tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post8652530026431975130..comments2024-03-25T09:01:20.997-07:00Comments on Diary of an Autodidact: The Christmas Wars, or How to Use Christmas as an Excuse to be a JerkDiary of an Autodidacthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-33187241350311755972016-02-27T11:15:03.034-08:002016-02-27T11:15:03.034-08:00I found this simple explanation from Merriam Webst...I found this simple explanation from Merriam Webster about "Xmas" today and remembered your comment here. I think I'm going to use this somewhere myself.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua_lCH4wK4g&ebc=ANyPxKryuwXrVjbHDRk8N-ITM2i_EF3fy6pzVpH-f3WfaUS-_rEYeaZFV_lbl19jBZ884ODGKL-jIn-4pHM9s3oqThw0VgT5uQMary E. Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09206071568335923658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-19251457960831285962016-01-26T19:36:43.730-08:002016-01-26T19:36:43.730-08:00Here is a direct link to the article. I'm giv...Here is a direct link to the article. I'm giving it separately so that you don't have to include it if you don't want to.<br /><br />http://www.homemakerscorner.com/spiritual-abuse-people-like.htmlMary E. Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09206071568335923658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-25566024209919965282016-01-26T19:31:46.954-08:002016-01-26T19:31:46.954-08:00I'll be interested to read your article on the...I'll be interested to read your article on the Cult of Domesticity. I'll check back for that.<br /><br />If you're interested, I wrote on "Spiritual Abuse and Those Who Crave It" this month. I see it as a form of spiritual BDSM where in some cases both parties get a sordid "pleasure" from the pain inflicted.Mary E. Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09206071568335923658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-32100285850856013032016-01-12T12:04:48.834-08:002016-01-12T12:04:48.834-08:00Those two would be on my list as well.
Other item...Those two would be on my list as well. <br />Other items on my list: <br />1. Middle class privilege<br />2. Idolatry of the past<br />3. Cult of Domesticity (I fully intend to blog this one.) Diary of an Autodidacthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-36290085406103619272016-01-11T20:36:55.803-08:002016-01-11T20:36:55.803-08:00Sorry to hear you had to deal with that with your ...Sorry to hear you had to deal with that with your daughters. Some of the most annoying things done in the church are done by "well-meaning" people and/or those who think they are doing their "Christian duty." I've been there and done that myself and seen others do it. It makes me sick to think about it.<br /><br />One of these days I want to do a series on idols of the American Church. Patriotism and "American rights" will certainly qualify.Mary E. Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09206071568335923658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-59510342343664361042016-01-11T15:08:12.982-08:002016-01-11T15:08:12.982-08:00I remember some of the Christmas War silliness in ...I remember some of the Christmas War silliness in the 1980s too. Maybe it was just the circles that we ran in. <br /><br /> "Can we get a little fear over here? We've got a Christian here who isn't performing to our expectations!" <br /><br />That's a great line. <br /><br />This year, we actually had to deprogram our older daughters after a church event where some older folks (who are really decent people otherwise) tried to tell them the whole "X-mas is a secular conspiracy" thing, despite the ample evidence of X (or the Greek Chi before that) used as an abbreviation for "Christ" dating back 2000 years. Sigh. So much excess time for outrage, I guess. <br /><br />"My personal take is that this comes from mixing American "rights" with Christian practice for so long. I sometimes feel like a lot of them can't see the difference between the two." Thoroughly agree. American Christianity is often just a civic religion, bound up with patriotism and idolization of certain economic theories, with a healthy dose of 1950s white culture. <br /><br />I'll raise a glass of eggnog and join that toast. :)<br />Diary of an Autodidacthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-37181751307279264332016-01-08T19:55:00.398-08:002016-01-08T19:55:00.398-08:00Thanks for the link to the article by Andrew Corey...Thanks for the link to the article by Andrew Corey on "Real vs. Fake Christian Persecution"! Good stuff. The whole issue of "the cake" has bothered me. I know that business owners "should" have the right to refuse service based on personal preferences ("no shoes, no shirt, no service"), but things aren't what they used to be. If you don't want to make wedding cakes for a certain demographic, then don't sell wedding cakes. Seems kind of simple somehow.<br /><br />As per the war for Christmas, well, we are among those non-observers. Obviously I wouldn't agree with some of your views, but I found this article helpful in realizing why we are so "naughty" according to some for not participating. We are not just choosing not to regard the day (Rom. 14), we are failing to help force Christmas on an evil world, and so we have joined "the enemy." (I actually had one friend bluntly say to me that she didn't know how I could say I loved the Lord when I didn't celebrate Jesus' birthday. Sort of like another friend implied that I couldn't be a good Christian if I didn't vote against abortion. I get tired of that old rag - do as we do or you "don't love God." "Can we get a little fear over here? We've got a Christian here who isn't performing to our expectations!")<br /><br />Also, in thinking about it, I remember in the '80s that we used to see "Season's Greetings" prominently displayed in various businesses. You know I don't recall hearing Christians then getting all up in arms about that, implying that it was a form of persecution or "forsaking God." Of course, I suppose it could have been the thing that set off the "He's the reason for the Season" thing, but I never heard that.<br /><br />I also liked your point about the entitlement of Christians thinking it's their right to have the final say on what our culture does. My personal take is that this comes from mixing American "rights" with Christian practice for so long. I sometimes feel like a lot of them can't see the difference between the two.<br /><br />Love this --> Is someone really going to say, “Gosh darn, I always thought December was just another holiday season, but now that I heard someone say Merry Christmas, I’m going to become a Christian!”?<br /><br />Thanks for the laugh! I'll drink a toast to that out of a red cup with a two tailed green mermaid on it that "should" have "Merry Christmas" emblazoned across it. :-) (Really. They wanted "Christ honored" in the company of a two-tailed mermaid. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic. I think I'll laugh anyway.)Mary E. Stephenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09206071568335923658noreply@blogger.com