5 Apologetics Questions Every Christian Should Learn How to Answer: Christmas Edition

In a previous post, I offered quick answers to 5 apologetics questions that I think every Christian should be familiar with. With many misconceptions and misunderstandings about Christmas, here are 5 Christmas-themed questions with “barebones” quick answers that can easily be committed to memory.
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1.  Was Jesus born on December 25th, AD 1?

Although we celebrate His birth on December 25th, there is no biblical evidence that this is the actual date He was born. “AD” is an abbreviation for anno domini, which means “in the year of our Lord” in Latin. When scholars came up with the BC/AD system, they intended to divide world history based on the birth of Christ. However, they miscalculated the year of His birth, and it wasn’t recognized until later that Jesus was actually born somewhere between 6-4 BC. (1) Matthew 2:1 records that Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great.  History tells us that Herod died in 4 BC, so Jesus would have been at least 4 years old by AD 1.

2.  Is Christmas a pagan holiday? 

Every year, I see the inevitable “Christmas was a pagan holiday so Christians shouldn’t celebrate it!” claim circulated on social media at Christmastime. Let’s put it to rest, shall we? Christmas was never a pagan holiday. However, in the Roman Empire, there were certain pagan winter ceremonies such as Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, which might have been celebrated on December 25th, and  Saturnalia, a week long festival that culminated around the same date. 

In the early third century, Christians began to associate Jesus’ birth with December 25th. In the fourth century, they made it an official holiday. Why? Some argue it was because it coincided with the date of the Resurrection, others report that it was to challenge and contrast the existing pagan traditions.(2) Either way, it’s interesting to note that Dies Natalis Solis Invicti honored the Roman sun god, and in Malachi 4:2,  a prophecy about Jesus calls Him the  “Sun of righteousness.” I can’t think of a better way to contrast the festival than to laud the birth of the true Sun—the Light of the world! 

3.  We three kings of Orient are?

There are three inaccuracies just in the first line of this beloved Christmas carol.

• Three? The wise men brought three gifts, but the Bible doesn’t specify how many actually made the journey.

• Kings? Matthew 2:1 tells of “wise men from the East” who followed the star to see the boy Jesus. Because of their high standing in court, early church father Tertullian wrote, “The East generally regarded the magi as kings,”(3) but they were not actual monarchs. 

• From the Orient? The wise men did not come from as far east as the Orient but were more likely from somewhere a little closer like Babylon. That was where a certain captive named Daniel was taken centuries earlier and was eventually made “chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon” (Dan. 2:48). The wise men would have likely been familiar with the prophecies about Jesus through the writings of Daniel.(4)

4.  Is the story of Jesus’ virgin birth just a re-telling of ancient mythology?This frequent claim on social media disintegrates when we actually examine the evidence. Consider the three most common examples—Buddha, Horus, and Mithras. None of the earliest and most reliable sources indicate that these figures were born of a virgin.(5)

• The earliest sources on Buddha specifically mention that he was born of a royal human bloodline. Later stories record more unusual elements surrounding his conception, but they are nothing like the virgin conception of Jesus.

• Horus was an Egyptian deity whose parents were Osiris and Isis, and early stories actually mention Osiris’ seed being in Isis to conceive him.

• Mithraism is an ancient mystery cult with no surviving scripture. All we have are sculptures and paintings, which can be tough to interpret. The earliest version of the birth of Mithras portrays him emerging out of the side of a mountain, leaving a hole in the rock. Unless the mountain was a virgin, that is hardly a “virgin birth story.”

5.  Was Jesus born in a stable?

Although it is commonly assumed, the biblical account doesn’t actually mention a stable, or a cave, as early church tradition suggests.(6)  However, Luke chapter 2 mentions a couple of important details—that He was “laid in a manger” (a type of feeding trough for animals,) and that there was “no room at the inn.” There’s no mention of an innkeeper, and the word translated as “inn” is the Greek word kataluma, which might be better translated “guest room.” In fact, Jesus uses the same word in Luke 22:11 in reference to the Upper Room, the site of the Last Supper. 

Mary and Joseph most likely did not attempt to stay at an inn, but it would have been customary for them to stay with Joseph’s relatives in Bethlehem. With the house overcrowded due to the government-mandated census and the guest room occupied, Jesus was probably born on the lower level of the dwelling. This is where animals were sometimes brought inside at night to keep warm and safe from theft, which explains why there was a manger.(7) 

Have a well-informed​ and Merry Christmas!

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Great job of providing simple accurate answers for us to use in conversation with others. Thanks

Very timely and informative! Thanks a bunch!

Alisa, I have to respectfully disagree with you. I have become reluctant to celebrate Christmas in 2015 and I have stopped celebrating in 2016. I think that celebrating the Nativity is a wonderful thing, and I’m fine with you and other Christians celebrating that, but I don’t think that it should be mingled together with a holiday that originated in paganism. In fact, many fail to see Christ in Christmas.

When I was a young child, Christmas for me was all about Santa Claus. Jesus was merely a footnote. The holiday is crowded with so many distractions like movies (such as “Santa vs. The Snowman 3D” dubbed in French at IMAX for a school trip), cartoons (Frosty, Rudolph, etc.), secular songs (“Deck The Halls”, etc.), decorations, treats and so many more elements that have nothing to do with Christ.

People are not truly nicer around Christmastime. This is a misconception that has to do with the “magic of Christmas” (what my family calls it) and the good feelings one gets by partaking in the festivities. This and the secularism mean that Christmas is not beneficial to one’s Christian faith.

Of the points you list above, I only disagree with number 2, plus “we celebrate His birth on December 25th” (I don’t) and “Merry Christmas!” (I say “Happy winter!”) I honestly hope that you are simply confused on the matter because it is Roman Catholics, not Bible-believing Christians, who converted Saturnalia to Christmas. It was a state-imposed religion that Rome was forced to believe. I will still listen to your rendition of “Les Anges dans nos campagnes” and even “What Child Is This?” that you did with ZOEgirl, but I no longer feel that it should be confined to Christmastime.

However, I’m concerned to see you near a Christmas tree and socks (stockings) in “See Amid The Winter’s Snow”. The lyrics and music are excellent. It’s the secular decor that concerns me. I still enjoy the song, but I think it would be better with a plainer setting and maybe lyrics on screen.

In any event, I consider you a saved sister in Christ, but I do not believe that Jesus would allow either one of us to continue indefinitely in error when it comes to Christmas. I think you are doing very well with your website. It runs well and is easy to use. I’m willing to help, such as giving you the domain Alisa.cf for free or translating your content. Take care and be well in Christ as your ministry advances.

— Sent and watched from an iBook G4.

Alex,

I recognize and agree with some dismay at your comments about how Christ is largely absent from modern Christmas celebrations, but is the increasing secularity of an event a reason for those who worship Christ to slip into the background and cease to celebrate? Just becasue others are not nicer, and others prefer stories of Santa Claus and the like doesn’t mean that believers should abandon the celebration of the incarnation.

Also, you mentioned that Christmas was a holiday enforced by the Roman Catholic Church. As Alisa noted, the first mention of the Dec. 25th celebration is in 336 CE, recorded in the Philolean Calendar. The Roman Catholic Church did not become an organization with enough power to enforce anything prior to at least the 6th century, but really not before the 9th. Why do you feel that it was a Roman Catholic holiday when evidence points to its celebration pre-dating the Roman Catholic Church?

I just stumbled onto the ‘Christians shouldn’t celebrate Christmas’ b/c it’s pagan thing this year… While I still have a lot of mixed feelings about this, one of my first thoughts was, wow, why have I never heard anything close to speaking to this in church? I’ve heard very good arguments from both sides of this. YouTube provides a plethora of very believable people with great arguments and examples of history for and against celebrating Christmas. Enough so that it only serves to confuse me more. You can’t say well in the Bible it says to celebrate the birth of Jesus?! On the other hand so what if Christmas has pagan roots? If your hearts in the right place, Jesus knows your heart right? Yet the heart is deceitfully wicked?! Where does this leave one? I don’t know? I tend to think a lot of things about Christmas seem to be ‘of the world’ and pretty far from God. While it’s great to learn about the birth of Jesus and remember(even though it seems very well agreed on that it wasn’t Dec 25?) A lot of the traditions that go along with it certainly have pagan origins and seem outright evil. Santa, elves, magic… etc, I know at our house we’ve focused more on the stupid Elve on the shelve then the baby in the manger?! It’s up to you what to focus on? I have worked on not even mentioning Santa this year.. The pagan argument also seems sometimes a lot like ‘don’t eat this cause it causes cancer’.. Everything you do or eat in some study somewhere causes cancer. Well paganism is in everything as well. The days of the week, money, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and even Easter… As I’ve said, it’s all confusing and hard to know the right thing to do about it. These are the things I wish church would do a better job diving deep into. Thanks for posting A…