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Related Reflections and Further Reading

The articles linked here are not intended to be exhaustive treatments of the issues addressed in this appendix, nor do they approach the same level of academic or historical depth. Rather, they serve to set the theological and pastoral framework—introducing the questions, tensions, and categories that make a more detailed examination both necessary and meaningful. This appendix builds upon that foundation by engaging Scripture, history, and doctrine more directly, offering a focused and sustained treatment of the themes introduced earlier.

1. https://tomnicholas.org/2025/12/07/the-god-who-speaks-human-anthropological-missiology-in-genesis-article-1/
2. https://tomnicholas.org/2025/12/08/the-god-who-makes-covenant-how-god-uses-ancient-culture-to-reveal-himself-article-2/
3. https://tomnicholas.org/2025/12/09/the-god-who-shapes-a-people-wisdom-worship-and-sacred-space-as-missiological-language-article-3/
4. https://tomnicholas.org/2025/12/10/the-god-who-reveals-apocalyptic-symbol-cultural-imagery-and-the-mission-of-christ-article-4/
5. https://tomnicholas.org/2025/12/11/redeeming-the-song-of-a-people-what-i-witnessed-on-the-colville-reservation/
6. https://tomnicholas.org/2025/12/12/when-context-becomes-compromise/
7. https://tomnicholas.org/2025/12/13/redeeming-culture-without-losing-christ-article-7/

Cultural Symbols, Pagan Roots, and the Nature of Christian Worship

Questions surrounding Christmas, Easter, and their associated symbols often arise from a sincere desire to honor God without compromise. Many believers, upon learning that certain cultural elements have pre-Christian or non-Christian origins, wonder whether continued participation constitutes syncretism or disobedience.

To answer this faithfully, Scripture requires us to distinguish carefully between worship, culture, and theological allegiance. Without these distinctions, the church risks either careless accommodation or unnecessary fear.

1. Worship in Scripture: Intentional Allegiance, Not Cultural Proximity

Biblically, worship is never defined merely by external form or historical association. Worship is an act of intentional allegiance, directed trust, and covenantal loyalty.

Jesus defines true worship not by location, ritual, or inherited form, but by spirit and truth (John 4:23–24). Likewise, the first commandment forbids not cultural artifacts, but rival gods: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).

Throughout Scripture, idolatry is consistently portrayed as:

• intentional devotion (Isaiah 44:17),
• misplaced trust (Jeremiah 17:5),
• or covenantal betrayal (Ezekiel 14:3).

It is never portrayed as accidental participation in cultural artifacts devoid of devotional intent.

This distinction matters when considering passages often cited in discussions of Christmas symbolism. Jeremiah 10:1–5, for example, describes the crafting and worship of idols—trees shaped, adorned, and bowed before as gods. The prophetic critique is aimed at manufactured deities, not at the use of wood, decoration, or festivity in itself. The text condemns worship, not material culture.

A symbol becomes idolatrous not because of its material or history, but because of what it is asked to do—what it is trusted for, honored as, or revered in place of God (Exodus 20:4–5).

2. The Early Church: Participation Without Worship

The earliest Christians lived fully embedded within pagan cultures. They did not withdraw from society wholesale, nor did they fear cultural contamination through proximity. Their concern was sharply focused: participation in idol worship.

Justin Martyr (2nd century) defended Christians against accusations of atheism by explaining that while they refused to worship pagan gods, they did not reject all aspects of Greco-Roman culture. Tertullian likewise distinguished between civic participation and religious devotion, arguing that Christians could live within Roman society so long as worship remained undivided.

What governed early Christian discernment was not the origin of a practice, but whether it required an act of worship or allegiance contrary to Christ.

This principle explains why the early church:

• rejected sacrifices to the gods,
• refused emperor worship,
• but continued to use Roman roads, language, calendars, and civic structures.

Culture was not feared. Worship was guarded.

3. The Christian Calendar and the Reclaiming of Time

As Christianity moved from a persecuted minority to a public faith, the church increasingly sought to reclaim time itselffor Christian proclamation. Existing cultural rhythms—winter festivals, spring celebrations, communal feasts—were reoriented toward the story of Christ.

This was not initially driven by theological compromise, but by missional instinct: to proclaim Christ within the shared life of society rather than outside it.

The celebration of Christ’s birth and resurrection emerged not as commanded observances, but as testimonies—confessional acts that narrated the gospel within familiar cultural structures.

Here, anthropological missiology is clearly at work:

• the incarnation proclaimed within human calendars,
• redemption announced within seasonal rhythms,
• Christ named publicly within communal memory.

The church did not claim divine mandate for these dates. They functioned as proclamations, not laws.

4. When Symbols Drift: From Proclamation to Displacement

While cultural symbols are not worship in themselves, Scripture is clear that the human heart is capable of displacement. Jesus warns that devotion cannot be divided indefinitely (Matthew 6:24), and Paul cautions against hearts being “taken captive” by lesser allegiances (Colossians 2:8).

Over time, cultural elements surrounding Christmas and Easter accumulated layers of meaning:

• folklore,
• sentimentality,
• commercial excess,
• and fantasy.

In modern contexts, the dominant threat is not ancient paganism, but secular consumerism—a rival catechesis that trains desire toward acquisition, nostalgia, and self-indulgence (Luke 12:15).

This is not syncretism in the classic religious sense, but it is still displacement. The center of meaning subtly shifts away from Christ.

The biblical response, however, is not reactionary rejection but intentional re-centering.

5. The Magi as a Biblical Corrective

Matthew’s account of the Magi provides a striking counter-narrative (Matthew 2:1–12). These Gentile seekers bring gifts, not as cultural excess, but as acts of worship. Their gifts are costly, intentional, and Christ-centered.

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh do not function as entertainment or reward, but as symbols of honor, sacrifice, and service.

Here Scripture offers a redemptive model:

• giving as worship,
• generosity as devotion,
• celebration as reverence.

When Christian households frame celebration through this lens, cultural practices are subordinated to worship rather than allowed to replace it.

6. A Biblical Principle for Discernment

Scripture does not ask believers to interrogate every cultural practice for distant historical associations. Instead, it calls believers to examine:

• allegiance (Matthew 22:37),
• worship (John 4:24),
• obedience (John 14:15),
• and fruit (Matthew 7:16).

Where Christ remains Lord, cultural symbols lose absolute power. Where Christ is displaced, even Christian traditions become hollow.

The question, therefore, is not whether a symbol once existed outside Christian use, but whether it now serves the lordship of Christ or competes with it.

Conclusion: Freedom Guarded by Faithfulness

Christian freedom is not carelessness, and faithfulness is not fear. Scripture calls the church to joyful obedience where God has commanded and humble discernment where He has allowed freedom.

Christmas and Easter, rightly understood, belong to the latter category. They are not tests of loyalty, but opportunities for proclamation.

Where Christ is worshiped, culture may be engaged.
Where Christ is displaced, even tradition must be reformed.

Next: Appendix B