how can you celebrate christmas after reading Jermiah the 10th chapter ?

Question

it speaks against the ways of the heathen.. and it sounds a lot lie chirstmas

Answer 1

Simple, you purchase a tree and some presents, do some decorating, spread cheer, eat, drink (moderately) and be merry. Not everything in the Bible is meant to be translated literally or else we would have a lot of believers out there with missing limbs and eye patches, duhhhh!!! Don't deprive your family of Christmas by being an over eccentric Jehovah's Witness. Oh, and stop coming to my door early on Saturday mornings, I am trying to sleep in.

Merry Christmas!!!

Answer 2

Dear California

It seems that you are into the writings of the Older Covanent. In many ways Christmas has been taken over by the "Heathen". Personally I have stopped celebrating Christmas. Now I simply use it as a time of rejoicing with family and friends.

If you are sincere in your question, then maybe you could consider what I do. I believe that I celebrate on the true birthday of Messiah.

Below is an essay I put together many years as I searched the Older Covanent to see if there were any clues to the day of his birth. I hope you enjoy. (I am Copy & pasting, so you may need to remember that.)

Dear Sid,

If you want the standard answers, you already have them. What I am about to tell you is a bit long and it is not traditional.

First: the names of the wisemen (or Magi)are not recorded in the second chapter of Matthew. In fact we do not know that there were three of them. We only know that they presented three very expensive gifts.

As to their story , here is the non traditional one.

The biggest criticism of the story is that astronomers say that there was no special star the shone at the end of the first century BC or the begining of the first century AD.

Now let's remember that Matthew was writing to Jewish people. Therefore the story of the Magi had to fit into the calander, and the feasts of the Jewish people.

I believe that the Magi were Jewish astronomers that lived in Persia. There forefathers had been students of the prophet Daniel. He was both a wealthy and revered man. He had seen visions of Messiah. When he died, he entrusted his wealth to his students. That wealth was to be given to Messiah when he came. The astronomers watched the night sky for a sign that Messiah had come.

In the Jewish culture the day starts in the evening. Their months are governed by the sighting of the New Moon(i.e. the smallest sliver of moon that can be seen in the evening sky.) In the fall there are three feasts that the Jewish people observe.

The first is the "Feast of Trumpets" or the "Feast of Announcements". It ocurrs on the first day of the seventh Jewish month. The Jewish months seem to wander when compared with th Roman calendar. The feast of Announcements could happen any time from the middle of Sept. to the end of November. (there were ways that the feasts were calculated.)
The second feast is the day to prepare for the coming of Messiah. It is the holiest day of the Jewish calandar. It ocurrs on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month.
The third fall feast was called the "Feast of Tabernacles". This feast starts on the 14th day of the Seventh month and lasts for eight days. It looked forward to the time that Messiah would live with his people.

The Bible says that the Magi were from the east and had seen His star rise in the eastern sky. (see Matt. 2:2 and the footnote in the N.I.V.)

Lets suppose that it is the year "0" B.C. It has been a very dry few years and the Feast of Announcements is very late in coming. The Magi are looking to the western sky to sight the first sliver of moon to start the feast. As they see the moon in the west, they look to the east and there just above the horizon is a commet. This commet however is special because it appears in the constellation of Leo. That constellation reminded the Jews of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The commet may have been in conjunction with Regulus, the brightest star in Leo. The Magi knew the prophecy of Baalim, in Num 23. when he said that the Messiah would come like a commet. It all fit together. This was the Greatest Announcement of all time. The Magi also knew that the messiah would probably be born on the first day of the "Feast of Tabernacles". They left immediately took the treasures that had been entrusted to them, and went to Jerusalem. It took them two weeks to get there.They met with Herod and found out that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. They started out and another commet appeared due south of them. (Bethlehem is due south of Jerusalem.) They followed this star and it led them to the Messiah. (This is very possible if the place where Jesus and Mary were housed was at the very south end of the town.) Jesus was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jewish holiday that looks to the time when Messiah lives with his people.

Did the Magi ever take part in Jesus life again? We don't know, but they probably disbanded since their work was done. Could it be that Nicodemus, the man that Jesus quoted John 3:16 to, and Joseph of Arimathia, the man that buried Jesus, were two of the Magi?

Hope this has been informative

God bless

Bryan

Answer 3

just keep in mind that's why Jesus came to die for our sins. so we don't have to live strictly by the law but by grace. Merry Christmas!

Answer 4

Personally, I think if you take the bible too literally, you cant do anything anymore.