Ed Brayton brings us news from the front.
Bryan Fischer says he’s not going to refer to the war on Christmas anymore. Is he finding rationality? Of course not. He’s just decided that the non-existent war on Christmas is really a non-existent war on Christ.
I would have let this pass without comment, but I also then heard a discussion of the “War on Christ” on our local American Family Radio affiliate (WQSG). (I’ve always had a habit of listening to right wing radio, but as Axl put it, “I used to do a little but a little wouldn’t do. So the little got more and more.”)
Before I got out of the car, whoever was talking explained how wrong it was that stores like the Gap wanted to profit off of Christmas but didn’t want to call it Christmas. Translation: commercialization of Christmas may be an abomination, but it’s our abomination.
Like so many of these other public square Christianity discussions – like Ten Commandments displays at public facilities or prayers at public functions – I don’t think the conflict is really about keeping or losing faith. Do many people really believe that public displays of piety really improve the moral fiber of the polity? I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. Rather, this is once again about marking territory; an expression of cultural dominance. And, I guess when small things like what a retail clerk says to you at check out suggest that the cultural dominance is slipping, it can be disconcerting.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m a Christian, and I would rather the stores not make a religious link to their sales. It hurts my religion when they do.
I’ll make my yearly post regarding the Advent Conspiracy now. Their own summary explains it best:
If you are a Christian who is upset about the commercialization of Christmas, or if you know one, please visit or send them to this site:
http://www.adventconspiracy.org
There is a war on Christmas, but it isn’t from retailers saying “Happy Holidays”. It is from Christians making the assumption that spending their money buying stuff is a replacement for Christ’s example of compassion through spending time on someone.
Jason, I don’t know if I sometimes agree with you, always agree with you, or never agree with you, and I haven’t read your link. But I can say this: I can’t stand to enter retail establishments between mid-October and late-January. They really repel me. As children, we always had magical Christmases because we had wonderful Advents, and by wonderful I mean full of wonder, preparation, and waiting. Partly this was from my mother who was Irish-Catholic and taught us some specific traditions, but I think it came from the general culture also. I feel like we gave that to our children as well, but, as families grow, new traditions must be melded with old (and this is not in itself a bad thing), and for more recent family members, seeing value in the quietness of Advent is hard if they grew up feeling differently about Christmas traditions. I have the opportunity to make some small changes in that this year and I am going to try, but will be going against the tide. Wish me luck (or peace and joy!)
American civil religion, mixing religion and patriotism, has a murky history with unfortunate consequences for everyone.
Right on, Jason.
Well, we could be all Puritanical and just outlaw Christmas all together?
Then again I’m more of a Kwanzaabot and Chanukah Zombie man myself more so than Robot Santa. :-)
Well, here’s a link to my (overly) long take on the War on Christmas, from the perspective of a Jew against whom Christianity has often been used as a bit of a club: http://blog.wallack.us/2011/12/happy-holidays-ben-stein-chain-emails.html
I am a Festivus man myself. I even have a Festivus pole to challenge others with feats of strength. And that darn thing hurts.
More people than you think seem to believe, vaguely, that we must make public display of Krustianity or a highly-placed source will be wrathful toward us.
I did not realize that Krusty the Clown led a heretical offshoot of Christianity, Krustianity. Of course Krusty, Herschel Krustofski, is Jewish, so there is precedence for the sect.
And Herschel is known to be cromulent, so there’s that.
Herschel is slighlty corpulent, also. And likely flatulent, slobbing down all that stuffed cabbage and knishes.
Now Carlito thinks he’s embiggened.