The Christmas Civil Wars

First it was retailers. Then it was holiday trees. Now the Christmas Wars have taken on a while new target — other Evangelical Christians!

Drunk with power, and the ever-present knowledge that God must be on their side, it seems that the Evangelical movement has taken to turning on some of its most adamant supporters in defense of what it fervently believes to be a “War on Christmas.”

Can a Civil War between Focus on the Family and the American Family Association be far behind?


1) Which governmental institution has drawn fire from Religious Conservatives for sending out a Christmas card that includes a Bible quote, but fails to wish people a “Merry Christmas”?

A) The White House
B) The U.S. Senate
C) The U.S. Supreme Court
D) The Internal Revenue Service


2) Meanwhile, Evangelical groups are aghast to discover that many of these will NOT be open on Christmas, since the holiday also falls on a Sunday.

A) Emergency anti-abortion “counseling” hotlines
B) Soup kitchens for the homeless
C) Churches
D) Liquor stores


ANSWERS

1) A: The White House, which included a quote from Psalms 28 in its holiday card, but not the words “Merry Christmas.” And, as any good Evangelical can tell you — and many have told the White House in protest — Psalms is from the Old Testament (meaning Jews and Muslims can use it too), while Jesus only appears in the New Testament, which is where they believe the White House should have drawn its inspirational Christmas quote from.

A White House spokeswoman noted that the cards included best wishes for the holiday season — rather than for a Merry Christmas — because they are sent to people of all faiths, a notion to which Bill Donohue of the Catholic League responded, “Spare me the diversity lecture.”

2) C: Churches. Seems such “Mega-Churches” as the North Point Community Church (Atlanta), the Fellowship Church (Dallas), the Southland Christian Church (Lexington) and Will Cheer Community Church (Illinois) will be closed on Christmas Day, meaning there will be no Sunday services. Apparently, the last time Christmas fell on Sunday (in 1994), few of the faithful managed to tear themselves away from their gifts and Christmas dinners to attend the services, making them more trouble than they were worth.