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Jeremiah 10 - does God hate Christmas trees?

Safe-Keeper

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Safe-Keeper
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Jeremiah 10:1-5 in the Bible says the following (King James Version):
[1] Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
[2] Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
[3] For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
[4] They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
[5] They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
​
I knew I'd seen this earlier, but failed to find it again. Now, thanks to the Wiki, I have the above passage:). Judging from the article, it seems to me that the Christmas tree is a 'descendant' from idols used by pagans (Christmas itself, of course, is 'stolen' from Northern Europeans' Yule, as far as I know).

So, does God hate Christmas trees as much as figs:p?
 
Amusing isn't it, and there are sects out there who practice this - no Christmas trees.Good luck to them - if that makes them happy. The actual verse refers to Asherah poles as far as I know, which are fertility symbols from the Canaanite worship of Astarte (I forget her Canaanite name!) and are closer to maypoles than Christmas Tress, and the worship of trees as spirit guardians - we find something like this in the Hellenistic Stoichene (which I may well have spelt wrongly, but hopefully someone will correct me.)

So should you find the kids worshiping the tree, holding orgies of pagan worship in the living room and calling upon ancient Semitic goddesses I'd quote this passage, and perhaps consider removing the offending tree before the burnt offerings set light to your carpet and sofa. Leave that to mum and the turkey...

Seriously, there is no way there is a direct connection unless the Northern Europeans self consciously set out to be satanic. I don't think there is any record of Christmas Trees before the late eighteenth century, though I could be wrong. They are certainly not "pagan survivals" of ANE religion.

Hope helps!
cj x
 
Safe-Keeper said:
Jeremiah 10:1-5 in the Bible says the following (King James Version):
[1] Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
[2] Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
[3] For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
[4] They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
[5] They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
​
I knew I'd seen this earlier, but failed to find it again. Now, thanks to the Wiki, I have the above passage:). Judging from the article, it seems to me that the Christmas tree is a 'descendant' from idols used by pagans (Christmas itself, of course, is 'stolen' from Northern Europeans' Yule, as far as I know).

So, does God hate Christmas trees as much as figs:p?
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Well Jeremiah seems to be conferring God’s advice not to fear a Christmas tree while on the other hand he notes how anyone should give God his “rightful due” by fearing only God.

6 Inasmuch as there is none like You, O LORD
(You are great, and Your name is great in might),
7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
For this is Your rightful due.
For among all the wise men of the nations,
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8 But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish;
A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.
9 Silver is beaten into plates;
It is brought from Tarshish,
And gold from Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman
And of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all the work of skillful men.
10 But the LORD is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
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Given the following statistics…

• Christmas trees were the items first ignited in an estimated average of 210 reported U.S. home structure fires per year in 2002-2005. These fires caused an average of 24 civilian deaths, 27 civilian injuries, and $13.3 million in direct property damage per year. These statistics include both real and artificial trees.
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http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.as...nal safety/Christmas tree fires&cookie_test=1

and considering that even what we might fear from a Christmas tree still would be a result of “His indignation” certainly would make God the most fearsome of the two. Steps however can be taken to reduce ones fear and risk from a Christmas tree as well as from God.
 
I don't believe it just applies to the Asherah pole, but is a warning to a community living in exile not to adopt the rituals of the areas where they now reside. The line about the "signs of heaven" would refer to astrological signs, watching for comets, eclipses, etc. The cutting of the tree, the gold and silver, are being used to create an idol to worship. Verse 5 is telling them that the idol is powerless, and subsequent verses start telling God how great he is (since he seems to suffer from an inferiority complex) and how the instruction given by idols is no better than wood.

If you have a moment, compare these verses with Isaiah 40:18-20. Very similar and reinforces the condemnation of idol worship.
 
We had neighbours when I was growing up who didn't (then) have a Christmas tree. The girl (my age, about 5 then) actually said to my mother that when a Christmas tree enterd through the front door, (baby) Jesus left through the back. To which my (actually still quite Roman Catholic) mother replied that he could always come back after Christmas when the tree was gone.
Funny thing was, her dad was a police man. Every Newyearseve they had the best fireworks, according to rumour out of the cache of seized (illegal) fireworks of the police.
Talk about pagan rituals (the fireworks, not the police).
 
A burning cross. Wow. OK, so it symbolizes the light of Christ, but the KKK... I... what?
 
Sunstealer said:
That was my first impression. Instead of three wise men under it, it needs three white men in sheets!
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Look at the picture a little more closely. It is not burning. Someone is pulling your leg. It is illuminated from within, that's with light, and it has some sort of garland wrapped around it, I'd guess made from the same stuff as angel hair silvery stuff one tosses onto a Christmas tree.

Attention to detail, folks.

DR
 
with 210 individual ultra bright lights
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It is just wrapped with bright Christmas lights, but it sure looks like a burning cross. Perhaps one simply needs a disclaimer next to the cross “This is a simulated, not an actual, burning cross”
 
Darth Rotor said:
Look at the picture a little more closely. It is not burning. Someone is pulling your leg. It is illuminated from within, that's with light, and it has some sort of garland wrapped around it, I'd guess made from the same stuff as angel hair silvery stuff one tosses onto a Christmas tree.

Attention to detail, folks.

DR
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I don't think anyone was under the impression that it was actually burning, i.e: on fire. The response was because as The Man put it "it sure does look like a burning cross". And how much attention to detail are you gonna get if you are driving past and someone has one in their front yard?

"Honey did that house have a burning cross in the front yard?"

"No darling I am sure it was just a synthetic simulation of one."

"Well drive the hell faster either way will ya?"
 
The above discussion is an example of why there are so many different denominations of Christianity in the world. No matter what rules or laws or commandments were in the Bible, some group would incorporate other traditions in order to make it more acceptable to larger groups of people. If we want to admit to the existence of God (which is opening another can of worms) IMHO God would be pretty pissed off on how were messing with his rules.
 
Strange, there are sects out there who kill unborn humans, claim brotherhood and blow one another's brains out in warfare, claim to follow the Bible but whose members in good standing commit adultery, and generally drag the Lord Jesus Christ through the gutter with their unrepentant sinning. Yet they are-umm, OK? I find that stranger.
Why don't you?
 
Radrook said:
Strange, there are sects out there who kill unborn humans, claim brotherhood and blow one another's brains out in warfare, claim to follow the Bible but whose members in good standing commit adultery, and generally drag the Lord Jesus Christ through the gutter with their unrepentant sinning. Yet they are-umm, OK? I find that stranger.
Why don't you?
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Strange, you appear to be conversing with a man made wholly from straw. A creature of your own creation nonetheless. Is that the wicker man you speak to? It is passing strange that the comments you make do not seem to bear any resemblance to what any in here have said. Are you ummm, OK? I find that even still stranger. Why don't you?
 
Ausmerican said:
Strange, you appear to be conversing with a man made wholly from straw. A creature of your own creation nonetheless. Is that the wicker man you speak to?
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I was spreaking to the OPEP poster. Is he made of wicker?


It is passing strange that the comments you make do not seem to bear any resemblance to what any in here have said. Are you ummm, OK? I find that even still stranger. Why don't you?
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The OPED poster specifically makes a big deal of this practice of avoiding the use of Chistmas trees by certain denominations as he himself pointed out. I'm just wondering why he doesn't make a big deal out of things he should be making a bigger deal about. If my wondering why the OPED poster thinks that way bothers you-or if you feel I've broken some forum rule by asking the OPED poster that question, then perhaps you should report my post to an administrator and demand it be removed.
 
Artificial christmas trees are the loop-hole.

(loop-holes are evidently pleasing unto the lord)
 
I don't think anyone was under the impression that it was actually burning, i.e: on fire. The response was because as The Man put it "it sure does look like a burning cross". And how much attention to detail are you gonna get if you are driving past and someone has one in their front yard?
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'xactly. Doesn't matter if it really burns, we all know what burning crosses symbolize to most people.
 
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