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Gramster Rant: The Biblical Origins of Sleigh Bells
What do sleigh bells and sleds have to do with the true meaning of Christmas? These bright red symbols of holiday cheer actually trace back to the Feast of Stephen, celebrated as the second day of Christmas around December 26-27. This commemoration honors Stephen, Christianity's first martyr, recorded in Acts chapters 6-8.
Stephen was appointed by the early church to care for widows and the poor, ensuring no one was overlooked in the distribution of goods. After being falsely accused, he delivered a powerful sermon before being stoned to death - with Saul (later the Apostle Paul) standing by approving his execution.
By medieval times around 1300-1400, the Feast of Stephen evolved into a beautiful tradition. People would load sleds with goods and gifts, adorning them with bells - long associated with the church - to distribute to the poor. The bells served a practical purpose: when people heard the sleigh bells approaching, they knew help and provisions were coming.
This tradition eventually influenced what we now know as Boxing Day in England. While we haven't forgotten the sleighs and bells in our modern Christmas celebrations, we've largely forgotten their biblical foundation and deep meaning. When you see sleigh bells this Christmas season, remember they represent Stephen's legacy of serving others and ultimately giving his life for Christ.
Bible Idiots Deep Dive: False Beliefs About the King James Bible
Several common misconceptions persist about the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible:
- The KJV was not the first English translation - it was actually the 10th, following Wycliffe (1388), Tyndale (1516), Coverdale (1535), Matthews (1537), Taverner's (1539), Great Bible (1540), Geneva Bible (1560), Bishop's Bible (1568), and Rheims (1609).
- The KJV was not "authorized by God" but by King James I for church use, as stated on its original title page.
- While generally literal, the KJV is not always strictly literal in translation. Examples include paraphrasing "may it never be" as "God forbid" (Luke 20:16), and "they reviled him" as "cast the same in his teeth" (Matthew 27:44).
- The KJV is not a perfect translation - only the original Hebrew and Greek texts were divinely inspired. The KJV underwent four major revisions (1629, 1638, 1762, and 1769).
- Modern versions are not inferior to the KJV. They often draw from older, more reliable manuscripts discovered since 1611.
- The KJV translators were not divinely inspired like biblical authors - they admitted this themselves in the original 1611 preface.
Right On or Way Off?
"Christians should speak out on moral issues not because they feel offended or because their cherished beliefs are threatened but because they have compassion for those who are trapped by destructive ideas." RIGHT ON! Truth must be spoken in love, not from a position of self-protection but genuine concern for others caught in destructive patterns.
"Progressive Christianity substitutes affirmation for transformation thereby giving lost sinners a false sense of assurance while leaving them in their sin." RIGHT ON! Simply affirming people in their current state without pointing them toward transformation through Christ does them no favors.
"Calling yourself non-binary categorizes everyone into binary or non-binary creating a binary system which makes you binary again." RIGHT ON! The logic is self-defeating - creating a new category of "non-binary" versus "binary" simply establishes another binary system.