<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"] Overnight my pc has been decked with baubles and other pagan symbols…. Jeremiah 10:1-4 kjv </font><hr></blockquote><p> Howard I would ADVISE you to re-read those verses! Your misinterpretation of verses is coming through again. The verses are talking about making idols to worship. Who here is worshiping the garland? Is it tempting you to worship it—no, I don’t believe so!<br><br>Verses 2 through 4 of Jeremiah 10 are part of a larger context. That larger context is verses 1 through 16. We may go further, but I believe this will suffice. In these verses Jeremiah proclaims the Lord as the only God; "There is none like You, O LORD; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due!…. But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King….It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, etc.” (vss. 6, 7, 10, 12).<br><br>But, the gods that pagans worship are nothing compared to the Lord; "The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens" (vs 11). They are mere images made by men and women. "Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish" (vs 14-15). <br><br>Gold is not the only substance used to make idols. Verses 8 and 9 speak of worthless wooden idols on which workmen place hammered silver and gold, and rich apparel. When we consider that these verses condemn idolatry, we can understand what Jeremiah meant when he said "the customs of the peoples are delusion" (vs 3). No wonder he tells us not to "learn the way of the nations" (vs 2). <br><br>Turning to translations other than the KJV also helps our understanding. Where the KJV reads, "one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe" (verse 3), the NASB says, "Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool." The tool referred to in the passage is not a woodsman's tool, but that of a wood carver. <br><br>Jeremiah is not condemning Christmas trees. He is condemning idolatry. The trees in Jeremiah 10 are cut down to carve them into worthless idols that will later be decorated with gold and silver. Jeremiah says nothing about Christmas trees. Your unbiblical eisogesis is hilarious!<br><br>The Highway is not as those accused by Tertullian of falling into the Saturnalian rut by adorning their houses with lamps and with wreathes of laurel as Christmas decorations (Tertullian, On Idolatry, XV—again false worship). Though some like Calvin and some of the Puritans objected to a Christmas Tree, it is all in what one believes the items to represent. Part and parcel of the Reformation is Reformed and Always Reforming—look at my signature block. <br><br>I think your views come from what you either have misread or have been mis-taught! May I ask you what the Christmas tree means to me? What does it and decorations mean to the staff? What does the Christmas Tree mean to many of the members here? Do you know or are you just spouting off more Bible verses out of context?<br><br>The German religious reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) is often credited with starting the Christmas tree custom. It is likely that the custom dates back to at least around 1550, since the first of several "Tannenbaum" ballads was circulating in print at that time. <br><br>The use of evergreens as a Christmas symbol of “everlasting life” goes back much further than even 1550s, but still with a Germanic connection. St. Boniface is said to have introduced the use of evergreens in connection with his efforts to Christianize the Germanic tribes in the 8th century. He dedicated the fir tree (Tannenbaum) to the Christ Child, displacing the pagan oak tree of Odin. <br><br>When a light is on a Christmas Tree, I think of Christ as the light of the world. When a proper ornament is placed on a tree, I think of His many gifts He has blessed us with. When I see tinsel on a tree it reminds me of His shimmering glory and holiness. When I see a star on top of a tree it reminds me of the star of Bethlehem and my Savior’s birth. The Christmas Tree is all what you make it. We as Christians need to steal it back from pagans of this century and reform its use for today. No, we are not going to worship such, but, it can, and to many of us does, represent many of God’s glorious promises and attributes. While I am sure that some may in some form worship the Christmas Tree, and more probable the gifts under it, it does not mean that “all” do! You can either literally see a demon in every tree this season, or reform your thinking scripturally!<br><br>There is no need at continuing to look at everything through Pagan eyes instead of looking at it in (1) the truth of Scripture, and (2) in our heritage of Reformed and Always Reforming.<br><br>PS: I once felt the way you did, but have since reformed. Me thinks it is still part of the stage you are going through.

Reformed and Always Reforming,