(This question is a follow-up to “Happy Humbug”)

I received your answer and thank you.  My question… you said there is nothing wrong with celebrating christmas as a family holiday, but it is wrong to teach it as a biblical holiday.  If it’s wrong to teach it as a biblical tradition, then why would God approve of it?  Also, if this is a tradition that the Romans made because they worship the god of Saturn, then I know God would not approve because He is a jealous God and says not to worship any other gods but Him (Ex 20:3).

Did you know that more people commit suicide around christmas than any other holiday… because people are afraid that they will not have the right present or won’t have enough money to buy one?  And every year, your family expects you to get them a gift or material of some sort, and if you don't, they get mad and angry at you.  Christmas is not about Jesus; it’s all about money and profit.  When people get up on December 25^th to celebrate Christmas, the first thing they do is run to the presents and materials.  They don’t bow down and thank God for what they already have.  This is a holiday that brings more hate than it does love.  Why?  Because God does not approve of it.

Sincerely,
The Grinch

Dear The Grinch,

We have many holidays that don’t have biblical origins.  Memorial day, Valentine’s Day, and Thanksgiving are all examples of non-biblical holidays.  If Christmas is treated as a voluntary holiday with presents, jovial family get-togethers, etc. – then there is nothing wrong with it.

However, if people are using Christmas to worship Saturn (which is highly unlikely nowadays) or treating it as a biblical necessity, then it is certainly wrong.  Your other concerns about Christmas are issues of greed and love.  God makes it clear that He hates it when we are fixated with material things (Lk 16:13).  The way many people treat the holidays is indicative of a growing dysfunction in our culture.  Many people forget that our lives consist of more than our possessions (Lk 12:15).

Hello, I watched a program on TV about this small African tribe.  The people of this tribe were amazingly kind and welcoming, but they didn't even know we have been to the moon or of Jesus.  They believed in different gods, and they were brought up that way from birth.  Their whole tribe is kind of separated from the rest of the world.  There has to be hundreds of these same kinds of situations out there; what happens to these people when they die?

Sincerely,
Hermit Helper

Dear Hermit Helper,

What God does with the African tribe that is isolated from society is between Him and them.  We know that God doesn’t hold people accountable for things that they cannot do (2 Cor 8:11-12).  We also know that He says all mankind is without excuse because the Creation speaks of His greatness (Rom 1:20).  We also know that God has a certain expectation that we will seek Him out (Matt 7:7-10).  All of these principles must be balanced out when considering the fate of isolated peoples.

Ultimately, the Lord is judge… a righteous one (2 Tim 4:8).  The Lord doesn’t desire any of the wicked to perish (Ezek 18:23).  He will fitly and properly judge all mankind.

Why does the church not teach when Christmas first started?  They only teach that it’s Jesus’ birthday.  But they don’t teach who actually started Christmas.  Everything that I have been studying about Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus; it’s all about money.  When I type ‘what is Christmas’ into a search engine, Santa Claus is the first thing that is shown, not Jesus.  Congress was actually started on December 25^th, 1870, and America decided to make that the Christmas federal holiday.  Jesus was never born around December.  All my life, I have been told lies about Christmas.  Can someone out there tell me the truth about Christmas?

Sincerely,
The Grinch

Dear The Grinch,

Many people believe Christmas to be a spiritual holiday, but the Bible never commands us to celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25^th (the truth is, no one knows when Jesus was born, but it was most likely in the spring or summer because the shepherds were out – Lk 2:15).  Christians are commanded to remember Jesus’ death every first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 11:24-25)… we are never commanded to remember His birth on an annual basis.  Christmas is not a biblical holiday.  There is nothing wrong with celebrating it as a family holiday, but it is wrong to teach that there is a biblical foundation to it.

Christmas can be traced back to the Roman pagan holiday of Winter Solstice (also known as ‘Saturnalia’ because it was in worship of the god, Saturn).  As Catholicism tried to integrate itself into a pagan Roman world, Christmas was instituted by Pope Julius I on December 25^th as a way to assimilate the pagans into a Catholic worldview.  In short, Christmas has never been a truly biblical holiday; it is a manmade tradition with no bearings upon your salvation.

I am struggling with the issue of the church and abortion.  I know the church is supposed to be unified, and we are supposed to love one another, but how is that possible when a number of pastors and congregations vote for candidates that support homosexual marriage, abortion, etc.  I am particularly angry at black pastors who seem to sell their principles for the color of their skin.  I can't sit in a black church or even pray with black christians because this rage over them supporting abortions consumes me.  Am I wrong, or do they need to repent?

Sincerely,
No Room In The Pew

Dear No Room In The Pew,

Abortion is a sin, and preachers that support abortion (regardless of skin color) are wrong.  Children are already alive in the womb.  John the Baptist leapt in his mother's womb (Lk 1:41).  God specifically said that John was a child dedicated to Him from before birth (Lk. 1:15).  Ps 139:13-16 makes a clear statement about life within the womb of a mother.  Unborn children are credited as living, feeling humans, and therefore deserve just as much protection as any other human life.  The abortion movement is a movement that seeks to deny rights to a silent and innocent segment of human society.  Abortion is murder (1 Pet. 4:15).  Any preacher or religious leader that promotes abortion is promoting murder.  Don’t make this a race issue; make it an issue of morals without regard to race.

I heard that it says in the Bible somewhere that the devil was seen coming to Earth as lightning from heaven, and I was told that translated in the old Hebrew, ‘lightning’ means ‘barak’ and ‘heaven’ means ‘high place’ or also ‘baumha’.  Is it true that this translation says He saw the devil come to Earth as “Barak Baumha”?  I’ve heard this many times.  Is it true?

Sincerely,
Red About Blue

Dear Red About Blue,

As interesting as the political implications of your question are, the answer is, “No, that’s not true.”  The verse you are referring to is Lk 10:18.  That particular verse is in the New Testament… which is written in Greek, not Hebrew.  The Greek word for ‘lightning’ is ‘astrapa’, and the Greek word for ‘heaven’ is ‘ouranos’.  So you can rest easy knowing that the whole barak-bauhma-equals-devil teaching is false.