Results 1 - 7 of 7
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Christmas-Is It Christian? | NT general Archive 1 | Aspiring Overseer | 106734 | ||
Hi Tim, Yes, we drive cars, communicate via computers and live in houses with central plumbing. All of these are vastly different from the first century Christian's way of life and most importantly, they have nothing to do with worship! :-) You stated, "I am only concerned with what Christmas means to me! It is the day I give thanks for God coming into this world to save me!". Is not that the same choice made by Cain in desiring to worship God the way he chose rather than the way God directed? AO |
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2 | Christmas-Is It Christian? | NT general Archive 1 | stjones | 106797 | ||
Hi, AO; You said "[cars, computers, plumbing] have nothing to do with worship". I disagree. "Worship" is not something we do only on Sunday mornings or only on prescribed occasions or only in some ritual format. Worship is a way of life that acknowledges, honors, and praises God for no other reason than that he is worthy. Worship is daily recognizing and thanking God for his providence. God has provided us with no gift greater than Jesus. For the Christian, Christmas acknowledges, honors, and praises God for no other reason than that he is worthy. The celebration of Christmas publicly, visibly, and joyously gives thanks for Jesus' incarnation. I don't care what the secular world means by it. At least they are reminded yearly that a baby of some importance was born a long time ago. It's a start. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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3 | Christmas-Is It Christian? | NT general Archive 1 | Aspiring Overseer | 106811 | ||
Steve, I agree that Christian worship occurs 24/7. How a Christian handles the "stuff" in their care is very important as it shows where their mind is centered. The reference to "cars, computers and plumbing" was brought up in suggesting society has changed since the first century, but worship of God has not. Unfortunately, denominational Christianity believes otherwise as evidenced by the “anything goes” practices of today. Most interesting is the idea religious people can create their own celebration of God in any manner they chose. Christmas especially may be viewed as a holy event in some people’s minds, but not God’s. Consider Cain: Gen 4:3-7 3So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. 4And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7"If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." NAS Cain thought it would be a good idea to offer his own idea of worship. The original inventors of Christmas followed in the same erroneous steps. Are we to believe that a couple hundred years of honoring Jesus’ birthday may change God’s mind? He had no regard for Cain’s worship thousands of years ago; maybe He has become a more liberal thinker? We are reminded several times: Prov 30:6 6Do not add to His words Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar. NAS The wise man will ponder this and pray for guidance, would he not? I am at your service if you would like to discuss this further. AO |
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4 | Christmas-Is It Christian? | NT general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 106816 | ||
Greetings AO! May I offer a clarification and a comment? First, as a clarification, the reason I mentioned cars and such was not to suggest that society has changed, but to point out that we 'use' and 'do' things which all the time which are not 'specifically' mentioned in Scripture. You are currently using a computer, but there is no specific command in Scripture for you to do so. For the comment, it goes hand in hand with the above. Aren't you 'adding' words when you create prohibitions which are not specifically stated in Scripture? There is no specific command to 'not celebrate' the birth of Christ, yet you 'add' one. Aren't you just as 'wrong' as those who condemn for celebrating Christmas? ;-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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5 | Christmas-Is It Christian? | NT general Archive 1 | Aspiring Overseer | 106917 | ||
Tim, I understand your viewpoint that it is lawful for a Christian to use something that is not specifically prohibited in Scripture. Computers and cars certainly could not be mentioned in the bible, as well as, vaccines, airplanes, submarines, etc. as they did not exist. Did anyone of that day know Jesus birthday? His mother assuredly did, maybe some of His apostles, maybe even Paul. They all lived for many years beyond the start of the Church, yet they seem to have had little influence over establishing a celebration of His birth. Could God have caused to have been written something about His desire for us to honor His son’s birth? Do you think this was an oversight on God’s part? Maybe Paul forgot to include this in his example to the churches of the day? We would have only needed one example to make it a command (unless we are talking about baptism, of course! :-)). Maybe we should approach the issue of whether it is acceptable to observe Christmas from the other direction. Is it specifically prohibited? What does scripture tell us? 1 Cor 10:14 14Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. NAS Is idolatry acceptable during the Christian age? How would we classify nativity scenes, passion plays, angels, decorated trees, yule logs, mistletoe, December 25th, the worship of the Virgin Mary, etc.; the list is long of items not only missing from scripture, but having the distinction of “graven images”. Many will still stand by the doctrine of “Once Pagan, But Now OK”, but does God share this perspective? AO |
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6 | Christmas-Is It Christian? | NT general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 106925 | ||
Greetings AO! I don't know of anyone who has every prayed to or worshipped a nativity scene! :-) Until such a time as you can produce Scripture which forbids us to celebrate the Lord's birth, I will continue to joyfully do so my friend! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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7 | Christmas-Is It Christian? | NT general Archive 1 | kalos | 106927 | ||
"You shall not bow down to them or serve them" Tim: Thank you for bringing common sense to this discussion (as others in this thread have also done). The commandment says ""You shall not bow down to them or serve them". To suggest that anyone bows down to or serves a Christmas tree borders on the absurd. Exodus 20:4-5 (ESV) "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [5] You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, Peace, kalos |
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