Week of December 20, 2010 – Tis the Season to be….Politically Correct. As my regular readers know, I am somewhat enamored of the U. S. Constitution, because as our basic law, it is filled with the wisdom of the Almighty in how people should govern themselves in an equitable fashion. So it is with some dismay to see the usual perversion of our law when it comes to the annual folly surrounding the relationship between the government and the citizenry regarding the celebration and observances of the Lord Jesus’ birthday (you know, Christmas). Seems things have gotten so silly that in some parts, it is considered inappropriate to utter the words, “Merry Christmas”. Apparently, something to do with that old mantra about “separation of church and State”
OK, let’s start at the beginning. First off, the folks showing up here hundreds of years ago to found our nation were not Buddhists, Hindus, or Mohammedans, so they were not worried about other cultures and other beliefs slipping into our society, and they, having the confidence in knowing that God was on their side, they were peaceable, friendly, tolerant folks who felt that, given time and the exercise of their religion, that folks from all over the world would come to an understanding of Christ and come to believe in Him as the Son of God. So when it came time to put together our Founding document, the Constitution, these Christians wanted to make sure this country allowed religious freedom. They were instrumental in drafting the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed religious freedom. The First Amendment has a two-pronged approach. It says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof:….”
Now, why the first part? The folks who came here from England had a history of religious strife, as the country changed hands and religions with regularity. That’s why many of these people fled, they wanted the freedom to practice their religion as they saw fit. So when they were forming this country, they said ‘we dot not want a state religion, we do not want the Anglican church to be our official religion, not the Catholic, nor the Presbyterian. Many of these people did not want to see the country split by denominations, even though the majority of them were of one Christian denomination or the other. And, the country was mostly bereft of secularism or humanism, so our foundation was heavily inclined to the Judeo-Christian heritage and philosophy (for a lot more background on this, go to “Wallbuilders.com”).
Now, the second clause. …”or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. The Congress cannot make a law prohibiting the free exercise of your religion (as well as free speech!). So, since Christianity has, as a basic premise of it’s doctrine, the proselytizing of the whole world, the Congress cannot make a law keeping Christians from spreading the word regarding their beliefs in any way possible. The current misconception revolves around the statement, “separation of church and state”, which, you will notice, does not even appear in the amendment, or anywhere else. Jefferson apparently used the expression in a letter written years later.
So, you’re probably wondering, what does this have to do with finances? The fact is, this drift toward secularization has come about from the misconception about ‘separation of church and state’ (SOCAS). SOCAS, rather than being an exercise of power by the state over the church, is, as Jefferson noted, a protection of the church from the government. Rather than an excuse for the drift to secularization away from God, it is a reason why we, the people, must stand up to the ignoramuses that are using this misconception to deprive us of an important freedom.
It has been suggested that, if you offer a ‘Merry Christmas’ to a clerk, and are rebuffed, you can notify management that you do not appreciate the secularization of this holiday, and then take your business elsewhere. When their bottom line gets affected, they will get the message.
Whatever you do, do not lose sight of the real meaning of this day. While it may have become a cliché, Christ is indeed the reason for the season. It’s all about a gift, the gift of a Savior to the world, who died for our sins that we may receive eternal life, and all we have to do to accept this gift is to, by faith, call on Him and invite Him into our hearts and lives.
Merry Christmas to you all!
