Rational, intelligent people do not get offended when someone tells them "Merry Christmas".
Rational, intelligent people do not get offended when someone says "Happy Holidays".
When you say that you want to be greeted with a big sign that says "Merry Christmas!" at Wal-Mart or Target, subtextually it means that you're okay with the commericalization/secularization of one of Christendom's two most sacred holidays.
When Christians get themselves in a kerfluffle over the "Holiday tree" versus the "Christmas tree" remember this: the Christmas tree was a pagan symbol first!!! Like so many things, the Church incorporated it at an attempt to encourage seemless conversion of Pagan peoples. But most people don't know the history of their religion that well so I guess it doesn't matter.
"Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!"
3 comments:
just like Jesus was born in early spring, but the date was changed to coincide with winter solstice so early christians wouldn't be persecuted just like the pagan's weren't.
And then there's that! I don't think most people are aware of just how different the messages of Jesus in the Gospels are when compared with the messages of Paul. Jesus is kind of a hippie and Paul was a bureaucrat who simply wanted to maintain order.
As an interesting read I suggest Charles Freeman's The Closing of the Western Mind. It's quite fascinating.
Amen, that's why we Episcopals use 3 things to define faith
1. Scripture
2. Tradition
3. We ask the question, "Does this shit make any sense?" and then we wing it.
Post a Comment