Summary: The winter solstice has just passed, beginning the coldest three months of the year, and this means that Christmas is only days away. ... 

Summary: ...Now, let us turn to the Scripture where God tells us to celebrate His Son's birth: —. Yes, that is correct. No place in either Testament tells us to honor our Savior by having a birthday bash for Him each year. Strangely enough, Jesus Himself tells us to remember, not His birth, but His death (Luke 21:14-20; I Corinthians 11:23-26)! Certainly, it is important that He was born, but the fact that He died—and how and why He died--has farther-reaching, more eternal consequences! ... 

Summary: An anonymous quotation making the rounds of the Internet this year runs, "Christmas is weird. What other time of year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?" Though it may induce a chuckle from its readers, most people either miss or ignore the larger point: Christmas is a bundle of contradictions, inanities, and outright lies. ... 

Summary: Many think keeping Christmas is fine because it honors Christ, yet God never tells us to celebrate the day of His Son's birth. John Ritenbaugh explains that it is presumptuous on many Christians' parts to believe that such a syncretized holiday could please God. 

Summary: Three brief essays, two by Richard Ritenbaugh and one by David Grabbe, contemplate the contradictions in Christmas, the modern debate over Christmas in an increasingly secular society, and the Christmas season as a time true Christians can make a godly witness. 

Summary: Galatians 4:9-10 is a favorite target of those who claim Christians no longer need to observe God's holy days. Is that really what Paul said? Earl Henn shows that he meant something entirely different! 

Summary: In Dr. M. Scott Peck's disturbing book, People of the Lie, he tells the story of Bobby, a young man clearly suffering from depression. ... 

Summary: This morning, upon opening the inbox of my email account, I discovered an item declaring that the United States Postal Service has issued a stamp commemorating the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. ... 

Summary: Though the holidays of this world in some ways counterfeit God's holy days, it is obvious that they are very different. God's Word shows that we should not be involved in them! 

Summary: Over the past few generations, orthodoxy in virtually every aspect of life has been discarded, indicating how perverse human nature is in its determination to rebel against God. John Ritenbaugh uses several examples from real life to illustrate human presumption, a tendency which we all share—and one God takes a serious stance against. 

Summary: Mike Ford takes a few stabs at Christmas trees, lights and Barbie dolls--all, believe it or not, traceable to pagan customs! 

Summary: ...Masterfully written by Joe Kovacs, "Christmas in America becomes battleground" reveals the pagan origins of this esteemed tradition and demonstrates why increasing numbers of "fundamentalist Christians" are realizing that one cannot "put Christ" back into something in which He never was. ... 

Summary: Christmas is a very blatant form of syncretism, the melding of religious ideas and practices into one. Martin Collins explains some of the origins of Christmas and why these facts should cause us to reject this holiday. 

Summary: We rarely think about the birth of Jesus except during the Christmas season, when it is abused by traditional notions found nowhere in Scripture. To remedy this, Richard Ritenbaugh delves into the Gospel accounts of the annunciation of His coming to Mary and Joseph. 

Summary: When the Son of God was born into the world, one of the greatest events of all history occurred. Richard Ritenbaugh describes the birth of Jesus and the angel's announcement to the 'shepherds abiding in the fields,' perhaps the first preaching of the gospel to mankind. 

Summary: "Merry Christmas!" "Happy holidays!" Around this time of the year, we hear these greetings and well-wishes frequently in the normal flow of our lives. They are usually accompanied by a warm smile, although the clerk at the mall--her feet killing her from standing at the cash register for hours and her patience frazzled by the hundreds of customers she has assisted already that day--says it with a forced grin. The seasonal cheer is so infectious, says Dickens, that even old Scrooge finally succumbed, overcoming his miserly, bah-humbug ways. Everybody lives happily ever after. ... 

Summary: Where did we get Christmas—from the Bible, or paganism? Here are the astonishing facts which may shock you! Test yourself. How much do you know of the origin of the Christmas tree—of "Santa Claus"—of the mistletoe—of the holly wreath—of the custom of exchanging gifts? 

Summary: While this time of solstice celebrations is especially wearying to those called out of this world’s paganism, it is not without the occasional gleam of ironic humor. ... 

Summary: As another Christmas season approaches, many in God's church dread having to endure it. Have you ever wondered how our children feel about it? What can we do to help them, not only to get through it, but also to understand why God's way is so much better? 

Summary: The world claims Jesus was born December 25. But when was he really born? John Reid explains.  

Summary: Mentioned on in Matthew 2, the wise men or magi have been mysterious figures since their appearance two thousand years ago. John Plunkett explains that their visit to Bethlehem was more significant than most realize.