tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post2126843588876384851..comments2024-03-01T07:35:49.740-08:00Comments on Come Reason's Apologetics Notes: The Big Deal Over Jesus' BirthdayLenny Espositohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04064209669748618955noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-7805630618146145842015-12-26T22:36:38.792-08:002015-12-26T22:36:38.792-08:00Most Christians say that if your focus is on Jesus...Most Christians say that if your focus is on Jesus, that's what important. I agree with that, but there is a verse in Deuteronomy regarding God instructing the Israelites on the pagan ways. I can't get it out of my mind. He says in 29-31: <br /><br />29 The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, 30 and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” 31 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.<br /><br />I was shown a sermon where a pastor pointed out that in the context of this verse, God wasn't concerned about the Israelites worshiping other gods. He doesn't want them looking at pagans worshiping their idols, saying, "Hey, that's pretty creative, let's add these traditions to our celebrations, scratch off the sun worship thing, pour some holy water on it, and let's worship God this way." But God was telling them "No, don't you dare look at the way they worship their gods and worship the Lord your God in the same way, because it reminds Me of their child sacrifice and all the other abominations and horrible things they did." He wanted them to destroy the altars, not slap His name on them. This pastor claims that this applies to Christmas today.<br /><br />So apparently because the traditions that we've adopted came from fornication, orgies, idol worship, etc. God doesn't want us to celebrate Christ's birth this way because it reminds Him of these sins, and it's especially offensive because this is His Son we are talking about.<br /><br />The things that we've adopted for Christmas, such as the Christmas tree, the yule log, mistletoe, caroling, etc. sound like they have really seriously bad origins. Does this verse really apply to Christmas? Why or why not? Can you make a list of these traditions, explaining their background and saying why it's okay or not okay to adopt them?Daniel Austinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06331702232209871946noreply@blogger.com