CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS

The following article taken from the latest issue of the Baptist Courier is reprinted here for our reading. Bro. Tony Beam is thinking along the same lines as are many of us as we see the secular world seeking very diligently to render Christmas null and void.

Christmas from a Christian worldview

By Tony Beam

Merry Christmas … and I mean Merry Christmas. Not "Seasons Greetings" or "Happy Holidays" or "Happy Hanukkah" or "Merry Kwanzaa." This is the Christmas season. It is the time of year when we celebrate the fact that God was born a man in a manger. We rejoice because, in the words of the heavenly host, "today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11, NASV).

I mean no disrespect, and I have no wish to conjure up images of the Grinch, but if you see me on the street and you greet me with anything less than "Merry Christmas" you will get an earful of what I think about the all-out assault that is being leveled against the real meaning of Christmas. It has been building for several years, but this year, in particular, it seems that many people are becoming equal-opportunity offenders of the rights of Christians to celebrate the birth of our Savior.According to a recent Newsweek poll, 67 percent of Americans believe in the virgin birth. But from New York to California and everywhere in between, Christmas is being systematically removed from the public square. If you think I am exaggerating, consider the following examples:

In South Orange, N.J., even musical scores that have anything to do with religion will not be allowed. That means not only are the lyrics of songs offensive to the politically-correct crowd, but also any music which might cause someone to think about the lyrics. (Can anybody say "thought police"?)

In Colorado, the Elbert County Charter School is being sued by the ACLU because the principal refuses to censor Christmas. The ACLU alleges, presumably with a straight face, that any reference to Christmas during the Christmas season amounts to anti-Semitism.

Kindergartners at a public school in Oregon were invited to bring cards to a Christmas party, but a teacher barred one student from distributing his holiday greeting because it mentioned the reason for the season — Jesus Christ.

And finally, in Sacramento, Calif., teachers are being told that they are not allowed to say the word Christmas or to mention anything in relation to the Christmas season. One of the teachers said, "I don’t know if I want to go on teaching. People need to stand up to all these wackos." I couldn’t have said it any better. A lot of "somebodies" who understand that Christmas does not exist apart from Christ need to raise their voices against this anti-Christian madness. A distinctly Christian worldview demands that we refuse to join the innkeeper in Bethlehem who relegated the King of kings to a cave. We must keep Christ in Christmas so the world will know what Christmas is really all about.

Beam is director of the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville College.

To read other interesting articles and Christian news, click on the Baptist Courier link in the right hand column.