Hi,

I know this is a "late" comment to this topic. But I want to add a couple factors here. I just checked the average seasonal temperatures for Jerusalem. The night time average for near end of December is about 40F. It is unlikely that shepherds would be lying around at night in such cold. The average night time temp around September is about 60F, much more suitable. Also, Romans would be fools to tax people in middle of winter. It was more likely done after harvest time around September when people had more means. So I think that Reinhold's calculation may not be far off.

I think the question is interesting, but a better and more practical question is, what are we going to do with the most popular Christian festival? Are we going to fight it, tell the world they are worshipping b4 a pagan tree and celebrating the birht of the Sun?

3ABN had many EGW quotations and what a difference. Just she mention the pagan aspects of Christmas? She mentions that it's a time to think of others, to give gifts to the poor and for evangelism.

It's like a Feast of Tabernacles a couple of months late.

In my church we had 3 Sabbath schools in a row with people talking against Christmas. I wish their same energy would be directed toward evangelizing instead of being SDA Jehovah witnesses.

r

It is an excellent time to witness to others, and be able to share the Good News about Jesus Christ.
Why was the 25th chosen, and by whom who knows, but does it still represent the birth of Jesus Christ today? Not really, in fact its all marketing, and how much money can be made with sales, and hot promotional items.
The thirst for knowing about Jesus and who He is is but a small factor, unless you go into the streets where the poor people are, and that intself is a different story, where they are actually more receptive to know about Christ.
God Bless,
Will

I agree. We can use the occasion to witness when possible. Just like apostle Paul did in Corinth with their honoring an "unknown god". But otherwise, personally myself I do not observe the holiday, nor Easter nor Halloween, etc. If we believe that someday the issue of Sunday observance will come up, those devoutly observing Christmas will have a difficult time refusing to observe Sunday. In fact Sunday is more biblical than December 25. We know the Savior rose on Sunday. We know that collections were taken on Sunday.... I have Jehovah Witness neighbors across he road. They also do not observe Christmas and are probably somewhat relieved that their neighbor does not put up Christmas house decorations. Real nice people they are

Jesus was probably not born on Dec 25. We got that date through either pagan or Jewish mythology (depending on if you want to follow the historians of the Dark Ages, who did the best with the material they had to work with, or modern scholars who have more information and evidence to work with).

While it is a good event to cellebrate, and since God did not give us an exact time to cellebrate it, we cellebrate when others in our culture celebrate.

Once again, the scholars say that it was probably in the spring or fall due to shephards being in the fields and more specifically (and I have not really looked at the evidence) probably the fall during the Feast of Tabernacales.

It is interesting that in the ministry of Jesus, in the book of John, Jesus did signs connected with temple feasts. With the exception of redemtion and the resurection, the greatest sign that Jesus gave was NOT connected to an Old Testament Feast, but to an intertestamental feast, Hannukkah who's context John ties the raising of Lazarus. We need to keep this in mind when we wish to snub the holidays that developed after the days that God commanded in the Old Testament.

After all these years on earth I am yet to see someone struck down dead for being wrong about the date of Jesus' birth. Why is is still an issue for Christians?

From the study of the Prophecies of Daniel we find that Christ was to be killed in the middle of the week. We know that Christ was slain in March or April, depending upon the Jewish religious calendar, not our modern calendar. Well, if we talk six months away from March or April we have September or October as a general guideline as to the birth of Christ. As far as the day, who knows it is not important.
So why is December 25 the accepted birth of Christ? Because the pagan religion was brought into the “catholic” church and they and almost every “Christian” worships this day, which is a pagan deities birthday as if it were Christ day of birth.
It does not change the historical fact that that day is a pagan holiday by placing a “Christian” name to it.
Does the Bible ever teach us to worship the birth of Christ?

Peace and Grace
David

Because worshiping anything that is PAGAN is evil.

Peace and Grace
David

We do not worship the date nor observe the day of Christ's birth, but there is no evil in remembering the event of His birth in that date.