President Obama's Christmas message centres on...

Nothing in his message indicates that he understands or believes that Jesus is God.

In fact his words seem to deliberately avoid that it.

 

Well, it certainly is a step up from his Thanksgiving message, where he thanked everyone except the Almighty.

 

You claimed that Obama's message centered on Christ.

It doesn't.

Obama's message centers around a theme of helping others.

Obama sounds as though the central meaning of Christmas is "helping others".

It isn't.

Christmas is a rememberance of when Jesus came into the world to begin His mission to redeem sinners through the shedding of His blood on the cross.

 

If Paul and Silas were there, they would have rebuked Obama.

 

Could low poll numbers going into an election year have something to do with it? Call me cynical.

 

Funny how many Christians just do not get it when it comes to helping others. What greater help could there be than Christ giving up his life to redeem, help us. Self-sacrifice in helping others is central in Christ's life and teachings.

And remember the judgement in Matthew. The judgment dwells on what? How we treated others. There are no questions about what did you believe in the final judgement scene in Matthew. It is actions that count. Show me your actions, your works and I will show you your faith.

We are called to a life of discipleship of helping others. Remember Bonhoeffer's wise words about discipleship, it may cost you your life.

 

Don't be too hard on him. G. Bush did not mention God in several of his Thanksgiving speeches. I saw a newscaster talk about this ... many presidents have not mentioned God in their Thanksgiving addresses. I do not have a link to this information, but I do not find it surprising that presidents do not mention God in every Thanksgiving speech. After all probably all of them have wrongly attributed the first Thanksgiving to the Pilgrims. It wasn't. The first Thanksgiving was held on the Berkley Plantation in Virginia in 1619 ... a year before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

 

On a different site last week this was being discussed, and I did a little shallow research, and there was a thanksgiving mass near at a site near El Paso in 1598. Then someone else claimed there was some kind of t-g event even earlier in Saint Augustine (FA).

Who knows? Maybe even Leif Ericsson roasted a thankgiving walrus a thousand years ago, or the Kennewick man feasted on thanksgiving salmon 9,000 years ago (oh Noah, now I see what I've opened this to).

 

Which no one had done until you made it the issue!

 

Sorry, Roger. That is bait and switch.

You said that Obama's "Christmas message" centered on Christ.

Clearly it does not.

To begin with he did not ever use the word "Christmas" instead twice he said "holiday season".

Furthermore, loving your neighbor while a teaching of Jesus is not the central message of Christmas.

Christmas is a rememberance of the Incarnation of the Son of Man as foretold in the Scriptures and the beginning of the fullfillment of the prophecies of the redemption of man through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

I am amazed that anyone here on the Baptist board would not already know and agree with this.

 

Again, you were the one who created the OP stating that Obama's Christmas message "centers on Christ".

Clearly it does not.

Clearly you were wrong.

I don't know why you even started this.

 

While I agree with you somewhat, I think you are giving him far too much credit. I say that in love and respect as I count you as a dear friend. Can we agree to disagree?

 

Anyone here see the error in this statement?

 

Roger, since Obama couldn't even bring himself to use the word "Christmas" how do you know that the "holiday season" that he is talking about isn't kwanzaa?