While the Armstrong Churches of God focus on separating themselves completely from God-fearing Christianity, spewing hateful "Bah-Humbugs" towards those they condemn as pagan and sinful, let's take a moment to look at Christmas through the eyes of a Christian.
These are some of the things a Christian focuses on during the Christmas Season:
JESUS CHRIST
- A time to honor, reflect, and meditate on the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ (regardless of date).
- A time to sing songs of celebration and honor of the birth and life of Jesus Christ.
- A time to bring the warmth and beauty of lights in the darkness of winter in honor of the Light of Life.
- A time to love others, and show others the miracle of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.
FAMILY AND FRIENDS
- The Opportunity to spend time with distant relatives rarely seen.
- A time to enhance, develop and strengthen emotional bonds and relationships
- A time to bless others with gifts in honor of the gift of Christ's gift of salvation to us.
- An opportunity to create positive, lasting memories.
THE WORLD
- A time to share the Gospel Message of the Coming of Jesus Christ into the World.
- A time to share to Gospel of the Kingdom of God through the dwelling of Christ within you.
- A time to bring attention to the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
- A time to give the gift of joy, laughter, and love - and the message of peace on earth and goodwill towards men.
Tell me what in the above is "sinful" in any way shape or form.
The Churches of God relish in their own deep hypocrisy:
- Condemning ornaments, decorations, and the tree while constructing idolatrous temples of gold and silver.
- Condemning Christmas as pagan and evil, while trampling on the Biblical commands of how to keep Holy Days.
- Condemning Christmas songs about Christ, while singing songs that have nothing at all to do with Christ.
- Condemning Churchgoers who worship Jesus on Christmas with pure hearts - while single-handedly extorting their own members for sordid gain in wickedness all year.
- Blasting those who observe Christmas while (UCG) holding the Winter Family Weekend at a Christmas Holiday Hotel.
- Condemning those who give gifts to others on Christmas, so they can gain that money themselves, regardless of what needs are being filled or what blessings are being administered.
YES, there are legitimate concerns about Christmas that Christians of ALL faiths care about.
Christmas is a highly commercialized, monetarily driven day for many non-believers.
Christmas can be centered on myths and falsehoods for many believers. (Who are the COG's to talk about myths and falsehoods, by the way? ??)
Christmas can be a time non-believers to engage in drunkedness, illicit behavior, parties, and all of the things Paul preached against over and over again, and Christ condemned.
Christmas can be a day of selfish, get-driven philosophy if approached wrongly.
YET, let us not forget:
- The Feast of Tabernacles can be a highly commercialized, monetarily driven festival for Feastgoers.
- The Feast of Tabernacles can be centered (and usually is) on myths, outright lies, and falsehoods.
- The Feast of Tabernacles can be a time for Feastgoers to engage in drunk behaviour, illicit behavior, parties, and all of the things Paul preached against over and over again, and Christ condemned.
- The Feast can be a festival of selfish, get-driven philosophy if approached wrongly.
When it comes down to it, it all comes down to what is in a person's heart, mind and soul - whether it's Christmas or the Feast. Both can be abused. "But one's in the Bible, and one's a man-made pagan day!" I can hear echoing through COGdom. What is important is what is in the heart - whether you are observing a day celebrating Christ's Birth, or a festival celebrating Christ's reign. That - and that alone - is what God looks at, and always has looked at - even in the days of paganism, in the days Christ walked the Earth, and now in the age of grace and reconciliation. It's all about one's relationship with Jesus Christ. Because both a tree - and a Podium Church Seal - can be idolized in exactly the wrong way. It depends on your heart, not on what's made of stone or plastic, or wood, or glitter, or garland.
As the scripture says - against LOVE, there is no law. Because LOVE is the fulfillment of the Law.
submitted by SHT