It Is That Time of the Year

Bill Petite                                                                                                                 December 23 2017

It is that time of the year again. That time when the atheists get in a tizzy over Christmas displays situated too close to a government building or a cross placed in what they consider the forbidden zone or even being greeted with merry Christmas. Yes, it is that time again; it's the time when their favorite say, "Separation of Church and State" is heard everywhere and anyplace they feel they have been offended. Christians understand what Christmas is all about and most every day people who aren't saved accept this time of year as a feel good, family oriented time. But, some, atheists included, seem to look forward to this time of the year just to make everyone else miserable. What's the old saying? "Misery loves company?" Well, some of these atheists organizations appear to go looking for what they consider a separation of church and state violation.

One of these organizations is extremely upset with the president for insisting that everyone be greeted with "Merry Christmas" and believe it is a violation of the first amendment. Here's what the first amendment says concerning religion: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; 

Just because the president says something, it is not law and at no time, to my knowledge, has the congress made it a law that everyone has to say Merry Christmas as a greeting for this time of the year. This part of the first amendment has been so twisted and abused and totally misinterpreted. If you understand the function of the English language and understand how it works and know how to break down a sentence structure, it is easy to understand what this part of the first amendment says. Congress has never established a law respecting the establishment of any religion in this country. They have never passed a law which tells us we must attend a particular church and only that church. Congress has never passed a law prohibiting people to worship or attend any type of church or religious organization. That is why it is legal to belong to any Christian church, cultish style organization or even the Church of Satan. There are a tremendous number of people in this country who do not appreciate the presence of the Mosques where the Muslims worship but it is legal. So, understanding how the language of the first amendment breaks down, where is the misunderstanding and where does it say, separation of church and state? It doesn't. So, where does this come from?

In 1947, in the Supreme Court case of, Everson v. Board of Education, 1947, Justice Hugo Black wrote,

The “establishment of religion” clause of the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another […] No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion […] In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect “a wall of separation between Church and State.”

It all sounds good until you get to that Jefferson quote and so the mentioning of separation of church and state. This opinion contradicts itself. The government can't start a church and it can't prefer of favor a church. How do you get erect a wall of separation out of that? And so it goes, on and on, this is used by so many people to challenge every little thing that is considered a violation of this statement and that's all it is because it is not stated this way in the constitution. Some schools and learning institutions have really carried this to an extreme. But it is extremely misunderstood as the following statement from Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History  explains,

 The government may not maintain a state religion, directly finance religious activities, or coerce actions either on behalf of or against religion. Beyond these core prohibitions, however, the government has significant leeway to interact with religion: it may acknowledge religious traditions and customs, use religious symbols and discourse in ecumenical ways, and financially assist activities of religious bodies that advance the commonweal. The Constitution does not prohibit communal expressions of faith, such as prayers in legislative halls or on public school football fields. This view also permits the government to facilitate private religious activity as a means of enhancing the religious liberty right contained in the Free Exercise Clause.

You notice the underlined portion (mine) of this statement and what it says. There are numerous schools around the country which prohibit coaches from praying with their teams before a game. I'm sure you have read about coaches loosing jobs over this.
So, where does this leave us for the Christmas season? It's not unconstitutional for a president to encourage people to say Merry Christmas any more than it is to say a prayer in the halls of congress.
The bottom line is this, we can't forget or ignore the true meaning of Christmas. It is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ (and we know this was not His birthday and we don't know what day it is. There is history, accurate history, as to why we celebrate it on this day but that for another time). Jesus, the Son of God, came to us in the same way we all come into this world, by the birthing process. He was born of a virgin and spent His approximate 33 years on this earth experiencing everything and more than most of us ever will. But that's not the important part; He came to die in our place to pay a debt for our sin we could never pay. He died a cruel, painful and horrific death on a cross, crucified in our place. He never sinned but died as if He had and that is what it took, a sinless man, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross for our sin. He provided salvation for us and the forgiveness of our sin. All we have to do is ask Him to forgive us, turn away from our sinful life and follow Him. There is no price to pay, He paid that, and there are no works we must do to obtain this free gift. That is what Christmas is all about. It's not about what you can and can't say or where you can say it. The framers of the constitution did not want our government sticking their noses in our spiritual lives, telling us what god we can and cannot worship and if you want to call that separation of church and state, then so be it but stop stretching it to the outer limits. The separation of church and state thing is nothing more than a scapegoat for those who refuse to acknowledge and accept who the real God of this world and universe really is. It is Jesus Christ, the creator of all things. Let's celebrate Him and what He has done for us. He is the Lord over the Church and the State; some parts of the state have just failed to realize this yet because every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

For this is how God loved the world: He gave^[ his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.   JN 3:16-18