Carnival of Christmas is up at Adam’s Blog. My lil piece, The Gift, is included along with a wide array of submissions. Romeocat gets-and well-deserves!-top billing for her daily Advent Meditations. Please do yourself a favor and hie thee to CatHouse Chat for some excellent reminders of what Christmas really celebrates.
Below is a reprint of my casual thoughts on that matter…
[This is a re-run from 12-03-04]
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Just did a lunchtime check of some blogs and ran across a comment by someone calling themseves “Vandal” responding to a post by someone fed up with the LLMB’s* PC approach to eliminating “Christmas” (or anything Christian) from the season.
[Note: the thread seems not to be available any longer]
Vandal commented that the best response to such was “Merry Christmas, you filthy animal.” Others were quick to chastise Vandal for such an “unchristian” attitude. I beg to differ. “Merry Christmas, you filthy animal,” really does touch the very heart of what Christmas is all about. I applaud Vandal’s clear Calvinism and want to remind us all that anyone who ascribes to the total depravity of man can’t be all bad… heh
After all, Christmas is God’s gracious response to our “filthy animal” depravity, demonstrated in the incarnation and sacrifice of His Son…
So, “Merry Christmas, you filthy animal” is kinda God’s loving response to our total depravity. I like that.
It is just as scripture has said,
“There is no just man, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one in search of God.
All have taken the wrong course,
all alike have become worthless;
not one of them acts uprightly, no, not one…” (Romans 3: 10-12)
and
The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6: 23)
So, Christmas is about “Good will [from God] to filthy animals,” if you will. And that’s something we can be very, very grateful for: that God looked upon those who hated Him and chose to reach out to His enemies with love. (Romans 5: 8) “Peace on earth”? Accessible only through Christ. (Romans 5:1).
And that addresses why so many who find the Christmas season depressing or-in LLMB* PC conformity, offensive. They do not yet know the Good WIll God has already expressed toward them, nor have they welcomed the Peace He offers through His Son.
Their choice.
So, I wish one and all a Merry Christmas you filthy animals!
A very merry, merry Christmas, indeed.
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God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
In Bethlehem, in Israel,
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His Mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
“Fear not then,” said the Angel,
“Let nothing you affright,
This day is born a Saviour
Of a pure Virgin bright,
To free all those who trust in Him
From Satan’s power and might.”
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway
The Son of God to find.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
And when they came to Bethlehem
Where our dear Saviour lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His Mother Mary kneeling down,
Unto the Lord did pray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
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*”LLMB” as those who are regular readers know is the “Loony Left Moonbat Brigade”. Could as easily be the “Light in Their Loafers Brigade” or “Loose Nut in the Braincase Brigade” but I like LLMB just fine.
Sung from the heavens at Right Wing Nation, bRight and Early.