February 10, 2004
Age Challenged Drummer Person
I needed an Xmas themed subject :)
So here we have two stories, and they're somewhat related. First up, we have the Anglican "powers that be" once again embarrassing me. You'd think I'd be immune by now, really. They've decided, in their eternal wisdom [cough] that the three wise men shall be no more. In fact, they don't even get to be men anymore. Talk about making them insecure in their sexuality! [sigh]
Then we have this piece on the rise of pre-Christian paganism. A very interesting read altogether, but for the happy holiday theme we have going, this bit is the one we're going to talk about:
Christless ChristmasWhile paganism gains legal protection, Christianity continues to be singled out for exclusion. Last Christmas season, for example, the British Red Cross banned the mention of Jesus from its shops, the Sun newspaper reported Nov. 11. Also barred were Christmas cards with nativity scenes and Advent calendars showing Mary and Joseph and the three wise men.
Meanwhile, the Christmas card sent out by the United Kingdom's culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, featured Hindu dancers and drawings of mosques, the Telegraph reported Dec. 7. What the card failed to show was anything about Jesus or Christmas.
And, in Australia, the Victorian state minister for transport, Peter Batchelor, opted for a Christmas card with an Aboriginal dream scene, without any Christian reference, the Age reported Dec. 19.
Scotland's Parliament also abolished any reference to Christianity in its cards. That was too much, even for self-declared agnostic Jim Sillars, who complained of the move in a commentary published by the Scotsman newspaper on Dec. 3. "Such decisions aren't a matter of showing greater tolerance of non-Christian religions," observed Sillars. "I have yet to meet the Jew, Muslim, Hindu or Sikh who has ever objected to us having Christ as the center of Christmas. Take Christ out and you have a pagan celebration."
Delving into the reason behind anti-Christian prejudices, Christine Odone, deputy editor of the British magazine New Statesman, commented that the "chattering classes" share a common prejudice against Christians. In an extract of the annual Tyndale lecture given by Odone and published Oct. 28 in the Guardian, she noted that in an era that prizes individual freedom, Christians believe in authority and have a clear sense that there is a right and a wrong.
"Moral certainty grates against the spirit of the age," she observed. And this certainty "throws into relief the brittle edifice that houses the secularist's morals." Re-Christianizing an increasingly pagan society will not be easy.
It just keeps on keeping on....
Posted by Ithildin at February 10, 2004 5:52 PM | PROCURE FINE OLD WORLD ABSINTHE
DNA tests will confirm the identity of one of the wise men as being the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfathers of Chris Rock. You don't get any wiser than that, right?
Posted by: Easycure at February 11, 2004 3:49 PM"Christine Odone ... commented that the 'chattering classes' share a common prejudice against Christians."
The "chattering classes" referred to are the classes of academics, clergy, politicians, and media. These self-referencing classes start pile-driving an agenda onto the rest of us, when held to criticism proclaim that they are driven by the wishes of the man-in-the-street, and perhaps worst of all actually believe it.
Yep, it's ridiculous. And where will it end? In a positive light, it does tend to show who is on the right track, otherwise why all the persecution?
Posted by: 2flower at February 11, 2004 7:48 AM