Word: christly
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Where's the Christmas cheer? First, some Evangelical activists fired at major retailers who were opting to say "Happy Holidays" to their shoppers rather than "Merry Christmas," complaining that Christ was being taken out of Christmas. Now, other Evangelicals are taking Christmas Day out of the church with the controversial decision of some influential congregations-led by the Willow Creek Community Church outside Chicago, one of the most prominent megachurches in the U.S.-not to hold services on Christmas Sunday...
...Still, that "family values" argument-that this day can be an opportunity for Christian families to worship together at home-carries little weight with some critics. "The church is supposed to be brothers and sisters in Christ-the primary family. These churches are putting the wants and needs of the physical family first, not that spiritual family," says Ben Witherington, a theologian at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky. "Our society is narcissistic enough. We don't need to encourage more me-focused behavior...
...spokesman for the American Family Association, which has led the boycott against retailers who use "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." A pastor at a church in Pontotoc, Miss., Vitigliano's church will be open on the 25th. "Part of celebrating Christmas should always be keeping the focus on Christ...
...Others worry that the fight may be more damaging than any impact from what they're fighting about. ""The central point is not what hour of what day the congregation gathers corporately to celebrate the birth of Christ," says Willow Creek's Hybels, "but rather that in our hearts and lives we allow the coming of Christ to transform us." On his blog, Louie Marsh, pastor of a small church in rural Arizona, quoted the Apostle Paul from the Book of Romans, who wrote, "Who are you to judge someone else's servant?" "I do know [that] this...
...also did nothing to address the legitimate concerns some people had with the Boston government erecting a tree. Despite the fact that some have claimed that a Christmas tree is not an overtly Christian symbol, it is still a symbol associated with a Christian holiday, the birth of Christ. Giving the tree a different name does not change this. If someone erects an evergreen and decorates it with ornaments and lights, everyone will recognize the tree as a Christmas tree. A simple name change does not secularize the symbol. The naming debacle is just another example of politicians trying...