Mithra slaying the bull. The rising sun god of ancient Persia. (Photo by: DenisDoukhan (Pixabay)
Let’s talk today about this Christmas. The Catholic Our Sunday Visitor published the
article “Dispelling some common myths about Christmas” by Jimmy Akin back in
2022.
December 8, 2022Every year, various myths about Christmas circulate. Some are innocent misunderstandings of things from the Gospels, while others are downright hostile.One of the most common ideas is that Christmas is based on a pagan holiday, so it’s really “pagan” in origin.
I think that word pagan in quotes is meant to be sarcastic.
Well, “Jimmy,” the fact is ── it’s really pagan in origin. True Christians should not
have a thing to do with this pagan holiday, nor should they follow myths and try and
make those myths say otherwise.
Now, in my office library, I have a “New Catholic Edition” of the Holy Bible that I
will be reading from. Notice what the Apostle Peter says ──
under absolute divine inspiration of God’s Spirit ──
“For we were not following fictitious tales when we made known to you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of His grandeur.” – 2 Peter 1:16.
To note: I will be adding capitals to words such as “His,” “Him,” “Me,” “You,” and
“Your,” when speaking concerning our LORD God. Computer research gave some
ridiculous answers as to why some Bible translations do not capitalize the pronouns
referring to God.
Now, DECEMBER 25th was not adopted by the Roman Catholic Church until the 4th
century.
The World Book Encyclopædia ──
In 354 A.D., Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered the people to celebrate on December 25. He probably chose this date because the people of Rome already observed it as the Feast of Saturn, celebrating the birthday of the sun.(Sechrist E.H. Christmas. World Book Encyclopedia, Volume III. Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, Chicago, 1966, pp. 408-417).
It should also be noted that some scholars believe that the celebration in ancient
Rome concerning “Christmas” could have begun a few decades earlier, established by
Constantine the Great.
This American Catholic apologist, with a New Age background, also stated in his
article ──
Too cold for sheepIt’s sometimes claimed that Jesus couldn’t have been born on Dec. 25 because Luke reports that shepherds were tending their flocks the night Jesus was born (cf. 2:8). It would have been too cold for that in December, so Jesus must have been born in a warmer time of year.This is nonsense. …
If it had been December 25th, the shepherds would not have been out in the fields
tending their sheep. If it were actually what this world calls December 25th, the
shepherds would have taken the sheep, many weeks earlier, down into the lowlands.
The shepherds were still in the field because it was still mild weather in late
September. There are numerous biblical indications that point out that Jesus Christ
was not born on or anywhere near December 25th. Now, while it is not impossible
for shepherds to still be in the field in late December, that, however, was not their
ancient practice. Shepherds normally stop spending the night with their flocks
outside beginning in the fall because of the cold and wet weather. The Catholic
Encyclopædia actually acknowledges this ──
The Gospels. Concerning the date of Christ’s birth, the Gospels give no help; upon their data, … The census would have been impossible in winter: a whole population could not then be put in motion…
The definition of impossible is “incapable of being or of occurring.” 1
Also, this self-proclaimed autodidact writes in his article ──
A pagan holidayWhat about the claim that celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25 is based on a pagan holiday?Even if that were true, so what? …
So what? Has he even read and studied God’s living word? I think not! God’s living
word outright opposes following pagan practices!
Let’s notice something that the Prophet Nehemiah declared ──
“So I separated from them all strangers, …” – 2 Esdas 13:30.
That word strangers could also be translated as “foreigners.”
True Christians should indeed separate ourselves from “the mixed multitude” that
celebrate adopted pagan practices (cf. Nehemiah 13:3).
Our Lord, Savior, and God ── the living Son of God ── teaches us ──
“’ God is spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.’” –
John 4:24.
“’ and in vain do they worship Me, teaching AS DOCTRINE the precepts of men.’” – Mark 7:7.
Again, note that we are still reading from the “New Catholic Edition.”
Of course, it is in vain to worship our Lord Jesus Christ, teaching as doctrine that
Santa Claus is real and lives with his elves at the North Pole. Sorry… spoiler alert.
The Eternal our God tells us that there is a right Way and there is a wrong way in
how to live our life and in the worship of Him ── we should never base this on the
concept of “so what! I can worship Him any way I choose!”
“’ THESE are the statutes and decrees which you must be careful to observe in the
land … 8) You shall not do as we are now doing; here, everyone does what seems
right to himself.’” – Deuteronomy 12:1, 8.
“’ When the Lord, your God, removes the nations from your way as you advance to
dispossess them, be on your guard! Otherwise, once they have been wiped out before
you and you have replaced them and are settled in their land, 30) you will be lured
into following them. DO NOT INQUIRE regarding their gods [such as Mithra, an
ancient Iranian (Persian) deity], ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I, too,
would do the same.’ 31) You shall not thus worship the Lord, your God, because they
offered to their gods every abomination that the Lord detests, even burning their sons
and daughters to their gods.’” – Deuteronomy 12:29-31.
The Lord, our God ── supposedly the same Creator God that the Catholics and
Protestants alike worship ── never wanted true Christians to keep and celebrate the
adopted pagan custom that is now called “Christmas.”
Commentary: Does God Accept Lies?
We should consider the following that the Apostle Paul wrote ── under divine
inspiration ──
“This, therefore, I say and testify in the Lord, that henceforward you are not to walk
as the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, 18) having their understanding
clouded in DARKNESS, estranged from the life of God through the ignorance that
is in them, because of the BLINDNESS of their heart. 19) For they have given
themselves up in despair to sensuality, greedily practicing EVERY KIND OF
UNCLEANNESS. 20) But you have not so learned Christ──21) for surely you have
heard of Him and have been taught in Him [have you not, Mr. Akin?] (as truth is in
Jesus) 22) that as regards your former manner of life you are to put off the old man
which is being corrupted through its deceptive lusts.” – Ephesians 4:17-22.
True Christians are to “put off” their former ways of pagan practices and live
according to the truth that is in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Our beloved Apostle Paul had also written to the church in Corinth, as well as to us
──
“What then do I say? That what is sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is
anything? 20) No; but I say that what the Gentiles sacrifice, ‘they sacrifice to devils and not to God’; and I would not have become associates of devils. 21) You
CANNOT drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils; you CANNOT be
partakers of the table of the Lord and of the table of devils. 22) Or are we provoking
the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?” – 1 Corinthians 10:19-22.
So, to further counter Mr. Akin’s blasphemous answer, “So what?” ── from the very
source that apparently, he does not read or study, God’s living word tells us that we
are not to adopt what the Gentiles sacrifice and or celebrate, surely today
unknowingly, to demons.
This sometimes co-host of a podcast examining mysteries in the areas of the
paranormal, such as telepathy, ghost hunting, and ufology (who sits alongside Dom Bettinelli, both of whom
have as their mission exploring their Catholic faith and that of “pop culture”) also
wrote ──
Which pagan holiday? …Some sources link Christmas with the Roman holiday Saturnalia, which was a festival in honor of the god Saturn. …But there is a major problem claiming that Christmas is an alternative to Saturnalia. This Roman festival was originally celebrated Dec. 17, though by the time of the Republic it extended through Dec. 23. So, Christmas wasn’t held until after Saturnalia was over.
Well… we should consider that there are many “Christmas” parties before the 25th
of December. The ancient celebration of Saturnalia was celebrated for seven days,
starting officially on the 17th.
There should be NO EXCUSE to celebrate adopted pagan celebrations that are now
disguised as “Christian.” Notice that it would be false teachers who get in the way
of God’s living truth ── and this Jimmy Akin is a false teacher ──
“BUT there were false prophets also among the people, just as among you there will
be lying teachers who will bring in destructive sects. They even disown the Lord
who bought them, thus bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2) And many
will follow their wanton conduct, and because of them the Way of truth will be
maligned. 3) And OUT OF GREED they will with deceitful words use you for their gain. Their condemnation, passed of old, is not made void, and their destruction does
not slumber.” – 2 Peter 2:1-3.
So, in conclusion here ── those false teachers who teach that “Jesus is the reason
for the season” are lying teachers, deceiving and being deceived. Truly, those who
professed Christ and who observed and celebrated those Gentile holidays did not
pretend that they were celebrating “Christmas.” This term wasn’t even first used
until the 11th century, known as “Cristes mæsse.” The name combines “Christ,”
derived from the Greek “Christos,” and “mass,” referring to their religious service.
Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival originally celebrated on December 17, evolved
and influenced the development of Christmas. 2
The celebration and the keeping of Christmas are a distraction from what our Lord
God commands us to pursue ──
“’ But seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His justice, …’” – Matthew 6:33.
Christmas is not a CHRIST-CENTERED holiday.
We should always consider the living and eternal words of our Savior, Elder Brother,
and God ──
“Blessed are those who keep His commandments, that they may have the right to
eat of the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15) But excluded are
dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who
loves and devises a lie.” – Revelation 22:14-15, NET.
Which are you?
Are you one who keeps God’s holy and righteous commandments, or are you one
who loves and practices a lie ── the lie of Christmas? □
1) Webster M. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, “impossible” 1996,
pp 584.
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