Introduction

Tis the season to debate whether Christmas is or is not pagan holiday. When I first stopped celebrating Christmas, I was in the thick of these conversations and the season generally just brought me frustiation. In the previous episode, I talked about how my perspectives and actions changed throughout different phases of my journey and the topic of Christmas is one of those areas. I used to feel like if I wasn't expounding on all the details in every conversation, I was letting God down. To a certain extent, I think this phase is necessary, these are the people creating the content the rest of us find in our research. These are the people scattering seeds without regard to where they land. But also, these people are annoying.

As I've grown and continued on my journey, I've taken a step back. I'm not as quick to offer all the unsolicited information about the origin of this or that tradition or the irony of church being attended the most during a "holiday" that has more to do with paganism than Messiah. I just live out what I believe...or I try to, at least.

One of my biggest pet peeves is people being unable to actually discuss a matter—and I say this as someone who is prone stubbornness myself. When topics come up, we often have already decided where we stand and are not listening to the other person speak. As such, most of the conversations surrounding Christmas' pagan origins follow the same script. It's usually just people sharing why they think they're right and trying to refute the other side. But at the risk of sounding like Donald Trump, there are valid points on both sides. That's what I want to talk about.

Studying vs. Holy Spirit Download

A while back, I watched a video where a woman seemed to be condemning the academic study of the Word. I was confused for a large portion of the video, but she did spark a question in me that has been affecting a lot of how I see the faith journey today. The main point I walked away with is that you shouldn't have to earn a PhD in theology to understand what God wants from us. Jeremiah 31:33-34 tells us that God promised to create a New Covenant with the people in which the law was written on the heart instead of in stone—meaning we know the law and His expectation of us, from within. He tells us that at this point we won't need teachers to impart the Will of God on us. This passage is reiterated in the New Testament, in Hebrews 8:10 and Hebrews 10:16. That New Covenant is the one Messiah made at the cross.

Study to Show thyself Approved

2 Timothy 2:15 and Hosea 4:6 both tell us that studying and knowledge are very important. These verses call us to study and learn all that we can when it comes to The Most High. The verse in Hosea tells us that we can be destroyed due to our lack of knowledge; this implies we are still responsible for information we don't know. The question I have, however, is destruction mutually exclusive to salvation? Can we experience destruction while still being saved, or is pursuit of knowledge a sign of our faith?

In Times Past...

As a black woman, it's not lost on me that if I step back only a few generations, I lose my ability to do any of the research I've done in my lifetime. Not only would there not have been the interent to aid me, only one generation ago, but the stigma of a woman studying and researching or breaking from whatever the men said if I go back two generations. Take me back three or four generations and I probably wouldn't have been education at all. Five generations and it would have been illegal for me to know how to read... But it's not just black people or women who were denied the tools I have today that enable my research; the working class, never would have had time to dedicated to in depth studies (to be honest, finding that time today is still difficult!).

Now we could pull out the verse that says God winks in times of ignorance (Ats 17:30) and suggest that because those people did not and could not know better, God didn't hold them responsible for their actions. However, that leads me to more questions:

1. How do we reconcile this with the fact that God who does not change (Malachi 3:6)? This would mean that He is ok with a person in the 1800s doing (or not doing) something, but if I behave in the same manner, its wrong... (This question stands for much more than just holidays or even Sabbath; it can be applied to almost anything.)
2. Would this revelation not mean it is better to be ignorant—the opposite of studying to prove ourselves? If God is going to turn a blind eye away from me doing xyz because I don't know xyz is wrong, but hold me responsible once I know, where is my motivation to "grow" spiritually?
3. Does this only apply to not knowing because it's not in your power to know, or simply not knowning? (For example, it being illegal to read vs. choosing not to read.)

Here's something to think about. The law wasn't written down until after Moses led Israel out of Egypt (that we know of). No one knows how much the Israelites in Egypt knew or didn't know about God and what was expected of them by God. But two things still happend: one, they were oppressed in Egpyt (experienced "curses" of a sorts) and two, were still delivered by God. Notheless, when God stepped in and told them the ritual that would become Passover, only those who followed His instruction where saved. During the final plague, the death of the first borns, even livestock, would have had no clue that they were to paint their non-existant doors with the lambs blood, died.

Unity and Disunity in the Body

I often see people angry that this conversation "divides" the body. This is another place where there are seemingly conflicting Bible verses to use in response. We could take Messiah's comments in Luke 12:51-53 where He says He came to divide, or we can take the other verses in which Messiah says a kingdom divided cannot stand (Luke 11:17). The fact is, truth does divide.

The parable of the wheat and tares explains everything. If you ever plant a garden, you'll notice quickly that when things sprout up, they look almost identical. This is why people often label their rows. It's not until the plant is almost fully mature that you can differentiate one from another. This difference is even harder to spot when the crops are from the same "family." For instance, a zuchini and squash bush look identical until they start baring fruit, while a zuchini bush and a watermelon vine only look similar until the leaves start to form and the vining process begins. The parable of the wheat and tares is meant to remind us that it's not until the last minute that we can really differentiate between God's true followers and those who are not.

Satan's plan isn't so simple as to get us to do the opposite of God wants. His goal—given in Isaiah 14—is to replace God. He wants us to worship him instead, and that doesn't have to be by name. It doesn't have to be so drastic as becoming a Satanist. All it takes is following him and his way of worship in place of what God has commanded. Just like in the Exodus; when Israel formed the golden calf, they claimed the calf was The Most High God. They weren't claiming to worship Ba'al or Ra or some other idol. They thought they were oferring thanks to the God who brought them out of Egypt. Instead, they made Him angry.

Is there any similarity in to the Israelites behavior in the wilderness and the celebration of Christmas?

Conviction

If you're new to the podcast, this might be new to you. However, if you've been around a while, you know that I believe all decisions should come from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has put doubts and questions in my mind about Christmas since I was a small child. That's why I went looking for answers, and what I found was that most if not all of the traditions surrounding the holiday are tied to pagan traditions. One thing we can all agree on is that idolatry is a sin. You can find all my posts on the history and origins of Christmas on the site. I share this information for others who are searching.

However, the most important step in any journey, is chosing to listen to (and follow) the Holy Spirit. None of this information will matter to someone who doesn't want to hear it. We each have to choose to follow The Most High.

Concessions

Most people who argue that Christmas is not pagan correctly assert that one verse dissidents use is not valid. I am guilty of using this verse myself, which is why I want to talk about it. The verse in question is Jeremiah 10:1-5, which is often used to make the claim that the Bible directly condemns Christmas trees. The first time I read these verses I agreed that they seemed to be talking about Christams trees, however, I can admit that if you read the passage in context they are not specifically about Christmas trees. These verses are talking about idols—mainly statues.

I bring this up because I think it's important to discuss the topic objectively. I may sit on the side of Christmas being pagan, but integrity of the discussion is the most important thing. It's not about being right, it's about worshiping God the way He wants to be worshipped.