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Are Christmas Trees Idols?

By Jeremy Myers
74 Comments

Are Christmas Trees Idols?

Did you know that Christmas tress are idols?

At least, that is what I was once told by a member of my church.

Several of us had gathered together on a Saturday afternoon in early December to decorate the church for Christmas. We put up lights, tinsel, red and green ribbon, poinsettias,  and the crowning glory… a tall, beautiful Christmas tree – right up in front of the sanctuary to the left of the platform. We used all white lights and wrapped it with silver and gold ribbon.

The next day, after the Sunday service concluded, one of the men in the church pulled me aside and said, “Pastor, I cannot attend a church that erects idols in the sanctuary.”

I just stared at him. I had no clue what he was talking about.

Christmas tree idolHe pulled out his Bible and turned to Jeremiah 10:3-4 and had me read it. It says this:

For the customs of the people are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers”
So that it will not topple.

“You see?” he said. “You have erected a Christmas tree idol in the church sanctuary. Until you remove it, I and my family will not be back.”

Being a young pastor at a small church, I didn’t want to lose any family over such a things as a Christmas tree, and so I called a few of the elders that afternoon, and we decided that while we could not get rid of the tree (another family had donated it to the church and they would be offended if we threw it out), we could move it into the foyer. I called the man who had pointed out Jeremiah 10:3-4 to me, and while he wasn’t happy that we were keeping the pagan Christmas Tree idol, he said that moving it would be good enough, and he and his family would be back in church the next Sunday.

Ironically, he and his family had a little Christmas party over at their house that year. We went. I remember walking into his house and seeing all the normal Christmas decorations. He had the lights, the tinsel, the ribbon… even some ornaments which he had hung on the wall, but no Christmas tree. Cookies were on the counter. Christmas music played on the stereo. There were even Christmas presents piled in a corner. But no Christmas tree. I remember thinking that it seemed a bit hypocritical…

He and his family left the church a few months later over something else. It had to do with the worship team this time. (And I lost the worship team as well… Ah, the joys of a small church.) I remember thinking after he left, “I sure wish I had left that tree in the sanctuary. In fact, I wish I had added a few more Christmas trees!”

Christmas Tree Idolatry

So are Christmas trees idolatrous? If you put up a Christmas tree in your house, or in your church building, are you engaging in pagan idolatry?

The answer is no… unless of course you are praying to the tree and worshiping it… in which there might be some Christmas tree idolatry going on. And no, singing “Oh Christmas Tree” does not count as praying to the tree or worshiping it…

Look, I fully admit that there was a pagan practice of chopping down trees and erecting them in public spaces or homes and decorating them with lights and gold and silver. This is a common practice among many cultures that goes back thousands of years and is part of their cultural and religious celebrations at this time of year.

Christmas Tree idols Jeremiah 10

I don’t think that is exactly what Jeremiah 10:3-4 is talking about, however. If you look at the surrounding context, it appears that after the tree is cut down, it is carved into a shape and then gold and silver is hammered onto it. What Jeremiah is talking about, it seems, may be the actual crafting of an idol, not necessarily the decorating of a tree itself.

But regardless, even IF Jeremiah 10:3-4 is talking about a practice that is almost identical to our tradition of putting up a Christmas tree, it is still not idol worship.

Why not? Because in the minds and practice of most Christians, the Christmas tree does not represent a pagan holiday, but represents a time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas tree reminds us of how the Light of the World arrived to bring hope to those in darkness. The Christmas tree reminds us how shepherds and wise men brought gifts to honor His birth, and how Jesus Himself brings the free gift of eternal life to all the world. The Christmas tree even reminds us of how Jesus died upon a tree, taking our curse upon Himself, so that we might become the righteousness of God.

Though it is true that the Christmas tree may have once been a pagan symbol, it is a symbol that has been redeemed in Jesus. Just as Jesus redeems us, so also, Jesus has redeemed the Christmas tree. For most people, the Christmas tree is no longer an idol, but is a reminder of what Jesus did for us in coming to this earth as a humble babe.

Jesus is in the business of redemption. Take the cross as another example of a “tree” that has been redeemed. At the time of Jesus, the cross was a symbol of brutal torture and Roman military power. Nobody would dream of erecting a cross in their house or wearing one around their neck. But Jesus redeemed it! When people see a cross today, nobody thinks of brutal Roman torture. They think of Jesus.

The Christmas tree is the same. Though it used to be (and still is in some places) a symbol of pagan idolatry, the Christmas tree has been redeemed by Jesus and we can put one up in our houses and in our church buildings as a way of celebrating the birth of Jesus and all that He accomplished for us through His birth, life, death, and resurrection. Christmas trees have been redeemed by Jesus, just like you and me and everything else Jesus touches.

So Merry Christmas! I hope your Christmas tree is especially beautiful this year.

P.S. I wrote a short eBook on this subject…. you can get it here.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Christmas, Christmas Redemption, Christmas tree idol, holidays, Jeremiah 10, Theology of Jesus

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I Am an Idol-Worshiping Pagan Heretic

By Jeremy Myers
16 Comments

I Am an Idol-Worshiping Pagan Heretic

Golden CalfSo someone left a one-star review of Christmas Redemption on Amazon.

My books certainly seem to attract negative reviews. Someone left a one-star review of Finding Church before they had even read the book! She claims she doesn’t need to read it, because the title tells her everything she needed to know. So her one-star review was because she didn’t like the title… sigh.

Anyway, regarding the one-star review of Christmas Redemption, the man said that with this book, I am leading people into idol worship. He equated me with Aaron building a Golden Calf for the Israelites and telling them that it was their God. He says he is writing a full-length rebuttal, but wanted to put a short warning up on Amazon.

I appreciate his honesty, and look forward to reading his rebuttal, if he sends me a copy.

But here is the thing, Aaron and the Israelites did the exact opposite of what I am encouraging Christians to do. God led the Israelites out of Egypt, and delivered them through the Red Sea, and then at the foot of Mount Sinai, Aaron built a golden calf and called it Yahweh, and said that this was the god that rescued and delivered them from Egypt. When Moses found out, he became enraged, destroyed the calf, and called people back to giving glory to God alone for what He had done.

I am not calling people to take the things of God and then construct idols for our worship and call them “God.” That is what Aaron did, but not what I am doing. No, I am doing the exact opposite. I encourage people to take the things of the world, which used to give credit and glory to pagan idols, and calling on people to give the credit and glory to Whom it really belongs, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! It is He who is the light of the world, the giver of all good things, and the true Spirit of generosity and grace.

This is what Christianity has done with most of our history and traditions (church buildings, Easter, paid clergy, etc), and what Moses himself did with much of his writing. Many Christians do not realize it, but Genesis 1-2 is mostly borrowed from Egyptian Creation Myths. So also, the “contract” between God and the Israelites in Deuteronomy is based off a Mesopotamian Suzerain-Vassal treaty, which often used pagan deities to guarantee the terms of the treaties. But Moses, who was trained in the Egyptian courts, took these documents, and changed the names and a few of the details so that stories and treaties which used to give glory to pagan gods, now directed people’s worship, honor, and glory to the One True God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even most (maybe all) of the Jewish holidays and festivals were borrowed in one way or another from Egyptian and Canaanite festivals at the time.

GenesisThis does not mean that Genesis 1-2 is myth, or that God didn’t really say the things He said in Deuteronomy, or that the Jewish feasts have no significance or meaning.

Quite to the contrary! If anything, God told Moses to write these things, telling him that He was redeeming this stories and treaties and festivals to Himself. Though the Egyptian Creation Myths gave glory to pagan deities, Genesis 1-2 now gives glory to God alone. The redemption of the Suzerain-Vassal treaty shows how God behaves fairly with His people. The redemption of the festivals shows that God can redeem holidays and rituals for His own honor and glory, and that even as His people, He still wants us to enjoy life with parties, laughter, and celebrations. God is not a kill-joy; He’s a joy amplifier.

We could go on and on like through most of the Old Testament and find numerous other examples of writers taking pagan ideas, stories, practices, and customs, and reworking them so that they no longer give glory to idols, but bring honor and worship to the God of Israel. This is what redemption is all about!

Christmas RedemptionAnd this is what I tried to show in Christmas Redemption. There are many pagan practices which used to give glory to pagan deities, but the church can take some of these practices and symbols and point them to the One who really deserves the glory and honor of bringing light into this dark world – not Saturn, but Jesus Christ. I am doing the exact opposite of what Aaron did. He took the things of God and gave credit to a golden calf. I am taking the things of Saturn and giving credit to Whom they really belong – Jesus Christ.

Anyway, I am not really trying to convince this person who left the one-star review. There are many Christians who will always see things differently. You don’t need to go argue with him. That is not why I am posting this. Of course, maybe you want to post a one-star review of your own… Ha!

As for me, I am convinced that redemption is a key theme in the Bible, and if we don’t really understand redemption, we will not understand Scripture, God, Jesus Christ, ourselves, or our task in this world as followers of Jesus Christ.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Christmas Redemption, holidays, idolatry, pagan, redemption, Theology of Jesus

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Did Jesus Fulfill Hanukkah?

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Did Jesus Fulfill Hanukkah?

Lots of Christians have noticed that the authors of the New Testament place great emphasis on the Jewish festivals and holidays and the fact that Jesus fulfilled many of the rituals and traditions of these holidays in His birth, life, death, and resurrection.

HanukkahBut what about Hanukkah? Did Jesus fulfill this holiday also?

Is Hanukkah Biblical?

The immediate objection to even asking the question, however, is that Hanukkah is not a “biblical” holiday. That is, it is not one of the seven feasts which Moses wrote about in the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. So why, it might be asked, would Jesus fulfill it?

It is true.

Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures. It did not begin to be celebrated until the mid second century BC when some Jewish rebels defeated their Roman captors and set out rededicate the temple to God. To do this, they needed to light the oil lamps in the temple, but most of the oil had been contaminated, and it would take eight days to make more.

However, they found one container of oil which was still sealed and uncontaminated, but it was only enough for one day. So they lit the lamps in the oil to begin the purification process in the temple, and miraculously, the lamp stayed burning for eight full days.

Hanukkah is Mentioned in the New Testament

But did you know that Hanukkah, while not mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, is mentioned in the New Testament?

In John 10:22, we read that Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication, which is Hanukkah. And there are various indications in John 10, as well as in the surrounding context of John 8–11 that Jesus identified Himself with the lights of Hanukkah and especially the central light of the Hanukkah Menorah, the Shamash, or “Servant” light.

Jesus Fulfilled Hanukkah

It seems that though Hanukkah is not a biblical holiday, Jesus still fulfilled it, that He took the symbolism and significance of this holiday and pointed it to Himself.

Which raises the question, if Jesus could do this with a non-biblical Jewish holiday, can He also do this with non-biblical non-Jewish holidays? How about, for example, the ancient holiday to the fertility sex-goddess Ishtar? Or maybe some of the ancient celebrations about Mithras? Or maybe the ancient Roman holiday of Saturnalia which takes place at this time of year?

Christmas RedemptionYes, I believe Jesus can (and does) take these holidays and point them to Himself. It is called redemption. Just as He redeems humanity, Jesus also redeems the things that make us human. Along with redeeming humanity, Jesus redeems the things in our culture and calendars that make life meaningful and enjoyable.

Want to learn more about this? I write a lot more about it in my eBook, Christmas Redemption.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Christmas, hanukkah, holidays, Jesus, Theology of Jesus

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War on Christmas

By Jeremy Myers
7 Comments

War on Christmas

War on ChristmasI have mixed feelings about the whole “War on Christmas” battle that gets waged every year around this time.

I noticed this week at work that someone put out a bunch of “Merry Christmas” cards on an entryway table. A few hours later I came by and noticed that someone had thrown them all out.

The next day, someone put out a bunch of “Happy Kwanzaa” cards on the exact same table. Guess what? Nobody threw them out.

Isn’t that odd?

Anyway, it is easy this time of year to get all worked up about such things. Which is why I so appreciated a post over at GraceGround today called “War. On Christmas” by Kimberly Parker. Here is an excerpt:

For the past 50+ years in North America, Christians have been distracted by a global “war on Christmas” not even recognizing that it is creating war in their hearts. Don’t use the perceived war on Christmas as an opportunity to take your focus off of Christ. Don’t use it as an excuse for bad behavior. Don’t spread gossip, propaganda or untruths about anyone because of what you think they believe or don’t believe. Let it stop with you.

Head on over there to read the rest of this post, and this Christmas season, let the peace of Christ dwell in you richly.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Christmas, Discipleship, holidays

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Reveling in Pagan Holidays

By Jeremy Myers
33 Comments

Reveling in Pagan Holidays

We should all revel in Pagan holidays. Why? Because Pagan holidays are so revealing.

Most Christians want to stay as far away from Pagan holidays as they can, thinking that participating in pagan holidays is participation with the world. They believe that instead, we should only participate in Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas.

Ironically, Christmas and Easter are two of the biggest Pagan holidays that exist.

Pagan Holidays

I don’t mean that they have become Pagan, and we must “put Christ back into Christmas” to retake the holiday for Jesus. No, I mean that they were originally Pagan holidays, which became Christian holidays. Yes, in some ways they are becoming pagan again, but this is no reason to be scared of them, but to revel in them all the more.

Why? Here is why:

Pagan Holidays Point to Christ

I believe that Pagan holidays and pagan rituals and pagan beliefs, and all the old stories and tales and myths from pagan religions are actually the cry of the divine image of God in man to return to what was lost. Pagan holidays reveal a longing for what was lost. A desire for the reconnection of God with man.

And the only “religion” in the world which does the best job of taking all these longings, dreams, desires, and ideas, and bringing them to fruition and fulfillment, is Christianity. Let me rephrase that. Not Christianity, but Christ.

Nearly all of the old pagan stories hint at the gods returning to earth, becoming human, sharing life on earth with us, and some of them even loving humans so much that they sacrifice themselves for us.

Does any of that sound familiar? Of course. All of these stories sound strikingly similar to what happened within Jesus Christ. This is one reason why critics say that the Gospels are not true. They say that the Gospel stories are just rehashed pagan myths, where some of the details and the names of the characters are changed.

I couldn’t disagree more. There is too much historical evidence for the reliability of the Gospels. So how do we explain the similarities between the Gospel accounts and the pagan myths?

Well, why couldn’t the pagan myths be prophetic? Why couldn’t the pagan myths and traditions point people to Jesus and the Gospel?

I mean, we believe that God can reveal Himself through nature, and through conscience, and through other forms of revelation. Why not also through creative stories that were planted in the minds and hearts of men and women all over the earth? Wouldn’t this be one more way to help prepare people to hear the Gospel? When they heard the true account of how Jesus Christ came to earth, they would experience that “Ah-ha!” moment of hearing a story that fills the missing pieces in the longings and desires of their hearts.

So Why Isn’t Paganism True?

But if what I am suggesting is true, that God has revealed His plan prophetically through the myths and tales of paganism, why can’t we all be pagans, and how do we know that Christianity is not just another pagan myth?

Well, there is a problem with the Pagan myths. Most of the gods and deities do not really love mankind, but toy with humanity for their own amusement. They are self-serving, devious, game-playing deities, who are benevolent on one day, and malevolent the next.

Greek Pantheon

Humans have never liked the idea that a god who loves me one day, may be out to destroy me the next. And why do the gods change? Nobody really knows, but numerous theories and ideas are proposed which sometimes seem to appease the gods and make them love us again. Maybe we have to give him some fruit, or a chicken, or a cow, or in really dire situations, one of our own children.

But it is here that Christianity takes a different route, and comes up with an idea that no man could ever invent. Christianity teaches an idea that could have come only from God, for it is found in no other religion, and even still, is so hard to grasp that most people within Christianity do not even believe it.

In Christianity, and Christianity alone, all these negative elements of pagan mythology are stripped away, and we are told that God loves us so much, that He does not want us to sacrifice our own children, but instead, He will sacrifice His own Son for us. And this isn’t necessary because He is angry at us, but because we have rebelled against Him. We have done everything wrong, and we have turned away from Him, and we have gone to war with Him, yet rather than make us claw our way back to Him and grovel before Him, begging for his forgiveness, He comes running after us, seeking to restore the friendship with us that He lost when we left.

It would be appallingly shameful, if it weren’t so shockingly loving.

And what does Christianity call this shocking love of God?

Grace.

There is no concept like it in any other religion. It is grace and grace alone that sets Christianity apart from every other system of belief.

And I’m not referring to some weak-kneed grace of contemporary Christianity where we teach that God has done His part, and so we must do ours. No, God has done it all. Nor do I mean some half-hearted concept of grace where we must prove our acceptance of it by showing God that we are worthy of it. No, what part of “God has done it all” do we not understand?

It is grace from first to last.

And this brings us back to Pagan myths and pagan holidays. It was grace that was absent from all pagan myths, and therefore, it is grace that fulfills all pagan myths, which is why I revel in them.

Grace to Pagans

People are uncomfortable with the idea of pagan myths prophetically pointing to Jesus Christ. But I’m not sure why.

Can nature point people to Jesus? Of course. Can our conscience? Absolutely? How about art and music? Sure. What about stories? Why not? Especially when they reflect what we have seen in nature and felt in our conscience.

And what else are pagan myths except an attempt to explain in story form what has been observed in nature and felt in our conscience? They are nothing if they are not that.

And so why should we be amazed that Jesus fulfills these stories?

But more than that, and here is the best part, and also the part that explains why I revel in pagan holidays, through the grace of Jesus, if He can redeem me from my slavery to sin, why cannot He also redeem stories? Why cannot He also redeem holidays? Which is harder? To redeem a person, or to redeem a day? To redeem a rebellious sinner, or to redeem an imaginative story?

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has power to redeem both stories and days, just look at yourself. If you have risen from your mat of pagan sin and death, then the core of paganism (you and me) has already been redeemed! If Jesus Christ can redeem us, then certainly He can redeem our past, our present, our future, our mistakes, our holidays, and our stories.

Christmas Tree

So this Christmas season, revel in the exchanging of gifts, the decorated trees, the lights and glitter, the songs and poinsettia. None of this has anything to do with the Jesus of the Gospels. It all has pagan roots. But thank God, I have pagan roots too! And so I revel in the paganess of it all. And just as God has made me into a new creation, so also I take the pagan traditions of Christmas, and rethink, reimagine, rework, and recreate them all to point to the person and work of Jesus Christ. In this way, they are brought out of the dominion of darkness and into the kingdom of light of the Son of God.

P.S. I wrote more about this topic in my short eBook, Christmas Redemption. You can get it on Amazon for only $0.99.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Christmas, Christmas Redemption, Discipleship, Easter, holidays, pagan, Theology of Salvation

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