Christmas Crimes (op-ed)
Between Black Friday and Christmas Eve I thought about Christmas crimes. I’m not referring to some prankster vandalizing a nativity scene I’m referring to illegal Christmas celebrations.
A couple years ago a headline read: 11 Christians arrested in Laos for celebrating Christmas. Last year I read: Five converts were arrested during a police raid on a house in Tehran where they were meeting to celebrate Christmas. (Here the crime was conversion to Christianity, an act of apostasy punishable by death, not the actual celebration, but making an effort to celebrate Christmas was evidence.)
This year I read: Tajikistan has tightened restrictions on festive season celebrations, banning Christmas trees and gift-giving in schools.
Somalia issued a ban on Christmas and the Somali police were instructed to “prevent Christmas celebrations.” (Notice the instructions aren’t to arrest celebrators they’re instructed to prevent celebrations, by what method?)
And Christmas Celebrations are banned in Brunei with a five year jail term for offenders. In an official statement the Brunei Ministry of Religious Affairs declared, “These enforcement measures are … Intended to control the act of celebrating Christmas excessively and openly, which could damage the beliefs of the Muslim community.” Of course some Brunei residents risked jail time by celebrating Christmas in the open.
This may disturb contemporary Christians that connect the holiday with the birth of Christ. (Early Christians didn’t celebrate birthdays. The remembrance of birth was a pagan practice associated with astrology it was also considered a celebration of the ego a concept Early Christian sought to discourage.) But Christmas was not always accepted within Christianity.
During the Reformation and up to 1800’s Christmas was viewed by many Protestants as an unchristian practice. In England from the 1640’s to 1660’s all Christmas activities were outlawed by the Puritan-dominated Parliament. The Puritans in Boston and the Plymouth colony made celebrating Christmas a criminal offense Puritans claimed there was no biblical justification for the celebration and Christmas encouraged immorality.
Its clear Christmas has nothing to do with anyone’s actual birth or with the virgin born character in the Gospel. Most Christians I know have no interest in the historic origins of Christmas they choose to celebrate Christmas because it’s the day universally accepted to celebrate the birth of their savior.
That’s fine; it’s a harmless choice in the United States.
But why would Christians in countries hostile toward Christmas choose to risk death or jail time to celebrate something that has no biblical basis?
Religious freedom?
That’s a secular assumption based on a political concept. Christians believe in free will not religious freedom. Disagree? I’ll rephrase Christians tolerate religious freedom as it is on earth but not in heaven.
Faith?
But faith in what? Here are two scriptures: If you suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are you: and, be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. (1 Peter 3:14 KJV) And: Blessed is the man that endures trial: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the lord has promised. (James 1:12 KJV)
Is it possible certain Christians have faith in subjecting themselves to suffering because they believe it leads to a divine promise?
But that concept sounds suicidal and frighteningly familiar.
A macro-analysis of the world will report a clash of civilizations, but a micro-analysis of individuals will report a clash between faith and reason.
First published in the New Pittsburgh Courier 12/30/15
A couple years ago a headline read: 11 Christians arrested in Laos for celebrating Christmas. Last year I read: Five converts were arrested during a police raid on a house in Tehran where they were meeting to celebrate Christmas. (Here the crime was conversion to Christianity, an act of apostasy punishable by death, not the actual celebration, but making an effort to celebrate Christmas was evidence.)
This year I read: Tajikistan has tightened restrictions on festive season celebrations, banning Christmas trees and gift-giving in schools.
Somalia issued a ban on Christmas and the Somali police were instructed to “prevent Christmas celebrations.” (Notice the instructions aren’t to arrest celebrators they’re instructed to prevent celebrations, by what method?)
And Christmas Celebrations are banned in Brunei with a five year jail term for offenders. In an official statement the Brunei Ministry of Religious Affairs declared, “These enforcement measures are … Intended to control the act of celebrating Christmas excessively and openly, which could damage the beliefs of the Muslim community.” Of course some Brunei residents risked jail time by celebrating Christmas in the open.
This may disturb contemporary Christians that connect the holiday with the birth of Christ. (Early Christians didn’t celebrate birthdays. The remembrance of birth was a pagan practice associated with astrology it was also considered a celebration of the ego a concept Early Christian sought to discourage.) But Christmas was not always accepted within Christianity.
During the Reformation and up to 1800’s Christmas was viewed by many Protestants as an unchristian practice. In England from the 1640’s to 1660’s all Christmas activities were outlawed by the Puritan-dominated Parliament. The Puritans in Boston and the Plymouth colony made celebrating Christmas a criminal offense Puritans claimed there was no biblical justification for the celebration and Christmas encouraged immorality.
Its clear Christmas has nothing to do with anyone’s actual birth or with the virgin born character in the Gospel. Most Christians I know have no interest in the historic origins of Christmas they choose to celebrate Christmas because it’s the day universally accepted to celebrate the birth of their savior.
That’s fine; it’s a harmless choice in the United States.
But why would Christians in countries hostile toward Christmas choose to risk death or jail time to celebrate something that has no biblical basis?
Religious freedom?
That’s a secular assumption based on a political concept. Christians believe in free will not religious freedom. Disagree? I’ll rephrase Christians tolerate religious freedom as it is on earth but not in heaven.
Faith?
But faith in what? Here are two scriptures: If you suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are you: and, be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. (1 Peter 3:14 KJV) And: Blessed is the man that endures trial: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the lord has promised. (James 1:12 KJV)
Is it possible certain Christians have faith in subjecting themselves to suffering because they believe it leads to a divine promise?
But that concept sounds suicidal and frighteningly familiar.
A macro-analysis of the world will report a clash of civilizations, but a micro-analysis of individuals will report a clash between faith and reason.
First published in the New Pittsburgh Courier 12/30/15
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