Oh Christmas tree! Oh Christmas tree! What controversy surrounds you!
I think no more about putting a Christmas tree in my living room than I do about setting a decorated flowered centerpiece on my kitchen table. It’s pretty and I like it. That’s all. But those who don’t like Christmas trees say that God doesn’t like them, either. And once someone says that God says, we need to dig in and find out for sure what the Bible says.
The ones who worry about Christmas trees stumble over the following verses:
”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 like 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.” Jeremiah 10:3-5, KJV
Let’s look at it:
The work of the hands of the workman It is deliberately carved.
Speak not suggests that a mouth has been carved.
They must needs be borne They are moved from place to place.
Be not afraid of them suggests that they are said to have power.
And, if that isn’t enough, verse 8 says, “A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.”
Clearly this is about idols carved from a tree, accented with precious metals.
The New International Version translates it this way:
“For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk…”
Read it for yourself in your own Bible. You will also see decorated plates and blue and purple clothing mentioned in this passage. I don’t know why no one ever preaches against those. Maybe because the passage isn’t about the tree, or the plates, or the clothes. It’s about idol worship.
In the same way, however, the Bible does specifically address the use of trees as decorations. Long before Jeremiah, decorative trees adorned Solomon’s Temple.
“…And the greater house he lined with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set on it palm trees and chains…” (2 Chronicles 3:5, KJV)
From ancient times, trees and tree branches have been used and accepted by God as ornamentation to worship. And for some people today, Christmas trees serve that same purpose. Those who decorate purposefully find the tree enhances their Christmas experience. They don’t worship the ornamented object. Rather the object serves as a reminder of the One True God.
And for some of us, it’s just pretty.
Copyright 2009, Kathryn A. Frazier http://preciousholidays.wordpress.com
Filed under: Bible, Christian, Christianity, Christmas, faith, History, Holidays, Jewish Temple, Messianic Judaism, Religion Tagged: | Bible, Christianity, Christmas trees
“From ancient times, decorated trees have been used and accepted by God as ornamentation to worship.”
Solomon turned from Yahweh and served other gods. And in his construction of the temple he broke several rules that Yahweh had established concerning the sacrificial cult, including Exodus 20:26 “Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar” for Solomon (2 Chr 4:1) made the altar so tall there is no way anyone could have gotten up to it without steps. SOLOMON BROKE THE LAW. So, Solomon’s use of decorated trees proves nothing but that Solomon didn’t care to follow Yahweh’s Law very exactly because he was a rather pagan king. He built temples to other gods also.
1 Kings 11:7 “Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.”
Again, very good reading! Such an eye opener. All the years of wrestling and struggling have come to an end. My 3 year old grandson and I put up the tree, decorated it, as I talked to him about us celebrating Jesus birthday. He replied to it all, “So are we going to get Jesus a birthday cake with Dinosaurs on it?” Sure, why not! I think Jesus may have liked dinosaurs as a kid. LOL
@ Reyjacobs: So let’s get this straight, are you stating that Solomon’s Temple was pagan?
God’s Dwelling Presence filled Solomon’s Temple. End of story. If that’s not divine approval, I don’t know what is.
And there were no steps to the altar. They constructed a ramp. No violation of Torah.
God told David he didn’t want a temple. David persisted in wanting it. So God basically find “I’ll let the baby have his bottle.” But God said to David “you will not build it but your son will.” Stephen the first martyr in Acts described David and Solomon as having resisted the Holy Ghost by building the temple (in his sermon defending himself in having taught that Jesus would destroy the temple for he was on trial for this statement), for he says in Acts 7:46-51 David “found favour before God, and desired to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. But Solomon actually built him the house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, ‘Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?’ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” He is telling them they are resisting the Holy Spirit (for putting him on trial for having preached against the temple) just as David and Solomon resisted the Holy Spirit in building the temple.
http://dillon25dec.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/condemned-by-the-scripture/?preview=true&preview_id=6&preview_nonce=59916e81ef
I normally do not allow links with no comment. I suspect, however, that the poster of the above link is also the writer of the linked article. Since it is a brand new blog, the poster may be new to blogging and not yet know the etiquette. I’m going to let it slide this time, because the article contributes to this thread. Give it a click, and read for yourself!
Oh Hi Kathy I posted it. Now I’m not not going to lie to you but you knew me as PaulRoxx from your comment threads on other blogs. By the way thanks for the compliment about my blog
. Hope life is treating you well. See you around!
Hi Paul- Life is good, because God is great. Thanks for coming clean, and thanks for the post.
A few thoughts about the so-called “pagan” Christmas tree:
1. YAHWEH Elohim created ALL plants for the use of humans. The glory of God is clearly seen in every leaf and needle of every tree. There are over 2000 species of palm trees! YAHWEH pronounced His creation “good” in Genesis 1. Trees are not “pagans” or “pagan” in origin–”the earth is Yahweh’s and everything in it–the world, and those who live there!” (Psalm 24:1) Satan has never created a tree and he doesn’t know how to make any–all trees come from GOD.
2. All species of trees are useful and NECESSARY for us, including
conifers and evergreens. Trees purify the air; give us oxygen; hold the soil; provide habitat for birds and animals, manufacture chemicals through which we obtain pharmaceuticals, fuel, fragrance essences, building materials, cleaning oils and food; and provide shade and protection for us! We use trees, plants and flowers to decorate our homes and sacred spaces, including churches, cathedrals, temples,
and synagogues. To quote the poet–”Poems are made by fools like
me, but only God can make a tree!”
3. Conifers and evergreen bushes and shrubs are living symbols of ETERNAL/EVERLASTING life, the “abundant life” life JESUS/YESHUA came to give us! Evergreens and conifers teach us about the nature of God (constancy/faithfulness) and portray God’s ability to continually renew not only the earth and plant world, but weary human spirits and hearts as well. These same conifers and evergreens are mentioned as plants that God uses to “beautify the place of My sanctuary.” (Isaiah 60:13).This verse–and others like it–is used in churches which have a formal “Hanging of the Greens” service on the first Sunday in Advent. Where is God’s “sanctuary”? The entire universe is God’s “throne room”, and there is no place in which Yahweh is not KING! God’s “sanctuary” is EVERYWHERE GOD IS FOUND, including in these temporary clay vessels we call “human bodies.” Trees–including evergreens/conifers–all co-exist with us on Planet Earth, a tiny corner of “God’s sanctuary” we call “the universe.” The book of Revelation refers to the tree that contains leaves that “heal the nations.” The use of “Paradise trees”
to symbolize Christmas started in medieval times, but really have nothing to do with burning little Yule logs.
4. Is is entirely IRRELEVANT to the Bride/Body of Messiah what any pagan believes or did believe, did or currently does or what/whom s/he worshipped or worships. Yahweh is firmly in control of the entire created order and pagan belief systems cannot and will not stop God’s program for the universe! We–not heathens–decide how to use plants to GLORIFY GOD and DECLARE HIS GLORY TO THE NATIONS. Heathen belief systems have no divine authority to assign
“pagan meaning” to anything or any person YAHWEH created–precisely because the “gods of their imagination” do not exist. There have NEVER been any other gods in existence–although the Bible calls Satan “the god of this world”–that is, the “world system”–the Bible ALSO portrays him as an enemy who was already defeated by the Victorious Lamb of God “BEFORE the foundation of the world”! The devil–the “prince of the power of the air”– controls hearts and minds through superstition, fear and intimidation–and he is on the DIVINE LEASH. He cannot do any more than humans ALLOW him to do, and he MUST do what YAHWEH/YESHUA tells him to do. “Greater is He Who is in you, than he who is in the world.”
“Is is entirely IRRELEVANT to the Bride/Body of Messiah what any pagan believes or did believe” (Charity Dell)
So eating meat offered to idols is ok, then, right?
“Satan has never created a tree and he doesn’t know how to make any–all trees come from GOD.”
You are being stupid and resisting scripture. Those verses from Jeremiah don’t condemn any particular tree, nor do they say that Satan created any trees. But they do say that we should not do what the heathen do, namely to cut down a tree, dress it with gold, and fasten it in our houses so that it fall not. You can pretend that its ok to do as long as you don’t consider the tree to be a god, yet the passage does not say the heathen in question considered their trees to be gods either. Ask yourself what a pine tree has to do with Jesus’ birth? nothing. So why is it insisted on that we must have one for Christmas? Is it not being made an object of worship by this very insistence? (I will not mention the song “O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree”) If a Christian doesn’t have a tree they are looked down on, and treated like Jews. (How ironic for Messianics to then be defending these trees!) I was raised a Christian, a real one not a Messianic. We didn’t have a tree because of this verse in Jeremiah, and I was treated as an outcast, as a Jew, by my fellow Christians of other denominations. “You’re not a Christian if you don’t have a Christmas tree.” But what does this tree have to do with Jesus? It has nothing more to do with him than the Easter bunny does. The insistence that the tree is necessary to being a Christians proves that it is an idol.
“Those who decorate purposefully find the tree enhances their Christmas experience. They don’t worship the ornamented object. Rather the object serves as a reminder of the One True God.”
I figure this is what he Odin worshipers said when they put up their Odin trees to worship the Allfather: “We don’t worship the tree, son, it just reminds us of Odin, the Allfather, the father of the gods and One True God.”
@Reyjacobs: You wrote, “they are looked down on, and treated like Jews. . . ” and “. . . I was treated as an outcast, as a Jew. . . ” You also wrote, “I was raised a Christian, a real one not a Messianic.”
So, in your mind, Jews should be looked down upon, and treated as outcasts, and Jews who trust in Jesus as Savior are not to be accepted as “real” Christians. Well, then. We know just about all we need to know about you, don’t we?
“So, in your mind, Jews should be looked down upon, and treated as outcasts”
No. I speak only of the reality of how Christians do treat Jews. And if you are a Christian who doesn’t have a Christmas tree, they treat you like they treat Jews, as dung.
“You also wrote, ‘I was raised a Christian, a real one not a Messianic.’”
I wrote that first because I consider myself a Jew now, hence ‘raised a Christian.’ But secondly because Messianics are not real Christians. They refuse the name ‘Christian’ first of all. Nor do they trust ‘Jesus’ as Savior–they insist on calling him Yeshua to the point of calling in question the salvation of real Christian for using a supposedly ‘pagan’ name for him. They are neither real Christians, nor real Jews. A real Jew would not buy into Paul’s misuses of the Tanakh whereby he ‘proves’ the doctrine of justification by faith alone; and a real Christian would not insist that in order to be saved you must pronounce Jesus’ name as Yeshua.
@reyjacobs- Your experience seems limited to fringe groups.
Not all Christians treat Jews badly. That’s an unfair and untrue accusation.
Putting aside the fact that plenty of non-Christians, even Jews, put up Christmas trees–unless you inform them, most people won’t even know whether or not you put up a Christmas tree. So, I’m thinking that you must have gone out of your way to find opportunities to preach against other people’s traditions. Maybe the bad treatment you experienced wasn’t because you lacked a tree. Maybe it was because you lacked consideration for others.
The label Christian was given to both Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus in the first century, and has been embraced by both Jews and Gentiles who follow Jesus ever since. Most Jews who embrace Jesus call themselves Christians and call Jesus by whatever name he is called in their native language. And most Christians–both Jews and Gentiles–accept the teachings of Paul (who was himself a Jew) to be inspired by God.
A fringe group of Gentiles who now consider themselves Jews insist on a Hebrew-English hybrid language, and reject the teachings of both traditional Judaism and traditional Christianity.
The majority of Christians and Messianics, however, use the name Jesus when speaking English, accept the teachings of Paul as God-inspired, and get along with one another.
“Not all Christians treat Jews badly. That’s an unfair and untrue accusation.”
Sure they play nice to their faces. But inwardly they are ravening wolves, finding it so delectable that these guys will burn in hell for not accepting Jesus.
“Maybe the bad treatment you experienced wasn’t because you lacked a tree. Maybe it was because you lacked consideration for others.”
I never went around saying “I don’t have a tree.” It was always people nosing around, heresy-hunting as it were. Christianity is nothing more than one big giant witch-hunt.
“The majority of Christians and Messianics, however, use the name Jesus when speaking English, accept the teachings of Paul as God-inspired, and get along with one another.”
My point about Paul was that since they do accept Paul’s twisting of the Old Testament, they aren’t real Jews. For example, what Jew could accept what Paul says in Galatians 3, that “the law is not of faith”? Knowing that the Law was given by Divine revelation at Sinai and commands faith in God! Of course the law is of faith. But Paul argues (stupidly) that “the law is not of faith for ‘he that doeth [the commandments] will live by them.”” So, to Paul, if it has requirements it is not of faith. Jesus’ teaching has requirements; so does Paul’s. Paul’s argument against the law invalidates his own teaching, for he says “know you not that no adulterer etc. shall inherit the kingdom of God” — a requirement — and therefore Paul’s doctrine (by his own argument) is also “not of faith” for he also has commandments that must be kept.
RevJacobs–To answer a few of your questions:
1. Idols exist as idols…but THERE ARE NO OTHER GODS. There is ONLY YAHWEH. Obviously, for you and I, “meat offered to idols” is IRRELEVANT, because WE KNOW THAT ONLY YAHWEH IS GOD.
Now, if your “eating meat offered to idols” was a cause of “stumbling”
for someone else (who does not have the knowledge we have about the One True and Living God), the problem there would be the weakness or ignorance of the person who did not know that “other gods” do not exist. Again, it is IRRELEVANT what pagans believe or don’t believe in determining what YOU, a believer in YAHWEH, choose
to do/not do.
2. There is no “pretension” for those of us who know that YAHWEH created trees. Jeremiah’s description of those who create idols from
trees describes not just “decoration” of a living tree, but actually something carved and shaped in order to worship some “god” or “goddess” they have projected through their unenlightened, heathen/pagan mental constructs. Trees used as Christmas decorations are only living symbols of the eternal life Jesus came to give us. I have no need to “pretend” that decorative trees are “OK”, simply because a decorative tree is just that–and NOTHING MORE.
For you and I, it is IRRELEVANT what some ignorant, illiterate, Druid or Viking believed–GOD made the tree, He made it for human use,
and one of its uses–like other plants–is DECORATION. Not only that, most trees used for Messiahmas are either destroyed–cut up in chippers–planted, or (if artificial) stored for use the next year. Most ancient “idols” were used YEAR-ROUND for worship, in addition to a few “seasonal idols” here and there. If YAHWEH chooses evergreen trees to “beautify the place of My sanctuary”, and HIS SANCTUARY IS THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, it cannot be “stupid” to acknowledge that He both CREATED trees and USES trees for HIS GLORY and the BENEFIT of HUMANS, ANIMALS AND ECOSYSTEMS on this incredible planet HE FASHIONED FOR US!
3. No one “has” to use a tree as a symbol of the Incarnation of Yeshua, just as no one “has” to use a wedding ring to indicate marital status or “has” to wear black to funerals (I wear WHITE, the symbolic
color of Resurrection) or “has” to wear white on Communion Sunday or “has” to salute the American flag. In fact, thousands of customs we Gentile and Jewish believers do in our churches/synagogues/homes
or fellowships have NOTHING TO DO WITH SALVATION–they exist as customs ONLY. For example, no believer HAS to observe ANY holy day/holiday as a “requirement”, either for salvation or righteous living.I do not have any problem with your choice NOT to have a tree or NOT to celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus; nor do I condemn anyone who
DOES celebrate this festival or any other festival that glorifies God
for any reason. I have friends among both Jewish and Gentile Christians who celebrate or don’t celebrate any number of traditions according to their own belief systems–and I’ve been blessed to worship and work among those whose theology and beliefs are different from mine.
4. Like you, I was raised a “real Christian”. If you think you’re the only
outcast among us, try being a BLACK PENTECOSTAL CHRISTIAN
IN THE 1950′s–1970′s, BEFORE the Jesus Movement, Charismatic
Renewal and other movements began to bring life to OTHER churches outside classical Pentecostal movements. We were “outcast” because we didn’t drink, smoke or gamble, and because we worshipped literally according to the psalms–so we were dancing, playing instruments, shouting and doing all those things “other” Christians frowned upon–even though these are all BIBLICAL FORMS OF WORSHIP BASED UPON ANCIENT HEBRAIC TRADITION!
For RevJacobs–
5. Christians can be treated as “outcasts” for any number of reasons, by any number of “other” believers. Whoever “looked down upon you” because you didn’t have a tree was ignorant and probably had never known any Christian from a different faith tradition. Once you worship or work among believers from churches/fellowships other than your
own, you see how God uses differing customs, traditions, ethnocultural celebrations and folkways to fully indigenize the Gospel
in every strata of every society. God uses all our languages and heritages to reach the world and glorify Him, Who is the giver of ALL variety and Creator of the rainbow. All of us are “outcasts” from the world system, because the “world” does not recognize those of us who “follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” Whoever told you that “you were not a real Christian” because you “didn’t have a Christmas tree”
doesn’t know their Bible very well. The opposite is ALSO true–to condemn other Christians simply on the basis of the custom of using
trees as symbols of the eternal life Yeshua came to give is ALSO
mistaken–because we both know that the tree is but a SYMBOL, that can never function as a “god”. The fact is, all who follow the Lamb GET PERSECUTED BY THE WORLD’S UNBELIEVERS, who have not
received the revelation of THE ONE TRUE GOD YAHWEH AND HIS
BELOVED SON, nor have received THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST. In many countries of the world, we can’t even have this discussion openly among ourselves, because too many pagan “informants” are there to get us ARRESTED FOR WORSHIPING
GOD AND PREACHING THE GOSPEL. They could care less what holidays we observe, and will HANG US BOTH FOR HAVING THE BIBLE!
6. You and I and all other believers really are “Jews”–in the spiritual sense–because we are “the circumcision who worship God in spirit and in truth.” Christianity IS Jewish, and almost everything we do in our houses of wroship is Jewish/Hebraic in origin. However, there’s no sin in “doing Gentile things” or using our own cultural traditions to worship God. Many “traditional Jewish customs” also have Gentile
antecedents or roots–everything “Gentile” is not pagan, any more than everything “Jewish” is holy. No custom or tradition is “godlier”
because your church or my church does it–or DOESN’T do it! We believers ALL have that “BLOOD TIE”–the BLOOD OF JESUS–which links us as a family, a “royal priesthood” and “a kingdom of priests.”
7.
7. “Bunnies” are simply animals that leave their little dens/holes in the ground in the spring. PERIOD. They have nothing to do with the resurrection of Yeshua–and at any rate, no one is “worshipping bunnies”, which get eaten in every available pastry form. And folks enjoy rabbit fricasee or just plain old fried rabbit, if they’re into game
meat.
The animals that Christians have used to represent the resurrection
in Christian/biblical art are:
The LAMB–symbolic of the Passover Lamb and Yeshua as the Paschal Lamb of God (Agnus Dei).
The BUTTERFLY–symbolic of three concepts:
1. Jesus/Yeshua, Whose battered body was transformed into a beautiful, deathless body upon His resurrection;
2. Conversion–because our dead spirits come alive in newness of life
and our inner nature is “transformed” through the Holy Spirit;
3. Our own resurrection–when our battered, corrupt bodies will be transformed in the likeness of Yeshua’s deathless body.
The WHALE–because of Yeshua’s comparison to the experience of the prophet Jonah.
The PEACOCK–because it sheds its old feathers and grows new ones.
You will see these symbols in stained glass windows, on books and Bibles, in banners and fabrics, and in jewelry and other decorative
arts.
For ReyJacobs–
8. “The insistence” that one “have a Christmas tree” does not “prove that the tree is an idol”–it is just somebody’s BELIEF that their custom is quintessential in the celebration of the Incarnation. This displays their ignorance about customs of others–there are thousands of believers who celebrate Yeshua’s birthday without a “tree” of any kind. There are those who celebrate only in their homes WITHOUT “obvious” symbols, and those who CANNOT openly celebrate using Euro-american holiday decorations/symbols. But look how trees are depicted in the Bible–including the “Tree of Life” in the Garden of Eden”, and the tree in Revelation whose leaves are for “the healing of the nations”, and you can understand why Christians have
used evergreens–and OTHER beautiful species of trees–to represent ETERNAL LIFE, PARADISE and THE NEW JERUSALEM in the “new heavens and earth.”
9. “Objects of worship” can include ANYthing or ANYONE someone MAKES into an idol to worship, including MONEY, prestige, political leaders, beautiful clothing, thnational flags or religious flags, etc. For example, the “hagbah” custom in a synagogue of lifting up a Torah scroll could ALSO be interpreted as people “worshipping” the Torah scroll, because it is ELEVATED above the congregation–not to mention the fact that the Torah scroll is formally “dressed”–and people KISS the tzitzit of their tallitot and then press those to the Torah scroll during its processional circuit. Then there’s the custom of “facing the Sabbath Queen” as she makes her “entrance” into the synagogue/shul. These are all SYMBOLIC actions, but anyone who did not know the raison d’etre of these customs could easily ASSUME idolatry was in full effect and that people are, in fact, paying homage to and venerating a rolled-up length of vellum/paper and worshipping the “Shabbat Goddess.”
Then there’s the myriad of customs surrounding national flags and religious flags–pledging to them, and according special honors to a piece of cloth which symbolizes either a political entity or a faith system. While I personally do not believe people are “worshipping” the national flag or the Christian flag, it’s easy to ASSUME that idolatry is being committed when someone says either “pledge of allegiance.”
When we leave THIS earthly body, we have to be covered by the BLOOD OF JESUS–and YAHWEH is not going to quiz us on which holidays we did or didn’t celebrate, or our “theologies” of holidays!
Either we’re ready for HEAVEN or HELL, and receiving SALVATION
and walking in holiness and righteousness has NOTHING to do with
Christmas trees, Hanukkah menorahs or any “festival calendar.”
Look at the millions of pagans on this earth who do NOT celebrate any Judeo-Christian or biblical holidays–but they’re going to hell ANYway if they don’t receive the Gospel and THE BLOOD ATONEMENT FOR SIN. Look at all the millions of folks who DO celebrate Judeo-Christian holidays/holydays, and again, without the BLOOD ATONEMENT and BELIEF IN THE EFFICACY OF YESHUA’S SACRIFICE AND RESURRECTION–these celebrations will NOT bring them sweeping through the New Jerusalem!
For us believers, symbols do NOT equal “worship”, and all symbolic
actions are not “idolatrous”–again, we know there is only YAHWEH and Him only do we serve. OTHER GODS DO NOT EXIST.
Its Rey not Rev. Now although it might seem that what some Druid or Druid wannabe thinks means nothing to us because we knows that Odin doesn’t exist–even so, Jeremiah says it does matter. For that matter even though Paul takes the position that eating food literally offered to idols is ok, he nonetheless recognizes that if someone says “this was offered to idols” you shouldn’t eat it “for conscience sake” and adds “not my conscience but his.” And insistence that you have to have a tree is idolatry. You say its just belief that their custom is necessary to celebrating the incarnation–well believing that their pagan custom is necessary to celebrating the incarnation is a type of idolatry, for they idolize their pagan custom. If Paul has a problem with someone requiring circumcision (a ‘custom’ that God himself ordained) then how much moreso with requiring a pagan custom? Those who insist on a tree are being legalists–weirdo legalists that require adherence to pagan law rather than God’s law, but legalists all the same.
ReyJacobs–
1. Other gods DO NOT EXIST. PERIOD. It does not matter what anyone “thinks” of that–the REALITY is, OTHER GODS DO NOT EXIST. THERE IS ONLY YAHWEH, THE CREATOR OF TREES! There have never been, and will NEVER be, any other “gods.” Any “god” concocted by any human mind DOES NOT EXIST.
2. Someone’s custom IS IRRELEVANT to your walk in Jesus Christ.
Pagan belief systems are IRRELEVANT to how we follow YAHWEH and His Son JESUS, because pagan belief systems ARE BASED UPON ILLUSIONS THAT DO NOT EXIST. IDOL “GODS” have NEVER existed IN REALITY. That’s why God tells us not to pay attention to them, fear them or bother constructing them. THERE ARE NO OTHER GODS BUT YAHWEH/YESHUA/RUACH HAKODESH, the ONE TRUE GOD WHO LIVES AND SUSTAINS THE UNIVERSE, BARUCH HU. Only CHRISTIANS are the ones insisting upon NAMING THESE GODS/GODDESSES and KEEPING THEIR NAMES AND MEMORIES ALIVE, LONG AFTER THE CULTURES WHO WORSHIPPED THESE
ILLUSIONS ARE DEAD AND GONE–some for THOUSANDS OF YEARS. THERE ARE NO OTHER GODS AND THERE WILL NEVER BE ANY GODS OTHER THAN YAHWEH, THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD.
3. Your opinion that “having a tree” or “insistence upon a tree” constitutes idolatry is your opinion, based upon your interpretation of Jeremiah. Many other believers do NOT share your interpretation of Jeremiah as proscription of putting up a tree as a SYMBOL of the eternal life JESUS came to give humanity. Did you forget that YAHWEH created trees? Some believers DO share your interpretation of Jeremiah–but again, these are interpretations and how you choose to apply your interpretation is your choice and their choice. But your interpretation and your choice DO NOT IN THEMSELVES CONSTITUTE A RULE FOR ALL CHRISTIANS, just as choosing to have a Christmas tree DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A RULE FOR ALL CHRISTIANS. Decorative plants are simply that–DECORATIVE PLANTS. We Christians see in these plants THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE WISDOM OF HIS CREATION, revealed in the meticulous arrangements of root systems, stalks, branches, leaves and flowers! WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD,
Who gave us fragrant evergreens that “beautify the place of His sanctuary.” Did you forget that YAHWEH chooses evergreens–trees HE created–to “beautify the place of His sanctuary?” Did you forget that the prophet ISAIAH is relaying to us WHAT YAHWEH IS DOING/WILL DO with the evergreens/conifers that HE created to “beautify the place of His sanctuary?”
Your BELIEF that Christmas trees are a “pagan custom” is just that–your BELIEF.
4. You accuse others of what you are most guilty of–excessive legalism based upon your own interpretation of scripture. Anyone who responds to these blogs and does not agree with you gets labelled “stupid”–the label you so cavalierly attached to ME–or “idolatrous”. yet you wilfully ignore other rational, well-written replies from other Christians. You have done exactly what the Bible FORBIDS Christians to do–JUDGE OTHERS IN RESPECT TO A “HOLY DAY” or “NEW MOON.”
I’m not sure why you’re so defensive. I didn’t say you were going to hell to burn for all eternity for having a tree. I just said you’re a legalist for obviously trying to impose the tree on everyone.
ReyJacobs…excellent posts brother! It is imperative that we as Christians should stand up for the truth no matter the cost, and no matter if we are in the minority! Stay strong in the Lord brother!
[...] and sisters who celebrate Christmas of Paganism because of such superficialities as decorating with Christmas trees and holly wreaths. All the while, they’re replacing the basic attributes of the one true God [...]