Fine Prints: February, 2008

Religion Run Amok  February 2

Put on My Backpack and Lean On Me  February 9 

A Commonsense Approach to "Merry Christmas!"-I February 16  

A Commonsense Approach to "Merry Christmas!"-II February 23

Religion Run Amok

(The following is excerpted from an article by Jeff Jacoby, columnist for The Boston Globe.)

Put  On My Backpack and Lean on Me 

Christ had an uncanny ability to use illustrations from daily life to drive home the points He wanted to make. But many aspects of life today bear little resemblance to life in Christ’s day. Some of the things He appropriated as metaphors no longer even exist.

Jim Coffin, Senior Pastor

A Commonsense Approach to "Merry Christmas"-1 

Now that Christmas ’07 has passed and we have at least three hundred more shopping days until the festivities of ’08, it seems appropriate to calmly analyze the "War on Christmas " that has "raged" over the past several years.
But first, let me tell you a story.

Back in the early 1980s, I was president of the local interfaith ministerial association for the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., where we lived at the time. The group included the spiritual leaders of several non-Christian groups, among them a rabbi.

Having grown up in the Midwest where there was a considerable degree of spiritual homogeneity, I’d met virtually no Jews in my time. And I certainly wasn’t well attuned to their hot-button issues. So when the rabbi hosted one of our luncheons in his synagogue, I wasn’t as judicious as I would be today—and I’m still more than capable of sticking my foot deeply into my mouth. (So it’s no doubt difficult for you even to imagine how inept I was back then!)

As fate would have it, the rabbi invited me to offer the blessing on the food—after all, I was the organization’s president. As happens far too often with far too many of us, I was on autopilot while I prayed. (It was really little more than the "vain repetition" decried by scripture.) As a result, I ended my prayer with a mechanical "in Jesus’ name." The rabbi, though controlled, was perturbed.

Fortunately, we discussed it afterwards and ended up becoming good friends. He invited our youth group to a Friday-night program at the synagogue. And Leonie and I participated in a special event or two. Before the damage of my faux pas was repaired, however, the rabbi shared some thoughts that I believe are worth considering.

He said that how I prayed in my own church or in my own home should be determined 100 percent by my spiritual beliefs and practices. But when I’m invited, as a guest, to pray in a synagogue, where it’s more or less universally understood that a prayer offered in Jesus’ name will offend, I should either pray in a more non-sectarian manner or I should decline to pray at all.

In ecumenical services—such as the interfaith thanksgiving service that our group conducted each year—he argued that we should likewise offer non-sectarian prayers. The alternative would be to make clear from the outset that every faith group represented would pray and praise in the manner to which they were accustomed, however foreign or uncomfortable it might make others feel. We should say right up front that it would be multi-sectarian worship, not non-sectarian.

I believe he articulated principles that apply more widely than just to how we offer prayers—including when we should or shouldn’t say "Merry Christmas!"

Since we’re almost out of space, I won’t be able to address the topic in depth until next week. However, let me lay the foundation for the upcoming discussion. We’ll look at the "Merry Christmas!" issue as it applies in four venues: in the commercial market place, in religious settings, in the public square, and in governmental settings.

Jim Coffin, Senior Pastor

A Commonsense Approach to "Merry Christmas"-2 

Last week I shared some broad principles concerning where and when to say—or not say—"Merry Christmas!" Let’s consider the matter from the perspective of four venues.
1. The commercial marketplace. This one is simple: If it enhances revenue, do it. If it diminishes revenue, avoid it.

Insisting that sales agents say "Merry Christmas" to every customer in a predominantly Jewish or Muslim or militant-atheist community would be bad business practice. Conversely, prohibiting the phrase in a staunchly Southern Baptist community might be equally unprofitable—especially if word got out that expressions of Christmas cheer were being muzzled. All persuasions are capable of boycotts. So a business enterprise needs to decide what course of action ingratiates the maximum while alienating the minimum.
2. Religious settings. This is the classic "When in Rome, do as the Romans." No Christian should hesitate to say "Merry Christmas" in a Christian church or at a Christian event. But if you happen to be visiting a synagogue or mosque or a meeting of the atheist league, using such an expression could be viewed as a deliberate act of belligerence.
3. The public square. This one gets a lot trickier. But, fortunately, all major religions subscribe to the same basic, under-girding philosophy: Treat others as you would like to be treated. The need for that philosophy is driven home more forcefully, I suggest, when viewed from a minority perspective rather than a majority perspective. Let me explain.
If I live in a predominantly Jewish community, and everyone I meet on the street says "Happy Hanukkah," I would assume they’re just being friendly. If, on the other hand, my neighbors all definitely know I’m a Christian, yet insist on saying "Happy Hanukkah," I might have reason to suspect belligerence on their part.
The same applies in the reverse. If I share a heart-felt and joyous "Merry Christmas!" with everyone I meet, I’m just being friendly and upbeat. But when I know my neighbor is Jewish or Muslim or militant atheist—and they know that I know—I would suggest that the Golden Rule’s message would be: Don’t risk antagonizing.
Why this is so tricky is that there’s no hard and fast rule. I don’t think a Jew, Muslim or militant atheist is justified in getting bent out of shape over a warm and friendly "Merry Christmas!" said to everyone you meet. But, in the same way that it would be socially and spiritually insensitive to knowingly offer an observant Jew or a committed Muslim a ham sandwich, the same would be true of knowingly shouting "Merry Christmas!" at them.
4. The government. The same basic principles apply in both the public square and governmental settings. But, because of the tax dollars that fund government-sponsored activities and services, and because governmental practices create national norms and "institutionalize" certain attitudes and practices, I’m sympathetic with any minority that says, "Hey! What about us?"
I mean, as Seventh-day Adventists we have major objections to Sunday laws, even though they fit the norms of the overwhelming majority of the population. So let’s show the same kind of sensitivity toward other minorities and about other issues that we want others to show toward us.