So what's the deal with Christmas?
Consider this my official Christmas post. A buddy of mine and I talked about this the other night. A lot of people in my peer group have been born and raised observing and celebrating Christmas. I think it might be a Dutch/European thing. You sing sappy songs, you get a tree, you get gifts, you go to church on Christmas morning, and so on. There's lots of talk out there about how people are taking Jesus out of Christmas, and how it's becoming too commercialized. While that may be true, I think there are deeper issues here.
The Westminster Standards, embodying the doctrines of the historic Presbyterian church, are firmly against the observance of "special days". Why? Because they come directly from the Roman Catholic church, and more importantly they have no warrant in Scripture. In fact, the word "Christmas" comes directly from the Old English Cristes Maesse, which means the Mass of Christ. Thus, I believe there is no Christian or biblical history behind celebrating Christmas. I haven't quite gotten there yet, but I think there may be reason for Reformed Christians to not only set the celebration of Christmas aside, but also speak out about celebrating the day.
To elaborate more on the senselessness of the "Christmas season", let's talk about gift giving. I can't think of anything more fake. If people were truly generous and thinking about others, they would give gifts at any time during the year. When Christmas comes along, people feel obligated to give gifts, more often than not expecting something in return. Next up to bat is Santa Claus (sometimes known as "Satan Claus"). I shouldn't have to say much about this guy. His status as folklore is fine with me, but we have so many idiots these days teaching their kids that he is real. This is simply lying to your children, and the consequence is that a figure of folklore and fiction is blown way out of proper proportion in our culture. Then there's the Christmas tree. What is the point of that? Drag a freaking big plant into your house (unless you go for the boxed-up fake one) and pimp it out with all manner of lights and bobbles and other what-not. Why do you need to glorify this organism in your house? Senseless.
All that being said, we must not undercut the importance of the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ. Our salvation is completely dependent on God becoming man and living on the Earth. It is the essential first step, as promised at the very first to Adam and Eve in Genesis. We as Christians should not need any special occaision to remember or celebrate this, though. Especially when such a day is to be found nowhere in the Bible. For those in other countries where Christmas is completely foreign, this whole season must seem like much ado about nothing - for in America these days, it truly is.
The Westminster Standards, embodying the doctrines of the historic Presbyterian church, are firmly against the observance of "special days". Why? Because they come directly from the Roman Catholic church, and more importantly they have no warrant in Scripture. In fact, the word "Christmas" comes directly from the Old English Cristes Maesse, which means the Mass of Christ. Thus, I believe there is no Christian or biblical history behind celebrating Christmas. I haven't quite gotten there yet, but I think there may be reason for Reformed Christians to not only set the celebration of Christmas aside, but also speak out about celebrating the day.
To elaborate more on the senselessness of the "Christmas season", let's talk about gift giving. I can't think of anything more fake. If people were truly generous and thinking about others, they would give gifts at any time during the year. When Christmas comes along, people feel obligated to give gifts, more often than not expecting something in return. Next up to bat is Santa Claus (sometimes known as "Satan Claus"). I shouldn't have to say much about this guy. His status as folklore is fine with me, but we have so many idiots these days teaching their kids that he is real. This is simply lying to your children, and the consequence is that a figure of folklore and fiction is blown way out of proper proportion in our culture. Then there's the Christmas tree. What is the point of that? Drag a freaking big plant into your house (unless you go for the boxed-up fake one) and pimp it out with all manner of lights and bobbles and other what-not. Why do you need to glorify this organism in your house? Senseless.
All that being said, we must not undercut the importance of the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ. Our salvation is completely dependent on God becoming man and living on the Earth. It is the essential first step, as promised at the very first to Adam and Eve in Genesis. We as Christians should not need any special occaision to remember or celebrate this, though. Especially when such a day is to be found nowhere in the Bible. For those in other countries where Christmas is completely foreign, this whole season must seem like much ado about nothing - for in America these days, it truly is.
