A friend with whom I often trade opposing points of view sent an article my way today about how offensive it is that our governments have taken the Christ out of Christmas.  The article he forwarded was written by John Bennett.  Here are a few samples from the article:

“Maintaining Christmas is part of preserving the culture that gave us almost everything that we have worth keeping. The whole name-changing charade is neurotic because it forces people to pretend that our majority culture is not what it actually is.”

Later: “Just follow the logic of his statement. We want to be inclusive, which means embrace diversity. Therefore we are going to express disapproval for the majority culture that made this nation great, which is what attracted those diverse people in the first instance.”

“Make no mistake about it, those who rip Christmas out of public life are duplicitous and exploitative, no matter what they claim their victim status to be, and no matter how noble their motives.”

My reply to the friend who sent the article:

The plea for logic and call to taking offense is rather silly, (my friend).

Anyone of reasonable intelligence who has some sense of logic will not buy the picture the vast majority of organized Christianity paints of an all-Loving God whose wrath we should fear because He may condemn us to eternal torture in Hell.  Most Christianity, while it will not admit it, worships a god that is severely schizophrenic.  And these beliefs are based on the words of corrupted men with a devious agenda who lived centuries after Christ died.  The evidence is quite clear that the Catholic Church has suppressed much of the beauty of the original Bible in the name of manipulating their flock.  There may not be any crime more severe than this.

One has to be deluded to subscribe to a god that can be so nasty.  And subscription to such a god is totally without logic and totally without foundation.

The tactics of militant Muslims so condemned by most of Christianity are the same tactics the Catholic Church has used over the years to grow its flock of sheep.  This label of Catholicism's followers may seem harsh, but is apt: following blindly, mostly because of fear, is what sheep do.

It is easier to forget that and just point the finger at the misguided Muslims who want to blow themselves and others to smithereens to earn lasting sexual privileges with seventy-odd virgins in the afterlife. Some conveniently forget the Inquisitons and the Crusades, condoned by the Church, during which men, women and children were brutalized and killed for their religious convictions or lack of them.

It is so easy to forget the unconsious means by which the Catholic Church has advanced its cause, right up to the present day times when they would rather shuffle around hundreds or thousands of child-abusing priests to molest more kids than fess up and kick the perverts out.  Add that to the current Vatican banking scandal and you realize that we are witnessing the death of a very corrupt institution....if people simply are willing to see the truth and respond with integrity.

Bennett labels those who are complaining about governments’ not supporting Christmas-labeled events as “duplicitous and exploitative”.  Isn’t it ironic that the entire documented history of the Catholic Church’s leadership has been exactly that.  Anybody caring to do even brief research from sources outside the church itself will see this.  Most of their followers would rather not look.

We are now living out the consequences of allowing particular religious influence being condoned by government, even promoted by governments.  Those who identify us as a "Christian nation," tend to exclude those who are not Christian.  At the very least, these people like to pretend that membership in their church earns them some extra slack on judgement day.  This plays into the hands of those financial and religious forces who want to lead us around like sheep.  Many married to their religion have gladly complied with thier church's doctrine even when they don't believe in it.   Compliance here is a product of their fear.

Who wants to live in fear?  Do you?   That is the yoke you place on your shoulders when you subscribe to the vast majority of what we call Christianity today.  More and more are choosing the courage and trust to walk away from such insanity.

It has been proven in conflicts over the centuries, from boardrooms to battlefields: The way to conquer people is to divide them: Christian versus Muslim, fundamentalist Christian versus liberal Christian.   And those of the Christian faith cannot seem to find a way to unify themselves, to create commonality: Today there are over 35,0000 demominations calling themselves Christian: Divided and Conquered. Like our behavior in our political arenas, our choice to fight each about religion keeps us weak.  The purpose of any worthy religion would be to unify and empower. The vast majority of religion today---all of the big ones---do exactly the opposite. 

The Bennett article stirs people up to take offense.  As a culture we are learning the hard lesson that it does not make sense to take offense about how other people label you or your beliefs.  Taking offense is stupid, ignorant.  Under the Bush administration, all the Christian organizations got favored status and lots of money.  They kept the word "religion" out of it; they called the money handouts to religous organizations "Faith-Based." Some of the rules our often-misguided forefathers made that had to do with keeping church and State separate were good ones.  Along with the corrupt bankers and money barons, maybe the biggest problem in our world today is (most of) organized religion and the sheep who either abuse "non-believers" or who take offense that others do not want our governments promoting such a foolish, destructive set of beliefs.

The most pious of big religions' leaders often voice their offense at the words of others.  They judge.  They condemn.  Just like their god.

Let me be clear: I apppreciate the greatness of Jesus; His pure message is a beautiful teaching and His example has been abused and distorted by most of the leadership of the major Christian religions.  This is not a judgment, but a simple observation.  Just look at what has been expunged from the Bible over the centuries and you will see clearly that what was taken out was spiritually empowered.  Most organized religion wants to vest all power in their organization...and little, if any, in their followers.

Sure, there is a part of many of us who grew up with traditional Christian religion that regrets that Christmas has become for so many more about excuses for excesses in food and alcohol, and that it has become for many something that has little to do with Christ.  We might miss seeing the Christmas label on so many things this time of year.  The unfortunate truth is that the leadership of the vast majority of Christianity’s leaders have polluted Christ’s word to such a thorough and destructive extent that it may more spiritually profitable for all of us to find other ways to honor the Christlike in all of us.

It starts with tolerance, forgiveness and awareness of what is really important in life, and that is simply to love each other and ourselves more ruthlessly.  We are waking up to this possibility for our true redemption. Fighting each other, taking offense at others' beliefs, worrying about how others judge you...these are all so self-destructive.

Let's really wake up; let's choose to love one another.