Gibson Claims Anti-Christian Bias Fuels Secular Left's War on Christmas
by Chad Groening
November 15, 2005
(AgapePress) - - The author of a new book says it reveals how the American Civil Liberties Union and other anti-Christian groups are heating up the war against Christmas, even when it comes to Christmas symbols that are purely secular in nature.John Gibson is the anchor of Fox News Channel's "The Big Story." His new book is called The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse Than You Thought (Sentinel, 2005). In it, the author contends that secular militants have expanded their war on Christmas to go after things regarded by most people as innocent emblems of a primarily secular federal holiday.
"The people who are trying to keep Christians out of city hall, keep them out of schools, are now going after what are recognized by most people in America -- and the United States Supreme Court -- as purely secular symbols of the Christian holiday, Christmas," Gibson asserts. And, he points out, reverence for the so-called separation of church and state does not adequately explain the apparent particular animus toward Christmas and Christians as opposed to other religious holidays and observances.
The investigative reporter examines the ample evidence of the secular left's bias, citing such cases as that of certain state government workers in Illinois who were barred from saying the words "Merry Christmas" at work; and the case of local Rhode Island officials who banned Christians from participating in a public project to decorate a City Hall lawn.
He also points to a New Jersey school where even instrumental versions of traditional Christmas carols were prohibited; and an Arizona district where school officials banned any reference in a class project to the religious history of Christmas.
There are many similar stories gathered in the pages of Gibson's book, describing similar challenges and attacks on free expression where the celebration of Christmas is concerned.
"The common denominator is, you would ask a city manager in Eugene, Oregon, 'Why did you cause all that trouble for yourself by banning Christmas trees?' and he would say, 'Well, because they're Christian,'" the writer explains.
"There is this kind of casual and accepted bias against Christians and Christian symbols," Gibson contends, "even if the symbol is perceived to be a symbol of Christianity by the secularists or the objectors and it's not perceived to be one by the Christians themselves."
It little matters, the author insists, because the secular left in America is systematically trying to remove every vestige of Christmas from the public square, even when it comes to symbols that have nothing to do with the Christian aspects of the holiday.
"The only thing that one can conclude is that this reveals a bias against Christians which would not be expressed against any other religious group," Gibson says. But while these militant secularist liberals cloak their war on Christianity in the jargon of constitutional rights, he asks, what about the right to freedom of expression for millions of Americans who want to celebrate their traditional holiday without having to do so behind closed doors?
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
