Deconstructing Christmas

I’m going to disagree w/ the last point (although I’ll be the first to say I haven’t done much research on it).

But isn’t the Xmas tree industry responsible for PLANTING a good deal of trees, and in fact, isn’t it preserving a lot of land in forest (or at least a reasonable facisimle thereof)?

If my choice is a real, grown live Christmas tree that reminds me of the life in the world (and scads of other stuff most of which doesn’t apply much to my argument) or a plastic pole with plastic green fuzz on it, I’ll take the real tree and feel good about the environmental choice I’ve made.

Wow. Liberals can suck the joy out of life. We have an artificial tree(10 years old), with a star on top. Next to it, is our nativity. My children know EXACTLY what we celebrate on Christmas. They have purchased gifts for immediate and extended family. They have even purchased Bibles to give to their friends at school. Next to their friends receiving Jesus, I know no better gift. We have a wonderful time with many celebrations both with family, and with friends. Of course, for those who now question the inerency and authority of scripture, I’d expect a lame position like this. We give throughout the year, and certainly do not have excess…except the various levels of taxation that prevent us from giving more. Latin contexts, humanism and creation worship(rather than Creator worship) all miss the point. Christianity is the only non-religious faith in the history of mankind. By that I mean that NOTHING we do gets us into Heaven. Jesus Christ is THE way, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE. His sacrifice and resurrection are what purchased our eternal life. No matter how much we withdraw from materialism, how much we give, or anything that we do, we cannot work our way into Heaven, our out-love God.

Merry Christmas!

On the last point, my family bought a live tree that came in a planter. After Xmas, we’ll plant it in the backyard and watch it grow.

Scott, my heart aches as I read your comments above. I think you misunderstand what is happening at this website. I know your frustration. I once thought that EC was a movement that was “questioning the inerency and authority of scripture” like you said. But it’s not. We are questioning our understandings of scripture, that has led to things such as a disregard for creation (you seem to have a love for creation yourself – you plant your trees after using them, yay!), a congregation that gives its money to the few workers who actually do the work of the Kingdom while we live our lives out not living the good news like we should, and more. It is a calling of Jesus on our lives to be more like Him. Not everybody is called in the same ways all of the time, and a lot of people feel threatened by the questions we are asking because it threatens their way of life (ie, the career pastor). But this post you have stumbled upon about Christmas “keeps and looses” is not liberal propaganda, is not trying to ruin anyone’s fun, and is not any form of attack whatsoever. It is a conversation about better enjoying the living God while we are here on Earth. I imagine by your comment that you are not in fact affected by the excessive material trappings of our society, and I am glad for it. But a lot of us are. I know I am. Or was, since I am learning and growing in this area right now.

Theresa,

My point, and yours actually agree more than you think. I think the EC movement has been a great wake-up call to the “Prosperity” theologians in the US. My faith has never been in any particular theological line, or in any pastor, but in Jesus and God’s word. I read all points of view, and no one, including myself, has the entire thing figured out. My concern is where the priorities lie within the Church. I agree that stewardship is more than just finances…it includes everything God has given us.

We, Christians, are all called to be missionaries. Showing mercy, meeting needs and preaching repentance are all modeled by Jesus while He was on Earth…ex. the woman at the well, Nicodemus, Mary Magdeline. Some take mercy to the extreme and allow for an “anything goes” type of Christianity, and unfortunately, that is how some members of the EC movement have presented themselves. My pointing this out may be hurtful, but it is exactly what EC folks do when they point to traditional Evangelicalism(Career Pastors). Again, the only One who is omnicient is God, and He gave us His revelation via the Bible, and that is what we must look to for the answers to our questions.

May God Bless You, Sister.

Jake – I certainly understand your pov – here in Oregon, Christmas trees are a primary commodity crop alongside cranberries and hazelnuts. A lot of families depend on the Christmas trees they grow on their farms.

Perhaps for you the tree isn’t a particularly sacred symbol, merely a festive decoration that supports a family somewhere and then goes in the trash (or the fire, or the compost heap). But what if it WAS a sacred symbol? If it was, what would it mean in our context? Luther said it symbolized the living Christ in the world’s darkness. What does it mean today, for you, in your place?

Cheers for all of these except for the trees. The only problem we have with trees is that there are too many! Every storm with winds exceeding 25 MPH knocks down hundreds of trees that should’ve been cleared away in the first place. Take a look at any photo from 50 or 100 years ago and you’ll see hundreds of trees covering what once were vast, open areas. Those of us who live in areas prone to forest fires are much more practical about the “tree problem.” There’s too many of them..they need to be cut and cleared!

I totally feel like I am hijacking your post, so I will make this brief, LOL. Scott, the only thing I want to say at this point is that I really wish EC’s “friendly critics,” which I think you might be, would be more considerate of their tone and words. Your first comment here seemed, well, mean. I am sorry. Maybe I should not have said anything. But it is not condusive to a Godly conversation to have stuff like that thrown at us.
Okay, so that I am a true participater, LOL, I will now respond to the original post. Material gifts: I am not tossing it altogether, but am radically changing the way I go about it. I got toys and character dishes and way-too-fun toothbrush sets for my children. But for everyone else, the only people getting anything are two of my hubby’s sisters – whose names we drew on Thanksgiving for Christmas gift exchange. Each of us on that side of the family picked one person to give a $30 gift(s) to and that is it. I am glad we are still doing presents. After all, giving and receiving gifts are ways of giving and receiving love. But I agree with the excess factor – in Western society we seem to have so much excess. I love the way the Grinch says it (Jim Carrey version). Gifts nobody wanted anyway sit in the dump eventually. So the few gifts we are giving will be of a higher value intrinsically because they are things those two ladies actually want or need. I love the gift tradition! But I am glad we won’t be coming home with a bunch of stuff we can’t figure out where to put in our house. Oh, and actually, I am crocheting beanies for my family, and for Trucker Frank, which is proving to be a major blessing to them more than any store-bought gift. :-D

You’ll certainly have more time to spend together when your employers go out of business because people are buying less.

‘the pagan theme of light and dark’

Ever read anything by this guy John? 1. 6 ¶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

This has been good to watch. I’ll try to respond to a few posts and see what comes of it…

Scott and Theresa, thanks for your dialogue. It’s a struggle in this medium to speak with passion, but without “flaming” each other. I appreciate your respectfulness.

Jim H. (#7): Huh?

Michael (#9): Although my heart aches for those who are out of work right now (that has included myself until recently), we are called to witness against unjust systems with prophetic criticism and/or withdrawl. Consider the Israelites who “lost” their brick-making jobs in order to become God’s people in the wilderness. They had to choose between participation in an unjust economy – one which made them slaves – or the perilous freedom of God’s promises. While our economic system collapses, what will you do – head for the wilderness, or keep making bricks?

Ted Voth Jr (#10): Christmas is a Christian response to a much older pagan holiday. Christians appropriated the symbols of this holiday – gifts, the tree, the Christmas spirits (which became Santa and the elves) – and re-understood them based on their own scriptures. John chapter 1 (which you cite) is read in the common lectionary on Christmas day to remember precisely this true light. Does this negate its pagan roots? I don’t think it does, but you can certainly argue your point if you like.

Mark, you brought to mind something my husband told me a while back. I was frustrated with the extreme occurance of Santa-related themes in the Christmas season, and he gave me a better perspective. He pointed out that thanks to Santa, the world celebrates Christmas. Therefore, the world has a better chance of hearing about the Story of the Christ-child. How awesome is that? Yes, it is a flawed system, but it is something that is furthering the Kingdom. I’ll take it. I don’t promote Santa very highly myself, but he is welcome here. :-)

Very good point, Theresa – and I think that’s what I’m getting at when I talk about the relationship between the Christian and pagan themes in the holiday. We can’t extricate the one from the other anymore – and I’m not sure God would have it any other way – but we can use the tools we have (Santa, light/dark, gifts, etc.) to proclaim the good news that we have experienced in Jesus.

Also, re. gifts, I’m glad the tradition works for you. There are some people that have that “gift-giving” gene, and I’m not one of them – time and presence are my best gifts in the season. Let me ask this – how do you discern the difference between good, meaningful, life-giving gifts and the sort of consumption-oriented giving that we see so prominently in the rest of the culture?

Good question, Mark! For our extended family just drawing one name each to shop for, and setting a small dollar amt. limit on it, was a big step toward healthier habits. The last few Christmases we have either re-gifted or just not given anything, due to finances more than anything else. But this past Spring (2008) I was introduced to the Emergent Conversation, and as deep cries out to deep, many longings I have had for years have found room to grow! Like wanting to be less materialistic and consuming. Especially at birthdays and holidays. So, although we are taking baby steps, I feel that is a big one for our particular extended family. I also think shopping from sources like Compassion International, or the Heifer catalog, is awesome! “A cow has been given to a poor family in your name” rocks! On Thanksgiving I brought a small stack of Compassion photos of unsponsored kids. Nobody would commit to one because we are all so broke. I understand, because we really are hurting, but was also very sad and disappointed.