A Jewish Man’s Look At Christmas (25 Years Later)

I first wrote this article for the Calvary Times Magazine’s 1990 Christmas addition.  As the years have passed, political correctness has caused Christmas to be less about Jesus and more about avoiding offending murderous Muslims.  The Constitutional Republic appears to be gone.  Self-proclaimed masterminds run the country.  Thanks to sin-induced, political stupidity, I live in the state that is # 1 in under-age and teen use of marijuana.  Even the Peanuts cartoon character, Linus, is banned from explaining the truth about Christmas and what it means.  The next generation is missing the incredible, mysterious miracle the scriptures proclaim – God with us.  Our granddaughter refers to the characters in her front yard’s nativity scene as, “The neighbors.”  At least they’re quiet.

I have followed Jesus for over 45 years.  However, I am Jewish, raised Orthodox, and I live in a secular culture.  For most Jews, Christmas does not make much sense.  Even as a believer, it still lacks clarity.  I have listened to all the reasons why we celebrate Christmas.  I have not heard one that satisfies my personal need to understand why so many millions make such a big fuss over it?  As Charles M. Schulz wrote for his Peanuts character in his classic movie, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Charlie Brown cries, “Does anybody really know what Christmas is all about?”

Is it to honor Christ’s birthday?  That’s what many people claim.  If it were, then why are so many people pushing and shoving in stores looking for that meaningless gift that’s neither wanted or needed to give some not too distant relative.  Today, I join the madness by using other tools for purchasing, and keeping delivery services busy.  If we were honoring Christ’s birthday, wouldn’t we go about this stress inducing activity with more inner peace and joy?

My decade-long observations show me that the opposite is true.  Statistics alone indicate that there are more people suffering from depression, more suicides and homicides executed, more adulterous affairs, more crimes of passion committed, more traffic accidents related to drunk or drug abuse driving occurring, than at any other single time of the year.  Is this Christmas?

Why did the church pick a day that pagan’s have always used to celebrate the winter solstice?  It’s a mathematical impossibility for Jesus to have been born during this time of year anyway.  We know from scripture Jesus was thirty-three and a half years of age when He died on the cross, meaning he was born in the September/October time frame.  Historically, a census is taken at the beginning of a new year.  All of Palestine at the time of Jesus’ birth recognized the New Year at Rosh Hashanah, which always falls in our September/October time of year.  It was the census that forced Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem.  The evidence from scripture and history circumstantially points to an early fall birth for our Lord.  If we are honoring His birthday, why don’t we honor it a bit closer to when it more probably occurred?

And what does the Lord Himself think about all this wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, trees and lights?  Does He have an opinion on all this?  I think we can see one from scripture.  In Matthew’s Gospel, in Chapter 15, verses 1 through 15, and in Mark’s Gospel, Chapter 7, verses 1 through 13, the Lord’s attitude towards these traditions we annually practice is made clear by His own words.  I see a parallel between what Jesus told the people then and what I’m sure He’d repeat today.  We have invalidated the Word of God by our traditions.

Obviously, nothing I think, say, or write is going to change any of these things.  The miracle of Christmas is God chose to leave the glory of His Kingdom, be born as a man, live a sinless life, pay the full penalty for mankind’s sins, and rise again to forever make intercession for all who place their faith and trust in Him.  All we know is natural light.  We have no clue what the light of God’s glory is like and what Jesus gave up to save us.

Until He returns, people will continue to flock to shopping centers and purchase gifts to exchange for whatever purpose they hold dear.  It still looks real strange to us who have learned about God from a different point of view.  Without truth, the way Christmas is celebrated does little to prove to my Jewish brethren that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah of Israel.  To all that I might add, Happy Birthday Lord Jesus, whenever it is.

Thanks for reading.  If our LORD permits, let the restoration of our Constitutional Republic begin for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

For further entertaining and educational reading regarding a past Constitutional crisis, I linked my Christian, Historical Fiction, Civil War series here: Destination Hope. 

   

GOP Debate Number Five

Well, the GOP debates for 2015 are over.  The so-called experts have offered their opinions.  The GOP establishment continues to plot, conspire, and prepare to circumvent the will of Republican primary voters and force us to accept another marginal candidate who will do their bidding.  Regardless of their vain plans, the non-traditional presidential hopefuls continue to impress with their proven abilities to solve real problems.

So, what do we have?  Unfortunately, Donald J. Trump did not know that our nuclear triad consisted of air, land, and sea launched nuclear weapons.  The triad strategy was designed as a deterrent against a Cold War enemy.  Although the enemy remains, the triad strategy will not work against the death-cult of Islam.  The current occupier of the Whitehouse has deteriorated our military capabilities.  Thus, the next president will need to make rebuilding our military a national priority.

But maybe we are seeing the formation of a future administration – a team of extremely talented people.   Donald J. Trump sustained his # 1 position and will probably win the nomination assuming the GOP establishment lets the process play out without gross manipulation.  I think Dr. Ben Carson’s calm demeanor is better suited for the presidential office; however, I believe Mr. Trump will be our next president.  Competent people surround him on the debate stage.  He wants to use our best individuals to make America safe and great.  He would do well to consider the following line up:

·      Texas Senator Ted Cruz – Vice President.  Senator Cruz would bring Constitutional balance to the top executive ticket.  Hugh Hewitt made specific note of Senator Cruz’s record of successfully arguing many cases before the United States Supreme Court.  Senator Cruz knows and understands the Constitution.

·      Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina – Secretary of State.  Ms. Fiorina has global connections that can be put to great use.  She can renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal and perform a real, “Reset,” with Vladimir Putin.  Also, she understands the ever-changing technology threats and I’m confident she will not keep TOP SECRET classified information on a personal computer server.

·      Kentucky Senator Rand Paul – Secretary of the Treasury.  Senator Paul wants to audit the Federal Reserve, and it should be.  Maybe he can reign in, if not remove, those lofty economic manipulators.  This would be his opportunity to use his commitment to fiscal discipline for the nation’s good.

·      South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham – Secretary of Defense.  He understands that the defense of our nation is the number one responsibility of our Federal Government’s Executive Branch.  If given the mission to rebuild our military, and use it, his vast military experience will be an asset to this severely neglected department.

·      Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum – Secretary of Homeland Security and Head of the National Security Council.  His passion for national security coupled with his understanding that Islam has apocalyptic designs on all of Western civilization is mandatory to establish national security strategies while balancing individual civil liberties.

·      Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee – Department of Education.  He understands how important it is to decentralize education and return its control to local schools.  The Department of Education was created by President Carter and has outlived its usefulness.  Governor Huckabee’s mission should be to dismantle this union controlled bureaucracy.

·      New Jersey Governor Chris Christy – Attorney General and Head of the Department of Justice.  As the nation’s top prosecutor, he would not waste taxpayer resources to investigate local police departments for social justice causes.  His responsibility is to protect the constitutional requirement of provide equal justice under the law.

·      Florida Senator Marco Rubio – Concentrated Departments of Commerce/Labor.  Since the missions of Commerce and Labor overlap and duplicate each other, President Trump should combine them into one and charge Senator Rubio to eliminate government duplication and waste.  In addition, this department and corresponding agencies should be transitioned to the individual states to stimulate economic growth.

·      Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush – Department of Energy.  Since Governor Bush hails from an energy family, his mission should be to promote an, “All of the above,” energy development environment, including completing the Keystone Pipeline.  Another key objective would be to dismantle the business-killing Environmental Protection Agency (another President Carter creation).

·      Retired Pediatric Neurosurgeon Doctor Ben Carson – Surgeon General and Head of the Department of Health and Human Services.  Dr. Carson is the best man to make sure Obamacare is dismantled and replaced by a non-governmental controlled, patient-centered, health-care system, which is effective, efficient, and economical.  His key objective should be to stop the illegal and unconstitutional transfer of earned wealth.

·      Ohio Governor John Kasich – Head of the Office of Management and Budget.  He can bring his over-stated budget balancing experience to tackle a national debt that will most likely exceed $20 Trillion by the time we reach January 2017.

In a government this big, I cannot find a useful place for Former New York Governor George Pataki.  I think it is time for him to retire.

I know all of the presidential hopefuls believe they can do a better job than the front-runner and probable Republican nominee.  If the team above could learn to work together under Donald J. Trump’s leadership, they could become a strong force for good in preserving and protecting our Constitutional Republic.

I have another data point to consider.  Members from our neighborhood have gathered for each debate.  We watched and discussed the positives and negatives of each candidate.  Since the closing ceremony of the Centennial Institute’s 2015 Western Conservative Summit (WCS), I have supported and worked for Doctor Ben Carson and his campaign.  Tuesday night, everyone who participated in our neighborhood debate party decided to back Donald J. Trump.  Mr. Trump must address the thousands who are sure to attend the 2016 WCS.

Thanks for reading.  If our LORD permits, let the restoration of our Constitutional Republic begin for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

For further entertaining and educational reading regarding a past Constitutional crisis, I linked my Christian, Historical Fiction, Civil War series here: Destination Hope.

Donald J. Trump Has a Plan

I have heard people say Donald Trump does not have a plan.  Other GOP presidential hopefuls such as, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Former Governor Jeb Bush, Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, indictable Democrat hopeful Hillary Clinton, uncountable political pundits, GOP establishment hacks, and media commentators have voiced their respective opinions.  But newsflash to these elite know-it-alls, a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States until we can, “find out what the Hell is going on,” is a plan, and a good, common sense one.

I am not on the Trump bandwagon, yet, but I come from a defense-systems manufacturing background.  If something, anything, negatively impacts a product’s quality, performance, or more importantly, safety, the first thing we would do is stop all production.  Then, we would perform a thorough root-cause analysis to determine, “what the Hell,” caused the problem.  Once discovered, we would prepare and propose a detailed and executable corrective action plan.  The plan would include working procedures to prevent the problem from reoccurring.  All of these corrections would undergo rigorous testing to ensure that the fix worked.  Then, we would reengage production.

Thus, when Donald J. Trump says, if elected, he would stop a people group from entering our country, a people who have proven they wish to do Americans harm, he is simply proposing a safe first step to correcting our broken visa system.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for reading.  If our LORD permits, let the restoration of our Constitutional Republic begin for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

For further entertaining and educational reading regarding a past Constitutional crisis, I linked my Christian, Historical Fiction, Civil War series here: Destination Hope.