“Laat elkeen in sy eie gemoed oortuig wees.” (Rom 14:5 OAV)
Uit die vorige mannas is dit duidelik waar Kersfees histories en geestelik vandaan kom. Net drie algemene bronne wat dit klinkklaar bevestig:
- Uit die Catholic Encyclopedia: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church . . . The first evidence of the feast is from Egypt. … Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas.”
- Uit die Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church … It was not instituted by Christ or the apostles, or by Bible authority — it was picked up afterward from paganism.”
- Uit die Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia: “How much the date of the festival depended upon the Pagan Brumalia (Dec. 25) following the Saturnalia (Dec. 17-24), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the ‘new sun’ … cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence … The pagan festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular, that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ’s birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western brethren of idolatry and sun-worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival.”
Dit lyk of die wêreld weet Kersfees het niks met Christus Jesus te doen nie, maar Christene bly naïef daaroor. In ‘n internetkletskamer kry ek die volgende drie kommentare van nie-gelowiges:
- “As a pagan, I feel it’s great that you celebrate all my holidays.”
- “A lot of the pagan rituals and holidays were merged by the church in an effort to get non believers (of jesus) to belong and conform to their doctrines.”
- “A USA Today article quoted Washington witch Bryan Jordan as saying, ‘Christians don’t realize it, but they’re celebrating our holiday with us . . . We like it.’”
Die Nuwe Verbond word gekenmerk aan die gelowige se vryheid (2 Kor 3:17), en elkeen moet na sy eie oortuigings handel, want ons sal elkeen self aan God moet rekenskap gee van hoe ons geredeneer het (Rom 14:12).
Die viering van Kersfees is duidelik nie neutraal nie, dog bly die viering daarvan ‘n persoonlike keuse. Paulus se riglyn in 1 Kor 10 benadruk dat ons nie mekaar ten opsigte van sulke sake moet beoordeel nie, maar maan ons om “te vlug vir afgodediens” (:14), want ons moet nie gemeenskap hou met duiwels nie (:20). Hy sê dan in vers 23 dat alles ons geoorloof is, maar dat dit nie noodwendig nuttig is of stig nie. En in Rom 14:5: “Laat elkeen in sy eie gemoed oortuig wees.”
- Sela: Maak voor God uit waar jy staan ten opsigte van Kersfees.
- Lees: 2 Kron 30; Job 29; Jes 10
- Memoriseer: Jes 10:27
- Vir dieper delf: Gaan lees weer Charles Dickens se A Christmas caroll en Dr Seuss se The grinch who stole Christmas en jy sal sien dat ons persepsie rondom Kersfees in ‘n groter mate daardeur bepaal is as deur die Bybel.
