John Piper – Os Cristãos deveriam celebrar o natal?
Autor: Isaac Pereira | Publicado: 2013-04-08T18:12:00-07:00

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John Piper – Os Cristãos
deveriam celebrar o natal?



Eu compreendo aqueles que
querem ser rigorosamente e distintamente Cristãos. Que querem ser libertos do
mundo e qualquer raiz pagã que possa repousar sob nossa celebração do Natal,
mas não me posiciono da mesma maneira nesta questão porque penso que chega um
ponto onde as raízes já estão distantes de tal forma que o significado presente
não carrega mais nenhuma conotação pagã. Fico mais preocupado com um novo
paganismo que se sobreponha a feriados cristãos.



Eis um exemplo que eu uso:
Todo idioma tem raízes em algum lugar. A maioria dos nossos dias da semana [em
inglês] —se não todos— saíram de nomes pagãos também. Então deveríamos parar de
usar a palavra “Sunday” (domingo) porque ela pode ter estado relacionada à
adoração ao sol em um tempo distante? No inglês moderno, “Sunday” (domingo) não
carrega aquela conotação, e é a própria natureza do idioma. De certa forma, os
feriados são como a linguagem cronológica.



O Natal agora significa que
marcamos, no meio cristão, o nascimento de Jesus Cristo. Nós achamos que o
nascimento, a morte e a ressurreição de Cristo são os eventos mais importantes
na história humana. Não marcá-los de alguma forma, através de uma celebração
especial, me parece que seria insensatez.



Eu lembro de ter sido
vizinho de um casal nos tempos de seminário que não celebrava os aniversários
de seu filho. A ideia era, em parte, que todos os dias eram especiais para o
menino. Mas se todos os dias são especiais, então provavelmente significa que
não há dias especiais. Contudo, algumas coisas são tão boas e preciosas — como
aniversários e até mesmo mortes — que são dignas de serem marcadas. Quão mais o
nascimento e a morte de Jesus Cristo!



Realmente vale o risco,
mesmo que a data de 25 de Dezembro tenha sido escolhida por causa de sua
proximidade com algum tipo de festival pagão. Vamos apenas tomá-la,
santificá-la e fazer o melhor com ela, porque Cristo é digno de ser celebrado
em seu nascimento.



Não há motivo para escolher
outra data. Não vai funcionar.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Por John Piper.