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Does Christmas have pagan origins?

...-ignorant-nativity-christianity-bethlehem-a8094496.html  Evans, C. F. “TERTULLIAN'S REFERENCES TO SENTIUS SATURNINUS AND THE LUKAN CENSUS.” The Journal of Theological Studies, vol. 24, no. 1, 1973, pp. 24–39. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23959449.  Justin Martyr: https://patristics.info/justin-martyr-first-apology.html#Chapter_XXXIV_Place_of_Christs_birth_foretold (ch. 34 & 46) Tertullian: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0308.htm (ch. 9) Clement of Alexandria: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/02101.htm (ch. 21) http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/jesuvita.html On Christmas: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm https://www.ccel.org/ccel/hippoly...

On the Feast of the nativity, a sermon by Leo the Great

...n to this nativity is that which we read of all others, no one is clean from stain, not even the infant who has lived but one day upon earth (Job 19:4). Nothing therefore of the lust of the flesh has passed into that peerless nativity, nothing of the law of sin has entered. A royal Virgin of the stem of David is chosen, to be impregnated with the sacred seed and to conceive the Divinely-human offspring in mind first and then in body. And lest in ignorance of the heavenly counsel she should tremble at so strange a result, she learns from converse with the angel that what is to be wrought in her is of the Holy Ghost. Nor does she believe it loss of honour that she...

Lent Day 38: Leo the Great: Sermon XXI (On the nativity Feast I)

...Day Thirty-eight: St. Leo the Great: Sermon XXI (On the nativity Feast I) Who: Leo the Great, also known as Pope St. Leo I (the Great), was Pope from 440-61 AD. Place and date of birth unknown; died 10 November, 461. Leo's pontificate, next to that of St. Gregory I, is the most significant and important in Christian antiquity, as he tried to  combat the heresies which seriously threatened church unity even in the West, such as Pelagianism. What: A sermon on the nativity at Christmas time, about the incarnation of the Word of God. Why: To explain the incarnation and preach the Good News of our Lord and Saviour becoming man for our sake so that we may be sav...

God before ages becomes an infant!

...I saw a beautifully sung a capella song the other day of Facebook. It was about the nativity, the incarnation of Christ. One of the lines in the song really struck me, the profound nature of what God did summed up in a single sentence: Glorify, with the angels and the shepherds, Him who by His own will has become a newborn child, yet is our God before all ages.   Let that sink in for a moment before reading this excerpt from one of John Chrysostom's sermons on Christmas (something else I saw shared on Facebook which I think sums up this day in better words than I could muster): "What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wo...

What is Advent?

...physical nativity in Bethlehem to the reception of Christ in the believer’s heart, and to the eschatological hope of the Second Coming. Advent encapsulates the diverse aspects of Christian hope. The Liturgical Calendar The liturgical calendar, particularly in the Western Rite of the Orthodox Church, Anglican, Lutheran, Moravian, Presbyterian, and Methodist traditions, designates Advent as commencing on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, concluding on Christmas Eve. This period of roughly four weeks becomes a sacred journey marked by readings and teachings that emphasise not only the anticipation of Christ’s first coming but also the profound reflection o...

The Deity of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew - Part 2

...Matthew's theme - The divine presence of Jesus This is a guest post by “KingsServant”, see Part 1 here. Having covered Matthew’s introduction to his gospel in his nativity account, we will now consider the way Matthew “bookends” the gospel by beginning his work with the promise of God dwelling with his people (fulfilled in the incarnation) and ending it in the same way with Jesus’ comforting promise never to leave his followers. This theme of Matthew begins with his quotation of Isaiah 7:14, which we have already analysed in the previous article with regard to how it reveals Matthew’s teaching that Jesus is God. As noted before, in Matthew...