Posted on 12/24/2012 11:33:08 AM PST by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
My company, a major metropolitan newspaper, used to host an annual Christmas party for employees. But, this year, the paper broke with tradition, hosting instead a “holiday party,” so as not to offend the sensibilities of those that do not believe Christ the Son of the God.
Well, I respect the Constitutionally-protected right of every American to practice a religion other than Christianity, the faith of this nation’s founders. Or to practice no religion whatsoever (which I suspect of many, if not most of my journalistic peers).
What I find objectionable, though, is the insistence of non-Christians that the holiday become some sort of ecumenical celebration, if not a strictly secular holiday.
But to the Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, et al., who may be reading these words, let this Christ follower state the obvious:
Jesus is the reason for the season. He’s the Christ in Christmas.
December 25 is not set aside for observance of Hanukkah or Kwanza. It’s not a celebration of the birth of Mohammed, Buddha or Brahma.
The date has been observed since at least 345 AD as a “holy day” by the Christian faithful, with a liturgical feast marking the virgin birth of Christ the Lord.
Here in the United States, President Ulysess S. Grant in 1870 signed legislation that declared Christmas a national holiday. And every president since has officially observed the date on which the birth of Christ is celebrated.
Alas, things have changed mightily since then. The nation’s non-Christian minority has sought to take the Christ out of Christmas, in both the public and private sector.
Indeed, in 2009, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia upheld a school district’s ban on the singing of Christmas carols. And just last month, a federal district court in Los Angeles sided with atheists in banning a Nativity scene in a Santa Monica that had been a 60-year tradition.
Meanwhile, major retailers like Barnes & Noble, Footlocker, Gap Stores (including Banana Republic and Old Navy), Limited Brands (including Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret), L.L. Bean and Radio Shack have replaced “Merry Christmas” in their advertisements with the un-Christian “Happy Holidays.”
And private employers, like the newspaper for which I opine, are no longer hosting company Christmas parties. Instead, they’re putting on politically-correct holiday parties.
Yet, as Christmas Day approaches, this Christ follower is not discouraged.
Because the scripture declares: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Amen.
>>Because the scripture declares: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The secular humanists bring destruction down upon themselves as they congratulate themselves for pushing Christ and Christmas out of their lives.
I say “their lives” because they do not have the power to push Christ out of mine.
Their actions are foretold in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2:
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
(Even as they mock God, God has a plan for them:)
For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
When do you think we’ll see the same people who are trying to remove Jesus Christ from all avenues of life demanding that Muslim holidays become secular?
Most Jews Hindis and Buddhists are quite happy to see Christmas celebrations (some don’t want it taught to their children in public schools, that’s another issue). They respect other faiths and besides its hard to really object too much to so much joy and song and beauty. Our problem is not with believing Jews or the Hindis or Buddhists. The problem is with the “radical secularists” (who can arise out of any ethnic groups). A second part of the problem is how quickly some stores “cave in” to objectors. (That’s a real riddle...)
Amen! There WILL come a time when EVERY knee shall bow and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This will be because they will have had all their misconceptions and prejudices stripped away. They will have no choice BUT to acknowledge the TRUTH. For some, it will be too late and none of their excuses will rescue them from their eternal punishment without the presence of God, without the light of the world, without hope, without love, without all the things they railed against while in this life, an eternity of regret.
As believers, we MUST continue to speak the truth in love, that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him will NOT perish but have everlasting life. We will not be able to get through to everyone, but as long as there is someone, whose heart is seeking to know God, it WILL get through and nothing can prevent it. God is a rewarder of those earnestly seek Him.
It’s most assuredly coming, I fear.
Bush's answer was simple. Perhaps, it was too simple for those whose studies have limited their understanding.
President Thomas Jefferson, however, a man the Left loves to quote when his little phrase from a letter to Danbury Baptists fits their purpose, made declarations about Jesus that are much nearer to those of George W. Bush than Bush's critics among both Republicans and Democrats of the Far Left would imagine or admit.
The same Jefferson who advised young Peter Carr to use his gift of reason to question even the existence of God, who penned our Declaration of Independence which, according to its Author, reflected "the American mind" of the time and included references to a Supreme Being in four distinct manifestations, also extolled the philosophy of Jesus.
In others of his writings he stated that Jesus "preached philanthropy and universal charity and benevolence," that "a system of morals is presented to us [by Jesus], which, if filled up in the style and spirit of the rich fragments he left us, would be the most perfect and sublime that has ever been taught by man."
He wrote, "His moral doctrines...were more pure and perfect than those of the most correct of the philosophers...and they went far beyond both in inculcating universal philanthropy, not only to kindred and friends, to neighbors and countrymen, but to all mankind, gathering all into one family, under the bonds of love, charity, peace, common wants, and common aids," which, Jefferson said, "will evince the peculiar superiority of the system of Jesus over all others."
Comparing the Hebrew code which, according to Jefferson, "laid hold of actions only," "He [Jesus] pushed his scrutinies into the heart of man; erected his tribunal in the region of his thoughts, and purified the waters at the fountain head."
That Jefferson cut out the statements which he believed to be directly attributable to Jesus, pasted them into a little book which he kept by his bed and, according to family, read from them daily, might lead one to conclude that his political philosphy probably was influenced by what he considered to be the superiority of the "philosophy" of Jesus.
It is unlikely that any person alive today has read the writings of as many of the great philosophers as Jefferson. His talents and abilities were legend. His devotion to liberty and to the ideas essential to liberty were based on simple principles, some of which, undoubtedly, came from his understanding of the basic law underlying all valid human law: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Perhaps George W. Bush understood what Jefferson understood: that the philosophy encapsulated in that idea has the power to make people in a society more benevolent, more loving, more caring, and more willing to take care of each other.
There is a sharp contrast between a philosophy of love and the politics of hate which motivate radical terrorists, as well as the radical "progressive movement" which now spouts its personal bigotry in our partisan politics. Thomas Jefferson summarized an idea that tyrants of all political persuasions deny: "The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them."
Ironically, the "subtleties" or "nuances" of Bush's statement may have required a level of understanding of ancient literature and founding period writings missing from the knowledge base of the pundits who criticized it and would ban celebration of "Christmas" today.
On the bright side, however, just as in Tocqueville's time, citizens out here in the countryside of America have an interest in the ideas of their Declaration of Independence and Constitution. They still read their Bibles, as well as their newspapers, and they "got it" when their President alluded to tyranny and to the Author of liberty.
Of course, what Burke, in 1775, called the colonists' "fierce spirit of liberty" is still alive in the hearts of citizens and some still "augur misgovernment at a distance and sniff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze." And, just as he observed then, their religion, "under a variety of denominations agreeing in nothing but in the communion of the spirit of liberty" underlies their devotion to freedom. They "got it" when a former President sounded more like Washington or Jefferson than a 21st Century "progressive" politician.
Merry Christmas! "Peace on earth - good will to men."
I'm a senior manager in a private business, and I have a lot of leeway in determining what kind of festivities we'd have in my office. Christmas is first and foremost in my mind at this time of year, and yet I made sure we had a "holiday party" in my office. My rationale was as follows:
1. I'm not the owner of the company, and therefore have no business bringing a religious message to anything this company does.
2. My employees come from at least four different major religious groups, and that doesn't account for different Christian denominations and doesn't include "atheist" as a religious group.
3. Even most of the self-professed "Christians" in my office seem to have no religious inclinations at all -- at least not in any public sense.
Christmas is my favorite time of year. Anyone who takes Christ out of it is missing out on a lot. And to be honest with you, my office "holiday party" really doesn't mean a damn thing to me and was pretty much an afterthought this year.
Shrinks call the haters who act out to hurt and harm normal people, anti-social personality disorder. It’s par for the course with leftists. They will act out on center stage, until they are put down politically.
Normal people need to come together and boot them from power HARD.
Jefferson didn’t cut out the quotes of Jesus and keep just them. He cut out all the supernatural events. He compared the virgin birth with Athena sprouting from the head of Zeus.
If they don’t want to go to the Christmas party, they can have their own party. What do they want to celebrate, anyway? The start of winter? Why don’t they celebrate the start of spring, summer, and fall, too?
I understand your rationale, Christian friend. If I was in a similar position, I think I would scrap the “holiday party” and have my employees designate a local faith-based organization or charity to which the company would make a contribution.
Good point, but there’s a good reason to have a company gathering anyway. It’s the end of the year and we’ve had a pretty good year under some very trying circumstances, so the staff deserves something like this as a reward for their hard work and to help promote camraderie.
But of course he did. And this showed his ignorance of the difference between a “god,” and the Supreme Being that Plutarch, a pagan, alluded to, which less than between the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus.
Ah, you make a good point. Maybe they could just call it a pre-New Year party and save the Christ- part for a more appropriate place.
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