Yule

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Yule

It is that time of year when I celebrate the Winter soltice/ Yule. It always leads me to wonder about the Christian views on this holiday. does it bother you that you are celebrating the birth of Jesus, not on the day that he was born, but on a day that was made to coincide with a Pagan holiday? Do you have the same qualms about Easter (Ostara in my faith)?
 
It doesn't bother me at all as I celebrate Jesus every day. The day on the calander means little, the intent of the heart means much.

Or as the bible declares:

Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

So I guess I am trying to say this; if I choose to observe those days I do not see a conflict with my faith for the object of my focus/devotion is still the Lord.
 
It is that time of year when I celebrate the Winter solstice/ Yule. It always leads me to wonder about the Christian views on this holiday. does it bother you that you are celebrating the birth of Jesus, not on the day that he was born, but on a day that was made to coincide with a Pagan holiday? Do you have the same qualms about Easter (Ostara in my faith)?

Some do and some don't. As Boanerges said I celebrate Jesus everyday. I do not need a special day set off to worship my Lord and Savior.
 
So if the 25th wasn't Jesus' birthday, and if you guys just celebrate Jesus every day, and not on one particular holiday, then when was Jesus born? All you guys are saying is that you don't care about Christmas because you're not celebrating Jesus any more on that day than you would on other days, which is a point I understand, but then if that day is not important, then it couldn't be Jesus' birthday, so when is Jesus' birthday, and why wouldn't that be worthy of celebration? Seems to me that the birth of Jesus would be a wondrous thing to celebrate--as well as an historical date we could pinpoint. Yet, as I recall, the gospels mention nothing else of Jesus' birth. Curious...
 
So if the 25th wasn't Jesus' birthday, and if you guys just celebrate Jesus every day, and not on one particular holiday, then when was Jesus born? All you guys are saying is that you don't care about Christmas because you're not celebrating Jesus any more on that day than you would on other days, which is a point I understand, but then if that day is not important, then it couldn't be Jesus' birthday, so when is Jesus' birthday, and why wouldn't that be worthy of celebration? Seems to me that the birth of Jesus would be a wondrous thing to celebrate--as well as an historical date we could pinpoint. Yet, as I recall, the gospels mention nothing else of Jesus' birth. Curious...

Well if the world picks a day in particular to remember Jesus is that a bad thing/ Not in my book. Some "religious" folks only go to church 2 times a year- Christmas and Easter- to me that is better than nothing. Who knows if they might decide to open their hearts and have an encounter with the Living God. No offense friend but you could use one of those yourself:D.
 
So if the 25th wasn't Jesus' birthday, and if you guys just celebrate Jesus every day, and not on one particular holiday, then when was Jesus born?

If Jesus wasn't born in December then some believe he was born sometime in the fall, like September. However, I do not see anywhere where God actually commanded us to celebrate Jesus' birthday. To me, it is the person's choice whether or not to celebrate a special holiday or not.

All you guys are saying is that you don't care about Christmas because you're not celebrating Jesus any more on that day than you would on other days, which is a point I understand, but then if that day is not important, then it couldn't be Jesus' birthday, so when is Jesus' birthday, and why wouldn't that be worthy of celebration?

Well, my friend, you have to consider - we are two (if you are also talking about me and Boanerges) Christians here and there are many Christians all over the world. While our opinion counts, our personal opinions are not the same as other Christians. So, just because we said the we do not actually celebrate Christmas, and that does not mean we don't care about it, it also doesn't mean that day isn't important. It is important to some people - but not to me. I do not view it for personal reasons I will not share here since I do not wish to offend anyone.

Seems to me that the birth of Jesus would be a wondrous thing to celebrate--as well as an historical date we could pinpoint. Yet, as I recall, the gospels mention nothing else of Jesus' birth. Curious...

You are correct in stating the Gospels mention nothing of His birth. We do know where He was born, His mother, etc. etc. but no actual dates. Man likes to date and pinpoint things. God does not need dates or any of that. We should remember Jesus/God came here to save us, not to start a history riot party or to cause division among His people about when He was born. Yet many people still want to argue about His birthday and all of these minor things. The most important thing He did for us was put Himself up on the Cross and died for us. I think that is better than ANY birthday...
 
So if the 25th wasn't Jesus' birthday, and if you guys just celebrate Jesus every day, and not on one particular holiday, then when was Jesus born?

I will only speak for myself but I too celebrate Jesus every day. At this time of year, what I am celebrating isn't as much a "birthday" as it is a Thanksgiving.

You see, as the year draws to a close, with others, I celebrate the greatest gift man has ever been given. Life, eternal life with Christ. I don't know what day Jesus was born on. Scripture teaches us that the shepherds were tending their flocks in the fields, as someone who has raised sheep, I can assure you that they were NOT in the fields in Palestine in late December.

(It was probably early to mid fall.)

You are correct that the date of the 25th of December was intentionally selected to draw attention away from the Pagan celebrations specifically in Rome at that time, but I don't think that changes the signifigance of what we celebrate.

If Adolf Hitler [for example] had the same birthday as me, or someone I care about, it wouldn't detract from my celebration of that day. I guess what I am saying is... I can still worship the Son on the same day someone else worships the Sun. :)
 
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Why do Christians who acknowledge that December 25th is not Jesus' birthday never seek to find the actual date of birth? If he's an historical person, then he has an historical birth date, and it seems to me this day would be more glorious than any other day in human history--all 6000 years of it.
 
Hello my friend,
I wish not to argue/debate with you on this subject. This discussion can go on and on and on, since these are one of those "merry-go-round" topics that go in circles but never really reach and end-point.

However this does not mean I would not like to discuss it, but just not now. I am not really up to it tonight.

Thanks,

NTG


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Why do Christians who acknowledge that December 25th is not Jesus' birthday never seek to find the actual date of birth? If he's an historical person, then he has an historical birth date, and it seems to me this day would be more glorious than any other day in human history--all 6000 years of it.
 
Jesus did not come so we can celebrate His birthday. He came to save us by sacrificing Himself. Christians happened to celebrate His birthday because for us as humans, birthdays are important.

Here's some interesting links:
Snopes.com: Birthday of Jesus
Birthdays were unimportant; death days counted. Besides, Christ was divine and his natural birth was deliberately played down. In fact, the Church even announced at one point that it was sinful to contemplate observing Christ's birthday "as though He were a King Pharoah."

Early Christians did not celebrate Jesus’ birth, only his resurrection; their focus was more on the Son of God, than the Son of Man.
Source: When Is Jesus' Birthday?
Son of Man refers to Jesus in flesh.
 
[This post has been edited]

Why do Christians who acknowledge that December 25th is not Jesus' birthday never seek to find the actual date of birth? If he's an historical person, then he has an historical birth date, and it seems to me this day would be more glorious than any other day in human history--all 6000 years of it.

Why does that worry you so much?:eek::p:eek: I see no point to being so hung up on a date on the calendar when He was so much more,

His birth (Being brought forth ) was a wonderful gift to us but His life, death and resurrection changed everything. :D
 
This "worries" me because if he's an historical person, then historical scholars, of ANY religion, should be able to pinpoint his date. Just because a bunch of devout Christians don't find the need to pinpoint the date (ie., some of you guys here), that is not to say a scholar researching the historicity of Jesus should not waste his time tracking down this date. It may seem absurd to some of you, but there ARE people--scholars, professors, well-read experts--who do not accept Jesus as their savior. For those people, I think the first--and easiest--thing to do would be proving Jesus was a real person, but without a birth date, his very existence is cast into doubt. The fact that the gospel writers were so taken aback by this magnificent god-man and savior of mankind, and yet conveniently "forgot" to mention his birthdate is absurd! They document almost everything about his birth, up to the stars in the sky, and yet they can't tell me what day this holiest of days was? Seems to me like the whole nativity story--and thus the entire birth of Jesus--was not historical but plagiarized, and fictional. You guys may not see the need to celebrate the date, but the date's very existence is vital in proving that Jesus was ever around in the first place.
 
I've taken the stance that if God wanted us to know Jesus birthdate, He would have made sure we know it. It wasn't as important as why Jesus was here on earth. If His birthdate was in the bible, I thinks it's pretty practical to expect that people would grab onto the date and it would be made a bigger deal than what he did for us. Jesus came to earth in obedience to God, He came to glorify God. Perhaps if Jesus' birthday were in the Bible, we would be glorifying Jesus alone, apart from God. And we would feel obligated to make this ritual mandatory, or be limited by guilt if we didn't. I think that would be a very likely result.

My personal decision was to honor Christ this Christmas, just like I normally do. I went to Christmas service at church, but personally, I enjoy the regular services more, because they are about living life, and applying Christ's teachings to our daily routines, rather than having a birthday party, so to speak. I didn't decorate a tree or hang stockings. For me, this year, it just seemed like a distraction, like a sideways way to worship or celebrate, unnecessary and kind of like sharing my worship. It didn't feel right for me. However, I was invited to Christmas dinner at a household where they celebrated Christmas with all the decorations and gift-giving, and the tree, etc. I had alot of fun. I enjoyed my friends' company, I met Christians I haven't met before. I think it was a healthy place to be this Christmas.

Given the wisdom of God, I think there is a reason Jesus' birthday is not in the bible. We have the freedom to choose for ourselves, while making sure we do not let it become a bigger deal than why He was here.

Just my newbie understanding of the topic, at this point in time. :)
 
[This post has been edited]

Why do Christians who acknowledge that December 25th is not Jesus' birthday never seek to find the actual date of birth? If he's an historical person, then he has an historical birth date, and it seems to me this day would be more glorious than any other day in human history--all 6000 years of it.

Of course He had a birth date. But the point is that in relation to His mission the birth date is not important at all. From the studies i have seen the month of his birth was most likely September. I personally do not celebrate Christmas or Easter.

Also the most glorious day would not be the birth date of Jesus. From my perspective the greatest day of the life of Jesus was the day of His death. When he said "It is finished".

John 19
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Once again birth dates are not important. What is important is what He did and the day He accomplished the task of His life.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days
 
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