Question: 

God bless you.

 I’m reading your opinions about the origin of the Christmas tree.  I don’t agree with it.  What does Nimrod’s birthday have to do with Christ?  Christmas itself, I truly believe, is pagan. 

            If we are light, what does the light have with the darkness?  I hope you write back.  I truly believe that Christmas is pagan.  I think that by teaching these teachings you will hurt a lot of people.

            Karen

Answer:  Dear Karen,

            Of course I will write back, and may God bless you as well.  Thanks for your question.  The opinions I offer about the origin of the Christmas tree are based upon historical fact.  If you wish to dispute them, you will have to dispute history.  There were no Christmas trees at the time Jeremiah wrote – and were not for 1500 to 2000 years after Jeremiah! That is fact.

            You ask what Nimrod’s birthday has to do with our Lord and Savior.  Answer – nothing whatsoever.  We agree on that.  What we don’t agree about is whether the celebration of Christmas, as Christians observe it, is one and the same as Nimrod’s birthday.  Nimrod?  Who exactly are we talking about?  The person mentioned in Genesis 10:8, 9?  How do we arrive at the conclusion that Christmas is Nimrod’s birthday?  Why not some other name picked at random from Genesis 10 – or any other genealogy given in the Bible?  What standards of truth do we use to arrive at such a conclusion?  Are there any?  Surely you wouldn’t suggest that I accept some far-fetched conspiracy theory that would belong in the pages of the National Enquirer?

            In the questions we post about Christmas we offer biblical proof and historical fact.  You must do the same if we are to discuss this issue.  We have no interest in cleverly devised fables (2 Peter 1:16) that men use to lead people away from the gospel of Jesus Christ – other than to reveal such myths to be exactly what they are.  I hope you will have this interest as well.  After all, as Christians we should hunger and thirst for righteousness and for truth.  We should want to rid error and unbiblical teachings from our lives.

            Nimrod’s birthday.  I suspect you got this idea from a book written by Alexander Hyslop: “Two Babylons”.  This book and the motive behind it have been completely discredited as fabrication, myth, and fable.  I personally know one man who bought the “Two Babylons” myth hook, line and sinker.  His name is Ralph Woodrow.  He was so enamored by this idea that he wrote his own book, circulated by his ministry:  “Babylon – Mystery Religion”.  You may also be aware of Woodrow’s earlier writings.

            However, Ralph Woodrow came to see how spurious, misleading and unbiblical his teachings were – about this topic and about Christmas specifically.  He repented at great personal cost because he saw that he was hurting many people and dishonoring the Lord.  If you are truly interested in finding out the truth about your Lord and Savior then I will send you copies of these books (assuming you live in the U.S. or Canada) free of charge.

            You are so right.  We are the light because of Jesus who is Light.  He produces the light that we can reflect.  We do not generate it, but by his grace, he asks us to reflect his light to others.  There is much darkness in the world, and that darkness does not want to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

            What we preach and proclaim at PTM will not hurt people; it will lead them to the Great Physician, who alone can heal them.  This, as opposed to false and spurious traditions, superstitions and rules of men (Mark 7:7).  May we all rejoice that God has come into the world in the person of Jesus to save us, and that God (Emmanuel) is with us!

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht