Living Catholicism

I just discovered this post. Good stuff. I agree whole-heartedly.

I totally disagree with this post. Christmas is a pagan holiday. It says so in the bible. If Christmas was sooo important to Jesus Christ, then why didn't he celebrate it? He speaks of Man's feast days. I think you should dig a little deeper as to what the gifts, trees, ornaments, etc...really mean and how it came about.

What I don't get is people are teaching their children these lies and when they grow up and start lieing to "YOU", you get upset and wonder where it come from. Well, you planted that spirit in them when they were young!

LOL! Give me a break, I can't believe people call themselves "christians" and reading the bible, but yet they still go against what God told us NOT to do. He don't want us to be "worldy". We are suppose to seperate from what the world is doing.

If you're focusing on the spiritual aspect of it, why not teach your kids the TRUTH instead of filling their heads with lies that it's Jesus Christ birthday!...God don't deal with fairytales, and fairytales are lies.

Wow, Anonymous, sounds like someone's been filling your head with lies. I recommend you take a look at our apologetics blog, DeoOmnisGloria.com. Suffice it to say that you don't know if Jesus celebrated Christmas or not. The Bible plainly says that not everything was written down. But, we can be sure of one thing: in Matthew 16:18 Jesus Christ started His Church and promised that it would not fail, ever. The Catholic Church is open to you - I challenge you to take a look and consider that it was founded by Christ unlike the church you currently attend.

Also, one other thing the Bible says in John 6. We must eat Jesus' flesh and drink His blood to have life in us. Do you follow this command?

Since the earliest times Christians have been celebrating Christ's birth and death. It would be absolutely ridiculous not to, since we are followers of Him. Christmas is a valid holiday - God took many things which were initially pagan and turned them to good. Baptism is a great example of a pagan act that God sanctified and made into a holy Christian sacrament.

Come home to the Catholic Church.

God bless,
Jay

Someone filling my head with lies?...nahhh, I read sweety and I do my research....It looks like MAN has misguided you and filled you with lies. If you would do your research as well, you will find the truth too. I'm not a christian or Catholic. I am a Sabbath keeper so I don't attend church on Sunday's. You have heard of the Sabbath right? Do you observe them? Do you observe ANY of Jesus Christ Holy Days he speaks of in the bible? i.e. Passover, Unleavening Bread, Feast of Trumpets, Feast of Tabernacles, and so on...THESE are the days he want us to observe NOT man's feast days....

Anyway, if you want to celebrate Christmas, then that's YOUR right to do. I don't have a problem with it. I have a problem when people twist the word of God to make it seem like it's OK to do it. And where does it say where God took the pagan Christmas holiday and turned it good? Where does it say that? And what does John 6 has to do with Christmas?

There is nowhere in the scripture where we are commanded to celebrate Christ's birth, therefore, we should not....

Let me give you a little history here:

I hear people ask me this, "Why do you not celebrate Christmas (transgress the traditions of our elders)?". Nowhere in the pages of scripture do we find a command to keep the celebration of Christmas. Nowhere in the pages of scripture do we find an example of any disciple keeping Christmas. The only time Christmas is even mentioned in the pages of scripture is to condemn it. So, my answer to this question would be, "Why do YOU also transgress the commandment of God because of YOUR tradition?".

Matt 15:1,3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 "For God commanded, saying, `Honor your father and your mother'; and, `He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' 5 "But you say, `Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

This was an example of how the scribes and Pharisees forsook the commandment of God in favor of their tradition. As I will share, Christmas is also transgressing the commandment of God in favor of tradition. What does Jesus think about this?

In verse 7,"Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 `These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with [their] lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching [as] doctrines the commandments of men."

Christmas is honoring with the lips but it is one of many vain doctrines and commandments of men. Again, there is not a single scripture in the bible that tells us that we are to celebrate the birth nor the resurrection of Jesus Christ the Messiah. Let alone in a pagan way!

So yes, I do believe we must question these traditions that have been handed down to this generation even though few dare to. Many Christians speak against the Catholic traditions of Lent, Ash Wednesday, etc. but fail to recognize that the same types of pagan elements exist in the celebration of Christmas and Easter! But how did these festivals get their start?

Today, Christmas is a very popular holiday. However, as is often the case, what is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular. Christmas means 'mass for Christ'. The name of the holiday is much newer than the holiday itself. The customs associated with Christmas, in one form or another, have been celebrated for literally thousands of years. 'Christmas' is just a new name for an old holiday.

There is no doubt that the customs that are associated with Christmas, as well as the idea of a deity being born on December 25th are of pagan origin. One need only look to an encyclopedia or even many local newspapers in the 12th month of the year to find this truth. The real issue is whether or not we should walk in these customs. So what is so bad about it? Is it just for the children? What should we be teaching our children? Truth or lies?

The truth is that the Messiah was not born on December 25th. December 25th is the birthday of nearly every pagan god ever invented! In fact, the pagan customs associated with Christmas are clearly condemned in the scriptures. Paganism/Idolatry is something that is against God. If we know that the roots of Christmas are of pagan origin, shouldn't the roots of our worship be in the scriptures, rather than paganism? Consider the scriptures that I will quote that clearly proclaim that the keeping of these festivals is sinful. However, for now I ask that you seek this out for yourself. God's people should always seek the truth. Consider these scriptures:

Jere 10:1 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord: "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple.

First of all, the Lord is telling us in this verse "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles" Don't even learn it, let alone practice it and incorporate it into the worship of the Lord! Secondly, it says that the Gentiles were dismayed at the signs of heaven. History tells us that when the sun began to go further away from the earth and the days grew shorter in the winter, the sun worshipping Gentiles were "dismayed", and feared that the sun would not return. So they held certain festivals just after the time of the Winter Solstice when it did begin to return. This return of the sun is why December 25th is the birthday of so many solar deities. One of the customs the pagans has was to decorate a tree that they had cut down and fasten it so that would not topple. The Lord tells us not to learn the way of the heathen. And here He even goes so far as describe a custom that is a way of the heathen. Yet, we see this same custom exist even today which is called the Christmas tree. Have you ever wondered why in the world someone would do something as strange as cut down a tree and put it in their house and then decorate it with all different types of ornaments? Not only is it odd, it is wrong. This custom, along with other pagan customs like it are clearly condemned in this passage. We don't need a prophet to come and tell us today that this custom is wrong. Jeremiah said so a long time ago!

This custom, along with other pagan customs like it are clearly condemned in this passage. Other customs include Mistletoe, the Yule log and Santa Claus. If you seek, you will find that these things are rooted in idolatry also.

All over the world, Santa Claus is God to the children of the world (move the n to the end of Santa). Others say 'Father Christmas'. Parents purposely and deliberately lie to their children and tell them that they should fear Santa Claus because "he knows if you've been bad or good". These same parents also lie to their children about the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy. Then they wonder why their children become liars and don't believe the Messiah is real later on in life. This is clearly a total abomination to the Lord. You don't have to look very far in the word of the Lord to find out how much he loathes idolatry and lies. The Lord is the only true Mighty One. Our children look to us and believe every word we say. Do they not deserve the truth? How abominable it is for a believer to teach their children to fear Santa Claus and in so doing creep an idol into the conscience of a child!

So in closing Jay, I will say this:

The very foundation of the Christmas holiday is a lie. The Messiah was not born December 25th. He did not ask us to celebrate his birthday. He did not say to set up a tree in our house and decorate it and our houses with anything. Santa Claus does not exist. He doesn't have reindeer that fly and he isn't going to come on December 25th and leave any gifts. Everything is a lie. Is Jesus the originator of this holiday? Or is it the father of lies? Jesus Christ condemned the leaders of that generation for teaching lies:

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Anonymous,
Where does Scripture say it is the basis of truth? Where does the Bible claim sola scriptura?

The answer is: it doesn't. In fact the Bible says numerous times that we have to obey the written word (Scripture) and the oral word (Tradition) passed on through the Catholic Church, which Jesus founded in Matthew 16:18. The Catholic Church, which the Bible calls the "pillar and foundation of truth" in 1 Tim 3:15, has the authority and responsibility to pass the oral tradition down to us through the years.

In fact, the Bible didn't exist for almost 400 years after the death of Christ. The Catholic Church compiled it in 395 A.D. and until then they had only oral tradition in the form of the Church's teachings along with some of Scripture. There are mutiple things not explicitly taught in Scripture: popular election of pastors (in Scripture the Church chooses pastors), the Trinity, sola scriptura, Sunday church, etc.

Sola Scriptura, which you are espousing, is the absolute silliest belief, since you can't even have a church service strictly through Scripture. The concept was an invention of Martin Luther that didn't come around for 1,500 years after Christ's death. Which belief is "man-made"? Yours is.

Please go see Deo Omnis Gloria, it's an apologetics site. This is a Catholic family site that's not oriented toward apologetics.

God bless,
Jay

Sola Scritura? ha!..give me a break. Where you get that from? Jay...I see that you are still dancing around the truth....Are you reading the King James bible?...or do Catholics have a different book they go by?....If you are going by the KJ, then you need to stop adding and twisting the words in the bible to suit your wrong doings....

Also those scriptures you quoted Matthew 16:18 & 1 Tim 3:15, first of all the "church" is YOU...Your body is the church, the temple...not a building. Secondly, I'm not disputing the fact that you "shouldn't" go to church because that is YOUR belief...can't change that.

Oh my goodness, how can you say that what I believe is MAN-MADE when all I did was simply quoted scriptures to BACK-UP what the truth says...Can you do that?...no!...So you're saying God's word is Man-Made? I see that you are still completely ignoring the fact that Christmas is a MAN-MADE, pagan holiday!....

In closing, I respect you for what you believe in...I just wish people would respect other people who don't believe in Holidays.....You have to look at it Jay,...The Devil is a counterfiter, (excuse my spelling), he is a Liar and a thief!....He tries to mock everything that God has set man to do and he turned around and twisted it to make it fairseeming to God's people.....but don't think not one minute that God is ok with it. That is why we should research and ask God to guide us to the truth, not Man!

That's it folks . . . rant and rave on. Hasn't
9-11 taught us anything? People can quote scriptures of all sorts to make any point that suits them. When it's all said and done, however, what's the result? You go your way, convinced that I don't what I'm talking about, and I go my way with the same feeling. Can we just have a moment of sanity here? When I was a kid, my folks taught my sister and me the meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ. Was Christ born on December 25th . . . I dunno . . . why all the emphasis on the date? This is what the pharisees were all about: everything according to the rules, all the ducks in a row. So, let the kids enjoy the day, leave Jesus in the equation, and can we just stop the silly squabbling.

There is plenty of information outside of the bible that if one is so inclined to find it will let anyone know that Christmas is a pagan holiday with hidden motives and none of them have to do with honoring Jesus.

But all that aside, lets look at it with a little common sense. What if your friends planned a birthday party for you. They just pick anyday and say thats going to be your birthday. They set up all kinds of activities many that you would not approve of, but its for your birthday. Then they give gifts to each other and none to you.

What a birthday!

I don't want to get into the debate about what is right and wrong about celebrating Christmas, but if you are interested in building your children's faith while preserving the joy and excitement of the "Santa" experience, there is a book that might interest you. It is entitled "Your Child and Santa: Help with the Christian Parent's dilemma" Here is a readers review copied from Amazon.com.

"I was given this book by a thoughtful friend who remembered a conversation we had regarding teaching children about Christmas and Santa Claus. My three-year-old was attending preschool, and her teachers were supplying Santa Claus crafts and reading books about reindeer and elves. Meanwhile, she was learning about Baby Jesus through her Sunday school classes and at home as we read to her about the story of Jesus' birth and pretended with a nativity set. It felt like a conflict of interests. I thought, "What does Santa Claus have to do with the birth of Christ?" I found myself becoming anti-Santa Claus. I was rebelling against the tradition with which I was raised in order to support what I felt was the true meaning of Christmas. I was close to ruining a wonderful experience for my child and her younger brother.

Mr. Glenn Norfleet, in his book, Your Child and Santa, has changed my view on our present day Christmas as he clarifies how Santa Claus came into being. He details the existence of Saint Nicholas, a young priest (and later bishop) and heir to a large fortune in Greece (present day Turkey) during the second and third centuries AD, and how he became a saint because of his extraordinary and anonymous generosity to the needy, sick, and suffering, especially children. His tradition of loving and caring for others is the basis for our present day Santa Claus. Mr. Norfleet explains how this process evolved and how we can teach our children to carry on this spirit of love without compromising our Christian principles. He recommends many detailed activities for different ages to help teach your child about this tradition of generosity and love.

This book is easy to follow; yet, it has a depth of understanding that is incredibly well-researched and beautifully written. If you struggle with how to incorporate Santa Claus into the season of the holy birth, then I highly recommend this book for you".

The problem is people keep getting their celebrations mixed up with Christmas.
The winter solstice which is celebrated on 21st Dec and is based on the seasons and nature, therefore it is called the winter feast and all the symbolism of fir trees, mistletoe, holly and ivy come from this winter feast and have no connection to Christs birthday whatsoever!
As a serious Christain it is offensive to suggest that these are Christian things, because all people should celebrate the winter feast regardless of their religion.
To make matters worse the feast day of St Nick (Santa Claus)is mixed in with all of this when
in fact St Nicks day is 6th of Dec and shouldn't be celebrated on 25th Dec!

This reminds me of a Baptist women who's son married a Catholic, much to her horror. When their first child was three Grammy told her that Jesus could not come into her heart because Santa was there. A three year old goes not understand the concept of Santa being in her heart or Jesus.
Do you really think God is insulted by a three year olds fasination with a jolly old man who brings presents to good little kids? I think God is bigger than that.

now that we have access to all kinds of information, not just that which is spoon fed to Us, I've been able to read about the Origins of Santa Claus. I'll celebrate Christmas this year but as I did last year, I'll give a few gifts to my 4 kids and hug them closer, secure in the knowledge that Satan Claus won't be coming to my house.