Questions and Answers

Answer: This question involves making judgments and decisions about what is appropriate for a Christian to read.We all face this question regarding many facets of life, including the kind of music we listen to, the movies we watch and even the places we choose to go.

Everyone has to make his or her determination based on some fundamental principles.It would not be wise to simply say that since many people feel it is OK to read a certain fictional novel, then any fictional novel is acceptable. Everything has to be evaluated based on its own content and merit.

A person needs to ask what impact reading this book or seeing this movie is going to have.Some types of novels, movies, TV programs, etc., can be very emotionally upsetting and harmful to the mind.They can leave lasting, negative images and also begin to impact our sense of right and wrong.

We must be careful about what we allow into our minds.God does not expect us to avoid all forms of entertainment, but we are to consider if the experience has any redeeming value and what detrimental effects it may have on us, and then choose wisely.

To answer the question specifically, we recommend avoiding novels involving the dead, vampires and werewolves. These dark themes and fantasies are often rooted in satanic concepts and are not uplifting or educational.Because we might attend an occasional movie or read other fictional novels, it does not mean every type of reading material is healthy.Some who have delved heavily into this type of literature have ended up disturbed mentally.

Answer: For those of us who do not celebrate Christmas, knowing how to respond to someone who might be sincerely wishing us well is difficult. Here are a few principles that are important to keep in mind:

1) Most people wishing us well about Christmas have no idea that Christmas is pagan in its origin, and are often unaware that we do not celebrate it.

2) There is usually not enough time to respond to that person by giving a short explanation of either the origin of Christmas or the fact that you don't celebrate it for reasons of conscience.

3) To most, saying "Merry Christmas" or "Have a happy Christmas" becomes so commonplace, it is very similar to saying "Have a good day." Most people say it out of obligation or common courtesy.

4) To simply say "Thank you" to someone who has wished you such would not be wrong—given the circumstances.It thanks them for the sentiment, but is not responding "in kind" by implying you observe Christmas.

As for the similar spelling of the words Santa and Satan, this is purely a coincidence, as these words originate in different languages and are wholly unrelated. Santa is a Latin word meaning "saint" or "holy." Satan, on the other hand, is a Hebrew word which means "Adversary" or "Accuser."

Answer: There are huge differences between Christmas and Easter and the Holy Days God commanded His people to observe. Christmas and Easter are man-made festivals without biblical authorization. God's festivals mentioned in Leviticus 23 are biblically sanctioned and were commanded forever. God's Holy Days teach us how to live godly lives and give us hope by explaining His plan of salvation. Christmas and Easter customs and celebrations mask these important truths.

As an example, the Days of Unleavened Bread, commanded by God (Leviticus 23:6) and observed by the early Christians (1 Corinthians 5:6-8), teach us to put sin (represented during this weeklong festival by leavened items such as bread and cake) out of our lives. This festival teaches us that we must struggle to overcome sin with the help of God's Spirit and live righteously. Easter celebrations ignore this important instruction.

The contrast between the biblically authorized Feast of Tabernacles and Christmas is similar. The former inspires us with hope in Christ's future 1,000-year reign on earth in the Kingdom of God, while the latter celebrates His birth with traditions, ornaments and customs He would not approve, on a day He could not have been born. (The Bible shows His birth was nowhere near Dec. 25.)

Easter and Christmas not only lack biblical authorization, but they entered traditional Chriatianity through men who deliberately replaced God's commanded festivals with their own. Trying to justify the change, both of these pagan (pre-Christian) festivals were dressed up with supposed Christian meanings—one to celebrate Christ's resurrection, the other His birth.

As wonderful as Christ's birth and resurrection are, the Bible does not tell us to celebrate these things (and especially not with the pagan customs associated with them). Instead, it tells us to annually commemorate His death (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) and to seek the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). God commands us to observe His Holy Days (Leviticus 23), which help us do these things. Using rabbits and Easter eggs to remember Christ's resurrection or decorating evergreen trees to remember His birth comes not from the Bible, but from ancient paganism.

Given the history and meanings of Easter and Christmas, it is quite understandable why so many people today think of Christianity as only a celebration of what Christ has done for us instead of the honorable quest to live godly lives in anticipation of His return to establish the Kingdom of God.

If you want more of the facts about Christmas and Easter, request our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep? Additional information about God's annual Holy Days is presented in our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind. You will find both of these booklets at www.churchofgodtwincities.org/lit/lit.htm.

Answer: While the Bible never gives an exact date (day, month and year), there are some general indicators of both the year and season of the year. Obviously the exact date of Christ's birth is not needed for salvation, because the apostle Paul specifically told Timothy he had what was needed for salvation—the Scriptures he had learned since his youth (the Old Testament) with the added understanding of faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior (2 Timothy 3:15). Let's look at the general information, though, that is given.

First, let's start with the season of the year. Luke 2 describes the circumstances of Christ's birth. Verse 8 says there were shepherds living out in the fields with their sheep at that time. Various sources will point out that shepherds around Jerusalem would not stay in the fields past the autumn. They would bring the sheep in for the winter.

For example, according to Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays, Luke's account "suggests that Jesus may have been born in summer or early fall. Since December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night" (p. 309). Similarly, The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary says this passage argues "against the birth [of Christ] occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted" shepherds watching over their flocks in the fields at night.

Also, Jesus' parents came to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census (Luke 2:1-4). The Romans would have known better than to have taken such a census in the dead of winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and roads were in poor condition for traveling. Taking a census under such conditions would have been self-defeating.

So from that passage of Scripture we can at least know one season when He was not born—the winter.

So was He born in spring, summer or autumn? A prophecy in the book of Daniel is helpful here. The last part of chapter 9 gives a prophecy about His coming and verse 27 mentions a "week" of His confirming the covenant, but that in the middle of the week He would bring an end to sacrifice and offerings. The book of Hebrews explains how His sacrifice ended the need for the Old Testament sacrificial system (chapters 8, 9 and 10).

A "week" in prophecy can stand for seven years, a day for a year (Numbers 14:34). We therefore conclude that His ministry lasted 31/2 years, with the other 31/2 years to be completed at some other time. We know Jesus Christ was killed at Passover time and that His ministry started when He was around the age of 30 (Luke 3:23). Putting all of this together makes it most probable that He was born six months before Passover—or sometime in the fall.

An autumn birth is also substantiated, and in fact more positively proven, by the timing of the birth of John the Baptist. Luke 1 tells that story.

John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, was a priest of the order of Abijah. In King David's time the priests had been organized to serve at various times—a week at a time from Sabbath to Sabbath starting with the first week in the month Nisan. They would all serve together during the feast seasons. Abijah was the eighth course (1 Chronicles 24:10).

It is a matter of doing the math to realize he was serving around early June, so when he was able to go home to his wife, Elizabeth, so she could conceive, it would have been around mid-June. That means John the Baptist was born nine months later, probably in late March.

Then in Luke 1:26 we're told the angel appeared to Mary telling her she would conceive her Son in Elizabeth's sixth month. So Jesus Christ was six months younger than John the Baptist—meaning He probably would have been born in late September when Jerusalem was crowded with people coming to observe the autumn feasts. This would explain why there was no room for Joseph and Mary at the normal hotels or "inns" near Jerusalem (Luke 2:7).

Now for the year. This has been the subject of some controversy, but again we seem to be able to find some clues. Luke 2:1-2 tells us Jesus Christ was born during Caesar Augustus' reign at the time of the first census when Quirinius was governor. Matthew 2 also tells us that Herod (the Great) was still king immediately after Christ's birth. Since Herod died somewhere around 4 or 3 B.C., and some records indicate Quirinius was ruling in 4 B.C., we believe Christ was probably born in late September of 4 B.C.

Although it's difficult to determine the first time anyone celebrated Dec. 25 as Christmas, historians are in general agreement that it wasn't until sometime during the fourth century. This is an amazingly late date. Christmas was not observed in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, until about 300 years after Christ's death. Its origins show that it cannot be traced back to the earliest Christians.

Answer: Simply put, the answer is yes! In the earliest days of the Church (first and second centuries after Christ) there were no such celebrations as Christmas and New Year's.The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: "According to the hypothesis accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the WINTER SOLSTICE (December 25th on the Roman Calendar...January 6th on the Egyptian Calendar) because on this day, as the sun began its return to the northern skies, the pagan devotees of MITHRA celebrated 'dies natalis Solis Invicti' (the birthday of the invincible sun)."

Those customs carried over in the observance of Christmas (with its many traditions and practices steeped in paganism and mythology), and the "birth" of the "new year" of the sun! This is why the Roman calendar designates Jan. 1 as the beginning of the "new year" as opposed to God's holy calendar (the Hebrew calendar). The beginning of the year from God's perspective is in the spring.

Much of the symbolism associated with New Year's today (mistletoe among others) has very definite sexual origins and meanings.

Because we live in this secular society and must operate within the Roman calendar, even as Christians we acknowledge that a new calendar year begins to be counted on Jan. 1. Yet to get involved in the celebration of such would not be appropriate. That said, one should be careful not to become too judgmental if a Christian is, for example, viewing a football game or parade at that time of year—as opposed to actually "celebrating" the "new year."

There are many resources that show the pagan origins of New Year's celebrations. You can find related material in reference encyclopedias and online research resources as well.

Answer: Since the Jews added the feasts of Purim (the origins of which are described in the book of Esther) and Hanukkah, otherwise known as the Feast of Lights or Feast of Dedication (John 10:22-23), some believe we are free to add any religious holidays and celebrations of our own choosing. Is this true?

Important differences in the background and intent of these observances are obvious when we compare them to Christmas, Easter and Halloween. Purim commemorates the defeat of the Jews' enemies during the time of Queen Esther, and Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Jerusalem temple after its defilement by the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes. Neither incorporates pagan customs. Hanukkah, like the American holiday of Thanksgiving, is a celebration of thanks and honor to God for His blessings.

An important distinction between these holidays and those rooted in paganism is the realization that these celebrations can be kept in addition to God's commanded feast days. Unlike Christmas and Easter, they do not alter, replace or distort the meaning of a festival of God or other biblical truths. These particular days are in harmony with the apostle Paul's admonition for "giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20) (Source: Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep?, p. 23).

Answer: Your answer, "first-century Christian," is certainly accurate since we trace our origin to the Church that Jesus founded in the early first century. This means we worship on Saturdays and observe the biblical holidays as Jesus and the disciples did.

Because we have no association with any other religious organization or any denomination, the term "nondenominational Christian" could also be an answer to give to your friends. Your friends are probably most interested in knowing whether or not you belong to a Christian church, and the term "nondenominational" tells them that your church is not associated with one of the mainstream, large, well-known church organizations.

For more information about the United Church of God, read our free booklet This Is the United Church of God, which can be read or requested online at www.churchofgodtwincities.org/lit/lit.htm.