You are here: Home / Archives for December 2014

Podcasts Debunking the “Christmas is Pagan” Canard

12/21/2014 4 Comments

I was recently on The 4th Watch Radio Show with Justen Faull discussing Christmas:

Christmas Closure: An Alternative View with special guest Cris D. Putnam

In this episode Justen and Cris compare popular pagan claims about Christmas, with corresponding contradictions in historical documentation. The adventure includes controversial alternative views, as well as answers the question “Should Christians divide over Christmas?”. Join us tonight for these and much more! This is one broadcast you won’t want to miss!

http://4thwatchradio.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-4th-watch-radio-show-with-justen_18.html

My friend Cliff Garner (PhD candidate in history) was on Beyond Extraordinary:

Beyond Extraordinary Ep. 32: Debunking the “Pagan Christmas” Myth with Cliff Garner

Is it wrong for a Christian to celebrate Christmas?  Are our Christmas traditions mired in pagan symbolism?  Is Christmas a day that once belonged to an assortment of sun gods?  Can a Christian celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th in spirit and truth?  Should we?  Where did these “Pagan Christmas” ideas come from?

These are the questions we’re taking on in this very important Christmas episode of Beyond Extraordinary.

http://extraordinaryintelligence.com/beyond-extraordinary-ep-32-debunking-the-pagan-christmas-myth-with-cliff-garner/

And a Messianic Rabbi takes a stand for Christmas on the Iron Show:

IRON SHOW LIVE 51 – DEFENDING CHRISTMAS WITH RABBI MIKE

Rabbi Mike – aka Michael Bugg Defends and explains Christmas. Rabbi Mike shows us how even the WORD itself uses pagan themes.
http://fringeradionetwork.com/iron-show-live-51-defending-christmas-with-rabbi-mike/

Filed Under Apologetics Tagged With Christmas

Christmas on December 25th is not from Paganism!

12/11/2014 224 Comments

dec 25If you frequent social media, then you’ve probably been inundated with smarty pants pseudo scholars calling Christmas a “pagan holiday.” These under-informed accusers believe they have the goods with bold claims like Christmas trees are forbidden in Jeremiah 10 (a passage about the manufacture of Canaanite idols) and that the date of December 25th was adopted from the pagan holiday of Saturnalia (actually December 17th).

The best way to respond to these claims is to ask them what evidence they have (from source documents). Most of the time this question will cause them to change the subject or elicit the chirping of crickets.  The truth is most of the claims are dubious and have no actual evidence.  Even if there were other holidays on the same date, it does not mean that they were even aware of each other. Correlation does not necessarily imply causation. The leaps in logic are prohibitive and there is no source claiming the Christians appropriated pagan days until the 12th century!

In the real world. reputable ancient source documents lay waste to the popular pagan origins theory concerning December 25. Biblical Archaeology Review is a serious journal respected by real biblical scholars. The article How December 25 Became Christmas provides ample evidence debunking the pagan origins myth, showing how it actually began, and even demonstrating how 12-5 was decided to be the date of Jesus’s birth. This dates back to the second century ( I challenge pagan theorists to antedate it).

Around 200 C.E. Tertullian of Carthage reported the calculation that the 14th of Nisan (the day of the crucifixion according to the Gospel of John) in the year Jesus diedc was equivalent to March 25 in the Roman (solar) calendar. March 25 is, of course, nine months before December 25; it was later recognized as the Feast of the Annunciation—the commemoration of Jesus’ conception. Thus, Jesus was believed to have been conceived and crucified on the same day of the year. Exactly nine months later, Jesus was born, on December 25.[1]

Of course, I am a nerd with Logos Bible Software and a searchable database of ancient documents including Tertullian. I verified the claim from the original source documents, Tertullian wrote:

And the suffering of this “extermination” was perfected within the times of the lxx hebdomads, under Tiberius Cæsar, in the consulate of Rubellius Geminus and Fufius Geminus, in the month of March, at the times of the passover, on the eighth day before the calends of April (March 25)[2]

The belief was that he died on the same day he was conceived. They believed the conception was on March 25 which became the Feast of the Annunciation, commemorating the angel’s appearance to Mary:  “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth” (Luke 1:26) This idea appears in an anonymous Christian treatise titled On Solstices and Equinoxes from fourth-century North Africa:

“Therefore our Lord was conceived on the eighth of the kalends of April in the month of March [March 25], which is the day of the passion of the Lord and of his conception. For on that day he was conceived on the same he suffered.” [3]

The rationale was innocent enough, just add nine months to date of conception to determine when He was born and it lands on December 25th.  It’s that simple. Paganism had absolutely nothing to do with it.

 

Note:  Due to so may folks missing the point, I do not think Jesus was born on Dec 25th; the point of this post is that the early church did not chose the date based on a pagan holiday but rather when they assumed he was conceived (mistaken or not).

 

[1]Andrew McGowan, “How  December 25th Became Christmas ” Biblical Archeology Review, 08/12/2014  http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/how-december-25-became-christmas/#location1

[2] Tertullian, “An Answer to the Jews,” in Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. S. Thelwall, vol. 3, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 160.

[3] De solstitia et aequinoctia conceptionis et nativitatis domini nostri iesu christi et iohannis baptista  as cited by Andrew McGowan, “How  December 25th Became Christmas ” Biblical Archeology Review, 08/12/2014  http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/how-december-25-became-christmas/#note11 

Filed Under Apologetics, Hebrew Roots Movement Tagged With Christmas

Romans 14:5 & the Sabbath

12/11/2014 9 Comments

My last post on Sunday worship elicited the expected response from the HRM crowd. Unfortunately many of them still use the strawman “The Sabbath didn’t change,” Of course I do not think it changed but rather that it became irrelevant when the covenant changed. A “go to” passage is traditionally:

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you with reference to eating or drinking or participation in a feast or a new moon or a Sabbath,”(Col 2:16)

Judaizers intentionally obfuscate and twist that passage as explained here. Although that verse is devastating to their arguments that New Covenant Christians must keep the Sabbath, another passage is lesser known but clearly teaches that it is a personal preference.

“One person prefers one day over another day, and another person regards every day alike. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind.”(Ro 14:5)

At first glance this seems vague but the Sabbath is certainly in focus. Here is the ESV Study Bible note which is very illuminating:

“14:5 The weak thought some days were more important than others. Given the Jewish background here (see v. 14), the day that is supremely in view is certainly the Sabbath. The strong think every day is the same. Both views are permissible. Each person must follow his own conscience. What is remarkable is that the Sabbath is no longer a binding commitment for Paul but a matter of one’s personal conviction. Unlike the other nine commandments in Ex. 20:1–17, the Sabbath commandment seems to have been part of the “ceremonial laws” of the Mosaic covenant, like the dietary laws and the laws about sacrifices, all of which are no longer binding on new covenant believers (see also Gal. 4:10; Col. 2:16–17). However, it is still wise to take regular times of rest from work, and regular times of worship are commanded for Christians (Heb. 10:24–25; cf. Acts 20:7).”

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2181.

The HRMer would be the “weak” in this case and it is perfectly acceptable for them to observe special days. What is not acceptable is to judge others who choose not to, which is, unfortunately what most of them do.

Filed Under Apologetics, Hebrew Roots Movement Tagged With Hebrew Roots, Sabbath

Confusion About Sunday Worship

12/10/2014 67 Comments

sundaymorningworshipMany in the Hebrew Roots Movement accuse New Testament followers of Jesus of “changing the Sabbath to Sunday.” But that is not really the case. The Sabbath did not change but the covenant changed and Sabbath observance is part and parcel of the obsolete Mosaic covenant. The Sabbath did not change the covenant did (Heb 8:13). Christians began to meet on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7) because that is the day Jesus rose from the dead.  This is supported by early church documents like Justin Martyr’s First Apology. Justin was taught by Polycarp who was a disciple of John the Apostle who was taught by the Lord Jesus. Justin wrote

But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; andJesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration. (1st Apology, 67)

It seems to me Justin was in a much better position to know than modern HRMers two thousand years removed.

Filed Under Apologetics, Hebrew Roots Movement Tagged With HRM, Sunday

Stage is Set for Panspermia Creation Myth

12/07/2014 16 Comments

panspermia-gorusu-850x500

Panspermia means that life on earth was seeded from outer space. The term “panspermia” derives from two Greek terms: pan, meaning “all,” and sperma, meaning “seed.” There are two forms directed (ETs seeded earth) and undirected (DNA from a comet or meteor). Many have thought it unlikely because the heat of entry into the atmosphere would incinerate organic matter. However, it looks like DNA is more resilient than we thought. Scientists from the University of Zurich in Switzerland found that DNA can survive:

 

DNA ‘can survive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere

Scientists who attached small double strands of DNA to the outer casing of a rocket discovered it could survive temperatures soaring to more than 1,000 degrees Celsius

DNA can survive re-entry into the atmosphere, raising the possibility of extraterrestrial life molecules arriving on Earth from space, research has shown.

The discovery came as a total surprise to scientists who attached small double strands of DNA to the outer casing of a rocket.

Despite temperatures soaring to more than 1,000 degrees Celsius during the short flight to sub-orbital space and back, much of the DNA emerged intact.[1]

Science fiction authors and the entertainment industry have been promoting panspermia for decades. Recent films like Prometheus (2012), Knowing (2009), and Mission to Mars (2000) have sown this seed into the public psyche. Interestingly, Richard Dawkins made an appeal to directed panspermia in the movie Expelled when he was asked about the origin of life by Ben Stein:

Stein: How did it get created?

Dawkins: By a very slow process.

Stein: Well, how did it start?

Dawkins: Nobody knows how it got started. We know the kind of event that it must have been. We know the sort of event that must have happened for the origin of life.

Stein: And what was that?

Dawkins: It was the origin of the first self-replicating molecule.

Stein: Right, and how did that happen?

Dawkins: I told you, we don’t know.

Stein: What do you think is the possibility that Intelligent Design might turn out to be the answer to some issues in genetics or in Darwinian evolution.

Dawkins: Well, it could come about in the following way. It could be that at some earlier time, somewhere in the universe, a civilization evolved, probably by some kind of Darwinian means, probably to a very high level of technology, and designed a form of life that they seeded onto perhaps this planet. Um, now that is a possibility, and an intriguing possibility. And I suppose it’s possible that you might find evidence for that if you look at the details of biochemistry, molecular biology, you might find a signature of some sort of designer.

Stein (as narrator): So Professor Dawkins was not against Intelligent Design, just certain types of designers such as God.[2]

Kenneth J. Delano, wrote in an officially sanctioned Catholic book, “Our religious sensitivities ought not be shocked by the idea that the evolutionary history of the human body might be traced back ultimately to a primordial refuse heap left by visiting ETI when Earth was young.”[3]

In other words, it is consistent with Catholic theology to believe we might have evolved from ancient alien garbage.  Considering all the recent hullabaloo from the Pope about baptizing ETs, one wonders what Rome is up to (time to read Exo-Vaticana). Many have noted Pope Francis’ ecumenical jihad but might it also connect to panspermia?  Perhaps… and here is how.

Dr. Michael Heiser speculates that scientific evidence seeming to affirm that life on Earth was seeded from space could potentially inspire an inclusivist global religion. In regard to panspermia, he wrote, “It will be the paradigm that allows the atheist to tolerate religion, and allows literalist Bible-readers, the eastern Buddhist, and the pagan to simultaneously parse the new science the same way. This might in turn be useful fodder for a global religion.”[4]  This new DNA evidence makes this seem much more plausible.

 

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11256420/DNA-can-survive-re-entry-into-Earths-atmosphere.html

[2] Dialog from Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, written by Ben Stein and Kevin Miller, directed by Nathan Frankowski, performed by Richard Dawkins and Ben Stein, Premise Media, 2008.

[3] Kenneth J. Delano, Many Worlds, One God (Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press, 1977), 105.

[4] Dr. Michael Heiser, “Panspermia,” in How To Overcome The Most Frightening Issues You Will Face This Century Kindle locations 4078–4080.

Filed Under Exo Vaticana