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12/01/08
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December
24, 2007 (page two) As those who have read much of my work probably know, I am a christian (small case initial letter intentional). You may also know that I do NOT, say again NOT celebrate Christmas (literally, Christ's Mass) as a religious holiday. There are many reasons, but the major one is very simple: christians are not authorized to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Even if the Book of Luke, in the New Testament, had started out by stating "Jesus, son of .... was born on 25 DEC AUC 753," that datum in and of itself would not authorize celebrating His birthday. What Scripture DOES command (and therefore authorize) is that christians are to remember the death of Jesus the Christ on the first day of the week: every week. (By the way, this precludes the annual celebration of "Easter" also.) In other words, we are to celebrate the GIFT of God's sacrifice of His Son for our sins, by remembering it each week on the same day that Son rose from the dead and proved that He was indeed Messiah, God Incarnate, and more powerful than death. Neat, huh? To me, that is FAR more important than the celebration of a birthday. I personally find it very appropriate to remember the greatest gift ever given to the human race weekly. All other events in history pale in comparison. The anniversary of American independence is an important date - for Americans. The anniversary of the ending of WWI (Armistice Day, better known as Veterans Day or Remembrance Day) is an important date - for people of quite a few nations, especially the old British and French Empires and the United States. An annual day to remember the dead is appropriate; an annual day to remember and celebrate the adoption of a truly radical document (the Bill of Rights) is great. On the other hand, a date to remember the birth of a womanizing, hypocritical, Communist, race-baiting demogogue makes me sick. A date to remember the birth of a man who enslaved free men in order to supposedly free slaves and who destroyed a constitution to save an empire turns my stomach. An annual day to remember the birth of a Virginia aristocrat who betrayed his own revolution for a few years of power (apparently for some friends) is totally inappropriate. But back to Christmas. Despite my refusal to celebrate it as a religious holiday, instead preferring to (not being forced to) celebrate Christ's incarnation every week, I still think that Christmas is a pretty special day. (And so, I might add, is Thanksgiving, and even Labor Day. On the other hand, Columbus Day, either as a day honoring a Genoan sailor for an accidental discovery or as "Native American" Day honoring the people who got invaded as a result, turns me off.) A special day, each year, for giving people things is neat. A special day for being with family and friends is neat. Even a day to celebrate that the nights are getting shorter and the daylight hours longer is pretty gosh-awful cool. All three in one is a real treat. Throw in all the various traditions: lights and special music and Santa Claus and lights and Christmas trees and candy canes and , did I mention lights? and you have a grand event for everyone. I don't begrudge anyone celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday, as long as I can celebrate it as a secular holiday. I have a real heartburn with people who don't want me to celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday, especially if the reason is that they don't want to "offend" people by "pushing Christmas" into their faces. _I_ am offended when people try to eliminate Christmas in favor of some generic "Happy Holidays" that all of us must submit to. But what does this all have to do with liberty and being a libertarian? Some of the things I'm thankful for at Thanksgiving include liberty (what liberty we have, still, is all the more precious), and libertarian friends who work with me and my family to encourage and promote and win back liberty. At Christmas time, whether as a secular or religious holiday, gift-giving is the thing to do. As libertarians, we can't GIVE liberty to anyone, it is not something that can be given directly to anyone. We can, indeed, set someone free from slavery, liberate someone from chains (physical, mental, and spiritual); but we cannot GIVE anyone liberty, truly: it is a gift from God (or the universe, if you prefer) that must be grasped, taken, and USED. Liberty is not the absence of slavery, it is much more than the lack of chains and restraints. One problem we have today is that too many people who SHOULD be free are still enslaved, in their minds, to something or someone, even if it is only to their own desires and mental attitude. What we CAN do as lovers of liberty, as people who live liberty, is give someone the TOOLS that they can use to have liberty for themselves. This season,
and year around, we can: There are, of course, many more things we can give, this time of year, and any time of year, but these are some of the more important. In the last days of 2007, and for 2008, look to how you can give these things to those you love. To family, to friends, yes, and even to yourself. Merry Christmas! Nathan Visit the blog: The Gospel Sower Nathan Barton is writing this from a wonderful place in the West, which might be in the Black Hills of South Dakota or Wyoming, or might be in one of the Four Corners States. Exactly where it is, the breezes blow with the scent of liberty, and the sound of the pines or the pinions is the sound of freedom. For thousands of years, people have fought and died for the liberty that Americans in the great spaces of the West enjoy, and he writes these commentaries in the hopes that continued generations will be able to do so, until the end of Time. |
What is a "person" In modern America? Libertarian Proposals For The Constitution (Part One) Libertarian Proposals For The Constitution (Part Two) Who is the enemy of free speech? Bumper Stickers - Fact and Fiction The Truth About Depleted Uranium Gun-Free and Proud: a new tactic for a new generation Palestinian Suicide Bomber - Fact or Myth? The First Great Railroad Fight of the 21st Century Counting Our Blessings On Liberty Day More Victims Disarmed By OSHA Regulation "Islamist Terrorism" and the US Role: a response to Ivan Eland Science and Economics Vs Green (And Other) Nonsense Bogus Cell Phone Fire Warning Email Armed and Ready To Defend - The Greater Love Complete Archives for Nathan Barton
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