Thursday, December 08, 2005
Q.I.D.
And now... the rest of the story.
You see, having successfully demonstrated that the relationships between the ancient pagan festivals and our current celebration of Christmas are tenuous at best, with as much historical support to tie December 25 to the actual birth of Christ as anything else, I am now free to draw a number of conclusions. While everyone seems eager to jump on the bah humbug bandwagon once they see the coincidence of dates aligning, few are willing to reconcile with the fact that our current traditions bear almost no resemblance to the practices of the ancient, classical or medieval periods. What people fail to see is a cultural holiday developed by writers like Washington Irving and Charles Dickens in the 19th century as a family-oriented day of "peace on earth and good will toward men."
Is there anything wrong with that? I would argue that there is no more significance to celebrating Jesus' birth on December 25 than there is to having Bible study on a Thursday, which was named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder, who replaced Jupiter, the Roman god of thunder. Bible study... good. Celebrating Jesus' birth... good. Is it OK if Bible study incorporates some other pagan customs? Sure! Let's drink coffee, sing songs, and play games, too. Can we do pagan stuff at Christmas? Absolutely! Let's just remember whether we eat, drink or be merry, it's all to the glory of God.
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You see, having successfully demonstrated that the relationships between the ancient pagan festivals and our current celebration of Christmas are tenuous at best, with as much historical support to tie December 25 to the actual birth of Christ as anything else, I am now free to draw a number of conclusions. While everyone seems eager to jump on the bah humbug bandwagon once they see the coincidence of dates aligning, few are willing to reconcile with the fact that our current traditions bear almost no resemblance to the practices of the ancient, classical or medieval periods. What people fail to see is a cultural holiday developed by writers like Washington Irving and Charles Dickens in the 19th century as a family-oriented day of "peace on earth and good will toward men."
Is there anything wrong with that? I would argue that there is no more significance to celebrating Jesus' birth on December 25 than there is to having Bible study on a Thursday, which was named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder, who replaced Jupiter, the Roman god of thunder. Bible study... good. Celebrating Jesus' birth... good. Is it OK if Bible study incorporates some other pagan customs? Sure! Let's drink coffee, sing songs, and play games, too. Can we do pagan stuff at Christmas? Absolutely! Let's just remember whether we eat, drink or be merry, it's all to the glory of God.
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Comments:
q.i.d. (?)
abbreviation for the Latin phrase
"quater in die" (four times a day)
Don't you mean...
Q.E.D.
abbreviation for the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum" (that which was to be demonstrated) a notation which is often placed at the end of a mathematical proof to indicate its completion.>
abbreviation for the Latin phrase
"quater in die" (four times a day)
Don't you mean...
Q.E.D.
abbreviation for the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum" (that which was to be demonstrated) a notation which is often placed at the end of a mathematical proof to indicate its completion.>
Yes... in the spirit of eating meat which has been sacrificed to idols. Is the idol anything? Paul says no. I think we have the freedom to participate in any activity or celebration (such as decorating a Christmas tree or carving a Jack-O-Lantern) that a pagan would provided that it DOES NOT:
(A) violate the Word of God
(B) betray the character of God
(C) trip up the people of God
Check out Romans 14:5-9.>
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(A) violate the Word of God
(B) betray the character of God
(C) trip up the people of God
Check out Romans 14:5-9.>
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