Question: My question has to do with Christmas and Christmas trees. I made some decisions a couple years ago that I struggle with in some way every year, because there are other people in my household other than myself. Based on scripture references, I decided that the tree was part of idol worship. However, every year I struggle with the whole Christmas thing.

Please help me. I am really struggling within myself and I believe my family are suffering because I don’t understand God’s ways and will concerning this. I am confused. I feel like I am in some type of bondage when all I desire to do is worship God to please Him.

I could not end this note without saying I am not trying to be critical or make waves, I am just reaching out for help. I am hurting.

Juanda

Answer: Dear Juanda,

Thanks for your message. We do understand your confusion about this issue – please consider a few of the following points as you wrestle with this topic:

1. Those who teach that Christmas and Easter are pagan simply pour new meaning into the word "pagan" while many of them, at the same time, promote the most fundamental/foundational definition of paganism – the belief that God is not one, there is more than one God, the destiny of humans is to become God. Polytheists really should not brand others as pagan, or attempt to define what pagan practices are or are not, other than accepting their basic pagan premise of the nature of God.
2. The "sources" that are used to brand these holidays as pagan have been discredited as spurious and without being grounded in history.
3. We should seriously consider the point – why would so much effort be undertaken to brand the birth and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior as pagan? While those who teach and have taught this may have been sincere, and that they may have deceived, we must understand sincerity is no test of truth. Why discredit Christmas and Easter? FURTHER – have any of those who have discredited these two events offered and encouraged another time of the year, or another day, on which the birth and resurrection should be celebrated? Answer – no, not one, as far as I know. The effect of such teaching has been that those who follow it simply do not celebrate the birth and/or the resurrection of our Lord. This ought to give us a reason to think.
4. Dealing with the issues you describe are difficult, because they involve a "stand" that we have taken in the past. Your "stand" on a specific issue, in this case Christmas, has caused you pain, difficulties, heartache, etc. Having taken such a "stand," it is natural for us to conclude that our "stand" was correct, for if we believe that we were wrong, we have to face the fact that there seems to have been needless controversy among family and friends. Not only that, but we humans always hate to admit that we were wrong. Change can be extremely painful and humbling. One person did just that is Ralph Woodrow. Woodrow is an evangelist who fell for the idea that many of the customs and traditions of Christianity came from paganism. Woodrow himself researched and proved that his early books and teaching on this matter are wrong – and he has done an about-face on these issues. We offer his new books through Plain Truth Ministries if you are interested.

will be with you. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance to you.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht