Part four of a series on the so-called War on Christmas
Not to put too fine a point on it, but why do Christians - the very people who are supposed to follow the Prince of Peace, have such a violence fetish? Why is it that when we feel offense, it becomes a war?
The Culture Wars.
The War on Christmas.
The War on the Unborn.
The War on the Family (which is actually a war by certain Christians against families that don't match up to their definition of family).
Are we even aware of what actual war actually is?
War is murder. War is ravaging. War is destroying everything good. War is rape. War is burning flesh and starving babies and choking on gasses and surviving shrapnel. War is severed limbs and lost friends.
War is something that I severely do not want my daughter to have to face. It is something that I've personally long conscientiously objected to. It's something that I don't wish on my worst enemies.
So I have to ask: In comparing a perceived (but not real*) slight to our religious sensibilities to war, are we trying to trivialize the horribleness of war - and dehumanize the very people affected by it - or are we fetishizing violence to the point of looking for fights where there is none in the hopes of getting our kinks?
---------------------------------------------
*"Happy Holidays" is an inclusive manner of greeting someone in a pluralistic society during a holy season. Meaning that those that celebrate Christmas are not excluded, but rather others who celebrate another tradition are added and not excluded.
We use a lot of battle images, don't we? And yet, there is the image of battle in the NT...but it is always against the things in the heavenly, never against people. We need to remember that. Prayer is the answer, and kindness, not fighting or doing mass mailings. There is no way Christ can be left out of Christmas. I think we can trust Him to protect His own name.
ReplyDelete