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Settro,

Some of the things you pointed out (e.g., that people can do what they want to do within the confines of the law, that people have the right to say or not say Merry Christmas) are obvious, and I do agree.  But I do disagree with you fundamentally (no pun intended) when you say that Christmas is not being purged.  How aware are you of this issue?  Have you followed this and similar issues before to see whether there is any merit to what I said, or did you just disagree because you felt that I might be intolerant?

The issue about businesses not displaying or including the phrase "Merry Christmas" in their stores or circulars is just one of the various attempts to eliminate mention of Christ or God in American culture.  The ACLU and others are fighting to remove displays of the Ten Commandments from public places, all under the guise of upholding the "separation of church and state".  Never mind that a good deal of American jurisprudence is based upon the Ten Commandments.  There is currently a case pending in the Supreme Court of the United States on this issue.  It gets even more egregious when school administrators censor students' speeches at commencement, forbidding them to contain religious content, or prevent students from holding on school premises meetings that are religious in nature while allowing all other groups to meet.  Again, this is all done in the name of "separation of church and state."

From where does this so-called doctrine of separation of church and state come?  You might believe, or some may have you believe, that it comes from the U.S. Constitution, but there is no such provision in the Constitution.  The First Amendment of the Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Those who advocate separation of church and state appropriate the first part of this amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...", but forget to note the part saying "... or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".  This latter part means that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.  The law here does not call for separation of church and state.  What it does call for is that there shall neither be laws establishing state or federal religion, nor shall there be laws that curtail the free exercise of religion.  What the ACLU and others are doing is trying to eliminate God and Christ from the public arena, in violation of the First Amendment.

Getting back to the issue of Christmas, I must point out that I digressed to speak about constitutional issues only to make it clear that this Christmas issue is not an isolated one; rather, it?s part of a bigger trend or effort to suppress Christian expression.  We can discuss this further in private, if you please.

The point of my last e-mail was not that people should not have the right to say ?Happy Holiday? or ?Season?s Greetings?.  My point was that they should not wipe out the mention of Christ under the guise of inclusiveness and then expect us Christians to patronize their businesses.  And where it falls in the pattern of eliminating God or Christ from our culture, I am ready to fight to prevent that.  As a Christian, you may believe in a different approach, but this is how I see it.  If you disparage Christ, you?re not my friend.  Period!

Have a blessed day,

- Wilmot



============================================================
From: Isaac Settro <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 2004/12/20 Mon PM 10:50:32 CST
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [LIBERIANASSOCIATION] What's happening to Christmas?


Hey Wilmot....

NOTHING....
I understand your concern as a christain but I also
want to tell you that this country is not a
fundamentalist christian nation. This is a free
country where people can do what they want to do once
they operate within the confine of the LAW.

Today the president of the United States wished every
American HAPPY HOLIDAY. This phrase happy holiday
include Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I am
tire of people trying to divide people base on
religious expression.

Wilmot nobody will stop you from saying Merry
Christmas therefore nobody should stop the businesses
from saying what their management decide to say. What
if people start telling christain to celebrate the
muslim, Jewish and other religious holiday will you
like it. The United States can 't be the next Saudi
Arabia. This country is the beacon of hope for many
with respect to political, religious and economics
freedom.

Every christain value this day and will celebrate it
in their churches, homes, workplace and in the street
as deem necessary.

So wilmot I strongly disagree with you when you say
Christmas is being purged.

In closing, let me extend Merry Christmas and happy
New Year as well as Happy Holiday to you.

Settro
--- "Wilmot B. Valhmu" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi, everyone!
>
> Have you noticed?  Christmas is being purged.
> Believe it!
>
> This year, I have not seen the word "Christmas" in
> any commercial establishment to which I've been,
> save for Christian bookstores.  What about you?
> Have you seen any displays of "Merry Christmas"
> anywhere?
>
> Most department stores have substituted "Happy
> Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" for "Merry
> Christmas".  What's up with that?  If Christmas is
> that for which we are buying all the gifts, then why
> won't some acknowledge it?
>
> I started taking note of this a few weeks ago when I
> listened to a talk show on a local Christian radio
> station, discussing the issue of Target stores
> forbidding the Salvation Army from soliciting in
> front of their stores.  It seems that for the sake
> of political correctness or some undisclosed
> reasons, references to Christ (Jesus Christ) are
> systematically being eliminated from public
> discourse or establishments.  This is outrageous,
> especially where Christmas is concerned, considering
> that Jesus Christ is the reason why we celebrate
> Christmas.  There is no Christmas, or legitimate
> reason for celebrating December 25th as a holiday,
> without Him.
>
> Christians are taking note.  If the secularists want
> to eliminate God or Christ from our culture, then we
> are all gamed for a fight.  We will not take this
> lying down.
>
> Starting next Christmas season, I will let store
> managers know how I feel about this issue.  And if
> need be, I will only celebrate Christ at Christmas
> and stop buying and sending gifts.  It is more
> important that Christ is glorified at Christmas, not
> the commercialized sending of gifts.
>
> My hope is that we all, especially Christians,
> concur.
>
> Have a blessed day!
>
> - Wilmot
>
>
>





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