In defense of Christmas?

[ColleenEH]

I’m a young adult and a practicing Catholic and find myself getting upset with the drivel that people post on social networking sites like Facebook. I’m not outspoken and I don’t like to get in religious arguments but I have a family member who is a staunch atheist and who always feels the need to post something anti-Christian (interestingly enough, he was an over-the-top “born-again” Christian in college but has since done a complete 180).

Anyway, the latest is a post detailing the pagan “influences” of Christmas and mocking the “keep Christ in Christmas” sentiment. I wish I knew how to respond, but I just feel helpless and not at all eloquent enough. Should I even bother? Maybe it’s just better to unfriend this person? I feel like I should say something to defend my faith but I also feel intimidated initiating an argument.

 

[TimothyH]

Love him. Bake him cookies. That is how Christians respond, not with arguments.

-Tim-

 

[Nita]

The origins of Dec. 25th to celebrate Christ’s birth are not known for certain.
For your own information it would be good to read the entire entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia titled “Christmas”.
For the part that pertains to pagan feast days, scroll half way down to the section titled “Natalis Invicti”.

newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm

And, regarding his post "detailing the pagan ‘influences of Christmas’ " – you might tell him it’s actually more like the opposite. When Christianity assumed that date to celebrate Christ’s birth, they “influenced” the pagan feast day – influenced it entirely/completely, so that all aspects of the feast day became Christian.

 

[JonNC]

I’m a young adult and a practicing Catholic and find myself getting upset with the drivel that people post on social networking sites like Facebook. I’m not outspoken and I don’t like to get in religious arguments but I have a family member who is a staunch atheist and who always feels the need to post something anti-Christian (interestingly enough, he was an over-the-top “born-again” Christian in college but has since done a complete 180).

Anyway, the latest is a post** detailing the pagan “influences” of Christmas and mocking the “keep Christ in Christmas” sentiment. **I wish I knew how to respond, but I just feel helpless and not at all eloquent enough. Should I even bother? Maybe it’s just better to unfriend this person? I feel like I should say something to defend my faith but I also feel intimidated initiating an argument.

Maybe we influenced the pagans, instead.
As for the mocking, fear not. It is the Holy Spirit that keeps Christ in Christmas. we just listen to Him.

Jon

 

[onceablasphemer]

I’m a young adult and a practicing Catholic and find myself getting upset with the drivel that people post on social networking sites like Facebook. I’m not outspoken and I don’t like to get in religious arguments but I have a family member who is a staunch atheist and who always feels the need to post something anti-Christian (interestingly enough, he was an over-the-top “born-again” Christian in college but has since done a complete 180).

Anyway, the latest is a post detailing the pagan “influences” of Christmas and mocking the “keep Christ in Christmas” sentiment. I wish I knew how to respond, but I just feel helpless and not at all eloquent enough. Should I even bother? Maybe it’s just better to unfriend this person? I feel like I should say something to defend my faith but I also feel intimidated initiating an argument.

You don’t have to unfriend him, just unsubscribe from his posts. He’ll never know. Then pray for him. Pray pray pray. I get the feeling most atheists speak out against Christianity in order to convince themselves that they are right.

 

[Nimzovik]

Send him one of those really gaudy huge Elvis Christmas blowup yard decorations and comment how the Pagans are still trying to influence Christmas today. So what’s new?

 

[red85]

The word “Christmas” has origin from the words, “Christ Mass.” Christ is already in the word 'Christmas."

I am not familiar with the pagan practices that may have originally been celebrated on Dec 25th, but I am fairly sure that the pagans didn’t influenced “Christmas.” The early Christians were apprehensive of anything pagan. They held liturgical celebrations in court-houses, avoiding temples because of their pagan associations.

You might tell your friend the pagan influence on the Christian faith that far back in time when Christmas was established is highly unlikely. It is more likely that Christianity influenced and uprooted pagan practices, choosing to sanctify Dec 25 by remembering and celebrating the birth of our Lord. Christianity has a rich history of martyrs who died for their faith, rather than compromise their principles for pagan influences, which only lends credence to my early statement, that Christianity more likely uprooted and replaced pagan practices.

People say to pray for others, but I believe in confrontation in addition to prayer. I converted more thoroughly to Catholicism because good Christian men stood up to me, ripped my erroneous views apart, and left me in better shape to appreciate life, truth, and Christ. If you think a good argument has a chance of correcting your relative, go for it. Be prudent, however. You can gauge well enough if someone can be persuaded or if he’s simply out to provoke and has no intention of changing. Consider, pray, and act accordingly.

 

[1AugustSon7]

I’m a young adult and a practicing Catholic and find myself getting upset with the drivel that people post on social networking sites like Facebook. I’m not outspoken and I don’t like to get in religious arguments but I have a family member who is a staunch atheist and who always feels the need to post something anti-Christian (interestingly enough, he was an over-the-top “born-again” Christian in college but has since done a complete 180).

Anyway, the latest is a post detailing the pagan “influences” of Christmas and mocking the “keep Christ in Christmas” sentiment. I wish I knew how to respond, but I just feel helpless and not at all eloquent enough. Should I even bother? Maybe it’s just better to unfriend this person? I feel like I should say something to defend my faith but I also feel intimidated initiating an argument.

Well, his argument at most begets a great big “so what?” Defining “pagan influences” is impossible anyways, seeing as any date on the calendar could have significance in any “pagan” religion, and consequently by this logic would make choosing any date evidence of some sort of a corruption. Moreover, the Church often deliberately picked dates to supplant and replace pagan feasts in order to remove a source of temptation. To this day inculturation is a policy of the Church that involves discriminating between things innocuous or harmless (having a religious celebration on some day or days of the year) and things vicious (including human sacrifices in those religious celebrations/feasts/rites). The former can be retained, the latter cannot.

Consider that it appears from the OT that Jews may have been originally forbidden (or at least extremely suspicious of) the use of agricultural products in offerings/worship (cf. Cain and Abel). This makes sense seeing as the Hebrews were originally depicted as a nomadic or pastoral people until after the Exodus and settlement into the Promised Land. Over time, however, the cycle of harvests that is crucially important in the life of agricultural societies began to be incorporated into the religious life of Israel, but the concern remained that this might be an occassion of religious perversion via adoption of the profane or foreign religious rites of Israel’s neighbours that were associated with such cycles. Ultimately they were included, which of course is fine so long as it doesn’t include worshipping Baal or offering your children in fire along with your grain harvest.