Ceil-1;
said:
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. Historian Augustus Neander writes: “The notion of a birthday festival was far from the ideas of the Christians of this period.” (The History of the Christian Religion and Church, During the Three First Centuries, translated by H. J. Rose, 1848, p. 190) “Origen [a writer of the third century C.E.] . . . insists that ‘of all the holy people in the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day on which they were born into this world below.’”—The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913, Vol. X, p. 709.[/SIGN]
Easter, Christmas, It is the Church’s aim and task to “baptize” all things and “Chirstianize” them. It worked, too.
(Romans 15:3-4) 4*For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.
please notice how God feels about “accepting” or “Chirstianizing” unclean worship.
(Deuteronomy 7:1-11) 7
“When Jehovah your God at last brings you into the land to which you are going so as to take possession of it, he must also clear away populous nations from before you, the Hit′tites and the Gir′ga·shites and the Am′or·ites and the Ca′naan·ites and the Per′iz·zites and the Hi′vites and the Jeb′u·sites, seven nations more populous and mighty than you are. 2 And Jehovah your God will certainly abandon them to you, and you must defeat them. You should without fail devote them to destruction. You must conclude no covenant with them nor show them any favor. 3** And you must form no marriage alliance with them**. Your daughter you must not give to his son, and his daughter you must not take for your son. 4 For he will turn your son from following me, and they will certainly serve other gods; and Jehovah’s anger will indeed blaze against YOU, and he will certainly annihilate you in a hurry. 5 “On the other hand, this is what YOU should do to them: Their altars YOU should pull down, and their
sacred pillars YOU should break down, and their sacred poles YOU should cut down, and their **graven images **YOU should burn with fire. 6 For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God. It is you Jehovah your God has chosen to become his people, a special property, out of all the peoples that are on the surface of the ground. 7 “It was not because of YOUR being the most populous of all the peoples that Jehovah showed affection for YOU so that he chose YOU, for YOU were the least of all the peoples. 8 But it was because of Jehovah’s loving YOU, and because of his keeping the sworn statement that he had sworn to YOUR forefathers, that Jehovah brought YOU out with a strong hand, that he might redeem you from the house of slaves, from the hand of Phar′aoh the king of Egypt.
ALSO,…
(Judges 2:2)
And for YOUR part, YOU must not conclude a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. Their altars YOU should pull down.’ But YOU have not listened to my voice. Why have YOU done this?
Again Paul said as he quoted from Isa “Get out from among them!”
*
(Isaiah 52:11) Turn away, turn away, get out of there, touch nothing unclean; get out from the midst of her, keep yourselves clean, YOU who are carrying the utensils of Jehovah.
(Jeremiah 51:45) “Get out of the midst of her, O my people, and provide each one his soul with escape from the burning anger of Jehovah.
(Revelation 18:4) And I heard another voice out of heaven say: “Get out of her, my people, if YOU do not want to share with her in her sins, and if YOU do not want to receive part of her plagues.*
Conclusion:
True Christians have something finer than unchristian religious celebrations. They have the “fruitage of the spirit,” which is “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22, 23)
This fruitage produces a generosity that is much more beautiful and genuine than the “Christmas spirit” that blooms just once a year. God’s spirit produces kindness and unselfishness that can plainly be seen every day of the year. This prompts Christians to give, not with the hope of repayment or because they are pressured into it, but out of genuine Christian love.—Luke 6:35, 36; Acts 20:35.
Real Christians can give gifts and have good times together throughout the year. (Luke 6:38) Parents do not have to wait for birthdays or for Christmas, but they can bring gifts to their children at various times during the year. **This makes for many happy occasions instead of one or two. Further, the children know that it is their parents who are giving them the gifts, doing so out of love for them. This helps to cement the bond of love between parents and children. **Moreover, children are not encouraged to be unthankful to man or God, because of thinking that they are entitled to receive gifts on certain days.—Colossians 3:14.
Learning the truth about the pagan origins of popular customs can have a marvelous liberating effect. No longer do we feel obligated to follow practices that have proved to be a burden, financially and otherwise, to people of the world. And, most important, our knowing the truth frees us to pursue the course that is pleasing to Jehovah, so that we may find everlasting life in his righteous new system.—John 8:32; Romans 6:21, 22.
