No
Judaism, No Christianity … Before Christmas, Hanukkah
Published in Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, 12/16/18
Ah, Christmas! Is there any celebration anywhere on the
globe that compares to it? Think of its
themes that are celebrated every year: peace, goodwill, joy, children, music,
cheer, and a giving spirit.
Elvis
put it best, “Why can’t every day be like Christmas? / Why can’t that feeling
go on endlessly / For if every day could be just like Christmas / What a
wonderful world this would be.” (Google
it, people, Google it!)
I seriously
here testify that I know hundreds upon hundreds of people for whom the feeling
does go on endlessly. What an
encouraging reality to have loved ones and friends – lots of them – whose each
and every day is genuinely like Christmas.
Not to tamper with Elvis, but for the people I’m thinking of, it’s
actually not a feeling. It’s a mindset, a spirit, an upward and outward view of
life and a practice of living that is selfless and others-centered.
To
whom could I be referring? Since you
asked, yes, I am referring to the bride of my youth, to two beautiful daughters
and two strong sons, none of whom have a selfish bone in them and who reach out
to others daily. I chronicle them not
out of pride, but out of gratefulness.
But I’m also referring to friends galore who
also do not live for themselves but for others. I’m referring also to countless business,
community, and political leaders in the county where I live who are incredible
givers. Get around these happy leaders
for ten minutes and you see why they act like it’s Christmas Day every day. It’s because the “feeling” (I’ll use Elvis’
word here) goes on endlessly for them as well.
How many counties in the nation can revel because of such a community?
Christmas
has literally caused the guns of war to cease at least for 24 hours. It happened in both world wars. Christmas has brought food to the hungry,
clothing to the poor, and hope to many who were about to give up on life
itself.
Christmas,
of course, has a history, a context, and certainly a purpose. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out that
every effect has a cause, the cause being greater than the effect. Christmas is an effect. Its cause was that God put on an earth suit. It doesn’t take a philosopher to explain that
man can endure the loss of just about anything except meaning. At Christmas – understandably, with joy all
around – those who cannot see or find meaning in life are often at the lowest
point of their lives.
I
wonder what percentage of Americans under 30 know that Christianity was born
out of Judaism, that Jesus was a Jew, that Jesus was His name and Christ
(Messiah), according to His own claim, was His office?
Today
the state of Israel and Jewish people around the world have no better friends
and defenders than evangelical Christians.
The Christian’s God is the God of Israel. While Jews and Christians interpret the
Abrahamic covenant differently, there is a kinship between them that is
unbreakable. (And I know people who
think Christians are disdainful of Jews.)
Just
as Judaism preceded the new covenant, or New Testament Christianity, so did
Hanukkah precede Christmas. Just as the
Maccabees were resisting the Syrian Greeks who sought to impose their culture
on the Jews, so did early Christians and so do Christians today resist the
notion that the state or the culture is their God. Jesus’ life and ministry are chronicled by
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus as well as by the biographers (also Jewish)
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Wherever
they are chronicled, both believing Jews and Christians are seen standing for
their faith.
America’s
predominate ethic is Judeo-Christian, its principles having been drawn from the
Mosaic Law, the Sermon on the Mount, and the tenets of the Epistles. No informed citizen can say our basic ideals
are drawn from Buddhism, Islam, or Hinduism.
To so argue is not criticism, just mere fact. Today’s motto seems to be “Respect the faiths
of others and don’t dare have one of your own.”
Atheism is just as much a belief system as any theistic one is and is
probably the most evangelistic religion in America today.
When
the multicultural gospel is stretched too far, a culture winds up ceding
everything away. Hanukkah and Christmas
are reminders that, though under fire, the faith of our fathers continues to be
the foundation of our lives.
Roger Hines
12/12/18
No comments:
Post a Comment