Gozie Irogboli

Thus, it is not out of place to assert that calling Christmas a pagan practice on account of the day it is observed is also an acceptance of the concept of Henotheism which is about acknowledging other gods, localizing and restricting the influence and power of God Almighty. Our God is not subject to henotheistic limitations. Our God is omnipresence and omnipotent. Saying that Christmas Day belong to idol worship on the grounds that pagans used to celebrate on that day is akin to limiting the influence of our God. It is an acknowledgement of the authority of idols which in itself is idolatry.  

If the antagonists of Christmas reject Christmas on that flimsy ground, do they not know that the days of the week and some of the months of the year were named after idols. Have they tried to change the names of the days of the week? Have they stopped praying or worshipping God on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday simply because the days were named and dedicated to the worship of the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn respectively by non-Christians?

The Scriptures says that the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). It means that everything on earth belongs to God. God, not idols, is the creator of times and seasons and He fixes them by His own authority (Acts 1:7).

Besides, a glimpse into history reveals that most religious ordinances are borrowed or copied from others cultures. Even the Passover which is at the centre of Jewish worship predates Judaism since it was an ancient arcane religious festival associated with shepherds and nomads in the ancient East. When Abraham entered Canaan, he encountered and worshipped God in the ancient Canaanites grove at the Oak of Moreh in Shechem (Gen. 12:6). When Gideon destroyed the altar of Baal and Asherah, he built an altar of God right at the same spot (Judg. 6:25-26). Our early Christian missionaries built Cathedrals in evil forests dedicated to idols in Africa. All these are acknowledgement of the supremacy and universality of God.

The Pentecostal antagonists forgot that the origin of Pentecostalism is analogous to that of Christmas. Pentecost so called in Greek, because it was observed 50 days after the Paschal feast was the Jewish harvest festival. It was the time when Jewish worshippers and proselytes—converts to Judaism—from all over the world gather in Jerusalem to do thanksgiving with their produce. That was when God chose to send the Holy Spirit to the Apostles to equip and embolden them to speak and convert to the Way those who had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost.

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Without sounding arrogant, one can safely infer that at the centre of all these needless controversies is ignorance. Our preachers because they speak to a larger audience these days because of the development in communication technology must not speak from the standpoint of ignorance. Our preacher should drop their unbridled focus on Prosperity and “Fall-and-Die” theology and expand their vista of understanding. They should not just rely on secular education or human logic. You must search deeper to get a better insight. To gain better understanding of what they do, they must strive to get acquainted with Theology, Philosophy, Church History and even Comparative Religion. Philosophy which is concerned with thoughts and beliefs concerning the fundamental principles of existence and life is essential. Theology which is about the belief, faith and doctrine of God is crucial. The knowledge of Church History is a strategic necessity. If you study the Church History, you get twigged about the efforts of the Church fathers who had to confront the pagan and the irreligious people in medieval era. You will understand how they conquered Europe without force of arm. You will understand the origin of the doctrines and dogmas of the Church. You will better appreciate the vicarious sacrifices of the Church Fathers who pursued their vocation with élan and irreproachable commitment. Studying Church History would make Christians know that so many saints were martyred for the faith they profess today and the contribution of the Church to human civilization. The world civil calendar as we have today was developed by the Church and was approved by Pope Gregory the XIII in 1582.

St. Paul was one of the greatest teachers of the New Testament not just because he had the Holy Spirit but because he was knowledgeable. If you read through his epistles you will understand that. For instance, at the Athenian Areopagus, Paul indicated the supremacy and universality of God when he told the people that the altar they dedicated to the unknown God was indeed for the True God, the Lord of Heaven and earth (Acts 17:22-34). It was Paul’s learning that stood him out and emboldened him to withstand the Greeks and their pantheon of philosophers.

Without doubt, the main issues in this controversy have to do with ignorance, indirect acknowledgement of idolatry and lack of unity among Christians. And the conflict of doctrines is the main reason behind lack of unity in the Christendom. It is clearly one of the devices of Satan to keep the body of Christ perpetually divided. But one thing is certain: the Church of Christ is firmly established. The gate of hell cannot prevail against it. The key of the Kingdom of Heaven is given to the Church and whatever the Church decrees here on earth is accepted in Heaven. Christmas the feast of the nativity of Christ is decreed by the Church and it is endorsed in Heaven.

Concluded

 

Irogboli writes via [email protected]