Weekly Rant: Rick Warren’s Real Purpose for Christmas
Is the restricting of holiday parties in schools a new story? It has been this way in my kid’s school for quite some time. In fact, it all started with Halloween. I remember being outraged when they weren’t allowed to dress up for Halloween parties at school. These events were cancelled because of the Christian kids not the secular ones. They were first called harvest parties, then fall festivals, and now they are gone entirely.
Back when we had to walk uphill—both ways—to school, we dressed up like any scary creature we wanted and went to school to party and overdose on candy. Hell, our teachers even told us ghost stories. My family would buy our pumpkin from a local church and then go to the church’s haunted house.
If it was anything other than paranoia, the schools cancelled all Christmas celebrations to keep from offending Muslim and Jewish kids. Any benefit to the secular kids was a side effect. Although almost every secular kid I know celebrates Christmas in some form or another.
I agree with Rick Warren, that we should educate our kids about the different holidays and their origins. However, I doubt he, and other evangelicals, would truly want their kids being taught Ramadan, Chanukah, or Kwanzaa as equals to Christmas. Even more so they wouldn’t want their kids to be taught the traditions and stories from a secular point of view.
I believe it is quite disingenuous for Rick Warren to pretend he is all about pluralism and truthfully holds a “Let’s all just get along” viewpoint. I seriously doubt he celebrated Passover and Ramadan with his friends growing up and thought they were all just different paths to the same God. It would be great, but it would violate the foundational message of Christianity, which is “saving souls.” Warren believes and teaches that Jews are completed in Christ Jesus, and the Muslims must accept Jesus as lord and savior. Everyone must embrace the one and only “Truth.”
I won’t even waste time on Warren’s use of the same tired watchmaker argument. I’ll just say that no one believes life sprung up from nothing. Nor does anyone (except the religious) claim to know how life actually began. However it started, it obeyed the laws of physics, biology, geology, etc. The resurrection of Jesus—on the other hand—would have been a direct violation of these sciences.
I also find it interesting that in the above video when Warren refers to his new book “The Purpose of Christmas,” he says the three messages are: good times, good news and good will. On the below video he lists them as: Celebration, Salvation, and Reconciliation. While good times and celebration might be similar, good news and good will are quite different from salvation and reconciliation.
This video directly contradicts everything he said in the Fox news clip. It shows his real “purpose” is not “let’s all get along,” but sharing the good news of salvation and reconciliation through Jesus to your friends and neighbors, whether they are Muslim, Jewish or atheist.
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I always find it interesting that atheist don't build hospitals, have charities, give aid to the suffering? Not saying your not good people but if no God exists then your moral compass comes from what? do you complain when someone steals from you? lies? or do you accept that has a evolving culture that it could be for that time the right thing for that person to do as he is own moral compass and stealing was for his better good more than yours? Is Faith easy, no… but throwing out God, is like a child throwing a temper tantrum because they in their own mind as a 4 year old know whats best for them. I'm sorry for such a demented father.a Freddie Wrath Phelps… but that isn't god. Rick Warren for whatever inconsistency ways you think, has taken the lead with issues such as Aids/HIV in Africa, Addiction Recovery, and other social issues- what has the most prominent atheist leader done to help humanity? Do a google search for atheist and charity.. very lonely out there.
Jeff,
Your bigoted statements about morals couldn't be more wrong. You obviously have no clue as to the evolution of morals within society. Why don't you take your own advice and do some Google searches.
Also you are wrong about charity.
1. Nontheists are very involved in the aid to Haiti: http://givingaid.richarddawkins.net/.
2. UNICEF, Red Cross, and many other of the relief organizations are secular.
3. The millions of dollars of aid that was gathered the other night on all the television stations was headed up by George Clooney (who is a nonbeliever).
Lance Armstrong is one of the main advocates against cancer. He is an atheist.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest aid organization in the world. In many ways bigger than the UN. Bill and his wife are nonbelievers.
4. The same with Warren Buffet, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Ted Turner. All are atheists!
5. The Atheist Kiva group is larger than any religious group: http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=94
How much more do you want?