Why Do Born-Again-ists Hate Christmas?

Exhibit A:

Some Megachurches Closing for Christmas

This Christmas, no prayers will be said in several megachurches around the country. Even though the holiday falls this year on a Sunday, when churches normally host thousands for worship, pastors are canceling services, anticipating low attendance on what they call a family day.

Critics within the evangelical community, more accustomed to doing battle with department stores and public schools over keeping religion in Christmas, are stunned by the shutdown.

Exhibit B:

Oy to the world

THERE IS A grave concern, on news shows and Op-Ed pages, that we are about to lose Christmas. Though no one outside the media is at all interested, I figure jumping in will make my editors think I'm smart.

The debate began with the printing of Fox News anchor John Gibson's book, "The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought," which is ranked 285th on Amazon.com. Although I did not actually read the book, I can gather from the pithy title that it must be quite a read. Seriously, the guy couldn't even afford an editor for the title?

Exhibit C:

George W. & Laura Bush

There's a war on Christmas, all right. And it's being waged by and for religious zealots as a fundraising tactic: If you want to sue Sears (or some other business daring to respect all of their various religious or non-religious customers), Jerry Falwell has thousands of attorneys on call to take your filing fees.

However...

The (Christmas Day) closures stand in stark contrast to Roman Catholic parishes, which will see some of their largest crowds of the year on Christmas, and mainline Protestant congregations such as the Episcopal, Methodist and Lutheran churches, where Sunday services are rarely if ever canceled.

... Some congregations understand that most who have sought solace and comfort in churches on Christmas day-- for many centuries-- are truly in need... and are not there merely to be seen and admired for their "Christian values."


File this under: Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.