Bruce David Forbes is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church and author of the book, Christmas: A Candid History. The Blade reported on his views this morning. Forbes talks of several groups of Christians who do not believe in this holiday, contending that has pagan roots. Further, these folks find little credence in the story of the Nativity as reported in two references in the New Testament. Apparently the Puritans charged people with sin if they celebrated it in colonial time.
Many fundamentalist churches put on gala nativity scenes with lots of music, lights and spectacle. Odd that they seem to glamorize this holiday so intensely when, in fact, most of the 'story' is mythology borrowed from earlier times and pagan religions.
Odd, too, because many fundamentalists like to regularly slap 'sin' and damnation' onto anybody who doubts any line of the bible. Yet, they laud this thinly documented story. Of course, if the boy named Jesus had had an ordinary birth, like other boys at this time, then the prophesies about him would not be valid and their claim, Son of God, would be even more in doubt.
Strange, too, that when the nativity scene is packed away for another year, Joseph never gets another nod in the New Testament and Mary makes only one or two cameo appearances. One of them is a rebuke of her by Jesus himself. So much for family values.
