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Confessions of a Closet Christian 47: The Starbucks Christmas Cup

Confessions of a Closet Christian 47: The Starbucks Christmas Cup

Last updated on: February 23, 2016 at 11:01 pm by Christian Podcast Central

Confessions of a Closet Christian 47: The Starbucks Christmas Cup 2016-02-23T23:01:36-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

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Okay, so I kept seeing references to the new Starbucks Christmas cup on my newsfeed and how it made some Christians mad. I ignored the posts because I couldn’t help thinking: “Great. What did we do now?”

I eventually got sick of seeing the reports because I didn’t understand how my Tall, Nonfat, 180 Degree, Extra Whip, No Foam Peppermint Hot Chocolate could have offended Christians and caused them to speak out for Jesus.

Image: studentprintz.com

A quick skim of an article told me Christians on social media were upset because Starbucks took Christmas out of its cups.

I was confused.

As far as I could tell, Christmas in the religious sense wasn’t ever really on Starbucks cups. I’m a former Starbucks partner, meaning I’ve worked at Starbucks, worn the apron, tasted the coffee, and talked with the customers. During the time I worked at a store in New York City, there were ice-skater’s and carolers on the cups. There were snowflakes and snow banks on the cups, but there wasn’t anything about Jesus. Or Christianity. Or Christmas. Except for the red. That’s a Christmas color.

I wasn’t really sure how the argument that Starbucks was being too politically correct and open-minded was valid. They’ve always shown the holiday spirit in their cups. And, in some ways, they’re more Christmas-focused than your general corporation, as they make the effort to design a red cup and they release the “Christmas Blend” coffee every year.

If you’re going to get upset that Christ isn’t appearing in Christmas traditions anymore, you’re going to be very busy writing to just about every small business, retailer, corporation, and production company in existence for glorifying the likes of Rudolph, Frosty, and even Santa Claus.

While Santa is derived from the religious Saint Nick, the modern Santa can be corny, cheesy, and cartoony. In fact, we spend the holiday season debating the existence of Santa with children more than we consider the existence of and the importance of Jesus in our lives.

As far as I’m concerned, Christ was removed from Christmas a long time ago.

And I’m just getting started regarding Joshua Feuerstein and his viral social media video. This is a guy who’s self-described as “an American evangelist, internet and social media personality.” He also says his “charisma and his bold, passionate and distinctive communication style resonates with the Millennial Generation.”

As a Millennial, I can safely say that my first reaction to his video was: “What are you talking about?”

Here is Josh’s video, so you can get a feel for who this guy is:

Yikes, indeed. I’m not sure how trying to offend someone is a way to spread the love of God. I find it so strange that he makes a point of saying, “And Starbucks, guess what – just to offend you, I made sure to wear my Jesus Christ shirt into your store. And since you hate the Second Amendment, I even carried my gun.”

I don’t know what Jesus would have thought of coffee or Starbucks, but I know he would love the people behind the Starbucks counter and in Starbucks headquarters.

We’re supposed to love our neighbor and that should probably include Starbucks since they’re literally on every corner.

I’m also not sure what Jesus would have said about gun control. But I’m not convinced carrying a gun into a coffee shop is a way of convincing people that Christ and Christmas should be celebrated. A lethal weapon doesn’t exactly spread Christmas cheer.

It seems to me that Joshua Feuerstein’s attempt at not being politically correct is just as damaging as being politically correct can be. I’m not sure Jesus was all that bothered with politics. He told us to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.” And then he loved people.

I’m not sure we even know what that means now. To really love people – every people – genuinely. We’re too preoccupied with our rights, our material objects, and ourselves.

I think if we were actually like Jesus and loving like Jesus, people – every kind of people – would draw near to us like they did to him.

Instead, we use Jesus to seek attention and reach YouTube fame, exalting ourselves and, ultimately, repelling the ones Jesus loves. Why give them another reason to hate Christians? They already have so many.

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