In many cases, Christ as literally been removed from the traditional festive greeting to be replaced with the slogan - Merry Xmas! Of course, many liberal theologians will argue that the X in Xmas is symbolic of the name Christ.
However, to many in the evangelical wing of the Christian faith, the phrase Merry Xmas is really symbolic of the growing commercialisation of Christmas and the diluting of the festivities to celebrate the Virgin Birth.
The increasingly woke pluralist society seems hell bent on ensuring no one gets offended by the real religious meaning of Christmas with the phrase ‘Happy Holidays’ becoming even more popular in the secular society.
Granted, many Christian Churches will still have their traditional Christmas morning services on Wednesday and many church members will have already endured the cold and rain to participate in annual carol singing around the villages, towns and hamlets of Ireland.
But even as Christians meet across the island on Wednesday, whether it be for morning worship or family gatherings, perhaps they should take time to ponder how Christ can be put back into traditional Christian festivals.
No sooner will Christmas Day be over than the chocolate eggs will be on the shop shelves and the advertising campaigns will shift into top gear for the Easter holidays - with probably little or no mention of the reason for that season, namely the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
It’s already clear that one trait of this third millennium is that Christmas festivities seem to be starting earlier in the year. Even in July, many hotels and restaurants are advertising their Christmas offers and menus.
From September, we can enjoy the Christmas movie television channels with wall to wall films. Hallowe’en Night on 31 October seems only to be a pause to take a brief breath commercially before the final hectic rush into 25 December.
And no sooner will the Christmas Day turkey be digested than the shops and stores will be unleashing their Boxing Day or St Stephen’s Day sales - yet another financial victory for commercialism.
The bottom line is that if the Christian Churches are to be seen as relevant parts and voices in society, they need to radically reconnect with the communities they seek to serve. Singing a few carols, having the Sunday school children stage a Nativity play won’t cut the mustard socially - the churches need to be active in their communities.
How many folk see themselves as being part of the so-called Great Unchurched? Namely, only attending worship for baptisms, weddings and funerals - commonly dubbed hatch, match and dispatch!
If the Christian Churches want to be taken seriously in the community and not perceived as a noisy nuisance, they need to have a united denominational campaign for compulsory voting at elections.
Just imagine how society might be changed if, like Australian elections, the turnout of Christians actually going to the polling booths topped 98 per cent?
Tragically, many evangelical and fundamentalist Christians view voting as being too worldly, or even ‘off the devil’. Such Christians cannot, therefore, moan if voters elect politicians who have moral values which run contrary to Biblical teaching on issues such as same sex weddings, gender identity, abortion, or the role of women in society.
Even now, after 46 years in journalism, I have had to rethink the type of stories I write about. For example, it is no secret I am completing a preaching course with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
In 2008, during my days as Northern Political Correspondent with the Irish Daily Star, I launched the annual satirical column known as Coulter’s Coveted Cock-Up Cups and Awards. It contained satirical awards such as The Top Tit Trophy, The Pharisee Plate, and The Gobshite Cup (awarded to the folk who criticised me the most!)
However, since I began my preaching training, I’ve had militant fundamentalists admonish me for the use of such language in my writing! To them, it seems, you cannot be a tabloid journalist and a preacher!
Ironically, this has become a spiritual dilemma for me. I genuinely want to follow in my late father and father-in-law’s footsteps and become a preacher of the Gospel - but will the price be I will have to moderate how I express my views as a journalist?
So as a democrat, I’m putting it to the vote of the readers of The Pensive Quill! Do you want the 2024 Coulter’s Coveted Cock-Up Cups and Awards column, or would you see me as a winner of my own Pharisee Plate as a hypocrite for being a preacher and a tabloid writer at the same time?
I await your verdict and my sentence! Is it common sense that I tone down my language or scrap the awards, or is it just pandering to militant fundamentalist censorship?
In the meantime, a very Happy Christmas to all my fans on The Pensive Quill, whether you agree with me or not. God Bless.
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| Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter John is a Director for Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. |
Free speech and a free press are as essential as ever. Go with your awards.
ReplyDeleteWishing you & yours John and all the quillers too peace & joY!
the awards, yes, very much so
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