Shortly after the world was created evil stood against mankind. The result of this clash shaped the face of the world. We lost. The earth was given to the enemy. Death, decay and melancholy were born on that horrible day, to name but a few.To defeat this evil, an unprecedented event needed to occur.
Two thousand years ago, God stepped in to do what we never could. It cost Him a grave price, but He defeated the evil on our behalf. The question is simple… are we going to accept what He did, and be free, or are we going stand guilty in front of this evil, and live like slaves.
Two thousand years ago, God stepped in to do what we never could. It cost Him a grave price, but He defeated the evil on our behalf. The question is simple… are we going to accept what He did, and be free, or are we going stand guilty in front of this evil, and live like slaves.
Amidst all the tinsel and presents, it's important to remember the greatest Gift of all! I refuse to live like a slave and I am eternally grateful to God for the price He paid. Thanks, Louis, for this reminder of what it is all about. Have a wonderfully blessed Christmas! Love, S.C.
ReplyDeletei say accept. merry christmas louis!
ReplyDeleteThe concept that Jesus is God is something that the Roman Emperor Constantine pushed through the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 in an effort to stop heated disputes in a church, utterly divided & corrupt by the 1st century, just as Paul warned it would become:
ReplyDelete“I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:29)
1 Timothy 2:5,6 says:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all.”
The 3rd person of the Trinity doctrine (ie: Holy Spirit) was only added much later to Emperor Constantine's ‘Jesus is God’ concept by Pope Athanasius in the last decades of his life so by the end of the 4th century, the doctrine of a Trinity had reached substantially its current form. (Wikipedia: Origin Of The Trinity Formula)
No 1st century Christian believed that Jesus was God Himself but clearly understood him to be the foretold Messiah (Hebrew: Mašíaḥ meaning ‘The Anointed One of God’ as spoken of in the Hebrew scriptures) or Khristós (Greek: Χριστός).
Galations 4:4 says:
“But when the full limit of the time arrived, God sent forth his Son.”
God showed His approval of John’s baptism of His Son, Jesus, in the Sea Of Galilee from up in His residence in heaven, as Matthew 3:16, 17 makes clear:
“After being baptized Jesus immediately came up from the water; and, look! the heavens were opened up, and he saw descending like a dove God’s spirit coming upon him. Look! Also, there was a voice from the heavens that said: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.” (Matthew 3:16,17)
If God did die for mankind, then who resurrected God back from the dead? It couldn’t be Himself since that would suggest that He was not, in fact, dead & had not totally given His life up for us. Also, God asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac to act as a reminder to the Jewish nation that they might understand that He too, one day, would offer His own Son, Jesus the Christ, as a ransom sacrifice, for mankind's sins.
Thomas Aquinas’s work from 1265, the Summa Theologica, makes many references to certain thinkers held in great respect in Aquinas's time. It is almost entirely based on citations from these thinkers such as the Greek philosopher Aristotle, a student of Plato, considered the most astute philosopher & who had expressed the most truth up to that time, & the theologian Augustine of Hippo, considered probably the greatest theologian.
It should be of no surprise that these greatly respected thinkers, experts in Greek philosophies, such as the pagan belief in the immortality of a soul in a life after death, influenced the teachings the church later decided to adopt including those that now form the basis of so-called ‘Christian’ festivals such as Christmas & Easter. Very little effort is required these days with the introduction of the information placed on the internet to discover how Christmas was derived from the Roman festival Sol Invictus.
By all means, let's celebrate Jesus' death since he asked specifically his disciples to keep remembering the sacrificial Passover lamb, ie: himself, on the Jewish Passover festival day of Nisan 14.
But as for celebrating pagan festivals renamed by the church to pretend that they were always Christian festivals when they're patently not, well, then we are counting on God to turning a blind eye to us celebrating days linked to pagan festivals &, in my humble opinion, that is not a risk that one takes lightly.
I remain, &c.
Alexander Dyle
I love this post Louis. It's so easy to get caught up in the celebrations that sometimes we forget what we're actually celebrating. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite words is freedom! Thank you for putting the choice so clearly stated. :O)
ReplyDeleteHe paid a price He did not owe, we owed a debt we couldn't pay... Merry Christmas and lots of blessings to you! xx
ReplyDeleteGreat post Louis, and a (belated) Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeletea wonderful post as always. wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone accepted each other as they are and all were treated with equal love and respect?
ReplyDeletei hope your Christmas was bright and filled with love, respect, and laughter.
warm smiles dear Louis,
how true. Hsppy new Year Louie.
ReplyDeleteer...Louis. Typos into the new year i'm afraid. Happy new year anyway! LOL.
ReplyDelete