Holidays: Biblical Liberty or Pagan Syncretism?
Holidays: Biblical Liberty or Pagan Syncretism?
How Biblical Categories Reveal God’s Will
Part 1: The Controversy and the Corban Connection
There is a huge—and long-standing— disagreement among Christians about whether Christmas and Easter are pagan or Christian holidays. To be clear from the beginning, this is not against celebrating Jesus; it is about the form chosen for that celebration.
The irony is this: those who religiously practice these holidays often accuse those of us who reject them of being Pharisaical—when the reverse is actually true. It is those who observe Christmas and Easter religiously who have made the commandments of God of no effect by their traditions, which was one of Jesus’ strongest condemnations of the Pharisees. He said by doing this, they made their worship vain and empty (Mark 7:5-13 & Matthew 15:2-9).
In this study, we will clarify which commands we are to obey, even in the New Covenant, and where our Christian liberties have been stretched in this context to the point of breaking those commandments.
Make no mistake, this is about being obedient to the New Testament commandments:
“If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
For those who haven’t caught on to why keeping God’s commandments is so essential, let me explain. It was breaking God’s commandments that brought all the pain, sickness, evil, and death into the world, and it was keeping God’s commandments, as Jesus exemplified for us, that is God’s remedy for all such pain, sickness, evil, and death. All of that will only go away when God’s righteousness rules the world in every heart. And you know what they say, “if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
That’s why it’s so essential to say, with Joshua sincerely:
“Now therefore fear Yahweh, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve Yahweh. If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.” (Joshua 24:14-15)
The question is, which one of us is keeping the NT commandments: those who defend their Christian liberty to adopt known practices of the world into their worship and claim it is more beneficial than refusing, or those who denounce such as forbidden syncretism with the world as commanded by NT Scripture?
Of course, we don’t expect to convince everyone, any more than Jesus convinced the Pharisees. Some people don’t want to conform to the truth; they want to be left alone in their traditions. But that doesn’t mean we can’t, as Jesus did, take the time to set the record straight for those who are willing to put traditions of men to the test and scrutiny of Scripture.
And if there is anything obvious about this topic, it’s this incontrovertible fact: neither the apostles nor any New Testament scriptures established yearly observation of Jesus’ birthday or resurrection as holy days. That fact alone places the practice in the category of men’s traditions from the start.
So, let’s examine what Scripture actually says—and where both sides may be getting it wrong.
The Pharisees’ Error: Corban
To understand the issue, we must first understand what made the Pharisees’ traditions so condemned by Jesus.
“They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ “For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” He said to them, ‘Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother,” and, “He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.” But you say, “If a man tells his father or his mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban,’” (that is to say, given to God), “then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down.’” (Mark 7:9-13)
Here’s what happened:
God commanded: “Honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12) – which included financial support in their old age.
The Pharisees reasoned: “Therefore, financial support is a religious obligation. Religious obligations are Corban (devoted to God). Therefore, we can dedicate that money to religious purposes instead of giving it to our parents.”
The logic sounded religious: “This money is devoted to God!”
But the result was: God’s actual command was nullified.
Jesus’ verdict: “You make void the word of God by your tradition.”
This wasn’t just about money—it was about using religious reasoning to bypass God’s actual commands. Jesus said they did many things like this.
The Same Pattern Today
Now consider the Christmas/Easter debate:
God commanded: “You shall not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ You shall not do so to Yahweh your God.” (Deuteronomy 12:30-31)
It wasn’t only about worshiping their gods: it was also about not adopting the customs they used in the worship of those gods.
When idolatry is identified, the line is drawn by God, not by us. “How do these nations serve their gods…? You shall not do so…” Why? Because God calls that a form of idolatry.
Modern reasoning: “We have Christian liberty. Romans 14 says not to judge about days. We’re worshiping Jesus, not pagan gods.”
The logic sounds biblical: “We’re free in Christ!”
But here’s the issue: Paul does give us liberty, but at the same time, he also prescribes its unmovable boundary: “If one of those who don’t believe invites you to a meal… eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions for the sake of conscience. But if anyone says to you, ‘This was offered to idols,’ don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you…” (1 Corinthians 10:27–28)
Earlier, the conscience sake of one’s host wasn’t even mentioned in the context in which we are commanded against syncretism in the New Testament; it is much broader:
“What agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk in them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you. I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16–18).
Paul didn’t negate himself or correct himself between chapters 6 and 10. Rather, in chapter 10, he clarified the directive:
- Not identified: Liberty to partake.
- Identified: “Do not eat,” “touch no unclean thing.”
Paul shows that even in neutral contexts, the line is crossed into a forbidden practice when someone specifically identifies the meat’s idolatrous origin: “But if anyone says to you, ‘This was offered to idols,’ don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you” (1 Corinthians 10:28).
The line is this: whether something has been identified as originating in pagan worship practices. Nothing more, nothing less.
Paul establishes a clear two-part test:
Test 1: What is the context?
- Neutral (marketplace, dinner party, cultural customs) = “eat whatever is set before you” (1 Corinthians 10:27)
- Worship (religious observance, “table of idols”) =“Touch no unclean thing” (2 Corinthians 6:17)
Test 2: Have the origins been identified?
- Unidentified = Liberty remains (eat whatever, even for formerly offered meat)
- Identified as idolatrous = “Do not eat” (1 Corinthians 10:28)
Christmas fails both tests:
- Context: Religious observance (worship services, “holy days”) = forbidden practice
- Identification: Pagan origins thoroughly documented and identified
Paul’s instruction is absolute: “Touch no unclean thing” (2 Corinthians 6:17). Christmas defenders make Paul’s commands of no effect by collapsing the distinction between liberty and prohibition—precisely what the Pharisees did with Corban.
This has crucial implications: The pagan origins of Christmas customs have been thoroughly documented and widely explicitly identified. Yet now some scholars are attempting to dismiss these origins, claiming they’re either uncertain or irrelevant—effectively trying to un-identify what has been thoroughly identified. But they do not have the authority to override centuries of documentation and put the genie back in the bottle. Once identified, Paul’s instruction is explicit: “Do not eat.” (See Part 4 for more on this).
The fact is, we are in the position of having been told, “This was offered to idols.” According to Paul’s instruction, continued participation wounds the consciences of those who have identified these origins and creates a stumbling block to weaker brothers, which Paul identifies as “sin against Christ” (1 Corinthians 8:12). This is a clear case of making God’s commandment of no effect by tradition—specifically, Paul’s commandment not to eat once idolatry has been identified.
If the ‘anyone’ who identifies idolatrous origins (v. 28) includes the mountain of historic documentation about Christmas customs, then what of the scholar, teacher, or theologian who encourages you to partake anyway? In that very moment, they become the ones seducing you to “eat things sacrificed to idols”—precisely what Jesus condemned in Revelation 2 (which we will return to).
Where did Paul get this principle? From the Old Testament, our schoolmaster. He had just explained:
“However, with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Don’t be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.’” (1 Corinthians 10:5-7)
What transgression was Paul describing? Idolatry. What incident was Paul referencing? The golden calf. The verse Paul quotes— “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play”—comes directly from Exodus 32:6, which describes the feast Aaron proclaimed “to Yahweh” using the golden calf:
“He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.’ They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” (Exodus 32:4-6)
Here, Paul himself uses the Old Testament as the foundation for his case against this specific form of idolatry, and the example he chooses is Aaron’s syncretism: a feast proclaimed “to Yahweh” that employed pagan worship forms.
Think about this context. God was leading the people into the Promised Land—a land overrun by idolaters. Aaron wasn’t teaching them to enter pagan temples and assimilate into heathen worship. And he wasn’t telling them to go worship foreign gods. He was doing something far more subtle and dangerous: he was teaching them to bring pagan customs into the worship of Yahweh.
Notice what Aaron did NOT say. He didn’t say, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the golden calf,” or to Moloch, or to any other pagan deity. He said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to YAHWEH.” Today’s Christmas observers claim, “If you choose to celebrate Christmas, do it as unto God.” But that’s exactly what Aaron did. He claimed to be honoring their God by name with a form borrowed from Egypt’s bull-god worship. God saw it as idolatry anyway. This was syncretism—mixing pagan worship forms with worship of the true God. And God’s response wasn’t that He was pleased because they decided to “redeem a pagan culture” into service unto the true and living God. No. His response was swift judgment against it, and 3,000 died as a result that day (Exodus 32:28).
That same event is where Paul says he got his authority to call such syncretism of practices, “being idolaters.” Not worshiping other gods—but using pagan forms to worship Yahweh. God made no distinction. Paul made no distinction. Syncretism IS idolatry.
The Consistent Biblical Pattern: God’s Unchanging Opposition to Syncretism
The golden calf wasn’t an isolated incident. From the Old Testament through the New, God’s opposition to mixing pagan worship forms with worship of Him remains absolute and consistent.
Israel’s Later Syncretism: The Same Pattern, The Same Judgment
After the golden calf, you might think Israel learned their lesson. They didn’t. Centuries later, God sent them into exile for the same error:
“They feared Yahweh, and also served their own gods, after the ways of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. To this day they do what they did before. They don’t fear Yahweh, and they do not follow the statutes, or the ordinances, or the law, or the commandment which Yahweh commanded the children of Jacob… However, they didn’t listen, but they did what they did before. So these nations feared Yahweh, and also served their engraved images. Their children did likewise, and so did their children’s children. They do as their fathers did to this day.” (2 Kings 17:33-41)
Notice the pattern:
- “They feared Yahweh, AND also served their own gods.”
- “They didn’t listen, but they did what they did before.”
- This continued generationally: “Their children did likewise… to this day.”
This is syncretism: claiming to worship Yahweh while mixing in practices from pagan worship. God’s verdict? Exile. Total rejection. These people thought they were being balanced—honoring both Yahweh and redeeming cultural traditions. If the OT schoolmaster wanted to teach us that it was acceptable to God to “redeem” pagan practices in worship to God, these kinds of situations would have been perfect examples. But God did not declare any redeeming qualities about it. God called the whole concept covenant-breaking.
Jeremiah’s Warning: Don’t Learn the Ways of the Nations
God gave explicit, detailed warnings through the prophets about this very pattern:
“Hear the word which Yahweh speaks to you, house of Israel! Yahweh says, ‘Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don’t be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax. They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that it can’t move. They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak. They must be carried, because they can’t move. Don’t be afraid of them; for they can’t do evil, neither is it in them to do good.’” (Jeremiah 10:1-5)
Now, some will say, “This is about carved idols, not Christmas trees!” But look at what God is actually prohibiting:
- “Don’t learn the way of the nations” – Don’t adopt how pagans do things.
- “The customs of the peoples are vanity” – Their practices are worthless.
- The specific example given involves cutting trees and decorating them.
Whether this passage directly addresses modern Christmas trees or not is immaterial. That would be like saying only the washing of pots and cups and the Corban principle applied to the traditions of the Pharisees, which Jesus condemned. That misses the point. The true principle in either case is unmistakable: breaking God’s commandments is what is at stake. God forbids His people from learning or adopting any of the customs and practices of pagan nations in the context of worshiping Him.
The Continuity from the Old Testament to the New Testament
This isn’t just Old Testament law that passed away. Paul explicitly carries this forward:
In Galatians 4:8-11, Paul addresses believers who are drifting back into observing pagan calendar days:
“However, at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental principles, to which you desire to be in bondage all over again? You observe days, months, seasons, and years. I am afraid for you, that I might have wasted my labor for you.”
Notice:
- These are believers (“you have come to know God”)
- They’re observing calendar days tied to their pagan past
- Paul doesn’t say “Well, you’ve redeemed those days now”
- He says he fears his work among them was wasted
In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Paul quotes directly from the Old Testament prophets to make his point about separation:
“Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship do righteousness and iniquity have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what portion does a believer have with an unbeliever? What agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk in them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore ‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you. I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
Paul is quoting from:
- Leviticus 26:12 (“I will walk among you”)
- Isaiah 52:11 (“Touch no unclean thing”)
- 2 Samuel 7:14 (“I will be a father to you”)
This shows the continuity: The Old Testament’s call to separation from pagan practices is carried forward into the New Testament church. It wasn’t abolished—it was reinforced.
The rhetorical force of Paul’s point is that there is no agreement whatsoever. If Paul was permitting that their customs be redeemed from the cultural, then Paul was in the wrong to be so absolute. Paul leaves no room for “redeeming culture” for Christ. That suggestion or permission is nowhere hinted at in Paul’s exhortation: “don’t eat.”
The Pattern is Unbroken
From Exodus to Revelation, God’s message is consistent:
- Exodus 32: Aaron mixes Egyptian worship forms with worship of Yahweh → 3,000 die
- Deuteronomy 12:30-31: Explicit command not to inquire how pagans worship and do likewise
- 2 Kings 17: Israel mixes worship of Yahweh with pagan customs → Exile
- Jeremiah 10: Don’t learn the way of the nations or their customs
- Galatians 4: Paul rebukes observing pagan calendar days
- 1 Corinthians 10: Paul cites the golden calf as our example not to be idolaters
- 2 Corinthians 6: Touch no unclean thing—be separate
- Revelation 2: Jesus threatens judgment on churches that tolerate teachers who lead people to eat things sacrificed to idols
This isn’t a few isolated verses taken out of context. This is the consistent, unbroken testimony of Scripture from Exodus to Revelation: God will not tolerate mixing pagan worship forms with worship of Him, regardless of sincere intentions.
The question isn’t whether these passages exist—they clearly do. The question is whether we will take God at His word.
The question now is: Is this the same Corban error? Our answer is yes. Their answer is no. Let’s take a closer look at the similarities.
While Exodus 20:12 doesn’t explicitly say “financial support,” Jesus and Paul both interpret it that way, and the broader scriptural context supports this interpretation:
- Proverbs 19:26 – “robbing” father implies financial obligation
- Proverbs 23:22 – don’t despise mother “when she is old” implies continued care
- The negative command (Exodus 21:17) – cursing parents = death, so positive honor must be substantial
- Paul’s interpretation (1 Timothy 5:8) – explicitly connects honor with financial provision
- The principle of Lex Talionis – If dishonoring brings death, honoring must include serious obligations
- Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees – If what Jesus said wasn’t a known case, His point would not have made sense or had any impact. The Pharisees knew exactly what they were doing; the issue wasn’t clarity but their presumption of authority to override God’s command.
Here’s the Corban connection: If the principle Jesus referred to regarding financial support was biblically clear enough to condemn the Pharisees for negating it, the commandments against syncretism were much clearer and inescapable.
The Missing Biblical Precedent: Where is ‘Cultural Redemption’ in Scripture?
Defenders of Christmas often appeal to the idea of “redeeming culture” or “baptizing pagan practices for Christ.” It sounds liberating. It sounds like personal conviction. But this raises a critical question: Where in Scripture does God ever accept pagan-originated worship forms as ‘redeemed’ for His worship?
Consider the examples typically given:
“We redeem marriage, music, sexuality, food, and drink from the world’s abuse.”
But examine these more carefully:
- Marriage – Instituted by God in Genesis 2:24, BEFORE any pagan culture
- Music – Created by God, commanded in the Psalms for worship
- Sexuality – Designed by God in Genesis 1-2
- Food and drink – God’s provision from creation
Notice the pattern: These are all God’s original designs that pagans corrupted. Since these aren’t practices that started in pagan worship, there is no moral equivalence between them and what God has absolutely forbidden. Therefore, it is not biblically, logically, or morally accurate to say that Christians are “redeeming pagan practices” when all we’re really doing in such cases is restoring God’s design to its proper use.
That’s completely different from adopting practices that originated in pagan worship and bringing them into worship of God. And therefore, it would be not only dishonest to attempt to use these as evidence of “redeeming culture” for God, but it becomes the precise moment when and where someone is taught to eat things sacrificed to idols.
The answer: when it comes to worship, God unequivocally never approved any practices whatsoever that originated in pagan forms of worship. He remained absolutely resolute in His commandment: “You shall not inquire after their gods… you shall not do so to Yahweh your God.”
The question stands: Can anyone show even ONE biblical example where:
- Pagans invented a worship practice, form, or date
- God’s people adopted it into worship of Yahweh
- God accepted or approved it
The answer is: No such example exists.
Instead, the biblical pattern is absolute and consistent:
Every time God’s people adopted pagan worship forms, God judged against it:
- Golden calf (Egyptian form) → 3,000 died (Exodus 32)
- High places (Canaanite worship sites) → Condemned, destroyed (2 Kings 23)
- Asherah poles (Canaanite symbols) → Cut down, burned (Deuteronomy 12:3)
- Syncretism with pagan gods → Exile (2 Kings 17)
- Observing pagan calendar days → Paul feared his labor was wasted (Galatians 4:11)
NOT ONCE does Scripture show God accepting pagan-originated worship practices as “redeemed culture.”
The “cultural redemption” principle, therefore, has:
- No biblical examples
- No biblical commands
- No biblical precedent
- And a consistent biblical pattern against it
This means the Christmas defense rests entirely on a theological concept that doesn’t exist in Scripture while ignoring explicit commands that do exist: “You shall not inquire after their gods… you shall not do so to Yahweh your God” (Deuteronomy 12:30-31).
That isn’t proper Biblical exegesis; that is sneaky eisegesis posing as exegesis. The Bible calls that handling the word of God deceitfully (2 Corinthians 4:2). And those who justify it? The Bible also condemns being partakers in others’ sins (1 Timothy 5:22).
Part 1 Conclusion
All of this evidence together supports the conclusion that Christmas observance aligns with two biblical errors simultaneously:
- The Corban Error: Like the Pharisees, defenders make void God’s commandments by their traditions
- The Golden Calf Error: Like Aaron, they bring pagan customs into the worship of Yahweh
Both were condemned absolutely by God.
Mixing worship customs taken from other gods remains a New Testament forbidden fruit.
“You can’t both drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You can’t both partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:21–22)
God has always drawn a line here. It was true under the Old Covenant, and it remains true under the New.
Thus, syncretism is still a sin: It breaks God’s inter-testamental command against adopting pagan worship forms and makes His word of no effect.
Part 2: Understanding the Three Biblical Categories
This seems to be where most of the confusion comes from. We must understand how Scripture categorizes human practices. This is where both sides often get confused. Understanding these three categories makes all the difference in being able to clearly distinguish and discern what is happening on either side, not merely by considering the symptoms but by understanding the very root cause of the controversy.
Scripture itself forces us to distinguish between different types of human practice. Simply put, not everything cultural is condemned — and not everything a “Christian” practices automatically becomes sanctified. Scripture distinguishes three categories that we’ll call Category A, B, and C for “Commands,” “Neutral,” and “Forbidden” respectively:
CATEGORY A: Worship Commanded by God
Examples:
- Baptism (Matthew 28:19)
- Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
- Assembly (Hebrews 10:25)
- Prayer, Scripture reading, giving
Status: Required by command
Liberty applies: No—these types of things are commanded.
CATEGORY B: Culturally Neutral Practices
Examples:
- Days of the week with pagan names (Thursday = Thor’s day)
- Months with pagan names (January = Janus, March = Mars)
- Wedding rings and cultural customs
- Food previously offered to idols (when bought in the marketplace)
- Using buildings for worship, musical instruments
- National holidays without religious meaning
Status: Permitted by liberty
Liberty applies: Yes—“Let each be convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5)
Key principle:
“Whatever is sold in the butcher shop, eat it, asking no questions for conscience’ sake” (1 Corinthians 10:25)
These practices:
- Have no current religious function
- Are linguistic or cultural artifacts
- Fall under Christian liberty
CATEGORY C: Forbidden Pagan Worship Forms Adopted as Christian Worship
Defining characteristics:
- Originated in worship of false gods (not neutral cultural development)
- Dates were sacred to those gods
- Symbols were worship acts for those gods
- Now practiced AS religious worship (not neutral participation)
Status: Forbidden as syncretism
Liberty applies: No—God already drew this line
Key Scriptures (worth repeating):
“Be careful…that you not inquire after their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.” You shall not do so to Yahweh your God” (Deuteronomy 12:30-31)
“They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods” (2 Kings 17:33)—This was condemned
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21)
The Critical Distinction
What determines the category is not simply: “Does it have pagan history?”
But rather: “Was it invented AS worship of other gods, and is it now practiced AS Christian worship?”
This is God’s boundary line: “You shall not learn the ways of the nations.” (Jeremiah 10:2) “You shall not do so to Yahweh your God.” (Deuteronomy 12:4, 31)
When people change God’s explicitly stated boundaries, they are saying we can determine moral good and evil—not just independently of God, but in direct contradiction to God—mimicking the temptation of the serpent in the Garden.
Paul’s paradigm (1 Corinthians 10:25-28):
Category B: “Whatever is sold in the butcher shop, eat it.”
→ Historical pagan connection, but no current worship function
Category C: “But if anyone says, ‘This was offered in sacrifice,’ don’t eat it.”
→ When the worship context is identified, abstain
The worship function determines the category, not merely historical origin.
The Categorical Error
Here’s where the Christmas/Easter debate goes wrong:
Those who don’t observe these holidays can go too far if they claim that even Category B incidents are condemned. And that confusion of categories causes a stumbling block to those who see that in those cases, we do have liberty. So these latter believers overcompensate by treating all Category C incidents as if they were harmless Category B incidents. And that is where the agreement breaks down, and the devil has won the day.
On the other hand:
Those who observe these holidays religiously claim:
- “This is Category B (cultural liberty).”
- “Romans 14 applies—don’t judge me about days.”
- “We have freedom in Christ.”
But if we examine honestly:
Christmas and Easter:
- Originated in worship of other gods (Saturnalia, Sol Invictus, Eostre).
- Dates were sacred to those gods (December 25, spring equinox).
- Symbols were worship acts (evergreens, eggs, fertility symbols).
- Now practiced AS Christian worship (church services, “holy days,” spiritual devotion).
This is Category C—not Category B.
Therefore: God’s anti-syncretism commands apply—not Romans 14 liberty principles.
And this is how the practitioners of pagan customs—under the guise of liberty—cast a stumbling block on brothers, and so sin against Christ, who then overcorrect to a ban on all Category B incidents as well, causing them to sin too!
This is precisely what Paul warned against:
“9But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol’s temple, won’t his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? 11And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died. 12Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forevermore, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.” (1 Corinthians 8:9-13)
Notice Paul’s commitment: “I will eat no meat forevermore.” This raises crucial questions for those who defend holiday observance:
- How do Christians who observe these holidays know which practices cross the line? What practices might offend a weak brother? Is it ever a concern, or never a concern—and who decides?
- Is Santa Claus not okay, but hanging stockings on the mantle is acceptable? Are nativity scenes permissible, or do they violate the command against making images of anything on earth (Exodus 20:4)?
- Who sets these boundaries—God or men? And which men—ancient church fathers or modern clergy? Or is it up to individual conscience, making each person their own authority?
- Who decides what goes too far in causing a brother to stumble? Do you wait until after they stumble? But wouldn’t that mean that by the time you discover the individual boundary, you’ve already sinned against Christ?
- And what of those who choose God’s ancient boundaries, old and New Testament—are we the “weak” ones, while those unbothered by such commandments are the “strong”?
The Bible says “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9).
So what happened to letting the Bible be the final authority?
The Corban Connection
Now we see the parallel:
| Pharisees with Corban | Christmas Observers |
| God’s command: Honor parents | God’s command: Don’t adopt pagan worship |
| Their reasoning: “It’s Corban (devoted to God)” | Their reasoning: “It’s Christian liberty (devoted to God)” |
| Their logic: Religious devotion overrides command | Their logic: Freedom in Christ overrides command |
| Result: God’s command nullified | Result: God’s command nullified |
| Jesus’ verdict: Making void God’s Word | Jesus’ verdict: “I will make war against them” (Rv. 2:16) & “I will kill her children with Death” (Rv. 2:23) |
Both use religious-sounding reasoning to bypass God’s actual commands.
This is precisely what Jesus condemned:
“Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3)
Who Is Really Being Pharisaical?
Consider carefully:
Those who refuse Christmas/Easter:
- Point to obedience to God’s existing command against syncretism (Deuteronomy 12:30-31)
- Apply it to worship practices
- Are not creating new laws, but upholding the ones in the book
Those who defend Christmas/Easter:
- Defend traditions God never commanded
- Use “liberty” to nullify God’s prohibition against syncretism, making void His Word by their tradition
- Judge those who refuse as “legalistic.”
The question is: Who is making void God’s Word by their tradition?
The Liberty Reversal: Who’s Really Being Set Free?
Here’s where the Corban parallel becomes even more revealing.
Christmas defenders claim it’s a matter of personal liberty and conviction, that Romans 14 applies, and therefore we shouldn’t judge about observing days.
But this is precisely the category error. By confusing Category B (cultural liberty) with Category C (forbidden syncretism), they’ve arrived at the same conclusion the Pharisees did with Corban: “You can choose how to apply this religious obligation.”
The Pharisees taught their people it was their personal choice whether to dedicate their parents’ support money to religious purposes. This effectively made God’s explicit command—“Honor your father and mother”—optional, subject to individual preference.
Christmas defenders teach the same principle. As one popular teacher puts it: “If your conscience allows you, celebrate it to the glory of God. If your conscience bothers you, don’t celebrate it. But also, don’t judge others… don’t bind others with your personal convictions” (Vlad Savchuk, “The Pagan Roots of Christmas”).
This reasoning commits a fatal category error: It treats God’s Category A explicit command—“You shall not do so to Yahweh your God”—as if it were a Category B neutral cultural matter, subject to personal conscience. But Paul is clear: once the origins of pagan worship are identified, we’ve crossed into Category C—prohibited syncretism. The “personal conviction” defense doesn’t apply. God has already decided.
And this is how teachers like Pastor Vlad, like the Pharisees before them, assume the authority to nullify God’s commandments by their traditions.
Both claim to offer “liberty.” Both nullify God’s commands.
Jesus’ verdict on the Pharisees applies with equal force here:
“You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’… Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition… making void the word of God by your tradition” (Mark 7:6-7, 9, 13).
But here’s the profound irony: Everyone—even unbelievers—applauds Jesus for liberating His people from man-made religious laws. Yet when someone today upholds God’s actual commands against syncretism—doing the same thing Jesus did with man-made traditions—they’re accused of being legalistic and oppressive, ridiculed and dismissed as biblically unsophisticated or judgmental. When someone defends traditions God never commanded (and actually forbade), they’re commonly praised as exercising “Christian liberty.”
Today, the roles have been reversed from Jesus’ example.
I can testify personally: Coming out of the religious observance of holidays like Christmas and Easter was genuinely liberating. Standing on the outside looking at the madness of Christmas commercialism, I discovered a profound freedom from customs that bind people in shackles they can’t discern, nor admit exist. Freedom isn’t found in adopting what God forbade—it’s found in laying down what He never commanded and worshiping Him according to His Word alone, in Spirit and in truth. There’s a reason He commanded us not to learn the ways of the heathen in worshiping Him—we need to trust that He knows both what He is doing and what He is talking about.
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
That freedom includes freedom from traditions that render God’s commandments void and make our worship vain. They may still feel good to us, but we’re not in it for us—we’re in it for Him. Those who claim liberty to worship Him in practices He already condemned have the situation completely backwards.
Who is really in bondage? Those who refuse syncretism—or those who can’t celebrate Christ without adopting the world’s customs?
A Clear Test
If Christmas/Easter are Category B (cultural liberty):
- Why do churches hold religious services? (Advent liturgies, Christmas Eve candlelight services, Easter sunrise worship)
- Why attach spiritual significance? (i.e., ‘Jesus is the reason for the season,’ or ‘put Christ back in Christmas’)
- Why defend it as “worship unto the Lord”?
- Why judge those who refuse as lacking Christian liberty?
If they’re Category C (worship syncretism):
- Then God’s commands against syncretism apply
- Romans 14 doesn’t protect them
- The biblical case stands
You cannot have it both ways.
The Heart of the Matter
A “noble Berean” will examine:
- The historical origins of these practices
- The biblical commands they potentially violate
- The common defenses offered
- The proper application of Christian liberty
- What Scripture actually requires
Our goal is not to win an argument but to align with Scripture.
If these customs violate God’s boundaries, the proper Christian response is repentance—not defensiveness.
As Paul warned:
“When you sin against the brothers and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ” (1 Corinthians 8:12)
Confusing Category B with Category C:
- Encourages weak believers to participate in syncretism
- Makes void God’s commands against idolatry
- Wounds consciences
This is serious.
Part 3: Liberty and Its Limits
My Personal Journey
For the first fourteen years of my Christian life, I celebrated religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter because that’s what my original church did. That continued until a dear brother raised direct but straightforward questions: Where do these holidays come from? Who defined them? And who authorized us to take pagan worship customs, Christianize them, and use them as if they honored God?
At first, I defended these traditions with confidence. I believed we were exercising our liberty to worship God. That seemed like a valid justification. But then a deeper question struck my conscience: “Is this God’s perfect will?” When I asked that question sincerely, Scripture opened like a floodgate—and the answer I discovered was an obvious no.
If God wanted His people to celebrate Jesus’ birthday or to establish an annual resurrection feast, He would not have hidden it. “For this commandment which I command you today is not too hard for you or too distant” (Deuteronomy 30:11). God does not hide His commandments. When He wants holy days observed, He speaks plainly and directly—as He did with Israel in the Law. But nowhere did Jesus or His apostles command a birthday feast or a yearly festival tied to the old pagan calendar.
So another question followed: “Is it God’s will that we adopt the nations’ traditions and ways, and offer them to Him?” Scripture answered that clearly and irrefutably in my inquisitive mind: “You shall not do so to Yahweh your God” (Deuteronomy 12:4).
God has given us liberty, but with it responsibility and boundaries. “For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for an occasion to the flesh” (Galatians 5:13). The question is not whether we have liberty, but whether we are using liberty to indulge ourselves while claiming it honors Him. That dichotomy really got me thinking.
The Mire Parable: Three Ways to Approach Idolatry
God gave me—I believe— an illustration that made the issue plain.
It is one thing to step into mire accidentally—that brings no guilt. We live in a fallen world saturated with pagan influence. Encountering it is unavoidable.
It is a different thing to step into the mire to rescue someone—that is love. Paul did this constantly: “To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews” (1 Corinthians 9:20). He strategically entered their world to pull them out.
But it is entirely different to make that mire part of one’s diet.
This illustration reminded me of a joke we used to tell in the world. It went something like this, “looks like dung, tastes like dung, sure glad I didn’t step in it” as if eating it weren’t nearly as bad as stepping in it.
Paul distinguishes these categories clearly:
Accidental encounter (Category B):
“If anyone who doesn’t believe invites you… eat whatever is set before you” (1 Corinthians 10:27)
You’re a guest. You eat what’s served. No guilt.
Strategic rescue (Paul’s missionary method):
“To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews” (1 Corinthians 9:20)
You enter their world temporarily to reach them with the gospel.
But consuming idolatry as spiritual food (Category C):
“Don’t eat it” (1 Corinthians 10:28)
“To eat things sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:14)
God rebukes it strongly.
Jesus gave us authority to tread on serpents (Luke 10:19). He never permitted us to eat what the nations offered to their gods.
And God Himself has defined what this mire is. It is not mud on a farm road—it is the idolatrous customs of the nations. “You shall not learn the ways of the nations” (Jeremiah 10:2). “You shall not do so to Yahweh your God” (Deuteronomy 12:4).
No Expiration Date on Pagan Practices
Some argue: “Those gods are long forgotten—the practices are neutral now.”
But biblically, there is no expiration date on pagan practices. They don’t magically become godly after the gods they originally honored are forgotten. Any ungodly custom could be adopted if that were the case.
God speaks with zero ambiguity:
- “You shall not learn the way of the nations” (Jeremiah 10:2)
- “You shall not do so to Yahweh your God” (Deuteronomy 12:2-4)
- “What agreement has the temple of God with idols?… Come out from among them” (2 Corinthians 6:16-17)
Consider the logic: If it’s acceptable to adopt ancient pagan customs because the gods they once served are long forgotten, then why don’t we dig up other ancient practices from long-forgotten pagan cultures and see if we can add something else we’d like to serve God with?
The logic collapses on itself. Wrong remains wrong—and pagan worship customs honoring their gods remain pagan worship customs—regardless of how much time passes.
Part 4: The Question Each Believer Must Answer
Did These Customs Really Come From Paganism?
Now that we are clear that God accepts no syncretism, and idenfigying pagan customs is the dividing line, now we are sufficiently prepared to get serious with this question.
Some scholars now push back against the claim that Christmas customs came from paganism. They suggest the similarities are coincidental or that Christians developed these traditions independently.
But the historical evidence is substantial:
Christianity didn’t accidentally absorb pagan customs – it was deliberate church policy. Pope Gregory the Great explicitly commanded this strategy in his 601 CE letter to Augustine:
“Tell Augustine that he should by no means destroy the temples of the gods… Further, since it has been their custom to slaughter oxen in sacrifice, they should receive some solemnity in exchange. Let them therefore, on the day of the dedication of their churches, or on the feast of the martyrs whose relics are preserved in them, build themselves huts around their one-time temples and celebrate the occasion with religious feasting. They will sacrifice and eat the animals not any more as an offering to the devil, but for the glory of God to whom, as the giver of all things, they will give thanks for having been satiated. Thus, if they are not deprived of all exterior joys, they will more easily taste the interior ones.”[1]
Read that again carefully. Pope Gregory commanded missionaries to:
- Preserve pagan temples – convert them into churches rather than destroy them
- Preserve pagan animal sacrifices – just redirect them “to God” instead of devils
- Preserve pagan feast days – attach them to Christian saints and church dedications
- Preserve pagan customs – even building “huts around their one-time temples”
- Keep the “exterior joys” so pagans would accept Christianity more easily
This is not what Jesus had in mind when He said the true worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth. Rather, this is the exact pattern God forbade in Deuteronomy 12:30-31: “Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them… and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way.”
Gregory’s strategy violates God’s command at every level:
- God said: “Don’t inquire how pagans worship their gods”
- Gregory said: “Find out what they do and keep doing it – just call it Christian”
- God said: “Don’t worship me the way they worship their gods”
- Gregory said: “Take their sacrifices to devils and offer them to God instead”
- God said: “Tear down their altars, burn their sacred pillars, cut down their wooden images”
- Gregory said: “Don’t destroy their temples – just put crosses in them”
This isn’t speculation or interpretation – this is documented church policy from the pope himself. The same accommodation strategy that created Christmas and Easter is explicitly commanded in writing: preserve pagan locations, preserve pagan feast timing, preserve pagan customs, just rebrand them as Christian.
And Gregory’s reasoning? “If they are not deprived of all exterior joys, they will more easily taste the interior ones.” Translation: “Let them keep their pagan fun so they’ll accept our religion.”
This is the Corban pattern in action – using religious-sounding justification (“for the glory of God”) to directly violate God’s explicit command not to worship Him using pagan practices. It’s paganism with a Christian label slapped on it.
And today we have modern preachers justifying and repeating the same exact syncretism that the popes and Augustine committed – and calling it personal liberty! They defend Christmas and Easter with the identical reasoning Gregory used: “We’re not worshiping devils anymore, we’re doing it for Jesus now!”
Modern preachers say, “we’re redeeming the culture,” but Jesus calls it “teaching my servants to eat things sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:14, 20).
God’s command in Deuteronomy 12:30-31 doesn’t say “don’t worship devils or false gods using pagan practices.” It says, “don’t worship ME using pagan practices.” The issue isn’t who you’re directing the practice toward – the issue is that God forbade adopting pagan worship customs, period.
When modern Christians say “Christmas is about Jesus, not paganism,” they’re using the exact same Corban logic Pope Gregory used in 601 CE: take what pagans did for their gods, rebrand it for the true God, and call it “redeemed culture.”
God called it forbidden syncretism then. He still does now.
Recent scholars have argued that Christians independently chose December 25 for theological reasons, claiming that Sol Invictus came later.[2] But this argument fails on multiple fronts:
First, it ignores that Saturnalia (December 17-25) had been celebrated for over 700 years before Christianity existed.
Second, even if the date originated in Christian imagination, the customs—gift-giving, feasting, evergreen decorations, candle lighting—are undeniably borrowed from pagan festivals.[3]
Third, God’s prohibition in Deuteronomy 12:30-31 forbids adopting pagan worship practices, not merely their calendar dates.
Fourth, no New Testament scripture authorizes celebrating Christ’s birth on any date, making any such observance a “tradition of men” from the start.
[1] Pope Gregory I, Letter to Abbot Mellitus (601 CE), recorded in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book I, Chapter 30. Full text: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/greg1-mellitus.txt
[2] Hijmans, “Sol Invictus” (2003); Talley, Origins of Liturgical Year (1991)
[3] Scullard, Festivals of Roman Republic (1981); Salzman, On Roman Time (1990)
December 25:
- Roman Saturnalia (December 17-23): Feasting, gift-giving, evergreen decorations
- Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (December 25): “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun” established by Emperor Aurelian in the 3rd century
- Germanic/Norse Yule: Winter solstice celebration honoring Odin
- Christian adoption: Early 4th century by Pope Julius I (around 336 CE)
Easter:
- Name comes directly from “Eostre”—Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility (documented by Bede, 8th century)
- Eggs and rabbits: Ancient fertility symbols across multiple pagan cultures
- Timing: Aligned with spring equinox celebrations of rebirth
- Christian adoption: Name adopted when converting Germanic peoples
All Saints’ Day (Halloween):
- Originally May 13 (established 609 CE)
- Moved to November 1 in 8th century to align with Celtic Samhain
- Customs adopted: Costumes, bonfires, leaving food for spirits
The pattern is clear and well-documented across the 4th to 9th centuries.
Whether some scholars debate details doesn’t change the fundamental reality: These dates and customs originated in pagan worship and were deliberately adopted by the institutional church.
To quibble over details—admitting some, disallowing others—while adopting the whole package of pagan customs is to strain at gnats and swallow a camel!
But Even If the Historical Evidence Were Unclear…
One fact remains certain:
The New Testament did NOT authorize or even hint at these yearly holidays, but it does definitely define such observances as “weak and miserable elemental principles.” (Galatians 4:9-10)
How foolish is it to think that weak and miserable elemental principles were what Jesus had in mind when He said the true worshipers MUST:
Worship in Spirit and in Truth
One thing scholars are overwhelmingly in agreement on is the fact that Jesus was not born on December 25th; many scholars suggest a fall date based on the shepherding references in Luke 2, though the exact date remains unknown. Here is something the Bible does tell us: “…no lie is of the truth” (1 John 2:21). So, if Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th, does celebrating His birth on that date fit the category of worshiping in Spirit and in truth?
Someone may reply, “We’re not claiming it’s the actual date, just commemorating.” But that brings us back to the main point: why call it “Christ’s Mass” (Christmas)? Why attach religious customs that originated in paganism? When we talk about “Christmas,” we are talking about a package of dates, practices, customs, and traditions, all having roots in pagan worship of their gods. If it is really about recognizing Jesus’ birthday, why not at least try to get the date right and shed all of the pagan worship practices? Wouldn’t that be the way to get all the leaven out—and completely solve the problem of offending the weak—rather than picking and choosing according to personal preferences and convictions—or lack thereof? The problem is, there is more to it than that.
Paul warns the Galatians:
“Now that you have come to know God… how do you turn again to the weak and miserable elemental principles? You observe days, months, seasons, and years. I am afraid for you that I might have wasted my labor for you” (Galatians 4:9-11).
Whatever these observances were, Paul calls them a return to bondage. And he urges: “Become as I am” (Galatians 4:12). His pattern is freedom—not ritual observance.
Jesus established the standard:
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
Not in:
- Days men invented
- Customs borrowed from pagans
- Traditions passed down by the institutional church
But in spirit and truth—according to what God actually commanded.
The Liberty Boundary
So where is the line?
Liberty covers (Category B):
- Eating unidentified meat from the marketplace (even if once offered to idols)
- Using days of the week with pagan names
- Cultural customs with no religious function
- Personal convictions about food, drink, or non-religious days
Paul’s principle:
“Whatever is sold in the butcher shop, eat it, asking no questions for conscience’ sake” (1 Corinthians 10:25).
But liberty STOPS at worship (Category C):
- Adopting pagan worship forms
- Observing religious days not commanded by God
- Mixing pagan customs into Christian devotion
- Defending syncretism as “freedom in Christ”
Paul’s boundary:
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21).
The distinction is worship function—not historical origin alone.
This distinction is explicitly spelled out by Paul in Scripture and confirmed throughout the Old Testament, which commands against adopting pagan worship practices. But some Christians take what God forbade and make it part of their worship to Him. This is precisely what the prohibitions were designed to prevent. You can’t get more Pharisaical than that:
“He said to them, ‘Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition… making void the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down.’” (Mark 7:9-13)
Conclusion
Liberty in Christ is not liberty to adopt, sanctify, or baptize idolatrous customs. God has already spoken. He already gave us His definitions.
If what we are doing is worship — and it is — then the only question that remains is:
Who designed the worship?
Because worship invented by man isn’t worship of God — even if we attach His name to it.
When we honestly compare modern “Christian” holidays to Scripture’s categories—idolatry, traditions of men, weak and beggarly elements, customs of the nations—they match exactly what God condemned.
Liberty was not given to make sin sacred. Liberty was given so that we may worship God in spirit and in truth—and serve one another in love.
Questions each believer must answer:
- Am I using my liberty to honor God according to His commands—or to justify practices He forbade?
- Am I being faithful to the one I am espoused to, if I am not maintaining purity in our relationship?
- Am I allowing others to teach me to eat things sacrificed to idols by permitting them to teach me pagan worship practices in the name of honoring Christ?
“15Don’t make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice; 16and you take of their daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their gods, and make your sons play the prostitute after their gods. 17You shall make no cast idols for yourselves.” (Exodus 34:15-17)
God calls syncretism spiritual prostitution. This means we cannot claim to honor Christ while adopting the worship customs of other gods and call it fidelity to Christ.
“2For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you in marriage to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2-3)
This is what Jesus condemned in the seven churches:
“14But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15So also you likewise have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.” (Revelation 2:14-16)
“20But I have this against you, that you tolerate your woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols. 21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22Behold, I will throw her and those who commit adultery with her into a bed of great oppression, unless they repent of her works. 23I will kill her children with Death.” (Revelation 2:20-22)
The testimony of the scriptures is actually very clear and consistent. All that remains is for us to believe them and apply them.
Paul and Silas at Berea:
“Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
“Test all things. Hold firmly that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
Your Servant in Christ,
Tom Raddatz
(A.I. Enhanced)
Edited 12/14/2025
Note: All scriptures are from the World English Bible unless otherwise noted.
APPENDIX: For Further Study
Key Scriptures on Syncretism:
– Deuteronomy 12:29-32
– 2 Kings 17:29-41
– Jeremiah 10:1-5
– 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
– 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
– Revelation 2:12-16, 18-23
Historical Sources:
– Pope Gregory I, Epistola ad Mellitum (601 CE)
– Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation
– H.H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic
Questions for Personal Reflection:
– Does my practice match Category B or Category C?
– Would the apostles recognize what I’m doing as Christian worship?
– Am I defending this practice because Scripture commands it—or because I enjoy it?
