Christianphobia?

The BBC is carrying an interesting article in which one of England's MP's is speaking out against what he calls, "Christianphobia." His concern is that, in the name of political correctness, Christianity is being sidelined and marginalized. As his country wrestles with tolerance of all religions and freedom of religion, he feels Christianity, and the Christian roots of England are being pushed aside. One symptom of that, from his perspective, is the decline in the number of schools doing nativity plays.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It seems that this time of year the Christmas wars heat up. Feisty Christians seeks to cram Christmas down the throats of one and all, demanding Christmas displays in secular and sacred venues. Feisty non-believers want all trappings of Christmas removed from every inch of the US.

The issue is not as clear cut as the extremists on both sides of the debate want to make it. Christmas, by its very nature, is a Christian holiday. Though we also include the "secular" celebration of winter (and why should that be secular--aren't the changing of seasons sacred moments to celebrate and enjoy?), trees and carols and manger scenes remind us that Christmas celebrates the beginnings of one of the world's major religions. Our country in particular has been highly impacted by Christianity and we certainly want to be careful of losing an important part of our heritage by wiping it out of all "secular" settings.

On the other hand, Christianity is not meant to be imposed on people legally or through the government. If people have developed a phobia toward Christians, we Christians need to step back and ask why? The way to overcome that phobia is not to impose Christianity on others, but to lovingly influence them with the essence of Christmas--grace. That comes through loving, gracious words and actions, not legal challenges and name-calling.

Ironically, as I wrote in a recent post, the true story of Christmas continues to permeate society gently and usually unobtrusively through radio, TV, lawn displays, and major concert events. (I say unobtrusively because these are all free expressions of Christmas. Radio execs, TV networks, homeowners, etc., are not being forced to participate in Christmas against their wills.)

So let the extremists keep on fighting. Jesus will continue to show up at Christmas in the strangest of places. And so will grace-hearted Christians.