A Reminder and Some Updates

I just wanted to remind everyone that all of my posting is still taking place on We Want a Christian President...

Also, I'm officially suspending The Kingdom Courier. I hadn't sent an issue out since late November, and it simply did not pan out the way I had hoped. However, I am happy with what I am accomplishing on WWCP.

I will be leaving The Christmas Watch up for now, but it looks very improbable that I'll ever fully re-start this effort. If someone--preferably whom I know--would like to take it out of my hands, I'd gladly hand it over.

Must-Read and Act!!!

This doesn't have anything to do with Christmas, but I heartily urge you to check out this article. It is an important matter.

This is the article: http://kingdomadvancing.blogspot.com/2007/01/wrong-in-so-many-ways.html

Rescuing Christmas Music, Part Two

Read it here.

~Kingdom Advancing

Christmas Albums

Visit Kingdom Advancing to read about four of Kingdom Advancer's favorite Christmas albums.

~Kingdom Advancing

"The Nativity Story" Review

Follow this link to Kingdom Advancing to read a review of The Nativity Story.

~Kingdom Advancer

Checkin' the Naughty and Nice Lists (for the second time of many)

A site called War on the War on Christmas (Update: the list originally came from the Liberty Counsel at HelpSaveChristmas.org; thanks to Dumb Ox for pointing that out to me!) has their own version of the "Nice & Naughty" retailer list--like the one PatrickA has started. Here are some clips from their article of a few of the stores that Patrick has yet to mention that were noted there (By the way, I don't necessarily support that site; I'm just using it as a source here.). These are direct quotes from the other article, but I edited out stores that Patrick had already mentioned; I weeded out some less relevant details; and I stylized it a bit--with colors and bold and italics.
But with no more adieu:

NAUGHTY:

"Banana Republic – Web site has “Holiday Gift Guide” with no mention of any Christmas.

"Bed Bath & Beyond – No mention of any holidays.

...

"Dick’s Sporting Goods – Web site says gifts and has images, but no mention of Christmas.

"Eddie Bauer – Customer service would not recognize Christmas...

"Gap – “Holiday Survival Guide” no mention of Christmas.

...

"Lowes – In 2005, Lows stated they would modify their ads and no longer say things such as “Holiday trees”, however, their Web site has Holiday Living department and Holiday gift cards. Will not allow employees to greet customers with “Merry Christmas”.

...

"Mills Fleet Farm – (WI, MN, IA and ND) Changed their Christmas Catalog to “Toy and Gift Catalog”, replaced Christmas signs with “Holiday” signs. No mention of Christmas at all.

... "


It's interesting to note that this site put both K-Mart and Toys R' Us on the NAUGHTY list, whereas Patrick put it on the NICE list. Here's a comparison of their opinions:

Patrick on K-Mart: Another great example of a company not afraid to mention Christmas. Watch one of their commercials and you'll be pleased to hear copious mention of the term, and their slogan is "Where Christmas comes together". Also, they have one particular ad that begins with the slogan "Christmas on Elm Street", and two women go through the commercial singing alternative lyrics to the tune of "Hark! The Herald Angels, Sing". Sure, it wasn't the real lyrics about Jesus but it's closer than the new-age crap some of the retailers dish out, LOL....

Other site on K-Mart: Selling “Holiday trees” and “Holiday wreaths.”

Patrick on Toys R' Us: I'm not very familiar with Toys 'R' Us' initial Christmas campaign this year, but I think they were originally using "holiday", and were forced to use "Christmas" after a few threatened boycotts from small groups. Now, they still feature a "Holiday Shop", but have the slogan "Make it merrier this Christmas". It's a start. In either case, in today's PC-world we are forced to be content with even one measly mention of Christmas.

Other site on Toys R' Us: No mention of Christmas. “…Toys ‘R’ Us aims to be neutral in this regard… We endeavor to make our stores festive, while respecting that our customers celebrate many different customs throughout the holidays.”.

I guess you decide where these companies are on your list.

NICE:

"Dillard’s ~ Advertising their Christmas Catalog.

"JC Penney ~ Web site has their Christmas shipping countdown.

"Joann Fabrics ~ Offers Christmas and Holiday fabrics.

...

"L.L. Bean ~ Advertising and distributing their Christmas Catalog.

"Linens ‘N Things ~ Has a Christmas Shop and Christmas Checklist.

"Macy’s ~ “Merry Christmas!” on the homepage of their Web site.

"Michaels ~ Web site has a Christmas section.

... "


This list still isn't complete--of course--and, as I pointed out, there are points of controversy to be resolved. But, there are some good pieces of information in here.

~ Kingdom Advancer

More Than One Way to War on Christmas

From Pushing Back the Frontiers of Ignorance and BREITBART.com :

"A Muslim convert who talked about his desire to wage jihad against civilians was charged Friday in a plot to set off hand grenades at a shopping mall during the Christmas rush, authorities said.
Investigators said Derrick Shareef, 22, of Rockford, was acting alone and never actually obtained any grenades.
"He fixed on a day of December 22nd on Friday ... because it was the Friday before Christmas and thought that would be the highest concentration of shoppers that he could kill and injure," said Robert Grant, the agent in charge of the Chicago FBI office. Authorities said Shareef had been under investigation since September, when he told an acquaintance that "he wanted to commit acts of violent jihad against targets in the United States as well as commit other crimes." "

I know this doesn't have much to do with what we traditionally think of as the War on Christmas, but I found it intriguing anyway. I just wonder what some stores would say his reasoning was: "Because it was the Friday before December 25th" ; "Because it was the Friday before 'The Holidays'" ; "Because it would've been the holiday rush" ; "Because people would've been doing their last minute shopping before December 24th." Please...
The heart of America (Christians, traditionalists, and even some moderates) is fighting two battles simultaneously: one against secular-progressives and one against Islamic Fascists. One is trying to push Christians and traditionalists (and their beliefs and views) out of the public eye and square and into a dark, hidden corner--provided that they still get our money--and the other is trying to kill us. Both clearly disdain our faith and our views. While one might try to openly deny it, the other doesn't mind blatantly calling us "The Great Satan" and calling for "jihad." One seems to somewhat accept all religions except fundamentalist Christianity, and the other despises all religions except Islam.

~Kingdom Advancer

John Gibson's Book

I've never read this book (I just heard about it), soI can't officially endorse it necessarily, but it has to be an interesting read. Note the subtitle:

How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse Than You Thought.

Well, maybe worse than YOU thought. ;)

I do know John Gibson, for he is the anchor of the Fox News Channel show "The Big Story with John Gibson," which usually airs at 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. You don't need much more info than this book's subtitle to tell that he's conservative in his viewpoints.

This book was written last year, but it seems just as relevant today (or more).

Here are some tidbits from the book that I got from Amazon.com (to read a fuller description, take this link to Amazon):

• In Illinois, state government workers were forbidden from saying the words “Merry Christmas” while at work.

• In Rhode Island, local officials banned Christians from participating in a public project to decorate the lawn of City Hall.

• A New Jersey school banned even instrumental versions of traditional Christmas carols.

• Arizona school officials ruled it unconstitutional for a student to make any reference to the religious history of Christmas in a class project

~Kingdom Advancer

ACLU and a Nativity Scene: WHAT A COMBO!!!

I found this at Faultline USA. Linked from there was The Rapture is at Hand. They linked the site Ice Station Tango for the story, and Stop the ACLU for the picture, which actually comes from Right on the Right. (Just wanted to give proper credit. I don't know how accurate my "credit" is, but it's as best as I can do.)

Story:

The Young Conservatives of Texas - University of Texas Chapter announced today that they will be displaying an “ACLU Nativity Scene” on the West Mall of the University of Texas campus on Monday and Tuesday, December 4th and 5th. The group’s intent is to raise awareness on the extremity of the ACLU, and bring to light its secular-progressive efforts to remove Christmas from the public sphere. The display, the first of its kind in the nation, will feature characters that are quite a bit different than the standard crèche.
“We’ve got Gary and Joseph instead of Mary and Joseph in order to symbolize ACLU support for homosexual marriage, and of course there isn’t a Jesus in the manger,” said Chairman Tony McDonald. “The three Wise Men are Lenin, Marx, and Stalin because the founders of the ACLU were strident supporters of Soviet style Communism. The whole scene is a tongue-in-cheek way of showing the many ways that the ACLU and the far left are out of touch with the values of mainstream America.”
The scene will also display a terrorist shepherd and an angel in the form of Nancy Pelosi.
“The ACLU and other left-wing extremist groups are working diligently to destroy American’s rights to the free expression of religion,” said Executive Director Joseph Wyly. “We’ve already seen in Chicago an attempt to censor the nativity by a city government this week. It’s just more evidence that there is a War on Christmas being waged by the far-left in this country."




This is kind of out of the blue, but it has a good chance of doing a lot more good than one regular nativity scene. We'll see.

~Kingdom Advancer

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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