I thought it was as well- there’s a lot more to the article, but I could only fit that little snippet. I think you would enjoy the rest of it!

“The Christmas tree is an evergreen that reminds us that we have “eternal life” in Jesus Christ (John 6:40). The shape of the tree reminds us that we are “born from above” (John 3:3). The needles on the branches remind us that Jesus was “pierced through for our transgression” (Isa. 53:5). The lights hung on the tree remind us that Jesus is “the light of the world” (John 8:12) and through Him we are to be “the light of the world” to others (Matt. 5:14). The objects we hang on the tree remind us that “every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17).” ~Gary DeMar

When Scripture shows both explicitly and by example that you may do things not specified by Scripture; then it is based on the specific authority of Sola Scripture that you do those things!

Esther 9:17-28 John 10:22-23 (established by Judas Maccabeus, which begins on the 25th of Chisleu (Nov/Dec) Romans 14:1-13 1 Corinthians 10:31

This is where the Sufficiency of Scripture comes in- that while we are not bound to only use horse-drawn vehicles per the Regulative Principle (if we are going to apply that standard to life outside the Church, then we must be consistant), there are general Scriptural Principles that apply if we wish to drive a car for the Glory of God.

I’d say if you want to cancel our Christmas celebration you should convince us by a plain reading of Scripture that says so. Having or not having a Christmas celebration does not make you a better Christian. To the Lord, we stand or fall.

BTW, we do give you credit for being consistent enough to not celebrate birthdays, as many who hold your position are not!

First of all, you have totally mis-apprehended our church’s position. We have 2 Elders- one celebrates Christmas, the other does not, as I mentioned before. There was no “decision” that Christmas Trees are wrong- we simply don’t carry around decorations of any sort to set up in the various buildings we meet in throughout the year. Our church equipment consists of chairs, a wooden podium, a microphone, a keyboard, speakers, two crates full of hymnals, and a white paint can with a hole in the top for tithe. In the summer we set-up in a barn, in winter we set up in a former public school turned community center- we have no “sanctuary”.

However, even if there had been an official “decision” as to it’s place in Corporate Worship, I know that both of our Elders consider the personal celebration of it to be a matter of conscience before the Lord, like many other areas. In our church, “He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.” We are by no means in “rebellion”. The Elders are charged with rebuking sin which is defined by God, not with creating extra-biblical standards of what obedience looks like:

Was it wrong for God’s people to establish Purim and the Feast of Dedication? And was it wrong for the Seperatist Pilgrims to set aside days for rejoicing and feasting, i.e. The Original Thanksgiving?

“...the Yea-sayers as one, all vainly imagine and say that the Nay-sayers have no interest in, nor rejoice in the first advent of the Lord Jesus Christ,...”

“I used to separate the individual from the corporate body, but now I would say that God's instructions are for both, and both must hearken to his wisdom.”

I would agree that both are bound to obey Scripture in a general sense; but there are great differences in application. Different parts of Scripture are addressed to Individuals, Families,the Church, or the State. Wouldn’t mixing those applications be a misuse of God’s Word? For example- the Church spanking children, Individuals having Communion, or the State Baptizing people? In my view, Scriptures regarding Corporate Worship are binding on only that- not Individual Devotions, the content and format of which are not as explicitly commanded.

May I ask a clarifying question? By “worship” do you mean the corporate worship of the Church as a Body? Or do you mean how we individually Glorify God per 1Corinthians 10:31?

Case in point: My family opposes Sunday School as an extra-Biblical addition to corporate worship- but we fully embrace the discipling of children as part of our duty as Christians.

Blessings to you as well! I read the article you linked to, but where is the actual criticism? This author never once actually quotes Woodrow, but creates a fictional charicature of him, puts ridiculous words in his mouth, and then gleefully beats down the hyperbolic strawman he has just created. This hardly conforms to a sober, Christian, (let alone logical), consideration of things. As for the secret Jesuit agent thing- It could also be, that as any other honest Christian would, Woodrow felt compelled to retract errors he had helped to spread- documentable errors still found far and wide both online and in tract form. Anything “Could be”; but dreaming up such possibilities as an extention of such an article seems hovering rather too close to slander for my taste. 1 Tim. 5:19

Ralph Woodrow’s website is ralphwoodrow.org if you would like to peruse what he actually believes.
As I’ve said before- I do not hold to any Holy Days outside of Scripture- only Good Days as we are given Biblical example of creating.

I was able to find the article by Ralph Woodrow that I had read years ago, so you can look over it yourself:
www.equip.org/article/the-two-babylons/

Turns out, this actually addresses the Tammuz thing, which I had not remembered! And if anyone wishes to check on Woodrow’s assertion on what Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians actually said on this point you can read page 405 of that work here:
https://archive.org/details/asecondseriesma01wilkgoog/page/n440

Also, one problem with Hislop’s equating of Jupiter and Wodan with Nimrod; is that solid arguments can be made that Jupiter is Japheth and Wodan a latter Germanic decendant of Japheth. Nimrod, on the other hand, as we know from Scripture, was Ham’s grandson. “After the Flood” by Bill Cooper is a fascinating well-researched book on Ancient Geneologies and how they concur with The Tables of Nations found in Genesis, and can be read online here:
www.idolphin.org/cooper/contents.html Blessings!

This is a perfect example of what I was talking about earlier. Who on Earth knows or cares who Tammuz was? If the folks in your neighborhood have a Tammuz worshiping issue, then I could see your point. However, I highly suspect that is not the case. Long story short- Tammuz is dead and Jesus is Lord. That’s why one has to dig through a mountain of historical dust heap to find some dude named “Tammuz” that some other folks used to worship - while at the same time you can walk into any bookshop or library and learn about Christ right from His Word.

December 25th has a 1:365 chance of being Christ’s Birthday- same as every other day of the year. Every argument for it’s being or not being one time of year or another is riddled with assumptions: Such as when Ceasar would or wouldn’t issue taxes; What the weather patterns where like 2,000 years ago; when certain people were serving in the Temple; and when Great Men died in relation to when they were born. Point is we don’t know- and I get the feeling most of the folks grumpy over 12/25 would be just as unhappy with 4/25 or 10/25.