Dear pauly,
It's finally Christmas Day--a day the cynics and skeptics hate with a passion. And a day that a lot of Christians don't think is that big of deal either. Liberal theologians don't believe the Christmas story. Many fundamentalists think Christmas is a pagan holiday and should be avoided completely.
The most important thing about Christmas is that it was not only real and factual, but also an important legal necessity.
Right away in Matthew we find the wise men attempting to observe and celebrate the birth of our Lord asking "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" 1st Timothy speaks of the Christ as "the blessed and only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords."
The pagan world has a history of celebrating the birth of kings. It was a quite common thing in antiquity to celebrate yearly or even monthly, the birth of your ruler and lawgiver.
Celebrating the true lawgiver's birth was also something the early church did eagerly (though quietly), before Constantine. And then, quite openly after that. For the church in this period, observing the date was simply a statement of faith. A statement that their lawgiver wasn't Caesar, it was Jesus Christ... Creator, Savior, and Lord.
Here in the good ole USA, we celebrate the 4th of July each year. I was in England recently and found it interesting that the Queen's birthday is still a pretty big deal. I guess many countries celebrate royal births and see them as foundational to their national origins, laws, and culture.
We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ because it's a true and accurate testimony to our foundational belief that we have a lawgiver from above who sent his son to be our King and Redeemer.
But here's the thing: The devil can only imitate. He has no original thoughts or plans. The world can only copy what Christians have this time of year--the birth of our King. And He, not the government, is our only King. That's what the founders of this country believed. That's what I believe and that's what Isaac Watt's believed when he wrote:
Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
And heav'n and nature sing.
Merry Christmas,
The most important thing about Christmas is that it was not only real and factual, but also an important legal necessity.
Right away in Matthew we find the wise men attempting to observe and celebrate the birth of our Lord asking "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" 1st Timothy speaks of the Christ as "the blessed and only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords."
The pagan world has a history of celebrating the birth of kings. It was a quite common thing in antiquity to celebrate yearly or even monthly, the birth of your ruler and lawgiver.
Celebrating the true lawgiver's birth was also something the early church did eagerly (though quietly), before Constantine. And then, quite openly after that. For the church in this period, observing the date was simply a statement of faith. A statement that their lawgiver wasn't Caesar, it was Jesus Christ... Creator, Savior, and Lord.
Here in the good ole USA, we celebrate the 4th of July each year. I was in England recently and found it interesting that the Queen's birthday is still a pretty big deal. I guess many countries celebrate royal births and see them as foundational to their national origins, laws, and culture.
We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ because it's a true and accurate testimony to our foundational belief that we have a lawgiver from above who sent his son to be our King and Redeemer.
But here's the thing: The devil can only imitate. He has no original thoughts or plans. The world can only copy what Christians have this time of year--the birth of our King. And He, not the government, is our only King. That's what the founders of this country believed. That's what I believe and that's what Isaac Watt's believed when he wrote:
Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
And heav'n and nature sing.
Merry Christmas,
Bill Heid
Founder,
Off The Grid News
Founder,
