Episcopal priest makes interesting argument
There are some very good reasons
why Christians should give up the fight to reassert ownership
of Christmas and to stop resisting its so-called secularization. Neither Christmas nor anything
it stands for originated in the Jesus movement or in the early
Christian Church. In imperial Rome, the December
25 feast in honor of the Invincible Sun, Sol Invictus,
was accompanied by the exchange of gifts, cutting of greens,
lighting of candles, and public festivals commemorating new life. In the 4th century, the Christian
Church, having been adopted by the Emperor Constantine, was rather
suddenly transformed from a persecuted minority into the official
imperial religion of Rome. The Church responded by importing
the Jesus' birth narratives of Matthew and Luke into the feast
of Sol Invictus and erased every reference to the pagan
gods. To liberate Christmas from
the clutches of Christianity would demonstrate a generosity of
spirit on the part of Christians |
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