‘Tis the season for Christian-bashing
- Dec 13, 2008 - 4
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, according to the 1963 Johnny Mathis hit song written by Eddie Pola and George Wyle.
I, too, thought the song was much older but Google, that limitless fount of information for the Internet Age, proved me wrong once again. Nonetheless, it is indeed a wonderful time of the year with all the shopping, festive music, sparking colors, gift-giving and Christian-bashing.
Christian-bashing?
Yes, Christian-bashing. While most Americans seem content to ignore the real reason for the season—the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—certain groups around the country are intent on bringing the focus back to Jesus, albeit in a perverse sort of way.
The American Humanist Association (AHA) is the proud sponsor of a city bus ad campaign in Washington, D.C., during this Christmas season that has as its centerpiece the slogan, “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.”
“It’s clearly a message that a lot of people are ready to hear: that you don’t need a god to be good,” said Roy Speckhardt, AHA executive director.
To the south, Florida Gulf Coast University President Wilson Bradshaw attempted to ban all religious displays this year on the school’s Fort Myers campus, but quickly backpedaled when confronted by strong student and faculty criticism. The fact that he permitted Halloween decorations on campus apparently didn’t help his argument all that much.
“I still intend to convene the representative group of faculty, staff and students during 2009 to discuss these issues and to develop opportunities for the University community to learn more about each other’s traditions—not only in December, but throughout the year,” Bradshaw said.
Whatever that means in academia-speak, at least it’s a start.
Proponents of homosexual rights have also chosen believers on which to vent their fury over the failures of their political agendas on Election Day.
Homosexual rights activists recently disrupted a worship service at Mt. Hope Church in Delta Township, Michigan, when they began shouting slogans and tossing flyers around the worship center. The chaotic protest also included a pair of women who rushed to the front of the church and engaged in a passionate kiss before the entire congregation.
A tape of the incident can be viewed by going to www.youtube.com and searching for Gays attack church, but be forewarned, it’s not for the faint of heart.
Likewise, a California grandmother had a cross ripped from her hands and torn apart when she showed up in opposition to a California homosexual rights rally organized to protest Prop 8, which banned same sex marriage in that state when it passed on Election Day. She was reportedly spat upon as she was hounded from the rally.
A tape of that incident can also be viewed at www.youtube.com. Search for Violent Protestors Attack Pro-Traditional Marriage Woman, Stomp on her Cross.
As our country becomes secular in the coming years, be prepared to endure heightened criticism—and even violence—as the true meaning of Christmas is pushed farther and farther into the background. Christians should brace themselves for more such attacks at other times of the year, too.
Take heart, though. We already know how all of this is going to turn out in the end.
This article is reprinted from the December 4, 2008, issue of The Baptist Record, the newspaper of the Mississippi Baptist Convention.
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1 On Dec 14th, 2008, at 1:46pm, Butch wrote:
Please explain how a bus add that merely says we should be good for goodness sake is in any way an “attack” on Christians. I am genuinely curious.
2 On Dec 17th, 2008, at 11:49am, Pastor JT wrote:
Butch, “Be good for goodness sake” began, “Why believe in a god?” So, the last phrase intends a goodness apart from that defined by God.
“Good” must be defined, but by whom? If you offend someone and he shoots you, he may judge your elimination as “good.” Homosexuals may see their life as “good.” A man in an affair may see it as “good.” Yet, Scripture declares our God as Good. Sin is deemed NOT “good” (3 John v.11).
Further, if “good” has conflicting definitions, then “for the sake of goodness” is equally ambiguous. Beyond that, it is the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ that should be a believer’s motivation. Not for salvation’s sake, not for humanity’s sake, and certainly not for “goodness” sake—whatever that is.
Any followup in support of, “Why believe in a god?” is an attack on the core of Christianity. May the Lord bless you in your pursuit of Him.
3 On Dec 18th, 2008, at 8:27am, Butch wrote:
What you’re saying is that any statement that doesn’t conform to your (I assume literal) interpretation of the Bible is “Christian bashing?” You must be kidding. We can go around about goodness apart from a god, I have before, but that’s completely beside the point. I asked how this statement was “Christian bashing” not how we can get goodness apart from any god (we can). Are you standing by the statement that merely saying “Why believe in a god, just be good for goodness sake.” is actually “Christian bashing?” Really?
4 On Dec 22nd, 2008, at 11:35am, Pastor JT wrote:
Butch, it sounds like your curiosity was less a pursuit of understanding than it was a search for argument. Unless, of course, your own writing wasn’t meant to be taken “literally.” That’s the problem with Biblical interpretation—why not take the text for what it says? We expect others to do so with what we write, and we do for other writings. Why treat Scripture differently? I don’t subscribe to the word “literal.” Certainly poetry contains idioms and illustrations not meant to be taken literally. Just take the text for its simplest meaning, being aware of the genre of the text. Whether you agree or not comes next—but let Scripture say what it says.
Regarding the article, I don’t like the choice of the word “bashing.” It invokes terrible images of physical abuse which is not occurring by the bus ad. However, I do stand by my comments. Any effort to dismantle humanity’s belief in God is an attack on the core of Christianity.