Merry Christmas! And I'm so happy to be able to love Christmas again! You know, when I first found god I also stumbled upon booklets from a very legalistic church which convinced me that it was an offense to God to celebrate Christmas, Easter, etc., due to their disgusting, pagan origins. December 25th is not Jesus' birthday, it is the winter solstice of the sun, it's the sun's "birthday", and the ancients celebrated it with drunken orgies. Easter is an ancient fertility festival commemorating the spring equinox of the sun, one in which they sacrificed the babies conceived from the past Easter's orgies and dyed eggs with their blood (I'm serious). Even Sunday, what Christian's call the Lord's day (or mistakenly, the sabbath), was also a pagan day of sun worship, the biblical sabbath is Saturday. It is easy to see how these things can be painted in an evil light, and how some churches teach us to avoid them, but I have come to see them in a new light. John the Baptist said of Jesus, "behold, the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world," the WORLD... why must that be confined then to people? When I get out should a church refuse me entry because I used to have drunken orgies? No, because I have repented and have become an instrument of God. Well, once this syncretism(blending of pagan traditions with Christian) took place, I ask you this: did those holidays continue to promote drunken orgies and baby sacrifice, or did they "repent" and honor God? @JohnHagee says,"We celebrate these holidays because Christ defeated paganism on the cross!" You see, this isn't a case of paganism infiltrating Christianity, it's CHRISTIANITY infiltrating paganism! And, I ask you this: could Christianity have survived without using the ready made infrastructure provided by paganism as a vehicle to further the gospel? I mean, I'm sure god could have found another way, but I propose that THIS WAS HIS WAY. Do you realize that ALL of these pagan holidays correspond to things God really did? It is as if God seeded the gentiles with small bits of knowledge that he knew he would use at a later time to facilitate that acceptance of his son by the world. Or is it just "coincidence" that God performed the Passover (and crucifixion) durning the spring equinox, the very same time as pagan Easter? Is it "coincidence" that God allowed the Jews to win back their temple and rededicate it to himself on Dec. 25th (Hanukkah), the winter solstace, the same time as the pagans' drunken orgies? Is it also "coincidence" that Jesus' tomb was found empty on Sunday morning, the very day the pagans worship? Is it "coincidence" that the pagans believed in a trinity of three gods, and that God is spoken of as a Father, Son, and Holt Spirit? (How you want to interpret that is another issue, but still, it fits the theme). This is not a coincidence! It is a PLAN! "For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son... and these whom he predestined, he also called; and these whom he called, he also justified" (Rom.8:29-30). He called ME! Though I was filthy, lost, and disgusting, he called me and is justifying me, and he PLANNED to do it all along! And he did the same for these pagan things! Christmas is not Jesus' birthday, but it is a day that has been washed in Christ's blood and is now used to honor him! God is awesome! He can transform anything in this world! Trust him!

P.S. Thank you Richard Wurmbrand and @vom_USA for helping me to escape legalism! Follow them and help out persecuted bretheran!

CLARK COUNTY DETENTION CENTER JON KOPPENHAVER #2519422

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