What do you think?
Rate this book
Holidays and the Feasts
Holidays and the Feasts, revised and expanded, looks at three major The Old Testament feasts, Christmas, and Easter. Within this book the author examines the alleged pagan roots of Christmas and Easter, provides a biblical case for celebrating Christmas, and answers the question "Are Christians obligated to observe Old Testament feasts?" Part 1: Christians and the Feasts . Part I examines the Old Testament feasts, their function, and how Christians should understand them today. This section of the book begins by summarizing the Old Testament festivals and how they were understood in Jesus' day. Following this, applications are drawn concerning contemporary Christian practice. Part 2: Christmas and Paganism. Part II of the book examines the alleged claims of Christmas' pagan roots. In this section, Holidays and the Feasts argues that Christmas developed independently from pagan celebrations before speaking to various pagan ties Christmas is often charged with. The book looks at what ancient Christians wrote and thought concerning Christmas and weighs whether those Christians would form a holiday for the sake of replacing a pagan one. Part 3: A Biblical Case for Celebrating Christmas. Part III of the book presents a biblical case for celebrating the incarnation despite not being an explicitly instituted observance. This section speaks to celebration in general before moving into the Gospels and Paul in order to demonstrate that the incarnation was celebrated by the New Testament Christians, leaving an annual observance permissible. Part 4: Easter and Paganism. Part IV of the book challenges the claims that Easter is pagan by examining what is 'pagan' and then moving into the term "Easter" itself. Following this, the section discusses the connections of Easter with Ishtar and Eostre before demonstrating that Easter was a very early observance in church history formed to commemorate the resurrection.
On the Third
On the Third
220 pages, Paperback
Published September 7, 2023
18 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 11, 2024
3.5-3.75 ish stars. Great info in the book, but reads more like a series of individual articles rather than a cohesive whole.
April 27, 2024
This book was wonderful! I really appreciate all the research compiled into one book that takes a historical and scriptural deep dive into objections to Christmas and Easter. I have had a lot of these arguments used against me as a reformed Christian who has no convictions against celebrating either holiday and surrounded in a lot of ways by many who object to the celebrations. I appreciated that the author notes these are also not commanded in scripture but are historically supportable with truly Christian sources. This book helped me sort through the facts that support what I already felt convicted was the correct stance on these holidays. I can't recommend highly enough.
December 16, 2021
Really good and short book
Some of my favorite parts include the connection that the Old Testament feasts are fulfilled in Jesus and what he did, which Christians can celebrate. I also enjoyed the church history involving Christmas and seeing the Incarnation being celebrated in the New Testament too. In my opinion the book was also pretty easy to read through and reflects Nick’s easy-to-understand podcast episodes on Christ is the Cure
I might be biased here but there wasn’t too much I disliked about the book. Content-wise I thought there were little to no issues. One issue I had though was that there wasn’t a conclusion to wrap up the whole subject. It seemed pretty abrupt when the book ended with the conclusion on Easter and nothing more. Granted there was a conclusion to the Christmas section but a conclusion overall would’ve been nice to summarize everything.
My favorite takeaway was seeing the emphasis of celebrating the incarnation of Jesus and what the implications are for us. And how Christmas is that annual day to help us remember that event
Overall I’d recommend the book for anyone to read
Some of my favorite parts include the connection that the Old Testament feasts are fulfilled in Jesus and what he did, which Christians can celebrate. I also enjoyed the church history involving Christmas and seeing the Incarnation being celebrated in the New Testament too. In my opinion the book was also pretty easy to read through and reflects Nick’s easy-to-understand podcast episodes on Christ is the Cure
I might be biased here but there wasn’t too much I disliked about the book. Content-wise I thought there were little to no issues. One issue I had though was that there wasn’t a conclusion to wrap up the whole subject. It seemed pretty abrupt when the book ended with the conclusion on Easter and nothing more. Granted there was a conclusion to the Christmas section but a conclusion overall would’ve been nice to summarize everything.
My favorite takeaway was seeing the emphasis of celebrating the incarnation of Jesus and what the implications are for us. And how Christmas is that annual day to help us remember that event
Overall I’d recommend the book for anyone to read
April 19, 2021
This book is full of historical information and references to back up all claims. It’s divided into three sections for easy reading-the feasts, Christmas then Easter.
I have always heard of rumors that these Christian holidays are pagan but had no idea how to defend these holidays against such claims. This book gave me all the information I needed to know in order to do that. There were extremely helpful charts in the Christmas section that helped me visualize the dates and people mentioned. All of the end notes were also helpful so that I could go further research these things for myself.
The feasts section was extremely helpful in knowing what each feast meant and how they were a shadow to the substance, Christ. So much helpful connections made in this book for how these Old Testament feasts point to Christ. It will change how I read these passages of Scripture.
A short book and easy to read and follow. I read it within a couple of hours and certainly plan to revisit it again when these holidays come back around as do the claims that they are pagan. Thankful for this book!
I have always heard of rumors that these Christian holidays are pagan but had no idea how to defend these holidays against such claims. This book gave me all the information I needed to know in order to do that. There were extremely helpful charts in the Christmas section that helped me visualize the dates and people mentioned. All of the end notes were also helpful so that I could go further research these things for myself.
The feasts section was extremely helpful in knowing what each feast meant and how they were a shadow to the substance, Christ. So much helpful connections made in this book for how these Old Testament feasts point to Christ. It will change how I read these passages of Scripture.
A short book and easy to read and follow. I read it within a couple of hours and certainly plan to revisit it again when these holidays come back around as do the claims that they are pagan. Thankful for this book!
December 24, 2022
A great book critiquing secular arguments against Christmas, Easter and other various feasts in the Old Testament and New.
January 14, 2024
3.5 stars
January 2, 2022
Excellent!
The author has obviously done a lot of research for this book/series of essays. On one hand it is quite academic, but still accessible to the lay person. the discussion of Christian and Easter are topics that cause division inside and outside the church, which hopefully this book can and will be used to correct and mediate those divisions.
I highly recommend this book to all people!
The author has obviously done a lot of research for this book/series of essays. On one hand it is quite academic, but still accessible to the lay person. the discussion of Christian and Easter are topics that cause division inside and outside the church, which hopefully this book can and will be used to correct and mediate those divisions.
I highly recommend this book to all people!
April 22, 2024
This was a fascinating book critically discussing the so-called pagan history of both Easter and Christmas, as well as examining whether the Christian should follow the Feasts of the Jewish faith. Campbell carefully examines the history and the arguments for and against it. I also appreciate the consistent references to Romans 14, with Paul's command, effectively, to follow your conscience on whether to observe these holidays or not.
December 20, 2022
Excellent little book about Christmas and Easter.
January 14, 2025
Content was excellent, but needed some sharper editing.
May 25, 2021
Excellent quick read with great information that’s easy to digest! I’ll definitely be checking out the podcast too!
March 22, 2022
Concise look at the myths and realities behind major Christian holidays.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews