Does Christmas Have Pagan Origins?

Episode 602 Show Notes

From the Show

The idea that Christians who celebrate Christmas are in someway engaging in pagan worship is just false. That’s not true. Whether or not Christians celebrated the birth of Christ on December 25th because they were choosing to do that instead of worshipping the Syrian Sun God or because they really did believe Jesus was born on that day doesn’t matter. That is not the focus. The reality is and what we should focus on this time of year is that the Word was made flesh.

——Adriel Sanchez

Questions in this Episode

1. Fear is very real these days and how do we as Christians, believers in Christ, keep our faith in these uncertain times. How can we connect our faith to very real and palpable fear that we feel in the world around us?

2. What is the “gospel of the kingdom” that Jesus preached in Matthew 4:23? It sounds as if it is something different from the common use of the phrase “the gospel” or “the gospel of Jesus Christ” as it is used today.

3. I am scared to death that I have committed the unforgivable sin. I heard one explanation of this saying that the unforgivable sin is simply denying Christ and then I heard that it is saying the same things that the religious leaders said about Jesus. Can you help clarify this for me?

4. I love and appreciate Core Christianity, thank you both for all that you do. My question is: Is it true that Christmas is rooted in a pagan holiday? And if we want to celebrate the incarnation, then why does our celebration often look like the world’s celebration of Christmas?