I’m kind of baffled by the paucity of reader requests, compared to the celebration we had here last year. C’mon now, folks! It’s only 16 days to Christmas! I’d rather post hymns than politics, but I can do both.
Meanwhile, I like this carol so much, I’m posting it again–this time by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band, performing it the old-fashioned way. And if the Hillsboro, Oregon, school district doesn’t like it, so much the better!
I have a bee in my bonnet this morning: supposed “scholars”–they think we won’t be able to see they’re atheists–trying to convince us that certain Christmas carols are nothing but old pagan stuff with Christian trappings, and that Christmas itself is nothing but a pagan winter festival under another name.
It is an old, old heresy to say that the physical world of matter, nature, the human body, etc., is altogether wicked and that only the spiritual is good; and therefor only pagans can appreciate nature, blah-blah. So if I respond to the sight of cardinals perched on an evergreen bough in the snow, if I have an emotional response to the colors: bright red, soft brown, white and green–well, heck, that must mean I’m not a Christian… because, you see, all those colors had secret meanings to the Druids–
How do you type a Bronx cheer?
The Bible tells us God created all these things and took pleasure in them, and pronounced them very good (Genesis 1:31). Furthermore, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (Romans 1:20)–but pagans in their error worship the things that have been created, rather than the Creator (v. 25).
Christmas is a very sense-engaging holiday. Think bright colors, think good food, think music. It is not required of Christians that we not enjoy such things! If someone honors God by not partaking in this holiday, while we honor God by enjoying it–well, fine: either way, God is honored.
I mean to revel in Christmas with a clear conscience. It’s a way for me to proclaim that Christ did indeed come in the flesh, as an indisputable historical event that no amount of pseudo-intellectual pettifogging can erase.
And they can take their blatherings about “the stag god” with them, a long way off a short pier.
I have to go out and try to finish my Christmas shopping, but first a hymn: The Holly and the Ivy, sung by Mediaeval Baebes. I hope this old, old carol will get you in the mood to ask for more.
And please don’t anybody fall into the trap of thinking that any of the beauties of the natural world–holly, ivy, deer, a crisp clear winter morning–are anything but witnesses to the glory, the goodness, the wisdom, and the love of the God who created them. The only God–who sent His only begotten Son into this world in the flesh, Jesus Christ the Son of God… to save it.
I don’t know who’s singing this, but the video has more than 20 million views on youtube, so a lot of people like it. And there’s the usual sprinkling of atheists, loving the music but seeing no connection between it and God–like kids peering wistfully into a bakery and ignoring the sign that says “Come right on in, everything’s already paid for.” I wish I could tell them that the feeling they get when they listen to this music is one of the ways God has of communicating with us. But you do have to listen.
Requested by Laura: and I’m all ready and willing to post Christmas hymns as requested by the rest of you. So come on, now! Let’s see if we can’t get some of those kids to venture into the bakery.
I’m trying to stir up your Christmas spirit, folks! Let me fall back on this old, old Burgundian carol, Pat-a-Pan, one of my all-time favorites. This is an instrumental version, played medieval-style. If this one doesn’t work, I’ll just have to try again tomorrow.
I have to do some Christmas shopping this morning, so I’ll have to hustle to keep this blog up and running: but how can I get a better start than this? Do You Hear What I Hear?, sung by Bing Crosby–and I was amazed to learn this carol was only published in 1962.
Let’s have your Christmas hymn requests! Like, where is everybody? The hymn requests have dried up. Come on, now–let’s welcome Christmas 2016 in style.
My wife says I should tell you about this, so here goes.
Many years ago, the dentist next door got rid of a whole bunch of plaster dental molds. They were in rather nice cardboard sleeves, each set of choppers labeled as pertaining to a particular patient.
Well, I gave ’em out as Christmas presents to my family.
We were all gathered together at my Grandpa’s house–I don’t know how we all fit in there, every Christmas–and I had one gift-wrapped sleeve of dental molds for each guest. Ours is a small town, so chances were that the molds you received belonged to at least one person you actually knew. My mother, for instance, got a set of Wayne Whatsisname’s dental molds, who used to live around the block from us.
You should’ve seen the look on her face.
Everyone was flabbergasted, no one knew what to say–until my brother started giggling uncontrollably (I forget whose teeth he had), and next thing you know, they were all guffawing. It must have come as a great relief to realize this–er, gift–was just a gag.
Yes, we also gave out real presents. Nobody had to be content with a set of Priscilla So-and-so’s plaster teeth.
God promised Abraham that in him and in his seed–ultimately, in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God–all the nations of the world will be blessed. This promise is repeated throughout the Old Testament, in a variety of forms.
Which brings us to this video of a Japanese orchestra performing a composition by a German composer in praise of Jesus Christ, born in Judea 20 centuries ago. God has blessed all the nations of the world, for Christ is king for all of them.
Let us take great pains to declare that, in this 2016 Christmas season.
(And hey, everybody, I stand ready to post your Christmas hymn requests. Step right up and don’t be shy! You don’t need an alibi!)
I love this carol. It dates back to the 1600’s, although it wasn’t until sometime in the 1830s that it first appeared in print. This version is by Morning Vocals.
Christmas is coming! And we stand ready to proclaim it by posting your requests for Christmas hymns and carols. Remember what fun we had doing this, last Christmas? Well, it’s time to do it again!
They still don’t have a clue why they lost the presidency, both houses of Congress, 14 governorships, and a big bunch of state legislatures.
Well, a major reason is stuff like this.
The Hillsboro, Oregon, school district recently banned “all religious-themed [Christmas] decorations, including Santa Claus,” who, last time I looked, is not actually in the Bible (http://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/12/02/school-district-bans-santa-claus-from-classrooms/21619262/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D162657855_htmlws-main-nb ).
Why? You can’t have Christmas because you gotta bow to the “diverse perspectives and beliefs of our community.” The two atheists and three Moslems get respect, but a thousand Christians don’t.
Although we do have to be careful here, because liberals just love to blame Muslims for their desire and decision to ban Christmas: they’ve done it before and they’ll do it again. They hear one atheist grumble, and that’s all they need.
Naturally when this high-handed and fat-headed decision was announced, there was a social media firestorm as normal people recoiled in disgust, so naturally the “educators” backed down a bit and said they’d only be “policing” classroom Christmas decorations if they were “over the top”?
Over the top? What does that mean? Why don’t they tell us precisely what that means?
Well, enjoy it, pipsqueaks, while you’ve still got it. Your days of pushing us around are coming to an end. If President Trump doesn’t smack you down, the American people will find someone who will.