Matthew says that when Herod realized the magi were not going to return, he ordered the slaughter of all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem and the neighboring towns (Matt. 2:16-18). Although Mark and Luke do not mention the Slaughter of the Innocents, John alludes to it in the Apocalypse (Rev. 12:1-4), and thus becomes a witness to the verity of the Matthew’s record. The witness of Matthew and John is also corroborated by a pagan writer named Macrobius. Macrobius wrote an encyclopedic account of Roman culture entitled the Saturnalia, in which he records the legends and lore of the holidays marking the Roman calendar. In book two, Macrobius records some of the witty … [Read more...]
The Men who Failed to Paganize the Origins of Christmas
by John Sanidopoulos Every Christmas season, the usual myths are hauled out and distributed for popular consumption. You know them. We’ve all heard or read them. That Christmas celebrations were stolen from the Romans The Christmas tree is a pagan hangover That other gods had virgin births That Yule and the mistletoe are all about Odin These falsehoods are repeated often and loudly, under the guise of being “historical truths.” And strangely they still stump most Christians, who are then filled with doubt about what they believe. Of course, these myths were designed to elicit precisely this sort of reaction from believers. All of them were invented in the 18th- and … [Read more...]
Sharing the Faith at Christmas
Originally entitled "Atheists and Christmas" by Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post In a newly released Christmas guide, atheists recount stories of traditional Christmas celebrations despite secular leaders’ belief that non-believers should steer clear of the Dec. 25th holiday. The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas features 42 celebrity freethinkers in the United States and Europe who open up and discuss a topic seldom associated to their ilk – celebrating Christmas. The book, a compilation of several essays and short stories, reveals that atheists maintain traditions and fond memories linked to the holiday commonly associated with Christian beliefs. Simon Le Bon, front man of pop band Duran … [Read more...]
Calculating Christmas: The Story Behind December 25th
William J. Tighe Many Christians think that Christians celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25th because the church fathers appropriated the date of a pagan festival. Almost no one minds, except for a few groups on the fringes of American Evangelicalism, who seem to think that this makes Christmas itself a pagan festival. But it is perhaps interesting to know that the choice of December 25th is the result of attempts among the earliest Christians to figure out the date of Jesus’ birth based on calendrical calculations that had nothing to do with pagan festivals. Rather, the pagan festival of the “Birth of the Unconquered Sun” instituted by the Roman Emperor Aurelian on 25 December 274, … [Read more...]
