I know that most of us were raised with having a Christmas tree since we were kids and it may be hard to believe that God doesn't want us to have them. I read in KJV this
Jeremiah 10:2 KJV Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3* For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4* They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
To Me it sounds that God does not want us to have Christmas trees in the above passage. I believe that it's a Pagan tradition what are your thoughts on this??? Am I looking at it the wrong way??? Let me know what you believe Thanks!!!
2007-10-30 04:41:49 · 37 answers · asked by ON FIRE 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Its called Pick'N'Mixism.All christians follow it.Just pick and choose the bits from your holy book that you like,and ignore the bits you dont.simple.
2007-10-30 04:48:06 · answer #1 · answered by Cotton Wool Ninja 6 · 7⤊ 5⤋
When you put up a Christmas tree, do you worship the tree?
NO?
Hmmm....
Do you believe that there is a spirit that lives in the tree that you are bringing into your house?
NO?
Hmmm....
Do you decorate the tree with real silver and gold, or nail it to the house so that it can't be taken down?
NO??
Hmmm....
Is the tree the center of your Christmas celebrations?
NO???
Well, what is it, then?
Is it a traditional decoration? Nothing more than that?
Hmmm...
So, let me see...God is angry with me for putting a decoration in my house to celebrate His birth?
Rather unreasonable of Him, don't you think?
Let's look at your verses.
"Learn not the way of the heathen"...yes, the tree was originally a heathen decoration, which got incorporated into Christmas celebrations as the Good News spread across the known world. We got alot of our Christmas traditions from other cultures.
Do you suppose Jesus knows that we are honoring Him? I think He does...
"Be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them"...are you dismayed at the signs of heaven, and is that why you have a Christmas tree? I honestly don't think many people even know what is being talked about here.
(One of the "signs of heaven", btw, was the star that the heathen magi saw in the East that foretold the birth of the King of Heaven. Lots of folks were "dismayed" at this sign, but for these three men, it meant a new hope. Something to think about, eh?)
"For the customs of the people are vain..." You know that bit about cutting a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman...that sounds as if the thing he is making is intended to be an object of worship, doesn't it? And he is decking his tree with silver and gold, and fastening it so it cannot be moved. I don't know about you, but I have never put any silver or gold ornaments on my tree, and I certainly don't nail it down in place so that it cannot be moved. Do you? (The guy could just be building a house, or maybe he is building a temple for his false "tree-god"...it really isn't clear, is it?)
I know that a lot of politically correct Christians are using these verses to try to convince folks that God is condemning us for having a Christmas tree...but it's not a very convincing argument.
We all know, or ought to, that the Christmas celebration is around 1800 years old, and has traveled all over Europe, and has obviously picked up a great many traditions from customs already in place in those areas. And yet, it is a celebration that is unique to Christendom. It has traditionally been a time of charity, giving to the poor and needy...and a time of peace, inspiring men at war to put their weapons down and have a day of fellowship among "enemies"...
Sure, the world has commercialized the holy day, making it a time to spend money we don't have on things we don't need for people we don't like...if you are foolish enough to fall into that trap, God help you!
OH, and since I've gotten older, and "fake" Christmas trees have gotten so much nicer, I don't put up a tree that has been "cut down with an ax"...so, I guess Jeremiah is not referring to my Christmas tree anyhow. Seems it is just wooden Christmas trees cut from the forest that God is opposed to...so I'm OK, right?
Hmmm.....
2007-10-30 05:21:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
First of all, Germanic Celts did NOT CUT DOWN the trees while it was a religious ceremony; they decorated them live in the forest. It was not until it became a secular tradition that cutting (killing) down a tree and dragging it back to your house became the norm.
If you venerate an EverGreen tree, it would be kind of heretical to cut them down.
Second, I do not think that the Ancient Hebrews ever had contact with the Ancient Germans. What ever tradition is being described is NOT the one that became the Christmas tradition.
Thirdly, these are rules for Hebrews NOT Gentiles. Non-Jewish followers of the god of Abraham need only follow the Noahide Laws.
Fourth, I buy a live tree and donate it to the local park services instead of killing a tree. It has nothing to do with religion but is a great winter tradition.
2007-10-30 05:31:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, we have a Christmas tree in our house every year but we do not emphasize the worldly characteristics of Christmas--we try to focus on the fact that it is Jesus' birthday and that is what we are celebrating. Christmas morning is not first about presents but about reading the Christmas story, putting baby Jesus in the manger and singing "Happy Birthday To You". We have been passing this tradition down for years.
The lesson we teach about the Christmas tree is that the tree is shaped like a triangle with 3 points representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit --and I don't believe that if you have a Christmas tree you are going to miss Heaven. Our hearts are judged and our motives in which we do things. Jesus wants us to also live a life of love, joy, and most of all good clean fun. If we put Him first and the other stuff second than I'm pretty sure He's good with that.
2007-10-30 04:57:27 · answer #4 · answered by heavnbound 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read all of Jeremiah. They were worshiping the pagan silver and gold trinkets and images on the trees that they were decorating. That was under the old Covenant because Jeremiah was in the OT. We live under the new Covenant after the coming of Christ. The trees we decorate in this day and time are topped with stars representing the Star of Bethlehem or an angel representing the Angel over the Manger. It's not pagan because we don't worship the ornaments on them. We only put representations of the celebration of the birth of Christ for He is worthy to be praised.
2007-10-30 10:01:04 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're confused. This passage may sound like it pertains to Christmas trees, but in fact it does not. There are other passages in the Bible that clarify what God was referring to when He spoke through Jeremiah: idols that were fashioned into objects occuring in nature, which were then worshipped.
Isaiah 40:18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
So as long as a person doesn't worship the tree and worships God instead, everything is fine.
Col. 2:16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
2007-10-30 04:56:09 · answer #6 · answered by Suzanne: YPA 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Interesting topic.
So, you don't think we should have Christmas trees because they are heathen practices? But in reality, Christmas itself is not Christian in origin. Early Christianity had no set holidays and the disciples and Jesus were Jews. Most of the holidays we celebrate as Christian, including Christmas came about as part of the Holy Roman Empire's attempts to convert as many pagans as possible by "claiming" their celebrations as Christian. Christmas was laid right over top of many common winter solstice festivals.
Which, really, if you want to get technical and follow exactly what the Bible says about learning from the heathens, means that we should stop celebrating Christmas and quite possibly start practicing Judaism.
2007-10-30 04:53:31 · answer #7 · answered by meadowbee 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Jesus also cried when he saw the first church because we got the message so wrong. Do you go to church?
The tree was adopted by the church eons ago to help convert pagans to Christianity. It's just a tree. It's not a symbol of heathenism or anything else.
Our Christmas tree is something we do together. We all take time from our busy lives to get together, listen to Christmas music, and decorate the tree. It's a "custom" that is, to me, the very essence of Christmas itself. It brings joy to us and to those we invite into our home.
2007-10-30 05:05:18 · answer #8 · answered by Darksuns 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Although I am well aware of the fact that the Christmas tree is a pagan symbol, I do not see it as sinning against God to have one. We prayed hard about that a couple of years ago when we decided to no longer do Santa with our children (now they get four wrapped gifts under the tree, three representing the gifts of the magi, one representing the gift of Christ, all are wrapped and are from Jesus, since He is the giver of all things). Through prayerful consideration, we came to the conclusion that although Christmas trees are historically pagan, they now represent things of Christ as well. The angel or star on the top of the tree represent the announcement of His arrival. He died on a tree as well. Think about what the cross really means. It was a symbol of a torturous death usually reserved for criminals or prisoners of war, yet now it is seen as a symbol of Christ's redemptive love and resurrection. Anyway, we decided that it would hurt our witness more than it would help it and continue to have a tree.
2007-10-30 04:54:37 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think Christmas trees follow Chistain beliefs because most of them are topped with an Angel or a Star representing the star the wise men followed to find Christ. As for Santa Claus he is the Pagan god I chose not to worship. If you look up the description of Baal from old Hebrew days. The days of Elijah... you'll find he resembles Santa Claus.
2007-10-30 04:49:06 · answer #10 · answered by Tommiecat 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What is being described in Jeremiah is the worship of a tree. Pagans believed that gods lived in the trees and decorating the tree was a way of honoring the gods of the tree.
The present day Christmas tree has been made into a Christian symbol. The evergreen tree reminds us of everlasting life in Jesus Christ. The lights we put on the tree remind us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. The decorations we place on the tree remind of of the riches that we receive through Jesus Christ.
We bring the tree inside so we can look at it in comfort. it is too cold outside to look at the tree and reflect on the Incarnation.
2007-10-30 04:52:07 · answer #11 · answered by Sldgman 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋