What About Christmas Observance for SDA’s?
With the Seventh-day Adventist church today essentially giving full sanction to the observance of the pagan institution of Christmas as evidenced by the above screen shot from the church’s flagship website one wonders what to think about this steady retreating towards the world and its customs. Also note the tragic attempt by the church leadership to justify giving heed to this unbiblical tradition as evidenced in a recent article published at Adventist News Network which resorts to some drastic historical revisionism in an attempt to side-step the pagan origins of Christmas. Please notice the promotion for “Revival and Reformation” on the very same webpage. Is not this Christmas custom something that we need to revive and reform in our own homes and churches? Let us come up with the help of the Lord and see what inspiration has to say about this practice and follow what God’s Word instructs us.
What About Christmas?
Question No. 203:
“Do not the ‘Testimonies for the Church’ sanction the observance of Christmas?”
Answer:
As the Testimonies regard Christmas as a heathen custom, passed on to the people in a charming Christian disguise, our greatest concern should be, not merely as to whether the Testimonies sanction the observance of Christmas, but as to whether the custom is Christian or heathen, and as to whether our observance of it would be honorable to Christ, profitable to His followers, and acceptable to God. Let God Himself answer the question:
“Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe: They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.” Jer. 10:1-5.
Thus has God warned the church against the customs of the heathen.
Moreover, to multitudes of infidel Christmas revelers, Christ means little if any more than does a common man, and to still other multitudes, His birthday means not half so much as does the birthday of any other man in honor of whom there is observed a holiday.
Furthermore, one of Christmas’ greatest evils is the exchanging of gifts—a sin-breeding custom which is not only jealousy-creating, but is also either pocket or heart-breaking. The results are that while it goads one multitude to display of pride, and lures them into debauchery and immorality, there is another multitude of un-fortunates whom it drives to envy or discouragement, or to both, even to the point of committing suicide.
Still further, as the whole Christmas observance is a specie of heathen worship that is demoralizing the nations, let the Lord’s servants shun its pretentious spirit and spurious humanitarianism by not exchanging gifts.
“Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. For the pastors are become brutish, aud have not sought the Lord: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.” Jer. 10:7, 15, 21.–Symbolic Code, Vol. 5, Nos. 6-12, p. 9.
(See also: Tract No. 13, Christ’s Greetings)
7 comments
When I read Adventist home by EG WHite I get confused when she highlights that the day should not be ignored and that a Christmas tree can even be put in homes and in church. How do you harmonise the statements with the bible?
Dear Ken:
Thank you for your comment and earnest question about the apparent contradiction between the writings of Mrs. White and the Bible on the topic of Christmas trees.
When we read Adventist Home it is important to recognize that is a compilation that was published in 1952 by the Trustees of the White Estate. As such, many quotes, which are not cited from their original source material, are gathered from all over her vast body of writings and may be taken out of proper context. At the time the Estate was in active warfare against the plain teachings coming from the Shepherd’s Rod, in this particular case, the call to separate from heathen traditions such as Christmas, Easter, etc. and for us as a people to return to the plain utterances from the Bible, i.e., Jeremiah 10:1-5. It is highly recommended that you investigate the Tract entitled “Christ’s Greetings” where this appeal was published in detail and sent around the Adventist world. It is an excellent study that will clarify any apparent contradictions between her writings and the Holy Bible (the link below will take you there). Also, it is important to remember what she said about placing her writings above God’s Word (a couple of these statements are included below).
Tract No. 13, Christ’s Greetings
There is no evidence that the full import of the origins of the Christmas holiday was known by Sis. White and the pioneers. But we do know today, not only from ancient historians, but also from Jeremiah 10: 1-5. “We have many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn. God and Heaven alone are infallible.” – Testimonies to Ministers, p. 30. This is something that we must unlearn. The SDA church is merely pretending to not know the difference between “the evil…and the good” on this matter.
There is a salient point that all Seventh-day Adventists who tend to like Christmas miss. On the 24th December the sun goes to its furthest point southward or dies. On the next day the sun starts to travel northward. The birth of the sun happens on the 25th day of December signifying the birth of the sun which the pagan deifies and worship. Christmas is suppose to be the celebration of the worship of sun as a god. It is the annual commemoration of the reason for Sunday worship. What the curse is true sabbath worshipers of the true and Living Creator of the sun doing part-taking in the merriment of this season. What are they doing being dismayed by the sign of the heavens even at Easter. God hate lies and if Christ was not born on the 25th December what must his followers have to do with this lie behaving merry and gay around Tamus Birthday. The claim is that it is a season of giving and forgiving, happiness and a good time to win souls to the Lord because Mrs White made some claims in Adventist home. What SDA’s forget is that Mrs White writings take more than half a century to complete and mature. At one point it would not support 7th day observance, not eating pork, or health reform. I am sure that God hates the Roman Catholic X-mas or Christmas, how could he inspire the writing of error. Or was it good advice given as a guide, to a people by a prophet that was not given enough divine light on the subject matter as yet as righteousness by faith, the law as a school master, the mark of the beast etc. which was to come later in the development.
Dear Bro. Stephen:
Thank you for the comments and observations regarding some of the obvious contradictions it presents to the world for us as Seventh-day Adventists to say on one hand that we are a people of the Bible, yet on the other flirt with this fully heathen custom of pagan origin and attempt to justify our course by the use of Mrs. White’s writings. Strange fire indeed.
Sister White when mentioning about a tree in her writings does nowhere state that it is referring to a xmas tree , She referred to just a tree even she knew we are not to worship the Lord as the heathen do, how many who keep xmas and easter except the spilled blood of our savior Jesus Christ
Dear Michael:
We have to follow what the Bible says as plainly stated in Jeremiah 10:1-4. Scripture further warns us not to worship trees as do the heathen, Deuteronomy 16:21-22. It does not seem reasonable that Sis. White would not be referring to Christmas trees during the end of the year holiday season when you examine the time setting her statements were penned. What other tree could she possibly be referring to?–The Publishers
Leave a Comment