Christmas

"Christians have celebrated the incarnation and nativity of the Lord Jesus on December 25 since at least the early part of the third century--just a few generations removed the days of the Apostles. By 336, when the Philocalian Calendar--one of the first calendars of the Patriarchal church--was first utilized, Christmas Day was already a venerable and tenured tradition. Though there is no historical evidence that Christ was actually born on that day--indeed, whatever evidence there is points to altogether different occasions--the conversion of the old Pagan tribes of Europe left a gaping void where the ancient cult festivals were once held. It was both culturally convenient and evangelically expedient to exchange the one for the other. And so joy replace desperation. Celebration replaced propitiation. Christmas feasts replaced new moon sacrifices. Christ replaced Baal, Moloch, Apollo and Thor. Glad tidings of great joy, indeed."

~From Christmas Spirit by George Grant and Gregory Wilbur, pg. 103

Photo by Jaimie Trueblood/newline.wireimage.com

Rethinking the Pagan Origins of Christmas by Brian Abshire

The twenty-fifth of December as just another day, and is of no religious significance. There is nothing “holy” about it, and it despite the efforts of the Fathers to calculate the right date, probably was not the day Jesus was actually born. However If the angels of heaven could publicly proclaim His birth, what possible problem can there be for us to likewise commemorate that wondrous event? How can it be wrong to sing those wonderful, postmillennial hymns which celebrate the birth of Christ during the month of December? And since the incarnation is so central to human history, then where is the problem with preaching a special series of sermons exploring the implications of the advent of the Lord Jesus?" Continue reading

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In Defense of Christmas by Melody Seppi
"During the early missionary movement in Europe after the fall of Rome, tribe after tribe were converted to Christianity, the winter cult festivals were gone—leaving a gaping void—and as a result of following Christ their cultures were radically changed, instead of sin, bondage, a culture of death and human sacrifice, there was liberty in His law, freedom in Christ, a culture of life, and the worship of the one true and living God." Continue reading

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Peter B's Christmas Poems:

The Fire of Christmas

also

The Joy of the Light

See the house of days gone by, decked out in greenery fine 

The cold, sharp wind about it rolls with specks of glimmer and shine 

Outside is quiet, only the wind, and trees that are moved to and fro’ 

Stir gently the stillness that lays all around the valley now covered in snow 

Inside there is merriment, laughter, and joy–the sound of the fiddle and flute– 

The lads and the lasses are dancing a jig, their tongues and feet are not mute 

The companions of work, of worship and thought, they now enjoy what they’ve won 

Relationships firm, founded on time, now exalted through music and fun 

Oh praise the Lord Christ! He re-made us to show this joyful and most loving way 

Who, when we were in darkness, came as the Light and delivered us unto His day 

Though days be dark, sharp, windy, and cold, we dare not submit to their gloom! 

We strike up a tune and go gallantly forth, proclaiming Him ris’n from the tomb! 

Thus the darkest of days 

Will submit to this praise 

And become the sunrise of morn! 

The darkness takes flight 

This day, our delight! 

For Christ the world’s Savior is born!

-Peter B.

 Deo Vindice

Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian?

Abraham Lincoln's war centralized America.  

He gave us the Dept. of Agriculture, which is ruining Ag. 

He nationalized the railroad which is fascism putting private business and the government together. 

He nationalized the bank.

He gave us our first income tax system in US history. 

Lincoln gave us our first inheritance taxes.

He was the first to have a Marxist in his cabinet, putting Charles A. Dana as his assistant secretary of war, whom A. Lincoln called "The eyes of my administration." 

Lincoln suspended free press by shutting down 300 newspapers and put over 13,000 Northerners in prison. 

Lincoln had a dream of a White America planning to load every black man up and ship them to Liberia. Blacks were not permitted in his home state of Illinois. Any black there more than a month was publicly whipped. 

He wrote scurrilous tracts professing untempered ridicule and unreserved scorn for the faith of our fathers. 

The first time America jumped squarely into public education was in 1863 with the Merrill Act “to teach rebels children respect for national authority and thereby teach them to love their country before their state.”

A. Lincoln arrested legislators from Kentucky and Marilyn to prevent them from voting on succession. He exiled the Congressman Vallandigham for speaking in congress against Lincoln’s war. Lincoln ordered that Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Taney be arrested.

During the civil war, Lincoln closed newspapers across the country and seized telegraph lines to censor communications that he perceived as threats to his war efforts. 

Lincoln censored elections and confiscated guns in the boarder states. Lines of soldiers stopped voters who had the wrong color of ballots assuming they would vote against him. 

They burned hundreds of churches to the ground. 

Lincoln had about 90 officers, called 48ers, who were Communist revolutionaries from Europe. Three of the founders of the Communist Party became generals in Lincoln’s army. Lincoln said he would throw the Constitution overboard to save the union. By the end of the war he had shredded it. 

Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian? – Emancipator or Centralizer

Gerardo Garcia funeral

This was the first Roman Catholic service I've been to. The service was all in Spanish with guitar music from the balcony behind. The architecture reflects the theology; stained glass windows of the suffering Christ, beautiful open beam ceiling inspires awe, while the cold stone, brick and tile reminds me of a monk's cell. The arch shaped doors with medieval design reinforced that image.

The music performed out of sight, focused our attention on the ceremony, reading of scripture and communion. The minister mentioned Gerardo's name once. Usually he said "Hermano." Daddy translated some for me. The priest said death is sometimes hard to understand. Mary and Martha said to Jesus, "Lord if you had been there, our brother would not have died."

When the pall bearers walked in behind the casket, one mans face was streaked with tears. We sat with Dad's school staff. It was more a religious service than of one remembering Gerardo.