From Newsgroup: alt.bible.prophecy

Isn't Exchanging Gifts Scriptural?

But when it comes to the most important part of all in this Christmas observance--the Christmas shopping season--the buying and exchanging of gifts--many will exclaim triumphantly, "Well, at least the Bible tells
us to do that! Didn't the wise men give gifts when Christ was born?"

Again, we are due for some surprises, when we learn the plain truth.
First, let's look at the historic origin of trading gifts back and
forth, then see exactly what the Bible does say about it.

From the Bibliotheca Sacra, volume 12, pages 153-155, we quote: "The interchange of presents between friends is alike characteristic of
Christmas and the Saturnalia, and must have been adopted by Christians
from the Pagans, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows."

The fact is, this custom fastened upon people of exchanging gifts with
friends and relatives at the Christmas season has not a single trace of Christianity about if, strange though that may seem! This does not
celebrate Christ's birthday nor honor it or Him! Suppose someone you
love has a birthday. You want to honor that person on his or her
birthday. Would you lavishly buy gifts for everyone else, trading gifts
back and forth with all your other friends and loved ones, but ignore completely any gift for the one whose
birthday you are honoring? Rather absurd, when viewed in that light,
isn't it?

Yet this is exactly what people the world over are doing! They honor a
day that is not Christ's birthday by spending every dime they can scrape together in buying presents to trade back and forth among friends and relatives. But I can say by years of experience, as I believe most
pastors and ministers can say, that when the month of December rolls
around, nearly all professing Christians forget to give gifts to Christ
and His cause almost altogether! December often is the most difficult
month to keep Christ's work from dying! People are too busy trading
gifts back and forth among themselves to think of Him and His Work, it
seems. Then, in January and even into February it seems they have to
catch up from what they spent for Christmas, so they seldom get back to
normal in supporting Christ and His Work before March!

Now consider what the Bible says about the wise men giving gifts when
Christ was born. It is in Matthew 2:1-11. "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea 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 His gifts;
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."


Title: The Plain Truth About Christmas
Author: Herbert W Armstrong
Date: 1952, 1972, 1974
Type: Booklet
Type Media: PDF

https://cog-hwa.org/pub/bb/xmas.pdf

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