It's Christmas – Right?
As more and more stories emerge this year of the banning of all things Christ-like or Christmassy, you would be forgiven for thinking that the 1st Amendment really doesn't exist in America anymore and that we are living in the days of Oliver Cromwell or even the Holy Roman Empire once more!
It all kinda kicked off in June this year. You knew something was up when famed author of "Little House on the Prairie," Laura Ingalls Wilder, was considered a racist. For decades children young and old have loved the Wilder books and the popular TV Series which some channels still continue to air as re-runs on television. Following a few complaints, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) submitted to the pressure and changed their primary award named in Mrs. Wilder's honor to something else.
Now, in recent weeks, a concerted and apparently coordinated effort to ban or deem "bad" all things linked to Christmas has started in earnest. The list includes banning songs that mention Jesus from a school, a principal banning candy sticks because in his view the "J" stands for Jesus, the one that really got me – Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer is somehow a racist character! The most worrying part is that these comments are coming mostly from adults in authority. People whom parents have put their trust in to educate their kids. For example, just this week a teacher declared to a class of first-graders that Santa wasn't real – she was sacked.
However, one alarming example that really goes over the line, was a nativity scene at a Massachusetts' church, where someone had authorized that the baby Jesus should be caged! I believe this is simply a self-serving shock-and-awe tactic to somehow try and influence others by offending them. A person or persons, dramatizing their own personal opinions on illegal immigration. It is ungodly.
Sadly, reading all these recent reports, it would appear that "evicting" God continues in our society on all levels. Of course, it is not the first time that Christianity has been attacked and its ideals plundered. Going back to the days of Oliver Cromwell (1653-58), stricter laws were passed by him to catch anyone holding or attending a special Christmas church service. The Puritan beliefs that he held encouraged the passing of such a law that frowned upon such "carnal and sensual delights."
However, the banning of Christmas by the Puritans proved extremely unpopular and needless to say, pro-Christmas riots broke out in the population and Cromwell fell from grace. When a statue in his memory was erected some 340 years later, officials in the township where it was being installed still couldn't face attending the ceremony to "honor" the man who banned Christmas hundreds of years before! Such was the depth of feeling carried down through the centuries....
Therefore, take heart friends! As the current futile attempts to erode our faith continue, the Bible encourages us once more with Jesus' words. John 16:33:
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
As we all get ready to share this special time of the year, we enter a time when peace seems possible after all. Let us all celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, God's greatest gift and hope for this world. Have a very Happy and blessed Christmas!
—Karin McBride-Chenoweth is a successful Businessperson, Award-winning Writer (https://www.akchenoweth.com), Editor and Publisher of Christian and secular works. Her experience spans many countries including: UK, Ireland, Europe and USA. Karin is founder/editor of 3-in-1 The Voice a Christian E-zine, an author at GOD TV and also a guest blogger on Anchoring Hope. An American citizen, she is married to David and has grown-up children. She lives and works in the United States.