Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! (Part 1)

For years my family and I have celebrated the Christmas Holidays with friends and relatives. For me, this time of the year is very special. I love the lights, the preparation for welcoming family and friends, sharing my time and gifts with others. I look forward to the harmonizing Christmas carols and lighted house on various streets. The focus, however, seems to be on material things, rather than on our Savior. We say we are celebrating Jesus’ Birthday, but what do we really do for Jesus during this season? I know, “we love on one another and shower one another with our presence and presents.

Some time ago, I heard that Jesus was not born in December, but how was I supposed to prove this? I did not stop to think that I could do some research on this topic. What I did do though, was to minimize my activities during this season. I stopped stressing myself out about buying gifts to the extent where I would use my charge cards, stopped buying Christmas decorations, sending out cards in huge volume, and I even also stopped lying to my children about Santa Clause.

I thought about the six things listed in proverbs 6 that God hates, and realized that three of them were about lying: (1) a lying tongue, (2) a heart that devises wicked schemes and (3) a false witness who pours out lies. John 8:44 records these words spoken by Jesus: For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. Also Revelation 12:9, tells us that satan deceives the whole world. Satan’s deceit binds people to lies, rather than truth.

This year, I asked myself, "Why do we really celebrate Christmas. I decided to find out the origin, history and true meaning of the Christmas traditions. After all if I am celebrating something, I owe it to myself to know the reason why. I have heard many, including myself say, “Christmas is the best time of the year.” For me I have always celebrated Christmas, because that's what I have seen people do since I was a child.

In my research I have found that the first mention of Christmas observance on December 25, was in the time of Constantine (A.D.325) (the same pagan Roman Emperor) who four years earlier had passed an edict to substitute Sunday for the commanded Saturday/Sabbath. The Strong’s Concordance states that the word “Christmas is formed of Christ plus Mass, meaning, a religious service in commemoration of the birth of Christ.” There is no doubt in my mind that the Christmas celebration is a ritual rooted in paganism. Jeremiah warned: Thus says the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen (Jeremiah 10:2).

Early church leaders incorporated idolatrous practices and relabeled them Christian. God warned the Israelites. Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them [the inhabitants of the land], and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise. You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods ... Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it  (Deuteronomy 12:30-32).

Grace, Peace, and a very prosperous 2012 to you.

Pauline Lewinson.

THAT UGLY BAT

I was prompted to find some information about bats after my son showed me a baseball hat with the picture of a bat and told me that he would like to purchase the hat from the website. After asking him why he would want to wear a hat with the picture of an ugly bat, I decided that I need to learn more about the ugly creature I have feared all my life. In my searches, I found some very thought-provoking, pro-bat information on http://www.wickedblog.com/. Are these things superstitions or are they real?

When I was growing up, the perception I had of bats was ugly, scary, nocturnal-flying creatures. I was told by my playmates that they are “duppies (another name for ghost).” This seems ignorant to me now, but that was my reality then. When I visited caves and saw bats flying around, they gave me the creeps.

Now that I know that dead people do not turn into bats, but are rather sleeping in their graves (Daniel 12:2). I see the ugly bats in a different “light”, although they live in the dark. Whenever I am impressed to do a study, I always want to know what the Bible has to say about the topic I am researching. As I often do, I went to my Bible as well as to the Internet.

Here is what I found: The only place in the Bible I found the name bat specifically mentioned is in Isaiah Chapter 2:20. However the bat is counted among a list of unclean animals listed in the Bible. If interested you may read more in Leviticus Chapter 11 and Deuteronomy, Chapter 12.

I also stumbled on this interesting comment: “In Biblical tradition, bats were believed to be messengers of Satan. The Puritans believed that if a bat flew close to someone, somebody was trying to bewitch them”, (www.pure-spirit.com).

Another website had this to say, “Much folklore around the world has cast the bat in a bad role. Perhaps the most familiar of this folklore to us in Western culture are the medieval witchcraft texts that described bats as familiars for witches and the old European lore which associated bats with vampires. Curiously, the old European association of bats to vampires occurred long before Europeans discovered the existence of the less common species of vampire bats in South America (the only continent where vampire bats are found). Also, note that the bat's "evil" reputation from those medieval texts clung to it far into the modern day, while cats, which got the same bad reputation in those texts, have since been redeemed and thrown in the "cute" category (going by popular generalizations, that is.) So, how did bats come to be seen as so "evil?" The prevailing theory seems to be that since bats are mostly nocturnal animals and would stay away from people, people simply were not familiar with these creatures, and often what is unfamiliar is misunderstood” (www.Symbolismwiki.com).

I just wonder if the belief I held about bats stemmed from the Europeans theory, since Jamaica only gained its Independence from Great Britain 1962. My approach to all of God’s creation is intrigue, amazement and appreciation, but I will still keep my distance from some of them.

Pauline Lewinson