LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY gleef)

Apparently, several megachurches are canceling Christmas services this year to "allow staff members and volunteers to spend the holiday with their families." To make up for lost preaching, most of these churches are planning extra services on Christmas Eve.

The churches listed in the article are:

• Southland Christian Church; Nicholasville, KY (Near Lexington)
• Willow Creek Community Church; South Barrington, IL (Near Chicago)
• Mars Hill Bible Church; Grandville, MI (Near Grand Rapids)
• North Point Community Church; Alpharetta, GA (Near Atlanta)
• Fellowship Christian Church; Dallas, TX (and surrounding area, the church has four campuses)
• Crossroads Christian Church; Lexington, KY

Does anyone know what's up with this? Anything involving multiple megachurches is instantly suspect to me, and combined with the whole "War on Christmans" meme that the Religious Right is pushing lately, it makes me very suspicious, but I don't see what the point behind this is. I also don't know whether or not these churches normally do this (megachurches have much higher lay staff requirements than traditional ones), and this is much ado about nothing.

Also, possibly unrelated, the article mentions Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY is holding a single service (apparently with skeleton staff), and really pushing their Christmas Eve services instead.

(Snagged from chipuni)

PS: Mods, could we have a "War on Christmas" tag?

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY gleef)

A little offtopic, but I found it interesting. Slate Magazine has an slideshow/article on Megachurches, focusing on their design:

The Age of the Megachurch

I found it fascinating, it includes descriptions, interior photos and exterior photos of five Megachurches. It can really help people understand what standing in a Megachurch is like if they haven't experienced one themselves.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wyldraven)

Justice House of Prayer (JHOP)

( Excerpts direct from the JHOP site )

ABC Nightline Report on JHOP

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY seshen)

Many people are thrilled to get a White House Christmas card, no matter what the greeting inside. But some conservative Christians are reacting as if Bush stuck coal in their stockings.

"This clearly demonstrates that the Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture," said William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

Bush "claims to be a born-again, evangelical Christian. But he sure doesn't act like one," said Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily.com. "I threw out my White House card as soon as I got it."
________________________________

Awww. Somebody piddled in their conservative egg nog.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY kalibex)

'Terri Schiavo's husband starts a PAC devoted to defeating the Bible-thumping politicians who used his comatose wife as a football.'

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY codeman38)

Blessed are the peacemakers?

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY silvaerina_tael)

Aside from some rather erronious statements regarding alternative paths

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/articles/article.html?id=10415

is pretty interesting

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY laevatein)

Hey, everyone, I've been lurking here for a while, and found this quite interesting. I'm a major in anthropology, and tend to have fun making connections between the media and current issues. I'm wondering if anyone has been following Veronica Mars at all?

( Major Spoilers for season 2, including tonight's episode )

Now is this me, or are they blatently making references to dominionist-type families? Do any other shows do this?

Sorry if I misread signs, but I've never approached this topic before.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY anadart)

From one of James Dobson's PAC's CitizenLink
--------------

CITIZENLINK DAILY UPDATE
Dec. 7, 2005

=========================
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Weigh in on School's Rewriting of 'Silent Night'

Think you've heard it all when it comes to the war on
Christmas? Not if you haven't heard what a Wisconsin
public school has done to "Silent Night."

The powers that be at Ridgeway Elementary, it seems, were
so offended by the lyrics to the song, which detail the
miracle of Christ's birth, that they rewrote them. The
version to be performed by children during this year's
"winter program" is called "Cold in the Night" and goes
something like this:

"Cold in the night, no one in sight/winter winds whirl and
bite/How I wish I were happy and warm/safe with my family,
out of the storm."

These details come courtesy of the religious-liberties law
firm Liberty Counsel, which is representing a concerned
parent and demanding school officials change the program
-- because their actions are a violation of the
Constitution.

"When a public school intentionally mocks Christian
Christmas songs by secularizing their content," Liberty
Counsel President Mat Staver said, "they cross the line
from a neutral position, which the Constitution requires,
to a hostile position, which the Constitution forbids."

You can help Ridgeway Elementary's principal, Julie Piper,
understand this truth by contacting her and letting her
know -- respectfully -- what you think of the school's
efforts to marginalize Christmas. You can call her at
608-924-3461 or e-mail her by visiting the link below and
clicking on the "Take Action" button.

http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/issues/alert/?alertid=8299621&type=CU

-------------------------------

So what's the difference with "christian" bands like the ApologetiX doing the same thing to popular "secular" songs?

They change the lyrics of songs many enjoy to lyrics promoting christian propaganda.
Where's the outrage with that? Dobson's Focus On the Family has purchased large amounts of Apologetix CD's in the past and promoted them for free (per members of the band).

It doesn't look as if the school was mocking Christian Christmas songs, just changing the lyrics to something everyone could relate to, not just christians.