December 25: Mindful of His Birth, mindless of the Date. Each time Christmas bells ring, Atheists/Skeptics/Secularists always do a good job of reminding us of the pagan root and celebrations associated with December 25. They do this to show that if it could be proven that Jesus was perhaps not born on the 25th of December and that the 25th was a pagan holiday, then somehow that could cast a huge shadow of doubt on Jesus historicity. Lets inform some ignoramuses. The idea that 25th of December being originally a pagan holiday impugns the historical data of Jesus historicity is, to say the least, a lazy conclusion. Indeed, the 25th of December is most unlikely the date of birth of the most important figure in all history. Two major ancient pagan celebrations were associated with the 25th day of December of every year in ancient Rome, the seat of the universal church. They were: 1. The Saturnalia festival. This was a date set aside by the Romans to worship Saturn- the god of sowing and husbandry. It was a week-long event which started on the 17th of December till the 25th of the same month. It was marked with a sacrifice to Saturn, public banquets and giving of gifts. 2. The celebration and commemoration of the birth of the Sun god- Mithra. The Mithraic worship was a persian-roman cult worship. It was popular among Roman soldiers, but had its root in the ancient Kingdom of Persia (todays southwestern Iran). These two pagan festivals were unequivocally celebrated on the 25th of December. So, yes, 25th of December was most likely not the date Jesus was born. Why then is it widely accepted today as His day of birth? When Emperor Constantine became the first Christian Emperor of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century, he inherited a squarely pagan empire. He wanted to give his new found Faith some religious and political significance and establish it as the official religion of Rome. But he had a challenge. Public holidays were pagan, the most and widely celebrated being on the 25th of December. Hence, in a conspiracy of compromise, the Christian Emperor decided to adopt the birthday of the notorious pagan Sun god (Mithras) as the date to commemorate the birth of the Son of God (Jesus the Christ). These are historical facts. These facts show two things: 1. Ancient Romans knew the difference between Jesus the Son of God and Mithras the Sun-god. They were not one and the same. In other words, they were not seen as mythical parallels. 2. They were aware of the humongous influence pagan religions wielded at the time, and the Christianizing of the 25th of December was a testament to the kind of influence the Emperor desired that Jesus birth would have in Rome and every Christian kingdom. 3. The ancient Romans knew Jesus birth was not on the 25th of December, but the fact of His birth was not in question. It was a given. Christmas today is possible because a Roman Emperor desired influence for Christianity, for Jesus Christ. In achieving this, he employed his political power and fiat, and Merry Christmas was born out of a well-meaning compromise of a King. December 25 is not the date Jesus was born, but the day a loyal King chose to set aside to give his Lord influence. December 25 actually testifies of the historicity of His Birth, and not the other way around. Be Mindful of this: On the 25th of December, we celebrate the Birth of the Greatest Influence that ever lived and will ever live. We do not celebrate the date. We celebrate ON the date. We are Mindful of His Birth, Mindless of the Date. Merry Christmas In Advance. #truthisscarierthanreality. Selah.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 19:16:59 +0000
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