From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bible Believers' Church Sent: Friday, December 18, 2009 6:18 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Bible Believers' Newsletter #612
The Man Who invented Christmas Historical Background The Pilgrims and Puritans were indeed a great change for the better. Although numerically few, they challenged Roman rule and practices in England, where they were fiercely persecuted by the Establishment; some were executed and their property confiscated [a state word for stolen], while others were forced to leave the country. One country tolerant of this movement was the Netherlands across the channel. It was in this country to which several churches of Pilgrims had fled that the decision was made to settle in the new land of America. It was from Holland, that one particular church sent their members on the journey to "establish the Christian faith" in America. They planned to travel from Holland to England, to America-but what a strange journey it was. Before they embarked one vessel was lost due to leakage, and besides this delay, all passengers had to board one ship, so some remained in England. They set sail for the northern parts of Virginia, but were blown off course by strong winds. Under these circumstances a vital decision was made. Since they were not under the jurisdiction of Virginia, the pilgrims took the opportunity to settle south of Boston on what became known as the Plymouth Plantation. They first drew up and signed the Mayflower Compact, an early chapter in the history of America. Many died, from Squanto, a Patuxet Native American who assisted the Pilgrims after their first winter in the New World and was integral to their survival, to the near starvation of his entire tribe, from "five kernels of corn" rationing. A miraculous change in the weather, the sudden appearance of a boat traveling from a southern town, and the belief and practices of worshipping the God of their fathers ensured America experienced a very special and blessed beginning. The Pilgrims first settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts in the year was 1620. In their manner of worship they were the most extreme faction, believing the Church of England was so corrupt, there was no way to save it. They were soon joined by the Puritans, who were more moderate, believing the Church of England could be rejuvenated from within, and being were more numerous than the Pilgrims they soon dominated the communities in Massachusetts. In England the Puritans [in conjunction with rabbi Mannaseh Ben Israel and cabalist Jews] executed Charles I and established the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell who permitted the self-styled Jews to return to England (which they have ruled from behind the scenes since William of Orange invaded in 1688). In 1652 the celebration of Christmas (Christ's Mass) was prohibited in England. Seven years later Puritans in Boston followed the lead of their brethren by outlawing Christmas in the new land. Puritan rule in England was short-lived and Charles II was restored to the Throne of a country exhausted by revolution and warfare. The Puritans in America were soon outnumbered by the Unitarians, but America was a land of "few holidays"; Christmas had died and was not observed for almost 200 years. In fact the US Congress sat on December 25, 1789, and for most of the next 67 years-until 1856. Historically, Christmas was not celebrated in the United States until just before the War of Northern Aggression which began in 1861. It was initially celebrated by Roman Catholics and some Episcopalians-but by the middle of the century more and more Protestants were celebrating Christmas-BUT NOT THEIR PROTESTANT CHURCHES. Until that time, no Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran or Puritan churches kept Christmas in their calendar. They knew that holiday was an abomination of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox mother churches. How did It Change? Roman Catholics and many Episcopalians celebrated Christmas from the day they arrived in America, but beginning in the 1840s Protestants were joining them. Not their churches, just certain of their members. Many would attend Catholic or Episcopal Christmas services and participate in the celebration so that by the end of the century most of the Protestant churches celebrated Christmas, adding this day to their religious calendar. But America celebrated in a different way to the rest of the world, mainly because of the influence of Unitarians and Jews. The popularity of Christmas influenced American Protestants who read Washington Irving's book, The Keeping of Christmas at Bracebridge Hall, and attitudes to Christmas began to change. Twenty years later Charles Dickens, one of England's most famous writers became known as "The man who invented Christmas." He disbelieved the virgin birth of our Saviour, and detested his upbringing in the Church of England and Baptist churches, eventually becoming a Unitarian. He self-funded publication of A Christmas Carol, which became an instant success in the mother country and in her former colony. Readers were so touched by the story of Scrooge requiring Cratchit to work, and the fact the US Congress met on Christmas day, that soon neither churches nor the governments could ignore the importance of Christmas celebrations, and like Scrooge converted to keeping this wonderful giving day. They forgot that their God warned them NOT to keep this abominable day. Their churches had never kept Christmas, but the Protestants reading books and poems from England began following the tradition of the Catholic Church-in defiance of what they had believed for several centuries. Celebrate the Mass of Christ; Christmas? The ancient Confession of Faith of the Waldenses nearly 400 years before the time of either Calvin or Luther. Article X states: We have likewise always believed, that all human inventions are an unspeakable abomination before God; such as feast days, vigils of the saints, the so-called holy water, abstaining from flesh on certain days, and like things, ESPECIALLY MASSES. Hundreds of years before the Protestants even came into existence the Waldenses denied the Church of Rome to be the holy Mother Church and would not obey her traditions. When the Protestants came into being, they too hated the Catholic mass and would not and did not keep Christmas and the other traditions of Rome. In 1789, America became a pluralistic, humanistic nation. The guarantee of religious equality eventually brought America down to learning "the way of the heathen" (Jeremiah 10:1). This violated the First Commandment: "I am the Lord thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:2-3). But religious freedom was guaranteed under the Constitution which does not mention Christ. In 1836 Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1837, T.H. Harvey's The Book of Christmas became a best seller, and in 1907 Oklahoma became the last US state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. Over these seventy years all states dismissed the Bible faith of the first 200 years. THE BIBLE DOES NOT MENTION CHRISTMAS, and early Christians did not observe the birthday of Christ, which was in April according to Scripture. Today most so-called Christians do not realize that December 25 is actually the birthday of Mithras, the sun-god, supposedly born of a virgin in a cave on December 25, and worshipped on Sunday, the day of the conquering sun. Have you ever wondered why Christmas had a different message to Christ's Mass? It had to for the Protestants to accept and celebrate it. It changed from His death to His birth; with all the giving added. Roman Catholics believe Christmas is a day of death, not birth. It is Christ's Mass, or unbloody re-sacrifice, which is why they celebrate it at midnight. Even the Vatican has its Christmas service at midnight; as do Roman churches around the world. It has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus (By Pastor Don Elmore <mailto:%[email protected]> ). *** exposing the hidden truth for further educational research only *** CAVEAT LECTOR *** In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. NOTE: Some links may require cut and paste into your Internet Browser. Please check for daily real news posts and support the truth! 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