So…I went to my daughter’s Christmas program at school today, and it was quite delightful. However, listening to one of the classes pantomime to a song gave me pause. The song was “It’s Called Christmas With a Capital ‘C’.” I’m not gonna link it here, because I don’t want to, and I’m not gonna do all the dirty work for you. But, it made me think about how intolerant my religion of choice can be. And, yes; I’m a Christian.
A few days ago, one of my Facebook friends made a post about people saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” He’s Jewish, so I understood almost immediately where it was going. To sum it up, he said saying “Happy Holidays” is a catchall, because you don’t necessarily know who celebrates what. I celebrate Christmas, but he doesn’t. Why not say “Happy Holidays” as to not accidentally offend? That’s not an imaginary “War on Christmas;” that’s being accepting of other people.
As Christians, we are supposed to be tolerant and accepting of other people. In fact, Jesus himself was tolerant of everyone. Old Testament God, maybe not so much. Jesus, on the other hand, was. This nation was – in theory – founded on that very principle…especially when it came to religion. Some people won’t practice Christianity, and that’s fine. What they practice – or don’t practice – is their business, and none of us should judge. As long as they’re not hurting anyone, why does it matter?
The Golden Rule is a thing for a reason. In case you forgot, it’s “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Writing a condescending song isn’t practicing that at all; it’s the opposite, and it’s disappointing. Hopefully, we’ll get better at this one day.
Happy Holidays.
Did the Jesus you’re talking about believe the Old Testament? Are you sure tolerance was heart of the message he preached or was it repentance? If you get the person and work of Jesus Christ wrong, you’re not a Christian. And, how do you know the person and work of Christ? Scripture. If you don’t believe Scripture, why on earth would you believe in the Christ of Scripture? You know he said the whole Old Testament was about Him right (John 5:46, Luke 24:27, Mat 5:17ff)? And, he called the God of the OT his Father and His God (John 20:17, John 5:18). And, he even identified Himself as the OT God (Before Abraham was, I AM – that is YHWH, the name of the OT God) (John 8:58).
Sounds like the original lie of Satan to man … “Did God really say…?”. The question is authority. Are you the authority over Scripture or is Scripture the authority over you? Nobody is perfect but if you aren’t taking the Word seriously and what it actually says (and it sounds like you just want to pick and choose what sounds good to you), then you’re not a Christian. You’re making Jesus into your image rather than being conformed to his image.
Yes, Christianity is about Love. AND it’s about holiness. It’s both-and. Christ came full of grace AND truth. James, Jesus’ brother said it like this: “True religion is visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, and keeping oneself unstained by the world.” The right sometimes misses the first part. The left ALWAYS misses the second part. 1 John gives a test for real Christianity – a test of belief, a test of obedience, and a test of love. Without all 3, there is no true Christianity, just a cheapened, counterfeit version of it.
If we would gather around the Scriptures again, we would have something real. As it is, Satan has us right where he wants us. Divided and exalting ourselves above God, just like he did.
I admit I’ve only just stumbled upon your blog and have only read a couple of your posts so far. This is from my immediate impression. If these couple of posts are not representative of your worldview, and I’ve misjudged you, I’m sorry.