Thursday, November 30, 2006

K-Mart: That's What I'm Talking About!

In the retailer chain K-Mart's latest TV commercial, Christmas is explicitly mentioned twice. First, saying "...a Christmas to remember..." and ending the commercial with K-Mart's apparent Christmas slogan: "Where Christmas comes together."

It seems that K-Mart can be added to the list of companies who are taking the step to cater to Christians and all Christmas fans this season, while many others are sticking with generic "holiday" references.

~Kingdom Advancer

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

"Nativity" Ad Loses Support

"Our guidance was that this very prominently placed [Christmas] advertisement would not only be insensitive to the many people of different faiths who come to enjoy the market for its food and unique gifts, but also it would be contrary to acceptable advertising standards suggested to the many festivals holding events on Daley Plaza," Jim Law

Full story here

Saturday, November 25, 2006

PETA and Live Nativity Scenes

It seems that PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has decided to get in on the battle for Christmas. They'll certainly pose as non-religious, concerned only with the welfare of animals, but ultimately, it looks as though they'll fall on the side of the battleline opposite of most Christians.

I got this story from Pushing Back the Frontiers of Ignorance. The details are a little sparse, and I'll update this is if I find out where the story is directly from, but until then, the gist of the story is here.

Update: LINK TO FULL STORY
The Rev. Jason Armstrong was confused by an e-mail this week from PETA, which admonished him for subjecting animals "to cruel treatment and danger," by forcing them into roles in the church's annual manger scene.
"We've never had live animals, so I just figured this was some spam thing," Armstrong said. "It's rough enough on us people standing out there in the cold. So we're definitely not using animals."
Jackie Vergerio, PETA's captive animals in entertainment specialist, said her organization tracks churches nationwide that use real animals in "living nativity scenes." Seems the confusion started with the church's choice of phrase. PETA flagged Free Methodist's display as a "living nativity," and indeed, that's how the church describes it on its Web site....In the letter to Armstrong, Vergerio shared some sad fates of previous nativity animals - like Brighty the donkey, snatched from a nativity scene in Virginia and beaten by three young men. Ernie the camel fled a creche in Maryland but was struck and killed by a car. Two sheep and a donkey had to be euthanized after a dog mauling at a manger scene in Virginia. "Free Methodist's display is peaceful," Armstrong said. "The congregation erects the stable. Members spread straw and don costumes. Some even dress as manger animals."

I should note that it is essential that Christians stay level-headed. Any number of cruel and despicable things could be done to animals in nativity scenes. Those actions should be condemned. However, a list of a few freak cases is not sufficient to try to eliminate all living nativity scenes. Then, of course, there's the irony of it all: that live animals weren't even going to be used. Also, the unprofessional nature of receiving an e-mail rather than a phone call or even a personal visit. Plus, the subtle thing of saying that animals are "forced" into playing roles in nativities. Are they supposed to be asked...or, what exactly?

Why should Christians care about the difference between a regular nativity and a living nativity? Well, mainly, there's the concern of "give'em an inch, and they'll take a mile." Christians have largely ignored that concern for hundreds of years.
Then, there's the fact that Jesus' birth is a very real thing--and Christians should try to reenact it as realistically as possible in order to maximize its evangelistic and faith-strengthening value.

~ Kingdom Advancer

Friday, November 24, 2006

Who Do You Know?

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to balance Kingdom Advancing, The Christmas Watch, the rest of my life, and blog-surfing in order to create a strong core of teammembers on this blog for the next month and into the foreseeable future. Now, I think my resources are being a bit exhausted. So, my question for Austin, Jonathan, Keith, Lanna, and any visitor is: who do you know who might like to be a teammember? We may have a sufficient amount as it is, but, in a blog such as this, you never really can have too many.

So, let me know...or, if you feel so inclined, go to their blogs yourselves and invite them.

I'll post a real update as soon as possible and relevant.

~Kingdom Advancing


P.S. Keith, your blog is linked now.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving and Buckle Your Seatbelts!


Happy Thanksgiving! And, if you've been enjoying the pre-Thanksgiving "calm before the storm," all I can say is: enjoy it while it lasts! ;)
Starting just a little over 24 hours from now are the biggest 30 or so shopping days of the year. And, that along with other things, means that the battle over Christmas will only heat up even more. That's what The Christmas Watch is here for.
~Kingdom Advancer

Turkey Day?

Okay, I confess, this is about Thanksgiving, not Christmas. Sue me.

I just wanted to share that today, while I was at ACC (Austin Community College, where I take Chemistry for both high school and college credit), this guy was talking on the phone, and I heard him say something like, "Okay, so what are you doing for - ". He paused, "...turkey day?" It seemed like he was going to say thanksgiving, but decided that it wouldn't be appropriate to mention thanks to God. Rather, one should call it "Turkey Day," so as not to insult anyone.

I'm going caroling soon (in ASL, what's more), and all the songs are about Jesus, except "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," but that's just one in about ten, and theres nothing about Santa or Rudolph or anything like that, plus, it has the words "good tidings," which are straight out of the Bible.

I'm the newie~watch out!

My name is Lanna, and I am now part of the Christmas Watch.

Thou I am not all for the holiday, I do see an awful amount of Christmas things the are taking our beloved Christ out of our well known Christmas.
Things like Santa and elves, and getting gifts and displaying selfishness.


Some try to avoid these self-pleasing ideas, but it's hard to escape them.

When I was a little girl, maybe fiveish, I remember getting home after sharing our holiday with my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I had large garbage bags full of stuff, that my father was struggling to carry. But I remember saying "How come I didn't get very much? Everyone got more then me!"
My parents were up-set.

People give gifts, expecting gifts in return. Maybe bigger, maybe better, maybe many gifts.
People have it set deep in there minds at all times, what will I get for Christmas?
People think that you can let Christmas be of just giving to each other, and not giving of Christ.

Most people say that the time of the year is perfect for giving, is not the rest?

I'm not saying that I think that giving on this holiday is bad, I'm saying that if you can give all the presents you buy without getting something back, then you are celebrating the true Christmas.

Give to God's people, not to yourself. That's how I see that.

Lanna

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Mercedes-Benz: "winter event"

So is that what it has come to? The car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is calling its sale for the following season a "winter event." Talk about dulling down the holidays--Christmas in particular, of course.

This, personally, is the one I really don't like. People can choose between Christianity, non-Messianic Judeaism, and Islam when it's set before them this time of year. But, the real, most concerted effort against Christ and Christmas in these modern times seems to be coming from those who want to make everything "relative," and eventually, atheistic.

Mercedes-Benz would be the ones to jump on the bandwagon of this type of trend, though, wouldn't they? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they have to worry too much about offending "mainstream" Christians.

~Kingdom Advancer

Monday, November 20, 2006

Merry Christmas...AND Happy Holidays!!!

On a Christian radio station here locally where I live, a mall had a commercial that said in sing-song, and I quote: "Merry Christmas, and happy holidays." Talk about wanting to have your cake and eat it too!

Actually, though, this is probably one of the better scenarios. It would be impractical--to say the least--and perhaps even insincere, for a commercial to say "Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, and Happy whatever-else-you-might-celebrate." And, on the other hand, I think you all already know how I feel about the total exclusion and demoting of Christmas through the use of "happy holidays" and "season's greetings" as "one size fits all" terms.

It's interesting, isn't it, to see how a business will try to position itself for success? This mall is obviously trying to make all their demographics happy. They probably will succeed with such methods, as well, except, of course, making the most "tolerant," "relativistic," and--frankly--extremist secularists happy.

~Kingdom Advancer

Sunday, November 19, 2006

This Christmas...A Diamond is Forever...

Jewelry companies aren't stupid. They know that Christmas is sweet and romantic...period. Therefore, they are not afraid to specifically mention Christmas, show a Christmas tree, etc., in their commercials.

I've already seen two Christmas commercials for jewelers, and we are not even at Thanksgiving! One was Kay Jewelers ("Every kiss begins with Kay"); while I'm not sure what the other one was, but it's motto was "A diamond is forever."

I'll note once again that mentioning Christmas isn't so much a risk as mentioning Christ's part in Christmas, but it is worthy of note anyway, although once the commercials start pouring in after Thanksgiving they might be impossible to keep up with.

~Kingdom Advancer

Best Buy and Geico: Santa-mas?

Best Buy and Geico Insurance Company are two of the first entities to get holiday television commercials up-and-running. Both of their spots include Santa; neither include mention of Christmas.

This may seem like nit-picking, but it is conspicuous: Santa has little or no relation to Christ--although he has become a symbol for Christmas (not the generic "holidays"). In fact, Santa Claus seems to be one of the older and tried and true attempts to get Christ out of Christmas--move somebody else in His place!

Besides, Best Buy has made publicly known that they won't make any exclusive references like "Merry Christmas" this season.

Anyways...you still can't make too harsh a judgment on a commercial with Santa.

~Kingdom Advancer

Saturday, November 18, 2006

USA Today

This is Austin, a new team member. I'm a little spy, looking out for the attempts of our society and specific organizations to remove Christ completely from Christmas and our culture in general.

Check out this article by USA Today about Christians who are fighting to put Christ back into Christmas:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-12-21-holidaysuit_x.htm

Now that's bold! In case you missed it, this lady was so fed up with the removal of Christ from Christmas that she brought a cake to her son's school that said, "Happy Birthday Jesus". That's bold, right there.

Message from Target: Merry Christmas?

With un-traditional music and decorations, the latest Target television commercial (which I saw a few days ago) is hardly overtly pro-Christmas. Yet, the company does flash the two magical words of the 2006 holiday season--"Merry Christmas"--at the end of the spot, right beneath its famous logo. The words are on there for about a total of three seconds, and they're almost hard to read. Nevertheless, it's progress.

Remember, this is the same Target store that has in the past banned Salvation Army Santas from standing outside the store. (I don't know if that ban is still in effect, or not.)

Hmm....Confusing...We'll have to keep an eye on this one.

~Kingdom Advancer

Friday, November 17, 2006

This is the Christmas Watch

Yeah, like the "Neighborhood Watch," only not. This blog is all about Christmas. Yet, the main focus is watching the Christmas scene. What stores aren't afraid of Christmas? What stores are? What TV shows? What radio stations? What brands? What politicians? What celebrities?

Who only will say "Happy Holidays"? Who refuses to show a Nativity scene? Who wants Christ out of Christmas? What's the ACLU, Michael Newdow, and others doing?

This is the blog where I encourage everyone to post what they see, hear, read, etc. I even want to know what you think (about what will happen, about what's already happened, etc.) If you want to become a team-member, that's even a possibility, so that your info will be more visible (not just a comment). Just let me know (so that I can go through some basic qualifications with you).

I don't know how much traffic this site will get, especially since the majority of my posts, including on Christmas, will be found on my main blog, Kingdom Advancing . However, I just wanted to offer a convenient alternative to forever updating my post, The Battle Resumes, found on my main blog.

~Kingdom Advancer