Christmas History

Men dressed as Krampus, the companion of St. Nicholas and one of Austria's unique Advent traditions, are seen during a traditional Krampus procession in the city of Munich, southern Germany, on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008.

Debate on Christmas was taking place hundreds of years before the so called "war on Christmas" in which modern secular society is supposedly stripping Christ from the holiday. Early Puritans in New England went the opposite direction completely banning the holiday for awhile and especially wanted to rid the celebration of all of the pagan traditions that have been assimilated as various peoples were conquered and sometime forcibly converted to Christianity.  

Our modern version of Santa Claus is an amalgamation of various traditional givers of gifts across Europe. In the Alps, some customs that would seem very shocking to modern Americans survive to this day. In those regions, Saint Nicholas is accompanied by an incubus demon called the Krampus who gives warnings and punishments to the bad children or even takes them to hell in a bag or basket. That will give your kids nightmares!

The word Krampus originates from the Old High German for claw (Krampen). Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly in the evening of December 5, and roam the streets frightening children and women with rusty chains and bells. In some rural areas the tradition also includes birching (spanking with a birch rod typically on the bare buttocks) by the Krampus, especially of young females.

Here's a good article on the Krampus from Utica, NY's WKTV entitled Naughty or Nice - Santa's Helper, Krampus, deals with the naughty children.

Islam on Capitol Hill

I would have never even known about the Muslim call to prayer on Capitol Hill if it weren't for an email sent by an acquaintance of mine. Mike Harris is what most would call a conservative Christian. I admire his devotion but agree to disagree with him the vast majority of the time. His site Mike's Christian Corner not only calls the atheists to task but also the Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims and other Christian denominations.

His latest email warned of the "Islamic Invasion" that Obama has brought upon us. Apparently, President Obama is rebuilding America into an Islamic Nation. Maybe it's a clause in the health bill? Islam on Capitol Hill apparently went off without much excitement but much lower attendance than hoped. CNN reported in their coverage that Muslims traveled from all over the country, Britain, and Canada to peacefully pray.

"America is not perfect," Abdul Malik, an organizer of the event called Islam on Capitol Hill, told the crowd.

"But I will say something it took me my whole adult life to come to: America is not perfect, but I want to tell the truth: It is one of the best places in the world to live."

The requisite protesters were on hand but security carefully watched the proceedings. No surprise there. I wonder how many called themselves Christians. Of course, Mike Harris wasn't the only Christian railing against last Friday's proceedings.

And one Christian leader warned of a strategy to "Islamize" American society.

"It is important for Christians to understand that Friday's Muslim prayer initiative is part of a well-defined strategy to Islamize American society and replace the Bible with the Koran, the cross with the Islamic crescent and the church bells with the Athan [the Muslim call to prayer]," the Rev. Canon Julian Dobbs, leader of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America's Church and Islam Project, said in a written statement.

"The time has come for the American public to call Islam to account," he said.

A quick search of the internet produced quite a few articles from religious conservatives including this one from Right Side News.

Like Mike Harris, the author places the blame on Obama and took offense at the President's comments concerning the leaders of the Christian right.

"Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart. It got hijacked. Part of it's because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who've been all too eager to exploit what divides us."

That quote sounds very much like John McCain from the 2000 election, pre-Palin, when he actually has some respect for himself.

"Neither party," the senator later shouted to the Virginia crowd, "should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right."

The agents of intolerance? That's a great term and there are plenty. Some religious. Some not. It's just more hating the "other" that keeps us from uniting to help our fellow man.

A True Christian IMHO

Lisa Gibson -- who lost her brother in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing -- sat down the other day with the man many blame for the notorious attack: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"I welcomed him to America," she told CNN.

The 39-year-old Colorado Springs lawyer said she and another relative of a Lockerbie victim went to see the controversial figure in New York on Wednesday, the same day he delivered a rambling speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

Calling herself an "ambassador of reconciliation," she views the encounter as the latest step in a journey to build bridges between Libyans and Americans -- a mission energized by her strong Christian faith.

"I wanted him to know there were some people out there who've lost loved ones who have a different vision and different heart," she said. "He warmly received us."

Gibson said she is motivated by her Christian faith and one of its overriding tenets -- forgiveness. However, she added that she isn't exonerating anybody.

"As a Christian, I need to forgive you. Only God knows if you are responsible," she said.

Gibson said she has tried to understand the terrorism emanating from the Muslim world over the years and dedicated her life to build a "bridge of reconciliation" with Libya.

She wrote a letter of forgiveness to Megrahi a few years ago and she said he wrote back to say he was sorry for her loss.

"At the heart of terrorism is hate and the only way to effectively battle that is with love," she said.

Gibson formed a group called the Peace and Prosperity Alliance, a non-governmental organization involved with business and educational projects in Libya.

She regards her group as a "conduit of change." Gibson said Libyans have been touched by her effort to forgive.

Gibson said her actions don't "undermine the losses or say it was OK." But she believes her slain brother would support her. She believes he'd think "I don't want my death to be in vain."

She wanted to continue her journey of building bridges by meeting with Gadhafi.

"He said he very much appreciated us coming and welcomed us," Gibson said.

Gadhafi's sanity is still questionable judging from that speech at the UN and we will probably never know for sure whether Libya's government was sponsoring terrorism but Gibson seems to have completely forgiven and that's an amazing thing, religious or not. Excerpts from CNN.com. Read the full article here.

Always hating the "other"

It has always struck me as horribly ironic that the people who should be the most tolerant among us, the Christians, have proven time and time again to be the most intolerant. It has fueled my general distrust in organized religion and forced me to question the values that were instilled in me by my mother and her family. I stumbled across one more example of supposed Christians acting in a manner quite unlike Jesus Christ.

Of course, I really shouldn't be surprised judging from the rest of the content found on the site http://islaminaction08.blogspot.com/. It looks like most right-wing conservative websites with anti-Obama and pro-Israel slogans and how these people can reconcile their Christian beliefs with these stances is beyond me. The article that caught my attention was http://islaminaction08.blogspot.com/2009/09/muslims-find-new-ramadan-fast-partners.html which attacks a fellow Christian for fasting during Ramadan with a Muslim friend.

Yes, it's true that Christians are being persecuted all over the world. The same can be said of many other religions. Hindus and Muslims battle in India. Of course, Pakistan became a splinter faction of India because of religious differences. There are myriad other examples. Radical Christians like to point out the conquer and convert teachings of Muslims but I've never had a Muslim at my door pushing their version of God, just different Christian denominations.

According to Mark Driscoll, lead practicing pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle,

"Christians should have friendships with people of other faith, but engaging in other traditions' worship practices is problematic." Driscoll said that in this case, Christians and Muslims fast for different purposes and do not worship the same God. See full article at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i_eVypKpB1pgxRFGuwI-ZAKCOxWQD9APUMD80

I would like his opinion on participating in the ceremonies of other Christian denominations. What if a Baptist went to Catholic Mass? Most southern denominations that I've visited claim all the others are wrong. What if a Christian went to Temple with a Jewish friend? Surely, all that support for Israel would allow a Christian to participate in a Jewish ceremony without the gates of Hell opening.

Interfaith communication can only help our understanding of each other and the common beliefs that bind us all. These radical intolerant Christians are in the minority and are no different than radical Muslims period. It's apparently wired into our own genes to hate the "other" but we've got to fight that instinct. That freedom of choice, to rail against nature, to rail against our instincts, was granted to us by a higher power. Let's practice it.