The War Against Christmas...NOT!
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sick of Christians acting like they are beleaguered and under siege in America. It's unseemly. And wrong-headed.
For a secular nation, we Christians have pretty much routed the opposition. Sure, once in a while, you'll find some oversensitive public official or overcautious CEO doing something dopey about eliminating some display or greeting. But the Christians have won. I'm just not sure if it's a victory we can savor.
The courts have ruled that Nativity scenes can be erected on public property as long as they are surrounded by other images of the season - Frosty, Rudolph, Santa and the rest of that ilk.
So you win, but the manger then becomes reduced to a cartoon, denuded of power and meaning.
We Baptists are real big on the separation of church and state. Our guy, Roger Williams, was driven out of Massachusetts because the state and church were too cozy.
But why do we want government to have anything to do with religion? These are the same guys that run DYFS.
For a secular nation, we Christians have pretty much routed the opposition. Sure, once in a while, you'll find some oversensitive public official or overcautious CEO doing something dopey about eliminating some display or greeting. But the Christians have won. I'm just not sure if it's a victory we can savor.
The courts have ruled that Nativity scenes can be erected on public property as long as they are surrounded by other images of the season - Frosty, Rudolph, Santa and the rest of that ilk.
So you win, but the manger then becomes reduced to a cartoon, denuded of power and meaning.
We Baptists are real big on the separation of church and state. Our guy, Roger Williams, was driven out of Massachusetts because the state and church were too cozy.
But why do we want government to have anything to do with religion? These are the same guys that run DYFS.
posted by Michael Riley at 9:27 AM
9 Comments:
it's come to the point where we need to say "Happy Everything" just to be politically correct and I proudly say Merry Christmas to my Christian colleagues and Happy Chanukah to my Jewish colleagues, etc..I do not say Happy Holidays to appease anyone/everyone.
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i agree with dg, it's Merry Christmas or Happy Chanuka.
NOT HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
AND ITS NOT A HOLIDAY TREE!!!
It's my understanding that the early Christians chose the celebration of the birth of Christ to fall at the pagan Saturnalia. It has only taken 2000 years to get back to the pagen holiday, if we ever left it. Why not choose another arbitrary date for Christmas and continue the fun of the god Santa Claus, opps Saturn.
I guess Jesus should be called "the holiday baby"?
I just say Merry Christmas to everyone. If you are a Jew or a Muslim or a Hindu or a Witch, then too bad. I wouldn't go to a place where 90% of population there is of a different religion and expect that their culture should accomodate me and my beliefs. America is a Christian nation, and we should be ashamed of that fact.
I say Merry Christmas on december 25th, Happy New Years on January 1st and Happy Thanksgiving on the Thursday in November that matters. the rest of that time is the middle of the Holiday Season to me. Christmas is a holy day, the time of year is the holidays.
Since our country is a democracy and that means the majority of votes prevail we have to admit that this could be called a Christian country (I have some doubt about the 90% however). But when an institution receives public money it's from all of us and I, at least, believe that it's aims should secular. However the holidays,words on our money and public buildings have been there for centuries so I think we have to regard that as tradition. This having been said, let's suppose that the wonderful spirit of loving all mankind and helping the needy should become the meaning of Christmas for all instead of the commercial travesty of expensive gift giving the holiday brings now.
Mike,
I had occasion about 10 years ago to spend Christmas week in Cairo, Egypt. That country is about 90% Muslim and 10% Christian(Coptic).
My Christian friends did not feel very comfortable that week.
I do not know what "political correctness" really means. But I do know that growing up as a Jewish kid in the Public Schools of Brooklyn, and having to sing songs about 'Christ our Saviour' and 'our Lord', made me feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome in this great land of the free and home of the brave.
Good people in all religions care about how they make other people feel.
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