tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4631419307709801942.post4304678952766053931..comments2023-11-05T02:34:50.611-06:00Comments on Presby • Opia: AdventJoan Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13858394238696729686noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4631419307709801942.post-59594959047733412942008-10-08T12:45:00.000-05:002008-10-08T12:45:00.000-05:00"Cultural Christmas" is the link bred in our bones..."Cultural Christmas" is the link bred in our bones from centuries past when our ancestors gathered to celebrate the light over-coming the darkness. It was the early Church that co-opted the natural celebrations of the season to promote another interpretation of the light over-coming the darkness. So let the church do its thing and the "culture" do its thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4631419307709801942.post-39700955356856953742008-10-07T21:30:00.000-05:002008-10-07T21:30:00.000-05:00Cheesehead, you are right about who wants Christma...Cheesehead, you are right about who wants Christmas carols at Advent. It's the 70+ers. And they are the ones who are there at Christmastide. I suppose it's the way it used to be. Thought Songbird and purechristianithink raise interesting ideas.Joan Calvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13858394238696729686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4631419307709801942.post-24284216899395899342008-10-07T21:20:00.000-05:002008-10-07T21:20:00.000-05:00Hmmm...the people begging for Christmas carols at ...Hmmm...the people begging for Christmas carols at my church right after T-giving are not parents of small children. They are 70+. (I understand that may be a Midwestern cultural difference. Our kids still learn the carols in school.)<BR/><BR/>I try to make Advent an incarnational season, and spend those four weeks unpacking it, maybe with limited success, but I try. For me, Advent <I>is</I> the counter voice to the dominant culture's version of Christmas. Again, that's what I try to convey.Juleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18324456402703897094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4631419307709801942.post-75732589682813498142008-10-07T19:30:00.000-05:002008-10-07T19:30:00.000-05:00I echo pcit and would add that if we wait for that...I echo pcit and would add that if we wait for that window to sing Christmas carols, our children will never learn them. We heard them everywhere, including in school, but that is no longer the case.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08235049965406944684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4631419307709801942.post-2824010137522267532008-10-07T13:50:00.000-05:002008-10-07T13:50:00.000-05:00purechristianithink Thanks for that comment. That...purechristianithink Thanks for that comment. That's a great way of looking at it.Joan Calvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13858394238696729686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4631419307709801942.post-2520615900413014342008-10-07T13:45:00.000-05:002008-10-07T13:45:00.000-05:00I'm a huge heretic when it comes to Advent purity....I'm a huge heretic when it comes to Advent purity. I think if the church is not talking about Christmas in December then we cede the field to the voices of Christmas as consumer opportunity. I think we need to counter the culture's version of Christmas with the Church's news of hope and incarnation at the same time the culture is broadcasting its version. What happens now is that while many pastors are patting themselves on the back for "holding the line" on Advent, people are hungry to hear a different word about Christmas. The incarnation, and other themes of the season are huge and important. They take a while to explore and unpack. You could spend all of December on it. If we refuse to talk about these things except during the "liturgically correct" time of December 24th-Jan 6th, (when most folks are visiting Grandma or skiing or otherwise not in church), we miss a huge opportunity.Karen Sapiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01952041607368514856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4631419307709801942.post-78461109139896875222008-10-07T13:37:00.000-05:002008-10-07T13:37:00.000-05:00I don't buy substitutionary atonement either. Spo...I don't buy substitutionary atonement either. <BR/><BR/>Spouse and I had quite a discussion last week after church because he thought my sermon *was* all about substitutionary atonement. (It wasn't. It was really about incarnation.) But that discussion told me that sometimes I need to put the dots a smidge closer together for the people.Juleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18324456402703897094noreply@blogger.com