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Christianity Today, December (Web-only), 2008 |

'The Purpose of Christmas'

An excerpt on "A Time for Celebration."

Rick Warren | posted 12/19/2008 04:17PM

The following article is an excerpt from Rick Warren's The Purpose of Christmas.

Christmas is a party. Specifically, it's a birthday party — for Jesus — and birthdays are meant to be celebrated. ...

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Grace Mercy

Posted: December 23, 2008 8:59 PM

Jesus' death and resurrection completes the truth that God is love, and it is by His stripes we are healed, and restored to the Love which is also holy and just. This is mentioned too late at the end of the article, if people stopped reading after page 2, the truth of God's love is too much distorted. Below is my illustration: "Although there are accidental parents, there are no accidental babies. The parents may not have planned them, but God did." When I read this, it is a slap to my face as my spouse has fallen into fornication and as a natural consequence there are children out of wedlog. It is the redeeming love of God that made these innocent lives innocent again, and it is the redeeming love that allows the wrongdoers be restored to the love of God, and it is the redeeming love of God that enables me to forgive. Love without justice and holiness is not God.

Stan	Posted: December 22, 2008 9:17 PM


Rick, you've done it again. I've never thought about Christmas in quite this way...what God we have!

Kilty

Posted: December 22, 2008 7:03 PM


The reason for this holiday is to take over a really fun pagan celebration of the Solstice. Thereby, inculcating a christian type religion into the society and allowing the subjection of the common folk so they could easily be conquered and their riches and properties removed and given to the conquers. kiltyone@dslextreme.com

Basil

Posted: December 22, 2008 4:50 PM


This article was by no means heretical. It did have a few redundancies and overly sappy and sentimental parts to it that added to its saccharine tone but we cant expect Warren to be a theologian or Biblical scholar. He's too pragmatic for that.

ketch22

Posted: December 20, 2008 6:57 PM

I guess I just don't understand what all the negativism about this article is about... I even went and re-read it again to see if I missed something. I am usually up in arms and disappointed by articles that lack the true meaning of Jesus, His mission, and our relationships with Him, but this article by no means leaves that out. I saw no Universalism here, but rather a narrative on the "reason for the season". Sheeshh.

Lynnda Parker

Posted: December 20, 2008 1:36 PM

I heard Warren's THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS at a Sunday school class while visiting a church. My heart sank as I heard the first lesson. The true GOOD NEWS was absent. Instead a universally acceptated "God is love " message was taught. There is no celebration unless people understand who Jesus really is and why He came." The Word became flesh" "Full of grace and truth" God's love was that He sent His son to die in our place. Warren's message seemed just shy of the truth and not Biblically sound. Is he trying to hard to be politically correct?

Pastor in Nevada

Posted: December 20, 2008 10:05 AM


I believe Rick had some good points in this article, as well as Ephrem Hagos & Onewayforward in thier responses ... so where is the balance? Combine the three & U may be close, look at all the summaries of this - historically, celebrationally & theologically ---- then personalize it for U ... KNOW JESUS then MAKE JESUS KNOWN...

Onewayforward

Posted: December 20, 2008 1:51 AM

This article is a study in popular half truths, non-contextual proof texts, bad biblical translations, and misapplications of the biblical text. God is Love, BUT He is also Light, a Consuming Fire, and declares Himself to be Holy. Anyone claiming to have fellowship with Him while walking in darkness is a liar. It may be that Jesus will still love those to whom He says, "Depart from Me, all you evildoers", but that is hardly reason to celebrate! In His coming He was "appointed for the rise AND FALL of many." Balanced Truth is dangerously absent. The church naturally ought to rejoice greatly over the birth of her Savior. But the biblical Church - the one founded by Jesus Himself, led by His Apostles, with His mother present (Acts 1:14) - did not celebrate His birth. If they had the date of His birth could not possibly have been lost. The biblical Church remembered Him by CONTINUOUSLY celebrating His Death, AS HE COMMANDED. If we love Him we will align our values with His.

Dr. Gary Schwarz (Registered User)

Posted: December 20, 2008 12:00 AM


Sheesh guys. This was not a full treatment of the advent, nor an exhaustive dissertation on Christology. It was an exposition of a small passage. It was anecdotal and a comment on some folks' celebrations. Take a break, sip a hot chocolate, and be thankful for all that God has done on our behalf!

Ephrem Hagos

Posted: December 19, 2008 11:15 PM

Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ by attending church services and entertaining family and friends, as has been done since A.D. 300 circa, is no way of honoring God and fulfilling the clear advice given by Jesus and Paul. Without guidance by the Holy Spirit resulting in firsthand and prior exact knowledge of who Jesus Christ is (John 3:5; 1 Cor. 12:3), as in the first Christmas, by Zechariahs, Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, the unborn baby (John), the shepherds, Simeon, Anna and the visitors from the East (precious few in a number excluding typically leaders, chief priests and the teachers of the Law), there is no Christmas whatsoever! The Greater Christmas or “God’s light and salvation prepared in the presence of all peoples” (Luke 2: 30-32) has been provided once and for all, not through fiat by the first Christian Roman emperor (Constantine) but exclusively through the diacritical death of Jesus Christ on the cross, as per the terms and seal of the “new covenant” (Jer. 31: 31-34;

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