Forwarded from The Stiff Pour
Talley makes the interesting observation that by the third and fourth centuries Christianity was on the clear rise and adherents to traditional Roman paganism was in a free-fall. The trajectory of this shift in religious practice actually started a century earlier with the Roman magistrate Pliny the Younger. Pliny noted (potentially hyperbolically) that the Roman temples were being left empty due to so many Roman citizens becoming converts to Christianity (P.T.Y. Epistle to Trajan).
Julian, who was Roman Emperor for three years in the fourth century, writes about his frustration with the lack of Roman religious devotion to idols, and specifically blames the Christians for this pagan crisis of faith (Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae).
All this data leaves us with a quandary: is it more likely that within the third and fourth centuries the growing numbers of Christians copied the pagans, whose adherents were on a sharp decline, in some last-ditch effort to convert holdouts? Or, on the other hand, did the desperate pagans copy the Christians whose faith and practice was growing in popularity? Based on all of the available evidence more and more ancient historians are pointing to the latter conclusion being the reality.
Apart from Sol Invictus, which appears to have been placed on December 25th after the Christians had already acknowledged that as the date of Jesus’ birth, none of the other ancient pagan feasts and festivals fall on that date. Around it, to be sure, but not on it. Saturnalia, for example, was celebrated 14 days before January. Keeping in mind that the ancient Roman calendar at the time had two more days in their month of December than ours today, that places Saturnalia on December 17th.
The Brumalia and Bacchus feasts were likewise celebrated earlier in the season, in late November. Seeing as all of these would fall before the date of December 25th then if they were an attempt to copy and replace pagan festivals they would have been doing a poor job at it. The pagans could have just as easily celebrated their traditional pagan holidays in the days and months leading up to December 25th and simply tacked Christmas on the end, not a replacement but an addition (which did not happen).
In reality the Christians had been recognizing and celebrating the incarnation and Jesus’ birth for decades before we start to see firm designations for other pagan celebrations on December 25th. In AD 386, John Chrysostom says that Christmas was being celebrated on December 25th and describes it as a “long time tradition” (John Chrysostom, Homily on the Date of Christmas). The Philocalian Calendar, a document produced in AD 354 for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus, has Christmas listed as a holiday on December 25th.
Where does that leave us?
Nowhere in Scripture does it tell us to celebrate Jesus’ birth, that’s true. However, just because the Bible never specifically commands us to celebrate it does not mean that we shouldn’t. Jesus himself travelled to Jerusalem, as recorded in John 10, to celebrate the feast of dedication — better known today as Hanukkah.
This celebration came from the 2nd century BC, commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent dedication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean revolt.
Hanukkah is not a celebration that the Bible says for God’s people to participate in. It comes from the inter-testimental period, the time between the last book of the Old Testament and the first book of the New Testament.
Jesus has no problem travelling to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of dedication. Despite it not being commanded in Scripture it is fully consistent with Scripture. Why wouldn’t you make a celebration out of an event that represented God’s work in the world and the preservation and redemption of His people? In a very similar way, why would’t we celebrate the incarnation and the birth of Christ?
Julian, who was Roman Emperor for three years in the fourth century, writes about his frustration with the lack of Roman religious devotion to idols, and specifically blames the Christians for this pagan crisis of faith (Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae).
All this data leaves us with a quandary: is it more likely that within the third and fourth centuries the growing numbers of Christians copied the pagans, whose adherents were on a sharp decline, in some last-ditch effort to convert holdouts? Or, on the other hand, did the desperate pagans copy the Christians whose faith and practice was growing in popularity? Based on all of the available evidence more and more ancient historians are pointing to the latter conclusion being the reality.
Apart from Sol Invictus, which appears to have been placed on December 25th after the Christians had already acknowledged that as the date of Jesus’ birth, none of the other ancient pagan feasts and festivals fall on that date. Around it, to be sure, but not on it. Saturnalia, for example, was celebrated 14 days before January. Keeping in mind that the ancient Roman calendar at the time had two more days in their month of December than ours today, that places Saturnalia on December 17th.
The Brumalia and Bacchus feasts were likewise celebrated earlier in the season, in late November. Seeing as all of these would fall before the date of December 25th then if they were an attempt to copy and replace pagan festivals they would have been doing a poor job at it. The pagans could have just as easily celebrated their traditional pagan holidays in the days and months leading up to December 25th and simply tacked Christmas on the end, not a replacement but an addition (which did not happen).
In reality the Christians had been recognizing and celebrating the incarnation and Jesus’ birth for decades before we start to see firm designations for other pagan celebrations on December 25th. In AD 386, John Chrysostom says that Christmas was being celebrated on December 25th and describes it as a “long time tradition” (John Chrysostom, Homily on the Date of Christmas). The Philocalian Calendar, a document produced in AD 354 for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus, has Christmas listed as a holiday on December 25th.
Where does that leave us?
Nowhere in Scripture does it tell us to celebrate Jesus’ birth, that’s true. However, just because the Bible never specifically commands us to celebrate it does not mean that we shouldn’t. Jesus himself travelled to Jerusalem, as recorded in John 10, to celebrate the feast of dedication — better known today as Hanukkah.
This celebration came from the 2nd century BC, commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent dedication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean revolt.
Hanukkah is not a celebration that the Bible says for God’s people to participate in. It comes from the inter-testimental period, the time between the last book of the Old Testament and the first book of the New Testament.
Jesus has no problem travelling to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of dedication. Despite it not being commanded in Scripture it is fully consistent with Scripture. Why wouldn’t you make a celebration out of an event that represented God’s work in the world and the preservation and redemption of His people? In a very similar way, why would’t we celebrate the incarnation and the birth of Christ?
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Forwarded from The Stiff Pour
Secondly, the incarnation and birth of Christ is — along with Jesus’ death and resurrection — the most awesome event in all of human history. Why wouldn’t we want to carve out some specific time to celebrate such an amazing event? Why wouldn’t we purposefully set aside a time of the year like Advent, to build up to the exception of our coming saviour?
Finally, why don’t we take a cue from the Apostle Paul, when he writes to the church in Corinth concerning those who were worried about eating meat sacrificed to idols:
“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6).
God made everything good, and just because someone tries to corrupt and twist something like a cut of meat, or for that matter a pine tree, it doesn’t mean that they’re successful. Even if something has a meaning to a pagan it does not mean that is then also how God sees it.
No modern Christmas tradition can draw a strait line to any clear and decisive pagan origin.
At the end of the day I would never advise someone to go against their conscience. If you are reading this and you truly believe that modern Christmas practices are something you don’t want to be part of, that’s fine. I have no problem with that and the purpose of this type of article is not to coerce anybody who feels uneasy about celebrating this or any other holiday.
I simply desire to point out that as Christians we are followers of the truth, and the truth of the matter regarding this topic is that no modern Christmas tradition can draw a strait line to any clear and decisive pagan origin.
Finally, as Paul commends both his ancient and modern audience, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day” (Colossians 1:16).
Merry (non pagan) Christmas 🎄🎁🎄
Finally, why don’t we take a cue from the Apostle Paul, when he writes to the church in Corinth concerning those who were worried about eating meat sacrificed to idols:
“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6).
God made everything good, and just because someone tries to corrupt and twist something like a cut of meat, or for that matter a pine tree, it doesn’t mean that they’re successful. Even if something has a meaning to a pagan it does not mean that is then also how God sees it.
No modern Christmas tradition can draw a strait line to any clear and decisive pagan origin.
At the end of the day I would never advise someone to go against their conscience. If you are reading this and you truly believe that modern Christmas practices are something you don’t want to be part of, that’s fine. I have no problem with that and the purpose of this type of article is not to coerce anybody who feels uneasy about celebrating this or any other holiday.
I simply desire to point out that as Christians we are followers of the truth, and the truth of the matter regarding this topic is that no modern Christmas tradition can draw a strait line to any clear and decisive pagan origin.
Finally, as Paul commends both his ancient and modern audience, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day” (Colossians 1:16).
Merry (non pagan) Christmas 🎄🎁🎄
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