The Insurgent Minority

Political Science 101 suggests that democracy means that “the majority voice rules and the minority voice has a right to be protected”; I don’t think, however, that it is intended to posture “intellectual belligerence”.

For the last few years around the holidays, anti-God advocates begin to shout from the rooftops, “Hey God sucks; look at us.”  That’s fine, that’s their right and at least we know clearly who they are.

That said, however, there is a general trend in America to let the minority have “open mic night” via the media without anyone really challenging what they’re saying…..so, I will.

A CNN article noted that in Olympia, Washington last week, the Freedom From Religion Foundation placed a plaque next to a nativity set.  The plaque called religion a “myth” claiming that it “enslaves minds.”  The foundation’s founder, former evangelical pastor Dan Barker, argued that the nativity set is “intruding” on the space of others that don’t believe.

“Barker said the display is especially important given that 25 percent of Washington state residents are unaffiliated with religion or do not believe in God….’If there can be a Nativity scene saying that we are all going to hell if we don’t bow down to Jesus, we should be at the table to share our views.  Most people think December is for Christians and view our signs as an intrusion, when actually it’s the other way around,’” he said. “People have been celebrating the winter solstice long before Christmas. We see Christianity as the intruder, trying to steal the holiday from all of us humans.”

First, I want to break down the propaganda.  Then, I’ll deal with issues.

Making the argument that 25% deserves to be heard makes sense and sounds good.  But, there are a lot of assumptions being made; first, this assumes that that 25% does not celebrate Christmas simply because they are not affiliated with a religion.  I would venture to say that most of that 25% is probably celebrating Santa Clause.

Beyond that, the argument that almost 25% (really 23%) of Washingtonians are not “affiliated” with religion, that includes about 7% who don’t believe in God at all… is hardly a “mandate”.  Does that 23% deserve a voice and to be protected, you bet.  Is the other 75% “intruding”…uh, no.  Let’s see, the nativity was there first, 93% of the people believe in God, 75% are affiliated with a religion…some might say the intrusion is the other way around….but, who cares, right?

Going on to say, however, that “people have been celebrating the winter solstice long before Christmas” is partially true.  It is squarely true that people have been celebrating the “beginning of winter” since just before the birth of Christ, i.e. roughly 45 BC; however, they were doing so as a religious practice.  Barker’s claim, via the plaque, is that there is no religion, only the natural world.  With that in mind, his argument has no weight because humankind did no know that the phenomenon that they worshiped (the start of winter) had a physical reason for happening, i.e. the Earth was furthest from the Sun.  That knowledge did not come until Galileo enlightened us.

For Barker’s point to be valid, it would require that the celebration of the winter solstice be completely without any religious tie-in.  Under that paradigm, Christmas came to be in about 1038 and the “winter solstice”, i.e. the natural phenomenon, as it is now known was not defined until the 1600s.

The basic, sort of “no brainer” point, however, is that “Christmas” has little to do with Christ in our society.  Mr. Barker argues that “most people think that December is for Christians”.  That’s funny, I see a whole lot of non-Christians sitting in “Black Friday” lines, buying junk and putting stupid blow-up Santas in their yard.

The top answers given related to “What do you think of when you think of Christmas?” are:

• Presents
• Santa
• Christmas Trees
• Rudolph and All of His Friends
• Jingle Bells
• Snowmen
• Snow
• Stockings
• Christmas Carols
• Eggnog

You know…I really don’t see a whole lot of the Christian church in any of that. It would seem that what Mr. Barker is really upset about is that Christmas has been so commercialized that he cannot escape it.

The irony is that the foundation he helped found, “The Freedom From Religion Foundation” stands for the very principles that brought us Christ.  Christ’s purpose was to fulfill the law, i.e. the religious law that was tied around the neck of humanity from which it could never escape.  Christ came to free us from an impossible journey.  A road of requirements that could not be met.

So, what is really going on?

Mr. Barker is suffering, deeply.  He does not feel safe.  Unfortunately, he is not satisfied with the validation that God provides us.  He has rejected it.  So, he is left to mire in a world in which his life has not intrinsic meaning.  If all that exists is “physical”, then death really sucks…bad.

This time of year, there are many people in the same disposition, lonely and mentally isolated.  The church’s job is to reach out to them, providing comfort and love.

The church needs to do a better job of allowing people to disagree with us without bringing them condemnation.  On the one hand, it is tragic that a grown man looks at a model of a “baby in a manger” and only sees “Hell” and “Damnation”, rather than seeing peace, victory and salvation.  On the other hand, it’s a great testament to the God’s promise that His truth shall be made known.

That said, I think the greatest tragedy is that Mr. Barker’s sign was stolen.  Is that really the best we can do?  Steal some guy’s sign?

When Christ was walking up the Via De La Rosa, my guess is that there were a lot of people along the way that did not agree with His views, say for example the people that spit on Him, beat Him, whipped Him and killed Him. Remember it was the “Lord of all Creation”, the “Maker of the Universe” that carried His own cross to His death.

I don’t think He would have stolen the sign.  I think He probably would have helped this guy put it up.  At least then He would have had a chance to talk with the guy.

When did Christians get so arrogant?  When did we start believing that because we accept that we are sinners and we fall short of God’s glory and we cannot live up to His standard and that we need a savior we somehow are “better” than others and have a right to trespass upon their hurts and disbelief?

“Holiday” Relationships

Thanksgiving comes and goes every year.  To some degree, it’s not much different than other holidays.  We use holidays as a time to get together with family and friends.

So often the way we live our family relationships are not much different than the relationship that some people have with church, “twice a year”.  The real sad part is that the holiday family script rarely changes:

1. show up

2. say “hello to everyone”

3. sit and chat with the relatives you see once or twice a year

4. watch TV

5. EAT

6. Talk about how you don’t get together enough

7. Hug and Leave

We have opportunities in life to connect with one another.  Rarely do we have a plan.  We sort of show up and do the same thing over and over that we have done before.  These moments pass and little has changed.

We need to do something different.  We need to focus on making moments count with those around us.  Those engagements are lost forever.  Worse, those hours of your life are gone.

This Christmas season make those moments count for something that lasts longer than you.  Really “connect” with those around you.  Make a decision to make a difference.

I think the biggest issue is that we all “go out into the world” to stake our claim.  We leave our family niched away in a box we percieve as “home”.  A couple of times a year, we get back there again.

What if we flipped that paradigm?  What if you made your family the place where you brought stuff back to, where you invested and expected a return?

We need to stop looking for validation from our family and start validating our family.

Credibility

Wednesday I was sitting in a restaurant in Tampa.  I was SHOCKED when I looked at the television screen to see Gene Simmons talking from the NYSE.  I thought, “What in the world can Gene Simmons have to say about the market; and, honestly, WHO WANTS TO KNOW?!”

It’s not that I have anything against Gene Simmons.  My issue is that Americans have degraded themselves to consuming life changing information the same way we do cheeseburgers.  We want something that we don’t have to think about.  Celebrity informants do that for us.  They give it to us “our way”, comfortable, with a smile and not requiring any thought.

As a society, we are so easily directed by mass culture.  We lose our identity in the status of those with whom we associate, or wish to associate.  We fail to think for ourselves.

Our childhood idols become our advisers in our adult years.

It scares the crap out of me.  There will be a day when the Olson twins motivate a voting public.

Isn’t it time we demand more ?