Christmas, Christians, and Christ

"I hope proponents of the term 'Organized Religion' get the point. The term is just redundant. Just another razor to use against Christianity."

Uh, gseeker, I use the term "organized religion" to refer to any of the mainstream faiths gathered under the "Abrahamic unbrella" -- that is, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The fact that, in this country, the Christian faith is better at the con game than the others is attributable to the fact that 1) Christians constitute a religious majority in the U.S., and 2) they've had waaaaaay more practice.

Point is, your disingenuous comments are a smokescreen for the fact that, when someone starts organizing "believers," these believers have to be told what to think, what to do, and what to say. Someone with more chutzpah or naked ambition than the others will invariably fill the leadership vacuum, and so the embrace of power begins.

And, ultimately, it is always power we're talking about. Power controls the image, the funds, and the operational rules of any organization, and that power is so intoxicating that it must be preserved at all costs.

OK. All religions are organized for that matter if they are going to be religions at all and not just individual thoughts. Any religion comprising a group of people with same beliefs needs a way to allow its members to form a unity and that is what? Let me guess... Oh! I think I got it. That is some form of organization.
Let me count the ways. The persons that belong to a religion need to meet to worship at a place (can be a house), need to set an schedule, communicate that schedule, they need leadership (yes, even the Dalai Lama is a leader), they need some sort of teaching system, otherwise the religion would cease to exist or expand, and I can go on and on. I hope proponents of the term "Organized Religion" get the point. The term is just redundant. Just another razor to use against Christianity.

Can I still cooment?

Havaheart: You misunderstand.
Stats show rabbis, priests, and Protestant ministers ALL have a VERY low rate of abuse when compared to others, and priests are at the lowest level of abuse when compared to the two others.
I suggest you check the stats of public school teachers, coaches, and the stats of some abortion clinics who have hidden statutory rape. No comparison!

BTW, the term 'organized religion' was fairly recently coined to make it sound like there is some hidden agenda in Christianity, and Christians have some deep, dark secrets. Whoever came up with the term must have been incredibly ignorant of true Christianity, and either was never involved in the Christian faith, or was a person or persons running from their own consciences. One thing is sure: they did not understand true Christianity.

Dear Are You Saying,
May God's peace be with you.
I am sorry for the terrible victimization you suffered as an adolescent, as we all should be who are here. Clearly you were victimized, as were some of my relatives. We do prayerfully respect the anger that you justly feel for the pain that has been inflected upon you.
I hope that you come to see what I had to see when God was calling me back to the loving arms of the catholic church, that the church does grieve for the victims of those who were abused by the clergy.
Take comfort in is God's assurance that no unrepentant sin will go unpunished and forgive and try to find healing. In this day and age there are few souls who reach adulthood without having confronted serious evil in thier lives as you did. You can though lay it at God's feet and not attack those who have done nothing to you.
The church is unjustly being brought to trial, and it is not fair for a whole institution to suffer for the sins of a few. One of my favorite teachers when I was in middle school, a married man, was let go for reportedly molesting little boys and surely he wasn't the only morally corrupt teacher. As a parent having now been educated that this is not uncommon for predators to find positions of power like teachers, coaches, priests, etc. we are more aware and do as a community educate and work harder to protect our children.
But, dear sir, it is unfair to attack the whole church because of something that happened to you because of one of it's members. Because, just as my former middle school or school district isn't thirty years later being put on trial, we should not hold accountable an institution who's "employees" if you will were guilty of horrendous evils.
My heart goes out to you and prayers as well, and I am sure Father Pavone and his staff hope and pray for your well being. I don't see in his article here though anything that would suggest he does condone the molestation of children any more than he condones the abortion of the innocent babies he has been called to be a voice for.
As it may be my biological father could very well be my grandfather, and many very close to me as well as myself have lived and been wounded by a world in which evil and immorality is everywhere. But, as the good Lord tells us, we were created for good, not for evil.
We, with our scars and our wounds and look to the church and her sacraments for healing and God can use our brokeness to help us build a better future for others. There is as I have thankfully come to see, much good in the broken body of the church, and in the sacraments, healing for us there.
I hope you can come to see that and stop lashing out at others who have done no wrong. I doubt that Fr. Pavone personally victimized you, as he seems a rather young priest, though he could be much older than I imagine.
My prayers go out to you for healing of body and soul. May the blessing of Christmas and the healing God wants to bring you be yours.

Thank you, Father Frank,for the beautiful reflection on the meaning of Christmas. It is a time of love, but it is so because Christ came among us. People of various other faiths often join with Christians in celebrating this feast, out of respect for Christian faith and the meaning we ascribe to it. I am very grateful for your meditation. And what better expresses Christian love than the Churches pro-life stance.

"The Catholic Church has done MUCH MUCH more than any other group when it comes to correcting the problem of abuse."

Wow. Debating whose clergy is the most deviant and which churches do more to clean up the mess is an absolutely pathetic commentary on organized religion.

That both Dolly and Farnaz are pointing fingers and basically saying "Your guys rape more kids than our guys" underscores the moral bankruptcy of organized religion and the pure ugliness that exists just below the surface of all of them.

Yes, in response to a recent post, Protestant pastors and rabbis do have a slightly higher rate of abuse than priests.

Please don't believe all the media hype and distortions, as there is clear evidence of anti-Catholic bigotry in their supposed 'reporting.' The Catholic Church has done MUCH MUCH more than any other group when it comes to correcting the problem of abuse.
Again and again we are being told the same old stories by the liberal media, in an effort to discredit the Church. Please use more authentic sources for real 'news.'
I suggest you contact The Catholic League which has a wealth of information on this you'll never hear from the liberal media. The Catholic League has done its homework--check it out.

Frank, Did you know that when people are saying Happy Holidays they are saying Happy Holy Days.

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Even rabbis and Protestant pastors have a slightly higher rate of abuse than priests, so why your obsession??
---------------------------
Ah, no, they don't. And when their caught, their caught. Ain't no Cardinal Lavada sheltering them and bankrupting "parishes" in the process. Bankrupting them and attempting to destroy the one whistle blower priest among "Lavada's boys."

That would be William Cardinal Lavada, made head of the CDF for his good works in shielding priest pederasts and lying under oath. He should be in jail.

Jews and Protestants do not berate raped Ireland for asking for information as Vatican Nation did.

All religions have corrupt, pedophile clergy, its an infestation. However, they don't all shield them. Imams who rape children are not protected. Neither are rabbis and ministers, with one ministerial exception. One.

Wow--it seems a couple people here are absolutely obsessed with the now ancient 'news' about the sex abuse by a tiny minority of priests (some falsely accused; some dead; many alleged 'cases' too old to prove) in the Church. Some questions: 1) What does this have to do with the topic?
2) Why does it appear you're ignoring the statutory rape not being reported by some abortion clinics, and the much higher rate of abuse in public schools and elsewhere? Even rabbis and Protestant pastors have a slightly higher rate of abuse than priests, so why your obsession?? You need to ask yourselves those questions,and I don't hear you whining/making an issue about THOSE attacks on children. Why not??

My goodness---get over it, already! The majority of priests are wonderful, beautiful human beings. You may not know it, but you are making yourselves look incredibly uninformed, don't you understand that?

Posted by: dollyangel | December 21, 2010 2:57 PM
------------------------------------

Read the paper much? It's not ancient news (having a little problem with your very own Ninth Commandment?) You are the one making yourself look incredibly uninformed. Ratzinger and his racketeering Cardinals are still hiding pervert priests in spite of his crocodile tears for the victims. Priests are still calling the victims "cowards" and Donohue calls them "gold diggers"

Your adolescent whining "others do it, too" is equally lame. Others don't pretend to be "Brothers of Christ" and have an organized, international, criminal organization hiding them.

Get over it? Ask my rectum to "get over it". It still remembers from when I was 14.

What does it have to do with the topic at hand? Everything. This "Father" deserves no respect as long as he hypocritically appears moralizing to the rest of us while knowing perfectly well what is still going on.

As for you, you can plan on continually hearing about this sexual terrorism on children perpetuated by your vile church every time a Catholic priests posts anything anywhere.

The solution is simple. Cough up your known perverts for civil prosecution. Why is that so difficult? Could it be because your "holy church" considers itself above the law like some pompous, holier-than-thou Lord Cheney in a pointy hat and a $10,000 dress.

The victims are not going away and your bullying will not silence them. Have a happy holiday knowing this is still going on you sorry complicit Donohue Catholic thug.

Mr KARLMARX2, you are behind the times!. Way behind! Solstice was celebrated before people knew about the birth of Christ. Way, way before. Then Christ was born and sacrificed himself so you had an opportunity for redemption. You see, Christ actually worked for an interest group: Humanity.

Every believer started out celebrating Christmas as unbelievers. We enjoyed all the Christmas programs, singing, gifts, family get-togethers. Such a big difference as a Christian and know the true meaning of Christmas - it's like the babe in the manger came alive, so to speak! I believe it is the responsibility of each believer to put Christ into Christmas, letting Him live in us bringing Life to the Christmas celebration.

Thanks, Fr. Frank. It's Truth! Jesus' Gospel of Love is embodied in the heavenly messages of Holy Love = the Immaculate Heart of Mary. My wish for you, your staff and all reading this a Blessed Christmas in the Words of our Savior... http://www.holylove.org/messages.php?msg_id=6634

cecilg Part I

Hi, you asked a few things and I will try to answer the best I can.

1. How do you know God is pure love? The evidence against your conviction is awfully strong,

When God the Father came into my heart, it was like He came in slowly, I knew something good was happening and it was for awhile, I would say a couple of hours in real time, but I had no idea what and then in less than a moment, I knew "it" was God the Father and I also knew that God the Father was/is Pure Love.

As I have said before and I don't know if you have heard/read me say it, even tho I refer to God as He and God the Father as Father, God is neither a He, a She nor an It but we need to use human language and pronouns can come in handy at times.

You mentioned that "The evidence against your conviction is awfully strong", it may appear that way but one thing to think about:

God gave us (everyone) free will and God also created satan, we had to have a choice to have free will, (all part of God's Plan) and in our free will, we chose satan to be the "god" of this place, God not only chose but had to form the Chosen People, the Jews, being chosen doesn't mean better or anything of the sort it just means Chosen, God wanted the Jews to have some place to call home and even tho it is just a small piece of real estate there was much fighting involved to get this piece of real estate, God used the Jews as a vehicle, so to speak, to become One of us and it was by the obedience of a few that God was able to become One of us and live to adulthood to take the place of every single member of humanity, in hell and death, one of the ways that I look at this is that God "stretched Himself past the othermost limits of evil without becoming evil, by doing this "stretching", so to speak, God won the "keys" to hell and death (both physical and spiritual) and even tho God allows us to custom-build our own hell (because if one dies and wakes up in hell, that person will come to the realization that they built it themself), God won the "keys" and will use them in due time if one does not take advantage, so to speak, of the offer now, by the way, as I have said, God is a searcher of hearts and minds, not of religious affiliations or lack thereof and God is the "Knower" and Judge, God does not have to follow anyone's "formula", as some seem to think.

It seems as if quite a few look at what happened on the cross and don't seem to realize that there was much more going on than the physical.

cecilg Part II

2. You said you have met the "WHO". Exactly what did you meet and how do you know it was Who?

When I wrote, Who, I was referring to God the Father but I also met God the Holy Spirit, I have already mentioned meeting God the Father but when I met the Holy Spirit, it was completely different, the Holy Spirit came into my body and it was rather quick and I just "knew" it was the Holy Spirit, no words or nothing of the sort, I felt it, I even breathed differently, this may sound vague, but I knew that it was the Holy Spirit, I happened to be at Mass and if I remember right, it was before Mass started and at communion time, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that the Catholic Eucharist is Jesus, again not by sight or sound, I just knew, just so happens I didn't receive communion at that Mass, as a matter of fact, I thought that it was all over, seeing as I had "met", so to speak, the Trinity, but in a way, it was just beginning.

By the way, I met God the Father on 28 Jan 2000 and the Holy Spirit toward evening on 29 Jan 2000 and it was just a couple of hours later that God allowed satan to "come down" and "work me over", so to speak, for 24 plus hours.

I did not see satan but I could "feel" the evil and I could "smell" the evil and toward the end of the "battle" God got me to the VA hospital up in Perry Point where I experienced both hell and spiritual death.

As I have said before, either these things have happened to me or I am the delusional, psychotic that some think or the heretic that others think.

One could say that God got my attention and it was after these things and after my stay in the hospital that I had some dreams that I know were from God, whether God, Himself, or a messenger, I do not know, in one of which, I was told that only I could say it.

I did not choose to be a messenger but I have said YES, I am counting on God to see me thru.

3. You always close with "Take care. Be Ready", and I always wonder for what I am supposed to be ready.

Actually, I am not sure if I used those words from the very beginning of my writing on here but they just kind of came to me, the thing is, those that are ready, will be ready and those that are not ready, will not be ready, kind of like the virgins with the lighted lamp, I guess one could say "ready for the Big Surprise" when the reality of God will be revealed.

I hope that this has been some kind of answer for you.

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Oh get real! Christmas is a bacchanal of greed and sleaze, excesses and drunkenness, pseudo piety and public relations charity wrapped in an advertising patina of Christian superstitions and willful ignorance!

I'm Jew for Moses; particularly via the cdrom The Trope Trainer.
How do Christians feel about replacing the first five books of every Bible with the cdrom The Trope Trainer? I own it and I've had an adult bat mitzvah (went to Orthodox Hebrew School daily after public school 7-12YO). However we never studied the Torah Scroll, only a prayer book called the Siddur. I'm catching up with the true history of the Bible at the age of 81. You need to be retired to do it yourself.

The miracle is that with the pitiful expertise I have in Hebrew, it works so well with this cdrom. You can even sing the first five books of every Bible.

So why wouldn't Christians want to teach their kids Hebrew. After all, St. Jerome studied Hebrew and translated the Latin from the Hebrew.

Also this can be a great tool for getting along intelligently with Muslim kids. Imagine Muslim kids also learning, like I do know, how to read Taurat in the language that existed long before there was a Quran. The language of the next-to-the-final prophet which they also endorse;)

If I were endowed economically, I'd start a non-prophet/profit organization to teach Hebrew using the cdrom The Trope Trainer. This is part of the best selling book in the world. I feel cheated that me and my 55plus aged kids learned Hebrew using the Siddur instead of the Chumash myself. The cdrom gives you plenty of self-awareness.

I consider Beraysheet to be a gorgeous poem which has a Coda: Gen:1-2:4. Great lyrics.
Wouldn't Jesus agree with me? Wouldn't he talk to the little Muslim children this way. YHWH gave us this tool: the cdrom The Trope Trainer.

I'm starting to speak up locally and offering neighbors to teach them Hebrew this way. Just started suggesting this in local discussion groups.

BTW, my nativity scene is the three women that saved Little Baby Moses. My saving star is the Sun and it's lamp in the dark, the Moon. That's what I think with the word Christmas. It's another name for the Festival of Lights when we have the shortest day annually.

To Thomas P.M. Baum: I always enjoy your posts. Often they leave me with questions.

1. How do you know God is pure love? The evidence against your conviction is awfully strong,
2. You said you have met the "WHO". Exactly what did you meet and how do you know it was Who?
3. You always close with "Take care. Be Ready", and I always wonder for what I am supposed to be ready.

This is probably not the place for a detailed answer, but I would be glad to read your answers sometime.

Its not about the manger, where the baby laid
its not about all the angels, who sang for him that day
its not about the shepherds or the bright and shining star
its not all about the wise men, who traveled from afar

its not about the presents underneath the tree
its not about the feeling that the season brings to me
its not about coming home to be with the ones you love
its not all about the beauty in the snow I'm dreaming of

the beginning of the story is wonderful and great
but its the ending that can save you and that's why we celebrate

Its about the cross, its about my sin
Its about how Jesus came to be born once
so that we could be born again
Its about Gods love being nailed to a tree
Its about every drop of blood that flowed
From him when it should have been me
Its about the stone that was rolled away
so that you and I could have a life someday
Its about the cross

Excellent post.

I'm not sure why some are so prone to lash out at people who have been asked to provide an opinion on a subject related to their profession. Are you surprised that a priest would promote Christ in a post about Christmas?
How much time have you Pagans put in to understanding your own observances?
Not much, apparently.
The fact is, many of YOUR observances are rooted in practices adopted by apostate ancient Israelis.
One of your "gods", Woden, was actually a patriarch of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the godfather of Paganism.

You people haven't the slightest clue who you are.
In a perverted way, and by extension, Pagans are just ancestor-worshipers.

http://alastairstephens.com/?photo=atheists-dont-have-no-songs

You know a few years ago, I loved all the deals you got on the net, but these days its all changing , no more bargains on amazon, the car I got on eBay don't start.lol! But I figured there must be a site out there that has rock bottom prices on quality name brands and I came across this one. I thought it was a scam but it's not, really. I don't know how they do it but its insanely cheap. Go to SwipeBay. com

He writes with a sense of Blessing. Not sure why some people feel the need to be scrouge with a nasty energy or dispiriting feeling? I am not a Christian but do celebrate the festival that has trees from pagan Germany (the God Woden and Thor) but its the spirit of the event and the gifting and giving that matters.

lifeonmars

You wrote, "Thomas Baum writes "God is a Being of Pure Love", which makes me wonder if he ever read the old testament..."

I said that because I have met, Who is referred to as, God the Father.

As a matter of fact, I have not read the whole old testament but I would rather base my opinion on Who I met rather than on something that is written about Who I met, wouldn't you?

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Father Pavone is not instilling fear, and those who embrace Christianity do not do so out of fear, but out of love, and to have the best in spiritual gifts. I pray everyone have an open heart and mind to receive those gifts.

"I am not sure that Pavone (I refuse to call him Father) is afraid, but I am certain that he is disgustingly arrogant."

CecilG,

Thanks for your comments.

Just to clarify, what I meant by "monopoly on fear" is that Pavone and his ilk use their religious positions to instill fear in their parishioners. This is how people are controlled by their various churches.

No, Pavone has no fear. Why should he? He's in an ultimate position of power.

Wow--it seems a couple people here are absolutely obsessed with the now ancient 'news' about the sex abuse by a tiny minority of priests (some falsely accused; some dead; many alleged 'cases' too old to prove) in the Church. Some questions: 1) What does this have to do with the topic?
2) Why does it appear you're ignoring the statutory rape not being reported by some abortion clinics, and the much higher rate of abuse in public schools and elsewhere? Even rabbis and Protestant pastors have a slightly higher rate of abuse than priests, so why your obsession?? You need to ask yourselves those questions,and I don't hear you whining/making an issue about THOSE attacks on children. Why not??

My goodness---get over it, already! The majority of priests are wonderful, beautiful human beings. You may not know it, but you are making yourselves look incredibly uninformed, don't you understand that? We're all interested in hearing your answers to these questions, since you show such interest in the now old sex abuse scandal in the Church--surely you must also be interested in other sex abuse incidents? (If you don't get it by now, what I'm saying is respect for Father and others posting would be appreciated by all of us posting.) How about some legitimate comments on the current topic Father is bring up? Treat others as you want to be treated.

Christmas is "Jesus is the Reason for the Season." It has been hijacked and stolen in many ways, but I'm hopeful all will one day be restored.
A blessed and merry CHRISTmas to all!

BobDog, you're partly right. But I don't do naked outdoors in the winter. Don't want to put anyone's eye out.

SPOILER ALERT: Jesus was not really born on December 25, year 0.

Christmas actually was a made-up celebration by early Christians (a few centuries later) to attract pagans (who had similar celebrations at year's end) to come to a Christian pagan celebration instead. It stuck, otherwise we'd probably be dancing naked and praying to trees each Christmas season.
Fact is, if you look at the so-called "Christian" leaders in American today, it doesn't take much to conclude that there doesn't appear to be anything very Christ-like left in Christianity at all, and there probably was no Christ in Christmas in the first place.

Ah, Christmas. What a perfect opportunity for pervert priests to give gifts to groom little boys:

http://www.suite101.com/content/how-pedophiles-groom-victims-a49648

karlmarx2

...sounds more like you cant stand the fact that he is right about Christmas.

Mark
Always seek the truth.

Thomas Baum writes "God is a Being of Pure Love", which makes me wonder if he ever read the old testament...

NO, NO, NO,NO, NO! Christmas belongs to the Bank Of America as a wholly owned subsidiary. Several words have been garbled, you might note, "savior" instead of "saver", "holy" for "wholly", plus we've got the paperwork around here somewhere. We somehow misplaced it while avoiding paying the transfer taxes and fees to Bethlehem for over 2,000 years. Blush! In the meanwhile, there ain't no free lunch for you. Pay up you free loaders. It's your duty. It's a contract!

Fr. Frank Pavone

You wrote, "Some years ago, a class of students was asked to write about the meaning of Christmas. One student wrote, "Christmas is when Christians celebrate Christ." The teacher liked the paper, but asked the student to change that one line to "Christmas is when people celebrate love."

What, some may wonder, is the difference? After all, Christians are people and Christ is love.

Yet there is a difference - and the difference is so profound that if we miss it, we have missed the meaning of Christmas and Christ."

I happen to disagree for the simple fact that Jesus truly is Love-Incarnate since God is a Being of Pure Love, this is the true meaning of the Incarnation and birth of Jesus, God becoming One of us.

Jesus was both made in the Image and Likeness of God and God.

You wrote, "Christmas is not just about the birth of a child; it's about the birth of a whole new humanity. In Adam, all die; in Christ, all come to life again. We are made sharers, by faith and baptism, in the Divine Nature."

And this "baptism", that makes us sharers, was done in front of our very eyes, so to speak, when John baptized Jesus.

You then wrote, "St. Augustine put it this way: "God became man that man might become God.""

Seems that Jesus has called us to be children of God, didn't Jesus teach us to pray "Our Father..." not "Our Me"?

You then wrote, "Preaching today too often loses sight of this fundamental dimension of the Gospel."

Are you referring to the fact that the word Gospel means Good News and that the Good News is for ALL, not just some.

You then wrote, "And people therefore risk seeing Christmas as being just about good cheer, giving, family, and peace on earth. It is about those things, but only because it is first about God reconciling humanity to himself in Christ and opening the way for humanity to share divine life. Christmas is a Christian feast."

If it is about "God reconciling humanity to himself in Christ", than wouldn't it be a feast for ALL OF HUMANITY, even those that do not realize it yet?

You then wrote, "The Christmas announcement is that a Savior has been born "for all the people.""

I believe this, do you?

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Pavone: You simply do not KNOW any of the things you claim to KNOW. In this respect you have a lot in common with other branches of fundamentalism.

The truth is that you BELIEVE, but you don't know.

To Havaheart: Your post as of Dec. 21, 11:17, is right on target. I am not sure that Pavone (I refuse to call him Father) is afraid, but I am certain that he is disgustingly arrogant.

Pavone writes well and seems to be very well versed in Catholic theology. Maybe he is even very intelligent. How then can he be so wrong...or better to say, how can he be so certain about things which are irrational and which cannot be known?

So, if Jesus saved everyone, why do you preach hell?

"...but it is only in Christ that we fully learn the nature of love and find the power to practice it."

It is these kinds of statements -- in which the word "only" holds the dominant position -- that makes organized religions insufferable.

We're quite used to hearing fundamentalists of every stripe telling us that their way to heaven is the only way. For those who believe in heaven, such words may be an inducement to change churches. But for those who don't believe in heaven, well, no harm, no foul.

What is singularly infuriating, however, is when practitioners of particular religions start telling us that ONLY through their church can we fulfill some of humankind's most basic needs -- for instance, to know and give love.

Mr. Pavone has no moral or ethical right to say that I can't truly know love if I don't learn it through his church. Or that I can't truly give love without learning how...in his church.

My spiritual life is rich with love, and I am grateful every single day for that. But it is not Mr. Pavone's god whom I thank; he had nothing to do with it.

You don't have a monopoly on love, "father." You have a monopoly on fear.

@KarlMarx2:

Why celebrate a natural event and not the Creator of the event? I find it hard to believe that everything from the Big Bang to the evolution of Man to the creation of civilization is just a series of big, happy accidents.

Father Pavoen is simply smiling to be nice. Yes, there have been many pedophiles among the clergy but you can find them in the schools as teachers and sports leagues as coaches. Should we close the schools, the parks and the sports leagues too? Whatever happenned to individuals are innocent until proven guilty? I forgot in your "utopia" (which literally means no place), you get to decide who's guilty as they fit into your scheme to have total control over others. That's why you hate religious faith. You see it as a rival for control of the people. Without religious leadership, many of the movements for the resistance to many evils would never exist (e.g. abolition of slavery, resistence to the occupying of Greece and Spain, resistance to communism in eastern Europe, the civil rights movement in the US, etc.) What good has your godless Marxism produced? Nothing, just a lot of misery and death.

Father Pavone, Merry Christmas to you too. I think that it's funny that so many people get so uptight over the whole concept of Christmas. It's simply a birthday celebration of our Messiash. Whether you choose to recognize him or not is your choice. It's my choice to accept accept Jesus as my Savior to celebrate His birth and life. I also respect other people's religious preferences and tolerate their practices as long as they do no harm. Yet we seem to get all hot and bothered every year now with the "cultural wars." People want to blame God and His Church for everything evil people have done throughout history. Yes, people have done many evil things in God's name but that doesn't prove or disprove His existence. Yes, the 1st Amendment states that the government can not establish a religion (and rightfully so) but must we force people to hide their faith in order not to offend anyone? To that I say no. I say to all, love and respect each other and treat each other decently. The truth will come out eventually, one way or another. If the Christian faith is true, you will be a better Christian for it. If it is not, then acting in love and respect will make you a better person anyways. So to all, Merry Christmas.

Oops! 5 minutes off. Solstice is at 6:38!

Happy Solstice and Festivus to you all!