Posted by Helen on: 12.10.2008 /
Doreen mentioned that a Christian wants to post Christian bus ads to counter the humanist bus ads in Washington DC. In the next comment, Eliza picked up on this quote from the article Doreen linked to:
That reason [for the Christian rebuttal ad] is to fight the sadness and discouragement she said Christians feel this time of year, as the nonreligious beat up on their beliefs.
Eliza then asked: Any comments from readers here? Do Christians tend to feel sad & discouraged at this time of year, for reasons other than the ones that bring on those feelings in non-Christians?
I noticed the same quote and I’m thinking it seems rather exaggerated. On the other hand I was listening to Christian radio yesterday morning and they were making a big deal about the reactions of people who aren’t Christians to Christmas. They were saying how years ago no-one used to say anything about Christmas decorations being all over the place. They were saying they wish other people would just put up their own holiday decorations and not complain about Christian ones.
But I think that is what’s happening. Other people are simply asking for fair representation rather than Christian decorations being the only ones allowed. They’re only asking for Christian ones to be removed if no others are allowed alongside the Christian ones.
I question whether the tone of some atheist ‘decorations’ being placed beside Christian ones will help the cause of atheists with people in general. I liked “Just be good for goodness’ sake” because it’s fun and positive. I also like “Seattle Atheists – we believe in you”. But many of the others are derogatory about religious beliefs or believers in a way that I think will turn out to be counterproductive.
I wonder at Christians who feel sad and discouraged at this time of year ‘as the nonreligious beat up on their beliefs’. Are Christians really that pathetic? Is there a Bible verse I’ve missed which says “Feel sorry for yourself and whine if people don’t like your beliefs?” Not that it’s any better when their defensiveness leads them into being strident rather than self-pitying.
Hopefully many Christians don’t feel this way – they have a more ‘live and let live’ attitude. But since some do, it seems like one way for me to avoid negative feelings this season is to avoid reading and listening to too much by those Christians. It frustrates me to hear them complaining or feeling sorry for themselves because (surprise!) not everyone agrees that Christian traditions should be the only ones heard and seen at this time of year.
Comment by: Irritable
1Helen,
I think this comes from the literalism that characterizes a lot of evangelical Christianity. The NT pretty much presumes persecution of Christians because that was the situation in which they found themselves. In order for many of the NT passages to apply to the Christians’ lives today, one way or another they have to narrate themselves as persecuted.
In a society that is not sending Christians to the lions, and in which Christianity was once dominant, any perceived threat to that cultural dominance is reconfigured as persecution.
Comment by: Helen
2Thanks for your comment, Irritable.
I agree with you that many Christians in the US seem to confuse a threat to their cultural dominance with persecution. But even if they were being persecuted, as best I recall the New Testament says their response should be to rejoice. Getting defensive or complaining isn’t good role modeling for other Christians.
Comment by: Irritable
3Excellent point.
Comment by: Stephan
4I get discouraged this time of year, but it has nothing to do with Christians being persecuted by culture. It has everything to do with Christians be complicit with culture. I hate the materialism and greed that has totally taken over the Christmas season. I hate it with every fiber of my being. Everyone is making a list of the things that they want when most of us have so much more than we need. My reaction is that I don’t want to celebrate Christmas at all. I don’t think Jesus would want much to do with it either.
Comment by: Doreen A Mannion
5I appreciate your comments, Stephan. I feel that Hallmark and “Black Friday” mobs are beating up on my beliefs much more than anything else. I also don’t like how my siblings barely talk to one another all year, then about a month before Christmas there’s a flurry of emails regarding “What do you want?” “I dunno, what do you want?” What I really want is for you all to show some Christ-like compassion to one another throughout the year. Is there a card for that somewhere?
I think Christians who feel “beat up” about whether a cashier says “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” as they haul their goods out of WalMart are really missing the point of Christmas….
Comment by: Helen
6Stephan, thanks for your comment. It makes sense to me that Jesus wouldn’t want to have anything to do with materialism and greed. Have you seen the Advent Conspiracy site?
Doreen, I’m sorry your siblings aren’t more interested in their relationships with one another.
If someone says Merry Christmas to me I say it back and if they say Happy Holidays I say that back. I’d rather go with their preference than assert mine – I don’t see the value of making a point in that context about whether I do or don’t believe in Christmas.
Comment by: Jim Henderson
7This is why I miss Doreen- how much more too the point can you be -reminds me alot of the kinds of spiritual reframes the my favorite movement leader provided his ideological enemies in his time.
Also – this is not persecution – this is pluralism – Cs have had their historical turn at the national wheel and now the party is over (or “on” depending on your view of history)
Comment by: gecko
8At this time of year all I want to have is a lot of time to my own so I can sort things out, take a look back, getting an overview of my life again. I’d love to be deep in thought and get back to the basics.
But all our three children’s birthdays are within four weeks before Christmas, so in addition to this anyway very noisy time we do three children’s birthdays…
I feel very tired and suffocating, getting more and more aggressive, functioning like a robot, not allowed to become ill, working till I fall into my bed late each evening.
But then, when Christmas has arrived, it’s like a switch has been turned and the silence is back. We don’t have so many relatives here in Switzerland, and there are only a handful of friends we meet (we always take this very busy December as an excuse to get some rest during the Christmas-holidays). So then there are the possibilities for long walks during the night in absolute silence. Time to ponder my life. Time to get back to myself…
Jim – you sounded so sad and hopeless. I still think that Christians have their turns on their wheels of your and every nation. I rather have Christians who are “real” Christians than people who are only named after Christ, doing whatever they want themselves in Jesus’ name. I really do hope that there’s more authenticity, truth and uprightness from now on. God will put His people in the right places in the right time.