Date: December 18, 2023
Host: Jim Schneider
Guest: Frank Figueroa Jr.
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There are those who insist that believers in Christ should have nothing to do with Christmas or its observance. The guest on this edition of Crosstalk, and his fellow workers in ministry, have put together a book to address this important matter.
Frank Figueroa Jr. is a speaker and presenter for Reasons For Hope, a ministry dedicated to presenting, proclaiming and defending the biblical worldview. He has a Science Education degree from the University of Hawaii. He formerly served as pastor in Hawaii and now speaks to numerous youth camps, youth assemblies and private schools. He’s a contributor to the book, Glad You Asked! Answers to 12 Tough Questions About Christmas That You Need Answers For.
Is Christmas, as some would say, a pagan holiday? Frank said that the answer is both yes and no. He noted that there are some things used from past pagan traditions. However, the reason we celebrate Christmas is not due to any of those things. It’s because of the birth of Christ and ultimately so that he would die for our sins.
He used an example from the book, Glad You Asked. Imagine if Christians took the month of June, which is currently known as Pride Month, and began calling it Prayer Month, using it as a springboard to witness to the lost, especially those who are pro-pride. Then, if over time, Pride Month instead became known nationally as Prayer Month, 100 years from now would Christians feel as though we shouldn’t have taken a secular idea and turned it into something that we can use to serve the Lord’s purposes? No, of course not.
Listen to the discussion as Jim has Frank tackle tough questions that Christians sometimes debate concerning Christmas such as:
- Is having a Christmas tree a violation of Scripture similar to what we see in Jeremiah 10?
- Was December 25th the day that Christ was born on?
- How important is the virgin birth of Christ?
- How historically accurate are the typical nativity scenes?
- What do we know about the Star of Bethlehem?
Listeners capped this broadcast with numerous questions of their own.
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