By Evangelist Dominic Benincasa

The Judicial saying is this, if you find one lie, then the witness has no credibility. The Bible is the infallible word of the one true living God, Jesus Christ. We believe this statement, and stake or eternal life upon it. Then we must realize that if we are the example of a good witness, we must have 100% credibility in witnessing.

"Many of the earth's inhabitants were sun worshipers because the course of their lives depended on its yearly round in the heavens, and feasts were held to aid its return from distant wanderings. In the south of Europe, in Egypt and Persia, the sun gods were worshipped with elaborate ceremonies at the season of the winter solstice, as a fitting time to pay tribute to the benign god of plenty, while in Rome the Saturnalia reigned for a week. In northern lands mid-December was a critical time, for the days became shorter and the sun was weak and far away.

Thus these ancient peoples held a feast at the same period that Christmas is now observed. During the winter solstice period the Babylonians worshipped Tammuz. The Greeks and Romans worshipped Jupiter, Mithra, Saturn, Hercules, Bacchus, and Adonis. The Egyptians worshipped Osiris and Horus. The Scandinavians worshipped Odin (or Woden). Among the German and Celtic tribes the winter solstice was considered an important point of the year. They held their chief festival of Yul to commemorate the return of the burning wheel. The holly, mistletoe, Yul log, and the wassail bowl are relics of pre-Christian times.

Christmas was not celebrated by the Apostolic church. It was not celebrated during the first few centuries of the church. As late as AD 245, Origen repudiated the idea of keeping the birthday of Christ, "as if he were a king Pharaoh. By the middle of the 4th century, many churches in the Latin west were celebrating Christmas. During the 5th century, Christmas became an official Roman Catholic holy day and in AD 534, Christmas was recognized as an official holy day by the Roman state.

The reason that Christmas became a holy day has nothing to do with the Bible. The Bible does not give the date of Christ's birth. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to celebrate Christmas. Christmas (along with many other pagan practices) was adopted by the Roman church as a missionary strategy.

The syncretism [infusing or mixing] with paganism as a missionary strategy is clearly revealed in instructions from Pope Gregory I given to missionaries in AD 601: "Because they [the pagans] were wont to sacrifice oxen to devils, some celebration should be given in exchange for this. . . they should celebrate a religious feast and worship God by their feasting, so that still keeping outward pleasures, they may more readily receive spiritual joys."

This syncretism [compromising] with paganism explains why Christmas customs are pagan to the core. The Christmas TREE came into use because SACRED TREES were an important aspect of pagan worship during the winter solstice season. In Babylon, the EVERGREEN TREE represented Nimrod coming to life again in Tammuz who was supposedly born of a virgin, Semiramus.

In Rome, they decorated FIR TREES with red berries to celebrate Saturnalia. [Saturnalia: the ancient Roman festival of Saturn celebrated with unrestrained or orgiastic revelry and licentiousness] The Scandinavians brought a SACRED FIR TREE into their homes in honor of their god Odin. "When the pagans of Northern Europe became Christians, they made their SACRED EVERGREEN TREES part of the Christian festival, and decorated the trees with gilded nuts, candles (a carry-over from sun worship), and apples to stand for the stars, moon, and sun.

The lighting of special fires and candles on December 24 and 25 originated in sun worship. The use of the Yule log probably originated with Druid sun worship. The log would not be allowed to burn up and would be used to start next year's fire (possibly a symbol of the sun's rebirth).

"The Romans ornamented their temples and homes with green boughs and flowers for the Saturnalia, their season of merry making and the giving of presents; the Druids gathered mistletoe with great ceremony and hung it in their homes; the Saxons used holly, ivy and bay. The fact that Christmas is full of pagan practices is universally recognized.

"Yet many Christians contend that such practices no longer bear pagan connotations, and believe that the observance of Christmas provides an opportunity for worship and witness bearing. Many Christians argue that they do not worship the Christmas TREE, and that the pagan origins are so far in the past as to be harmless. But such a view, while common in our day, shows a total disregard of the biblical teaching regarding idols, the paraphernalia associated with idolatry, and the monuments to idolatry.

God has such a strong HATE of idolatry that Israel was not just commanded to avoid the worship of idols. Israel was also specifically ORDERED to destroy everything associated with idolatry.

When Jacob set out to purify the camp (i.e., his household and attendants) the earrings were removed as well as their false gods (Gen. 35:4), because their EARRINGS were associated with their false gods. They were signs of superstition (as with wedding rings).

When Elijah went to offer his sacrifice, in his contest with the prophets of Baal, he did not use the pagan altar. He did not take something made for idols (e.g., Saturnalia) and attempt to sanctify it for holy use (e.g., Christmas), but instead he rebuilt the Lord's altar.

Christians must not take the pagan festival of Yule or Saturnalia and dress it with Christian clothing, but rather sanctify every day, as did the apostles. When Jehu went up against the worshipers of Baal and their temple, did he save the temple and set it apart for holy use?

We also have the good example of Josiah (2 Ki. 23), for he did not only destroy the houses, and the high places of Baal, but his vessels also, and his GROVE, and his altars; yea, the horses and chariots which had been given to the sun. The example also of penitent Manasseh, who not only overthrew the strange gods, but their altars too. (2 Kings. 23:15)

And of Moses, the man of God, who was not content to execute vengeance on the idolatrous Israelites, except he should also utterly destroy the monument of their idolatry. God does not want His church to take pagan days, and those pagan and wiccan rites and paraphernalia that go with them and adapt them to Christian use. He simply commands us to abolish them altogether from the face of the earth forever.

You may not be offended by the Yule log, the Christmas TREE, the mistletoe, the holly berries and the selection of a pagan day to celebrate Christ's birth, but God is offended. God commands us to get rid of the monuments and paraphernalia of paganism.

If your wife was promiscuous before you married her would you be offended if she had pictures of her old boyfriends on her dresser? Would it bother you if she celebrated the various anniversaries relating to her past relationships? Would you be offended if she kept and cherished the various "RINGS", "JEWELRY" and MEMENTOS given to her by her old boyfriends?

Of course you would be offended! The Lord God is infinitely more zealous of His honor than you are; He is a jealous God. Could Israel take festival days to Baal, Ashteroth, Dagon and Molech and alter them to make them pleasing to God? Of course not!!!

The Bible makes very clear which kings of Judah pleased God the most. God is pleased when idols, their temples, their religious dress, earrings, sacred houses, SACRED TREES, poles, ornaments, rites, names and days are utterly cut off from the earth, never again to be restored. God wants His bride to eliminate forever the monuments, the days, the paraphernalia and the mementos of idolatry.

Christians must not only put away the monuments of past idolatry but also everything associated with present idolatry. Christmas is the most important holy day in Roman Catholicism and the world system. The name Christmas comes from Romanism: Christ-mass, or the Mass of Christ. The name Christmas unites the name or title of our glorious God and Savior with the idolatrous, blasphemous Mass of Popedom. Christ-mass is a mixture of Pagan idolatry and Popish invention.

The Roman Catholic Church hates the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Roman church uses human inventions, such as Christmas, to keep millions of people in darkness. The fact that millions of Denominational and Apostolic are observing a Roman Catholic holy day which has not been commanded anywhere in God's Word reveals the sad state of modern Evangelicalism. "We cannot conform, communicate, and symbolize with the idolatrous Papists, in the use of the same, without making ourselves idolaters by participation.

Our attitude should be that of the Protestant Reformer Bucer(Reformed Catholic) who said, "I would to God that every holy day whatsoever besides the Lord's day were abolished. That zeal which brought them first in, was without all warrant of the Word, and merely followed corrupt reason, forsooth to drive out the holy days of the pagans, as one nail drives out another. Those holy days have been so tainted with superstitions that I wonder we tremble not at their very names."

The common objection against the argument that pagan monuments must be abolished is that these things occurred so long ago as to be harmless to us. But this is totally untrue.

Not only do we have the present idolatry of Romanism, but there is a revival going on at this very moment in Europe and North America of the old pagan European religions. The radical feminist movement is presently reviving the fertility goddesses and gods of the ancient Near East. God's law-Word says to get rid of the monuments to idolatry. God's law is not rendered null and void with the passage of time.

Christianity is the religion of truth. God cannot lie. All truth and knowledge ultimately come from God. Jesus Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). The Holy Ghost is called "the Spirit of truth" (John 16:13). The Gospel is called "the word of truth" (Eph. 1:13). God commands: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour" (Ex. 20:16). Paul tells us to be "speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15), to put away lying and speak the truth to our neighbor in order not to grieve the Holy Ghost (Eph. 4:25, 30). Jesus Christ tells us that "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Christians are to be light and salt to the world (Matt. 5:13, 16). Christians are to be a witness before the world by speaking the truth and living the truth.

Is celebrating Christmas compatible with our responsibility to speak and live the truth before the world? No, because Christmas is a lie. The date used to celebrate the birth of Christ, December 25, is a lie. According to the Bible, Jesus was not born on December 25. "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:8). It is common knowledge that shepherds in Palestine came in from the fields before winter. The rainy season in Judea began in late October or early November.

The shepherds would bring their field flocks into the villages before the beginning of the rainy season. Therefore, Christ was born before the first week of November. "It is quite evident that Christ was not actually born in the middle of the winter season. But, on the other hand, do the scriptures tell us what season of the year he was born? Yes, the scriptures indicated that he was born in the fall of the year.

For example, our Lord's public ministry lasted for 3-1/2 years (Dan. 9:27, etc.) His ministry came to an end at the time of the Passover (John 18:39), which was in the spring of the year. And so three and a half years before this would mark the beginning of His ministry in the fall of the year. When Jesus began his ministry, he was about thirty years of age (Lk. 3:23). This was the recognized age for a priest before he could become an official minister under the Old Testament (Num 4:3).

If Christians are willing to celebrate a lie and fill Christ's sham birthday with Papist and pagan mythology (e.g., Santa Claus, the Christmas TREE, mistletoe, the Yule log, evergreens, etc.), then why should the WORLD believe the church when it really speaks the truth? IF YOU LIE ABOUT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST AND GLADLY INDULGE IN PAGAN MYTHOLOGY, then when you tell your neighbor about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, why should he believe you?

By celebrating Christmas you are putting a stumbling block in front of your unbelieving neighbor. He could reason that since you speak and live a lie regarding the birth of Christ, you cannot be trusted when you speak about the infilling of the Holy Ghost and Baptism in Jesus name. I've actually had intellectuals say to me, after I spoke to them of Jesus Christ, God in the Flesh, that they are myths foisted on simple people by the church just like Santa Claus and the Easter bunny (of course, the Christmas lie has gone on for so long that most people accept it as fact). The church must stop denigrating God's inspired, infallible Word by setting up human fantasies alongside divine revelation. Christmas is a contra-diction of the biblical account of Christ's birth.

Who leads whom? Is not the church of the Lord Jesus Christ supposed to be an example to the world? Is not Christ's church to be salt and light to the nations? Is it proper for the apostolic church to follow the pagan world-system?

Christmas did not originate in the Bible or the apostolic church; it is pagan to its very core. The day, the TREE, the exchanging of gifts, the mistletoe, the holly berries all originated in the idolatrous pagan festivities surrounding the winter solstice. The compromised, apostatizing Roman church took what was pagan and attempted to Christianize it. Covenant-breaking, Christ-hating, idol-worshipping, pagan unbelievers love Christmas. Why? Because Christmas is not biblical.

Does the world love the name of Jesus, the Baptism in Jesus name? Of course not. The world hates it. Does the world love and obey the resurrected King of kings and Lord of lords? No! The world hates Christ. The world does love a plastic or clay baby in a manger. A plastic baby is not very threatening. Christ is no longer a baby. He is the glorified King who sits at the right hand of Power.

When the church has something relating to worship and religion in common with the unbelieving pagan world, the church, in that area, is bound together with unbelievers. The church has no business celebrating a pagan holiday with the pagan world. What hypocrisy! What wickedness!

Satan's goal is not merely to enslave individuals but also to control institutions, cultures and nations. The heathen calendar of "holy days," where pagan festivals are celebrated each year at certain times, is a Satan-inspired tool to habituate whole cultures in covenant rebellion. Satan wants individuals and nations to be enslaved in pagan ritual and darkness. A culture is habituated to paganism when pagan festivals, rites and ceremonies are second nature and unquestioned in that society.

How have Christians been fooled into celebrating a pagan festival day? The day has been transformed from a day of darkness to a day of light. How is this done? It's very simple. The first thing you do is lie. You teach that this day is Christ's birthday. The fact that this is not really the day Christ was born is inconsequential. Very few people will check the facts. And the ones who do will be regarded as "FANATICS", "UNBALANCED" "SCROOGES" and "OUT OF TOUCH with MODERNITY".

Second, you make it a day when family members are required to be together. What a wonderful thing it is, a day for family dinner and family values.

Third, you make it a day of gift giving and charity, a day of caring and sharing. Who could be against that?

Fourth, you dedicate the day to children all over the world. You make it fun and give them lots of hugs and presents. Therefore, when these children grow up, the day will be filled with fond memories. It is a day of intense sentimentality.

Doesn't it bring a little tear to your eye when you think of your parents and brothers and sisters gathered around the TREE?

Fifth, you make sure every city and town is properly decorated. And you get the whole entertainment industry into high gear with articles, specials, movies, plays and recitals. Sixth, you put community, workplace, church and family pressure on those WHO DO NOT CELEBRATE THE DAY TO CONFORM OR ELSE BE VIEWED AS PERVERTING THE TRUTH OR OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY.

Has this strategy been effective? Yes, very effective. There was a time when Christians would have been disciplined for celebrating Christmas. For Protestants from the Calvinist (early Catholic protester) wing of the Reformation, celebrating such days was unthinkable for nearly three hundred years. Now, if you are a Christian and do not celebrate Christmas, other Christians think you are a fanatic.

There would be only one acceptable reason for a Christian to celebrate Christmas, and that would be an instruction from the Word of God to do so. Since there is no implicit or explicit instruction from the Bible to do so, it is FORBIDDEN.

If the church of Jesus Christ is to be salt and light to our degenerate culture, she must first clean her own house.

More and more Christians are trying to have a positive impact on our pagan culture. They are trying to stem the tide of secular humanism and Satanism. This new involvement is needed, but it will not succeed until the church returns to the doctrinal purity and purity of worship attained by the first church of the book of Acts.

The pagan Roman state with all of its power could not destroy the Christian church. The church prospered in spite of the Roman empire's tyranny and oppression. What caused severe damage to the church was internal decay. The corruption of doctrine and worship within the church made the church split to a fountain of heresy, superstition, idolatry and tyranny, creating a false church and a true church.

Evangelicalism in our day is in a state of serious decline. Church growth, ecumenical fellowship, pragmatism and keeping the peace have taken precedence over doctrinal integrity and pure worship.

As a result, modern Evangelicalism is flabby, compromising, impotent and lukewarm. It is not a coincidence that the church had the most positive impact upon society and culture when its doctrine and worship were most pure. Only when we return to Biblical worship, and reject human autonomy in worship are we prepared to win souls for Jesus Christ. [][][][]