Always the believer that freshness is better than beating a dead horse, I decided to take a slightly more serious route. I want to take the next week to talk about some things I find wrong with Christmas and the whole season in general.
Now, before someone gets up in arms about my personal blasphemy in saying something could be wrong with Christmas, read this post about Christmas over at Think Christian. Maybe it will give you a little perspective about how God might feel about Christmas.
Protest or Celebrate?
So, without any further ado:
#7: Christmas Plays and Carols
What could possibly be wrong with all those cute little Christmas plays, and the carols we love so much? On a list of things wrong with Christmas, it's last for a reason, but it's still on there.
The less egregious error from a scholarly standpoint, but perhaps the more insidious one is committed by Christmas plays every year. I, myself, once starred in a Christmas program, for a church, with a sheep as a main character. It was a comedy of course. Diesel over at Mattress Police recently had the pleasure of attending a school Christmas play which starred Elvis, James Brown, and Garth Brooks as the three kings. Cool, huh?
Linus as "The Shepherd"
What's the problem with these things? Well, generally they accomplish little more than to make Christmas seem silly to us. It becomes a game and something fun to do after school. These funny little productions deaden us to the beautiful message of God become man. We're talking about the Incarnation here, people, not an ABC Christmas special.
We Three Kings: The Gospels never speak of kings coming to visit Jesus. Matthew speaks of magi, or wise men. The plays really mess it up when they show the wise men visiting Jesus on the night of His birth. The Bible never reveals when the magi came, although Herod's decree to kill all male children under two years of age, suggests that Jesus could have been as old as two years before the men came bearing their gifts.
Away In A Manger: Although Luke says that "[Mary] wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger" (Luke 2:7), it does not say that he was born in a barn, as the line "the cattle are lowing" would imply.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: Despite this song being one of my favorites, it really isn't Biblically correct in its discussion of those herald angels. Then again, neither is the majority of the Western world. We practically worship the created servants of God.
Anyway, back on track. The angels weren't singing. After being told by an angel of the Lord about the infant Christ born in the town of David, "a great company of the Heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.' " (Luke 2:13-14)
I know it seems like I'm making mountains out of molehills here, but when it comes to Scripture, it's important to get the details right.
So, please, don't think that I don't want you to enjoy singing those Christmas carols. They are a lot of fun. Just keep in mind what's correct and what is Christmas myth as you go from door to door. Help keep people from building their theology from carols.
Oh, and put a little thought into the Christmas pageant this year. Remember that we're talking about very serious, world-shattering stuff here. If the play can communicate that, you're on the right track.
Coating your front walk in ice is usually an effective deterrent.
So, what about Christmas carols? They, along with the Christmas plays, present more of a danger for cultural Christians and the unbelieving public than for committed believers. Unfortunately, many people who have not read the Bible get a lot of their information from really bad sources, Christmas carols included. Many Christmas carols, and plays, commit the sin of bad exegesis. Here are just a few examples:We Three Kings: The Gospels never speak of kings coming to visit Jesus. Matthew speaks of magi, or wise men. The plays really mess it up when they show the wise men visiting Jesus on the night of His birth. The Bible never reveals when the magi came, although Herod's decree to kill all male children under two years of age, suggests that Jesus could have been as old as two years before the men came bearing their gifts.
Away In A Manger: Although Luke says that "[Mary] wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger" (Luke 2:7), it does not say that he was born in a barn, as the line "the cattle are lowing" would imply.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: Despite this song being one of my favorites, it really isn't Biblically correct in its discussion of those herald angels. Then again, neither is the majority of the Western world. We practically worship the created servants of God.
Anyway, back on track. The angels weren't singing. After being told by an angel of the Lord about the infant Christ born in the town of David, "a great company of the Heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.' " (Luke 2:13-14)
I know it seems like I'm making mountains out of molehills here, but when it comes to Scripture, it's important to get the details right.
So, please, don't think that I don't want you to enjoy singing those Christmas carols. They are a lot of fun. Just keep in mind what's correct and what is Christmas myth as you go from door to door. Help keep people from building their theology from carols.
Oh, and put a little thought into the Christmas pageant this year. Remember that we're talking about very serious, world-shattering stuff here. If the play can communicate that, you're on the right track.
