary?" (capital added due to nature in which the address was made) I said, "She ain't been a virgin in A LONG time and she ain't NEVER had any special position in the whole "entrance into Heaven thing".

 

We actually had 2 1/2 hours discussion on the Bible, salvation,church, etc. His wife called having lost her keys (they live 15 miles south of town) and he had to leave. I told him, "Hold that thought". He said, "yeah, we can talk more later".

 

He's been sort of my "current project" for the last 1 1/2 years (he's a former cop and my mechanic for things out of my ability). He's course, calloused, crude (even for the lost) and is sorta surprised that that hasn't cowed me.

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