A new front in the Christmas war

I’ve always thought that the right wing’s bleating about their imaginary “War on Christmas” is as hilarious as it is absurd. It’s mostly a way for the entertainers on Fox Opinion channel to rile up their viewers—all sound and fury signifying nothing (which is kind of par for the course on Fox, of course).

But another group of Christians is taking the position I would’ve thought the right wing would do: Take the emphasis off the massive spending spree. They call themselves the “Advent Conspiracy” and they intend to get back to what Christians are supposed to believe the season is all about.

The TIME Magazine article linked to above says:

“In many ways, Advent Conspiracy has appropriated some of the traditional arguments of the conservative Christians who see themselves as defenders of Christmas. A popular rallying cry of the foot soldiers in the war on Christmas is "Jesus is the reason for the season." Often, however, it seems that being able to score a half-price Nintendo DSi and a "Merry Christmas" from the checkout clerk is the real prize. The Religious Right has spent decades casting secular culture as the enemy. And yet instead of critiquing the values of the consumer marketplace, many conservative Christians have embraced it as the battleground they seek to reclaim.”

That’s all clearly true. Personally, I think that’s because the right-wing christianist leaders are less interested in Christianity than they are in power.

I have no idea what these people’s brand of Christianity is the rest of the year. For all I know, I might not like them or their views any more than I like the rightwing christianists. However, at the very least, they’re presenting what’s more like my idea of what Christians ought to be saying about what’s supposed to be one of their holiest days.

At least we know that Fox won’t take up this position.