Posted on 12/10/2001 2:44:22 PM PST by ouroboros
I know it’s been secularized, but Christmas really is a religious holiday. It’s sad to see so many people forget that aspect.
Yes, I know perfectly well that the actual date of Jesus’ birth is unknown and that the early church adopted Dec. 25 (or Jan. 6 among the Orthodox) because it coincided with a pagan festival. So what. When we celebrate our children’s birthdays, we don’t celebrate the day, we celebrate the children. It is their living presence that we celebrate. And that is what religious Christians celebrate, the living presence of the Messiah.
Don’t think either that to say “religious Christians” is a redundancy. There are a great many nominal Christians who really aren’t all that religious. I know. I grew up in a church so fundamentalist that the members thought the presence of a Baldwin piano in the church would be sufficient heresy to send the whole congregation to hell. On the other hand, there are some Christians so liberal that they view the Bible as a dirty book written by bigots.
Brother Dave Gardner, a classic Southern comedian, used to explain the difference between Northern and Southern Baptists this way: “The Northern Baptist says there ain’t no hell. The Southern Baptist says, ‘The hell there ain’t.’”
I’ve usually found that most any religion is better than the people who practice it. Perhaps that is because the religion is divine and the people are human. Nothing will take the steam out of one’s faith more than getting involved in the business affairs of the church. If Americans could only learn the great truth that human beings are invariably fallible, then they might look with a kinder eye on their fellow congregants and with a considerably less starry eye on government.
James Madison put the problem so well when he said that if men were angels, they would not need a government, but since they are far from angels, where do you find people you can trust with power? You have to dip into the same bucket to get both the rulers and the ruled. The pragmatic answer, and our Constitution is a most pragmatic document, is to scatter the power among competing interests.
I was reading Cicero’s “Philippics” the other day (no kidding, I read them while waiting for my car to be repaired). These were attacks Cicero made against Mark Antony shortly after Julius Caesar’s assassination. Poor Cicero is a perfect example of the dilemma Madison wrote about. In attacking Antony, he praised Octavius Caesar and another man as great saviors of the republic. Unfortunately, the men he thought were angels made a deal with Antony, formed a dictatorial triumvirate and put Cicero’s name at the top of their list of 2,000 people to be murdered.
I might seem to have wandered far, but the point is this: Government cannot be responsible for the morals of people. For morality, you have to look to Jesus or Allah or Jehovah or Buddha. Religion and reverence for things religious are necessary in order to teach people to be good, and only good people can remain free in a republic. Roman history teaches that point very well.
Any religious holiday is worth celebrating in my book, for all religions address the great questions about life and death and man’s place in the universe and how he ought to conduct himself. You aren’t going to find that in a political speech or in stories about retail sales figures.
It’s far more important for churches, mosques, temples and synagogues to be filled than it is for the malls to be crowded. There’s nothing we can buy that is permanent. It all ends up in the landfill.
There are no answers in stores or government offices to any of the really important questions.
Do not fly the flag, do not spend money on loved ones, but be sure to be a real patriot and drop a check to the Holy Land Foundation first chance you get (those poor Palestinians really need your help). Charley's World
At its heart, Christmas is religious. However, throughout history, it has been celebrated by the vast majority of Europeans in a secular fashion: In Britain, for instance, Christmas was a time of drinking, dancing, and general revelry in the 19th century and before.
I, however, am glad that Christmas is such a commercial windfall.
If certain people did not depend so much financially on it, they would have banned the public celebration of Christmas, as a "hate crime" long ago!
Merry Christmas!
But if we can't pass laws against things we want our children to believe are immoral, how will we ever be able to convince them that they are immoral???
</totalitarian>
There are no answers in stores or government offices to any of the really important questions.
Oh that's right. Guess I'll just quit my job and start feeding and clothing my family with hymns and prayers.
Actually, the Old Calendar Orthodox celebrate the Nativity of Christ on January 7th. This is hardly the first time that I've encountered someone who confused the Western Epiphany (also known as Three Kings' Day or 'Little Christmas') with the Orthodox celebration a day later.
Heck, it took me 5 years to convince my mother-in-law who kept calling to wish me "Merry European Christmas!" on Jan 6!
Christmas on Jan 6, indeed!
I thought Charley had written some articles in support of private ownership of firearms for defense! Pity if I'm mistaken.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.