Is Christmas a Cruel, Unjust Cult That We Should End Once & For All?
It was a tough decision for me to write this article because I can already feel all of the negative backlash it’s going to receive, and it will give my friends and potentially now some of my readers another reason to say, “Alanna Ruins Everything.” But, it has to be said.
Upon stumbling across an article posted on the Guardian called “This Christmas It’s Time We Put An End To The Cult Of Christmas Once And For All,” I realized I needed to offer my own take on this holiday season. So please, bear with me — it’s not all bad.
We all recognize the material, unhealthy, or just plain silly aspects of Christmas. Insane amounts of money spent on gifts, endless indulgence in unhealthy foods, Santa Claus — while you may argue it’s just once a year, it’s fun for the kids, and it’s great to spend time with family — all valid points of view — not one of these things has anything to do with what Christmas is actually supposed to be about. The real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but even that is a bit irrelevant, as Jesus was believed to be born sometime around *****. So what is Christmas really all about? Despite what Hallmark would like you to believe, all Christmas really is, is a cruel, elitist institution that needs to end. Here’s why.
The reality of the celebration of Christmas is that it is reserved for the most privileged in our society, yet we don’t often acknowledge this. We are collectively blind to the fact that the vast majority of humans on the planet are unable to celebrate Christmas in the way the media tells us we should. This creates feelings of failure, inadequacy, and a sense of loss.
Americans will spend around 465 BILLION dollars this year on gifts and all of the things that go along with Christmas. Let me give you a little bit of perspective here: the U.N. estimates that for just 30 billion dollars per year, we could end world hunger. If Americans alone were to donate their money instead of splurging on gifts for their (often already spoiled) kids for one year, world hunger would cease to be an issue for 15 years. Now, let that sink in. We have the means to fix the problems in our world, but unfortunately, our capitalistic society does not favour these means.
Another problem within American and European countries is that much of the money being spent is not available in the first place. Because of the media, families feel tremendous pressure to create the perfect Christmas for their families. There is never more pressure to spend than at Christmas. Gifts, decorations, food, events, travel — none of these are considered luxuries during Christmas, it’s just assumed they’ll be present. Hundreds of thousands of people fall into debt during this time of the year because society has cleverly and deliberately indoctrinated us into believing that we need to fit this version of Christmas.
I remember my mother struggling every year at Christmastime and even reaching out to a charity so that we could have more gifts like all of our friends. I also remember going to school and hearing about all of the much more expensive presents my friends had gotten and wondering if I had been bad, and that’s why Santa wasn’t able to give me what I wanted. Now just think of the millions of children in Africa, Asia, and South America who likely wonder why Santa doesn’t come to them at all?
But, It’s a Time to Get Together With Family
Okay, but why the pressure? Almost parallel with the rampant consumerism is the forced narrative that you need to spend time with your family. This puts tremendous pressure on people who don’t have much family, are unable to visit the family they do have, or simply do not have a relationship with their family. Many don’t have the financial means to travel to visit family. Is there a depiction of Christmas out there that doesn’t involve a happy nuclear family sitting around a dinner table? Think about every single Christmas movie you have ever seen, just for a second.
Many people are estranged from their family, or have suffered trauma at the hands of family members. Just imagine what the pressure to “be with family” at Christmas does to their mental health. What about people who are homeless or are far from home? People face tremendous guilt and pressure to be social this time of year, whether that’s something they want or not. In this sense it’s very fake. Shouldn’t we be with our family when it aligns and feels right and authentic? Why do we need a holiday to tell us when to do something we already desire?
Philosophers stone – selected views from the boat http://philosophers-stone.co.uk
Source: http://www.phoenixisrisen.co.uk/?p=15646
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Only Mithra(s) is in Christmas…
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Christ’s Birth on the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) in 6 CE
False church traditions (unsubstantiated embellishments), the precepts of men (manufactured theology), and doctrines of demons (assimilated paganism) cloud the truth regarding Christ’s conception and birth. For starters, one needs to review the program entitled “Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas” from when The History Channel actually presented history: https://youtu.be/XSQYX-OB1Rs.
According to this program, Mithraism and Saturnalia were assimilated from pagan Rome; that’s where December 25th falsely originated; see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraism, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus, and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia.
Arguably, the most important quote of “Christmas Unwrapped” occurs at the 7:31 mark: “So if you’re gonna sort through the runes of the Scriptures, Jesus was probably born in the Spring. If the shepherds were out in the fields watching their flocks by night, we’re probably not talking about one of the cold spells at the heart of winter.” — Forrest Church, Minister, All Souls Church
Note: I have no affiliation with this minister or church.
Many “Biblical scholars” discounted the Lucan account because of the mention of Lysanias, the tetrarch of Abilene, in Luke 3:1. They assumed it was this figure from circa 40-36 BCE; see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysanias. That was before the discovery of the Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum (CIG) 4521; see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysanias#Archaeological_Lysanias. Again, the Word of God was vindicated as it repeatedly is via archaeology.
Furthermore, when the Book of Luke is placed within the context of the calendar from the Dead Sea Scrolls, not only can one know with GREAT CERTAINTY the month, day, day of the week, and year when Joshua* (Heb. Yehoshu’a/Aram. Yeshua/Gr. ‘Iesous) was born incarnate but when John (Yochanan) and He were conceived.
*Note: “Jesus” incorrectly originates from the transliteration of the Latin; it is NOT the translation. See the second footnote from Matthew 1:1 in Aramaic (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A1&version=NASB). According to the famous Hebrew lexicographer Reuben Alcalay, Yehoshu’a is closely associated with “Let there be…”
Returning to Christ’s conception and birth… the FACTS unfold as follows, and NO CHURCH currently teaches the truth:
Fact #1: Elisheba (Elizabeth) was six months pregnant in the sixth month; concentrate on vv26 and 36. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A26-38&version=NASB
Fact #2: Tsekharya (Zecharias) was a Levite of the order/division of Abijah; concentrate on v5. https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Luke+1%3A5-7&qs_version=NASB
Fact #3: The mute and shaken Tsekharya returned home immediately after his weekly course was completed, and Elisheba conceived a son. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A8-25&version=NASB
Fact #4: This is the calendar documented in the Dead Sea Scrolls; see http://www.haderech.info/DSS/Calendar/QumranCalendar.pdf.
Fact #5: For Elisheba to be six months pregnant in the sixth month, Tsekharya (of the course of Abijah) had to have served in the 12th month. The only time this occurs is from the 14th-20th; see Cycle of Priestly Divisions… > Division Year 3 of 6 in the Qumran calendar above.
Fact #6: As Tsekharya (and Elisheba) were righteous and walked in ALL requirements and commandments of the Lord (Luke 1:6), he could not have traveled more than a Sabbath day’s journey (2,000 cubits) on the 21st of the 12th month, which was a weekly Sabbath. http://biblehub.com/topical/s/sabbath_day's_journey.htm
Fact #7: The first day that Tsekharya could have returned home (likely Kiriath Arba — aka Hebron — in the hill country of Judah) was the 22nd of the 12th month on the first day of the week. This was the day that Yochanan (John) was conceived.
Fact #8: After Miryam’s (Mary’s) visitation from the archangel Gavri’el (Gabriel) in the sixth month (Luke 1:26), she left IN A HURRY to visit Elisheba. At the moment of arrival, Elisheba was overcome by the Holy Spirit and knew that Miryam had conceived a child. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A39-55&version=NASB
Fact #9: Exactly six months after Yochanan was conceived, Yehoshu’a was conceived. According to the Qumran calendar, that would have occurred on the 22nd of the sixth month on the first day of the week, which is the Feast of New Oil!
Sidebar: The Feast of New Oil was also the fourth of four agricultural feasts each occurring 49 days apart, exclusive (i.e., barley, wheat, grapes/wine, and olive oil). Olive oil was a component of anointing oil; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+30%3A22-33&version=NASB. Also, the root of “Christos” (http://biblehub.com/greek/5547.htm) is “chrió” meaning “to anoint with olive oil” (http://biblehub.com/greek/5548.htm).
Fact #10: The gestation period for women is 38 weeks from CONCEPTION (not to be confused with last menstrual period or LMP) to birth; see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy. EXACTLY 38 weeks after Miryam conceived, Yeshoshu’a was born on the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) on the 15th day of the third month on the first day of the week.
So, now we know the month, day, and day of the week of John’s conception and Christ’s conception and birth. Now, for the years.
Fact #11: Yehoshu’a was born in 6 CE during the census of Quirinius; see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_of_Quirinius. For the Scriptural reference, concentrate on v2; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A1-20&version=NASB.
Sidebar: “Herod” was a dynastic title like Caesar and Pharaoh. The “Herod” at the time of Christ’s birth was Herod Archelaus; he was deposed that same year (after the “slaughter of the innocents” in Bet Lechem) and died in exile in 18 CE; see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Archelaus. When did the “holy family” return from Egypt after Herod [Archelaus] died? When Yehoshu’a was 12 years old (18 CE – 6 CE = 12 years).
Sidebar: The only verse in the Gospels that contradicts this account is Matthew 2:22. The earliest extant manuscript containing that verse was from Papyrus 70 from the late third century CE (which is “a fairly reliable text, though it was carelessly written”); see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_70. The “early church fathers” were already at work destroying the truth!
This was what the “wise men of the east” of Jerusalem (Yerushalyim) — 15 miles as the crow flies — in the desert wilderness of Qumran saw on the Feast of Weeks in 6 CE; see http://tinyurl.com/mhbba3l. This was confirmed with our local planetarium in Baton Rouge. The “wandering stars” of Jupiter (representative of the Most High/Father) and Venus (representative of the virgin mother) as well as the conjunction with occultation of Uranus (representative of the Holy Spirit) and Mars (representative of the redemptive Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53) rose in the east in the constellation Pisces (representative of Israel). This “star” sign naturally moved from east to south towards Bethlehem (Bet Lechem) as the evening progressed — just as the Scriptures state.
On the eighth day after His birth (23rd of the third month), Joshua was circumcised per Torah (=instruction/Law; five Books of Moses). After 40 days (7+33 days) from His birth (25th of the fourth month), the appropriate sacrifices were made for a firstborn son; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A21-24&version=NASB and https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+12&version=NASB. As they were poor and could not afford a lamb, they offered either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons per Leviticus 12:8 and documented in Luke 2:24. They were poor because the wise men had not visited yet! It was on this day, the 25th of the fourth month when Joshua was presented at the Temple, that the following occurred with Simeon (Shimon) and Anna (Hannah); see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A25-37&version=NASB, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_(Gospel_of_Luke), and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_the_Prophetess.
Sidebar: The “consolation of Israel” in Luke 2:25 is a reference to Isaiah 40; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+40&version=NASB. Note also the key phrase of Isaiah 40:3: “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness…’” This is in reference to Yochanan’s instructing the “sect” called The Way in the desert wilderness of Qumran how to recognize their Messiah from the TaNaKh (OT). Not only was this exact phraseology employed in a handful of the Dead Sea Scrolls, it is also documented in ALL the synoptic Gospels concentrating on Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, and John 1:23: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+3%3A1-12%3B+Mark+1%3A1-8%3B+Luke+3%3A1-17%3B+John+1%3A6-28&version=NASB.
Sidebar: Likewise, the “redemption of Jerusalem” in Luke 2:38 is a reference to Isaiah 52 concentrating on verses 3 and 9; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+52&version=NASB. Verse 6 is regarding the true pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton; see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton. Currently, rabbinic Jews recite “Adonai” for the Tetragrammaton invoking the Greek Adonis and Babylonian Tammuz. Christians typically say Jehovah or Yahweh, but the “vav” in yod-he-vav-he is also pronounced like the “o” in Torah, menorah, Eloah (singular form of Elohim), and Yehoshu’a (=Joshua, Christ’s REAL name) to name a few. A DSS fragment has it spelled ‘Iaw in Greek (iota-alpha-omega), which is consistent with Yahoah; see http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/lxxjewpap/4QLevB.jpg. How much more meaning does that give Revelation 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13? See https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+1%3A8%2C+21%3A6%2C+22%3A13&version=NASB. “NT-only churches” miss the subtleties of those Hebraic key words and phrases referencing OT passages.
Picking up on the 26th of the fourth month (the day after Joshua was presented at the Temple), the wise men of the “sect” called The Way (Heb. HaDerech) in Acts and the Dead Sea Scrolls met with Herod Archelaus then visited the family in Bethlehem; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2%3A1-12&version=NASB. After Joseph’s (Yosef’s) vision on the evening of the 27th, the family departed for Egypt that same night; see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2%3A13-14&version=NASB.
Sidebar: Note that there was a 12 year gap between Luke 2 verses 38 and 39 when the family was in Egypt (confirmed in v42); see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A38-44&version=NASB. They returned to Nazareth from Egypt after Herod Archelaus died in 18 CE (confirmed in Matthew 2:15); see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2%3A15&version=NASB. Why was the flight to Egypt not covered in the Lucan account? Because his was based on EYEWITNESS accounts (Luke 1:2), and the family departed under cover of darkness (Matthew 2:14); that is, there were NO WITNESSES! Apparently, Luke did not travel to Egypt to obtain evidence of the family’s residing there; therefore, it was excluded from his account.
False traditions such as Herod the Great being part of this narrative when he died in 4 BCE and the precepts of men creating the fanciful machinations of the three kings of Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO SCRIPTURAL BASIS! Who doesn’t think that the wise men of The Way in Qumran didn’t have the means to gift Joshua the Messiah (Yehoshu’a HaMashiach) with gold, frankincense, and myrrh after the discovery of the Copper Scroll? See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_Scroll.
In summation:
* Yochanan was conceived on the 22nd day of the twelfth month on the first day of the week in 4 CE.
* Yehoshu’a was conceived on the 22nd day of the sixth month on the first day of the week on the Feast of New Oil in 5 CE — exactly six months from Yochanan’s conception.
* Yehoshu’a was born during the census of Quirinius on the 15th day of the third month on the first day of the week on the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) in 6 CE — exactly 38 weeks from His conception.
Sidebar: This is when the “sect” called The Way (HaDerech) in Acts and the DSS made new covenants. Christ’s birth ushered in the ultimate New Covenant! Josephus, a self-described Pharisee (and we know what Christ thought of them in the Eight Woes of Matthew 23) coined the derogatory term “Essenes” (=pious ones).
Fact #12: This historical record — corroborated from eyewitness accounts in chronological order (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A1-4&version=NASB) — was written to Mattathias ben Theophilus** (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattathias_ben_Theophilus), who served as the kohen gadol (=chief priest) in Jerusalem from 65-66 CE… just before the outbreak of the First Jewish-Roman War in 66 CE (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Jewish–Roman_War).
**Note: He was referenced as Theophilus in Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1 just as Yosef ben Caiaphas was referenced as Caiaphas.
The truth is out there if one seeks it. Shema Yisrael!
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (NASB)
Copyright (C) 1995-2017, L. Alan Schuetz