There is a new message that is going to be commuting through Washington D.C. on Metro Buses. The message is: “Why Believe in God? Just be good for goodness sakes.” This ad has sparked a movement to keep CHRIST in Christmas (as the movement leaders putting).
Granted, this argument has been around for a while. Ever since the politically correct phrase became, “Happy Holidays,” instead of, “Merry Christmas,” most Christians feel offended and that their freedom of speech has been infringed upon. However, the politically correct phrasing generally applies to work settings, to not favor one religion over the other. (Which is not entirely possible because most religions don’t celebrate a major holiday during December?)
Now, I consider myself to have faith. I believe that there is a God and I pray to him or her in my own time. I don’t feel like I need a priest to mediate for me. Nor do I feel a pull to be in church because I believe the practices have become so formalized that they’re idolized. Over all try to be a good person. In general, however, my faith is very personal to me. I hate public prayer, even around a dinner table. I also don’t believe in pushing my faith on another.
So I guess I have to wonder, in the age of diversity and acceptance, why are Christians so up in arms about, “Happy Holidays?” It reminds me of the prayer in school argument, which I always thought was funny. The law does not eliminate prayer in school, it eliminates administrative led prayer. If a student wishes to pray before a meal, before class or before taking their test, all they have to do is bow their head and no one will question them. They also will not be expelled for practicing their faith either.
The advertisement that will appear this holiday season does suggest that faith is unimportant. But, in reality, religion will always be important to those who believe it is important. An advertisement won’t affect this. I seriously doubt people will read the advertisement and decide that god is merely a fantasy and the teachings a hoax.
In the end, what’s really wrong with just suggesting to people to, “just be good for goodness sakes?” Isn’t that what we all want during November and December (as well as the entire year)? Don’t we all want peace and harmony regardless of our faith?
Religion is not something you can push on your friends, family, or even co-workers. It’s disrespectful and the tactic doesn’t work. All you anyone can do is keep their own faith, live a good life, and be respectful of each other. In reality, Jesus’ teachings (for a Christian example) were to love one another? Why is it that some people forget this?
So, this upcoming holiday season, I will wish you all peace and happiness and all I’ll ask in return is to, “just be good for goodness sakes.”
Granted, this argument has been around for a while. Ever since the politically correct phrase became, “Happy Holidays,” instead of, “Merry Christmas,” most Christians feel offended and that their freedom of speech has been infringed upon. However, the politically correct phrasing generally applies to work settings, to not favor one religion over the other. (Which is not entirely possible because most religions don’t celebrate a major holiday during December?)
Now, I consider myself to have faith. I believe that there is a God and I pray to him or her in my own time. I don’t feel like I need a priest to mediate for me. Nor do I feel a pull to be in church because I believe the practices have become so formalized that they’re idolized. Over all try to be a good person. In general, however, my faith is very personal to me. I hate public prayer, even around a dinner table. I also don’t believe in pushing my faith on another.
So I guess I have to wonder, in the age of diversity and acceptance, why are Christians so up in arms about, “Happy Holidays?” It reminds me of the prayer in school argument, which I always thought was funny. The law does not eliminate prayer in school, it eliminates administrative led prayer. If a student wishes to pray before a meal, before class or before taking their test, all they have to do is bow their head and no one will question them. They also will not be expelled for practicing their faith either.
The advertisement that will appear this holiday season does suggest that faith is unimportant. But, in reality, religion will always be important to those who believe it is important. An advertisement won’t affect this. I seriously doubt people will read the advertisement and decide that god is merely a fantasy and the teachings a hoax.
In the end, what’s really wrong with just suggesting to people to, “just be good for goodness sakes?” Isn’t that what we all want during November and December (as well as the entire year)? Don’t we all want peace and harmony regardless of our faith?
Religion is not something you can push on your friends, family, or even co-workers. It’s disrespectful and the tactic doesn’t work. All you anyone can do is keep their own faith, live a good life, and be respectful of each other. In reality, Jesus’ teachings (for a Christian example) were to love one another? Why is it that some people forget this?
So, this upcoming holiday season, I will wish you all peace and happiness and all I’ll ask in return is to, “just be good for goodness sakes.”
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2 comments:
Can't help but to want to comment on this one, Katie. I dare say this might be one area in which I'm ever so slightly conservative...
First, as you well know, I'm a liberal, but also a Christian. I do believe in God, and I believe that Jesus is the Christ and all of that. I also believe in respect for others and that we indeed should live in a society where all people's opinions can be respected.
That said, I have to say that I kind of dislike the whole "Happy Holidays" thing. It's not that I don't want to respect other people, nor is it really that I want to force my religion on everyone else. Instead, it's more about the fact that we seem to be losing a certain aspect of common sense when it comes to this whole "Happy Holidays" thing. You said it yourself in your blog--not every single faith group out there has a "Holiday" in December. So, I suppose that the notion is that by grouping Thanksgiving with Christmas, and Hanukka and New Years, we're somehow all inclusive and not going to offend folks.
But, let's be honest with ourselves: "The Holidays" are very much so centered around Christmas. I mean, if we did away with Christmas, the Congress would be bailing out Wal-Mart next. We can't just pretend that our culture isn't one that celebrates the birth of Jesus--regardless of whether or not we ourselves do that, or whether or not individuals actually believe in God or Jesus or whatever when they are opening presents on Christmas morning.
So, yeah, there's a certain sense in which I just think that we're losing touch with common sense when we "take the Christ out of Christmas". Whether or not someone believes in Jesus is not the point--the point is that Christmas is very much so one of the most significant "holidays" for our culture.
In fact, I find myself thinking in terms of "Miracle on 34th Street" as I write this comment. You may remember that the way the movie ends (I'm about to give it away!!!! Be warned!!!!) is that Kris Kringle is adjudicated to in fact be the real Santa Claus because the US Postal Service delivers all of it's mail to him while he's on the stand (having been accused of not being the real Santa Claus). The idea is that the state court of New York yielded to federal jursidiction, since the US Postal Service represented the federal government, and Kris Kringle was good enough for the federal government so the state court didn't want to rule in contradiction with federal precedent.
That said, the reason that's relevant, for me, is that Christmas Day is indeed a federal holiday--the US Congress decided that long, long ago. So, back to my point above--regardless of whether or not someone believes in Jesus or Mohammed or Buddha or a cow or a goat or whatever they want to believe in, Christmas is, officially, part of American culture. So, my question is why ought we not be honest about that???
Now, concerning this bit about the Humanists and their poster on the buses in DC and NYC, I don't necessarily have a problem with that--if the Humanists want to waste $40,000 on advertisements that get people riled up but don't really change anyone's mind about whether or not there's a God, then so be it. I do find the idea of an evangelical alliance of atheists to be sort of odd, but, hey, whatever floats people's boats is fine by me.
That said, it should be noted, however, that these Humanists are the one's picking the fight here. And, again, while we can indeed have no small argument about whether or not they are justified in doing so, it seems a little cavalier, if you ask me. And, it's particularly problematic that the Humanists are attacking one of the more noble facets of the Christian religion. Yes, I get that their problem is with the idea of a virgin birth and that Jesus is the Song of God and all of that. But, still, you can't deny that an awful lot of good comes out of the Christmas season--charitable giving, Aunt Sally's fruit cakes, peace of earth/good will toward men, etc.
Anyway, I guess I've said my peace...it just seems like a silly thing to fight about, if you ask me.
AMEN to your article Kate.
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