Are Birthday Celebrations Christian? - Religion

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Are Birthday Celebrations Christian? - Religion - Nairaland

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Are Birthday Celebrations Christian? by Nobody: 9:48am On Oct 31, 2014

Birthday cakes. Lighted candles. Singing “Happy Birthday.” Receiving gifts. In almost every culture and nation on Earth, virtually nothing is as universally celebrated as birthdays. But is birthday-keeping biblical? Does God agree with this practice?

All human beings are born on a particular day. Everyone has a birth date. Since God wants people to celebrate life abundantly (John 10:10), could this include celebrating birthdays? Is birthday-keeping innocent fun—or does God hate it? Does it even matter?

When you read the Bible, God is talking to you! He shows you how to live a happy, fulfilling, abundant life. Pick up your “instruction manual” and examine what God says about birthdays.

Birthdays in the Bible
Birthday celebrations are mentioned in the Bible on three separate occasions and, in each case, something terrible occurred. These three accounts bear brief examination.

The first account is in Genesis. Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, celebrated his birthday by executing his chief baker (Gen. 40:1-23). God gave Joseph special understanding of a dream by Pharaoh’s butler and baker, that the baker would lose his life three days after Joseph interpreted the dream. Joseph understood that Pharaoh would use this occasion—his own birthday party—to put his baker to death. As the dream had foretold, the baker was hung at the party.

In the second account, the New Testament figure Herod the tetrarch reluctantly ordered the beheading of John the Baptist (Matt. 14:3-11). Notice verse six: “But when Herod’s birthday was kept…” During the dancing and merry-making at his birthday party, Herod got carried away and eventually made a promise that he did not want to keep. As a result, a great servant of God lost his life.

The final account is found in the book of Job. The Bible says that Job’s seven sons “went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them” (Job 1:4). These parties were obviously not centered around any kind of celebration related to God, or Job would not have worried that his children may have sinned during these celebration feasts. He was not exactly sure what was going on in their minds, but the very celebration of their birthdays triggered great concern in him (1:5). Apparently, during the birthday party of Job’s oldest son, God allowed Satan to kill all 10 of Job’s children through what appears to be a tornado (vs. 6-13, 18-19).

Further proof that these birthday celebrations displeased God is found in Job 3. Take time to read the entire chapter carefully. Job spends much time cursing every aspect of the day of his birth. The loss of all of his children, due to a birthday celebration, stunned and sobered him. His words make plain that there is nothing good about the day of a man’s birth. He openly cursed the day he was born. This will be shown to have greater meaning later in this article.

Some who are familiar with these accounts attempt to explain them away by saying that there is no statement contained within them that directly prohibits birthday celebrations. They also ignore Job’s comments described in the previous paragraph. It is true that the above scriptures do not contain a direct condemnation of birthdays starting with the phrase “Thou shalt not…” or something similar. But consider for a moment the central lesson of each of these accounts. They represent the only three birthday parties described in the entire Bible. Absolute disaster occurred on each occasion! If God felt birthday celebrations were something positive and good, why wouldn’t He have recorded one other account where something either good or positive happened? Yet, there is no such account.

What About the Birthdays of Well-known Bible Figures?
Surely the Bible records the birth dates of its most important figures. Does God not want those who serve Him to recognize these most important birthdays? Let’s search for the birth dates of some of God’s greatest servants.

Abraham is referred to three times in the Bible as God’s “friend” (II Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; Jms. 2:23). He is also called “the father of us all” (Rom. 4:16). Many verses demonstrate that he will play a very important role when the kingdom of God is established on Earth at Christ’s Second Coming. However, the Bible does not record the birth date of this truly great servant of God.

Moses was referred to as the meekest man on the face of the earth (Num. 12:3). Many verses describe this Bible figure and virtually everyone is familiar with him. The Bible does not tell us when he was born either.

The famous King David is called “a man after My [God’s] own heart” (Acts 13:21-22). Much of the Bible describes the life of this man. God used him to record a great many of the Psalms. When the kingdom of God is established on Earth, prophecy records that he will rule the tribes of Israel (Ezek. 34:23-31), called there the house of Israel. Surely the Bible records the date that this towering figure was born. It does not!

There is not one verse of Scripture describing anyone celebrating the births of these righteous men. In fact, the Bible is silent on the exact dates of the births of all God’s faithful servants—Jacob, Sarah, Noah, Abel, Samuel, Job, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Peter, Paul, James (Christ’s brother), and the rest of the apostles. Even the birth date of Jesus Christ goes unrecorded in the Bible!

The Christmas “Birthday Party”?
But what about Christmas? It is in the Bible, isn’t it? Doesn’t it celebrate Christ’s birth? Didn’t the wise men bring presents to baby Jesus because it was His birthday?

Study any reputable encyclopedia or visit a well-stocked public library and you will discover that Christmas was celebrated by immoral, pagan idol worshippers—people who many times sacrificed their children to pagan gods—2,000 years before Christ was born! December 25th originally marked the time of the winter solstice. These idol worshippers held pagan festivals to celebrate the “rebirth” of the sun when the days began to lengthen.

Let’s briefly examine the subject of the “wise men” who gave gifts to Christ. The scripture that describes this is in Matthew 2:1, 11: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews?…And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

It is commonly supposed that these were birthday presents for “baby Jesus.” But is this what the Bible actually says? Absolutely not! Also, they arrived well after His “birthday.” Notice that it refers to Christ as a “young child” rather than a baby. This is one more reason that the gifts brought to Him could not have been “birthday presents.”

A long-standing, ancient custom of the East was to present gifts when one came into the presence of a king. These men understood that they were in the presence of the “King of the Jews.” The Bible has many examples of people sending gifts to kings or presenting them upon arrival into the king’s presence. This custom is common today when ambassadors or others come into the presence of a world leader.

God does not even record the exact day His Son was born. And nowhere in the Bible can you find examples of Christ’s disciples or the New Testament Church celebrating His birthday. However, God does tell us the exact month and day when His Son died (Ex. 12; Lev. 23:4-5; Num. 9:1-5; Matt. 26:1-2; John 18:28; I Cor. 5:7). He expects all true Christians to observe that day annually, in the same month, on the same date (I Cor. 5:7- cool

.

Think for a moment! Every year, millions of professing Christians celebrate the supposed birthday of Jesus Christ. Yet they do not properly observe the day that Christ died, which God clearly identifies and records in great detail in His Word. He commands His followers to observe this memorial annually. Jesus warned about such misguided professing Christians, saying, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:6- cool

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How God Views Your Birthday
We have now established that the Bible records negative examples of birthday celebrations, while it is silent on celebrating, or even identifying, the birthdays of all of God’s faithful servants—including Christ.

But what does the Bible specifically say about your day of birth?

Most people think that the day of one’s birth is special. Celebrating it certainly does seem and feel like the right thing to do. Yet, Solomon was inspired to write, “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth” (Ecc. 7:1).

Like Job, Jeremiah also cursed the day of his own birth: “Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed…Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” (Jer. 20:14, 18).

If the day of our death is better than the day of our birth, and some of God’s greatest servants said that their birth date was far from being a special day, then how special can this day be? According to Scripture, it is not a time to express joy, sing and expect gifts, simply because one is born into the world on a specific date.

The Day of a Man’s Death
We have just read that the Bible explains the day of a man’s death is better than the day of his birth. This is a stunning statement. Most people do not think of death as particularly wonderful. When it happens to a family member or close friend, it is usually a day of terrible sadness and emotion. No matter how or when death comes, no one celebrates the event. The Bible describes death as an enemy and a defeat. Consider some of the following verses describing death. Keep in mind that the Bible still says this day is better than the day of birth.

Solomon also wrote, “As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit has he that has labored for the wind?” (Ecc. 5:15-16). Does this sound like a day to look forward to? The Bible still states that the day this verse describes is better than the day of one’s birth.

So this life is a physical, temporary existence. Once it is gone, it is gone forever. Considering this, what is so “happy” about a “birthday” into an ungodly, carnal-minded world, only to die and never see life again? Why celebrate being born into a world that is cut off from God’s divine guidance—a world of misery, confusion, poverty, ignorance, famine and disease—that could erupt into violence at any time.

When compared to the awesome future God has in store for us—becoming spirit beings who will never taste death and will not be limited to the physical laws of this material universe (read all of I Corinthians 15)—celebrating one’s physical birthday seems foolIsh.

In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs ordered businesses to close on their birthdays and gave enormous feasts for hundreds of servants. In ancient Greece, wealthy males joined birthday clubs composed exclusively of men who shared their birth date. Once a month, the club celebrated with a feast. When a member died, he left money to help pay for future parties. In Persia, noblemen observed their birthdays by barbecuing an ox, a camel and a donkey and serving hundreds of small cakes to the celebrants.

Modern birthday parties and celebrations by children take their form mainly from Germany, where the birthday child received gifts, chose a menu, and received a candle-ringed butter or jam cake. The book The Lore of Birthdays, by Ralph and Adelin Linton, gives a brief look at the history of birthday celebrations: “The Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit or demon who attended his birth and watched over him in life. This spirit had a mystic relation with the god on whose birthday the individual was born.”

The book continues: “The Romans also subscribed to this idea…This notion was carried down in human belief and is reflected in the guardian angel, the fairy godmother and the patron saint…The custom of lighted candles on the cakes started with the Greeks…honey cakes round as the moon and lit with tapers were placed on the temple altars of [the god Artemis]…Birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes…Lighted tapers and sacrificial fires have had a special mystic significance ever since man first set up altars to his gods. The birthday candles are thus an honor and tribute to the birthday child and bring good fortune.”

Saying “happy birthday” to friends and loved ones was society’s superstitious way of protecting them from evil spirits. Birthday thumps, bumps, pinches, etc., were said to bring luck and send away evil spirits. Party snappers, horns and other noisemakers were also intended to scare off bad-luck spirits.

It should now be clear that birthdays are not only unbiblical, they are pagan!

Why It Matters to God
Why does God care whether or not you celebrate birthdays? After all, it is a chance for you to give presents to someone and make him or her feel good. What could be wrong with this?

Here is what God commands: “Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed by them. For the customs of the people are vain” (Jer. 10:2, 3).

After God freed Israel from slavery, He clearly instructed them, “After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein you dwelt, shall you not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, where I bring you, shall you not do: neither shall you walk in their ordinances” (Lev. 18:3). God commanded that they not defile themselves with the practices and customs of the surrounding nations (vs. 24-29). “Therefore shall you keep My ordinance, that you commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that you defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God” (vs. 30).

This is an emphatic command from God. He does not want His servants dabbling in the customs of this world.

Realize that God hates all pagan customs and traditions—birthday celebrations are not an exception!

Re: Are Birthday Celebrations Christian? by Nobody: 10:24am On Oct 31, 2014

Is eating, bathing, sleeping, walking Christian?
Is independent day, children's day, worker's day etc Christian?

Op, everything is not explicit in the Bible. Bible is a guide unto which every other activities of man should fall in.

Also Op go and get yourself busy and stop asking whether it is Christian for your father to be your father.

Re: Are Birthday Celebrations Christian? by Nobody: 8:28am On Nov 02, 2014

Many things definitely make no sense and are useless as well as expensive.

adeitoro:
Is eating, bathing, sleeping, walking Christian?
Is independent day, children's day, worker's day etc Christian?

Op, everything is not explicit in the Bible. Bible is a guide unto which every other activities of man should fall in.

Also Op go and get yourself busy and stop asking whether it is Christian for your father to be your father.

Re: Are Birthday Celebrations Christian? by rocko9024: 4:43pm On Dec 10, 2014

Re: Are Birthday Celebrations Christian? by rocko9024: 9:11pm On Dec 27, 2014

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