Jesus
And Christmas
A
Pagan Festival
Accepted
As ‘Harmless’
Christian
Event
(M.
Javed Naseem)
“Christmas
(i.e., the Mass of Christ)...
Christmas
was not among the earliest festivals
of
the Church... It was not instituted by Christ
or
the Apostles, or by Bible authority. It was
picked
up afterward from paganism.’
(Encyclopedia
Britannica, 1946 edition)
Modern
Christian world is celebrating Christmas these days. In fact, the
entire month of December is dedicated to it, although all scholars
are convinced that Jesus was not born on 25th of December.
That celebration was added to Christianity by the pagans in the 4th
century after the crucifixion. And in the 5th century,
Christmas became an official holiday (actually a pillar) of
Christianity.
Christmas
is not Christian! As a matter of fact it’s got nothing to do with
Jesus or Christianity. On the
contrary,
it is an anti-Christ, anti-God or anti-Lord tradition dating back to
Nimrod or the period of Abraham (or even before?). It is a part (or
ritual) of Pagan religion. Since the whole affair is man made, there
is no reference to it in the Semitic religions and their holy
Books/Scriptures. Christmas and its accessories (Santa Claus,
red-nosed reindeer, mistletoe, holly wreath, tinsel-decorated tree,
stockings full of gifts and candies, exchanging gifts, celebrating
25th of December, etc.) were added to Christianity three hundred
years after the death of Jesus by those pagans who became believers
and converted to Christianity. Most of them brought their pagan
customs and rituals (or festivals) and ‘Christianized’ them as
they did not want to abandon them. Later on, these customs/rituals
were accepted by both Catholic and the Protestant Churches as
‘harmless’ fun festivals and then became important part of
Christian faith.
Encyclopedia
Britannica, 1968:
The
Council of Nicaea met on May 20, 325. Emperor Constantine himself
presiding, actively guiding the discussion, and personally proposed
the crucial formula expressing the relation of Christ to God in the
creed issued by the council: ‘of one substance with the father’.
Over-awed by the emperor, the bishops, with two exceptions only,
signed the creed, many of them against their inclination. Constantine
regarded the decision of Nicaea as divinely inspired. As long as he
lived, no one dared openly to challenge the creed of Nicaea.’
Trinity
is idolatry.
‘In
our day and time, the doctrine of the trinity is a cornerstone of
idolatry’ – Jeff Rath.
So,
the Trinity is idolatry! At least this is the majority opinion among
the Christian religious authorities. A true religion or faith is not
based on idolatry. The faith or religion promoted by the Prophets and
Messengers of God promotes the Oneness of God Almighty.
“Hear,
O Israel! The Lord is our God,
the
Lord is One!”
(Deuteronomy
6:4)
Dictionary
of the Bible, 1995, John L. McKenzie:
“The
trinity of God is defined by the church as the belief that in God are
three persons who subsist in one nature. The belief as so defined was
reached only in the 4th and 5th centuries AD and hence is
not explicitly and formally a biblical belief.”
The
New Encyclopedia Britannica, 1976:
“Neither
the word trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the
New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict
the Shema in the Old Testament: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God
is one Lord” – (Deut. 6:4).
A
History of Christianity, Vol. 1, 1997, Kenneth Scott Latourette:
“To
enforce the decisions of the Council of Nicaea, Constantine
commanded, with the death penalty for disobedience, the burning of
all books composed by Arius, banished Arius and his closest
supporters, and deposed from their sees Eusebius of Nicomedia and
another bishop who had been active in the support of Arius.”
Allah,
the Creator of mankind, says in the Holy Quran:
“And
lo! There is a party of them who
distort
the Scripture with their tongues,
that
you may think that what they say is
from
the Scripture, when it is not from
the
Scripture. And they say: It is from
Allah,
when it is not from Allah; and they
speak
a lie concerning Allah knowingly.”
(al-Quran
3:78)
Gospel
of Barnabas, Ch. 93-97:
Barnabas
was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, the son of Mary. His
quotes/references are considered very authentic. During the height of
the controversy about the status of Jesus, people got divided into
three main groups – those who believed that Jesus was God; those
who believed that Jesus was son of God; and those who believed that
Jesus was a prophet of God. There was a big turmoil as these groups
started fighting with each other. Therefore, the Roman Governor of
Judea, King Herod and the high priest sought a public meeting with
Jesus. They asked Jesus to explain to the huge gathering of
thousands, who he really was.
Here
are some excerpts from Chapters 93-97:
‘The
priest answered: “Now is Judea so greatly moved over your signs and
your teaching that they cry out that you are God; wherefore,
constrained by the people, I am come here with the Roman governor and
King Herod. We pray you therefore from our heart, that you will be
content to remove the sedition which is arisen on your account. For
some say you are God, some say you are son of God, and some say you
are a prophet.” ‘Jesus answered: “And you, O high priest of
God, why have you not quieted this sedition? Are you also perhaps,
gone out of your mind? Have the prophecies, with the Law of God, so
passed into oblivion, O wretched Judea, deceived of Satan!”
‘And
having said this, Jesus said again: “I confess before heaven, and
call to witness everything that dwells upon the earth, that I am a
stranger to all that men have said of me, to wit, that I am more than
man. For I am a man, born of woman, subject to the judgment of God;
that live here like as other men, subject to the common miseries. As
God lives, in whose presence my soul stands, you have greatly sinned,
O priest, in saying what you have said. May it please God that there
come not upon the holy city great vengeance for this sin”.
Then
said the priest: “May God pardon us, and do you pray for us”.
Then
said the governor and Herod: “Sir, it is impossible that man should
do that which you do; wherefore we understand not that which you
say”.
Jesus
answered: “That which you say is true, for God works good in man,
even as Satan works evil. For man is like a shop, wherein whoever
enters with his consent works and sells therein. But tell me, O
governor, and you O King, you say this because you are strangers to
our Law; for if you read the testament and covenant of our God you
would see that Moses with a rod made the water turn into blood, the
dust into fleas, the dew into tempest, and the light into darkness.
He made the frogs and mice to come into Egypt; which covered the
ground, he slew the first-born, and opened the sea, wherein he
drowned Pharaoh. Of these things I have wrought none”.
“And
of Moses, every one confesses that he is a dead man at this present.
Joshua made the sun to stand still, and opened the Jordan, which I
have not yet done.
And
of Joshua every one confesses that he is a dead man at this present.
Elijah made fire to come visibly down from heaven, and rain, which I
have not done. And of Elijah every one confesses that he is a man.
And (in like manner) very many other prophets, holy men, friends of
God, who in the power of God have wrought things which cannot be
grasped by the minds of those who know not our God,
almighty
and merciful, who is blessed for evermore”.
‘Accordingly
the governor and the priest and the King prayed Jesus that in order
to quiet the people he should mount up into a lofty place and speak
to the people.
Then
went up Jesus on to one of the twelve stones...’. ‘Jesus said
distinctly, so that everyone might hear: “It is written in the
testament and covenant of the living God that our God has no
beginning, neither shall he ever have an end”.
The
priest answered: “Even so is it written therein”.
Jesus
said: “It is written there that our God by his word alone has
created all things”.
“Even
so it is”, said the priest.
Jesus
said: “It is written there that God is invisible and hidden from
the mind of man, seeing he is incorporeal and uncomposed, without
variableness”.
“So
is it, truly”, said the priest.
Jesus
said: “It is written there how that the heaven of heavens cannot
contain him, seeing that our God is infinite”.
“So
said Solomon the prophet”, said the priest,
Jesus
said: “It is written there that God has no need, for as much as he
eats not, sleeps not; and suffers not from any deficiency”.
“So
is it”, said the priest.’
Jesus
said: “It is written there that our God is everywhere, and that
there is not any other god but he, who strikes down and makes whole,
and does all that pleases him”.
“So
is it written”, replied the priest.
Then
Jesus, having lifted up his hands, said: “Lord our God, this is my
faith wherewith I shall come to your judgment; in testimony against
every one that shall believe the contrary”.
‘...
When the prayer was ended, the priest said with a loud voice: “Stay
Jesus, for we need to know who you are, for the quieting of our
nation”. Jesus answered: “I am Jesus, son of Mary, of the seed of
David, a man that is mortal and fears God, and I seek that to God be
given honour and glory”.
The
priest answered: “In the Book of Moses it is written that our God
must send us the Messiah, who shall come to announce to us that which
God wills, and shall bring to the world the mercy of God. Therefore I
pray you tell us the truth, are you the Messiah of God whom we
expect?”
Jesus
answered: “It is true that God has so promised, but indeed I am not
he, for he is made before me, and shall come after me”.
The
priest answered: “By your words and signs at any rate we believe
you to be a prophet and a holy
one
of God, wherefore I pray you in the name of all Judea and Israel that
you for love of God should tell us in what wise the Messiah will
come”.
‘Jesus
answered: As God lives, in whose presence my soul stands, I am not
the Messiah whom all the tribes of the earth expect, even as God
promised to our father Abraham, saying: “In your seed will I bless
all the tribes of the earth”. But when God shall take me away from
the world, Satan will raise again this accursed sedition, by making
the impious believe that I am God and son of God, whence my
words
and my doctrine shall be contaminated, insomuch that scarcely shall
there remain thirty faithful ones; whereupon God will have mercy upon
the world, and will send his Messenger for whom he has made all
things who shall come from the south with power, and shall destroy
the idols with the idolaters who shall take away the dominion from
Satan which he has over men. He shall bring with him
the
mercy of God for salvation of them that shall believe in him, and
blessed is he who shall believe his words. Unworthy though I am to
untie his hosen, I have received grace and mercy from God to see him.
Then
answered the priest, with the governor and the King, saying:
“Distress not yourself, O Jesus, holy one of God, because in our
time shall not this sedition be any more, seeing that we will write
to the sacred Roman senate in such wise that by imperial decree none
shall any more call you God or son of
God”.
The
Jesus said: “With your words I am not consoled, because where you
hope for light darkness shall come; but my consolation is in the
coming of the Messenger, who shall destroy every false opinion of me,
and his faith shall spread and shall take hold of the whole world,
for so has God promised to Abraham our father. And that which gives
me consolation is that his faith shall have no end, but shall
be
kept inviolate by God”.
‘...
And having said this, the multitude departed with the priest and the
governor with Herod, having great disputations concerning Jesus and
concerning his doctrine. Whereupon the priest prayed the governor to
write to Rome to the senate the whole matter, which thing the
governor did; wherefore the senate had compassion on Israel, and
decreed that on pain of death none should call Jesus the Nazarene,
prophet of the Jews, either God or son of God.
Which
decree was posted up in the Temple, engraved upon copper.’
It’s
ironic that People of the Book blame the Romans for every evil
whereas the Roman Senate did a great favor to the Jews and Christians
by issuing an imperial decree regarding the status of Jesus, the son
of Mary.
(From
my book “God’s Prescription – al-Quran”, Chapter
‘Christianity – The Truth’, pub. 2012)
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