The controversy that blew up this morning makes me wonder as well as wander.
Tulsa has had a traditional "Christmas Parade" for years. I remember going to it in the 1950's with my own parents. It's been labeled a "Christmas Parade" throughout its history. So this year a new sponsor renamed it, "Holiday Parade".
In the first chapter of the Book of Acts we find the following statement by Jesus himself. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be my witnesses in Jersusalem, and in all Judea, and to the ends of the earth." This was spoken to the Apostles by Jesus himeslf after His crucifixion and before He ascended to Heaven. This verse is commonly called "The Great Commission". In many denominations, and in my mind, this is interpreted as Jesus speaking to all Christians throughout time. Why is it a problem to use the word "Christmas" which includes the word "Christ", making it a candidate for exclusion in favor of the blander and less meaningful "Holidays"?
This on the heels of a court decision that delays the effective date of State question 755 "State Question 755 poses a clear violation of my religious freedoms," the executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. "Throughout American history, the courts have found in favor of the Constitution." according to Maneer Awad who filed the initial legal action. The question bans the recognition of Islamic Shariah law in Okalhoma as well as other portions of international law. http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20101201_16_A13_CUTLIN506944
The U.S. Consitution's Bill of Rights states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establiishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise excercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press: or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of greivances." The first sentence of the first amendment to the Constitution is about "freedom of religion". Is that not a message rrom the founding fathers on their prioirties?
The two events are dis-similar but joined by subject. No law was passed in the parade issue. A change in sponsors brought a change in title. The question is "why?". What is it about the presence of the the word "Christ" that must be dealt with? It's not even a standalone word, it a syllable. Its been the topic of the parade since I was a child, a time when dirt was a relatively new substance. Is the Great Commission fading from our conscious will as a group?
The state question is a different type of story. Over 70% of those voting on this question in the last election voted yes for the ban. Webster's Student Dictionary, pub date 1999, defines "respecting" as "about or concerning". The same volume defines the root "respect" as "concern or consideration". In other words favoring.
We live in a time when committment and sacrifice are waning. The great commission was enunciated shortly before the ascention and before the stoning of Stephen for merely speaking out in defense of Jesus teaching. The Constitution was written after a war for independence based on principles. Today, the divorce rate (committment to marriage and one's spouse) is rising. Voting (committment to one's democracy) is lower than ever. Church membership, in the mainstream denominations, is in great decline. That trend is only partially offset by the rise of the Mega Churches such as John Hagee, Rick Warren, and locally Bob Yandian, Willy George, and others. Change and evolution are good things in a lot of areas of life. Society without fundamental foundations is like houses built on sand. They may start with a foundation but it soon cracks, costs a lot to repair, and ends up not supporting what it was intended to.
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