Well, hostilities are well underway,
and with the Tea Party and Sarah Palin joining the fray, this year's battle is
shaping up to be one of the bloodiest.
I'm referring, of course, to the
annual "war on Christmas".
This right wing holiday tradition
has always been a source of bewilderment to me. I just don't get the Christian
persecution complex, epitomized every year by their feigned outrage over this
supposed "war".
Yes, the horror of war... of
slogging your way thru the trenches at the mall, only to be ambushed by someone
saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas! Or being blind-sided by the
shock and trauma of encountering a 'Holiday' tree instead of a 'Christmas'
tree!
The horror... the horrors of war.
Nope, I don't get it.
I do get why it's important to
theocracy advocates who, by definition, must have this type of dogmatic
compulsion and assurance in order to shore up their fragile faith, but I've
pretty much given up trying to understand why it gains so much traction among
the rank and file Christian community.
Once in a while, though, amidst all
the contrived persecution, a question or point is raised that peaks my
interest. It came from a post in my local paper. The writer asked: "I
have a question for the liberal fronts that are attacking Christmas. If Christ
was not born, what would you be attacking now?"
I don't know what a "liberal
front" is, and no one I've talked to does either, so I'm going to take a
stab at answering the question myself as best I can (I just watched "It's
a Wonderful Life", so this concept of ‘never been born’ is fresh in my
mind).
The short answer to the query is
'Mithramas'. This is what the "liberal fronts" might be attacking
with their 'Seasons Greetings' assaults if Jesus had never been born.
The Persian savior Mithra was born
on Dec 25th, sometime prior to 500 BCE. His birth (to a supposed virgin, or
else formed wholly from a rock) was witnessed by shepherds and Magi, and during
his lifetime he performed miracles, cured illnesses, and cast out devils. He
shared a last meal with his 12 disciples, then ascended to heaven at the time
of the spring equinox.
Worship of Mithra was common
throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, and in 274 CE (AD) Emperor Aurelian
declared Mithraism the official religion of the Roman Empire. His Dec 25th
birth was celebrated with other 'god-man' saviors including Appolo, Attis,
Baal, Dionysus, Helios, Hercules, Horus, Osiris, Perseus, and Theseusas as the
"Birthday of the Unconquered Sun".
It wasn't until around 330-350 CE
that the Christian church adopted Dec 25th as the birthday of the
'Christ' Jesus.
Mithraism remained the primary
competitor of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire until Emperor Theodosius
declared Christianity the official state religion in 391 CE, and banned the
worship of Mithra.
Therefore…
It's entirely feasible that if Jesus
had never been born, there would be a multitude of
Mithra worshipers today, led by Bill O'Reilly and Sarah Palin,
decrying the 'war on Mithramas'!
They would demand that "Merry
Mithramas" be the official greeting instead of "Happy Holidays".
They would demand that depictions of
Mithra's birth be portrayed on courthouse lawns.
They would demand that Holiday trees
be called Mithramas trees.
They would be asking the 'liberal
fronts': "If Mithra was not born, what would you be attacking
now?"
And every candidate for public
office, especially for President of the United States, would declare his or her
unwavering belief in the miraculous birth of Mithra, and imply that anyone who
doesn't believe (or pretend to believe) in Mithra, or His doctrines, has no
place in our society.
So you see… Christians really do
have a wonderful life.
Don't you realize how foolish it is
to waste it every year on this 'war on Christmas' nonsense?
Kerry Tomasi
