Christmas Greeting from Glenn Kimball

[tasker109]

Glenn is a reasearcher/historian. I have several of his books, one that has reinforced my faith more than any church or person has ever done....the politics of the crucifixion.....if you are open minded and want to read something amazing, you might want to check it out....anyway....here is his christmas greeting to his fans...



One of the most amazing facts about Christmas is that it was never intended to be the principle holiday for Christians. The celebration of the resurrection was the only holiday for Christians for centuries. The birthday of Jesus only became important to Christianity when Dynisius Ignatius, a Sythian Monk (German) was appointed by Caesar to fix the Julian calendar with a zero point, rather than calibrating it with reference to monarchs of various sorts. His work was culminated in the year 533 AD. Since his library didn't contain all the required facts and figures he chose the zero point for the calendar a guestimate of the birthday of Jesus. What he did was to try and please the Caesar by choosing a Roman celebration for the winter solstice (Dec. 25th) and the birthday of Jesus. He suggested that they were celebrating the five hundredth year of the death of Jesus and therefore the birthday of Jesus should be 33 years prior to that day. First of all he was in error about the age of Jesus when he was crucified. There was pressure to account for the missing years of Jesus and therefore the age of Jesus was artificially pinpointed at 33. Jesus could not possibly have been 33 when he died. The tax records of the Roman Empire are still in existence. They didn't have a general tax each year, as we would do. Edersheim recorded for us in the mid 1800's from his vantage point at Cambridge University in England that the only tax period was during the year of 6 BC. It is assumed that Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem a year in advance and therefore were in Bethlehem in the year 7 BC. The death of Jesus has been recorded by scholars best guess as the year 31 AD. That is unlikely because of the fact that Lucius Sejanus, Tiberius' praetorian prefect, executed his failed coup attempt in 31 AD. Jesus was very much alive at this point. We know that because Raymond E. Brown records for us from Harvard University that Pontius Pilate and Lucius Sejanus (Pilate’s patron) were linked in that failed coup attempt conspiracy. The ramifications of that relationship between Pilate and Lucius didn't filter down to Annas and Caiaphas (the two Sadducees who were directly responsible for the death of Jesus) until a year or two later. Tiberius Caesar didn't die until 33 AD. Therefore, under the most conservative of estimations Jesus must have been in his late thirties or forty (as I have suggested) when he died. Jesus could not possibly have been 33.


Jesus was not a winter baby either. Most knowledgeable and well-read scholars suggest that Jesus was born in the spring. However, a spring birthday for Jesus conflicted with a spring celebration for his death. Therefore, the Winter Solstice was chosen for the celebration of the birthday of Jesus.


The earliest celebrations of Christmas resembled our Halloween or Marti Gras. There was feasting and the custom of having the servants in the house change places with the patrons for a day. The lowly crowd would go from house to house telling the patrons if they didn't change places with them for the day that they would inflict a "trick" on their home. That is where "Trick or Treat" came from. This debauchery and gluttony had little to do with the birth of Jesus. The manner of celebration didn't even resemble something close. Later many of the fragmented Christian sects refused to celebrate the birth of Jesus because of the rockus nature of the festival. That remained true all the way into our era. The founding fathers of this country didn't even allow the congress to recess for Christmas Day until half the of nineteenth century had already passed. Christmas was banned in many states and in most Christian churches. The infant US needed a holiday of its own. Christmas eventually evolved based on the complete reformation of the manner of celebration and the adoption of commercial interests on that day. We know that the original St Nicholas was an Eastern Orthodox priest. He was wealthy, as opposed to the vows of poverty for modern Priests. Part of the attraction for the clergy during the forth century was their ability to amass large sums of money because of their connection with the trade routes to the East. Santa would go throughout the city and deposit gold coins in the shoes of good boys and girls. This was not in connection with Christmas (Christ Mass). It was a once a year gift during the winter season to help them survive the off-season.


America created Christmas, as we know it. Eventually the churches gathered around the idea of sharing mass on the birthday of Jesus for two reasons. First, it was in honor of Jesus and America needed a holiday. Secondly, it was financially expedient for churches held a special church service during the season when gifts were being given.


There is one more major momentum behind this change from the major celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus to the birth of Jesus because the resurrection raised too many questions for Christianity who lacked the understanding and importance of the Atonement of Jesus. A birthday was a neutral kind of event which didn't require the extensive dogma foundation. This remains true to this day. Most of Western Christianity is void of the reasons for the Atonement and the critical nature of the resurrection. There are those who even suggest that Jesus taught reincarnation instead of facing the miracle and exclusivity represented by the dogma of Atonement and Resurrection. The Resurrection phenomenon was something that was still clouded in secrecy and doubt, though it was a worldwide phenomena. The dead raised with Jesus in historical records around the world. Tiberius Caesar even wrote of this event that the dead were walking the streets of Rome. We can thank Raymond E. Brown for that information from Harvard.


There are those Christians who are still reluctant to celebrate Christmas, suggesting that it is a pagan holiday. Truthfully there are many parts of Christmas that are commercial and pagan. However, I can't think of a single legitimate reason for not celebrating any occasion regarding Jesus. The giving of gifts and the trappings of Christmas is a source of pride for America, and rightfully so. The truth is that there are pagan and commercial roots to almost everything we do. It is also true that a culture in enriched by the holidays that it creates and celebrates. I, for one, am a big fan of Christmas. I wish we could create a few more holidays that remind us of Jesus.


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[tasker109]

bump!!

[sandyl]

Very interesting! I learned something new today!

A friend of ours didn't celebrate Christmas as a child because his mom believed a lot of what I just read! She saw it as a pagan holiday and just an excuse for people to spend lots of money. Now I know why she thought this way!

They celebrate Christmas now, but she still won't have a tree. Her son, however, still turned out OK in spite of her somewhat extreme beliefs!