“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”— James 1:17
It has come around to that time of year when the topic of Christmas observance heats up within Adventist circles. Our new president Elder Ted Wilson has been calling for revival and reformation since he took office in 2010. Has there been any impact on church practices especially in regard to the observance of this well documented pagan custom? The flagship website for the church (http://www.adventist.org/) once again offered up their Christmas wishes albeit at the last moment (see screen shot below). What can abate the tide of worldliness that continues to drag the church down into a lower spiritual ebb as the trend of Christmas friendliness continues in individual churches as evidenced by the high profile Christmas program being done by the Berean Seventh-day Adventist church in Atlanta, Georgia which will be televised nationally on most NBC stations (see their YouTube video promo). Yes, the world is going to take notice of how Seventh-day Adventists stand in regard to this heathen custom that most thinking folks know has nothing to do with the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The shepherds-rod-speaks.org blog posted on this subject last year and it was our top recommended post.
Despite the fact that last year the church on its flagship news site (Adventist News Network) has made the almost preposterous claim that Christmas does not have pagan origins after all, perhaps in a PR effort to placate the laity, some of whom maybe asking questions or voicing there concerns about this promiscuous relationship with the world and its customs. Thus as a clarion call to return to our Biblical foundation of faith, the Shepherd’s Rod message of true revival and reformation has published an all sufficient guide to the subject of seasonal gift giving in contrast with the perfect gifts that come from above found in Tract No. 13 entitled “Christ’s Greetings”. Also the links below provide thorough and adequate evidences that Christmas has its roots in grotesque pagan festivals and has nothing to do with Christ’s birth or any reasonable Bible practice and thus should be shunned for what is really is, nothing more that a baptized heathen custom and an abomination in the sight of God.
Christmas, Easter, and Halloween: Where did they really come from? (a study from Vance Ferrell, PDF)
“The Real Story behind Christmas” by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen (a nice audio lecture that will open your eyes)
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this website, it’s so full of truth!!!
Dear AJ:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! We are thankful to God for your in interest in this website and the advanced message of present truth for the Seventh-day Adventist church which it presents. Please take time to investigate further and if you have any questions or comments as you navigate through the many resources on this website, please feel free to contact us anytime.
In that blessed hope,
The Publishers
we need to ”eat the scroll’, so that we should not be confused. Adventists, we know that Christmas is not Biblical, let us not debate it. Shalom
Amen Sister Sheilia!
This subject is so plain that even non Christians in the world understand that the season of holiday revery is strickly pagan in origin. May God help His people to see the light on this and turn from their wicked ways before it is to late.
Hi,
I’m so glad it’s not a lonely world after all!
I only know personally 2 people who don’t
celebrate X-mas( I can’t even coined Christ name
to that).
Only me and my son.
My first Xmas unbelief was the most lonely and sad
because I have to suppress my joyous traditional feelings
of the season. At the shops I can see the glitters and songs
that connects to my childhood memories. Oh holy night, goes the
song, joy to the world… C- is for the candy tree around the ..
The agony that I have to forget my cousins, my friends and my
neighbors (at least for that occassion) and the carollings when we were
little!
But I did it! I felt standing alone. Sad but I did it!
The bonus was, my son stood with me. I was not expecting
he would believe me whole heartedly.
That was when I decided to be faithful. Now, it’s easy.
It just needs repositioning our hearts and brains.
Praise God!
Doable
Dear Friend of God:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Thank you for your testimony regarding turning away from the pagan tradition of X-mass despite its strong inroads into our culture and even family life. But thanks be to God that you are not alone and that God has a faithful remnant who hear His voice and obey what is written in His Word, the Holy Bible. We look forward to that glorious day when we will be gathered at the river to worship God in peace and harmony without all of these worldly distractions. Until then remember although at times we may feel alone when the world forsakes us for our stand for Truth, Jesus is always there to guide us through the dark valleys and all the way to His soon coming kingdom.
Yours to stand strong for truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth until then,
In that blessed hope, The Publishers
The problem with Christmas is not its observance – it is HOW it is observed! This mingle-mangle of Christianity, commercialism and heathenism tends to degenerate into a feasting freed-for-all; if, like me, you live on your own, you might get asked round on Christmas Day. The Royal Mail is kept busy with all the masses of Christmas cards sent off here, there, everywhere—and the Salvation Army have noted that inquiries after long-forgotten relatives and friends tends to peak just after Christmas.
The problem is that at the very time when people’s thoughts are – if only for a time – turned to the birth of Christ, they get little feedback from the church at large. Yes, there are Nativity plays – and in one remote corner of the UK some locals questioned the propriety of using a doll to represent the infant Christ. In a radio discussion I have heard how folks’ minds get confused(did Joseph’s wife Mary have ‘an immocolot contraption” as one 6-year-old girl put it?). It is – if you don’t mind the German – very much a Kinderfest. One of Martin Luther’s hymns “Vom Himmel hoch” was written by him for use by his children on Christmas Eve, and the best of hymns on the Incarnation focus on the Scriptural fact, reality, and purpose of it. Here’s one that has been a favourite since I was 9 years old(I’m now 74!). It’s called “Christians awake! Salute the happy morn whereon the Saviour of the world was born”. None of this “holly and the ivy” business! It takes you through the Gospel story, its significance, and what awaits those who recognise and accept him as Saviour and Lord.
There is more I could write, but time is against me!
The problem is that Christmas is a pagan holiday through and through and there is no way any contentious Christian can have anything to do with this institution. It is the birthdate celebration of a pagan god Tammuz, the son of Nimrod. Jesus was born on an unspecified day sometime in the fall of the year, not on December 25. There is no command in scripture to celebrate birthdays. The two examples we have from the Bible about birthday celebrations are the last thing any follower of Jesus would dare to replicate. Such as Pharaoh cutting off the head of his butler (Gen. 40:20-22) or Herod cutting off the head of John the Baptist to please his adulterous wife (Matt. 14:6-11). Are we to follow Truth or error?