Heathen newspapers vs. Megachurches
I'm reading this journalist-inspired debate over the closing of such megachurches as Southland Christian here in Lexington on Christmas Sunday, and can only shake my head in disbelief.
First, if the preachers in these pulpits were specifically calling out newspapers, editors, writers, or politicians based on the decisions they made, they'd get viciously attacked in the press, with such standard attacks as threatening to take away their tax-exempt status, among other things. So how does the secular media get away with criticizing a church for its decisions surrounding a CHRISTIAN holiday? If you want the church and state kept apart, then you should keep your nose in your own house. Yes, that's right. Many people seem to think that the misinterpreted notion of separation of church and state only means that the church should stay out of the state's buisness, and that it's not a two-way street.
Second, I was raised in a Christian household, and we rarely ever went to Church on Christmas morning, even if it was on a Sunday. Odd? My family was the type that was at church at least three times a week as often as possible. But even we made the decision to attend Christmas Eve services because we traditionally opened presents on Christmas Day.
Thirdly, I hope and pray that those sniveling decision-makers at our local paper are positively affected by the Christmas spirit before it's too late for the well-being of their souls.
Comments
What exactly does the publication of these stories in newspapers have to do with the state? Newspapers are privately own businesses that explore items deemed newsworthy. They are covering a story that pits Christians who do not think Christmas is a day that has anything to do with church with those who believe it has everything to do with church. That it has created a lot of controversy has a lot more to do with division among Christians than it does "heathen" newspapers against Christians.
the Media considers itself the fourth pillar of government, and it takes great joy in stirring up controversy where it isn't necessary. The decision of a Church of whether or not to hold services on any particular day is a decision left to the church's staff and its members, and not the general public by way of the media.
You still didn't answer my question. "The media" is still not in any official or unofficial way a part of the "State," so your protest rings a little empty.
And what is this monolithic "Media" you're talking about!? Is this a group of men who sit in a smoky backroom and decide what shall and shall not be part of public discourse in newspapers and on television? Of course it is journalism's role to cover items of interest in the world, and when Christians spend so much of time clamoring TO THE MEDIA about how we are not commercializing Christmas enough by boycotting stores like Target for failing to use words like "Christmas" to sell its stuff in December, and many of those same Christians decide that the holiest day of the year isn't a good day to darken the door of a church, then I think this is worthy of a journalists attention.
1. The media regularly takes time out of its schedule to tell churches that their beliefs are not welcome in any public discussion of anything, maybe you don't read editorials, and that churches should keep their beliefs and practices inside their own buildings. Now, when the churches are making decisions that only affect its members, the media is butting its nose in, and then taking the discussion to the same arenas where it usually tells churches they aren't welcome. In this respect, they take the role of police officer/ judge when they have no authority.
2. I'm confused by YOUR words -- "Christians complain to the media about how we are NOT COMMERCIALIZING CHRISTMAS ENOUGH by boycotting stores..." Uh, that sound like a paradox, or just outright confusion.
3. I'd like to know why/how you determine that Christmas is the holiest day of the year. Me, personally, I'd vote for Easter. But there's not an election for holiest day, so I try to treat every day like it's holy.
I still take exception to your monolithic use of the term "the media" to describe the attitude of every member of the journalism profession. There is just too much and editorial and perspectival diversity to make such claims. And I don't think you would advocate an unfree press that isn't welcome to speak on certain topics, would you? In our free society (and as a principle of Christian liberty) each sphere of culture is free to speak prophetically to the other. I actually think many news stories appropriately call silly what is silly in many churches. All truth is God's truth, even if you read it in the New York Times!
Regarding the commercialization of Christmas, I was referring to the uproar about Target and other stores that refused to use the word "Christmas" in their advertising. Several groups in the Christian right were angry that they were trying to secularize the season or deny Christ in their unwillingness to use the language. I simply find it ironic that Christians want to keep our focus on the "reason for the season," and do so by insisting that a store that does not and has never made any profession of Christian faith should use the name of Christ to hock the crap its selling in its store. And at the same time, many of these same Christians find it arbitrary whether or not Christians should join together with other brothers and sisters in a place of worship on the Sunday when Christmas falls this year. Sorry if I wasn't clear in my earlier note.
OK, Easter is a pretty holy day too. :) But the incarnation really does demonstrate God's determination to break into the human condition with his redemptive love. The resurrection is "merely" (he said with a wink) the completion and consummation of what He initiated at Christmas. I'd say it's a Christian truth worth leaving home, hearth, pajamas, and other middle class comforts for on Christmas morning to celebrate.
Why is it so important to go to church on this particular day? The Bible clearly states that any time two or more are gathered in His name, he will be there. That should be interpreted as meaning you don't necessarily have to get to church to feel blessed by God.
I wonder why this is an issue, since the issue isn't actually about Christmas. The issue here is the question of whether or not there is any good reason to close a church's doors on a Sunday morning, since churches are never criticized for being closed when Christmas day falls on a Thursday. Since I don't believe that eternal damnation will result from missing church on any particular Sunday, I don't believe this is worthy of the media-fueled attention it has received. Practicing tradition won't get you into heaven -- never has, never will.
I also take issue with your assertion that each faction of society is able to speak prophetically (and freely) to one another. Find me a faction that doesn't get totally bent out of shape if you inform them that only being a good person is a one-way ticket to Hades, and that there is no amount of charitable work that can earn you a heavenly pass. Suddenly, freedom of speech goes out the window.....