A good friend and atheist (you can call him Lanny) who regularly views this board has asked me to post this for discussion. He makes some very interesting observations. He has, as you can see below, began to read the Bible for himself. Though he does not desire to enter into this conversation, He has asked for your observations of his statements. With his permission I have formatted his post at appropriate places, i.e. bolding, italics, etc. and with Pilgrim's permission I have entered this post for discussion:

An Atheist Observing Christmas

Many so-called Christians, using Christmas (Christ’s birth) as a justification, have added foreign beliefs and practices to the worship of their God (Mithraism, etc). Several have combined pagan ideas, beliefs, and practices with Christianity without examining whether their God approves (Christmas is not commanded by their Scripture, it replaces a pagan holiday, the Christmas tree, the holly, the mistletoe, the yule log . . . are all relics of paganism). Christians without seeking their own Scripture, presume to add things to the worship of their God. However, their Scripture states, “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it” (Deut 12:32). Christmas is a festival that has been added against the very Scripture Christians claim to believe? Is not syncretism the blending of a practice from paganism into the stream of Christianity?

Deuteronomy 13:1-18 defines the law regarding apostasy. Those who led others to worship other gods or adopt the practices of the nations around them were to be stoned! God nowhere in the Bible speaks of making Christmas a part of Christianity. He does tell Christians, though, not to add to His worship anything that is a tradition of the heathen. Moreover, when the so-called Christians added Christmas to Christianity, it had nothing to do with true Christianity at all. It was a ploy to win converts from paganism. It was a deliberate grab for power. From the beginning, Christmas, rather than promoting the true God of Christianity, has only led people away to a syncretistic belief system. The Old Testament has its golden calf and so-called New Testament Christians now have their golden trees!

How are Christians to celebrate Christ? By celebrating the Lord’s Supper they celebrate both the life and death of Christ. How can they celebrate Christ’s flesh and blood without celebrating Christ’s birth? The Bible has already given Christians its true holiday—The Lord’s Table. Why don’t they accept the Bible?

Galatians 4:9-11 says,

Quote
But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
If an atheist can see this why don’t they?

Reformed and Always Reforming,