The Christmas Crusade

My brother-in-law (and brother-in-Christ) sent this to me. I thought it worth pondering.

'Tis the season for many Christians to complain that Christmas is under siege by a hostile, anti-Christian American culture. Christmas, after all, should be a celebration of Jesus. And the Jesus of the Gospels surely wrapped himself in a human body for the purpose of championing the pure and undefiled among earth's inhabitants, condemning those of other faiths or no faith, and calling down the wrath of God upon the pagan society that characterized the Roman Empire. Thus by demanding that unbelieving individuals and a pluralistic society bow to our wishes―or else!―we honor the spirit of Jesus at Christmas. Right?
As silly as it sounds, that is exactly the message that popular Christendom is communicating to American society: we demand our rights right now, and we'll stomp into the ground any who stand in our way, all because we love Jesus and you don't.
Let's get real. The biggest enemies of Christmas in modern America are those who claim the name of Christ yet are wandering in a self-righteous wilderness, turning the Bread of Life into stones and hurling holy rocks at unbelievers.

It amazes the rest of the world to see Christians, still nominally the majority in America, acting besieged and afraid. Yes, the influence of Christ is waning in our country. Yes, our beliefs are sometimes reviled, ridiculed and discriminated against. Should this come as a surprise, or as confirmation our Lord knew what He was talking about?

As I've said in this space before, Christians are less willing to do the work of changing the world by personal example, living a Godly life day after day, than they are to go on an official crusade against the latest windmill. There's a time and place (and a MANNER) to speak what we believe. But when we try to build a theological utopia from the top down, by electing "the right people" or putting in "the right judges," we're building our own kingdom, not Christ's. The danger of confusing the two is in the misappropriation of God's moral authority for some earthly cause. "God wills it" can still set off a crusade.

And Ron Paul is right to quote Sinclair Lewis: "when fascism finally comes to this country, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying the cross." For too many nominal Christians in this country, the State, not God, is their rock and fortress, their deliverer in time of trouble.

"Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you get neither."
-- C.S. Lewis