As Christians all over the world revel in the Christmas season, Pastor D.K. Olukoya, the founder, Mountain of Fire Ministries (MFM) has announced that such celebration or observation of the day is akin to idol-worshipping.
Mindless of rankling his congregants and Christians across the world, Pastor Olukoya said, “In Mountain of Fire, we don’t celebrate Christmas because the root is demonic. It is on scriptural records that Jesus Christ, when winding up his mission of salvation about two thousand years ago, expressed his ambivalence about finding faith in the world when he returns. He must have seen with precision the impending decadence awaiting Christendom after his departure,” Pastor Olukoya said.
The intrepid clergy told his members that instead of taking their children to Father Christmas, they should bring them to God for blessing, which he reckoned is more worthy. Pastor Olukoya is not alone in this controversial belief. A few years ago, Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, the head of Deeper Life Bible Church announced to his members and the world that his church does not celebrate the global holiday. He said, “We don’t celebrate Christmas nor sing Christmas carol because Christmas is of idolatrous background.”
Similarly, a publication by the Seventh Day Adventist Church stated, “We do not celebrate Christmas as the Birth of Christ per se since Christ was not born in December. He did not want us to celebrate His birth or He would have told us when He was born. It has become a money making celebration with Christ mixed in. It is a pagan ritual. We join in to be with the Family or friends to celebrate their friendship and love as a family gathering and for the Children. Easter too is a pagan holiday and we do not celebrate the Name but we honour Christ’s Resurrection and keep the day in mind on what He has done for us. We do not make an issue out of it but quietly honour Christ….it’s a gathering also for the Children. It is a personal choice.”
While the Redeemed Christian Church of God did not specifically denounce the celebration, one of its pastors, Bolade Oludairo once explained the origin of Christmas. He wrote: “Perhaps Christmas, the birthday of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, is easily the most popular worldwide celebration with hoopla, but do you know that the word Christmas is not written in the Bible? What then are the origin, myths, substance, warts and all, surrounding Christmas celebration? What are the Scriptural relevance and its significance to every Christian?
Indeed, Bible Scholars are not in agreement with December 25 as the exact birthday of Jesus Christ as some even claim that Jesus was born in February while others believe that December 25 actually has its origin in the Babylonian Cult calendar, as a day historically set aside for the worship of the cult Sun god.
This unpopular sentiment would, however, not stop the celebration of Christmas in many homes across the world.
