Atheists and Christmas

What a ruckus!

Washington State has become the center of attention because of Christmas in Olympia. Reaction! Demonstrations! Public speaking! Anguish and wringing of hands! Does anyone really care? Obviously the atheists do.

When I first saw the report on TV, my initial reaction was that an atheistic display near the Nativity scene is going to be inevitable given the present age of political correctness, fairness, and a lethargic acceptance on the part of the general public, who just accept anything they are told by the media and politicians. After all, they ask, isn’t this a democracy? Doesn’t the constitution provide for free speech? If Christians are allowed a Nativity scene, why can’t anybody have their own display as well?

Let’s examine that approach. For me it seemed to start with the reaction of that “fair and balanced” TV personality: Bill O’Reilly. He seems to be outraged by the sign next to the Nativity scene in the Rotunda of the State Capital Building in Olympia. I’m glad. Despite his faults (see note), he has shown courage and has correctly led an impassioned reaction to a bigoted atheistic sign placed right next to the Nativity scene. Of course O’Reilly, yet again, takes the middle road by wining that this detracts from the dignity and decorum of the capitol building. This was followed by demonstrations and letters to Governor “Grinch” Gregoire, culminating in the theft of the unwelcome sign. That might not have been a wise thing to do, but I had a good laugh about it. The fuss actually took me by surprise, though, because of the present atmosphere of acceptance in the guise of tolerance.

Original meaning of Christmas

Most Christians readily inform us that Christmas is the season in which we remember the birth of Jesus, Son of God, who was born as a mortal human child. He lived the perfect life, resisted temptations, taught us how to live, and then died on our behalf with the blame for our sins placed upon Him. He rose again to conquer death and ascended into Heaven after revealing Himself to His disciples. We exchange gifts as a symbol of the great gift of salvation that He offers to those who repent and accept Him as their Lord.

Traditional American Christmas

We have to ask ourselves how such a profound holiday became such a trivial season of overindulgence and merriment. Everybody (well – we know that’s an exaggeration) loves to celebrate Christmas, but instead of carols on the media we hear about Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. We sing Jingle Bells, and dream of a white Christmas. Instead of decking the halls . . ., we deck the malls! Children remember the season as all about Santa Clause. They learn how an angel gets its wings, from watching “It’s a wonderful life”. We decorate a large tree (now called a “holiday tree”), and instead of going to church, we watch “Elf” on TV. We don’t wish people a “happy Christmas”, but “happy holidays”. (I never liked “merry” Christmas anyway, because that word implies inebriation). We experience traffic jams, get trampled in the rush for bargains, and we overeat, overspend and over-indulge. Then it’s all over, and we have to dismantle the tired decorations and get on with life.

Christmas has long been a heathen festival in which Christ has been kept very much in the background. Ask the average American what Christmas is about, and you will get something about good will and peace. It’s the kind of deception that Satan loves! I am really surprised that atheists don’t support this festival! It takes our minds off religion. It’s right up their alley!

The onslaught against religion

While we Christians have been lulled into lethargy, the world has not been idle. Based on what appears to be compassionate principles, we have been persuaded to exercise tolerance towards our neighbor (doesn’t the Bible say “love one another”?). So as not to rock the boat, we have succumbed to politically correct terminology, which sometimes means that we support a lie. Many words have come to mean something else; a euphemism for what originally would have been shunned or condemned. Standards slide because some might otherwise be offended.

So as not to offend others we have allowed “Christmas” to become “Holiday”. Christmas becomes confused with other festivals, religions and communities. This trend has not stopped at Christmas. It is reaching into other festivals, practices, ethical and moral standards, and fundamental western culture and religion. We rejoice because this is so “diverse”.

We have established a democracy so that the majority in any voting will carry the day. But we compromise the will of the people with an argument favoring the minority because “it isn’t fair”; thus the will of the people is overruled. Let’s see what happens to Prop. Eight in California. The Ten Commandments have been banned in public places despite the First Amendment, which stipulates: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.

While Christians avoid conflict, the Church avoids its responsibility to teach and evangelize. Like the Church in Ephesus (Rev 2:4), the principle denominations have lost their first love. They have abandoned the very beliefs for which the martyrs died. In an attempt to reconcile differences, many have abandoned their message for the sake of union and ecumenism. Others have sought popularity with the congregants and seek large attendances. To do this, standards of worship and teaching must be compromised so as to attract numbers. Brief, topical sermons make everyone feel reassured or sanctimonious. Prayer, repentance and supplication are ignored or played down. Then there are the modernist and liberal theologians who regard the fundamental teachings of the Bible to be symbolic, inadequate and outdated. All mankind, to them, is basically good, and our lives should be meritorious. Heresies creep in. They always do. The warning is clear: "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-unless you repent”. Rev 2:5

Read the history of the church – you’ll see what I mean. Study the Old Testament troubles of the Children of Israel who suffered whenever they drifted from God. To avoid disaster, Christians must make a stand. It’s not easy, and it will get harder.

The Message of Christmas today

Thank God that the decline in America is not total. There are more true believers here than there were in Sodom and Gomorrah when Abraham pleaded with God on their behalf. However, it is time to stand up for our beliefs. We as Christians must not be lulled by the humanistic rhetoric that appears so sensible and compassionate. That would not happen if we studied our Bibles thoroughly and prayed.

Here’s something to think about: It is true that we are taught to love one another. Does that include ignoring their wrongdoings and allowing them to face God’s retribution? Does loving one another allow us to tolerate their misdeeds, immorality and unbelief? Surely we must love the person; but not necessarily their actions or morals.

We must not stand idly by. Those atheists won’t stop at Christmas! I fear that living a Christian life in this world will become ever more difficult. We must either make a stand or we will fall by the wayside. Christians must be as persistent and true to God’s message as the detractors of Christian standards have been to theirs. “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven”. Matt 10:32

I gladly wish you all a very happy and blessed Christmas, and a prosperous new year.

Note

I have been disappointed by Bill O’Reilly. He had me hanging onto every word in his early days on Fox News, but slowly I realized that his urge to be “fair and balanced” left him largely without a message, in spite of his very convincing act as a force to be reckoned with. Somebody once wrote “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”. In my opinion, that has proved to be very true in O’Reilly’s case. For that reason he seems to me to have annoyed many who initially relied on him as a leader in the fight for truth. My own support for him was finally lost on the night he displayed such a dismal lack of preparation for his interview with Michael Moore. During that interview, he let some ridiculous statements by Moore to go unchallenged, and led me to feel that he was out of his depth. Now he has sunk so far that, although he claims to be a Roman Catholic, was talking about “Karma” the other night, with respect to OJ. I wonder if he knows anything about the difference between Christianity and Buddhism.

He and Van Susteren should exchange time slots. I guess he’ll call me a pinhead! I deserve that!