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When Light Penetrates the Darkness
“This is what penetrates the darkness of this season of the year.
I edited an article recently about SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), where people fight depression due to the change in seasons. It is a widespread problem. Fortunately, there are work-arounds to help us cope. In the ancient world, at this time of year it grew very dark. There was no electricity. The shortened days were cold. Bonfires were lit to penetrate the darkness and give warmth. The work-around then was to develop religious rites to worship the sun and other elements.
The significance of this winter solstice event was to become the foundation for today’s Christmas celebration. Notice this quote from a history of this festival:
"The time of the winter solstice has always been an important season in the mythology of all peoples. The sun, the giver of life, is at its lowest ebb. It is [the] shortest daylight of the year; the promise of spring is buried in cold and snow. It is the time when the forces of chaos that stand against the return of light and life must once again be defeated by the gods. At the low point of the solstice, the people must help the gods through imitative magic and religious ceremonies. The sun begins to return in triumph. The days lengthen and, though winter remains, spring is once again conceivable. For all people, it is a time of great festivity" (Gerard and Patricia Del Re, The Christmas Almanac, 1979, page 15).
This cosmic battle between forces is found throughout Christmas origins from culture to culture. Notice this:
“Although Christmas had been officially established in Rome by the fourth century, later another pagan celebration greatly influenced the many Christmas customs practiced today. That festival was the Teutonic feast of Yule (from the Norse word for ‘wheel,’ signifying the cycle of the year). It was also known as the Twelve Nights, being celebrated from Dec. 25 to Jan. 6.
“This festival was based on the supposed mythological warfare between the forces of nature—specifically winter (called the ice giant), which signified death, vs. the sun god, representing life. The winter solstice marked the turning point: Up until then the ice giant was at his zenith of power; after that the sun god began to prevail.
"As Christianity spread to northern Europe, it met with the observance of another pagan festival held in December in honour of the sun. This time it was the Yule-feast of the Norsemen, which lasted for twelve days. During this time log-fires were burnt to assist the revival of the sun. Shrines and other sacred places were decorated with such greenery as holly, ivy, and bay, and it was an occasion for feasting and drinking” (L.W. Cowie and John Selwyn Gummer, The Christian Calendar, 1974, page 22).
Scripture tells us there is spiritual warfare occurring beyond what we can see. There is nothing mythological about this. These entrenched pagan customs endured for centuries across the ancient world. The Christian faith that grew out of the original Church founded by Christ and the apostles encountered this culture, and instead of conquering, it was conquered and overwhelmed by the lure of this intoxicating brew of sight, sound and sensuality. All this is at the heart of what we see around us today. Pull back all the commercial trappings of this season, remove the veneer of Christian religion, and at the core of the season is still darkness, cold and evil cosmic forces vying for control of the heart of man—seeking to control the destiny of the world.
Those desiring to live the authentic, radical Christianity of the Bible must pull away from this false form of worship. More than that, we must recognize the power of the dark forces arrayed against us. We combat this with the truth of God. We are strengthened by the love of God. This is what penetrates the darkness of this season of the year.
Read this chapter, “Christmas: The Untold Story,” from our booklet, Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?
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Jeremiah 10: A Christmas Tree or Not?
Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/Bv26fCqbJrI
[Darris McNeely] “The question has come in from a Beyond Today viewer regarding Jeremiah chapter 10 and what it says about bringing a tree in and decorating it with gold and silver, and whether or not that is talking about a Christmas tree.
[Steve Myers] It says some interesting things when you actually read what it says there in Jeremiah chapter 10. And it starts out I think in an amazing way in verse 2 by saying, and this is God talking, "Thus says the Lord, 'Do not learn the way of the Gentiles.'" Some versions say heathens. And then He goes on to say, "The customs of the peoples are useless. They're futile. One cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with an axe. They decorate it with silver and gold. They fasten it with nails, hammers so that it will not topple. They are upright like a palm tree. They cannot speak" (Jeremiah 10:2-5). So what exactly is it talking about? Some of those things, especially if you look at the holiday decorations start to sound pretty familiar.
[Darris McNeely] Matches up pretty closely, doesn't it, to what might, what is a Christmas tree and what Christmas decorations of gold and tinsel on a tree that's been cut down from the woods, at least in the traditional way, brought into a home, set up, and around which gifts are spread. It is very, very plain, and matches up with this. Now, some commentators on Jeremiah chapter 10 say that this is talking about a form of idolatry where a tree is cut, but then it is cut into a totem or an idol from that, and the axe is actually a skilled artisan carver that makes this into something different from and therefore cannot be applied to the idea of a modern Christmas tree.
But I think that the fact that Jeremiah here is talking about avoiding the practices of the heathen that then become idolatry and a part of worship that replaces something that is truthful was something that is wrong and pagan in place of God. I think that it still refer to what is being described here.
[Steve Myers] Absolutely applies in the sense that if you look into some of the practices of the pagans during this day, they did worship trees. They worshipped all kinds of things. They had a god for just about everything you could imagine. So when you look at the trees, especially at this time of the year, they're looking at the life that a green tree would bring. And that was a common practice back in that day as well.
[Darris McNeely] Yeah, they were cut. They were used in the middle of the winter time because they supposedly didn't die, still had life in them, and to represent the life that people wanted to gather around at this time of year in the darkest part of the winter. Those trees were a part of the practice of the ancient world, and yes they did migrate into other parts of the world including Northern Europe from which our modern customs in the United States and the Western world regarding a Christmas tree eventually were adopted. And yet they were still connected with pagan ideas and worship that did migrate from the exact part of the world Jeremiah is talking about where anciently green trees, evergreen trees, were even used in the winter time as a part of this type of worship.
[Steve Myers] And I think that's such an important point. Can you adopt a pagan principle? Can you adopt something from the Gentiles or heathens, those that don't know the true God, and somehow try to use that to honor God? Well, He says right here don't learn that way. Do not do that. That is not a way to honor God by adopting some other practice, and try to call it Christian. He says that's unacceptable. You can't do it.
[Darris McNeely] And so you're left with the question: does it really matter? And the answer is it does matter. And truth does matter and our worship and our relationship with God, we should worship Him in spirit and in truth and not according to the ways that are adopted from heathenism or paganism. That's what the scripture says. It does matter.” From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/jeremiah-10-a-christmas-tree-or-not
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The Art of Selling Slow Poisons
“If you need a passionate, unreserved examination of facts regarding the "poisons" contained in animal foods in order to motivate you, you'll find what you're looking for in this article written by Dr. John McDougall. Dr. McDougall holds nothing back. He uses a direct approach, addressing the concerns regarding meat, dairy and eggs.
Dr. McDougall starts out by saying, "Animal foods burden us with three times more protein, fifteen times more fat, greater than 100 times more cholesterol, four times more methionine, and at least ten times more dietary acid. The toxic effects of these poisons are interactive. For example, excesses of protein, methionine, and dietary acids work together to destroy the bones. Excesses of dietary fat and cholesterol combine their deleterious effects to damage the arteries (atherosclerosis) and promote cancer."
Dr. McDougall also explains how the protein in an animal based diet damages our kidneys and produces kidney stones.
The saturated fats found in animal products are problematic as well. "Dietary fats," Dr. McDougall states, "are almost effortlessly stored in your body fat, liver, heart and muscles." As a result, insulin resistance develops, and promotes heart disease, strokes, and type-2 diabetes. This fat alters our cellular metabolism, which creates a favorable environment for cancer.
Equally important, our bodies produce all the cholesterol that we require. We do not need to consume any additional cholesterol from our diet. "Cholesterol deposited in your arteries," Dr. McDougall emphasizes, "is a major contributor to vascular diseases of your heart and brain. Cholesterol also facilitates cancer development."
Sulfur-containing amino acids such as methionine found in meat, also poses serious health risks. According to Dr. McDougall, "Methionine is metabolized into homocysteine, a risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, peripheral vascular disease, venous thrombosis, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and depression." Furthermore, Dr. McDougall points out, "Sulfur feeds cancerous tumors and is known to be toxic to the tissues of the intestine. Sulfur-containing amino acids are metabolized into sulfuric acid—one of the most potent acids found in nature."
By switching to a whole-food, plant-centered diet, you'll avoid many of the harmful components mentioned above. You will also be reducing your intake of antibiotics, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals since concentrated levels are found in meat, dairy, and egg products. Lastly, by removing animal products from your plate, you will avoid being exposed to animal-borne, infectious microbes (bacteria, viruses, parasites, and prions) that attributes to acute and deadly illnesses.
Dr. McDougall concludes by encouraging us to replace animal products with "generous amounts of complex carbohydrates, dietary fibers, alkaline substances, and a healthy balance of vitamins, minerals, and essential phyto-chemicals" found in whole, plant foods. Instead of suffering slowly with disability, disfigurements, and death, as Dr. McDougall points out, make an investment today in your health, so you can help protect yourself from serious illness in the future. Read the article, "Five Major Poisons Inherently Found in Animal Foods" by John McDougall, MD here.
From: https://www.drcarney.com/blog/health-issues/the-art-of-selling-slow-poisons
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