Comments on: ‘Tis the time to liberate, indeed!

By: Michael J. Iafrate

Michael J. Iafrate — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:12:39 +0000

Michael Denton: Yes, most american Christians have been guilty of linking Christianity with capitalism, but clearly the “culture war” mission of putting “Christ” back into Christmas (and back into the GAP) is a pet project of the Christian right.

By: Michael Denton

Michael Denton — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:45:56 +0000

Minion:

How is this a disease particular to the right? I think most Christian Americans, regardless of their affiliation, have been guilty of too little resistance to the linking of Christmas with an orgy of spending.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:15:13 +0000

Thank God the boycott is over. Now we can go back to buying GAP products made by child and slave labor in Mainland China by people who would land in jail if they dared celebrated Christmas in view of the government or Party.

I have in the past supported the idea of boycotting stores that do not allow employees to say “Merry Christmas”

I’ve written to AFA expressing my interest in colaborating with them in protecting employee free speech rights. I have yet to get a response.

By: Gerald A. Naus

Gerald A. Naus — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:25:51 +0000

I’m gonna open a store called Chasm. It’ll be like the GAP, only way bigger.
(Demetri Martin)

Organizations with the word family in their names tend to be hideous. “Focus on the family”, to name just one. It’s also code for anti-gay. Even more caution is advisable when “family” is combined with “American”.

By: Morning's Minion

Morning's Minion — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:36:03 +0000

These fools have it exactly backwards. They should be protesting the linking of this consumerist excess with the “Christ Mass”, rather than saying the links aren’t strong enough. Yet again, the denizens of the right are trying to make the Incarnation subservient to the secular religion. This kind of thing used to be called blasphemy.

By: Ronald King

Ronald King — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:12:12 +0000

Michael, It is the loudest who are the dumbest and get the most attention. They have mutated the expression of our faith from its mystery of Love and Communion to a caricature of a skit from SNL.
The term spiritual narcissism comes to mind. I must go confess my rage with this stupidity so I can get out of their universe of dark unresolved hatred. It makes me sick and I do not want to spread the illness.

By: Michael Denton

Michael Denton — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:25:15 +0000

Amazing. Christmas turned into “whatever-you-want-aka.”

But I am growing more towards your side, at least on Christmas. Christians need to be thinking about how to distinguish their practices from that of the capitalist spending orgy. The St. Nicholas celebration is a good way to start. Any other ideas? (other than not wasting tons of money on presents)

By: brettsalkeld

brettsalkeld — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:08:36 +0000

This has become a crazy sideshow. I know families that give their kids a little something on the feast of St. Nicholas and totally ignore the consumer Christmas extravanganza. My oldest is old enough (almost three) that we may have to make the distinction this year.

I have in the past supported the idea of boycotting stores that do not allow employees to say “Merry Christmas” because it might offend someone. If it’s Christmas, we can say so. I would never be offended if someone wished me well for a holiday I don’t celebrate.

That said, muzzling people because you think my religion is offensive is on a whole different plane from using my religion to beef up your bottom line. ‘Whatever you wantaka’ is not the spirit of the season – in the view of virtually every religious tradition.