Christian Propaganda Taking the Merry out of Christmas
 

December 23 2005
Counterbias.com
by Paul Szczesny
 

Just when I thought merely advertising religion in the newspaper was bad, the fundamentalist forces that be are back at it again, putting billboards up all over the city. In response to the notorious Holiday Vs. Christmas crusade, fundamentalist religious groups have started abusing their right to freedom of speech. Signs with slogans such as "He's what the season is all about - Christ", "Christ: the reason for the season", and most directly "Keep the Christ in Christmas" have flooded the precious advertising space needed for true Christian values: materialism.

I have nothing against religious beliefs or freedom of speech, but I do have something against ignorant literalist Christians spreading the propaganda of their ethnocentric and prejudiced views. I highly doubt any of these 'dedicated and moral' Christians have attempted to expand their worldview to actually studying the issue of the historical Christ or comparing their beliefs with others. These people blindly accept the shady, cut-and-paste, forged, and totalitarian story of the literal Jesus as being miraculously born and becoming their ultimate scapegoat. Little do these fundamentalists know that the Christmas season actually goes far beyond their 'Christ' story and is a mythical representation of archaic Sun-God worship that has been embraced by numerous cultures throughout history.

The supposed birthday of Christ, December 25, is actually the historical date of the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year and marking the return of the sun/light). Over the years this date changes (it is now around the 21st of December) and is quite simply a symbolic date. How do the fundamentalists deal with the fact that their 'Christ' has been represented almost perfectly in the myths of many different cultures even before the first century? These mythological figures include Osiris, Dionysus, Mithras, Attis, Adonis, Bacchus, and so on. These mythological figures are God-made-flesh, born of a virgin, visited by three shepherds with gifts of gold-frankincense-myrrh, born in a cave or primitive setting, born on the solstice, are killed as a sacrifice for our sins, rise on the third day--the list of similarities goes on and on.

How about they finally accept Christmas for what it truly is: a cultural holiday. The truth of the matter is that Christians have become vulnerable; they are threatened by differing ideas; they are scared that perhaps their ideology is not superior (but possibly even false and inferior). And rightfully so.

It's hard to believe that in today's scientific world of brutal criticism and necessity of verifiable information that such extreme views of Christianity still exist. Insecurity is the only reason for this despicable dispute regarding a word to describe a cultural phenomenon. If Christians truly believed that their view was the only truth and that they are on the right path then there would be no need for such an argument - they would be satisfied with knowing the truth instead of having the need to dominate the opinion of others.

If you think Christmas is about giving and charity then you are brutally mistaken. Christmas is about greed. The greed for profit (nearly half of the year's retail sales come in the end of November and in December), the greed for material, and the greed for dominant moral perspective and metaphysical truth. If anything, these Christians should be the anti-example for the Christmas season in that they don't want to share the season with anyone else. How about giving what you pay to post religious propaganda to, say, the needy? "Oh that's absurd," they would say. "We are giving the ultimate gift of truth." How generous of you - or better yet, how Christ-like.

It is a shame that Christians put more effort into maintaining the status of their beliefs than they do in actually practicing what they claim to believe. I haven't seen any advertisements preaching the sharing of wealth, the helping of the needy, or participation in any other 'moral' activity. Pride, power, greed: the essentials to a Merry Christmas.

So why is it that we can't finally get over Christ, shut up, and enjoy the holidays? Ask Emperor Benedict and point out that his fur coat, gold jewelry, and first-class travel could save hundreds of starving children's lives. But he has pride; he has power; he sets the perfect example for greed and personal comfort. Silly Christians, didn't they realize that their Christ is living in the now?

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Paul Szczesny runs neofreedom.org and Thought of The Day. He can be reached at feedback@neofreedom.org.