THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SMYRNA

118 W. COMMERCE ST.

SMYRNA, DE 19977

PHONE: 302-653-8000 FAX 302-653-2688

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ONLINE AT:

THE REV. JOHN RILEY, PASTOR

Dear Fellow Servants of Christ,

The countdown has begun. The Christmas rush is in full swing. The only issue left to be resolved is whether anyone will be allowed to say "Merry Christmas" or the bland "Happy Holidays". Various department stores and discount stores have instructed their employees not to say "Merry Christmas" this year. There seems to be an effort to ban any reference to Christmas even in stores that sell nativity creches and other Christian religious items. The explanation from the owners and managers of the stores is that they do not want to offend non-Christians.

This is perhaps a concession to the more pluralistic society we have become, but the policy is neither consistent nor sensitive to the majority of the customers who patronize these stores. I am all for tolerance, but where does tolerance draw the line. Is it tolerant to acknowledge by name every other ethnic and religious holiday, but to exclude Christmas and to call it something generic and inoffensive that excludes the name of Christ?

For two thousand years Christmas was the holiday or holy day to honor the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. For Christians, and objectively speaking others as well, Christmas is the day we celebrate the Incarnation or as the Gospel of Matthew says the coming of Immanuel, "God with us." It is ridiculous to say to a Jew celebrating Hanukkah "Happy Hanukkah" and claim that objectively it means something else than the cleansing of the Temple and the miracle of the giant candelabra lights lasting eight days in the Holy Place of the Temple when there was only enough consecrated oil to last one day. It is ridiculous to wish a Moslem a joyful and peaceful Ramadan and not have it mean the period of fasting commanded by Mohammed. If someone were to wish me a Happy Hanukkah or a Joyous Ramadan I would not protest or be offended. Why then do commercial establishments pick on Christmas for exclusion? It is not because they are not making enough money off Christians. It is not because the federal government makes them refrain from mentioning Christmas. Pluralism should have enough room to acknowledge many different traditions, beliefs, and customs, but somehow pluralism and tolerance have come to mean the exclusion of Christianity from the public square whether that square is owned by the government or someone else. A federal judge in Indiana recently ruled that the name of Jesus or any reference to a "Savior" could not be mentioned in prayers opening sessions of the state legislature. Whatever happened to the free exercise of religion clause in the constitution? Whatever happened to freedom of speech? If a Christian pastor or priest is invited to give a prayer, he or she should not be restricted to one formula that suits a judge who happens to be offended by the name of Jesus. The ruling does not exclude the name of Buddha or Mohammed or any other supposed deity.

Dominie’s Docket continued.

I wonder how long it will be before a judge or judges decide we can no longer have the beautiful antique Italian nativity set in the East Room of the White House because they are offended. By the way, George Washington was the first President of the United States to declare Christmas a national holiday so federal employees could have the day off. John Adams, a non-Christian deist and the second President, did not change this. It is still the only religious holiday observed by the federal government. Now the ACLU and atheists like Michael Needow have plans to change that too. Of course, they will not fight this battle in the legislatures. They will fight it in the courts where they think they can find judges sympathetic to their cause.

There is a book I have on my list of most wanted Christmas presents this year. It is news journalist John Gibson’s book called The War on Christmas. Although derided by critics and secularists as an excursion into paranoia and debunked information, the facts cited in the book are indisputable. There is a war on Christmas because there is a war on Christians and Christian belief. The complaint is that Christians make exclusive claims for Jesus that do not accommodate and defer to other beliefs. This is absolutely true. I will say loudly, I am guilty as charged. I believe Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. Everything I believe about Jesus influences my whole life: what I do, how I treat other people, the things I hold sacred and the things I despise. This is not suitable to those who want pornography in the media and alternative sexualities taught in the schools. This is not suitable for those who want the state to take the place of God. This is also not suitable to those who practice other religions which have historically shown themselves to be a whole lot less tolerant than Christianity.

My plan for celebrating Christmas this year is to wish everyone a "Merry Christmas" wherever I encounter them. If I get a "Bah humbug!" back, I can live with it. I would encourage all of you when you enter Walmart or Bosov’s or J.C. Penneys or whatever restaurant or fast food business you patronize to do the same. Do not surrender. Do not conform. Be gentle, but firm. You do not have to be in your face with non-Christians, but you do not need to hide your own faith. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 1: 16). We are celebrating Christmas. If non-Christians want to join the festivities, that’s fine, but they can not and should not try to redefine Christmas into something Christ-less that suits them.

May you and your family have a very Merry and Joyful Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Our Savior who is Christ, the Lord of Christmas and all other days.

With You in the Love of Christ,

KIDS PAGE

The first chapter of the gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus. In the first verse of Matthew two great Jewish heroes are mentioned as being ancestors of the Lord.