Do you ever question what you believe and why you believe it? It is healthy to assess our beliefs from time to time, examining our traditions and religious attitudes. It helps us formulate what is most important to us and makes it easier for us to be able to articulate the tenets of our faith to others.
For example, no where in the Bible are we instructed to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and scripturally speaking, things like Christmas trees certainly never enter the picture. I'm not implying there's anything wrong with festive decorations, but the way Jesus established and instructed us to remember him is by partaking in the bread and wine of what has become known as communion. Christmas is a human invention, not something suggested by Jesus or even the writers of the New Testament.
I'm not picking on holidays, this is to make a case that certain things, like Christmas and Easter and other religious ideas, rules and laws we often embrace and passionately defend, are manmade, even if some of them have a small measure of biblical basis.
There are a great number of religious notions which are merely distractions and have little to do with the heart of the message of Jesus. I challenge all of us to think about how our opinions and points of view have been formed and whether or not the concepts we hold dear hold up to the gospel's rather simple message to love God and everyone else. We should all be willing to shine a harsh light on our religious opinions. Some of them will stand after examination, but many may need to be revised, adjusted or eliminated.
It is never wrong to question what we believe. In fact, it is quite necessary to continually think about our own interpretation of the will of God to make sure our focus is sharp and we are concentrating on what matters. Much of what the religious world has become passionate about doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. If our traditions and personal views become more important than our relationship with God and our love and respect for others, it is time to re-assess our religious opinions, time to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Terry, couldn't agree more. Not surprised to be the first to post a comment though. Right now many who call themselves Christians seem to think the best use of their righteous indignation is in complaining that Christians are being oppressed during the holiday season because it is called the holiday season rather than CHRISTmas. Seems to me that righteous indignation might be better channeled in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Chuck. There is such an awful irony in the "keep Christ in Christmas" movement.
ReplyDeleteHi, Terry - a number of years ago, I wrote this piece struggling with the things on which the church was focused. Your post is just another chapter in that questioning; I'd almost rather GIVE folks "the shopping season" and leave "celebrating the birth of Christ" separate and apart from "Christmas."
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I've been a participant in "The Advent Conspiracy" for several years - haven't given a "Christmas gift" in seven or eight years, actually.
I just wish anyone in the "traditional church" could give me a decent answer to this post of mine. So far, no one from that particular group has ever responded.
Thanks for posting, Steve. I read your blog post you referenced....I say a big AMEN to it! My novel "The Least of These" addresses the issues you discuss. I think there is much on which we agree, my friend.
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