O you who love the Lord, hate evil! – Psalm 97:10 ~ There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. – Proverbs 14:12
Why would any pastor teach scriptures unlawfully to make the Apostles agree that paganism can be christianized (Romans 14:5-6) except that they love these “holy” days of X Mass and Easter, and/or their children above God? Perhaps they have a fear of man or their wives. I have yet to hear a pastor or teacher who can show, with correct interpretation, scriptures that truly mean we have liberty to celebrate christianized pagan (an oxymoron) “holy” days. Why didn’t the Apostles agree to such a wicked thing when the converted former pagans of their day were burning to ashes all the books of their ungodly pagan worship (Acts 19:19)? Isn’t it adding to God’s Word to say it’s OK to christianize pagan holidays? Isn’t it subtracting from the Word to ignore scriptures warning us not to partake in pagan practices to worship God with (Deuteronomy 12; Jeremiah 10)? And isn’t it outright disobedience to God’s Word when we are told not to combine the holy with the unholy (Leviticus 10:10; Job 14:4); to touch not the unclean things (2 Corinthians 6:17); to have nothing to do with the things of idols (1 John 5:21)?
I find it quite interesting that pastors will, rightly so, condemn idolatry in the lives of Christians yet this time of year the tree goes up and is decorated to honor God just as it was done by pagans to honor their sun god though God clearly tells us not to do such a wicked thing in our worship of Him (Deuteronomy 12). And then there are apologetics ministries that wish everyone a “Merry Christmas” yet correctly condemns the ministry of Youth With a Mission’s mission of telling the indigenous peoples that the god they worship is actually the true God (supposedly following Paul’s example on Mars Hill). And they are vehemently against the seeker friendly tactics of increasing the numbers of mega churches yet that is what the Church of Rome did with the pagans’ gods to build up the numbers of converts beginning in the days of Constantine when they started to christianize their idols and feast days. They condemn yoga exercises by their congregants, as they should, but see nothing amiss in their Christ Mass celebrations with the pagan tree set up next to the pulpit where God’s holy Word is preached (Exodus 20:3).
Has anyone actually pondered why they are bringing into their house a tree to decorate? Why are they practicing all of these pagan traditions this time of year? Does it truly enhance the Gospel? Are they not telling God, the Holy Spirit, He needs the help of the Christmas spirit this time of year to make His Gospel known to the World? Do they truly believe that God will reward them and/or be pleased with their efforts? How does one worship the most holy God with disobedience? Even the Wiccans and most unbelievers know this is a pagan “holy” day and they laugh at the Christians with their syncretic worship of God. Is it any wonder that unregenerate people believe that Christianity came from paganism? That Jesus is just another god? That He is one of many ways to eternal life?
Christians who celebrate the Christ Mass are far from being set apart from the world at this time of year…
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That you might be justified in your sayings, and might overcome when you are judged
Should Christians Observe it? ~ Dr. Scott Johnson
Most pastors, teachers and Christians, believe that time has diminished the pagan meanings of X Mass. Has it really?
“The ‘Connection’ Has Been Broken” — There are those who clearly recognize the pagan nature of the various Christmas worship forms and practices. Nevertheless, many of these Christians claim that because of the long passage of time from their pagan inception to the present (6,000 years?), the “connection” to paganism has been sufficiently diminished to allow the adoption of these forms and practices into our Christian worship and celebration. While it may be true that most symbols have lost their original demonic meaning and significance in a modern society, it is strangely bizarre and ironic that Christendom seeks to commemorate Christ’s birth with the faded symbols of Satan. And even though some of God’s people may be naive and ignorant about the source of these things, surely God is not. Can such things please Him? And think about this — if it were possible to “disconnect” current practices from their pagan/occultic roots, why does Scripture not provide us any guidelines as to:
(a) how much time is necessary for the “neutralization”/disassociation process to occur; and
(b) which of the hundreds of ancient pagan rites would then be acceptable for adaptation into Christian worship (since some are obviously much more pagan/occultic than others)?
Read more here
“Divisions and separations are most objectionable in religion. They weaken the cause of true Christianity… But before we blame people for them, we must be careful that we lay the blame where it is deserved. False doctrine and heresy are even worse than schism. If people separate themselves from teaching that is positively false and unscriptural, they ought to be praised rather than reproved. In such cases separation is a virtue and not a sin.”
– J.C. Ryle
The X Mass Blog 