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| Just Say No? |
A few points that Mr. Dan Barker, an evangelical turned
atheist made in a recent blog, Atheists
Like Christmas Too, bear pondering.
By usurping a pagan holiday, long celebrated “for millennia,”
the church is principally responsible for the recent upticks of culture conflict Mr. Barker believes. O.K. Perhaps the church erred in
adapting its celebration of Christ’s birth to the Roman culture. Would the
public celebration of the birth of Christ in March be more palatable to
atheists?
No – not if the celebration is anywhere but private or
church property.
And I recognize this as just might be the new normal.
Americans should not burden each other with Christmas trees
in our senior centers (The
Daily News), or Charlie
Brown’s Christmas Special. What’s
next? No Christmas cookies?
While I am not nuts about Christmas trees – I love that crazy jazz
ensemble behind that cartoon! And Christmas cookies are a long-time guilty pleasure.
Sigh.
Now, I may be reading between the lines, but I have a hunch the
real issue that Mr. Barker wrestles with is not the church’s imprudent
appropriation of pagan revelry, or our cheek to use public funds or property
for what is clearly a religious conviction. I believe it is the church’s assertion that God entered human
history as a man – and a man on a mission. That mission puts us all under an
unhappy conviction that Mr. Barker describes clearly:
To
us nonbelievers, the nativity scene is a ridicule of human nature. We are all
damned sinners who need to be “saved” by bowing down to the baby in the manger
who grew up to become a king and dictator who threatens us with eternal torment
if we do not submit like slaves to his authority. A popular Christmas carol
claims that Jesus came “to save us all from Satan’s power while we were gone
astray.” Believers might see a cute baby in a manger, but most nonbelievers see
a reprehensible put-down of humanity.
And that expressively condenses the real conflict – if God
gave His Son to die in my place, so that I might have peace with Him, then I am
not the basically decent person I like to think I am.
Moreover, Mr. Barker believes “[w]e are not sinners or
slaves.” And that America is “ . .
. a proudly rebellious country that fought a divisive Revolutionary War to get
rid of kings and lords, establishing a nation that disestablishes religion.”
Leaving aside for a moment the truth about who we are, the above is such a
condensed description of how and why we fought Great Britain – and so
compresses the establishment clause -- that Mr. Barker muddles years of
colonial and national history and two documents, The Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution. (Wiki in the
Establishment Clause of the Constitution)
The history of Christmas and unraveling the origins of so
many beloved traditions could keep us busy all year. And taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for displays
of symbols of anyone’s religion, or non-religion – Mr. Barker has a point.
How then do Christians commend their God to folks like Mr.
Barker, who states:
We
atheists love this time of year like everyone else, and we actually know what
we are celebrating: the rebirth of the sun, not the birth of the son.
These are interesting times, indeed.
Praying that in this season, especially, we keep extending the invitation to the
Table, winsomely and wisely – it’s
no private party! (2
Kings 7:3-20)
Cheer Up and sing with me, friend!
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