Yeah, well. I do believe that Jesus came as a baby and that he died in the cross for me. I do believe that Christ came back on the third day but I don't believe in this "christmas" thing that is celebrated at this time of year. Why? Well, first of all I believe in logic and reason and things just don't add up.
Don't be offended, please. God forbid I lose my 3.5 commenters. The thing is that there are so many things that don't add up regarding this holiday that I can't follow. No where in The Bible does it say that Jesus was born on December 25, yet people act as if it's his actual birthday. If you read The Bible closely, logic and reason show that he was actually born in the fall. Why? Because the angels announced it to the shepherds tending the sheep. It gets cold in Israel during wintertime so it rules that season out. There was a census going on at that time. In those times, eveverything rose and fell according to the harvest. That means that until all the crops were harvested no farmer wanting to live through the winter would've left his field. Yet there were so many people in Bethlehem that there was no available room. This leaves out summer and early fall. It couldn't have happened in the springtime because it's planting season, and once again the farmers wouldn't have been able to leave their land. People really lived off the land during that time for sustenance and profit. It wouldn't have been economically motivating for the Roman rulers to order something that would eventually affect the amount of money they received from the Jews.
This leaves mid to late fall as the only possible time. Now, the wise men. The Bible doesn't say how many there were nor how long it took them to get to Jesus and his mother. The Bible does say that they were come into the house. If they had found Jesus right where he was born, it would've said barn. It also says that right after they left Joseph was told to leave Israel. This is when Herod killed all young children less than two years old. "according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men." He wouldn't have had a need to kill all two year olds if there had been no time passed between the birth of Jesus and the time the wise men showed up in front of Jesus. Also I know that the Catholic church first had about 20, then 2 then 3 wise men. They even named them. There are no names in The Bible for them.
I have to go back to work, but this is my little rant of the day. Don't get me wrong, I just have a problem with something that maybe started out as a good thing but has now become completely commercialized. Christmas is about satisfiying the ego. How many presents did I get? How good were they? How many did I give? Give me, give me, gimme. That's all there is to it nowadays. It's nothing more than a marketing scheme. I choose to get presents and give them if there's a secret angel thing going on at my job. I choose to pick a card off the angel tree and give presents to a needy child. I don't ban christmas music. I don't go to the company christmas party. But who wants to spend more time than necessary with the crazies at my job? I hope that you're not offended by my not wanting to celebrate this time of the year just as I'm not offended by your wanting to celebrate it.
Hello, my name is SourpatchBaby and I'm a christian who doesn't celebrate christmas.
Posted by sourpatchbaby | 12/06/2006 | Church, holidays, Me, stuff | 5 comments »
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm not offended, but maybe that's because I'm an avid Agnostic, lol.
I don't celebrate Christmas, either, and probably for somewhat similar reasons.
I think it's completely commericial and altogether annoying... I'll give presents to some people but just because I want to, not because I feel forced due to the holiday. I think present giving can be fun for both the giver and the receiver, as long as there's no pressure. I don't do it with the 'reason for the season' as the label for it.
And you're right, there are many accounts that Jesus wasn't born at this supposed time, and I've also read that they also got the year wrong (meaning that the basis of our calendar is actually inaccurate)...
I have a lot of respect for your reasons & I like that you're taking it for it's literally interpretation.
I don't know what you're Christian friends are going to think, but hopefully they understand (;
Thanks. Also, I've read that the last wise man was added around 150-200 years ago. He is the only black wise man. I guess they were trying to be politically correct.
200 years ago? I doubt they were trying to be politically correct back then... that was around the slavery era... they didn't believe in being correct about anything like that back then.... it's most definitely an interesting question, though.
There's nothing wrong with not celebrating Xmas. I'm only celebrating now because of my son, but this holiday stuff actually depresses me. I left the church many moons ago...
It's strictly a Hallmark Holiday, just like the rest.
Man, I love "Agnostic Kids Get Presents" day, as one of my friends calls it. But yeah, not so much with all the hoopla around it.