Lay it to Heart
HOME THE BEGINNING THE PAST
THE PRESENT THE FUTURE THE END
SITE MAP


Are Most Christmas Songs Scriptural?

Deuteronomy 18:22 says, "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him." God does not want us to make up fiction about the Bible or his word. Why does the church do it today with Christmas songs? First of all, look at the etymology of the word. It's from the Middle English Christemasse and from the Old English Cristes mæsse literally meaning Christ's mass. The mass is a blasphemous ceremony held by the Catholic Church. The bread and wine supposedly actually become the body and blood of Jesus. Jesus is not sacrificed every time a mass is said or performed. The Bible says in Hebrews 10:12, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;" Jesus died once for all. Next look at the songs. Examine the words. What do they really mean? What are the Biblical references? Are some of the words just made up? Let's take a look.


Angels From the Realms of Glory

  1. This song says, "Ye who sang creation's story". Nowhere in the Bible does it mention angels singing.
  2. This song says "Yonder shines the infant Light". Jesus did not shine, have a halo or show a light. The Bible says in Isaiah 53:2, "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." Jesus did not have a special appearance as this song suggests.


Angels We Have Heard on High

  1. It is highly unlikely that anyone who sings this song has ever heard an angel.
  2. The Bible does not record singing at Jesus' birth. The angels were not singing. They were speaking.
  3. The mountains don't sing.
  4. Did the shepherds really have a heavenly song? The Bible does not record it.
  5. The heavenly host was not a choir.


Awake, My Soul, Awake, My Tongue

  1. The shepherds were not necessarily careful. They could have been careless. We do not know. God calls all. Not just the good, the careful or the best.


Away in the Manger

  1. How do we now the stars looked down?
    Can stars look?
    If the stars could look, was the sky clear during the time when Jesus was born?
    Do we have a weather report from back then?
  2. How do we know there were cattle lowing?
    Do we know there were cattle?
  3. How do we know Jesus didn't cry?
    Is it a sin to cry?
    Did Jesus cry on the cross?
    In John 11:35 we find that Jesus wept.
    If it is a sin to cry, is it wrong to get hurt?
    How do you discipline the week old baby who cries?
    If it is not necessarily a sin to cry, it is a sin to say that Jesus didn't cry?


Go Tell It on the Mountain

  1. Were there silent flocks or was there some noise?
  2. Did a light show throughout the heavens? The Bible says, "the glory of the Lord shone round about them" not the whole heavens.
  3. This songs says God sent salvation in the morn. Was Jesus born in the morning?
  4. "Christmas" comes from a blasphemous phrase. Why should a song meant to honor God contain blasphemy?


Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Luke 2:
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
  1. The angels were not saying or singing "hark". "Hark" does not appear at all in the Bible.
  2. The heavenly host was "saying", not "singing". The host was saying "Glory to God in the highest" not "Glory to the newborn King".
  3. The angel of the Lord said a Saviour was born. The heavenly host did not say or sing "God and sinners reconciled".
  4. What is "mercy mild"?
    "Mild" does not appear in the whole Bible.
    God's mercy is great, not mild.
  5. The song says Jesus came "late in time". What is this supposed to mean?
    Jesus came about 4,100 years from the creation of the world and about two thousand years ago. This is not late in time. This is closer to the middle of time.
  6. Jesus did not "mildly lay his glory by".
    The word "mildly" is not found in the Bible
    It was not a mild, small or meager thing to give up his glory and take upon the form of a servant.


Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

  1. Do we know that Jesus' bed was a cattle stall as opposed to that of some other animal?
  2. Do we know that oxen were present?
    If there were oxen present, do we know that they were lowing?
  3. Angels were not singing. The book of Luke says they spoke.
  4. How were Noels ringing when no one was singing?
    The word "Noel" is not found in the Bible.
  5. How do we know the flocks were sleeping when the angel of the Lord appeared?
    Certainly, they weren't sleeping during the message were they?


It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

  1. How do you know it was clear?
    Do you have the weather report?
  2. How do you know it was midnight?
  3. What is the glorious song of old?
    The host of heaven was saying not singing.
    What was said by the angel of the Lord and the heavenly host was new. It was not a saying of old.
  4. How do you know the angels were bending?
    The word "bending" is not found in the gospel.
    The Bible does not say they were touching the earth or close to it.
  5. How do you know the angels had harps?
    The words "harp" and "harps" are not found in the gospel.
    How do you know the harps, if they were there, were made of gold?
  6. Was the world in solemn stillness during the proclamation?
  7. How do you know the angels were singing?
    The Bible says they were "saying".
    Luke 2:14 says, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. "Peace on earth" varies from what the Bible says, is that ok?
  8. The world did not lay in stillness to hear the angels sing.
    The world did not hear. The shepherds listened.
    The angels were not singing. The angel of the Lord and the heavenly host were speaking.
  9. This song, written in 1849, mentions 2000 years of wrong.
    What happened in 151 BC or can't these guys add?
    Was there no wrong before 151 BC?
    Do we even know that Dionysius Exiguus determined that year 532 AD was really 532 AD?
  10. How do you come swiftly on the wing?
  11. What is a prophet bard?
    Isn't a bard a tribal poet-singer skilled in reciting verses on heroes and their deeds.
    What does "bard" have to do with "prophet"?
  12. What are the ages of gold?


O Come all Ye Faithful

  1. One of the lines says, "Born the King of angels". In Hebrews 2:9 is it written, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Jesus could not be the King of the angels is he was lower than them.
  2. This song says, "born this happy morning" The angel of the Lord said in Luke 2:11, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Since the announcement occurred at night and God's day is from sundown to sundown, Jesus was born in the evening or night not the morning or day.


O Holy Night

  1. The song starts off, "O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining," We do not know if the stars shown or if it was overcast. Luke 2:9 tells us the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. Verse 13 adds that there was a multitude of the heavenly host as well but that does not mean the stars were shining. This phrase is made up.
  2. The Bible does not refer the night when Jesus was born as holy or divine. The Bible does say in Hebrews 2:17, "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." If Jesus was like us in all things of significance, then the night he was born would be no holier or divine than ours.
  3. The carol's lyrics also say "Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land. The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;" Matthew 2:1 uses the term wise men to describe the men who came to seek Jesus but the accurate translation is magos. The magi were not exactly wise men. Part of the practices of the "wise men" required them to be priests of a false religion, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, augers, soothsayers, sorcerers etc. This does not make them wise men. This term is inaccurate.
  4. Magi or "wise men" as inaccurately translated were associated more with Babylon and not the Orient. Matthew 2:1 says they came from the east which includes a greater area than that known as the Orient. The word "Orient" is inaccurate as well.
  5. When the Magi came to see Jesus they did not see him in a manger. Matthew 2:11 says, "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 him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." Jesus was now living in a house and not lying in a manger.


O Little Town of Bethlehem

  1. How still we see thee lie?
    How do we know it was still?
    The Bible says there was no room in the inn. Usually when things are packed, the nights are not still.
  2. How do you know the people were in a deep sleep?
  3. How do you know the people were in a dreamless sleep?
  4. How do stars go by silently?
    Can they go by loudly?
  5. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight?
    What happened?
    If this refers to Jesus, he is the hope of all the years.
    What about the fear?
    Is Jesus the fear of all the years?
    If he isn't, what is the fear of all of the years?
  6. What about the Christmas angels?
    Where is the word Christmas found in the Bible?
    Where does the word Christmas come from?
    Isn't it a combination of Christ and Mass?
    Are we going to saying a mass for Jesus?
    Isn't Jesus re-sacrificed in the mass?
    How can Jesus be resacrificed?
    How can Jesus be resacrificed before he is born?
    Isn't the Mass blasphemous?


O Sing a Song of Bethlehem

  1. Did the light shine around Bethlehem or did it shine round about them, the shepherds, who were out in the field and not in the city?
  2. Do the angels sing alway? They weren't singing when Jesus' birth was announced.


Silent Night, Holy Night

  1. No one knows whether or not the nights spent in Bethlehem were quiet.
    There was no room in the inn. Bethlehem was full. Often, the noisiest nights are when everybody is in town.
  2. That fact that Jesus was born did not make any day or night holy.
  3. There is no way of knowing if all was calm.
  4. To say "all is bright" is ridiculous.
    There is no way to know what if there was an overcast sky or a full moon.
    To think that there was some heavenly light is not scriptural. A light did shine about the shepherds, but the shepherds were out in the field, not in Bethlehem.
  5. The phrase "darkness flies, all is light" continues the fiction from the earlier line.
  6. Shepherds heard the angels speak They did not hear them sing. Luke chapter 2 verses 8-14 gives the account of the message.
  7. Neither the angel of the Lord nor the heavenly host said "Alleluia", "Hallelujah" or any other version of the word. Neither the angel of the Lord nor the heavenly host said, "hail the King".
  8. Radiant beams did not come from Jesus' face. Isaiah 53:2 says, "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." Jesus had no special form or beauty. Halos are a myth.


Sing Hosannas

  1. The Bible does not say that cattle were present at Jesus' birth.
  2. The chorus calls and the last verse talks about the angels singing. The angels did not sing when they announced Jesus' birth. Nowhere in the Bible are angels found singing.
  3. The Bible does not say angels were present when Jesus was in the manger.
  4. The Bible says the shepherds were in the field. It does not say the shepherds were on a hillside.
  5. The Bible does not say the shepherds knelt down.
  6. The Bible does not say the shepherds gazed at the glory.


The First Nowell the Angel Did Say

  1. The word "Nowell" does not appear in the Bible.
    "Nowell" or "Noel" can mean "a Christmas Carol" or "Christmas"
    When Jesus was born, neither definition was applicable.
    The angels did not sing, they spoke.
    "Christmas" is blasphemous word. Jesus' birth was not in any way connected to a mass.
  2. Were the shepherds poor?
    Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons were shepherds. Were they poor?
  3. The song has the shepherds laying in their fields.
    Do we know that the shepherds were laying down?
    A shepherd watching his flock does not lay down or he will fall asleep.
    Even if the shepherds were laying down when they were watching the sleep, does it make sense that they would stay laying down when the angel of the Lord appeared?
  4. We do not know that when this occurred, if it was a cold night or that it was winter.
  5. There was not a star "beyond them far". In fact, the star "came and stood over where the young child was". The star was near. The star did not necessarily come at the time of Jesus' birth. It came when the wise men came. We do not know how long the gap was between the two events.
  6. The Bible does not say the star gave a great light for the whole earth to see.
    If the light was very great, Herod would not have to have the wise men tell him something was going on.
  7. The Bible does not say the star was visible day and night.


There's a Song in the Air

  1. Did really Jesus cry as the song says?
  2. Do stars have fire that they rain in the earth?
  3. Who are the beautiful who sing?
    The Bible does not record anyone singing at Jesus' birth. The heavenly host spoke.
    If the beautiful were people, how come there were no ugly?
    Is God a god of the beautiful only?
  4. How can there be a tumult of joy? A tumult is disorderly, confused, violent or agitated. Joy and tumult do not go together. Were the angels tumultuous?
    How about the shepherds? Were they tumultuous?
  5. How can every hearth be aflame?
    Not everybody has a hearth and those that do, do not have them always lit.
    The Bible never makes a spiritual reference to our spiritual condition in the form of a fireplace or hearth.


Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

  1. Where does the Bible say there are arches in heaven?
    Where does it say they rang?
  2. The angels did not sing.


We Three Kings of Orient Are

  1. Wise men came to see Jesus. The Bible does not record kings coming to see him.
  2. The number of the wise men is not known.


We Would See Jesus!; Lo! His Star

  1. The angels were not singing.
  2. We do not know if there was hay in the manger.
  3. Was Jesus the light of the village life? Bethlehem was a city. Jesus was not recognized as a child except by a few.
  4. Was shining revealed through every task if he had no special appearance and his spiritual nature was not recognized?


While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

  1. The shepherds were not necessarily seated on the ground.
  2. The glad tidings were to all "people", not all "mankind".
  3. Jesus was born in the "city of David", not "David's town".
  4. The angel did not say that Jesus was in David's line.
  5. The angel did not use "heavenly" in describing the babe.
  6. The angel did not use the term "in human view"
  7. The angel did not use the word "gently".
  8. A seraph did not speak. The angel of the Lord spoke.
  9. The heavenly host was not shining. The glory of the Lord shone round about them (the shepherds).
  10. The angels were not singing. They were speaking.
  11. The terms "henceforth" and "begin" were not used. No indication of a start is indicated in scripture.
  12. The phrases are made to sound as if they are from the Bible but use different sentence structure and words as if from a new translation.


Conclusion

First you make up the tooth fairy, then you make up the Easter Bunny, then you make up Santa Claus. Are we making up stuff up about Jesus, too? When we sing all these songs we are perverting God's word. We are adding to it, subtracting from it and twisting it. Deuteronomy 4:1-2 says. "Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." We are not speaking in the name of the Lord but leading people astray. When we fill people with spiritual lies sung in a sad tune, is it any wonder they are more depressed during a time we call by a blasphemous name? The Bible is God's word to us. When someone makes up things about the Bible they put words in God's mouth and become a false prophet.



Go to the Top

Home

The Beginning

Copyright ©2001-2020 Lay it to Heart