We still say: Merry Christmas
Looking back to last year, Consider Common Sense recognizes that some things just do not change, the attacks against Christianity during the year-end holiday season remain the same, if not more viciously so. While not all media outlets paid equal attention to it, Christians in Washington State are particularly upset with that State’s Governor, Ms. Christine Gregoire who allowed an atheists message be placed next to a Nativity scene in the State’s capitol building. Protests against her action have only hardened her position and attitude in this regard and she thinks to have done the right thing.
We like to quote excerpts from a speech recently delivered by Dinesh D’Souza who authored the book: “What’s So Great About Christianity“. He stated “In recent years there has arisen a new atheism that represents a direct attack on Western Christianity. Books such as Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great and Sam Harris’ The End Of Faith, all contend that Western society would be better off if we could eradicate from it the last vestiges of Christianity. But Christianity is largely responsible for many of the principles and institutions that even secular people cherish – chief among them equality and liberty.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal,” he called the proposition “self-evident.” But he did not mean that it is immediately evident. It requires a certain kind of learning. And indeed most cultures throughout history, and even today, reject the proposition. This idea of the preciousness and equal worth of every human being is largely rooted in Christianity. Christians believe that God places infinite value on every human life. Christian salvation does not attach itself to a person’s family or tr4ibe or city. It is anj individual matter. And not only are Christians judged at the end of their lives as individuals, but throughout their lives they relate to God on that basis.
This aspect of Christianity had momentous consequences. Jefferson proclaimed that human equality is a gift from God: We are endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. Indeed there is no other possible source for them. And Jefferson later wrote that he was not expressing new ideas or principles when he wrote the Declaration, but was rather giving expressions to something that had become settled in the American mind. The idea of freedom is rooted in a respect for the individual. It means the right to express our opinion, the right to choose a career, the right to buy and sell property, the right to our own personal space and the right to live our own life. In return, we are responsible only to respect the rights of others. This is the freedom we are ready to fight for, and we become indignant when it is challenged or taken away. Christianity has played a vital role in the development of this concept of freedom through its doctrine that all human beings are moral agents, created in God’s image, with the ability to be the architects of their own lives.
In sum, the eradication of Christianity – and of organized religion in general -would also mean the gradual extinction of the principles of human dignity. Consider human equality. Why do we hold to it? The Christian idea of equality in God’s eyes is undeniably largely responsible. The attempt to ground respect for equality on a purely secular basis ignores the vital contribution by Christianity to its spread. It is folly to believe that it could survive without the continuing aid of religious belief. If we cherish what is distinctive about Western civilization, then – whatever our religious convictions – we should respect rather than denigrate it Christian roots.”
We agree with this and by celebrating the birth of Christ in a few days, we wish all of you
A Very Merry Christmas
The entire speech by Mr. Dinesh D’Souza as delivered on September 16, 2008, at a Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar in Colorado Springs can be read in the November 2008 issue of Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College at http://www.hillsdale.edu/. We have stated these excerpts with the permission of Hillsdale College.
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First of all, I would just like to point out that there are 2 typographical errors in the third paragraph that may distract people from the overall message or undermine its credibility.
But more importantly, the so-called “political correctness” fad (for that is what I see it as) has gone too far, in my opinion. It is one thing to give all religions equal representation to the public eye, but it is another thing to belittle Christianity just to placate a few stubborn, insecure people who feel the need to wipe it off the face of the earth. They disguise themselves by trying to lift up some other religion or say that those who believe in no God should have their say too (which, by the way, is claiming that the “scientific and educational basis” that is being taught in our public schools is in fact a belief or a faith, if you will), but we know that they do not do it for equality. They do it because they are biased, and their biases cause them to fell threatened by Christianity.
I want to point out that Christianity has not and cannot be proven false. When you examine all of its core features, you realize that it is logically sound, intellectually satisfying, and philosophically undeniable.
Lastly, I would like to say that Christianity did not start as a religious institution with customs and rituals. Every other religion did, but Christianity is different. From the outside, it looks like any other religion might: weekly worship services, annual holidays, regular traditions like baptism and communion, and missionary work. But really, Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
December 21st, 2008 at 1:36 pm