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There, in various guises, similar
customs were observed by these
ancient pagans on the birthday of
their
god - the god of the sun.
They observed his fanciful birthday
at the time of the "Saturnalia,"
which took place at the time of the
lowest ebbing of the sun toward the
south (in the northern hemisphere)
and the beginning of its journey
back toward spring and summer.
They had various symbols. Sym–
bols stand for things. These stood
for a wide vari ety of pagan super–
st itions involving the source of li te
- fertil ity. They had a little tree,
which was supposed to have grown
up overn ight out of an old dead log.
The tree was a precursor of the
modern-day Christmas t ree.
They had wreaths of holly, be–
cause it was one of the rare plants
still producing little round berries
even in the snowy north. They used
mistletoe because it was a fertility
symbol.
What ls the DiHerence?
But so what? Aren't these facts
more or less common knowledge?
Sure they are. They are pub–
lished in religious newspapers and
cheerfully admitted by religious edi–
tors each year. Then does it make
any difference?
Not if there isn't any God.
But what if there is?
Then it would make a lot of differ–
ence - especially if that God says a
great deal about these very same
customs in his Word!
And God says it does make a
great deal of difference!
You ' ll be positively amazed,
shocked, when you read
The Plain
Truth About Christmas!
In this free
booklet are facts you simply can 't
afford to be without - yet it costs
CORRECT IONS
The cartoon appearing in the October
issue with the article "GTA Speaks
Out" should have had the credit : Draw–
ing by Whi tney Darrow, Jr.
©
1976,
The New Yorker Magazine, lnc.
On page 22 of the November issue,
we stated that Alon Reininger was a
French photographer. We want to cor–
ree! ourselves by stressing that he is
an lsraeli cit izen.
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1976
you absolutely nothing. lt is free of
charge!
Here, revealed di rectly from au–
thentic historical sources and from
your own Bible is the story of
Christmas and what
you don 't know
about it .
lt's the biggest holiday of the
year, but you've probably
never
looked into its meaning!
In this
booklet you'll read the incredible
truth about all the accompanying
paraphernalia of this season. You'll
be challenged. You'll be shocked!
So, before you forget it , write for
it right now. o
PEACE
(Continued trom page 25)
of that law find peace at every turn
(Proverbs 3:7). Those who live and
obey God's law experience great
peace of mind as a way of lile
(Psalm 119:165).
On the other hand, those who
refuse or neglect to obey it, find
peace of mind an impossibility
(lsaiah 57:21 ).
The fact remains, unless and until
we get into harmony with God 's
law, peace will remain as elusive as
ever.
Two: A Mind of Peace
The precepts and principies of
God's law stand as little more than
empty, meaningless words on the
pages of the Bible unless actuated
by a trame of mind or attitude that
earnestly desires to put God's law
into practice. The Bible refers to
this kind of mind as a mind guided
by and imbued wi th the spirit of
God, the spirit of peace.
lf all men in all nations were im–
bued with the power of this spirit ,
they would be capable of control–
ling the innate drives and lusts that
lle at the root cause of war (James
4:1 ). Simi larly, if men within individ–
ual societies were motivated by this
great gift, the same peace would
ensue on a domestic scale.
The human emotions produced
by God's spirit in a man's life are
concern, kindness, consideration, a
desire to contribute to the welfare of
others - and peace (Galatians
5:22-23). By having God's spirit , a
man is able to live genuinely and
sincerely at peace with his neigh–
bor, his family, and himself.
Obeying God's law through the
spirit of God enables aman to resist
the causes which preven! peace in
his own lite. And yet, for the dream
of " peace on earth" to become a
reality on a worldwide scale, a third
condition must be met.
Three: A Government of Peace
That requirement involves acknowl–
edging God 's government of peace.
The Bible reveals in just a few short
years, just before mankind is about
to annihi late himself, God is going
to supernaturally intervene to pre–
vent such insanity and finally estab–
lish his government on this earth as
the ultimate solution to peace (Rev–
elation 11:15). lt will be the greatest
act of peace in history.
At that time, when Jesus Christ
the Mess iah - the "Prince of
Peace" (lsaiah 9:6) - returns to
this warwracked earth, the hor–
rendous cycle of war after war atter
war will at last be broken, never to
resume again! Nations will be
torced to beat bayonets, tanks,
guns- even spears- into tractors,
plowshares, pruning hooks, and
other useful farming implements
(lsaiah 2:4).
God 's government will usher in
domestic peace within as well as
among nations. People living in so–
ciety will dwell together harmo–
niously or
tace
painful, yet loving,
correction (Revelation 2:27).
Men, who naturally love them–
selves a great deal, will strive to
love their neighbors justas much as
themselves (Matthew 22:39). Gov–
ernment -sponsored educat ional
programs will teach everyone the
great sanctity and importance of
the basic un it of society - the
home. Peace of mind through
God 's spirit will finally be available
to all men the world over.
This season let's lay aside self–
ishness, greed, jealousy, and all
those negative emotions that form
the basis of individual conf licts and
nati onal wars. Let's instead con–
centrate on love, kindness, and
consideration. Let 's begin seeking
real "peace on earth , good will to–
ward men" God 's way. o
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