Information Related to "Letters From Our Readers - Jan/Feb 2001"
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"Christmas Before Christ?"
Q: I just read your article, "Christmas Before Christ?" I understand your point of view on the problem of celebrating Christmas but would like to make a couple of comments.
I wish that Dec. 25 was Christ's birthday and that all the symbols of Christmas were Christian in origin. But I realize they are not. I would never be in favor of compromising with this world or corrupting our worship of God to please or convert anyone.
When I read your article two passages of Scripture came to mind:
1Corinthians 8:4-6 and Romans 14. Within my church and family we do use the time of Christmas to celebrate the birth of our Lord. This is a special time for us, a time of remembrance. I think it is better to celebrate the birth of Jesus at this time than never to celebrate it at all.
There are many of us who have never considered that celebrating Christmas was worshiping a false god of any kind, for we know that all other gods are false. We worship God in spirit and in truth; our consciences are clean before Him. I am not trying to convince you that I am right but giving you another side of this. If my rendering of the two scriptures that I mentioned deal with this, I wonder if any young converts were caused to stumble because of this article.
R.T., Internet
A: We encourage all our readers to study the subject further by requesting and reading our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep? The chapter "Does It Matter to God?" addresses many scriptures that unambiguously show whether God allows us to create our own holidays and customs to use in worshiping Him. It also shows the plain instruction of the apostle Paul-author of the passages cited above-regarding such matters.
A key word to consider is "truth." Can we worship God in truth if our acts of worship are at variance with His instructions for worshiping Him? God tells us in His Word that His law and commandments are the truth (Psalm 119:142,151). The Bible nowhere commands us to worship Him by celebrating Christ's birthday, the time of which is apparently purposefully obscured in Scripture. This is not the case with the
biblical festivals God does command us to observe. For instance, He specifically tells us to annually commemorate and remember Christ's death at a fixed time-not His birth.
The Bible also expressly tells us not to add to or take away from God's words and instructions (Revelation 22:18; Proverbs 30:5-6; Deuteronomy 12:32). Paul's instructions in 1Corinthians 8:4-13 and Romans 14 both refer to leading a brother into practices that may defile his conscience, thereby endangering his salvation. This in no way could include failing to observe a humanly devised holiday, wreathed in pagan practices, that has no basis in the Bible or God's truth.
Reaction to AIDS articles
Q: As a person living with AIDS, I felt compelled to write in response to your biased, hate-filled article. All I will say is that you people sound like one of the most hate-filled religious groups I have ever heard in my life. I am glad I am not associated with your type of church.
You offer no hope, help or acceptance of persons living with AIDS. All your article did was add to the growing problem of hate crime in this country. Yes, you are using the name of God and the Holy Bible to promote hate. I'm sorry, but in my Bible God was a loving, understanding and caring God. You people are sick and disease-ridden yourselves. Your cure lies within the Bible too.
K.H., Internet
A: The author of the article you mentioned is editor of Anchor, a magazine published for families of homosexuals and those wanting to leave the "gay" way of life. As such, it is designed to be a source of hope and encouragement for those in such situations. Those wishing a free subscription can write to Anchor, P.O. Box 153, Okemos, Michigan 48805.
The article's author and the staff and publishers of The Good News advocate hatred for no one. One of the purposes of The Good News is to help people understand what sin is and the dreadful, tragic consequences it brings to humanity. We realize that in today's world this may not be a politically correct message, but The Good News aims to be biblically correct in its content rather than politically correct according to this world's human standards.
Q: I just read your two Good News articles on AIDS. I'm thankful that you're helping to show that there is a cause for every effect and that much of AIDS is caused by improper sexual activity. Sexual sin is playing with fire (Proverbs 6:27). As a "recovering homosexual," I know many people, once filled with life and laughter, who have died from AIDS. Presently I am HIV positive. What grieves me is that it is all so unnecessary. Like Cher sings, "If I could turn back time ..."
I read and took some comfort in this Scripture the other day: "Your wound is incurable, your injury past healing. There is not one to care for your sore, no medicine to make you well again. All your lovers have forgotten you; they look for you no more. Yes, I have struck you ... with harsh punishment (so great is your guilt, so many your sins). Why bother to complain ...? Your pain is incurable ... But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds" (Jeremiah 30:12-17).
We need the hope and comfort that God will heal us (the medicines certainly can't)-if not in this life, then at least we can have the reassurance that God will shed His sufficient grace upon us to deal with everything we experience.
D.B.-A., Toledo, Ohio
Please see our "Questions and Answers" feature
Prisoners appreciate literature
I received The Good News magazine yesterday and read it from cover to cover.
I could not put it down. The literature of the (United) Church of God is awakening a sense that I have not felt in years. Almost eight years ago I was doing wrong (criminal activity) until my eventual arrest and prison time. Even though I come from a Roman Catholic background, I find that your way is more on track than how I was reared. I just hope I can deliver when I am called upon.
V.W.G., Rahway, New Jersey
I have already read some of the booklets and am starting the Bible Study Course this weekend. I lived in that fast-paced world and never put much into the study of the Bible. When I was put in prison more than four years ago, I decided to give it a shot. Since then I have read the Bible and what it teaches. What I am getting at is that I have been looking, and so far what I have received from the United Church of God
is simple and fits the Bible.
R.E., Kenedy, Texas
Readers from around the world
I would like to thank you for The Good News. I am so glad to be a reader of such a wonderful magazine and to be reading such rewarding items. My favorite has to be "The Bible and Archaeology," but The Good News is wonderful from the first to the last page.
I am slowly turning into a real believer, despite the sadness in my life. There were some dark times when it was so easy to lose vision and faith.
Reader from New South Wales, Australia
Thank you for sending The Good News.
I have changed a lot in my understanding of the Word of God. I have been a Christian for quite a long time but still lack knowledge. Now my mind is beginning to open to possible new insights into scriptural knowledge. I am thankful to the Lord for blessing the United Church of God so that it can provide free magazine subscriptions and booklets throughout the world.
M.M., Davao City, Philippines
Published letters may be edited for clarity and space. Address your letters to The Good News, Box 541027, Cincinnati, Ohio 45254, U.S.A., or E-mail (please be sure to include your full name, city, state or province, and country).
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