Expert: Elder Greg Madden - 12/10/2007

Question
QUESTION: Do you think it appropriate to have Christmas trees in the sanctuary and wreaths on the church doors? Also, do you think that Baptist ministers should wear robes with stoles? I understand that neither of these subjects will specifically be mentioned in the Scriptures but I think they could be argued against more easily than for. Thank you.

ANSWER: Sherrill,

Thank you for your questions. I will do my best to answer them one at a time...

1. "Do you think it appropriate to have Christmas trees in the sanctuary and wreaths on the church doors?"

If the pastor, and that church body, do not have an issue with it, then no I do not see a problem. Since the church (the Body of Christ) is not defined as a building, but the people who meet their weekly, and the members have them at their own homes, then why not at the church as well. As long as people understand that they are celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and not some pagan holiday. Of course, this is my opinion and is therefor to be taken as such.

2. "...do you think that Baptist ministers should wear robes with stoles?"

If the pastor has wore them for a while, and the congregation is comfortable with it then I do not see a problem. I do think it is a problem if that pastor NEVER preaches whith wearing it. But if is something new, then I would think that the pastor should spend at least some time explaining why he is starting to wear them. However, in my opion I think that robes and stoles tend to give off an air of elitism. That the church body may feel as if they are not as worthy before Christ as their pastor. Once again, my opinion.

Sherrill, please understand that in both of my responses to you I simply gave my opinion. If you have any further question, do not hesitate to let me know.

Merry Christmas!

Elder Greg Madden
http://www.forministry.com/USOKPENTEMMM1




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Elder Madden, can you scripturally point to the commandment to celebrate Christmas?
Also, when did the Baptists start celebrating Christmas?

Thank you and God Bless You. Sherrill Icklan

Answer
Sherrill,

Thank you for your follow up questions. As for pointing to a Scriptural commandment to celebrate Christmas, I cannot because there are none. However, please allow me to tell you how I view the celebration of Christmas.

As for my church, family and myself we do celebrate it and will continue to do so. During this time people who would not normally go to church will attend, and anything to get people to go to church is a good thing.

It is true that this celebration is not mentioned in the Bible. But let us look at the name itself. The name "Christmas" which means "Christ-Mass". The name is not in the Scriptures but the event that the name represents is definitely in the Scriptures. The story of the birth of Christ and the circumstances surrounding it is very much emphasized in the Bible. Mathew and Luke both go into detail describing Christ birth, including the shepherds and eventually the wise men giving gifts to Christ. That is all in the Bible. Without His birth, there is no salvation.

Someone might argue that since we are not commanded to celebrate Christmas we should ignore it. Well, we are not commanded to celebrate the resurrection as a holiday either.

Someone may argue against Christmas that it is a non-biblical holiday and since Christmas in not celebrated in the Bible, we should not celebrate it, either. First of all, the birth of Christ is biblical, so you cannot make a case by calling Christmas non-biblical, but I suppose you can say that Christmas is extra-biblical. That is, there is nothing in the Bible against it, and there are things in the holiday that is based on the Bible, but there is no command to celebrate the birth of Christ, so it is an extra-biblical holiday.

Here is how I approach this argument: Jesus Himself celebrated an extra-biblical holiday that corresponds to Christmas. People are usually surprised to find this out. Yes, Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, and Hanukkah is not in the Old Testament.

John 10:22
And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.  
10:23
And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.  

There is no Old Testament Feast of Dedication. There are several feasts mentioned in the Bible, but not Dedication. What feast is Dedication? That is Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of oil that burned for 8 days. This event took place after the last Old Testament prophet had written the scriptures. The scriptures were closed before this event, and thus, this Feast is extra-biblical. And Jesus was in the temple area where the feast was celebrated. He participated in Hanukkah.

Today, Christmas is celebrated next to Hanukkah. So the question is this: If Jesus celebrated a holiday that was not in the Bible, why cant you enjoy Christmas as well and give gifts just as the Jews today give many gifts during Hanukkah.

Now as to when Baptist began to celebrate Christmas this is up for debate. Some may agree that Baptist have always celebrated the birth of Christ, but perhaps not with all the celebratory events (gift giving, trees, light, ect...) There are also some who would point to Baptist starting to celebrate Christmas at the same time as the secular world began. There seems to be no definite date or time.

Lastly Sherrill, the important thing is that remember what and why we celebrate. It is not the birthday of Christ (that would probably be sometime in the spring) but the birth of Christ itself is what and why we celebrate this holiday.

I hope that this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Merry Christmas!

Elder Greg Madden
http://www.forministry.com/USOKPENTEMMM1