Posted on 12/21/2014 7:02:49 AM PST by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
“Joyous Kwanzaa.” “Happy Hanukkah.” “Merry Christmas.” “Happy Ramadan.”
So proclaims the secularist “holiday” poster that greets visitors to the office building where I labor. The building owner obviously thought the poster noncontroversial. But this Christ follower found it offensive.
Because the upcoming holiday is not about Kwanza, the seven-day afrocentric celebration created in 1965, nor Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival hardly celebrated until the 1970s, and certainly not Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting that actually takes place in June. No, Jesus is the reason for the season.
It is the annual acknowledgement of the fulfillment two mellennia ago of the Messianic pronouncements of the prophet Isaiah seven centuries earlier:
“Unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
It is a celebration of the miraculous birth of the one whom John the Baptizer declared “The Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.”
It is a season of thanks-giving to God for His mercy, for His grace; Who “so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
That’s what Christmas has been about since the holy-day was first celebrated in the fourth century. And since the commemoration of the birth of Christ was declared a national holiday here in the United States in 1870. Of course, there are forces of darkness in this world that hate Christmas; that want to disassociate the holiday from Jesus Christ.
That includes American Atheists, which describes itself as “the premier organization fighting for the civil liberties of atheists and the total, absolute separation of government and religion.”
The homepage on AA’s website declares “War on Christmas.” It depicts a little girl – actually rather demonic-looking – sitting down writing a letter in which she tells Santa Claus: “All I want for Christmas is to skip church!”
More passively hostile to Christmas are retailers that have replaced “Merry Christmas” in their advertisements with the insidious “Happy Holidays.”
That includes Barnes & Noble, Footlocker, Gap Stores (parent company of the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy), Limited Brands (parent company of the Limited, Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret), L.L. Bean and Radio Shack.
Then there are the religiously correct workplaces that no longer allow Christmas to have a holiday to itself; that have given such dubious holidays as Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Ramadan equal billing with Christmas.
But there is a reason Christmas remains the world’s biggest religious holiday.
It is not because of all the secularist trappings of Christmas – the office parties, the shopping, the ritualistic gift-giving, the ornament-laden trees, the ostentatious lighting displays, the orgiastic meals. No, it is because of Jesus.
It is because the Holy Spirit moves in a powerful way during the Christmas season. It is because many are convicted during their once a year visit to church.
And it is because there will be “more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents” this upcoming Christmas Day “than over ninety-nine just persons” sitting in the pews “who need no repentance.”
Amen. its my opinion that most in 2014...dont even consider the simple fact that HOLIDAY...means Holy Day.
>>Amen. its my opinion that most in 2014...dont even consider the simple fact that HOLIDAY...means Holy Day.
And that’s why we should not get our panties in a wad over “Happy Holidays”. Just respond with “Happy Holy Days to you too.”
the british pronunciation of Holidays....comes ever so close to Holy Days
Jesus Christ was born on a day in Bethlehem. Christmas honors the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost. God is invisible, no man has seen him at anytime, but in Jesus is the fullness of the godhead bodily. When you have seen Jesus you have seen the Father.
No man can get to the Father except through Jesus Christ. It is through Christ that the world was made.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Jesus did ask us to remember his death with a supper of bread and wine. A funeral has a different psychology from a birthday party. A funeral is a much deeper experience.
That is what Christmas is all about. A man who died for our sins for the Joy that was set before him. A soldier in the truest and most pure sense of the word. One who gave his life willfully to save others....
My Man, My God, My Life, My Hope, My Joy.
Jesus.
Amen, friend.
Give me a break....the shepherds came to worship him.
The Three Kings brought him gifts.
There was a big local program....all about Kwanzai....another pretend black undertaking.
There are ways to resist this nonsense.
It begins with discreetly setting up a “Christian fellowship” with other Christian employees. Hopefully not recognized or even known about by the company.
At first it is kind of subtle, starting with a Christmas card with a “round-robin letter”, exclusively for fellowship members. Secularists really hate RRLs, which dislike can be seen in its Wikipedia entry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-robin_letter
This creates a feeling of community and familiarity among the Christians. But the intent is to lead up to a “Christmas feast” (not a Christmas party), which is a polite formal gathering for fellowship members and their families, hosted at the home of a fellowship member, before any “office party” sponsored by the company.
The feast is religious in character, most definitely not a “Midwest buffet style” gorge, accompanied by soft, traditional religious Christmas church music seldom heard today, with an adult reading out loud the Nativity story.
An optional addition is a second gathering, post-Christmas, for when the “end of the year blues” tend to hit. More than anything, to cheer up those who feel lonely and sad.
American Atheists say they are waging a war on Christmas?? Really??
Remember all of the abuse heaped on Bill O’Reilly by liberals when he wrote a book about a war on Christmas? Liberals said there was no war on Christmas. But now atheistic types are willing to say it is a war on Christmas? What the heck???
If they're not careful they may get what they're asking for. Religious wars are particularly nasty. If they can combine that with racial hatred, it would be apocalyptic. There are evil forces at work that want to destroy everything.
The early Church fathers celebrated EASTER more for the first three centuries. Sometime in the 4th century people evinced curiosity about Jesus' BIRTH.
Since the date of Jesus' birth is unknown, the early Church fathers CHOSE December 25.
As I recall from my early religious teaching they chose that date because it was just PAST the winter solstice, the longest DARK day of the year, as thus the LIGHT was beginning to last longer.
They likened it to Christ's coming and thus chose the 25th for His birthday.
SOME people even have a cake and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus on that day.
A small note on your post, with which I of course agree in essence — my grandfather told me often about warm and wonderful Hanukkah celebrations in his childhood before World War I, and I remember celebrations of my own in the 50’s, and the calendar over my desk shows images of beautifully ornate Hannukah menorahs from the 18th century, so it’s certainly not true that Hanukkah was hardly celebrated until the 70’s.
Kwanzaa = First fruit
The bottom line is that atheists NEED God to disclaim and deny. Where would they be without Him? Without a word to say.
Nah, IMHO they are basically VERY lonely and happy people. They would find SOMETHING to gainsay and negate.
That was a thing of the 70's, wasn't it?
We've been to Africa and ANY black American who does take the time and money to visit the land of their ancestors come back singing ONE chorus: GOD BLESS AMERICA.
They were the lucky ones to end up HERE...and those with ANY brains KNOW it.
Kwansa--Bah HUMBUG!
WHAT a load.
Hahaha. Visit any number of churches this week, and you will hear about Santa Claus, and Santa Claus may even show up to take pictures with the little children. Talk about secular.
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