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Christmas Is Not
Biblical
There is no New Testament
evidence that Christ was born on December. Indeed, winters in Israel can be very severe.
So when Christ prophesied the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70), He urged
the disciples to escape before winter (Matt. 24:20). Famous for their
administrative efficiency, the Romans would not decree the 'taxing' or census (Lk.
2:1-3) at a time when travel might be difficult. It probably occurred after
harvest time, before the onset of bad weather. Thus Christ was probably born in
early autumn.
PAGAN ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS
'Christmas Day' resulted from an attempt to
'Christianize' the pagan mid-winter festival. In honour of Sol, the sun god, all
kinds of grotesque merriment were encouraged during the wild celebrations of the
Roman Saturnalia. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, 'The well-known solar
feast of Natalis Invicta celebrated on 25th December, has a strong claim on the
responsibility for our Christmas date.' Initiated by 'Pope' Julius I* (AD
337-52), 'Christmas' was the result of a growing tendency of the Roman Church to
meet paganism half-way. This Christianized paganism brought its obvious
problems. Many people identified Jesus with Sol! Augustine lamented the
continuing confusion and 'Pope' Leo I* bitterly reproved it.
However, the unholy alliance between Christ's
birth and pagan customs became entrenched. Christmas trees, mistletoe and yule
logs all have pagan significance. They have nothing to do with the birth of
Christ. By the late twentieth century, the real message of Christ has been
suffocated by neo-pagan materialism. The mid-winter romp is making nonsense of
the thin veneer of Christian symbolism.
BIBLICAL TEACHING
All this is in glaring contradiction to the
Bible. While Old Testament Judaism was structured around a religious calendar,
New Testament Christianity dispensed with it. The Apostle Paul specifically
argues against the idea (see Gal. 4:10-11; Col. 2:16-17).
Furthermore, the observation of special days
is a sign of spiritual immaturity (Rom.14:1-5). Significantly, Christ Himself
only ever commanded the remembrance of His death in the Lord's Supper (Lk.
22:19).
CONSISTENT AND CHEERFUL CHRISTIANITY
Plainly, it is time to call it a day - an
ordinary day! If Christmas is without a true Christian basis, it should be
scrapped. However, some objections need to be met.
While Jehovah's Witnesses ban Christmas, they
throw the baby out with the bath water by denying the deity of Christ. My
arguments must not be confused with their anti-Christian
heresy. For those who stress the value of the church calendar for balanced
Christian teaching, the Apostles managed quite well without it. To argue that
Christmas provides opportunity for preaching the gospel is to adopt a false
agenda.
Should we use an unbiblical method to promote
the Biblical gospel? We need no seasonal excuse to preach the gospel (2 Tim.
4:2). The abolition of Christmas does not imply a negative, cheerless or selfish
life-style either (1 Tim. 6:17-18). Exchanging gifts (Lk. 11:13) and enjoying
social occasions (Lk. 14:16) simply do not need requirements like Christmas to
justify them. Indeed, the whole of life is meant to be a celebration of the gift
of Christ to the world (Jn. 3:16). May we demonstrate this in the true liberty
of the Gospel!
Dr Alan C. Clifford,
Pastor, Norwich Reformed Church
NB: the two popes mentioned* have their titles
in quotation marks because the title only started 'properly' in 607 AD (Boniface
III).
Links to related articles on
Christmas holiday origins:
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