Lets put the reason back in the season.

[RUDUing2]

I wrote this blog today. What do you think?

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http://www.ladyliberal.blogspot.com/

Lets put the Reason back in the Season.

There is a lot of hoopla going on right now by some conservative groups to "put Christ back into Christmas". I personally don't think we need to "put Christ back into Christmas", instead I think we need to remember the "reason for the season"...Jesus.

The conservative christians focus so much on Christ that they seem to forget about Jesus. They focus on the words of Paul and seem to forget the words of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth seems to have become completely unimportant in their worship of Christ of Paul.

Jesus of Nazareth was not about exclusion, he was not about following the letter of the law, he was not about don'ts and shall nots. Paul is the writer of those things. Jesus of Nazareth was about love and acceptance. He was about the spirit not the letter. He was about the do's and the shall's. Paul said "don't associate with non-christians", Jesus said: "love your neighbor as yourself". Paul said "hold yourself apart from the world", Jesus said: "let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Paul said "christians should only marry christians", Jesus said "let all come to me".

Christmas is about more then just the birth of Christ, it is supposed to be a celebration of the gift to the world of Jesus. The early church realized that you can not keep out the world and that you cannot force converts, so they incorporated important things from other religions into Christianity. The exact date of the birth of Jesus is not known, because they did not find it an important event. They were more focused on the resurrection or the rebirth of Jesus. When it came time to establish an observance of the birth of Jesus, they chose the date of an important pagan celebration..Mithras day and changed that to the birth of Jesus and ordained that instead of orgies and secular celebrations, it would be observed with a Chirst Mass, a day of worship. They practiced what Jesus had taught, inclusion-not exclusion.

You can not celebrate the birth of Jesus if you are only concerned with Christ. This season forget about "putting Christ back in Christmas" and instead work to be a living reminder of the "reason for the season". Emulate Jesus and accept all people without judgement by wishing each and everyone of them a "happy holiday", because their is only one God, no matter what the name that is used, and when you try to claim exclusive right to God, you have already taken Christ out of Christmas and forgotten the reason for the season.

[Sinistrous]

1. Inclusion, Charity, and Community

should be our guiding forces all day, every day. Not for just a few days approaching the solstice. Jesus' sociological insights were and are brilliant. Too bad they have been perverted or ignored by so many erstwhile "Christians".

[SariesNightly]

2. Ambivalent

What I deplore is how the cons keep making pseudo issues out of nothing to,

1. Score political points with their 'base'
2. Play underdog to slander liberals
3. Distract from their real activities which is screwing up the world.

What you said is right though, it's the spirit of sharing and strengthening close relationships that makes Christmas meaningful. No matter who or what we believe, we're all trying our best to get by with what we have, and there's no better time than Christmas to cherish each other, and celebrate our common bonds rather than fight over superficial differences.

[katinmn]

3. good entry!

Christ isn't a statue people can cart around. Christianity is a faith-based religion.

How or if we believe in a higher being is every individuals' private business.

Wish the fundies would go about their business of shopping till they drop, buying gifts to make themselves feel good, going deeper in debt, and enjoying their own brand of "fellowship."

Leave the rest of American alone to celebrate Christmas, or Kwanzaa or Hannukah or Hmong New Year, or anything we want, if we want
in any damn manner we want.

[Calvinist Basset]

4. Interesting Piece.

I think there is a lot of good stuff in the Pauline letters, though. The problem is the manner in which Paul's words have been interpreted.

For instance, Paul gets a lot of grief for apparent misogyny. When actually, if you look at the Greek, he lifts up a lot of language that is freeing and equalizing for women. A great book to read on the topic is "What Did Paul Really Say About Women?" by John Temple Bristow.

In any case, you're right that, "You can not celebrate the birth of Jesus if you are only concerned with Christ." I would even add a slight twist to the concept: You cannot comprehend and appreciate Christ without first concerning yourself with Jesus.

If you're interested in looking at my blog, I post thoughts, news articles and such--frequently touching on topics of faith, politics, ethics and culture. I just put up a piece written by a colleague where he draws a line distinguishing himself (and other folks like me) as being Christian without supporting Bush or Bush's policies. <http://blackboar.blog-city.com>

[RUDUing2]

6. excellent.

[Karan]

5. Bravo!!!!

[GOPBasher]

7. Kudos! Nice post.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. Nice post!

:thumbsup:

[JDPriestly]

9. Jefferson's Approach

I like Jefferson's approach. His version of the Bible, called the "Jefferson Bible" focuses on Jesus' words instead of the mythology about Jesus' life. I recommend it.