Can we thank the Catholics for Christmas? Well maybe since it is based on the Christ Mass held on 25th of December. But, we do add in other traditions as we go along.
We acquired a great book titled "A pioneer Christmas : celebrating in the backwoods in 1841" by Barbara Greenwood from the library. It uses a fictional family of mainly Scottish background to show how it was that Christmas was celebrated by pioneers back in the mid 1800's. You get some tidbits about the Germans, and how things started to blend. An over all informative book.
It's the Germans that give us the Tree tradition, the garlands and such from most of the northern Europeans. You also get the traditions of St Nicholas and all his secret gift giving from some Greeks, but that tradition also ended up in the north of Europe. The mayor in the "Hans Brinker" story dresses as st nick to deliver some goodies (mostly fruit and candy) to the children. And the dutch have the shoes by the door tradition which interestingly carried over into various parts of Brazil. My wife mentions they left out shoes hoping for a treat or two on Christmas back when she lived in the interior of Ceará. The idea of stocking seems to be a bit more North American. Though the claymation "Santa Claus is coming to town" would tell you the use of stockings was to get a around some rules created by the burgermeister.
What the book shows and tells so well is that various cultures brought with them to the Americas various traditions for the Christmas/holiday season. Over time the best or most practical were merged and retained. This fomented into what we in the United States of America now consider Christmas. And now that concept of our Christmas is heading all over the world; influencing other cultures; due to our popular movies like Home Alone, It's a wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Santa Claus is coming to town, The Grinch Stole Christmas and the like.
Now many are complaining that the holiday has become too commercialized. You feel like you have to give presents to everyone, cards to a ton of people and the real reason for the season is being lost. Yes, it should be a time of reflection, celebration of the birth of the Christ child, a time to spread the "Good News" of the gospel. A time to get together with friends and family. A time to check on the widows, the lonely, the down trodden and give a helping hand to those in need.
Interestingly my daughter performed a few interesting songs for the winter concert this year at school. One is "Do you need a reason" a song that mentioned almost nothing religious but, rather a reason to celebrate the season - LOVE. Not bad but it leaves out the religious aspects of Christmas. They did get to learn the draddle song the Jewish people use. Nothing for Kwanzaa though. A simple blend of somewhat religious and secular. A little something for everyone.
I did like the O Tannenbaum she learned in German. She got the accent down but, that could be associated to the German blood floating around with a ton of other stuff in her body.
I'm including the lyric for the part she learned here as reference
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur
zur Sommerzeit,
Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
How loyal are your leaves/needles!
You're green not only
in the summertime,
No, also in winter when it snows.
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
How loyal are your leaves/needles
So as we try and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas we should take some time out to slow down and try and enjoy ourselves. And try coming up with a new Tradition that is a little less commercial and more holding to the real meaning of the season.
Buaidh - NO - Bas
Ramblings and finding of items or thoughts relating to Brilliance of my Ancestors and other current issues.
Showing posts with label catholics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catholics. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Are Mormons "Christian"?
I was recently reading a good article in the Desert news entitled "Mormons, Evangelicals discuss differences" by Joseph Walker.
This article was full of insightful information and in some respects things I had not considered.
I've known for some time that we as Latter-Day Saints are accused of not being "Christian" and that one of our main throw backs or responses is the official name of the church - "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints". What I learned in the article is that our view of being "christian" is not the same as what others deem as being "christian".
"To a Mormon, the claim that they are not Christian is confusing," said Dr. David Campbell, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and a leading researcher on faith in American life. "They point to the name of Jesus Christ in the church's official name and wonder how they can be considered anything other than Christian."
"When an evangelical Christian says 'Mormons aren't Christians,' what they are really saying is, 'Mormons don't believe the same things I believe about Jesus,'" he said "They are referring to very specific beliefs. But when Mormons say 'Christian,' they're thinking of a religious orientation that has a much broader meaning, that encompasses a lot of different Christian possibilities. So in a sense you have the two sides talking past each other, using the same words to mean different things."
Mormons, Evangelicals discuss difference - Deseret News
So I began to realize that it is more then just them being callus or such. They believe in Jesus but they may for example believe that he does not have a body or that Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Ghost are one. You can argue for days on the topics above. Some seem more logical then others, and some have interesting bible verses to back up one side or the other.
Like for example after Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan he hears the voice of the Father, and the Holy Ghost descends in the form of a dove. So was he speaking to himself out loud? And did he have a portion of himself descend out of the heavens? Neither of these make much sense logically and/or physically but remember when we are dealing with faith we are dealing with - things which are hoped for and not seen; - Ether 12:6
It is because of these sutler differences that some will classify LDS as non-christian and others will accept them as christian in the faith.
One thing that was new to me is the division within Christianity. I did not know there were so many - under the main umbrella you have Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant. Then under the protestant umbrella you have 3 more divisions - mainline Christians (Baptists, Methodists etc), fundamentalists (ultra-conservatives) and then the evangelicals (middle ground guys).
"That's a matter of some debate," Millet said. "Some think we should be a fourth umbrella of Protestant Christianity. Others think we should be a fourth umbrella of Christianity, along with Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants." Mormons, Evangelicals discuss difference - Deseret News
I would kind of lean toward a 4th umbrella alongside the Catholics and protestants. First off since we believe in a corruption of the original church and a falling away we can't join in with the Catholics or eastern orthodox people and since we believe in a restoration we also don't fall under the protestant umbrella. What would we be protesting? The lack of current revelation? The fact that authority was corrupted and/or lost? Or how about that Jesus and God the Father both have bodies of flesh and bones and are distinct beings?
I guess I could see where some would throw us in with the protestants but I'd push for 4th umbrella outside their group.
So back to the over all question brought up in the beginning. Are Mormons "Christians"? I guess that will depend on what your views are as a christian.
"Who has the right to decide whether a man or a woman is Christian?" Millet asked. "Who has the power to gaze into another person's soul and know their deepest desires, their eternal yearnings, the object and source of their faith? Mormons, Evangelicals discuss difference - Deseret News
And I know we are guilty of it in the reverse. My daughter has a hard time excepting others as fellow believers in Christ at school because they have a different view on Jesus. She commonly will state - they don't believe in Jesus. Hard at times to help her realize there are various beliefs and sometimes people just act differently because of it. So we tell her - Unless they state it clearly - "I don't believe in Jesus" then you can't assume anything. And none of this makes them bad people either.
So when some callus person comes round stating junk like "Mormons are not Christians" or things like " they don't deserve 1st amendment protections since they are not Christians" just tell them to do like Jesus would and act like the Christians they claim they are.
Buaidh - NO - Bas
This article was full of insightful information and in some respects things I had not considered.
I've known for some time that we as Latter-Day Saints are accused of not being "Christian" and that one of our main throw backs or responses is the official name of the church - "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints". What I learned in the article is that our view of being "christian" is not the same as what others deem as being "christian".
"To a Mormon, the claim that they are not Christian is confusing," said Dr. David Campbell, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and a leading researcher on faith in American life. "They point to the name of Jesus Christ in the church's official name and wonder how they can be considered anything other than Christian."
"When an evangelical Christian says 'Mormons aren't Christians,' what they are really saying is, 'Mormons don't believe the same things I believe about Jesus,'" he said "They are referring to very specific beliefs. But when Mormons say 'Christian,' they're thinking of a religious orientation that has a much broader meaning, that encompasses a lot of different Christian possibilities. So in a sense you have the two sides talking past each other, using the same words to mean different things."
Mormons, Evangelicals discuss difference - Deseret News
So I began to realize that it is more then just them being callus or such. They believe in Jesus but they may for example believe that he does not have a body or that Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Ghost are one. You can argue for days on the topics above. Some seem more logical then others, and some have interesting bible verses to back up one side or the other.
Like for example after Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan he hears the voice of the Father, and the Holy Ghost descends in the form of a dove. So was he speaking to himself out loud? And did he have a portion of himself descend out of the heavens? Neither of these make much sense logically and/or physically but remember when we are dealing with faith we are dealing with - things which are hoped for and not seen; - Ether 12:6
It is because of these sutler differences that some will classify LDS as non-christian and others will accept them as christian in the faith.
One thing that was new to me is the division within Christianity. I did not know there were so many - under the main umbrella you have Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant. Then under the protestant umbrella you have 3 more divisions - mainline Christians (Baptists, Methodists etc), fundamentalists (ultra-conservatives) and then the evangelicals (middle ground guys).
"That's a matter of some debate," Millet said. "Some think we should be a fourth umbrella of Protestant Christianity. Others think we should be a fourth umbrella of Christianity, along with Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants." Mormons, Evangelicals discuss difference - Deseret News
I would kind of lean toward a 4th umbrella alongside the Catholics and protestants. First off since we believe in a corruption of the original church and a falling away we can't join in with the Catholics or eastern orthodox people and since we believe in a restoration we also don't fall under the protestant umbrella. What would we be protesting? The lack of current revelation? The fact that authority was corrupted and/or lost? Or how about that Jesus and God the Father both have bodies of flesh and bones and are distinct beings?
I guess I could see where some would throw us in with the protestants but I'd push for 4th umbrella outside their group.
So back to the over all question brought up in the beginning. Are Mormons "Christians"? I guess that will depend on what your views are as a christian.
"Who has the right to decide whether a man or a woman is Christian?" Millet asked. "Who has the power to gaze into another person's soul and know their deepest desires, their eternal yearnings, the object and source of their faith? Mormons, Evangelicals discuss difference - Deseret News
And I know we are guilty of it in the reverse. My daughter has a hard time excepting others as fellow believers in Christ at school because they have a different view on Jesus. She commonly will state - they don't believe in Jesus. Hard at times to help her realize there are various beliefs and sometimes people just act differently because of it. So we tell her - Unless they state it clearly - "I don't believe in Jesus" then you can't assume anything. And none of this makes them bad people either.
So when some callus person comes round stating junk like "Mormons are not Christians" or things like " they don't deserve 1st amendment protections since they are not Christians" just tell them to do like Jesus would and act like the Christians they claim they are.
Buaidh - NO - Bas
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