We’re on the brink of War!

Last updated on: November 28, 2010 at 1:24 pm by Dave Griffey

We’re on the brink of War! 2010-11-28T13:24:00-04:00 Dave Griffey

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The war on Christmas that is. Yes, it’s that time of year again, when Conservative groups insist there is a War on Christmas. I’m of two minds about this whole thing. On one hand it seems like one big pain in the butt. Fact is, Christmas has always been part religious, part reason to party. This goes back a thousand years, possibly two. There has long been a tendency to embrace our inner hedonism at this time of year while Church leaders desperately try to emphasize the religious aspects. That age long battle has ebbed and flowed through the centuries. In America, the biggest threat has apparently come from the rise of our retail industry. As consumerism and commercialism elbowed their way into the season, a growing intolerance for a faith based on the humble beginnings of a baby born in a manger started to show. By the early to mid 20th century, let’s face it, most new Christmas songs were long on chestnuts, Jack Frost, and nose nipping, and short on angels, Mary, or Jesus.

By the 70s, when I was old enough to pay attention, I could watch as television stations began to subtly change the exclusive Merry Christmas greeting with the more inclusive Happy Holidays. Various groups, reminding us of wrongs done in the name of religion (read: Christianity), and aided by secularists who still dream of the eradication of religion from the world, gradually pushed the religious aspects of the holiday out the door. In addition, the SCOTUS added to the fray by giving public educators the feeling that the less said about the holiday formerly known as Christmas, the better.

By the 1990s, Christmas had been replaced by Holidays, that baby was occasionally talked about but never mentioned by name, Holiday Pageants were all the rage in schools, and most stores were happy to hang ‘Seasons Greetings’ across their doors. So what happened? Why all of a sudden is there this ‘war’?

FOX News maybe? Perhaps, though FOX was around when the secularization was already well under way. If I were a betting man, and I’m not, I’d bet that it was probably the decision a couple years back of a few stores and retailers to forbid their employees from saying the ‘C’ word. Americans are funny, and typically rebel against overt censorship. A store deciding to hang up a non-committal holiday banner to increase the almighty profit is one thing. A store telling devout Christians that they are forbidden to speak the name of their own holy day publicly, even though the store has every intention on exploiting said holiday for its own god Mammon, was too much. In stepped FOX News and other conservative outlets, and voila! You have a seasonal guarantee as reliable as the media’s annual ‘Jesus was just a myth’ stories.

In addition, some believers in modern atheism, which to me is more of a personality disorder than an intellectual movement, have decided to jump in and basically act like the proverbial prepubescent spoiled brat. With giant signs more or less giving a big middle finger to Christmas (don’t expect similar signs aimed at Muslim or Jewish holidays, for cowardliness is another trait in many modern atheist circles), they are adding to the flames and doing their best to be the living carpet tacks on the easy chair of life that modern atheism has become.

So when stories like this run, which more or less comes down on the side of not much to see here, I come close to agreeing. Close that is. Because on the other hand, I admit there is an itch many secularists and Leftists have to just push traditionalists and Christians out the door, even if it takes the iron hand of the government to do it. That, more than Walmart’s worship of the divine dollar, troubles me. But as for the rest, I’m not some sentimental type who thinks this is new. Most of what the holiday has become is an orgy of greed, materialism, consumerism, and the depression, worthlessness, and hollowness that such a life brings. I don’t need a culture enthralled with such superficial tastes to help me navigate the spiritual meaning of the season. If it happens to coincide with my faith, fine. If it wants to choose to chuck my faith and leave me with a time for God, Church, family and friends, that’s fine, too. My only problem will be when various folks decide it’s time to take it to the next step and ask Big Brother to tell me I can’t express my faith freely. Then I will draw the line.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 27, 2010

Retailers to American Families: Screw You!

Next Post

November 29, 2010 How Spies Like Us became an annual December ritual

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Atheism Awesome things Bigotry for the hip American Blogging Books Catholic Catholic Teaching Catholics on the Internet Christian Persecution Christian Unity Christianity and America Christianity in the Post-Modern World Christianity in the world Culture of Death Culture of Life Current Events Decline and Fall of the Christian West Defending Liberty Fun Stuff Global Warming Good Causes Good News Gun Control Health Care History Holidays Homeschool Humor Important things Inspiring Stories Interesting Insights Interesting Stories Islam and the West Liberal "Tolerance" Liberal observations Life in a post-Christian world Memorial Movies Musings News Other Blogs Our Big Politically Correct Bother Politics Popular Culture Post Modern Values Prayers Pro Life Promoting LGBT Protecting Liberty Racism in the world today Scientism Social Observations Sports Strange Stories The Boys The Catholic Church and the Left The Decline and Fall of the American Dream The end of liberty The Faith and the Left The Faith and the Right The Family The Greatness of God The Internet The Leftist Juggernaut The LGBT Question The Media The Pope The post-liberal Left The Power of Propaganda Tributes Twilight of the American Experiment Uncategorized Uneducating Postmoderns When the Church is wrong Why learn from history when we can repeat it instead Wisdom in the Post Modern Age World Events

Select a Month August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "All things work together for good"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

John James Peter Paul