It’s a Grinch Thing
“Nearly every American liked Christmas a lot,
But the far-Left, who lived in self-righteousness, did not!
The Left hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be their heads weren’t screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, that their jeans were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all,
May have been that their brains were two sizes too small…”
Two thousand years ago, a man was born in Judea (a region of modern-day Israel). During three years of His adult life He preached a social philosophy similar to what many might call “The Golden Rule.” He gained a large following and thus was considered a heretic and a threat to the ruling powers. As a result of this, He died to prove the point of his teachings.
Christians believe that in this action He reconciled humanity to God (absolving us of our sins, or that which separates us from God) because He was in fact God incarnate, or an avatar of God, to put it in broader terms; His teachings, the Gospel (or “Good News”) was that of the redemption He had come to bring.
Since then, despite the occasional (and occasionally atrocious) subversion and perversion of His teachings brought about by human frailty, we have experienced 2000 years of good works in His name. The ideas and mores to which most in the Western world still adhere were alien concepts in the day of Jesus Christ. Given the brutality and cheapness of human life at the time, people were glad to hear His Message.
It has been said that “the only problem with Christianity is Christians;” atheists, agnostics and pastors alike have taken Christians to task throughout history for failing to “walk the walk” proscribed in the Gospels – and this has not been without good reason. This admonition is necessary, I believe, now more than ever, given the challenge the Church faces from secular socialists.
Historically, the preeminence of Christianity has only been threatened by other religions and (in modern times) by totalitarian regimes whose need for popular allegiance and control preclude the tolerance of any religion. Given that, it is clear that the “War on Christmas” or the “War on Christianity” is indeed real; those who deny this are akin to those Mafiosi who used to argue that the Mafia didn’t exist.
The propaganda of the secular socialists asserts that the Christian majority “oppresses” other religions via their religious observances. I would like to know how, excluding the rash actions of criminals who hardly qualify as members of the Christian majority. I don’t recall once in my life ever hearing a sincere Christian person complain as regards another’s religious observances, nor have I seen Christian factions within a community rise up to do so. In fact, our Congress recently (and unanimously) passed a resolution recognizing the Muslim celebration of Ramadan (an imprudent measure at this juncture in time, but that’s another story).
Shortly afterward, Congress also passed a resolution acknowledging the importance of Christmas and Christianity in America, lending credence to the assertion that even our Democrat-controlled Congress realizes the threat.
It is indeed time for Christians to live with a mind toward “walking the walk,” but they must also be mindful that their religious rights and civic duties demand proactivity concerning the enemies of Christianity in America, those Grinches who sit within their icy mountain caves of arrogance and soullessness, plotting and deriding. Those secular-leaning individuals who are not dedicated socialist ideologues should as well bear in mind the teachings of that man born 2000 years ago in Judea, and what sort of world we might have had He never been born.
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Stumble It!
December 26th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I’m a “secular-leaning individual.” What kind of world might we have had without Jesus? Well, that depends. We can primarily thank the emperor Constantine for Christianity. Without Jesus, it’s quite likely that he would have fallen in love with one of the many other mystery cults that were popular in his time. Or maybe he wouldn’t; there’s no way to know.
Not sure I’d call the crusades, the Thirty Years War, or the Inquisition occasional perversions of Christianity, either. Not that they hold a candle to communism.
December 26th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Let’s keep in mind that the Thirty Years War had its roots as much in Franco-Spanish rivalry over German territory as it did in religion. The Inquisition was, at least at first, before monsters like Torquemada turned it into a runaway freight train of horror, largely a reaction to the recently-overthrown Muslim hegemony in Spain, and reflected the perception that, if the victory were to stand, anti-Christian forces needed to be eliminated from the country.
And, let us not forget that the Crusades were a DEFENSIVE reaction by European Christians to the brutal, forced conversions imposed by the Muslim invaders, who had already overwhelmed Asia Minor and North Africa, both formerly strongholds of the Christian faith. Indeed, the First Crusade was called by Urban II only because the Byzantine emperor had urgently requested his assistance in fending off the dire threat of invasion. There were times during the various crusades that Christendom itself was threatened with extinction. Yes, some crusaders went totally beyond the pale in terms of what we now consider civilized, but keep in mind that once launched, the Church effectively lost control of those armies thereafter. In other words, most of what they did, they did of their own accord, and for reasons having little to nothing to do with Christianity, but everything to do with self-aggrandizement.
It’s fine to point out the Church’s excesses, and there were many, but they have to be put into historical context if they are to be understood. More to the point, taking them out of context only serves to distort the record of a faith that has given humanity most of its greatest successes, and instilled a degree of tolerance not otherwise seen in cultures both pagan and theistic. Please, give Christians a little credit, at least. The fact that Christianity hasn’t always been able to control all of its alleged adherents doesn’t make the faith itself evil. Jesus’ message of love makes it quite the opposite.
December 27th, 2007 at 12:08 am
There have been many, many great Christians throughout history. Agreed. And one of Christianity’s greatest accomplishments was to preserve many of the works of ancient pagan authors! So western civilization has always been a tapestry, as masterpieces of literature such as “Paradise Lost” and “The Divine Comedy” clearly demonstrate.