With so much information at our fingertips, via the Internet, I'll admit that I am a bit confused about what to do with Christmas this year. I've heard some different things about the origin of the Christmas tree and I was wondering about your view on all of this. Please leave a thought in the comment box, and don't worry, I promise not to judge :)
*Image provided by http://www.mobilewaiter.net/San_Diego_Christmas_Tree_Delivery.php
6 comments:
Well, I have been learning a little bit about the Christmas tree and why it was brought into Christmas. I will try to relay as best to my knowledge without being to long. Christmas began back when pretty much the culture was over all christian (at that time Catholic), so much so that they would enforce everyone to be so. WIth that they recognized the birth of Christ and decided to make a holy day to celebrate it. Which was called Christ Mass. Everyone was expected to participate in the holy mass day. So people from other cultures would have to participate and they started adding their believes along with it. Which was pagan practices like worshiping trees and offering gifts to the trees that they believed as a god.
It bothered me at first that we now have a tree in out house that was used as a symbol to worship other gods. But I was talking to Benjamin and we concluded that trees come from God a lone. Our intensions have never been to worship the tree. We both have prayed and asked God to bless the intensions of our Christmas tree and recognizing that trees come from HIm. And that we praise Him alone for the beauty and charm of our Christmas tree. I hope I offered something to consider. =) I hope you find your solution Himilce! Love you =)
Im sorry, one more thing =) What was once intended for evil WE can turn it around for good. Facts: the Christmas tree is a pagan tradition. We have the blessed privilege to live in America. As a christian nation it is the tradition to have Christmas trees. We ourselves have to decide how we use this holiday. To worship God? To become secular? No, everything we do must be unto God. EVERYTHING of this world is subject to God.
Thank you for your thoughts, Elizabeth.
I thought this post called 'In Defense of Christmas' was interesting. In it she explains what the Jeremiah passage means. Personally I don't think Christmas trees are wrong.
Here is an excerpt from her post:
... What about Christmas trees?
Jeremiah 10:2-4 says:
"Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not."
Is this speaking of Christmas trees? Let us not go to the word of man, but dig in deeper in God's inerrant, perfectly preserved, pure Word, and find out what Jeremiah 10 is describing. Let us now go to Isaiah 4:13-17:
"The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god."
And Isaiah 41:7:
"So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved."
Putting Jeremiah 10:2-4, Isaiah 44:13-17, and Isaiah 41:7 together we see that it is not saying that the heathen cut down trees, decorated them, and put presents under the trees. No. It is telling us the details of how many of the common idols of the day were fashioned. They were carved and shaped out of wood, then covered over with sheets of metal, such as "silver spread into plates" (Jeremiah 10:9). By the time this idol-making process was complete, it no longer resembled a tree, but a figurine or statue, dedicated to some false god.
Her post covers much more but I liked this explanation of the passage in Jeremiah.
I also wanted to thank you for the kind comment you left for me on my living room post. (o:
Blessings,
~Mrs.B
Go to http://www.biblicalapologetics.net and look up their case for christmas. It helped me alot last year when my inlaws decided not to do christmas, and as my FIL tends to think everyone will follow his lead ( thankfully though, they didn't pressure us or my SIL- I hate rifts) I needed to figure this out for myself, not just be told by someone else.
They have scripture references to go along with each of the points.
Hope this helps!
Thank you ladies, for your thoughts. Mrs. B, I read that article and thought it was very good, thank you. Mrs. Bonnie, I couldn't find the link on the apologetics website.
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