Saturday, December 17, 2011

Should Christian Celebrate Christmas?

Here is a brief statement from John Piper at Should Christians celebrate Christmas?:

I sympathize with those who want to be rigorously and distinctly Christian, who want to be disentangled from the world and any pagan roots that might lie beneath our celebration of Christmas, but I don’t go that route on this matter because I think there comes a point where the roots are so far gone that the present meaning doesn’t carry the pagan connotation anymore. I’m more concerned about a new paganism that gets layered on top of Christian holidays.

Here’s the example I use: All language has roots somewhere. Most of our days of the week—if not all—grew out of pagan names too. So should we stop using the word “Sunday” because it may have related to the worship of the sun once upon a time? In modern English “Sunday” doesn’t carry that connotation, and that’s the very nature of language. In a sense, holidays are like chronological language.

Christmas now means that we mark, in Christian ways, the birth of Jesus Christ. I think the birth, death and resurrection of Christ are the most important events in human history. Not to mark them in some way, by way of special celebration, would be folly it seems to me.

I remember I lived next door to somebody back in seminary who didn’t celebrate birthdays for their kid. The idea was, partly, that all days were special for their kid. But if all days are special then it probably means that there are no special days. Yet some things are so good and precious—like anniversaries, birthdays, and even deaths—that they are worthy of being marked. How much more the birth and death of Jesus Christ!

It’s really worth the risk, even if the date of December 25 was chosen because of its proximity to some kind of pagan festival. Let’s just take it, sanctify it, and make the most of it, because Christ is worthy of being celebrated in his birth.

There is no point in choosing any other date. It won’t work.

I got this statement from Scott Brown's website ~ listed on my sidebar under blogs I read. He has got a series of posts on this subject that are all very good.

1 comment:

  1. John Piper is only taking into consideration the pagan connotations of Christmas, but does not address the fact that the celebration of the birth of Christ is not anywhere to be found in the bible, EXCEPT in the gospel (the story of Christ)...

    Why is it that there is no place in the New Testament where the apostles are celebrating His birth? We are told of the apostolic church celebrating His death in the Lord's Supper, and also celebrating the death, burial, and resurrection through baptism, looking to that blessed hope of His appearing.

    There are strict commands for worship in the New Testament church. We are to follow the doctrines of Paul, AND if any other preach anything else, we are to curse them.

    Galatians 1:6-12

    "6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. 11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."

    If any man preach ANY OTHER GOSPEL, than that which Paul and the other apostles had preached, "let them be accursed". Even Paul himself! He said that if "he or..." so Paul couldn't even preach another than that which he already had. Paul had received that which also he had preached from Jesus Christ himself! He knew what it was that the church was to do, and not to do. We have everything contained in the New Testament as our guide to living in this present world.

    "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, [be] glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."

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Welcome to the farm ~ we are a blended family with 7 children (3 are married), 4 grandsons, 5 dogs, 3 rabbits, and 15 chickens living on 3 acres in Georgia. I love crafting, sewing, cooking & canning, recipes of all kinds, reading, playing with my little buddies, family time, travel, pinterest and most of all the Lord.