HAPPENS EVERY YEAR. CHRISTMAS IS BANNED YET AGAIN. REALLY! MORE MOON BAT FOLLIES.
Oxford city council confirmed the events in the city would be renamed ‘Winter Light Festival‘ to make them more inclusive
Maybe some BMEWSers who are smarter than me (Which means practically all of you, even Walt
) can explain how Christmas is exclusive?
Do you get kicked out of Christmas celebrations if you are not a Christian?
Are you not invited to the office Christmas party if you are not a Christian?
Does any ‘establishment of religion’ kick you out of Christmas services?
Are you forbidden to go caroling unless you are a Christian?
Do atheists not attend their family Christmas reunions?
Has any child been refused a part in a Christmas pageant because they are not Christian?
Do stores decorated for Christmas turn away non-Christian customers?
I’m sure I could go on, but you get the idea. Christmas has to be the most inclusive religious holiday in existence. Christ invites all to come to Him. Any exclusion is self-imposed.
BTW, just try to make a haj to Mecca if you are not Muslim. Those Muslims are not very inclusive.
Oxford Council say its Christmas as usual and it would appear the press have it wrong?
http://www.oxford.gov.uk/news/news.cfm/current/1/item/3065
Posted by fidothedog
11/03/2008 at 04:05 PM
The scariest part is that we have reached the state of affairs where we’ve come to expect this sort of insanity from government institutions. It is easy to believe that the Oxford City Council or the Oxford Inspires could have come up with such an insane idea. It’s equally possible to believe that they immediately backed up in response to the ensuing firestorm. Who knows? It was believable regardless.
Now the good news. Obviously, you would expect the Christians of Oxford to want Christmas kept as it has been. As a Jew, I wouldn’t have expected any response from the Rabbi except the one he gave in favor of the traditional Christmas. The amazing part and the part that does give me some hope is that the Chairman of the Muslim Council of Oxford said:
Sabir Hussain Mirza, chairman of the Muslim Council of Oxford, said: “I am really upset about this. Christians, Muslims and other religions all look forward to Christmas.”
A day when a Moslem joins with Christians and Jews in support of a tradition such as Christmas, is remarkable and welcome in its own right. Anyone who has read my responses here at BMEWS knows that I have been a pretty harsh (that’s a delicate understatement) critic of Islam, but I also believe in giving credit where credit is due. If more people such as Mr. Mirza can join with Rabbi Bracknell and Fr Van-Dungey, this would be a pretty great world. Mr. Mirza has taken the first truly positive step from the Moslem side that I am aware of and I’m happy to see it. Thank you Mr. Mirza, this Jew would be honored to work with you.
11/03/2008 at 02:59 PM
