Free Republic

A conservative activist and Illinois comptroller candidate was escorted from the Illinois State Capitol building Wednesday when he tried to remove a sign put up by an atheist group. William J. Kelly announced Tuesday that he planned to take down the sign put up by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and on Wednesday, he tried to make good on his plan. But Kelly said when he turned the sign around so it was face down, state Capitol police were quick to escort him away.

While Christmas is so familiar that we sometimes wonder whether anything fresh and true can be said about it, there is a way to explore its meaning that may seem new to us today, yet is in fact quite traditional, dating back to the Middle Ages and the ancient Fathers of the Church. Modern interpreters often argue about whether a given Scripture passage should be interpreted literally or symbolically. Medieval writers would question the “either/or” approach. They thought a passage could have as many as four “right” interpretations, one literal and three symbolic. These were: (1) the historical or literal,...

AnalysisMany balk at this element of the Nativity story, but historical and astronomical evidence tends to corroborate it. By Michael J. MillerDuring a 2007 BBC radio interview, the archbishop of Canterbury deconstructed elements of the Nativity story. “Stars simply don’t behave like that,” Rowan Williams said. Asked about the existence of three wise men, he replied, “It works quite well as legend.”But years ago Father Walter Brandmüller, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, published an essay applying the historical-critical method to the question of the Nativity story. (The essay is reprinted without cumbersome footnotes in Light and Shadows: Church...

"The war on Christmas - it's a Commie thing" Matt Barber - Guest Columnist - 12/22/2009 10:25:00 AM SNIPPET: "Are you as annoyed as I am by that nauseatingly amorphous phrase "Happy Holidays?" You may be interested to know that the mindset behind the term precedes America's postmodern love affair with political correctness, tracing back to good ole' fashioned Cold War Communism (PC's uglier big sister)." SNIPPET: "Ronald Reagan once spoke to this noteworthy historical factoid during a Christmas radio broadcast about the Ukraine's war on Christmas. The great Gipper noted: "When the Ukraine was free and not under Soviet...

A photo of a Nativity Scene the Catholic League erected in New York’s Central Park in December 2009. (Photo courtesy of Catholic League) (CNSNews.com) – The New York City-based Catholic League has erected a life-size Nativity scene at the heart of New York’s Central Park, hoping the display will remind Christians in other cities that such displays are legal.   Placed at the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, the Nativity stands prominently in front of the world’s largest menorah – the eight-armed candelabra used to mark the eight days of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.   First...

The baby Jesus in a Nativity scene was reported stolen earlier this week. Friday, the Fairfield Police Station received a letter stating the figure was being held for ransom. The owner is pleading for her baby Jesus back. To Doris Thompson it's more than just a Christmas decoration it's a family heirloom. The Nativity scene was purchased from the sears catalog 50-years-ago. Doris and her late husband Elmer bought it together. The couple was married for 47-years. On Monday, Doris noticed baby Jesus missing. "It made me angry. I thought, 'What type of low life vermin steals baby Jesus.' Who...

A California neighborhood reportedly is up in arms after a resident decorated his lawn with a depiction of Jesus shooting Santa Claus. The controversial Christmas display shows Jesus pointing a double-barrel shotgun at Santa's dead body as Rudolph lays sprawled across the hood of a pickup truck nearby, WNCT reported.

A familiar nativity scene and menorah were removed from the Luzerne County Courthouse lawn Wednesday night because the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to get a restraining order. County Solicitor Vito DeLuca said a Pittsburgh lawyer from the ACLU contacted him Wednesday to give the county an opportunity to remove the items before it filed court action that was already in the works. The ACLU argues the displays violate the separation of church and state clause of the U.S. Constitution, DeLuca said. DeLuca said county officials opted not to spend time and money on a lawsuit – at least not...

PROVO, Utah -- The Nativity at the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum at Brigham Young University includes an elephant, a white rhino and many other animals. "This Nativity is a 300-square-foot presentation that features about 30 different animal species," said Patty Jones, administrative assistant at the museum. "We started this tradition 25 years ago to simply remind our patrons that all things testify of the creator." This year's Nativity is in the center atrium of the museum. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission...

The lunch conversation inevitably turned to whether the White House would display its crèche, customarily placed in a prominent spot in the East Room. Ms. Rogers, this participant said, replied that the Obamas did not intend to put the manger scene on display — a remark that drew an audible gasp from the tight-knit social secretary sisterhood. (A White House official confirmed that there had been internal discussions about making Christmas more inclusive and whether to display the crèche.) Yet in the end, tradition won out; the executive mansion is now decorated for the Christmas holiday, and the crèche is...

On December 1st, 2009, a standing room only crowd attended the second annual opening day ceremony for the Springfield, Illinois Nativity Scene. The display now stands in the center of the state Capitol Rotunda Building and will be on display throughout the Christmas season. The Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC), who coordinated the event, would like to express its deepest appreciation to the Chicago-based Thomas More Society who underwrote the Nativity Scene for the second year in a row. The SNSC would also like to thank the Illinois Family Institute and Isringhausen Imports of Springfield who were co-sponsors of this...

Leesburg, Virginia: Looks like the traditional Loudoun County Courthouse Christmas displays will be absent this year. For almost 50 years the Rotary Club of Leesburg has placed a Christmas tree on the courthouse grounds, Leesburg Today reported. For 20 years, Dennis and Debbie Welch has set up the courthouse nativity scene. But a new policy from the Facilities and Grounds Committee of the Loudoun County Courthouse prohibits any displays, according to Leesburg Today. Phil Rusciolelli has spearheaded the Rotary Club's Christmas tree initiative the past five years.

<p>Atheists asked the Macomb County Road Commission to rescind their order removing a privately maintained Nativity scene set at the crossroads of the city.</p> <p>The Christmas culture wars for 2009 have begun and ground zero is the Detroit suburb of Warren, which for 63 years has hosted a privately maintained Nativity scene set at the crossroads of the city.</p>

Ann Arbor, Mich., Oct 27, 2009 / 06:32 am (CNA).- A 63-year-old tradition of having a privately maintained nativity scene on a public median in Warren, Michigan has been ended after the local road commission received a threatening letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The move has resulted in a lawsuit charging that the ban on the display is discriminatory.In 1945 St. Anne’s Parish received a donation of Christmas nativity statues which were too large to set up inside the church. Some parishioners thought the statues and a manger could be displayed in the center of the village...

John Satawa's family has displayed a nativity scene on a street median in Warren, Mich., virtually every Christmas season since 1945, but following an intimidating letter sent by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Satawa's county has put stop to the 63-year-old tradition. The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation proclaims its purpose in the letter to the Road Commission of Macomb County was to "protect the fundamental constitutional principle of separation of church and state." But Satawa contends there's nothing unconstitutional about his privately owned and maintained Christmas display. With the help of the Thomas More Law Center, Satawa has filed...

Offended by local nativity sceneAs a lifelong Christian, I am deeply offended by the creche that keeps appearing on the Chester County Courthouse grounds. It is racially, culturally and religiously insensitive. Jesus and His family were Middle Eastern and most likely had very dark hair, eyes, and skin — yet this offensive creche, showing the Holy Family and others in the Christmas drama as if they were northern Europeans with light skin and hair, keeps showing up on public property. Mary has blond hair, no less! And all the others have chalky skin and either blond or very light...

"Bring Back Baby Jesus and no one will get hurt - God." So reads a sign on the ground next to a Nativity scene at Alameda Christian Reformed Church in Alameda, Calif., according to the Alameda Sun. It's tough to keep the Christ in Christmas when thieves keep stealing him News reports from all over the country tell of many a missing baby Jesus - even from the town famous for the proposed "Bridge to Nowhere."

Right-wing politicians have protested at the inclusion of Islamic symbols in nativity scenes in northern Italy. Elaborate cribs with figurines enacting the nativity decorate most Catholic churches in Italy at this time of year. A priest at a Genoa church put a mosque and minaret in his crib, while a crib at a Venice school also had a mosque. The Genoa branch of the anti-immigrant Northern League reacted with fury. But a senior church figure said there are no firm rules on what can be included. 'Gesture of inclusivity'

Every year we are flooded with reports from across the nation about nativity scenes being vandalized. This year was no different. Here is a list of some of the incidents that came to our attention:· In Sandusky, Ohio a 50-year old figure of the Baby Jesus was stolen from a downtown park; it was found a few days later hanging from a ceiling fan in the apartment of the thief who stole it·  A Christian pastor in Loma Linda, California was beaten and left in critical condition while decorating his church· In Orange County, Florida a Christian church’s drive-through nativity scene was...

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day   See the Christmastide Overview page for more on the symbols of Christmas that are spoken of on this page and that are used throughout the Season until Candlemas   Christ is born in Bethlehem, alleluia! The mood of this Feast is summed up by words of the angels to the shepherds in Luke 2:10-14: And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the...