Who would have believed just a few short years ago that college sports
teams would come under an NCAA ban if they refuse to give up their Native
American mascots? Who would have believed that people would actually be
upset when someone uses a masculine pronoun to describe humanity? And does
anybody really believe Western Civilization as we know it would descend
into chaos if researchers use the initials B.C. and A.D. to refer to
periods of history?
The latest controversy is over the term "Merry Christmas." Even Ebenezer
Scrooge would find the ACLU's position a bit over the edge. Rather than
just say "Bah, humbug" and move on, some on the left want every mention of
Christmas banished from the light of day.
Everywhere Christmas is
traditionally acknowledged, that acknowledgment is now being challenged
from the left as being insensitive to some people's religious
sensitivities. That is a bit like saying we shouldn't celebrate George
Washington's birthday, because some people believe Abraham Lincoln was the
best President. The Prince of Peace, who is the one and only Son of the God
of love, has somehow become an object of hate by those who would seal up
the birth cave and shoot the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem.
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. A Christmas
without Christ is not possible, because Christmas centers on the fact that
God became a man and walked among us. Not everyone believes this, of course,
but everyone doesn't have to believe something in order for it to be true.
And no one is compelled, either by law or by common assent, to wish anyone a
Merry Christmas or to embrace belief in the first coming of the Son of God.
If you are an atheist, and I greet you on the street by saying Merry
Christmas, just ignore me and go on about your business. If you come to my
daughter's Christmas program (or Winter Festival if the ACLU has already
browbeaten the local school board) and you hear a traditional Christmas
carol, why not just shake your head and marvel at the fact some people still
passionately believe in what you believe to be a myth. But please don't
force your atheism on me and every other believer by demanding that you
should never have to hear a religious word in public.
After all, I thought the people on the left were supposed to be bastions of
tolerance. Or is your tolerance nothing more than a covering for your
anti-Christian bias?
As a born again, evangelical Christian, I am certainly offended by much of
what goes on in the cultural marketplace. When certain four-letter words
are deleted by the television censors, but God's Name being taken in vain is
allowed to flow into my living room, I am offended. When I drive down the
interstate and find myself being greeted by a scantily clad woman smiling
at me from a billboard, who is supposed to entice me into visiting a certain
restaurant named after the sound an owl makes, I am offended.
When my
daughter comes home from school and tells me her biology teacher thinks she
is a moron, because she believes she has God as her heavenly Father instead
of a monkey as her uncle, I am offended. But I do not lawyer up, run to the
nearest courtroom, and demand that every activity that offends me be ceased
immediately.
How did we become so thin skinned in America that we can't tolerate each
others' belief systems? America was founded on the principle of freedom of
religion for all, not freedom for all from religion.
So what to do about the massive assault on Christmas? As for me and my
house, we intend to have an intentional merry Christmas. When I was out
shopping over the weekend, I was greeted by several store employees with a
perky "Happy Holidays!" My response was to immediately say, "No, Merry
Christmas!" Sometimes I received a knowing smile and a quick "Merry
Christmas" in return. Sometimes I got nothing more than a puzzled look or a
steely-eyed glare. Sometimes the person would look at me with that, "Oh, you
are one of those," look. In each case, however, I succeeded in making my
point, and I actually had two opportunities to discuss why I refused to
settle for a cheery "happy holidays."
If you know for a fact that a store has instructed its employees to be sure not
to mention Christmas, why not shop somewhere else? Money talks, and if
enough money says goodbye to enough stores, policies will change. If your
school district has banned the singing of Christmas carols, or your local
city or county council rejects a nativity scene, show up at the next school
board or council meeting with 150 of your closest friends, and let them know
where you stand.
Christmas is not about Santa Claus, having a happy holiday, or getting a
warm "season's greetings" from the manager of the local shopping mall. It
is not about lights on the tree or candles in the window or Rudolph or
Frosty. It is not merely "the holiday season," the "season to be jolly,"
or "the most wonderful time of the year."
It is the day we celebrate the fact that a world that sat in darkness has
seen a great light.
It is the day we marvel at the fact that a virgin conceived and brought
forth her first born Son, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in
a manger.
It is the time of year when we remember that the hope of the world was
announced from heaven, with angels proclaiming "Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased" (men meaning every
human).
Now go have yourself an intentional Merry Christmas!
