Utah Senator Chris Buttars may be a well-meaning individual, but his actions often don't come out that way. His latest lament, with accompanying legislation that businesses use the phrase "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays", is at least the third case in point that I am aware of.First, we were entertained by the faux pas made by the Senator in the 2008 Utah Legislative session, when referring to an
In reality, America has a Judeo-Christian heritage, so maybe Senator Buttars should change his legislation to "encourage" businesses to advertise with "Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas"...?
analogy of a human baby, of declaring that "this baby is black". Then there was the attempt to help a friend develop his property in Mapleton, Utah, by using the force if his legislative office. Let's see if we can top that...Who cares that businesses hock their Christmas wares by using the term "Happy Holidays"? I guess I sort of do, but not enough to compel them, or even encourage them through the force of law, to use use the term "Merry Christmas" instead.
Buttars told the Salt Lake Tribune earlier this week that his resolution
...would encourage the use of 'Merry Christmas. I'm sick of the Christmas wars -- we're a Christian nation and ought to use the word.Are you kidding me? We have enough government as it is! I suspect Senator Buttars is also contemplating a resolution "encouraging" everyone to use BC and AD instead of BCE and CE.
As far as the mixing of religion and politics, Afghanistan is a Muslim nation, and the Soviet Union was a Communist nation. Do we, in our own little way, mean to be as oppressive as that? I hope not! Although the United States is a nation that is predominantly Christian, it's stretching it quite a ways to claim that it's a Christian nation. In reality, America has a Judeo-Christian heritage, so maybe Senator Buttars should change his legislation to encourage businesses to say "Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas"...?
I like it when people say "Merry Christmas", and I actually wish more people would. But I'm not offended when they don't. I've got a better idea, Senator. Send out Christmas cards that say "Merry Christmas" to every household in the state (on your own dime, of course). Go door to door in your neighborhood! Invite proprietors of business to your home for a weenie roast! Then you can encourage your captive audiences to use Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays.
But don't do it with legislation. Better legislation would be to force people to stop denigrating the holiday with such greedy consumerism. But I don't support legislation for that, either.
So anyway--Happy Holidays, Senator Buttars. And Merry Christmas, too.
You're leaving out the 2006 ant-evolution bill.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with the claim that "Although the United States is a nation that is predominantly Christian, it's stretching it quite a ways to claim that it's a Christian nation." You have put it quite well, Frank. Our Constitution is a secular document. I am afraid even the Constitutions of Muslim countries are secular documents. Only the constitution of Iran may have a Muslim foundation, I assume, since it is called an Islamic republic. I am not sure if Arab kingdoms have any constitutions.
ReplyDeleteTherefore it is all right for our officials to say "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas." Since our country is multi-religious it must be left to the religious groups to choose what to say inside their respective groups.
It is also true that our country has Judeo-Christian heritage.
But I would like to share some side thoughts though about Judaism and Christianity. Judaism is an antagonistic to Christianity offshoot, an aberration. It is as different from Christianity as Muslim religion, if not more.
I forget where I saw it, but on a similar blog someone had asked the question as to whether anyone had been converted to the love of Christ, by a "Christmas Sale" sign - It may have been DerekStaff's blog, now that I remember it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Happy Holidays is meant as an attack on any religion, merely a generic way of offering one's best wishes at a special time of year. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannakuh - all the same if you ask me, each given with the best intentions and should be accepted with gratitude and joy.
As for Judaism being an aberration to Christianity... I would suspect most Jews see Christianity as the aberration. And Islamic peoples probably consider Judaism and Christianity both aberrations. Perhaps this is Senator Buttars problem. Perhaps he views anyone with a different view as an aberration, and just can't accept that they might see things differently.
Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas, Kwanza, Hannakah and a splendid Solstice to All!!
Especially Senator Buttars - who could probably use a little more love in his life!
I think it was Derek's blog that I read that in.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this morning, DesNews pointed out that not a whole lot of other Christian religions think that Chris Buttars' religion (and mine as well) happens to be Christian anyway!
;-)
The world doesn't always get the point. So, bringing in the world to prove a point is a pointless proposition. In this case too, the world is greatly mistaken by considers us, Mormons to be not Christians. Considering the Doctrine we are given to follow (moreover the fullness) we are supposed to be called Full Christians. But still the world does not get the real point, although, accidentally being right calling us non Christians. This is only because we, Mormons have gone so far astray from the Doctrine we were given that we have become as non Christian as all the other Christians of the world, even more than some of them. Hindus are more Christian than all the Christians of the world all together.
ReplyDeleteComing back to Judaism. In order to consider it an aberration, an antagonistic offshoot, or not, does not depend on who does it. In other words, if the evaluation is different depending on whom you ask about it, it does not necessarily mean it is impossible to determine it objectively. Starting from Adam until Jacob there was the true Doctrine. It changed to something what would later become Judaism after the children of Jacob did not follow their Father in practicing the Doctrine while in Egypt. Their stiff-necked nature grew into an explicit confrontation with Moses, who had come to bring them back to the forgotten Doctrine of their fathers. After Moses departed from them into the wilderness, they, the children of Jacob invented a convenient religion for themselves to justify all their actions, until Christ Himself came down to correct them, to bring to them whatever they were lacking, to fulfill the law. But even then the Jews did not listen to Him, and still are not. So Judaism is an antagonistic, at least a deficient offshoot. In addition, Judaism is based on Talmud and Thora rather than the Old Testament. So, it is not too much different from Muslim religion, which is based on a different book called Quran but still believes in the story from Adam to Abraham. Muslim religion, surprisingly, revers Christ as a prophet of God. Whereas, it was because of the followers of Judaism and because of Judaism, that Christ was put to death, as a matter of fact all the rest of the prophets of God from Jacob to Christ, even to Joseph Smith. I doubt that currently Judaism has any respect towards Christ, at least revers Him as a prophet of God.
I always used to wonder about the Christian vs. Mormons thing as well... I don't think very many Mormons or Christians understand the difference, it's just something they've been taught since kids, and they parrot back when confronted with the question. Mormons saying they are Christian and main stream Christians saying they (Mormons) aren't.
ReplyDeleteObi Wan put together an excellent post last year some time which explains the differences, going back to the Nicene creed, which I think puts the whole thing in a very different light -> here.
I don't know if you read the Huffington Post article linked to in one of the comments on Dereks Post - it was actually very well written, and contained some interesting historical facts about how Christmas was banned in Ireland for a number of centuries because it was considered non-christian (Which ultimately it is.) and even I think a reference to people being fined 10 shillings or something if they were caught celebrating Christmas back in the early days of Massachusetts.