{"id":778,"date":"2025-12-17T18:33:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T18:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bermudianchurch.org\/bcblog\/?p=778"},"modified":"2025-12-17T18:33:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T18:33:30","slug":"ask-before-you-judge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bermudianchurch.org\/bcblog\/?p=778","title":{"rendered":"Ask Before You Judge!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many will be upset with the picture I have chosen. The typical response is, \u201cThey have taken Christ out of Christmas,\u201d or \u201cthey need to put Christ back into Christmas\u201d I will admit that some have indeed taken Christ out of Christmas.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Probably those that have \u201dtaken Christ out of Christmas\u201c never had Christ in their lives or their Christmases. Others who do have Christ in their lives, may have simply used this as an abbreviation. \u201cXmas appeared in a list of common abbreviations and contractions in an American version of the\u00a0Royal Standard English Dictionary<\/em>\u00a0when it was published in Boston in 1800.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I although I rarely use that abbreviation anymore, quite often when I was in College and Seminary and through the years, I have used the \u201cX\u201d as a shorthand for Christ. What follows is a great explanation by the late Dr. R.C. Sproul about the use of \u201cX\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dFor some the \u201cX\u201d in Christmas is used like the R in R.C. My given name at birth was Robert Charles, although before I was even taken home from the hospital my parents called me by my initials, R.C.  First of all, you have to understand that it is not the letter \u201cX\u201d that is put into Christmas. We see the English letter \u201cX\u201d there, but what it involves is the first letter of the Greek name for Christ, Christos (\u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03cc\u03c2<\/em><\/strong> ). The first letter of the Greek word Christos<\/em><\/strong>, <\/em>which is \u201cChi,<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> looks like an \u201cX\u201d. That \u201cX\u201d has come through church history to be a shorthand symbol for the name of Christ.  There\u2019s a long and sacred history of the use of \u201cX\u201d to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church has used other similar symbols as abbreviations, especially during years of persecution. \u201cThe church has historically used the symbol of the fish because it is an acronym. Fish in Greek (ichthus<\/em>) involved the use of the first letters of the Greek phrase \u201cJesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.\u201d (\u0399\u03a7\u0398\u03a5\u03a3 =<\/strong> \u0399 \u2013 Jesus, \u03a7- Christ, \u0398\u03a5- son of God, \u03a3 \u2013 Savior)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the title of the article is \u201cask be for you judge.\u201d  If you don\u2019t ask, you may judge a person, like me, who knows they are using the Greek letter for Christ, or a person who grew up in a liturgical church who knows about the symbolism of Greek letters. And so, you don\u2019t have to assume, ask. If you learn they have taken Christ out of Christmas, you will have a great opportunity to witness to them about Jesus the Christ, the Son of God our Savior who was born in Bethlehem. Here is the link to a reel that also explains the usage of \u201cX\u201d for Christ. He makes a great point at the end. www.facebook.com\/reel\/842321148641152<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                                  In Christ Alone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bermudian Church<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Covenant Brethren Church<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n