Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 CHRISTMAS IS A CELEBRATION OF CHRIST!!!! November 26, 2007
D. Tillman (USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
You can tell by the amount of vitriol from the other reviews that there's a tremendous amount at stake here! What the "turn and burn" Catholic haters don't realize is you can't simply write off 1500 of Christian history. The ideas that Christian holidays are simply Pagan holidays are the product of overzealous protestants (and I'm not Roman Catholic by the way) and poor scholarship. The 19th century was notorious for bad scholarship concerning folklore and religious matters. This attitude of "Christian Holidays = Pagan Holidays" is what's fueling the Wiccan and Neopagan explosion. People are figuring (erroneously) that Christians simply stole the Pagans religion. I challenge every Christian reading this to buy 10 copies and give them away.
The simple fact of the matter is, historians like Professor Ronald Hutton of Oxford have discovered that many things thought to be Pagan in Christianity are actually not.
We don't know when Christ was born. There are three reasons the ancient Christians decided to celebrate Christ's birth on Dec. 25th. One reason was the Roman Empire recognized Dec. 26gth as day as the birth of Mithras. In protest, persecuted Christians began to celebrate the birth of Jesus on the day before. Good for them! Let us continue to celebrate it on this day if for no other reason than Pagans can't push us around! Another reason Christians derived this day to be the birth of Christ is that Jewish tradition held that a prophet died on the day he was conceived. Since we know Christ was crucified during Passover, which is close to March, counting down 9 months would take us to December. The third reason (and perhaps the most important) was that the Jewish festival of C'hanukka was celebrated for the very first time on what would hae been the equivalent of Dec. 25th on the Western calendar. C'hannuka is a festival of lights. We Christians too, celebrate Christmas with many lights. Christmas is simply our C'hanukka, just as Easter is our Passover. Christians should celebrate Christmas for these three reasons if nothing else.
I imagine the Jack Chick types think the Jesuits "got to Woodrow", and that's to be expected. It takes an extreme amount of courage to admit you're wrong, and Woodrow had courage. It also took courage to face the lions down.
Thanks Be To God! August 2, 2007
Lovin' The Truth (Deep in the South, US of A)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
First, let me say I am not a Roman Catholic or part of the "conspiracy". Jack Chick readers will be disappointed.
I became a Wiccan in my teens because of the things people like Hislop were writing! Eventually I learned the errors of these views...but not until many years later when I was in my 30's. I don't think people realize one iota how damaging and erroneous it is to paint the Roman Catholic Church as a Pagan religion. You can't seperate 1500 years of Christian history from Catholicism. It's like taking flour out of bread. The truth is many of the customs in Catholicism that overzealous Christians, Athiests and Neopagans try to lable as Pagan actually arose during the Christian era, and were not continuation of Pagan practices! You should also read "Stations of the Sun" by Professor Ronald Hutton.
Christmas (Christ Mass) is not a Pagan religion. The early Christians calcuated that the first Chanukka was celebrated on Dec. 25th by the Western Calendar. They were celebrating it as ealry as the 2nd Century, before Christianity was legalized in Rome. If you read the story of the first Chanukka in the historical book of I Maccabees, you'll see it arose over a Jewish priest who REFUSED to be a Pagan! Christians also remember Christ's birth because of a Jewish tradition that held a prophet died during the ninth month after his death. Since Christ died around March, counting down nine months puts it at December.
I applaud Mr. Woodrow for writing this book. It took great courage to admit he was wrong. I hope will strive to make people aware of the truth.
The rest of the Christians who have adopted the Jack Chick/Hislop mindest (and even Chick celebrates Easter and Christmas!) need to realize this too.
 All our Holidays are a SATANIC LIE July 10, 2007
Wall Street (Sunny Florida)
1 out of 11 found this review helpful
Hey but for you Christians in Christ who didn't know the truth, its ok because God understands and will forgive you. However, you know the truth now and will be held accountable.Santa is really Satan and hey if you need to know the truth and the orgins about these Holidays - Do some Google research on These Terms- Nimrod. Winter Solastice, new age, pagan holidays, Christmas is Pagan , Easeter is Pagan, Holloween evil orgin, etc.
Far as the book goes!!!! Well you will do better on Google
You will be amazed at the many resources of free websites loaded with information to help you discover the truth. Learn the true Holidays God tells us to celebrate-
The question is not whether one agrees or disagrees... June 6, 2007
Angelika Castellaw (Heidelberg)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
One thing that bugs me about many amazon reviews is that people use the reviews and useful-votes to make a statement whether or not they agree with the contents of the book or the review.
I am not assuming that all of the amazon customers are interested in my personal stance on the matter. I consider the book VERY GOOD because it presents a side of this argument that I have not seen in print otherwise.
Whether you think Christmas can be observed by Christians to the glory of God, or whether you think it cannot: you should read this book to get input from someone who attempts to be balanced. He has things to say that everybody should at least consider (e.g. if you openly fight against Christmas observance consider how your stance will then further atheists' attempt to remove all reference to religion from society, et al).
Keep in mind that the Bible says, "Prove all things, hold fast to that which is good." (I Thessalonians 5:21)
slight-of-hand will confuse many....unless they realize it...SADLY October 10, 2005
Fredrick L. Murphy (northeastern Ohio, USA)
18 out of 29 found this review helpful
Being willing to see if i missed anything with regards to Easter and Christmas, and the thought process of celebrating them or not, and seeing a few comments on the Internet about how "brave and bold" Mr. Woodrow was for turning his position around, i purchased several (5 or so) of his newest booklets. After reading through Brother (yes i said Brother) Woodrow's booklets of "Easter Is It Pagan" and "Christmas Reconsidered" i've reached the following conclusion. Brother Woodrow is using the fameous "straw-man arguement methodology" that writers, salesmen, speakers, and even magicians utilize. When i entitled this "slight of hand" i didn't mean that Mr. Woodrow was being purposefully deceptive, i meant he moves the reader from their grounded truth and the reader can end up worrying about the detailed scarecrow. You bring up something interesting, focus on it INSTEAD OF the plain truths, and eventually folks forget the plain truths they held dear. A straw-man (scarecrow) was put in the fields and gardens so those who came looking for food, became distracted by the strawman and either left the area or concentrated on the strawman. Hopefully, leaving garden and fields alone was the achievement. In addition to strawman usage ALL throughout the booklets, Mr. Woodrow leaves out many things defined by dictionaries and encyclopedias CONVENIENTLY, and only posts the parts which support his opinion that Easter and Christmas are simply godly holidays. He often goes back-and-forth, sometimes saying "no pagan connection, no harm" and then "let's assume it COULD be pagan, what harm now??
The God of Israel (and Jesus therefore) has made it clear, it's a "no-no" to mix OR REPLACE His Holidays (religious) with other's invented/created/inherited/derived holidays. Brother Woodrow is distracting from, or side-stepping, these issues. Brother Woodrow takes you through strawmen arguements such as word histories and even emotional stories of the celebrations of Christmas and Easter. Our God doesn't ignore mixing religious holidays of other nations/peoples with His Holidays, and He MOST DEFINATELY DOESN'T like you to lay down a secular-based holiday for His Appointed Times/Holidays (Holy Days). There is no way around this. God expects you to do the BEST YOU CAN with what you know (keep learning of HOW to pursue & please & obey Him & HIS CHOICES OF HOW we are to worship & love Him).
I wrote these down in both booklets, in case anybody ever picks them up and reads them, to help people QUIT LOOKING AT THE STRAWMAN and intead keep reading/searching from a firm foundation of Biblical Truth and Patterns. Hopefully these help others if i post them here, to think thru things.
1. if a practice (pagan/non-pagan words or traditions) arises that replaces the LORD'S Appointed Times, Practices,Observances & Words (instead of, in lieu of, similar but separate from...), GOD forbids it!
2. if a term today comes from words that are NOT pagan in nature or ritual or origin, WHO CARES!
3. if a term today comes from words that ARE PAGAN in nature, & you are NOT practicing or doing them (any of their associated rituals), WHO CARES!
4. if a term today comes from words that ARE PAGAN and rituals or honor is somehow showed to it (extended from it, & whether in ignorance or intentional) and practiced, GOD CARES!!
5. Questionable origins can be debated (perhaps), but replacement holidays CANNOT. Association can be debated, & ignorance too, but NOT merging or replacing!
6. We are NOT to follow the FALLEN WAYS of the nations (around us).
7. We are not to knowingly speak the names of the "false gods" out of our mouths knowingly, or present before the God of Israel, in ANY honoring/worshipful/celebratory way.
8. Lingquistics & superstition are NOT the focus, it's practice that has religious ties (PRACTICING IT/HONORING IT SOMEHOW) that's the focus and the issue at hand.
9. We are to be Holy people, and Holy simply means "set-apart," in word and in deed, the BEST WE CAN. We aren't to take in the habits of others with regards to religious holidays, and look similar to them while saying "praise God!"
Hope this helps you or others. Please do not waste your monies on these two booklets by Brother Woodrow about Easter and Christmas being "harmless" and "okay" and "Holy and acceptable to God." At the SAME TIME, please be gentle with the Brethren who don't have any CLUE about the origins and replacement days they are observing, you will only cause needless division if you bark at them. Lead by example, in ALL obedience to the God of Israel, don't hit others over the head with the Bible. The Holy Spirit is well equipped to do any convicting .
Grace and Peace to you in our Beloved Messiah,
Fredrick Murphy
|
