The War on Christ

Most have heard of "The War on Christmas." The Gap, Inc., parent company of such retail stores as The Gap, Old Navy, and others, refuses to use the word Christmas in their advertisements. They claim that they don't want to offend non-Christians out buying Christmas presents, all the while emblazoning their ads with the image of the broken cross (the so-called peace symbol of the 1960s era). Target banned the Salvation Army from their properties, and justified doing so with the lie that they otherwise would have had to let every religion solicit on their property. Retailers everywhere have caused something of a backlash by censoring Christ from Christmas.

A survey reported in a recent edition of the Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk) found that only one in every one hundred Christmas cards sold in Britain contains any religious imagery or message. Why is that? Because only one out of every one hundred Christmas cards bought in Britain contains any religious imagery or message.

Of course, this is an old trend. For decades people have written X-mas, explicitly censoring Christ from Christmas, and the response of many Christians has been to try and justify doing so with rationalizations about the Greek letter chi (X) being the first letter in the Greek word for Christ.

And now CBS has aired an episode of "Two and a Half Men" in which Charlie Sheen sings a version of "Joy to the Word" in which he proclaims and celebrates his intention to engage in an act that will be either fornication or adultery (sin in either case). He, in accord with writers, production personnel and network executives, took a beloved Christmas hymn, a proclamation and celebration of God's victory over sin by the birth of His only begotten son, God incarnate, and turned it into a proclamation and celebration of debauchery and sin.

Before anyone gets too hot under the collar, I would remind you that we must turn the other cheek. True, if Charlie Sheen sang such a song about Mohammed, and if CBS aired it, Muslims the world over would rise up with violence and bloodshed. But we are not Muslims. We are Christians. We do not follow the teachings of a false prophet who denied the resurrection of the Christ. We are members of the body of the Christ, and we must act, and react, accordingly.

So don't repay evil with evil. But understand that if it is evil to censor Christ from Christmas with an X, then it is equally evil to justify doing so with rationalizations. Likewise, if it is evil to turn a proclamation and celebration of the mercy and grace of God toward mankind into a proclamation and celebration of sin and debauchery, then it is equally evil to justify doing so by dismissing it as harmless humor.

Instead, let's you and I repay evil with kindness and love. Call or write Les Moonves of CBS and tell him that even though he and Charlie Sheen have offended us, we will still pray for them that if they haven't already done so they might come to know the love and Salvation of the Lord they mock. But don't just leave a phone message or send an email. Follow up by actually praying for all the people at CBS, including Les Moonves, Charlie Sheen, the writers and everyone else involved. It is better that God convict them now than condemn them later.

Les Moonves, Chairman 
CBS Television 
51 W. 52nd St.
New York, NY 10019 
Primary Phone: 212-975-4321
Fax: 212-975-4516
E-Mail: Les Moonves