Ye clouds and darkness, hosts of night
That breed confusion and affright,
Begone! o’erhead the dawn shines clear,
The light breaks in and Christ is here.Earth’s gloom flees broken and dispersed,
By the sun’s piercing shafts coerced:
The daystar’s eyes rain influence bright
And colours glimmer back to sight.So shall our guilty midnight fade,
The sin-stained heart’s gross dusky shade:
So shall the King’s All-radiant Face
Sudden unveil our deep disgrace.No longer then may we disguise
Our dark intents from those clear eyes:
Yea, at the dayspring’s advent blest
Our inmost thoughts will stand confest.
So opens the ‘Morning Hymn’ of the 4th century Christian poet Aurelius Prudentius Clemens. (To read the rest of the poem, click here.)
Aurelius’ poem captures the spirit of the season we are now celebrating, the season of Advent. The hymn reminds us that in the early church the season of Advent was a time when Christians anticipated Christ’s second coming. (To read about the history of Advent, see the article at the Chuck Colson Center, ‘Cheer Our Spirits by Thine Advent.‘) It was a time when they expectantly waited for Him to come and judge the earth, scattering the darkness with His light.
Boniface’s Challenge to the Powers of Darkness
The theme of light conquering darkness was the message that Boniface took to the ancient Germans in the 8th century.
When Boniface penetrated into the dark forests of Northern Europe, there was little doubt that he was fighting against the principalities and powers of darkness. As we explain in our brief biography of Boniface, this was a time when the power of the occult was very strong. But Boniface knew that the power of Christ was stronger. Not only was Boniface unafraid to challenge these dark powers with the light of Christ, but he relished the opportunity to demonstrate the superior power of Christ.
As Boniface boldly marched forward to challenge the raw paganism that surrounded him, he may well have taken courage from singing Aurelius’s Advent hymn, especially the first stanza:
Ye clouds and darkness, hosts of night
That breed confusion and affright,
Begone! o’erhead the dawn shines clear,
The light breaks in and Christ is here.
The theme of God judging dark powers with the light of Christ is now largely absent from our Advent celebrations. Yet this theme is implicit in the long forgotten roots of many of our culture’s Advent traditions, including Advent candles and Advent wreaths.
Interestingly, many people trace both Advent wreaths and Christmas trees back to Boniface. Some of these legends surround the following incident that occurred shortly after Boniface struck down Thor’s sacred oak tree.
Advent Wreaths and Christmas Trees
On a cold evening in December, a young boy rushed into Boniface’s camp. The lad reported that his 15-year old sister was about to be offered as a vestal sacrifice to the gods of the forest.
Boniface and a small band of disciples wasted no time. They quickly followed the boy back to the site where the terrible event was about to take place. Not a moment too early, they entered the grove just in time to see the witch doctor raising his stone knife.
As the blade began its downwards descent towards the breasts of the young maiden, Boniface hurled himself forward, simultaneously knocking over the priest and receiving on himself the blow of the knife. Providentially, the knife embedded itself in a small wooden cross that Boniface was wearing around his person. The cross was pierced in two but the missionary’s life was preserved.
Even as the stunned witch doctor shrieked curses at the monk, Boniface turned towards the spectators and began telling of an ultimate sacrifice that had already been offered. According to some of the legends, Boniface used the druid’s knife to cut down fir boughs, even as he preached to the crowd about Christ’s finished work on the tree of Cavalry. Because the light of Christ had defeated the darkness of death, Boniface explained, there was no longer any need for additional sacrifices. Since God had judged and defeated the dark powers, it was futile to pay homage to them.
As he spoke, Boniface passed out pieces of the fir boughs he was cutting down, and urged the onlookers to tie them into wreaths as a memorial of the provision achieved by Christ. Legend has it that this occurred on the first Sunday in Advent and that this was the origin of Advent wreaths.
This was significant, because at the time wreaths had been used to appease the sun god during the period of his winter hiding. As the Chapel Hill Presbyterian church explained, “They would take a cart wheel, wound with greens and decorated with lights, string them up in the halls of the tribes of northern Europe and whirl them on Winter Solstice. The pagans in essence would ‘sacrifice’ the use of a cart wheel and ponder the blessings of light and life and implored the sun god to return to them.” Boniface invested the wreath with a new meaning, using it as a reminder of Christ’s victory. No longer would the wreath symbolize the idolatry of paganism,, but the glory of Christ’s victory over the grave.
The Christmas tree, it is said, also owes its origins to Boniface. According to one set of legends narrated here, Boniface gave the balsam fir tree to the Druids in place of the oak tree, the symbol of their idol. He said, ‘The fir tree is the wood of peace, the sign of an endless life with its evergreen branches. It points to heaven. It will never shelter deeds of blood, but rather be filled with loving gifts and rites of kindness.’
Stephen Mansfield tells us how Martin Luther, familiar with these legends, attached importance to the Christmas tree in honour of Boniface’s “conquering of Germany for Christ.”
To read more about Boniface and other Christian heroes, check out our page of spiritual biographies.
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We still have careful at Christmas with regard to idolatry due to the enormous pagan influence of the event and ask if we are following the tradtions of men or God. We know that Christ was not on born on the 25th of December but Mithras the Roman God was and we should not celebrate a lie. I have no problem in celebrating the Lord’s birth any time of year but it’s his death that saves us and is the far more important. I can’t any more in good conscience continue to celebrate Christmas as there is simply no biblical basis for it and it can only encourage lies and idolatry.
“PRAYER”
“Father, please forgive us for leading our children in idolatrous worship. Forgive us for idol worship that is false and heathen in Your sight, for bringing curses on ourselves and our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great, great, grand-children.The Bible says that You are a jealous God concerning our worship. Forgive us for provoking You by following the most ancient false religion started by Nimrod, Semiramus, and Tammuz. Forgive us for rebelling against the whole Word of God and causing ourselves to be an abomination to You. forgive us for following pagan rituals and blind traditions, for not being able to break worldly habits, for our pride, ego and vanity”
http://www.lakehamiltonbiblecamp.com/topical/christms.htm
Your point is well taken, but I don’t think we should get too worked up about December 25th. It was actually a German protestant by the name of Paul Ernst Jablonski who invented the myth about the alleged pagan origins of Christmas in an attempt to discredit the holiday. To learn how this myth is historically false, I suggest David Withun’s article ‘The pagan origins of Christmas?‘ and William J. Tighe’s article ‘Calculating Christmas.’ There are actually very good historical reasons for celebrating Christmas on December 25th.
Quite apart from Robin’s scholarly response, Andrew, I want to speak up for celebrating Christ’s birth.
You haven’t joined Christian Voice so far as I can see, and I sense that could be because although our members see our redemption as vital to our eternal destiny as Christians, we do not see that as outweighing our duty to our fellow man and to the Lord in this material world.
All of that springs from Christ’s incarnation, in which he embodies the truth that God became one of us and shared our humanity. We are not into Redemption Theology to the exclusion of Incarnation Theology. Nor do we exclude Ascension Theology, from which stems our duty to proclaim the truth of God’s word to our leaders, to press the Crown Rights of King Jesus and through all that to see ‘the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living’.
When Andrew wants us to pray about “the most ancient false religion started by Nimrod, Semiramus, and Tammuz”, isn’t he implying that Tammuz was a god who actually existed ? I though God was the only god . So what will God make of such a prayer ? I think it may be better to let the possible but very doubtful origins of harmless customs lie undisturbed.
I read Robin’s link to Touchstone magazine. What a tragic cartload of Roman Catholic hocus pocus!
After saying that the first recorded celebration of Dec. 25th as the birth of Jesus occurred decades after the date was already established by Aurelian as a pagan sun festival, the Roman Catholic writer goes on to say that there is evidence that the “early church” had already attempted to calculate the birth of Christ and had arrived (erroneously, if at all) at the Dec. 25 date.
The ramshackle and unbiblical process by which the supposed date was arrived at only serves to underscore the fact that they haven’t got a leg to stand on. Seriously, this is your best argument as to why Christ-Mass is acceptable with the Holy Father (the true One, not the imposter in the Dagon hat)??
Jesus was born in the autumn in the Feast of Tabernacles as can be calculated starting with the priestly course of John the Baptist’s father.
Here are the details: http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/568/When-Was-Jesus-Born.htm
Is Christian Voice ecumenical?
Incidentally, I totally disagree with the Bonifacial adoption of pagan religious icons and festivals into Christianity – regardless of what new significance he attached to them.
Shall we sacrifice swine on the altar of Jehovah and be pleasing to Him?
We aren’t going to sacrifice anything on the altar of YHWH because the entire sacrificial system has passed with the once-for-all sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
‘Roman Catholic’ and ‘ecumenical’ are straw men bearing no resemblance to the arguments put forward by Robin or in his links.
My use of the word sacrifice was figuritive.
I don’t see how the scriptures, old or new, condone the importation of pagan religious observances into our worship of God. Rather I see the opposite.
When was God pleased to see the Asherah groves remain standing and the pillar of Baal used for His service? Did God not command in every instance that such false religious devices be utterly destroyed?
Moreover, why abandon God’s calendar of religious festivals for pagan ones? Why even start down that unbiblical road?
If the legends are true then the oak tree, which had been a symbol of the Druid’s idol, was replaced by the fir tree, which became a symbol of Christ. That is not comparable the people of God taking the pillar of Baal in the Asherah groves and then putting it to God’s service. The reason it is not comparable is that trees were created by God and had already been invested with spiritual meanings (as were all things in creation) prior to being corrupted by pagans. I can establish this point scripturally if it be contested, so let me know.
With regard to fir wreaths, are you suggesting that once something is used by a pagan, it becomes forever off limits to Christians? There are certainly legitimate concerns about taking something that is pagan and simply “Christianizing” it. But if someone is going to make a Christian symbol out of the same material used by pagans, the question we must ask is whether the material itself is inherently pagan, or whether the pagans were simply taking a good thing and putting it to a wrong use. When it comes to something like, say, ‘Christianizing’ aggressive rock music by simply adding Christian lyrics, there are definite problems since the medium itself is inseparable from its pagan origins. The same would probably apply to ‘Christianizing’ certain Halloween customs like dressing up like ghosts and witches. However, there is nothing inherently pagan about fir wreaths, so this is a different category. That would be more like the way God took the cross (a symbol of brutality in the Roman world) and transformed it into a symbol of love and forgiveness.
With regard to the calender issues, I don’t have time to re-read the articles right now to interact with your specific concerns. However, I didn’t provide those links to try to prove that Jesus was born on December 25, but merely to dispel the myth about the pagan origins of the date. The church may have got its dates wrong, but that is a separate issue to the question of pagan origins.
The larger question is this: is it necessary for Jesus to have been born on December 25 in order for this to be a legitimate time to commemorate His birth? If Jesus was not born on December 25, does that mean that celebrating His birth on this day is, as Andrew said above, to “celebrate a lie”? I would argue that the answer to both these questions is no. Last year when December 25 fell on a Sunday, I wrote some articles exploring the meaning of the church calendar, and I explained that the church’s feasts should be seen as operating on a different axis then simple chronological secular time. Rather than rehash my argument, I would refer you to the following articles:
Sacred Times and Seasons (Part I)
Sacred Times and Seasons (Part 2)
This argument about Christmas being a pagan celebration has been an ongoing one. It is bound to continue to be so. Certain religious groups are even using it against Christianity. I personally would like to add to the argument: When I became Born Again, after some decades of nominal Christianity, I got down on my knees to inquire of God regarding Christmas. I asked Father, “Was Jesus Christ born on the 25th December?” He said, “No, but once a year the whole world is reminded that I sent My Son into the earth to die for them. It is good enough for Me.”
I then decided, if it is good enough for God it is good enough for me. Then I again asked Father, “So what do I do about the manner of celebration?” He said, “Don’t overdo it,but encourage them (meaning unbelievers). He went on to explain that they would not understand if I am seen to not be celebrating Christmas.
Since then I do enjoy Christmas season, but in a calmer way; and part of my Christmas season includes preaching the gospel, explaining that rejecting Jesus Christ is like if someone should reject their present, they are in effect saying, “I don’t like you.” So rejecting Jesus is making yourself an enemy of God.
As for the tree, wreaths etc. I leave the argument to you intellectuals. Perhaps you lot should go on bent knees too, to hear from above.
Dear Robin
Your thesis will not be read in detail by many people. It is certainly for academics and not for the ordinary christian.
We are like little children, dipping our toe in here and there to see how it feels.
The three feasts a year are a good reminder of where we are and to whom we owe everything.
We remember Christ’s death every week, or as often as we will – because it is commanded we should remember the gift by which we are saved.
We do things ‘religiously’ because we have poor self discipline, and were it not for the seventh day of rest and rememberance, we would lie in our deckchairs, or more likely in front of the TV.
Christmas is a time when, like it or not, Christ is brought before people – maybe they listen to Kings College choir singing the carols which have the story of Jesus – most His birth, death, and resurrection and our relationship with Him – the readings too are faithfully made. When else is there such opportunity for our Omniscient and Omnipresent God, who is Spirit and understood in spirit and in truth, to reach the conscious distracted minds of us defective mortals?
This is God, reasoning with sinners. The alternative is to just move the earth a little and we get excesses of rain, or tsunamis, or hurricans etc. when those who deny God so vehemently when our consistent God is showing us His favour (that we might have a future and a hope), cry out to God for help.
God has given His Word, the very expression of God. We recognise this at Christmas – most imperfectly, but nevertheless, recognise His wonderful gift.
When we celebrate Christmas we do not necessarily celebrate Christ’s physical birthday: what we celebrate the theme of “Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all men.”
People still get the message of Christmas–“Christ came into the world to save sinners.”
Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you.
God bless you.
Christmas is an occult/catholic festival. As if the world is BOTHERED about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ- it never has been and never will be. As for referring us to a link by apostate Colson, forget it. I can’t believe that an organisation that claims to uphold Biblical authority would support such a mangled apostate ‘festival’ as Christmas. And it’s JEHOVAH, NOT YHWH.
Well Rob, your first sentence comes with no defence or substantiation, and the links in Robin’s article disprove it.
Look HERE to see that we support Christmas because it is important to celebrate that God became man, and the day the church chose 1700 or 1800 years ago is as good a day as any.
Finally, your point on the Name. You sent me looking it up and changing my mind somewhat, so thanks for that. The authorities all seem to be saying that we do not know exactly how it was pronounced but some say we can come close.
Firstly, there is no ‘J’ in Hebrew – the first letter of the Name is ‘Yod’, and some say when the KJV was translated and the name ‘Jehovah’ was put in Exod 6:3, Psalm 83:18, Isaiah 12:2 and 26:4, that the pronuniation of ‘J’ in those days was more like ‘Y’.
The letter ‘Vau’ although pronounced as ‘V’ by Jews today, may have been pronounced as a ‘W’ in Bible times, hence my use of YHWH, although YHVH (Yod-He-Vaw-He) is more Biblical. Strong’s gives a pronunciation for H3068 (JHVH) of ‘Yeh-ho-vaw’, which is probably better than either ‘Jehovah’ with a hard ‘J’ and an ‘ah’ sound instead of an ‘aw’ sound or the increasingly popular ‘Yahweh’ with the outer vowel sounds transposed and a missing middle vowel. In Isaiah 26:4 and Psalm 68:4 we also have a shortened form YH (Strong’s H3050) pronounced ‘Yaw’ or, turning the ‘Y’ into a ‘J’: ‘Jah’.
See: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Yod/yod.html
And: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Vav/vav.html
And: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Hey/hey.html
And this on the Name: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/YHVH/yhvh.html
I have been free of the bondage of “Christmas” for a few years and each year I feel more free. It is such an emotional bondage and we know who it is who plays on our senses – Satan/Santa – same person. Say Mithras quickly and it can sound similar to christmas. There is a false christ on the horizon as is warned against in the bible. Just because the name christ is there don’t be deceived “by any means – says the bible” that it is Jesus Christ. Mass is a sacrifice – has He not been sacrificied ONCE and for all? The bible says we are NOT to learn the way of the Heathens. The means does NOT justify the end. It is the false christ that is being lifted up at christmas – come out of it people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGehqVd49BE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_438599&feature=iv&src_vid=PNuIz63zBjM&v=-RdJvQg7YqI
The 2nd one has good info allthough I don’t agree with Jim Staley’s Jewish Roots movement.
Blessings – keep looking up!
Robin, thanks for your good work here. It is amazing how much misunderstanding pervades. With your indulgence, I would like to offer a couple insights I’ve gleaned over the years reading patristic texts, history, etc.
1. The classical Christian (first thousand years, at least) Church NEVER celebrated the birthday of Christ. Never was it proposed that Dec. 25th was the date of His birth. “Happy Birthday Jesus” is not a Christian sentiment.
Let me explain. “Birthday” when written as one word is an adjective. It is a shorthand way of writing “Birthday Anniversary.” The adjective “birthday” modifies “anniversary,” even when the second word is omitted. Again, classical Christians – those that gave us the Christmas holy day in the first place – did NOT mean for it to be an anniversary celebration.
Rather, Christmas is the celebration of the Day, the Hour, the Moment of Christ’s birth in history. His “Birth Day” (two words), not His “birthday anniversary.” Classical Christians believed (and Orthodox, Copts, Catholics, Anglo-Catholics, etc., who have preserved much of what was believed and practiced during the first 1000 years of Christianity STILL BELIEVE) that Christians are united to Christ, mystically participating in that day 2000(ish) years ago, through the liturgy/mass of Christmas. That is why Christians greeted each other during the season with “Christ IS Born,” not “was” born, not “is 2,008 years old today,” etc. “Christ IS Born!,” to which the response was “Glorify Him!”
Thanks Chaz. I think that is a crucially important distinction which evaporates away some of these debates.
I was called away to play a board game with my son, so didn’t share the next insight in a timely manner, but here goes:
2. The Christmas feast was actually a Roman pagan feast before the people and their culture were consecrated to Christ. When people come to Christ, they are “baptized into Christ and put on Christ.” C.S. Lewis remarked that not only people, but their cultures and even their imaginations can be “baptized” in Christ. Therefore, the pagan Winter celebration was “baptized” and was offered over to Christ. This is why the Romans chose to celebrate Christmas in the Winter, as they had given their cultural festival new meaning in Christ. It took a while to catch on in the East (as they were generally not pagan cultures and had no need to sanctify an existing festival), but eventually the Christmas celebration was adopted by the entire Christian Church.
3. Some pagan cultures also decorated trees with silver and gold… and this practice coincided with the Winter festival. An interesting point I ran across some years back was that the early Christian practice of offering prayers with incense and lights (a sacrifice of ongoing prayer and veneration to God represented by candles, as opposed to sacrifices immediately consumed by fire, like grain and animal sacrifices of the Old Testament Jews). The ecumenical councils even speak of the symbol (called “an offering of lights”) and appropriateness of making prayers with candles, whose “long-lasting light reminds us that our prayers should be unceasing.” Therefore, as I learned from a Church historian, the pagan symbol of the decorated tree was covered by Christians in candles as a sign of consecration to God through prayer and worship of Him. Christmas tree lights themselves, for the former Pagans who first celebrated Christmas in the Winter with a Christmas tree, etc., made all the difference… just like water baptism made all the difference for them in their personal consecration to Christ. With the advent of technology (no pun intended) and modern safety concerns, those candles have become electrical strings of beautiful, multi-coloured lights, and even migrated to our houses and yards. Wouldn’t it be amazing if people knew (and if we ourselves wouldn’t forget) that every Christmas light was born as a symbol, as a prayer, as an act of worship, consecrating the people, their culture, their festival, and their symbol to God come in the flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.
I know there are some who do not condone the consecration of pre-Christian culture to Christ. This has always been the practice of the Christian Church, however. If God can use base and ordinary things, such as water in a Christian’s rebirth, spit and mud to heal the blind, bread and wine to represent His redemptive sacrifice, an ass to prophesy, etc., couldn’t He use a formerly-pagan festival? Decorated trees? Anticipating some false distinction some might suggest, I offer up the following ancient hymn, which references the pagan (possibly Zoroastrian) Magi:
“Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, has shone to the world the light of wisdom! For by it, those who worshiped the stars were taught by a star to adore Thee, the Sun of Righteousness and to know Thee,”
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