“Keep Christ in Christmas” isn’t just a spiritual command for fundamentalists, it’s a grammatical one as well. If you’ve ever heard a preach spend thirty minutes decrying the use of “Xmas” as a conspiracy by secular humanists to rob our nation of its Christian soul, then you might have been a fundamentalist. One speaker comes to mind who even suggested that if you lack enough space on your signs and cards that ChristX would be a more appropriate shorthand.
This particular foible is a favorite of mine because it demonstrates a perfect storm of ignorance and fear. Even a tiny bit of research would show that “X” has been used an abbreviation for “Christ” for almost five-hundred years without any disrespect intended. ΓΒ But that’s just not nearly as useful as a wild-eyed rant about how Christ is being denied a seat at His ΓΒ own birthday party.
I can only imagine how different things would be if fundies spent half the time trying to keep spirit of Christ in Christmas through acts of love and charity as they do fighting a non-existent battle to keep His name in the title of the holiday.
The war on the war on Christmas was an all-too-frequent component of holiday sermons at the last church I attended. In contrast, my current church’s pastor just taught about the history of Christmas, showing that since Greek and Roman times, it was more about drunken revelry than children, family, and gifts (a shift that happened largely in the past couple hundred years). I can’t help but wonder if the closet fundies in the congregation were upset by his rebuttal of the war on Christmas…
Keep the Mass in Christmas.
James…that is wonderful.
James, you’re such a heathen. I suppose you’re one of those unholy people praying thanks to God and taking Communion at midnight on Christmas than sitting at home, watching TV, and overreating, like the rest of us holy, spiritual people. I mean, really, you just don’t know how to celebrate Christmas… and yes, I said, CHRISTmas.
π
@Natalie,
I’m so spiritual, I plan on being in bed by 9:30…after making the meeting with the Moose guys and getting my fill of wings and cheap pop.
And beer. Don’t think we don’t know you’re having beer. π Shoot, HF’s FOP lodge has the biggest bar in the world… ha ha.
@Natalie,
I like the way you think…put me down for a pony keg of your best import.
HF is a Yuengling man. I think that’s the only thing you can get here. π
Natalie ~ Yuengling?! Pottsville, perhaps?
Indeed!
I’m in Hazleton. Just moved here from IL.
Christmas is the ultimate fundy holiday, because they are the only ones who do it right (in their mind, of course). Catholics and other liturgical traditions spend way too much time focusing on the peripheral people in the story, like Mary and Joseph. Cultural traditions about Santa, yule logs and sleigh bells in the snow are just tools of Satan to keep people’s minds focused away from Jesus. And of course retailers (the very ones who are trying to take Christ out of Christmas) are only interested in Christmas for the money they can make. To fundys Christmas is all about Jesus coming so that He could one day die. If you remind everyone time and again that Christmas presents are reminders about Jesus who came so that He could one day die, then that is OK. But the most important thing to have at Christmas is a big musical production so that all those people distracted by reindeer and buying presents will realize that fundys are right and they were wrong.
I was attempting to speak from the fundy mindset, for those who may be concerned. I personally think the Christmas story is a beautiful example of God coming to earth in the most unlikely way possible, and to miss the elements involving His parents and the others who came to see Him is to miss the lesson God wants us to learn. I also appreciate the fact that American culture, while certainly misguided in some of its emphases, goes nuts over Christmas. I think it’s wonderful, and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Yeah, because fundies who celebrate Christmas for only one day (and, for that matter, Easter) are somehow better than those who celebrate it for 12 (50 in the case of Easter). Yep. Fundies definitely spend more time focusing on Christ’s birth and resurrection than those evil liturgical types. π
It should be worth mentioning that Christmas would be more accurately celebrated during Succot – or late September.
I know Dec. 25th is inaccurate, but I love having SOMETHING to enjoy in winter. It’s just too long and cold and bitter (heehee, I said the b-word) otherwise. I love the symbolism of celebrating in the shortest, darkest days of the year because “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.”
I could not have said it better myself, PW
“like” on PW’s comment.
You liberals always have a way to twist right into some emotional lightweight argument about light and darkness. π
for realz. I do love having something to celebrate in winter as well! The B word (bitter) great side note too
I think your sense of the “rightness” of Christmas in December reflects the age-old schism between the real and the factual of Fundamentalism. Centuries ago, the best thinkers worked on the premise that the “real” world is made up primarily of things unseen, but the “real” world is where the meaning is. The tangible world, the world we see and feel and bump into, is the flimsy world, the world that passes away. If you are a fan of CS Lewis you may recognize what I am describing as “Shadowlands.” In the material sense, we live int he Shadowlands, the world that passes away.
That being said, Fundamentalists go for the “facts” of the birth of Christ, trying to track down the date. But the date doesn’t matter. If Christ were born on, say, April 17 of 4 BC, then every successive April 17 is still no different. The factual calendar cannot be inspired by the real birth of God as man.
But that concept of the shortest, darkest day that is the most remote from the sun does have a hook in the realness of Christ’s birth. When the world was at its darkest and most remote from light, God gave us Light, the Light of the World. Every year we see it again: the darkness slowly being enlightened.
In that sense, December 25 is far more “real” as a commemorative of the birth of Christ than the actual calendar day, the factual day.
Unless, of course, you live south of the equator! π
Ah, true, but then you’d be standing on your head, as people south of the equator do…(to keep their world rightside up)….
The truth is that nobody knows the date, or even the season, when Jesus was born. I’ve heard arguments for why it was probably spring or summer, and now one for fall.
The answer to the popular (in church circles) question, “Whose birthday is it?” is, “Not Jesus’.”
The date is a whole lot less important than the fact that we celebrate the birth, though.
A priest at the church I attended while in college once said that while it’s unlikely that Jesus was born around the time of the Solstice, it did make sense for us to celebrate his birth then, because his birth brought light back into the world.
He and I disagreed about a lot of things, but I definitely remember that discussion fondly. π
Well, since no one has given you an argument for a winter birth of Christ, I suppose I’ll have to do so hereΓ’β¬βand hopefully justify our traditions just a bit.
In the first place, it’s important to note that a late Dec-early Jan date has been related to the birth of Christ since the time of the Church Fathers. Men who studied under the men taught by the apostles, though they did not celebrate Christmas as a holiday, do mention that time for his birth. This in no ways proves anything relative to the time of Christ’s birth. However, they concept that this date was invented in the late middle ages by Catholics trying to replace the winter solstice is simply not true.
Now, as to the viability of a winter birth. The clue for us is contained in the Scripture’s account of Zechariah (John’s father). The priests at the time of Jesus birth served in the temple in a rotation. This rotation was designed to ensure that priests from Jerusalem didn’t get too “uppity,” as we Southerners say, because they were the ones able to serve in the temple. Every priest belonged to an order, and Zechariah’s was the order of AbijahΓ’β¬βthe eighth in line.
We know that the order of Abijah would have served in the temple during the first 10 days of October of our calender. Zechariah and Elizabeth, along with the other families in this order, would have traveled together to Jerusalem to serve in the temple. Assuming that John was conceived not long after Zechariah and Elizabeth’s return journey, we have a mid-Oct conception for John the Baptizer. Certainly he could have been conceived much later, but there’s no real reason to assume so.
We are told in Luke 1 that Elizabeth hid herself for 5 months, taking us to mid-March. (Oct to Nov=1, Nov to Dec=2, Dec to Jan=3, Jan to Feb=4, Feb to Mar=5).
As she is running into her sixth month in Luke 1:26, the angel comes to Mary and announces the coming birth of Christ, specifically referencing Elizabeth being in her sixth month. (Assuming, of course, that there is no big gap between Luke 1:25-5 and verse 26 so that the angel could have said “it is now almost through being six months with her who was called barren.”) Again assuming that no long period of time passed between the announcement of the angel and the conception of Jesus, this puts His conception in mid-late March.
Nine months from mid-late March is mid-late December.
Proof of Dec 25 being the exact date? No. There are some assumptions here: that John was conceived no later than a week after Zechariah and Elizabeth’s return home; that the angel came to Mary as Elizabeth was passing from her finished 5th into her 6th month; that Mary conceived not long after the angel came to her. But all these are perfectly legitimate, logical assumptions.
Now, finally I must deal with everyone’s favorite objection. You know the one I mean: the one everyone (especially our unbelieving friends) love to trot out at Christmas partiesΓ’β¬β”Shepherds didn’t keep their sheep in the fields in winter.”
This is quite trueΓ’β¬βordinary shepherds did not keep their sheep in the fields during winter because of the heavy rains. But temple shepherds did. Certain flocks on the road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem were kept for use in temple sacrifice. They were out all year round.
It is interesting to note that ordinary shepherds were under a rabbinic ban. Their manner of life made it impossible for them to keep all the strict legal observances of rabbinic Judiasm. As such, they were considered unreliable witnesses and were not frequenters of the temple. The temple-sheep shepherds, however, were not under this ban. They were considered reliable witness, and, if they were the ones to receive the angelic message, would have taken the news to the temple when they resumed work after seeing JesusΓ’β¬βpreparing Simeon and Anna nicely, too.
I really refuse to buy into “everything else” as being a tool of Satan to misdirect everyone away from Christ. Retailers take advantage the season to make money…because that’s what they do. As a matter of fact, Fundies could same themselves much heartburn if they simply remember that the unredeemed will ACT as that…unredeemed and their actions shouldn’t take anyone unaware. So, with that in mind, the hooping and hollaring going on behind pulpits about Rudolph’s red nose is just the ranting of a madman. Fundamentalism is all about the knee-jerk reaction and not about substance. The key to remembering the meaning of the holidays is through the individual family, the church be damned.
Well said. What’s the word that comes to mind?… Ah, yes, sensationalism.
The way they paint it, you can just imagine retailers and everyone not fundy-approved sitting in their dark homes surrounded by candles and sacrifice tables praying to Satan to show them the next thing to come up with.
Yeah, they meet…while it’s not Area 51, it is the sub-teranian level of the abandoned and seemingly harmless, Union 76 gas station EXACTLY 33 miles south of any given town…33 paces from the “X” in the parking area to a stairway 33 steps below to a door that must be knocked briskly 11 x 3 times (33…if you’ve not figured it out, the local Masonic Lodge is heavy into this…in the absence of the Masons, they have outsourced to the guys at the Moose Lodge) where upon you will be granted entrance into the “secret” room (the oil change pit) where you will be greeted to hot wings and K-Mart brand cola and the agenda for the meeting. First on the agenda: See if the Anti-Christ is free for a promotional appearance this coming Easter….
I forgot the all important “secret” handshake…something you would see on a Three Stooges film…whoopwhoopwhoop!
And, since its anti-fundie, there will be no ranch dressing for the wings. No, these reprobates like blue cheese. (so do I, frankly)
@Natalie,
HAAAAAA! Win! Blue Cheese ROCKS!
About your comment to the Pastor’s Wife…I was just like how you described yourself. I was so uptight I was probably the first walking diamond mine. Negative? I looked at EVERYTHING in the worst light; I put the worst construction on EVERYTHING…sometimes, I find myself struggling with that very same thing because I was raised in a negative atmosphere.
ROTFLMAO! You just made my morning!
“I can only imagine how different things would be if fundies spent half the time trying to keep spirit of Christ in Christmas through acts of love and charity as they do fighting a non-existent battle to keep His name in the title of the holiday.”
Now, that deserves a big HAY-MEN!!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaamen!
I know that I am enjoying a shift in my perspective: from always being outraged about something to focusing on being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, self-controlled, etc. and trying to find ways to show love to people. I still feel my heart rate rising when I see articles like “The Joys of a Godless Christmas” (grrrrr) but I know I’M not in charge — God is sovereign. He can defend His own name. I just have to love – and I try to remember to PRAY in those situations where I’d formerly get mad.
I remember always being uptight about things, too, and looking for the wrong in things. Looking back, it seems that I wasted SO much time. It was a freeing day when I realized that not everyone or everything was demon-possessed.
That was me, too. Always looking for the “wrong” in things. What a sad way to live…
I was the same way. The moment that I realized that I was the epitome of a pharisee and that I was so sorry for living my life that way was the crux of my spiritual journey.
The saddest thing of all was that after 10 years in the IFB I didn’t realize what a pharisee really was. I always thought a pharisee was one that taught the law but didn’t keep it. In reality, it was a version of my IFB-self. I taught the law, kept it fairly well but had a heart of pride and egotism that blinded me to the real needs of others. I was a whited sepulcher full of dead men’s bones, more concerned that those I was “ministering” to were keeping the rules rather than meeting the Loving, Merciful Savior.
I think what started waking me up from fundyland was when I worked in the bus ministry at my fundy u. I know that’s very fundy, and it was, but what got me was the inner city kids. Some of them had parents who were crackheads and loved any bit of attention they got. It broke my heart so bad. Some of them would cry and cry because they didn’t want me dropping them off at their Sunday School class, but wanted to stay with me. And, when we showed up to pick them up, they’d run out of their houses.
It was then that I started realizing that fundyism wasn’t the answer for these kids or for people in general. What was needed was real, unjudgmental, unconditional love.
What was funny was that I was so green when I started working the bus ministry, and I worked in The Hood. Luckily, I got paired with someone who was from a bad part of LA, who taught me how not to get myself killed… ha ha.
PW, when you see “the joys of a godless Xmas”, just say, good for them, they get to enjoy it too. It doesn’t take anything away from you unless you let it.
my mother, also a pastor’s wife, however of the fundy type was with my wife a few days ago. They were hanging out and my mom was complaining about being exhausted. She had been doing so many things at the church but it was worth it because it was “ministry.” My wife said, “you know hard work is not one of the fruits of the spirit.” My mom stopped and mentally recounted them several times and then concurred with bewilderment, “I guess you’re right.”
My wife and I both agreed. It is sooooo freeing to focus on things that matter and not what’s wrong with everyone. I felt bad for my mom and for those trapped in that world. Some people may think they enjoy looking down on others and busying themselves “pleasing” God. They don’t know what they are missing.
Thanks for your thought’s PW
hay-men from over here, too. That last paragraph absolutely resonated with me.
I was there with y’all, too, looking for things to be offended over or avoid that it was no fun at all. Now I (try [key word]) to just relax and not be offended by everything that I not only don’t agree with but may just not be my taste.
My favorite comic book as a child was the “Lobo Christmas Spectacular,” in which the Easter Bunny hires Lobo, a ruthless murder machine, to take out Santa.
Most of the images are of elves dying in highly improbable and needlessly gory ways.
Now that’s a war on Xmas.
Now, I hope you are aware that up until very recently, Lobo had seen the “light” and become a pacifistic prophet of the Triple Fish God. Yeah, that didn’t last long.
Also, in the Pagan community, we routinely refer to the followers of the Nazarene as “Xians.” It’s just faster.
Judging by Facebook, I’d say it’s not just Fundamentalists that get this one wrong.
57% of all debunkers on this site won’t have the courage to cut & paste this to your own comment.
“57% of all debunkers on this site wonΓ’β¬β’t have the courage to cut & paste this to your own comment.”
LOL!
In the words of Stephen Colbert:
“Merry ChristChristmasChrist!”
Colbert’s tweets routinely make me snort…
Colbert always hits the nail on the head.
Thank you for this. So true, it kills me how people just take up the martyr cause and don’t even take the time to study things out. It doesn’t take much, it just takes any at all.
Since we’re on the subject of killing the Christmas spirit… I just made Hot Fuzz nearly spit his cereal. I just blurted out, “I think I’m ready to take down the tree.”… *HF crack up and choke* and then he says, “Do you think we can wait for Christmas first?”
I love mornings like this.
Of course, traditionally you shouldn’t put up the tree until Christmas Day (or Christmas Eve, if you must), and you should take it down for Epiphany (January 6 in the Western churches).
Setting it up earlier and earlier is something we get from the retailers who want to encourage everybody to buy Christmas stuff over as long a time as possible.
Eh, I’ve always liked to set it up the first week of Christmas. My parents always waited until the week of and it bothered me, so I do mine earlier. They keep their’s up until New Year’s, but by Dec. 26th, I hate it all and want it all gone.
We’re getting our tree up today – I hope. We didn’t wait this long because we’re particularly traditional, but just because I always put things off to the last minute. Not good. Of course, that means I should get off the computer and start working. Then again, I’m groggy because I watched the first half of the lunar eclipse last night. Yawn.
I meant “yawn – I’m tired” NOT “yawn – the eclipse was boring.” It wasn’t. It was amazing. I just wish the clouds hadn’t moved in.
AGH! (in a very Charlie Brown way) I missed it!!! I was wanting to see it.
It was totally cool.
I’m betting though that there’s a conspiracy theorist fundy out there who will think it’s a sign of god and the end of the world!!
@Lizzy F.: I told my (fundy) mom earlier today that I was disappointed I wasn’t able to see the lunar eclipse last night, thanks to the clouds, and she said something about the moon and this being the end times. π I just bit my tongue and didn’t say anything. It was a much-needed reminder that there’s no way I could go back to fundyland *and* keep (what’s left of) my sanity! The cognitive dissonance would drive my insane.
There have been lunar eclipses regularly approximately since time began, so why would this one (and none of the previous ones) mean we are in the End Times?
@Big Gary: exactly. Of course, Christians have also been suffering severe persecution for the past 2,000 years, not to mention all the wars, disease, famine, etc., that have gone on for millennia. Somehow, though, times are “getting worse” as we near the Great Tribulation when Christians will somehow be exempt from all that. β
I just want Snots to quit drinking out of the damn thing…
Please tell me Snots is an animal, and not your spouse, child, or adult relative.
I hear Snots and I think of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and the dog, Snots.
“If he lays into you, it’s just better to let him finish.”
Correction: His name was Snot. But still.
We set ours up a while ago to give the new dog a chance to get used to the idea. It’s only got lights, garland, and the angel on it. Ornaments TODAY. I mean it! π
I am just about ready to take down ours because I can’t keep our two cats out of it … seems like every time I turn around there’s a cat in the tree.
My cats think the tree is their own little woodland. They are indoor cats so it is a big thrill for them. They climb it, drink out of the base, bat the ornaments off and then curl up and take a snooze under it.
As Darrell’s comments imply, there’s an almost-perfect negative correlation between literacy and being offended by the use of “Xmas” for “Christmas.” In other words, the less you know about the spelling “Xmas,” the more likely you are to be offended by it.
The irony is that all, or at least almost all, of the theologians and seminary students I’ve known (and I seem to have known a lot of them) use “X” to stand for “Christ” or “Jesus” in their own notes. When you write a word many times every day, it just makes sense to use a single, easily-drawn character instead of writing out the word. You aren’t likely to find any mathematicians who write out the names of numbers and functions instead of using abstract symbols.
James makes an excellent point, too. Given the view that most Fundies have of Catholics, you would think they’d be more interested in purging the “mas” (= “mass”) from “Xmas” than in stamping out the “X.”
This happens a lot in Fundyland. The people that get the most offended are the ones that do not know much.
However, as Paul reminded us, our purpose should not be so much provide them with knowledge so much as the LOVE of Christ that they’re not used to experiencing.
I’m a seminary grad and a pastor of a NON-fundamentalist church in a NON-fundamentalist denomination.
This is just about the dumbest argument the fundies make. Seminary students and theologians abbreviate with Xmas, Xnty, Xns, etc. The “X” can be considered the Greek letter Chi, or the first letter of Christ.
Stupid fundies.
Ah, but didn’t you know that Jesus spoke 1611 King James English? If the KJV was good enough for the apostle Paul, it’s good enough for me. π
If we deny him before men than he will deny us before the father. Abbreviating Christ is a slippery slope to Denying Christ.
Slippery Slope you liberal non-fundamentalist Pastor or should I just call you P for short?
*Laugh’s at the ridiculousness of it all*
Apparently I’m not committed to God, I’d rather be politically correct because I DARED to say “Happy Holidays” to some piously religious Christian who felt the need to tell me it was Christmas. This was last week, and I told her it wasn’t Christmas yet, some people were celebrating Hannukah or advent, and then there is also New Year right after Christmas. That means “holidays” not just one particular holiday.
Good for you!
Last week was Advent, not Christmas.
(So is this week, until Friday night.)
I have been wishing people all kinds of things. If they say “Merry Christmas” to me, then I return it. If they say “Happy Holidays,” then I’ll wish that back to them. I’m pretty sure if someone had wished me a Happy Hannukah or Kwanzaa, I’d have wished them the same, even though I don’t celebrate either of those holidays. Making a big deal out of saying “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays” or some other festive greeting only emphasizes ignorance and a judgmental spirit, the very antithesis of the holiday season.
[getting off soap box now]
Staight No Chaser solved this conundrum by wishing everyone “A merry Christmas, Chanukah and also Kwanzaa. Merry Christmas, happy Chanukah, and mer-ry Kwan-zaa too.”
I wish you a Happy Harmonica!
Here’s how I handle the whole “should I say Merry Christmas” conundrum
Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive,
gender-neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced
within the most joyous traditions of the religious
persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to practice a religion at all; plus… A fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2011, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed color, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes.
Disclaimer:
This greeting is subject to clarification or with-
drawal. It implies no promise by the wisher to
actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit.
Ok, so actually I just say Merry Christmas – thats what I happen to celebrate, deal with it. I don’t really give a Mog’s rear end about what other people think and have no problem with how they choose to celebrate their holiday of choice, and they should give me the same lack of concern.
I remember my father fighting a losing battle about this. He was a HAC graduate but he had the ability and inclination to read. He tried very hard to teach our church that saying Xmas was not a bad thing. Didn’t work.
Perfect! I just ranted about this on Facebook not 10 minutes ago. We’ll see how many friends I loose today. π At least all of the people who “liked” the “keep CHRIST in Christmas!!!” page. π
Um, yeah, I meant *lose. Although *loose could work too. I release you, Friends. π
Fundies say “We stole it from the pagans fair and square!” Let’s start a counter movement. “Put Saturn back into Saturnalia!” – the Roman Holy Name Society (which I just now founded). And because we all love Natalie: π Happy Natale Invictus Solis! (Mithraic birthday of the invincible sun). Because we all love Natalie π
Put Saturn back into Saturday? Put the Sun God back into Sunday?
Yes, also the Moon back in Monday, Tyr back in Tuesday, Woden back in Wednesday, Thor back in Thursday, and Frey back in Friday.
And Janus back in January, Mars back in March, Aphrodite back in April, Maia back in May, Juno back in June, and Julius and Augustus Ceasar back in July and August.
Put Woden back into Wednesday (Wednesday= Woden’s Day. Woden= Odin, Norse god. Take that, fundies! hahaha)
Dude, you know as well as I do that if you give the argument, “X stands for Christ in Greek”, they come back and say, “Well, we’re not speaking in Greek are we?!!”
You just can’t win.
nicodemusatnite.blogspot.com
They’re kind of missing the point if they say that. π
Travelling through Fundystan is an adventure in Missing the Point
This is written by a Russian Orthodox priest.
http://preachersinstitute.com/2010/12/01/calculating-christmas-by-william-tighe/
On FB last week, a friend posted that she listened to 2 “Christian” radio stations where they were blathering on about “The War on Christmas.” She turned her radio to another station and heard nothing but Christmas music. Mmm. Maybe the war is just a straw man designed to keep people angry, fearful, and, the money coming in.
I don’t want to be needlessly angry – “the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God” – or fearful – “perfect love casts out fear”. “Fear not!” the angel said.
I hate to disagree with you, Darrell, but the X has been used for much longer than that. I do believe Constantine, in his all-pervading wisdom in forcing people to becoming Christmas, used the X on his shield as he killed pagans.
Just sayin’.
Are you telling me that Wikipedia lied to me???
Say it ain’t so!
I believe which christogram he used is disputed between the X and thbe Chi Rho.
If I recall correctly, the OED has “Xmas” as an abbreviation for “Christmas” going back about 500 years; “X” as an abbreviation for “Christ” goes back at least 1,000.
Ugh, I just had this discussion with family members a couple of weeks ago and it turned into a firestorm of rudeness and hatefulness toward me from my fundy family and 8+ hours worth of phone calls… π
We have to remember the Fundies, the Fighting Fundies especially begin with the premise that America is God’s Chosen Country, We Americans are God’s chosen people in this dispensation.
That obviously being the case then, Christmas and Christmas trees and Christian Flags, and Christian ___________ (fill in the blank) are God given RIGHTS to this Christian nation. To “X” Christ out of Christmas shows the pagan infulence on our Country and we have to take it back!
Now, if they were to have a nano-thought and it were to to bubble up to the frontal lobe it might dawn on them… “Why is God so weak that He can’t keep the title of His beloved Son in the name of the Holiday dedicated to supposedly celebration His birth by the people of His chosen nation?”
Ah! then let this microscopic thought begin to grow like Grinch’s heart and the realization sets in that the Fundie’s religion is not only a cult but is is Religious Atheism. In this religion God has been demoted to butler status and man has ascended to the throne. God is given lip service but a practical atheism has set in and man follows the god of his imagination. (backed by a lot of proof text scripture btw)
So.. to rally the troops there is the anual “Reason for the Sean” campaigns (rather ironic given the lack of reason in the Reason campaigns) and the all out battle to keep “Christ” in Christmas! Remember the Christian Alamo and all that rot.
…even Scrooge learned that to keep the spirit of Christmas it must be kept in his own heart first… maybe that’s why the Fundies hate Dickens so much, he exposes too much light on their darkness??
Reason for the Sean camapaign george? You’ been listend to Hanity again haven’t you? π³
george meant to say, “Reason for the Season Campaign.”
That’s it I quit! Going back to typing 101 and remedial spelling… π― π
Way to spoil the ending of A Christmas Carol for me Don!
Dang it! george you were supposed to put the “Warning: Spoiler Alert” at the top of that reply…
Sorry Ken… π
Oooh that’s good. Thanks Don. “Religious Atheism.” Deep thoughts…
I didn’t know the “X” in Xmas was for Christ until last year. I felt like a great weight had been lifted and I no longer had to be angered by it.
It was also a big “duh” moment for me because I was in CHI Kappa Delta at BJU and knew the Icthus (spelling? IXOYE to transliterate my poor memory) letters so just DUH. The dots were not that hard to connect but I still needed someone to do it for me.
Wait. You went through a Christian Bible college, and NOBODY ever told you that “X” has been used to stand for “Christ” (or Greek Christos) for over 1000 years?
Do you think you might be able to get your tuition refunded?
I’d ask but don’t want to ruin my no-contact-with-that-place streak.
I took Greek at BJU and was never told that X stood for Christ. Everyone there was big on the not taking Christ out of Christmas bit. I was even in Theta Sigma Chi and our slogan was “Together Serving Christ;” I just thought it was a clever bit of alliteration because I didn’t know X meant Christ. It wasn’t until I started reading non-BJU-approved authors that I learned this and got over feeling sad or slighted when I saw Xmas.
Well just to show how far this can go… a true fundy will remove the “X-mas fund” Community Chest card from their Monopoly game. π
He would also tithe every time he passed go.
Leave little Monopoly Chick Tracts everytime he visits the jail…. π―
Someone pointed me to this article:
http://whateverstate.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/merry-x-mas/
I thought it was well done, and I enjoyed reading the history behind “X-mas”.
(I don’t know how to make links here, or else I would have done so) – sorry.
Here is Internet Monk blog’s take on it:
http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/christian-protection-racket#more-15209
I discovered in college that the X stands for Christ and also felt like I’d been duped all this time into believing that the “world” was trying to remove Christ from Christmas. (Not that he was likely there in the first place, anyway.) So I posted a status about it not too long ago and talked about the real meaning of the X. Several fundies commented about how Christians should be keeping Christ in Christmas as much as possible and how those who are trying to take out Christ are just picking on true Christianity.
Yet these same people have Christmas trees in their homes which was originally pagan, or so I’ve read.
Sigh. Fighting ignorance is just a losing battle.
“I discovered in college that the X stands for Christ and also felt like IΓ’β¬β’d been duped all this time into believing that the Γ’β¬ΕworldΓ’β¬Β was trying to remove Christ from Christmas. (Not that he was likely there in the first place, anyway.)”
Oh, that is *such* a win!!!! β
Bahhh… must change gravatar.
There… much better. I hope.
I had this very conversation with my younger brother and sister yesterday! My sister reported that our mother told her Santa = Satan, and I went off on a small soapbox rant about fundy views on Santa and Xmas and the whole Christmas thing. They listened and it was a good talk. So nice timing, Darrel.
Fundies need to take the “mas” out of Christmas. Because “mas” sounds too much like Catholic “mass”.
Christigras? Christival?
Just say “Merry Christmahannukwanzika”. Then you’ve got them all covered.
“And a Happy New Year.”
Love!
You left out Festivus. I’m offended. π
Yes! Festivus for the rest of us. I think Festivus would be a perfect Fundy holiday. You sit around the table at the end of the year and tell every one else their short comings.
Thanks for including this Amanda
not to mention the “feats of strength” which would be perfect for any fundy man in the house. π
Festivus is also perfect for anti-Christmas tree and decoration fundies. All you need is a pole.
Back when my dad was a child his grandparents had an aluminum christmas tree. Sometime though my great-grandparents wouldn’t feel like setting up more than the center stand. So they’re decorate the aluminum pole of the tree. I’d liek to think they were ahead of their time with this “Festivus” thing
“Maybe the war is just a straw man designed to keep people angry, fearful, and the money coming in.”
You think?. . .
Um, yep.
Well, that didn’t go under Dan Keller’s message at 12:03, like it was supposed to. George, cut it out!
I was listening to an AFA (not fundie, but close enough) radio show today talking about the “war” on Christmas. The poor guy, in an attempt to at least sound somewhat PC, mentioned that not all people celebrate Christmas and therefore along with keeping Christ in Christmas, we should keep Rama in Ramadan. I wanted to facepalm, but both hands were busy driving my car.
Wrong religion, radio guy, but nice try.
I know! I’m sure the Hare Krishnas would love that, but something tells me that Muslims aren’t particularly attached to just those four letters.
In defense of fundies, how many people do you think really know that X = Christ? Not fundies, I mean just in the general population out there. Probably not too many.
I would dare say that MOST do not know that X=Christ! Most take it for granted that their “man of God” would not lie to them. Most actually believe that X is a modern attempt to take Christ out of Christmas and making Christmas a secular holiday. Had a conversation about this the other day. The person was telling me that his fundy pastor said, that the “X” was “the worlds” way of defacing the cross that Jesus died on and “crossing” it out. Many won’t believe you, when you try to tell them differently either.
My little eight-year old brother has started early drinking kool-aid lol
He told me Sunday we can’t say Happy Holidays, but Merry Christmas. So, says I, “you don’t want a Happy New Years?” He just stared. Then said no Merry Xmas, because “they’re taking Christ out of Christmas!”
Ahh, it was fun telling him about the Greek letters. His mind = blown.
Seriously, what is his Kids’ Klub teaching him?!
ooooo, wait until he tells them at church–h-h-h. You’re gonna get it….
Seriously let us know if there is any backlash on this.
Saw this on a facebook status today: “God does NOT make a big deal out of Christmas and I think we would be wise to do the same. In fact, God does not make an issue of it at all. If God was concerned about us celebrating Jesus’ birth, then He would have given us a date or time to celebrate, but He didn’t. “All across America at Christmas time, booze flows and people take off their clothes.”
Oh the logic in that! π―
Damn, how come I can never get invited to one of those parties? π
Wow, no kidding! I’m on all the wrong invite lists! Naked seems like the right way to celebrate X-mas! π
In the war on christmas, christmas lost. It has been totally conquered by money.
I work in retail; i know of what I speak.