CHRISTMAS 2002

TEXT (Psa 33:1-14 KJV) "Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. {2} Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. {3} Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. {4} For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. {5} He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. {6} By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. {7} He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. {8} Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. {9} For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. {10} The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. {11} The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. {12} Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. {13} The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. {14} From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth."

To summarize: The Lord is great and majestic. His works are marvelous. His power and omniscience are overwhelming. He sees us all. He knows what we are doing. The conclusion of verse 12: Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and those who are His own people.

With this background, and since it is this time of the year, I want to introduce a question I am sometimes asked: "What do you think about Christmas?"

We all agree that Christmas, as such, is not really a Biblical holiday. It has been commercialized, and used as an excuse for non-Christian behavior. Many Christians have different views of Christmas, and how we should deal with it.

My reply to the question "What do you think about Christmas?" would be very much different from what it might have been several years ago.

In answer to those who say "Keep Christ in Christmas," I would probably objected that He never was there, and we ought not try to put Him in it.

And thus, I would have told you that I would like to see Christmas completely ignored insofar as a day of any religious significance or memorial of Christ. As a matter of fact, I would have chosen to give it no attention at all.

I probably would have told you that you should not erect any display of religious significance, such as a Nativity scene, Guiding Star, or phrase such as "Happy Birthday, Jesus."

But after hearing a beloved Brother preach on the subject and labor just the aforementioned points, saying that he had no objection to celebrating Christmas as a social custom, but objected to attaching any Christian relevance to it, and after doing a lot of thinking and reflecting, I came to look at it from an entirely different point of view.

I realized that my position (though for a different reason) was the same as that of the late Madalyn Murray O'Hair, and other Atheists, and non-Christians, who didn't mind seeing Christmas observed, as long as it has no Christian significance. It seemed very odd to hold to the same position as these.

I began to reflect on (Col 3:17 KJV) "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." How could I advocate the observance of Christmas as a festive occasion and leave Him out?

And how could I take the same position as Atheists and non-Christians? The more I thought on it, the more it just didn't make sense.

Then I began to realize that other things have Pagan origins---like the days of the week, for instance.

The days of the week were named after the gods of the Greeks and Romans. In the English language, the gods of the north have given their names to the days.

SUNDAY comes from the time when the worship of the sun was dominant. Sunday was named after the sun god, or goddess. In the year 321, Constantine the Great ruled that the first day of the week, 'the venerable day of the sun', should be a day of rest. Some think the sun's old association with the first day is probably why the Lord's Day bears the pagan name of Sunday.

MONDAY was the day of moon goddess, Selene, Luna and Mani.

Derived from Lunae Dies, day of the moon, goes back to the observance of feast days dedicated to moon goddess or planet.

TUESDAY is named after the Roman day dies Martis, the day of Mars, or Tiw's day derived from Tyr or Tir, the god of honorable war.

WEDNESDAY derives its name from the Scandinavian Woden, chief god of Norse mythology.

THURSDAY or Thoresday was named after Thor, who was the god of strength and thunder. It was said that whenever Thor threw his hammer, the noise of thunder is heard through the heavens.

FRIDAY was named after the Germanic Frigga the name of the Norse god Odin's wife. Frigga is considered to be the mother of all, and the goddess who presides over marriage.

SATURDAY is named after the Roman dies Saturni, or day of Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.

YET WE DON'T THROW OUT THE DAYS OF THE WEEK BECAUSE THEY HAD PAGAN ORIGIN. As we use them, they have no connotation of pagan mythology.

Then there are the names of the months of the year, some of which go back to pagan origin.

JANUARY Named after Janus the two-faced God of the Romans.

FEBRUARY Named from the Latin februa, purification feast.

MARCH Was named after the Roman God, Mars.

APRIL Named simply from the Roman Aprilis, 'to open' - the period when buds begin to open.

MAY Supposedly named after Maia, the mother of Mercury to whom sacrifices were offered on the first day of this month. Some cultures still observe it as May-Day.

JUNE Derives from the Roman Goddess, Juno.

JULY Is named after Julius Caesar.

AUGUST Was named after the Emperor Augustus, because it was his 'lucky' month.

OCTOBER Comes simply from the Latin octomus (eighth). It was held sacred to Mars.

The days of the week and the months of the year may have had Pagan connotations at one time, BUT AS WE USE THEM TODAY, THEY HAVE NO SUCH CONNOTATIONS TO US.

As the Apostle Paul put it: (Rom 14:5-6 KJV) "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. {6} He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard eateth not, and giveth God thanks."

SO, WHAT DO I THINK OF CHRISTMAS? To put it into a nut-shell, I THINK PEOPLE SHOULD HONOR THE LORD EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, BUT I AM GLAD TO SEE THEM DO IT WHAT-EVER DAY THEY WILL.

ONE THING THAT BOTHERS ME IN THE SOCIETY IN WHICH WE LIVE TODAY, IS THAT THERE ARE MOVEMENTS UNDERWAY TO DISASSOCIATE JESUS CHRIST FROM CHRISTMAS--AND THESE MOVEMENTS ARE BEING LED, NOT BY FRIENDS OF THE LORD, BUT BY HIS ENEMIES!

Federal offices and establishments are receiving memorandum from higher up, directing not to observe Christmas in a manner that would offend the non-Christian element of society.

Guidelines are given to schoolteachers concerning proper conduct of Christmas decorations and observances. One excerpt states:

I am happy to see that restrictions are a little less stringent now than that have been in the past few years.

Complaints have been registered in some areas, as New York, that Jewish and Muslim religious observances being allowed, when Christian observances are not.

It has not always been this way in America. In the earlier days, we were not ashamed of our Christian heritage. We were not ashamed to call ourselves a CHRISTIAN NATION and endorse the Christian faith.

Look at these quotes from Early American Statesmen:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!"
- Patrick Henry

"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: that it connected in one indissoluble bond civil government with the principles of Christianity."
- John Quincy Adams

"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."
- Noah Webster

"We have staked the future of government not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions on the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the ten commandments of God."
- James Madison

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.... No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency ... We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained."
- George Washington

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. So great is my veneration of the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectful members of society."
- John Adams

"The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty. A student's perusal of the sacred volume will make him a better citizen, a better father, a better husband."
- Thomas Jefferson

"The Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man . . . But for it we could not know right from wrong."
- Abraham Lincoln

"It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."
- Abraham Lincoln

"The Bible is the rock on which our Republic rests."
--Andrew Jackson

"Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization and to this we must look as our guide in the future."
- Ulysses S. Grant

"A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know the price of the rights which God has given them, cannot be enslaved."
- Benjamin Franklin

"I tremble for my country when I consider that God is just and his justice cannot sleep forever."
- Thomas Jefferson

"The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."
- Abraham Lincoln

"In this actual world, a churchless community, a community where men have abandoned and scoff at, or ignore their Christian duties, is a community on the rapid downgrade."
- Theodore Roosevelt

"A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about."
- Woodrow Wilson

"The church must take right ground in regard to politics. Politics are a part of a religion in a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as part of their duty to God. . . . He will bless or curse this nation according to the course Christians take in politics."
- Charles Finney

Consider these quotes from some of the early State Constitutions framed by early American Statesmen:

"Everyone serving in public office must affirm this statement: 'I do profess faith in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed forever more, and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.'"
- Delaware Constitution

"And each member [of the legislature], before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration, viz: 'I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the universe, the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.'"
- Pennsylvania Constitution

"All persons elected to office must make the following declaration: "I do declare that I believe the Christian religion, and have firm persuasion of its truth."
- Massachusetts Constitution

"No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this State."
- Tennessee Constitution, adopted in 1796

People should have honored Jesus every day while he was here--but they didn't. Far from it, but only on rare occasions, such as His triumphal entry into Jerusalem did He receive the honor He was due.

By the same token, men ought to honor the Lord every day today. But even though they don't, I still rejoice in the fact that just as they honored Jesus when he rode into Jerusalem on the donkey that day, even so today do they honor Him in the season of the year that (even though it most likely is not) they conjecture as being his birthday.

At least one day a year, people wish each other well when they meet on the street. I am happy to see it on that day. At least one day a year, they think of the greatest Gift of all time, the gift of God's Son miraculously born of the virgin Mary. I am glad to see it happen on that day. At least one season of the year people think of "Peace on earth and good will toward men." I am glad to see them do it then.

As in the WWI Christmas truce of 1914: soldiers on both sides of the battle laid down their arms and treated each other as brothers on that Christmas day....and on some far greater scale than has been generally realized. Enemy really did meet enemy between the trenches. There was for a time, genuine peace in No Man's Land. Though Germans and British were the main participants, French and Belgians took part as well. Most of those involved agreed it was a remarkable way to spend Christmas. "Just you think," wrote one British soldier, "that while you were eating your turkey, etc, I was out talking and shaking hands with the very men I had been trying to kill a few hours before! It was astounding!"

"It was a day of peace in war," commented a German participant, "It is only a pity that it was not decisive peace."

We need to work at Peace on earth and Good Will toward men. If it can't be more, I am glad to see it on this one day.

On that one day, people seem to care about each other. They show good will, and practice generosity, giving gifts to each other. I am glad to see it on that one day.

Giving of gifts also symbolizes celebration and rejoicing, as Rev. 11:10 suggests: "...And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another..."

But why can't we make it last? Why can't we honor the Lord more than one day, or one season of the year?

As the Apostle Paul said, (Phil 1:18 KJV) "What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice."

Some will hear the gospel preached at Christmas when they will not do so all year. I am glad they hear it on that day. Some will pause to think of the Lord, when they haven't all year long. I'm glad to see it at this one season, if it can't be all the time. Some will go to church and pray this Christmas, when they haven't done so all year long. I wish it would happen more often, but I'm just glad to see it on this one day!

No, Christmas is not a Biblical holiday. We are not instructed to observe it. But let us not let the non-Christian element of our society have the victory of taking away from us the traditional celebration of the coming of our Saviour into the world!

--Emerson Blythe