"Sharing God's Love"
December 25, 2014
By Bob Wadley
Well, here we are, Christmas Day! Merry Christmas. Have you ever wondered, “How do we know Jesus was born on December 25?” Well, actually, we don't. Around the middle of the 4th century, the Bishop of Jerusalem asked the Bishop of Rome to determine the actual date of Christ's birth. He wrote back that it was December 25, knowing that was an arbitrary date. But his picking that date wasn't arbitrary, it was deliberate. For centuries before Christ was born, the month of December had been a time of pagan festivals. He thought that if people would celebrate Christ's birth at the same time, it would cause people to become more engaged in spiritual things and draw them away from their revelry. It was a nice thought, but as we know, it has only been partially successful. For many, Christmas is still like a pagan festival, not a celebration of the most important moment in all of history.
So many of …
December 25, 2014
By Bob Wadley
Well, here we are, Christmas Day! Merry Christmas. Have you ever wondered, “How do we know Jesus was born on December 25?” Well, actually, we don't. Around the middle of the 4th century, the Bishop of Jerusalem asked the Bishop of Rome to determine the actual date of Christ's birth. He wrote back that it was December 25, knowing that was an arbitrary date. But his picking that date wasn't arbitrary, it was deliberate. For centuries before Christ was born, the month of December had been a time of pagan festivals. He thought that if people would celebrate Christ's birth at the same time, it would cause people to become more engaged in spiritual things and draw them away from their revelry. It was a nice thought, but as we know, it has only been partially successful. For many, Christmas is still like a pagan festival, not a celebration of the most important moment in all of history.
So many of …