Christmas Tree, should I or should I not?

It is invaluable to read all that was published about the Christmas Tree in the Spirit of Prophecy and its custom both in timing and context before making a decision. When you examine the whole it may turn out that some are selectively quoting what they are looking for while omitting other passages that are not to their liking and goal.

      "Shall We Have a Christmas Tree?"—God would be well pleased if on Christmas each church would have a Christmas tree on which shall be hung offerings, great and small, for these houses of worship. [NOTE: REFERENCE IS MADE IN THIS ARTICLE TO CURRENT BUILDING PROJECTS. AS THE PRINCIPLES SET FORTH IN THIS CONNECTION ARE APPLICABLE TODAY, THESE SPECIFIC REFERENCES ARE LEFT IN THE ARTICLE.] Letters of inquiry have come to us asking, Shall we have a Christmas tree? Will it not be like the world? We answer, You can make it like the world if you have a disposition to do so, or you can make it as unlike the world as possible. There is no particular sin in selecting a fragrant evergreen and placing it in our churches, but the sin lies in the motive which prompts to action and the use which is made of the gifts placed upon the tree.  {AH 482.1} 

     The tree may be as tall and its branches as wide as shall best suit the occasion; but let its boughs be laden with the golden and silver fruit of your beneficence, and present this to Him as your Christmas gift. Let your donations be sanctified by prayer.  {AH 482.2}  

     Christmas and New Year celebrations can and should be held in behalf of those who are helpless. God is glorified when we give to help those who have large families to support.  {AH 482.3}  

     A Tree Laden With Offerings Is Not Sinful.—Let not the parents take the position that an evergreen placed in the church for the amusement of the Sabbath school scholars is a sin, for it may be made a great blessing. Keep before their minds benevolent objects. In no case should mere amusement be the object of these gatherings. While there may be some who will turn these occasions into seasons of careless levity, and whose minds will not receive the divine impress, to other minds and characters 

                                                                           483

these seasons will be highly beneficial. I am fully satisfied that innocent substitutes can be devised for many gatherings that demoralize.  {AH 482.4}  

     Provide Innocent Enjoyment for the Day.—Will you not arise, my Christian brethren and sisters, and gird yourselves for duty in the fear of God, so arranging this matter that it shall not be dry and uninteresting, but full of innocent enjoyment that shall bear the signet of Heaven? I know the poorer class will respond to these suggestions. The most wealthy should also show an interest and bestow their gifts and offerings proportionate to the means with which God has entrusted them. Let there be recorded in the heavenly books such a Christmas as has never yet been seen because of the donations which shall be given for the sustaining of the work of God and the upbuilding of His kingdom.—Adventist Home, pp. 482.1-483.1

The passage in Adventist Home, p. 482 is taken from paragraphs 15, 16 of 

RH, December 11, 1879 par. 1-17

Three years later…

In 1882 EGW said:

     In every church, however small, special efforts should be made to show our gratitude to God by bringing our offerings for his cause. Let those who desire a Christmas tree make its boughs fruitful with gifts for the needy, and offerings for the treasury of God. And let the children learn the blessedness of giving by bringing their little gifts to add to the offerings of their parents.—RH, December 26, 1882 par. 15

Do we see? This issue is not "a thus saith the Lord," you MUST have a Christmas tree. By 1882 she wrote plainly "Let those who desire a Christmas tree…" meaning that sound reasons would arise and develop to bring about a change, a reform, in motive, in purpose, and practice as the light of the Protestant Reformation would continue to increase in strength.

     The Reformation did not, as many suppose, end with Luther. It is to be continued to the close of this world's history. Luther had a great work to do in reflecting to others the light which God had permitted to shine upon him; yet he did not receive all the light which was to be given to the world. From that time to this, new light has been continually shining upon the Scriptures, and new truths have been constantly unfolding.—GC88:148.3

Now searching for "pagan customs":

     Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, the mystery of iniquity carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work. Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and his apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ. 

     This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the development of the “man of sin” foretold in prophecy as opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a masterpiece of Satan's power,—a monument of his efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will.—the Great Controversy, (1888) pp. 49.2-50.1

Can anyone show us any requirement made by God in the book of the law to keep holidays of pagan origins?

     What was the origin of the great apostasy? How did the church first depart from the simplicity of the gospel?—By conforming to the practices of paganism, to facilitate the acceptance of Christianity by the heathen. The apostle Paul declared, even in his day, “The mystery of iniquity doth already work.” [2 Thessalonians 2:7.] During the lives of the apostles the church remained comparatively pure. “But toward the latter end of the second century most of the churches assumed a new form, the first simplicity disappeared; and insensibly, as the old disciples retired to their graves, their children, along with new converts…came forward and new-modeled the cause.” [ROBINSON, IN HISTORY OF BAPTISM.] To secure converts, the exalted standard of the Christian faith was lowered, and as the result “a pagan flood, flowing into the church, carried with it its customs, practices, and idols.” [GAVAZZI'S LECTURES, P. 290.] As the Christian religion secured the favor and support of secular rulers, it was nominally accepted by multitudes; but while in appearance Christians, many “remained in substance pagans, especially worshiping in secret their idols.” [GAVAZZI'S LECTURES, P. 290.] 

     Has not the same process been repeated in nearly every church calling itself Protestant? As its founders, those who possessed the true spirit of reform, pass away, their descendants come forward and “new model the cause.” While blindly clinging to the creed of their fathers and refusing to accept any truth in advance of what they saw, the children of the reformers depart widely from their example of humility, self-denial, and renunciation of the world. Thus “the first simplicity disappears.” A worldly flood, flowing into the church, “carries with it its customs, practices, and idols.”—the Great Controversy, (1888) pp. 384.5-385.1

Our practices should be different from the world:

     Do Not Center Affections on Worldly Relatives.—We cannot serve God and the world at the same time. We must not center our affections on worldly relatives, who have no desire to learn the truth. We may seek in every way, while associated with them, to let our light shine; but our words, our deportment, our customs and practices, should not in any sense be molded by their ideas and customs. We are to show forth the truth in all our intercourse with them. If we cannot do this, the less association we have with them the better it will be for our spirituality.—Adventist Home, p. 462.1

The prohibition we are looking for was a few pages above and now I think I found it. It is in the same book, Adventist Home, Chap. 77 - Christmas. It comes from 

RH, December 11, 1879 par. 2

     Christmas—a Time to Honor God.—By the world the holidays are spent in frivolity and extravagance, gluttony and display.…Thousands of dollars will be worse than thrown away upon the coming Christmas and New Year's in needless indulgences. But it is our privilege to depart from the customs and practices of this degenerate age; and instead of expending means merely for the gratification of the appetite or for needless ornaments or articles of clothing, we may make the coming holidays an occasion in which to honor and glorify God.

     Christ should be the supreme object; but as Christmas has been observed, the glory is turned from Him to mortal man, whose sinful, defective character made it necessary for Him to come to our world. 

     Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, the royal King of heaven, laid aside His royalty, left His throne of glory, His high command, and came into our world to bring to fallen man, weakened in moral power and corrupted by sin, aid divine.…

     Parents should keep these things before their children and instruct them, line upon line, precept upon precept, in their obligation to God--not their obligation to each other, to honor and glorify one another by gifts and offerings.—Adventist Home, pp. 480.3-481.2

She also wrote further down in the same book:

     It is God's purpose to manifest through His people the principles of His kingdom. That in life and character they may reveal these principles, He desires to separate them from the customs, habits, and practices of the world.…—Adventist Home, p. 519.3

Strangely enough, after this 1879 statement made by EGW, the only two young pioneers that had anything to say about the "Christmas tree" were the messengers the Lord used to commence the message of Rev. 18:1, in the revelation of the "righteousness by faith" message of 1888. It was brought by Elder E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones.

Before 1888…

E. J. Waggoner in "The Signs of the Times" December 15, 1887:

     The Christmas exercises are expected to be such as shall harmonize with the spirit of the week of prayer. It is hoped that during that week all will have had such a sense of their dependence upon God, and of his abundant goodness, that they will feel it to be a very feeble expression of gratitude due, to give liberally for the missions, which are now languishing for want of means. It has been proposed that at the Christmas gathering, before the offerings are made, brief sketches of the different foreign missions be given; and a circular letter suggesting a programme for the evening, and giving statistics of the missions, has been prepared and sent out.

     Concerning the propriety of making gifts instead of receiving them on Christmas, nothing need be said. The plan has been tested abundantly. Some have thought that the children would be disappointed to see a Christmas tree with nothing on it for them; but our experience is that they are much better satisfied when the donations are for some worthy enterprise, and they are allowed to share in the giving, than when they are the recipients. With the latter plan there is always more or less envy, because some are more highly favored than others, while in the proposed plan there is no chance for envy; a lesson of unselfishness is taught, and the children prove the truth of the saying that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

     Sabbath-keepers who are isolated so that they cannot meet with others should spend the week of prayer in seeking God by themselves, following the course of the meetings as nearly as they can from a reading of the subjects. Their Christmas offerings may be sent to either of the Publishing Houses, or to the nearest Tract Society Secretary, and they will all be credited to the Foreign Mission Fund. W.—December 15, 1887 EJW, SITI 761.4-6

After 1888 General Conference meetings held in Minneapolis this is what was published:  

E. J. Waggoner in "The Present Truth" [UK] on July 27, 1893 published also the following:

"Pagan Customs" The Present Truth 9, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

     In the Echo of July 13, a correspondent who signs himself, "M. A. (Oxon)," and who was brought up in the Romish Church gives the following account of "the origin of the two principal feasts of the Romish Church, namely, Easter and Christmas, which have also been adopted by the chief systems of Christendom." The explanation is the same that is given by all ecclesiastical historians; but the re-statement of it may lead some one to inquire how the observance of Pagan festivals can be a part of Christianity. If the observance of Pagan ceremonies is not Paganism, what would be? But here is the article:-

     "The English word Easter is directly derived from the Chaldean word Ishtar, another name of Astarte or Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Philistines, Sidonians, and other heathen nations; the name was found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments. (See Layard's "Babylon and Nineveh," p. 629.)

     "If Eostre, as a correspondent remarks, is the name of a Saxon goddess, there can be no doubt that it is identical with or a transformation of Ishtar, and originated in Babylon, the mother and fountain head of all the idolatrous systems of antiquity.

     "A further and most conclusive proof of the purely Babylonian origin, not only of the word Easter, but also of the idolatrous rites and superstitious ceremonies connected with the festival of Easter in the Romish Church, is the fact that a Lent of forty days was observed by the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, in the spring of the year, is still observed by the Yezidis, or Pagan devil worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. Want of space forbids me giving further interesting details as to the spread of these Babylonian idolatries to distant countries, such as Mexico, where Humboldt found them to have been practiced from the earliest times, etc.

     "Another most remarkable fact is that in the third and fourth centuries the festival now observed under the name of Easter was then called Pasch, the same as in most European countries at the present day, as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, etc. Nor was there at that time the observance of a forty days' Lent. In the fifth century, however, when the Papacy had become utterly corrupt, all this was changed, and rapid strides were made in the introduction of Pagan rites and abominable idolatries, so that at the present day a Roman Catholic church can hardly be distinguished from a Chinese pagoda with its ten thousand idols.

     "Christmas.-At the winter solstice, they celebrated in Pagan Rome the feast of Saturn, the sun god, or Baal of the Babylonians. This feast, as regulated by Caligula, lasted five days; loose reins were given to drunkenness and revelry. This was precisely the way in which, according to Berosus, the drunken festival of the month Thebeth, answering to our December, in other words, the festival of Bacchus, was celebrated in Babylon; and many of the other observances still kept up in so-called Christian lands came from the very same quarter.

     "The candles, in some parts of England, lighted on Christmas Eve and used so long as the festive season lasts, were equally lighted by the Pagans on the eve of the festival of the Babylonian god, to do honour to him; for it was one of the distinguishing peculiarities of his worship to have lighted wax candles on his altars. The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt.

     "Many more irrefutable proofs might be given of the absolute identity of this so-called Christian festival with the festival observed at the same time of the year in Babylon of old, and in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt."—July 27, 1893 EJW, PTUK:263.1-264.3

…three years later…

This is what A. T. Jones published in "The American Sentinel" on Dec. 24, 1896:

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December 24, 1896

"Editorial" American Sentinel 11, 51 , pp. 401, 402.

     AMS this number of our paper is dated the day before Christmas, it might be expected that we should have something to say about the institution.

     If such be the expectation of any, they shall not be disappointed. We are willing to contribute what we may for the benefit of those who would celebrate this universal festival.

     We say this universal festival, not because we would be understood to say that Christianity is universal; but because the period now referred to as the "Christmas season" has been celebrated from time immemorial by all nations.

     That which is now particularly celebrated as the Christmas, is the remains of the ancient festival whose celebration covered a longer period of time. This festival season was celebrated in honor of the Sun; and December 25 especially in gladness and rejoicing at his annual birth and the beginning of his return victorious over the powers of darkness or night.

     In the reigns of Domitian and Trajan, Rome formally adopted from Persia the feast of the Persian sun-god Mithras, with December 25 as the birth festival of the unconquered sun—Natales invicti Solis. In the Louvre at Paris is the original of a mythological representation of this, which was found at Rome in a vault under the Capitol. It is entitled "Mithra Sacrificing the Bull." The central object of the piece is Mithra in a cavern sacrificing a bull. As already stated, Mithra represented the Sun; the bull was the symbol of the powers of night. The blood of the bull was to impart the power of regeneration. At the right hand in the cavern stands the Genius of Night with his torch turned down, extinguished. At the left stands the Genius of Day, with his torch held up, aflame. An inscription on the body of the bull reads: "To Mithra, the invincible Sun-God." The piece is intended to represent the victory of the Sun over the powers of darkness. This sacrifice was made annually at the winter solstice—the period that is now Christmas-time. Thus this annual festival was an established thing in the State and City of Rome.

     About the middle of the fourth century, the church of Rome adopted this festival, making the birthday of the Sun, December 25, the birthday of Christ. And in a few years the celebration of this festival of the sun had spread among the churches throughout the whole empire—east as well as west. In one of the homilies of Chrysostom, supposed to have been delivered on this festival day in A.D. 386, he expresses his own pleasure and "congratulates the people upon the progress made, through their zeal in establishing this new festival, which they had borrowed from the Western Church"; and "seems to speak of it as a custom imported from the West within ten years." The perverse-minded clergy readily sanctioned the practice and relieved all doubts, with the assurance that the festival which had been formerly celebrated as the birth of the real sun was a type of the festival of the birth of Christ, the Sun of Righteousness. And thus was established the Church festival of Christmas.

     There are other items connected with the celebration of the day, whose origin and meaning are also worth mentioning. One of these is the Christmas tree. Just as the day itself and its celebration were adopted from pagan Rome, the use of the tree was adopted from the pagan Germans. And just as the day is a relic of sun-worship, so also is the tree. In The Ladies Home Journal, for December, Mrs. Lyman Abbott says of "The Christmas Tree": "A German friend tells me that the true Christmas tree is 'not a mere show, decorated for the momentary amusement of children. It is a sublime symbol of the soul life of the Germanic people for a thousand years.'…The tree itself 'is the celestial sun-tree.'"

     Another item is the decoration of the houses and churches with vines, branches of trees, etc. This is derived from the sun-worshiping Druids of Britain. An early English writer says that the "trimmyng of the temples with hangyngs, flowers, boughs, and garlands, was taken of the heathen people, whiche decked their idols and houses with suche array." The ivy particularly was used in honor of Bacchus.

     Thus it is that Christmas day, the celebration of the day, and the appurtenances thereto, are all heathen and only relics of sun-worship.—December 24, 1896 ATJ, AMS 401.1-9 

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Finally, if you turn to Jeremiah 10:1-16 it is too plain to be misconstrued. This is the command of the Lord unto His covenant-keeping people through His prophet Jeremiah. This is a passage that is not considered nor explained in the entire SOP which is in fact a direct ancient prohibition unmistakenly well described.

The following is an e-mail I wrote Sat, Dec 14, 2019 at 9:29 AM in response to Pastor Doug Batchellor's misconstruing of Jeremiah 10 in one of his YouTube presentations. Take a look…

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Happy Sabbath,

In response to this video made by my beloved

https://youtu.be/54SvofrDuYs

Truly Pastor Doug misconstrues Jeremiah 10.

There is a SOP principle that inherently is derived from the Bible but you cannot find this sentence in the Bible. It comes from GC:598.3

The language of the Bible *should be explained* according to its obvious meaning, unless a symbol or figure is employed.—GC:598.3.

Also, the Bible is its own expositor.

The apostle says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” [2 Timothy 3:16, 17.] *The Bible is its own expositor.* One passage will prove to be a key that will unlock *OTHER* passages, and in this way light will be shed upon the hidden meaning of the word. By comparing different texts *treating on the same subject,* viewing their bearing on *EVERY* side, the true *meaning* of the Scriptures will be made evident.—CE:85.1

The Bible is its own expositor. Scripture is to be compared with scripture. The student should learn to view the word as a whole, *and to see the relation of its parts.*—Ed:190.2

Jeremiah 10:1-7 KJV

[1] Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: 

[2] Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 

[3] For *the customs of the people* are vain: *for one cutteth a tree* out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 

[4] They *deck it* with silver and with gold; *they fasten it with nails* and with hammers, that it move not. 

[5] They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. 

[6] Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 

[7] Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

Pastor Doug is conflating Jer. 10:1-5 with Isa. 44:8-20

Isaiah 44:8-20 KJV

[8] Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. 

[9] *They that make a graven image* are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. 

[10] Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? 

[11] Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. 

[12] The smith with the tongs both *worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms:* yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. 

[13] *The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man,* according to the beauty of a man; that *it may remain in the house.*

[14] He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. 

[15] Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, *he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image,* and falleth down thereto. 

[16] He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: 

[17] And the residue thereof *he maketh a god, even his graven image:* he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.

[18] They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. 

[19] And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, *I have burned part of it in the fire;* yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and *shall I make the residue thereof an abomination?* shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? 

[20] He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

…and in the process Pastor Doug is destroying the distinction that God clearly gives to Jer. 10 that appears no where else in the Bible.

Being that this is a pagan custom that has an ancient origin it would have been known by Ancient Israel. Consider to whom and why Jeremiah wrote and where Israel was heading for their 70-year captivity. Do you believe that although God is punishing Israel for their wicked ways that He would be pushing them also into Idol worship? 

No. He would have warned them and expected them all to live out their peculiar faith in the midst of idolatry for failing to do so in their own land under His protection and direction in their theocracy.

Clearly, the Bible could never be confused about the difference between 

Jer. 10:1-5

1. Cutting
2. Decorating and
3. Fastening a tree from the Forrest 

With

Isa. 44:8-20

1. Making a graven image
2. Using tools with strength of his arms
3. It appears as the beauty of a man.

I don’t like to correct my elders but this one is necessary for if left uncorrected how in other areas will the like be repeated and the Elder grow deeper in his blindness.

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"Learn not" means exactly what the Lord said. If we are not to learn it how then shall we practice it?

Matters not those who advocate a thing. What matters is "a thus saith the Lord." Beware of those in the name of the Lord who are representing Him in an official capacity and speaking contrary to the law and the Testimony.