xmas is a secular holiday

[Araninski]

Originally Posted by **edwest2
**
Oh boy, here we go again. Christmas is modeled on a pagan holiday.

catholic.com/library/Is_C…cism_Pagan.asp

Please folks. If you claim something is true, post a link to a reliable source. There have been other statements made over the years that other things Catholics do or have are modeled on pagan things or events.

Regards,
Ed

I didn’t meant to discredit the Catholic Church nor mainstream Christianity, whatever. I didn’t say Mainstream Christianity nor the Catholic Church worships the sun god. I said that Mainstream Christianity worships God in the ways He doesn’t want because He knows this ways are the ways He didn’t thought, He know they have pagan origin. The Jews committed this same mistake.

It is a fact that Romans worshiped the sun god on the winter solstice on 25 of December and for many other traditions.

Brumalia (Roman Kingdom)

Influenced by the Ancient Greek Lenaia festival, Brumalia was an ancient Roman solstice festival honoring Bacchus, generally held for a month and ending December 25. The festival included drinking and merriment. The name is derived from the Latin word bruma, meaning “shortest day” or “winter solstice”. The festivities almost always occurred on the night of December 24.

Taken from Wikipedia.

Sol Invictus Festival (3rd century Roman Empire)

Sol Invictus (“the undefeated Sun”) or, more fully, Deus Sol Invictus (“the undefeated sun god”) was a religious title that allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god of Emperor Aurelian; and Mithras, a soldiers’ god of Persian origin. Emperor Elagabalus (218–222) introduced the festival of the birth of the Unconquered Sun (or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti) to be celebrated on December 25, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday. With the growing popularity of the Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth came to be given much of the recognition previously given to a sun god, thereby including Christ in the tradition. This was later condemned by the early Catholic Church for associating Christ with pagan practices.[citation needed]

Taken from Wikipedia.

If you check there are THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of pagan traditions which celebrate their sun gods, on the winter solstice. And we keep celebrating the Messiah’s birthday on a pagan date. Even Catholic Scholars agree on this.

Constantine did not patronize Christianity alone, however. After gaining victory in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, a triumphal arch—the Arch of Constantine—was built to celebrate; the arch is decorated with images of Victoria and sacrifices to gods like Apollo, Diana, or Hercules, but contains no Christian symbolism. In 321, Constantine instructed that Christians and non-Christians should be united in observing the “venerable day of the sun”, referencing the esoteric eastern sun-worship which Aurelian had helped introduce, and his coinage still carried the symbols of the sun-cult until 324. Even after the pagan gods had disappeared from the coinage, Christian symbols appear only as Constantine’s personal attributes: the chi rho between his hands or on his labarum, but never on the coin itself.[206] Even when Constantine dedicated the new capital of Constantinople, which became the seat of Byzantine Christianity for a millennium, he did so wearing the Apollonian sun-rayed Diadem.

Taken from Wikipedia.

Constantine continued believing in the pagan sun god and "Constantine instructed that Christians and non-Christians should be united in observing the “venerable day of the sun”. This is blasphemy. This is not Christian. God says He doesn’t want to be compared, worshiped, or displayed like other pagan gods. Constantine also condemned the celebration of “Jewish Holidays” which in fact are God’s Holidays ,He gave us.

Again I am not saying all Christianity is pagan and worshiping pagan gods am just saying we have inherited pagan god worshiping style, which is according to God’s laws bad. Most of the Christians do this in innocence, but I do think we should do something about this.

Yahweh bless.

 

[seeker57]

The question I have is, why does any of this really matter?

The fact the celebration now known as Christmas started as the Roman Saturnalia is not news.

penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/calendar/saturnalia.html

Were I Christian, what I would find important was that the celebration was adopted and amended to become a Christian celebration (by about the 4th Century) and is now a celebration of the beginnings of a man to whom Christians assign divinity and whose impact has been global.

I give Christmas tacit acknowledgment because it is customary in our culture - and I like the decorations.

 

[Araninski]

Originally Posted by seeker57

The question I have is, why does any of this really matter?

The fact the celebration now known as Christmas started as the Roman Saturnalia is not news.

penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/…aturnalia.html

Were I Christian, what I would find important was that the celebration was adopted and amended to become a Christian celebration (by about the 4th Century) and is now a celebration of the beginnings of a man to whom Christians assign divinity and whose impact has been global.

I give Christmas tacit acknowledgment because it is customary in our culture - and I like the decorations.

Because if you were a Christian you would be at least concerned on what the Bible teaches, which contains the Word of God. And the Word of God says:

Deuteronomy 12:29-34

29When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;

30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.

31Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

32What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Also Jesus warned us to be careful about the world that did not knew Him.

BTW

Jeremiah 16:19

19O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

Yahweh bless.

 

[adrift]

The question I have is, why does any of this really matter?

The fact the celebration now known as Christmas started as the Roman Saturnalia is not news.

penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/calendar/saturnalia.html

Were I Christian, what I would find important was that the celebration was adopted and amended to become a Christian celebration (by about the 4th Century) and is now a celebration of the beginnings of a man to whom Christians assign divinity and whose impact has been global.

I give Christmas tacit acknowledgment because it is customary in our culture - and I like the decorations.

You are correct. I wonder at the branding of the phrase pagan practice. Pagans do not have the fullness of faith but they have a knowledge of God. Because their knowledge is imperfect does not make them totally wrong. Even Paul used pagan worship to explain God.

 

[James_Least]

The Mass of Christ is pure love of money. The merchants of the world stand or fall depending on sales of merchandise for that holy day. What all of this has to do with The Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, is not readily apparent.

It is probably O.K.—WallyMart still allows the Salvation Army to take donations at entrances to Superstores.

The Bible specifically prohibits such things–OT and NT. Not to worry, our traditions have superceded such outdated notions–a little paganism never hurt anybody. Reality check!!

Mele Kalikimaka

All puns and sarcasm intended.

Lord forgive our unbelief.

Peace,

James Least

 

[adrift]

The Mass of Christ is pure love of money. The merchants of the world stand or fall depending on sales of merchandise for that holy day. What all of this has to do with The Faith once for all delivered to the Saints, is not readily apparent.

It is probably O.K.—WallyMart still allows the Salvation Army to take donations at entrances to Superstores.

The Bible specifically prohibits such things–OT and NT. Not to worry, our traditions have superceded such outdated notions–a little paganism never hurt anybody. Reality check!!

Mele Kalikimaka

All puns and sarcasm intended.

Lord forgive our unbelief.

Peace,

James Least

The Mass of Christ is pure love given at great cost.