xMAS and Christianity???

[Malana]

Now thats a non Biblical bunch of mumbo jumbo if I have ever heard it.
You "think" He loves your celebrations?

Thanks! Yes! I feel God's grace and presence when I pray as I light the advent candles each evening before my dinner. I feel closer to him as I spend this time meditating about what the world was like before he came.

You think so in spite of what He has already said? Please give a Bible text or two to support the notion that God loves the way pagans worship their false gods. Good luck finding any.

I'm not a pagan and I'm not worshiping a false God. I'm decorating a green tree that I've brought into my living room. I believe that to say doing so is sinful and against God's will smacks of bibilicism. It is legalistic and that in my opinon is a far more dangerous form of idolatry than my Christmas tree.

From the Bible.... <snip> [32] What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Deut 12: 28-32

And he quotes Deutoronomy... thank you. These are some of my favorite parts of Deuteronomy. Do you observe all of them?
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the.../dt21_18a.html
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the...y/dt22_13.html
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the...t13_06-08.html
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the...t13_13-15.html

I'm sure you do not. If we were keeping to that book in a really strict fashion, we'd all have been stoned to death by now.

I was taught by a protestant preacher that ultimately the old testament must be read through the light of the new. St. Paul taught us that Jesus came to free us from the hopeless bondage of legalistic, judgemental, abusive religion. "Since you are free in Christ, do not be bound again by a religious yoke of slavery." In Galatians 5:1

Strict observance of the laws of Moses is not necessary for salvation. Christ came and saved us from our sins. All we have to do is believe in him and then we will have eternal life. You seem to be promoting the idea that all we have to do is believe in him and make sure not to observe any holidays that used to have pagan origins. If anyone is adding to the message, it is you.

"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Matt 4

I am worshiping no God but God. He is the only one I serve.

"For I am the LORD, I change not.." Mal. 3:6

God is immutable, certainly, which is why the form I choose to worship him does not change him.

School teachers are taught to discover their own learning style because we tend to present information in the style that we learn from the best. An auditory learner will present things in an auditory manner. A visual learner will present in a visual manner. The trick for a good teacher is to realize that you may have learning styles varying from visual, auditory, gustatory, kinesthetic or some odd combination in your class. You have to learn to present the information in a each way so that everyone can get it.

Sharing the good news is the same. We need more than one way to get the message across because everyone will not experience God in the same way.

I see the beauty in the way you worship but it doesn't work for me. I have shared a passover meal, listened to the story and competed with the little kids trying to find the afikomen and found the beauty there too. I have sat on a blanket under some trees communicating without a shared language with women from Iran and watched with amazement at the joy they found in their obedience when it came time to turn toward Mecca and pray. I have chosen a liturgical Christian route. The paths we take do not change the objective. God is god.

Talk positively about your path. But when someone takes another way, don't follow after them shouting "You are going to hell if you don't do it my way!" That doesn't advance his kingdom. I believe it turns people away.