Even though Tiger Woods� indiscretions, the ins and outs of
health care reform, the climate change confab in Copenhagen, and Uganda�s anti-homosexual
death panels are all topics for discussion these days, nothing tops the War on
Christmas for some conservative Christian evangelical groups.
Here�s how Martha Boggs, the founder of Boss Creations,
describes the sorry situation Christians have been facing during the first
decade of the twenty-first century, and how she decided to combat it: �We have
figured a way to enhance the tradition of decorating a tree for Jesus at
Christmas by adding a cross that acts as a reminder of Him. By changing our
tree to include a cross, we are making a statement that we want to keep our
Christmas holiday! Our new tree and decorations ideas will not only help to
enhance our celebration of the Christmas holiday but will help to enlighten
those who may decorate for Christmas but may not be �Christians.��
And there you have it. The CHRIST-mas Tree. At the
family-friendly price of $399.99.
Two longtime conservative Christian
evangelical legal outfits engaged in the War on Christmas -- Liberty Counsel
and ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice) -- are two of the four other
sites Boss Creations recommends. A portion of the proceeds of all �CHRIST-mas�
Tree sales will go to support the American Center of Law & Justice, an
organization recently hailed by Business Week as �the leading
advocacy group for religious freedom,� as well as to the Liberty Counsel, a
nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing
religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family.
Boss Creations would probably prefer you not think about how
many toys you could contribute to Toys for Tots, how many meals you could
provide at a church-sponsored soup kitchen, or how many bags of groceries you
could donate to a Food Bank, for $399.99.
But my friends, allow me to ask this: Is a cross built into
a phony tree really enough of a statement during a war? Shouldn�t there be
something more? Something more authentic? Are the secularists winning when you
settle for a cross in a tree?
Let me suggest something before Martha Boggs comes up with
it.
How about attaching a person to the cross in the tree as a
live ornament? That person need not be nailed to the cross; a little Velcro and
a platform would make one�s stay not too unbearable. In fact it could become
part of your holiday, er, Christmas tradition.
Bill Berkowitz is a freelance writer and
longtime observer of the conservative movement. This article first appeared in Religion
Dispatches.