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revanon OP t1_j1hot5c wrote

Reply to comment by Mikhas_donaster in It's Christmas Eve and I'm an ordained pastor. Ask me anything! by revanon

I believe in Baby Santa, which is Santa coming to the earth as an infant like Baby Jesus, in order to rid the world of Santa Baby, which is one of the worst Christmas songs ever written.

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crazy4finalfantasy t1_j1i1fgi wrote

What is your honest opinion on that fact that Christmas is actually a pagan holiday? Genuinely curious, I'm a life long non believer but my family is hardcore right wing bible thumpers (no offense) and I don't know anybody else who could answer this thoughtfully

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revanon OP t1_j1i6czm wrote

There is no Biblical evidence of December 25 as Christ's date of birth--Luke is able to give us a range of a couple of years, but no specific date. I much prefer the honesty of noting that reality up front, and treating today as a day to honor the creation of Christ instead of insisting that today and only today must be His birthday. The analogy I use is that we have not a shred of evidence that the earth was created on April 22, but we still designate it as Earth Day. Nor is December 25 agreed upon by all Christians as the date of Christmas--I'm matrilineally Armenian, and Armenian Orthodox Christmas is January 6, the date of the Epiphany in Western Christianity.

I think that Constantine and his successors who infused Western European Christianity with non-Christian trappings did so to make the Empire's latest choice of religion taste better going down, and that it is possible to acknowledge that history while still cherishing family Christmas traditions and honoring the incarnation of Christ today.

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crazy4finalfantasy t1_j1ig7vg wrote

Wow! Incredibly thoughtful and interesting take. I agree with you about Constantine and co adapting what worked to shift the populace towards this newer (at the time) faith. Thank you for the response and the food thought! Have a lovely day

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rydan t1_j1l9nyq wrote

Nobody believes the Earth was created on April 22. That day was picked because it maximized attendance from college students. Earth was created on March 25. Citation

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TacoCommand t1_j1pg50v wrote

Having grown up both High and Low Church, I appreciate the honesty from a pastor.

I'm assuming by your mention of the Armenian tradition that you aren't a Calvinist

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wuzzzat t1_j1kpi35 wrote

So its safe to say there were no Armenians at the Capitol?

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