The wave of disagreement over the world’s annual celebration of Christmas is spreading in Christendom as another big Nigerian denomination, Mountain of Fire and Miracles, appears to have turned its back to it.
Millions of conservative Christians the world over see Christmas as more a time of heightened commercial activity for money makers who hype it, and a celebration that has outlived its usefulness.
Others cautiously embrace it because, annually, the whole world reminds itself that God sent His Son as a sacrifice through His death and resurrection for the salvation of all who will believe.
Dr Daniel Olukoya, General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), says the church does not celebrate Christmas because it is unbiblical.
According to him, the MFM church has decided to henceforth engage members in various spiritual activities during such periods and other public holidays to discourage them from partaking in such an unscriptural celebration.
Olukoya made this known during the Wednesday Manner Water Service which coincided with the 2019 Christmas celebration at the Church’s Headquarters in Lagos.
He said that no book in the bible recorded the word ‘ Christmas’ or that Jesus was born on Dec. 25.
“If you really study the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, there is no word like Christmas.
“The Bible only recorded that the Shepherds were taking care of their flocks during a very cold season when they sighted the star that announced the birth of Jesus Christ.
“This cold period could be around April or May,’’ Olukoya said.
According to the general overseer, Dec. 25 is a date originally set aside by the ancient Romans for Mars festival by the worshippers of the sun.
Olukoya said that the birth of Christ was subsequently co-opted into the same date to give the Mars festival more popularity and then renamed ‘Christmas’.
He warned the modern Christians to stop promoting such an unbiblical celebration.
In a similar vein, Pastor Williams Folorunso Kumuyi, General Superintendent of Deeper Life Bible Church said in 2013 at its December retreat:-
“We don’t celebrate Christmas. It actually came from an idolatrous background. That is why you don’t hear us sing what they call Christmas carol. Never!
“When you find anybody coming in, or any leader, trying to introduce the idolatry of mystery Babylon, that they call Christmas and you want to bring all the Christmas carol saying that is the day that Jesus was born, and you don’t find that in the Acts of the Apostles or in the early church, then you don’t find that in my church either.
“If you don’t know that before, now you know. We are not trying to make the church turn like the world. We want it to be like Jesus Christ, and more like the Apostles.
“If you don’t have that mind with us, then you have permission to go to other places.”
Additional reports by younews.com