Christmas Trees Are Not Pagan!

this oughta be good....... 

Quote :

Paganism did not infect Christianity but rather Christianity made paganism irrelevant.

Neat perspective there!

But if one is offended by it, sees it as sin, then they must put it away and be done with it.  
I happen to like the attention it brings to Jesus.  Then the Spirit can work on their
hearts; can go about His Business of Conforming.
Bring on the lights, the joyful singing, the praise and worship, the attention to
giving, and every other good thing that flows when we look on Him.
 

Gal. 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Love it!  I'll jump in.

God creates, Lucifer destroys.  God inspires, Lucifer deceives and twists. God set the times and the seasons, and Lucifer tries to change them, but he will never be successful.


Satan did not first conceive of a midwinter time of worship and celebration, Adam probably did and Satan usurped it.  The Talmud tells a story of Adam:

How Old is Chanuka?
According to the book SEDER HADOROT HAKATZAR by MK HaRav Shlomo Benizri, the miracle of Chanuka took place in the year 3622 - that's 2139 year ago. Chanuka is old. But Chanuka-in-formation is much older.
The Gemara in Avoda Zara tells us what happened 5761 years ago, just a few months after Creation. Adam HaRishon noticed that the days were getting shorter, day after day, and that the nights were getting longer. He realized that if the trend continued, the world would cease to exist. And he blamed himself. He thought that the punishment for his having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was the return of the world to chaos and darkness. He took upon himself an eight-day period of fasting and prayer.
The Gemara continues to tell us that when the days began to lengthen and the nights shorten, Adam realized that he was witnessing a natural cycle of the world. He rejoiced and celebrated the increasing light with an 8-day festival. The generations that followed took Adam's mid-winter festival, which Adam celebrated "for the sake of Heaven" and perverted it to pagan practices. For more than 3600 years, there was a Chanuka-potential in an 8 day midwinter celebrating light. Distorted all those years, until the Jewish People restored Adam's holiday to its original intent — a thank you to G-d.
The next two elements of Chanuka-in-formation come from this week's sedra, the pre-Chanuka Torah reading (or pre-pre-). The events of the sedra took place in 2205 to Creation, still more than 1400 years before Chanuka-realization. Yaakov Avinu has successful encounters and battles with Lavan and Eisav (and Sar shel Eisav). This creates the potential for victory of Bnei Yisrael over its enemies — this time, the Greeks. 
Back to Creation for a moment. The Darkness over the face of the Void, says the Midrash, is Greece. That which dispels that darkness is LIGHT, the 25th word of the Torah, and 3622 years later, the light of the Chashmona'im on the 25th of Kislev. Chanuka-in-potential. 
Back to Yaakov Avinu. He searched for a small flask of oil. On a MAASEH AVOT SIMAN L'BANIM level, this sets in motion (perhaps) that which was realized centuries later when the Chashmona'im searched for oil to light the Menora in the Beit HaMikdash.
On another level, the battles of Yaakov with those from the outside who would seek to destroy him, soon moves inside. With next week's sedra, the enemy is not "us and them" but sadly, "us and us". This too establishes a potential for the brother angainst brother fighting that also characterized the pre-Chanuka time. Chanuka might be a mere 2000 years plus old, but its themes and potential are literally as old as the hills.


http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/5761/vayishlach61/print.htm

Oh Wil, you are doing the work of the leftists and Atheists. Trying to take christmas away. It's really sad because it's old tired and not welcome here.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2004/nick.html

Jesus only has two days when he's remembered enough for the layman to even ask about him.

Do you want to remove him from our view altogether????   If Christmas is gone, and the nativity scenes etc... What will there be to open the eyes of a child? JUst a bunch of atheistic pagan nonsense!!!!!!!! SO! WE LOVE CHRISTMAS HERE, IT IS A CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH OF OUR KING, WE WILL CELEBRATE IT IN PEACE!

One other thing, this is a happy time for me and many others but speaking for myself, every year you  cause me stress, and diminish my spirit when I keep having to deal with you and others about this. Have a heart for your fellow gentile brethren and let the season flow, you aren't our mommy and we don't need the Torah police breathing down our necks.

*

The only rule on this forum in regards to the Torah folks is to respect the Gentiles and their beliefs and keep their law out of our holidays. Simply to let us live in peace. 

I have made it a point to let them freely fraternize all they want. There is no need for another forum, we get along great until the Holidays and it's not the Christians who do the niggling.

I would be up for a Torah forum

This is a Christian forum, if you want a Torah Forum go to forumotion and you can start one for free. David Flynn did not start a Torah Forum and this one is not going to evolve into one or be separated by doctrine.

quietobserver wrote:

this oughta be good.......   

  

I know, right? Look at the hits!

Go Delfi! On yar mate!

Thanks Yaddy! Some people think I'm kidding......

Go Delfi.!

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."-Colossians 4:6

Let's just all jump off the bridge together okay? Wow. I'm absolutely offended by the tone across the board on this thread. Is Christmas pagan? Why answer that question at all? That thought should not be at the forefront of our hearts and minds.

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:"-Colossians 2:16

We should not judge our brothers and sisters who celebrate Christmas, and neither should we judge our brothers and sisters who think it is pagan. I have celebrated Christmas my entire life. I've struggled with the WICKED aspects of it, and also celebrated the joy I've found in it. It was ALWAYS about Jesus to me. Still, the idea of Santa is worldly and not Christian. Even though it came out of something that is Christian (Saint Nicholas giving to the poor). At the same time, Christmas trees are pagan...and yet they have become a wonderful foreshadowing of the cross of Jesus Christ. It has always been a reminder of the tree that Jesus gave Himself to us on.

So what's my point? Stop judging each other on this. I've done it too. Both ways. I'm guilty. I've got my hand raised. So here you go.

" And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."-Luke 2 :8-14 

If that passage from Luke is the reason you celebrate Christmas, then everyone else can just sit on it.

Some were not here to know what has transpired on the watcher forum in years past.
Delfi does.  Without exaggeration, it was vicious and painful .  And very revealing.
It was a lesson nobody would knowingly choose to revisit.
And preventing it from ever happening again is just plain necessary.  

Find the peace and the joy of His Presence, and gratitude towards God that He made a Way
when there was no Way.  Then share it with your fellow humans, in season and out.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love,
I am nothing.

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

wil wrote:

Well, what about the tree?  Obviously it is a symbol and the celebration of Satan's greatest triumph, the FALL OF MAN in the Garden of Eden!  The shiny colorful balls used as decoration represent the fruits of the forbidden tree. 


 

 
You should have edited the whole thing out, I consider this a post after the warning.

Thank you Dove and onlyoneimage. it is getting better and I would like to let everyone know that I do not like to have to ban peeps until the Christmas season is over. It harshes my joy and gives me a slight bit of angina. But I will do it to keep the peace. And it is entirely nonpersonal, because I have banned people I love. I hope and pray next year will be different.

And just so y'all know, I am not trying to take sides. If it wasn't my respect for our Torah folks, this forum would be Christmas decorated. But I doubt they could handle it and so that's why we don't decorate the forum. So, y'all have been given a lot of repect and if it's not returned you will be banned until the New Year is here.

Yeah, I struggled with this one for a long time. I've put up a tree, then I didn't, then I did. I've got a tree up this year. The little one does everything he can to take the decorations off of it though  We're trying to teach him how to pray right now. So far, he will bow his head and fold his hands about half of the time. Then he says "amen". He's 19 months old, and we're just trying to make memories right now.

Also, I didn't quite get that one about "satan's great triumph" until I read it like 3 times. Not to open a can of worms or anything...but isn't the tree a symbol of God's greatest triumph? I mean, Jesus paid the debt for all of us by being hung on a tree. How is that a victory for Satan?

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."-1 Peter 2:24

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."-Revelation 2:7

BTW: I think it's a good time for some reflection. Keep in mind that term "tree of life". When people say that, they usually think about the tree that had the healing fruit which Adam and Eve were allowed to eat....but then were banned from the garden to keep them from eating it after they had sinned. Me, I think of the tree of life as the tree that Jesus shed His blood on. Isn't that the real tree of life?

The Christmas tree has been an excellent teaching device from the beginning because it not only illustrates the light of God shining in the darkness, it shows how inflammatory this idea is. Putting lit candles on an evergreen whose tar burns like gasoline, then putting the whole thing on a wooden table in a wooden house. . . Well, it by its very nature shows how keenly it needs to be watched. Like the pillar in the wilderness, it has a life of its own that can dramatically change one’s life, especially if one is not paying proper attention.

http://extraordinaryintelligence.com/defending-christ-the-king-refuting-the-pagan-roots-lie/

Defending Christ the King – Refuting the Pagan Roots Lie

Posted by
natalina
1 hour ago



1

This article began as something quite different than what it has become.  The original title of the post was to be “Defending Christmas”.  As I pondered the content that needed to be addressed, I felt pressed by the Holy Spirit to change the name to “Defending Christ the King.”  And it is my heart’s desire to do so, as He has been so faithful to defend me.
In my previous existence as one who reveled in a state of rebellion, I was engaged in a war.  I knew it was a war. I had declared it as such.  I thought it was a war against ignorance and mythology and pitifully blind faith.  As a new creation, I can look back now and recognize it for what it truly was.  A war against truth. The Truth. The only thing that is true in a world of deception.  I was in a battle against the very existence of Jesus Christ.  I bought, believed, promoted and proclaimed the antichrist gospel.  I was unwittingly peddling lies and had become an evangelist in favor of a fallen world.
Accepting Jesus was an unexpected and amazing turn of events!  Almost instantly, I recognized my unique position as one who’d gone from declaring a lie to defending THE truth.  I began to unravel the errors of my previous arguments against His existence, and I wondered what spirit had overcome me, a reasonably intelligent woman,  to convince me that such provably incorrect information was true.
In the past year, and particularly in the past several months, I’ve become increasingly alarmed as I see so many of the arguments from my former self surfacing inside Christian circles, AGAINST Christians, FROM Christians.  My heart broke over and over as I watched the same spirit from which I’d been delivered, now influencing fellow believers; lies being peddled in the guise of Biblical truth.  The obvious elitism and sense of superiority displayed by those who were now attacking Christianity from within were startlingly similar to that which I’d experienced years ago.
Never has this spirit been more prevalent than it is this year during the Christmas season.  The shameless promotion of the pagan roots lie has found its way into the fold and is corrupting hearts and minds at an alarming rate.
The Pagan Roots Lie
One of the most prevalent memes used by atheists against Christians is the concept that Jesus is a mythical character based upon previous pagan “dying and rising” messiah archetypes.  Most of these claims have been debunked ad nauseum, but they continue to rear their ugly heads. If you aren’t familiar with said debunking, CLICK HERE – or you can listen to my interview with Cris Putnam wherein he tackles the subject skillfully.
The thrust of the argument is that Jesus is a copycat savior based on either a singular pagan deity or an amalgam of pagan deities, depending upon with whom you speak.  “Debunkers” like to claim that the concept of the Trinity is based upon pagan myth, that all Christian traditions are based upon pagan myth, and that essentially all of Christendom is one big fat pile of baloney.
It would behoove the dogmatic atheist to use all ammo in his arsenal to attempt to show that Jesus didn’t exist. You can’t really blame him for trying.  For him, it is a matter of self preservation, for if Jesus is real, then he’s in big trouble.  But what do you do when people who claim to believe in Jesus use the exact same methodology against orthodox Christians?
That’s right.  Self proclaimed believers are using Christianity against Christians by claiming that Christianity as we know it is a false construct comprised largely of pagan influences.
The purpose of this post is not to tackle all issues related to the pagan roots lie.  There are far too many claims floating around, and there are apologists and researchers far more skilled than I who are tackling these issues in a scholarly manner on a regular basis. I will include resources at the bottom of this post.  For now, I want to stick to a couple of specific areas.  I believe very strongly that the spirit of deception that grips non-believers and causes them to throw reason out the window in favor of the pagan roots lie, is the same spirit that has managed to plant a seed of confusion in a small but stubborn segment of professed believers.
First, let’s just cover one basic issue.  It really does not matter what any pagan reveler of antiquity practiced or preached or wrote or worshiped.  If we believe what the Bible teaches, we know that before a single pagan walked the Earth, God Almighty brought all things into existence.  There is literally nothing that a pagan touched that wasn’t touched by God first.  Thus, for a Christian to argue that any pagan philosophy predated what we know to be true about the nature of God is illogical.  God came first.  Upon this we can all agree.  However, in this very same logic train, we can begin to understand why those who would promote the pagan roots lie would begin their attack with the Trinity. [1] Redefining God’s triune nature is necessary in order to make any of their arguments stick.  And this is what we’re going to continue to see -  further redefining, retooling, rejecting and retracting portions of scripture in an effort to fit their pet theories into a manageable box.
O Holy Night
When I was a lost and confused girl, not knowing what I believed, there was one time of year when I was open to hearing about the Gospel.  That time was Christmas.  I’d show up for church and would hear about His miraculous coming.  I’d hear amazing hymns that filled me with reverence for this Jesus – born in Bethlehem to be the savior of the whole world.  My rebellion was deeply entrenched, but the seeds planted during those special moments when I was told “Fall on your Knees!”, have clearly come to fruition.  I have accepted His call and He is the Lord of my life.
Imagine my confusion and sadness when, years later, as a Christian, I saw a group of believers who scorned and mocked that uniquely powerful time.  I’d ask myself, “What is this all about?”
Let’s clear a few things up.  I do not proclaim that Jesus was born on December 25th.  I do not deny that SOME seasonal traditions common to our culture may have vague similarities to pagan pactices.  I do not engage in tree worship.  I do not honor a nebulous sun god.  I do not recognize Nimrod as my eternal king.  I do not burn a yule log.  I do not believe in Santa Claus. I am afraid of elves.
The claims of those who believe Christmas to be a dirty dirty pagan festival full of perverted revelry include, but are not limited to:
1.  Christmas trees are downright evil.  They alternatively represent Nimrod worship, goddess Ashtoreth worship, or just a good old fashioned phallic symbol.  They claim that Jeremiah 10 explicitly lays out why Christmas trees are evil.  These claims are easily refuted HERE and HERE.
2.  Jesus was not born on December 25, but a WHOLE bunch of other gods were.
3.  Catholics usurped the pagan traditions in an effort to make Christianity more palatable to heathens, thus anyone who celebrates Christmas is a heathen by proxy. Or a Catholic.
4.  The Jesus worshiped by orthodox Christians is not the same Jesus as worshiped by the true believers who embrace a Herbrew Roots Movement.  (It is also common for HRM folks to deny that they are HRM, knowing that it is rather bad PR to publicly associate with HRM)
It is important to note that much of what these anti-Christmas crusaders would have you believe about the pagan roots of Christmas extends into their philosophy about the pagan roots of Christianity as a whole.  For those who do not worship by adhering to OT law, they will say that you are not doing it right, that you’re essentially an accidental pagan/Catholic, and that you may even end up shining their shoes in Heaven… if you make it there at all.
But where does all of this come from? Surely if all that they say is true, it should give anyone who fears the Lord pause, right?
Much of what is spread around in atheist circles (and now in many “christian” circles) about the pagan roots lie originates from a book called The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop.  His research has been expounded upon by various “researchers”, perhaps most prominently a woman who refers to herself as D.M. Murdock or Acharya S.  It is unclear what her actual name is, but it is abundantly clear that she is an anti-Christian propagandist and a shameless New Ager, and many of the current claims about the pagan roots of Christianity find their way back to her research.  And no doubt she relies heavily on the claims of Hislop.
Hislop’s Two Babylons was written in 1853 and was published in 1919.  He was a Prebyterian theologian and his works have been embraced by conspiracy theorists on the fringes of Christianity ever since.  According to one reviewer:

Quote :

It has been recognized by scholars as discredited and has been called a tribute to historical inaccuracy and know-nothing religious bigotry with shoddy scholarship, blatant dishonesty and a nonsensical thesis. Although scholarship has shown the picture presented by Hislop to be absurd and based on an exceedingly poor understanding of historical Babylon and its religion, his book remains popular among some fundamentalist protestant Christians.

Over time, some who once embraced the Hislop theory that modern Christianity is a pseudo-pagan creation by early Catholicism, have recanted their support.  A great example of this is Ralph Woodrow.  He once supported the findings of Hislop, going so far as to write his own book titled Babylon Mystery Religion.  Woodrow has since pulled this book out of print due to what he later recognized as falsehood and misinformation as taught by Hislop.  In an explanation for why he has since recanted his stance on his previous pagan roots beliefs, Woodrow says the following:

Quote :

What may seem to have a connection, upon further investigation, has no connection at all!….
By this method, atheists have long sought to discredit the Bible and Christianity altogether—not just the Roman Catholic Church.
By this method, one could condemn Protestant and evangelical denominations like the Assemblies of God, Baptist, Church of Christ, Lutheran, Methodist, Nazarene, etc. Basic things like prayer, and kneeling in prayer, would have to be rejected, because pagans knelt and prayed to their gods. Water baptism would have to be rejected, for pagans had numerous rites involving water, etc.
By this method, the BIBLE itself would need to be rejected as pagan. All of the following practices or beliefs mentioned in the Bible, were also known among pagans—raising hands in worship, taking off shoes on holy ground, a holy mountain, a holy place in a temple, offering sacrifices without blemish, a sacred ark, city of refuge, bringing forth water from a rock, laws written on stone, fire appearing on a person’s head, horses of fire, the offering of first fruits, tithes, etc.
By this method, the LORD himself would be pagan. The woman called Mystery Babylon had a cup in her hand; the Lord has a cup in his hand (Psa. 75:. Pagan kings sat on thrones and wore crowns; the Lord sits on a throne and wears a crown (Rev. 1:4; 14:14). Pagans worshipped the sun; the Lord is the “Sun of righteousness” (Mal. 4:2). Pagan gods were likened to stars; the Lord is called “the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22:16). Pagan gods had temples dedicated to them; the Lord has a temple (Rev. 7:15). Pagan gods were pictured with wings; the Lord is pictured with wings (Psa. 91:4).
Here is a list of the some of the unsubstantiated claims that are made about the religion of ancient Babylon:
• The Babylonians went to a confessional and confessed sins to priests who wore black clergy garments.
• Their king, Nimrod, was born on December 25. Round decorations on Christmas trees and round communion wafers honored him as the Sun-god.
• Sun-worshippers went to their temples weekly, on Sunday, to worship the Sun-god.
• Nimrod’s wife was Semiramis, who claimed to be the Virgin Queen of Heaven, and was the mother of Tammuz.
• Tammuz was killed by a wild boar when he was age 40; so 40 days of Lent were set aside to honor his death.
• The Babylonians wept for him on “Good Friday.” They worshipped a cross-the initial letter of his name.
It is amazing how unsubstantiated teachings like these circulate—and are believed. One can go to any library, check any history book about ancient Babylon, none of these things will be found. They are not historically accurate, but are based on an arbitrary piecing together of bits and pieces of mythology.

The “connections” drawn about the paganization of Christianity and Christmas are numerous and in most cases, they are false. There are so many resources available that refute claims about Osiris, Horus, Mithras, and other sun gods having been born/celebrated on December 25th.  Scholars both Christian and secular predominately conclude that there are no original sources that point to this date as the universal birth date of pretty much every pagan god of antiquity, which is what most pagan rooters would have you believe.
However, it is not uncommon to see proponents of the pagan roots lie telling you to simply “Google it” for more information. Why? Because the pervasiveness of the pagan roots lie as promoted by Hislop has become so popular, that the search results pretty much bury the actual scholarly research on the matter.  So yes, if you Google, “Pagan Christmas” or “Nimrod Christmas” or “Jesus was Osiris”… you’ll find lots of material that will try to sway you.  But that is not how research works. An abundance of claims does not make a fact, particularly when the majority of those claims can be traced back to a single erroneous source.  [2] [3] [4]
One of the most prominent researchers who is actively promoting the pagan roots concept is Rob Skiba.  Normally, I’d shy away from naming names and stick to refuting the message, but in this case I need to directly quote Mr. Skiba, therefore in order to properly attribute the quote, I have to name the source.
In recent weeks, Mr. Skiba has been releasing a series of anti-Christmas commentary via his Facebook wall.  In one of his most recent posts, he titles his piece “Celebrating Christ the King?”  (I’m not certain that you can access this write up unless you are friends with Rob Skiba, but here is the link, just in case.  It is too long for me to repost entirely here.) The piece begins with a tale of how the Skibas recently attended a baptism at a mainstream protestant church, wherein the Christmas decor and hymns etc made his “spirit grieve exceedingly.”
He goes on to associate December 25 with Nimrod (a notion introduced by Hislop).  He states, “It is NO SECRET that December 25th is the birthday of the sun-gods, which trace back to Nimrod.”  Right off the bat, this claim can be refuted, which essentially throws the rest of his write up into the realm of misinformation. [5][6]
King of kings, and Lord of lords…

Quote :

Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; ~ 1 Timothy 6:15 King James Version (KJV)
 which he will make known in his own time, the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of those who reign as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords, ~ 1 Timothy 6:15 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

The question mark in the title of Rob Skiba’s post seems to revolve around the following contention:

Quote :

December 25th is the birthday of the sun-gods, which trace back to Nimrod, who was the first KING in our Bible. Interestingly enough, as he would later be known by many (possibly even 70) different names as a result of the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel, one of them being Osiris, he also became known as the “king of kings and lord of lords” (in the Egyptian Book of the Dead). Suddenly all of the songs and praise concerning the “king of kings” born on Christmas day took on significantly dark meaning. Now, I KNOW no one there was worshiping Nimrod. Their hearts were toward Yeshua (Jesus) the Christ. I get that.

Since we know that there is little to no reliable evidence linking these “sun gods” to December 25th, it is difficult to put much credence into the rest of Skiba’s piece, since it all hinges on that thoroughly debunked claim.  Skiba’s purpose here is to float the idea that if you celebrate the birth of Christ the King on December 25th, that you are actually worshiping and paying tribute to a different “christ” and a pagan “king”.  The entire concept of accidental paganism is outrageous.
Various scripture refers to other earthly kings as “king of kings” ([url=http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezra 7.12]Ezra 7:12[/url]; [url=http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel 26.7]Ezekiel 26:7[/url]; [url=http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Daniel 2.37]Daniel 2:37[/url]), and the title was not uncommon.  What is obvious is that when the Bible refers to Jesus as King of kings, Lord of lords, it is taking that familiar title and attributing it once and for all to THE King above all kings and THE Lord above all who would identify as lords.  I find Mr. Skiba’s pointing to the Hymn to Osiris from the Egyptian Book of the Dead to be pure sensationalism, because knowing that this title is used to indicate someone who has the power to exercise absolute dominion over all that lies within his realm [7], his inclusion of the pagan parallel here serves no purpose, unless he is loosely trying to tie Jesus to the Pagan Roots Lie, which I cannot imagine would be fruitful for any follower of Jesus to do.
But that doesn’t stop Skiba from stating:

Quote :

Now bear in mind that the Beast is referred to as a “christ” as well (albeit an “anti” christ – meaning an antithesis of the Christ). The Beast is a false messiah – a false anointed one – a false king – who is opposed to the true Messiah, the true Anointed One, the true King.
So, here’s the problem: Our true “Messiah/Christ” was NOT born on December 25th. So, exactly which “Christ the king” are we celebrating then on that day? The answer is simple: the ANTICHRIST!

This claim is simply preposterous.  I could belabor the point of how the pagan connections lie has been debunked over and over and over and over again (see linked sources to see how ridiculous these claims are) but for those content with parroting historically inaccurate information, these words will fall on deaf ears, and the evidence will be ignored.

Quote :

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: ~ Colossians 2:16

For those of you who choose to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th, do not allow yourself to be bullied by those who would tell you that you may accidentally be worshiping a false deity or the anti-christ on this day.  Do not let a man judge your heart, your intent, or your faithfulness to He who IS the King of kings and Lord of lords!
Do not be misled by those who would say that it is a sin to be reverent about the miraculous birth of Jesus.  For if He was not born, He could not die.  And if He did not die, He could not Rise! And if He did not first come, He could not come again! All of this is part of the amazing true story of our Savior and King.  Jesus is Lord.  JESUS. Not Osiris, or Mithras, or Horus, or Nimrod.  JESUS CHRIST IS THE KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS.  If you worship Him and revere Him and fear Him and love Him who was and is and is to come, let no man tell you that you’re mistakenly worshiping someone else because of a date on a calendar.  To deter any man or woman from exercising their freedom in Christ to worship Him on any day and all days IS the spirit of antichrist, and I rebuke that spirit in Jesus’ name.
Further Reading/Sources:
Zeitgeist, History Rewritten
Exo-politics and Apologetics with Cris Putnam
Does Jeremiah 10 Condemn Christmas Trees?
Christmas Trees Are Not Pagan!
Message from Ralph Woodrow regarding the book BABYLON MYSTERY RELIGION
[1] http://extraordinaryintelligence.com/epidsode-ten-trinity-debate/
[2] https://sites.google.com/site/christadelphianinfo/articles/apologetics/dbhislop#TOC-Don-t-Believe-Everything-You-Read
[3] http://www.equip.org/articles/the-two-babylons/
[4] http://christianthinktank.com/copycat.html
[5] http://www.tektonics.org/copycathub.html
[6] http://thedevineevidence.com/jesus_similarities.html
[7] http://www.gotquestions.org/King-of-kings-Lord-of-lords.html
Defending Christ the King – Refuting the Pagan Roots Lie

That was excellent on all levels. This 'war' too was resolved 2000 years ago, between Peter,
Paul and John. And recorded by God for all to know. When pushed far enough, the only
argument left is that the Bible itself is wrong. And many do go 'there' in order to continue in their
own reasoning. When I first learned of it I was incredulous. Now, I'm just
so very saddened by it. It's an easy test really. What is the Fruit in it, or of it?
Who does it Glorify?

We set up a tree, and only think of the child of Jesus at his birth.

its a good thing God sees our hearts, He is not confused by muttering...