Merry Fishmas!

Some time ago, I was discussing with a friend about the ridiculous amounts of energy Christians spend each year protesting the use of the abbreviation “Xmas.” It seems that modern-day Christians believe that this abbreviation is an effort to remove Christ from Christmas. They seem to be offended that “secular humanists” would stoop so low as to remove Christ from the name of the holy holiday. It is spoken about with the same amount of contempt as the effort to remove “In God We Trust” from the U.S. currency. The belief is widespread and it recycles every year, gaining new followers and new ways to spread its fervor (ie: facebook).

BUT WAIT. Modern day secularists aren’t the origin of the “X” in Xmas. CHRISTIANS are. 16th century Christians, no less. For you see, the transliteration of “Christ” in the Greek language is “Xristos”, which begins with the Greek letter, “X” (chi). “Xmas” was an ecclesiastical abbreviation used by churchmen in tables & charts.

Back to my conversation with my friend. The thought struck me. If many Christians are ignorant to the fact that the “X” in “Xmas” actually is an ancient and honored abbreviation for “Christ”, then perhaps we need to make a change. Something that would be easily understood by everyone. Something that would ring true to believers everywhere. Something that would seem appropriate to be slapped on the back of an old minivan and sold in Christian bookstores everywhere for $5.95. [sense sarcasm] Something that would be instantly associated with Jesus. So to all you Christians out there who are embarrassed by “Xmas”, we proudly present a new abbreviation you can be proud of:

Yes, hypersensitive and knee-jerk Christians, I’m making fun of you. In the future, please try and make an effort to understand something before you go out and protest it. Heck, at least do a Wikipedia search – would that kill you?

Response to calling Republicans “Racists”

We’ve been hearing it pretty steady for a few weeks now. While no one from the Republican side, especially from the John McCain camp, have said anything about race, Barack Obama still claims they have. In recent weeks he has been all over the news trying to sell the line, “they’re going to say that I don’t look like all those other Presidents on the dollar bills”. This is playing the “preemptive victim” card. And then just today (Aug 15), Howard Dean, Chairman of the DNC, is quoted calling Republicans “The White Party”.

Well, here’s a little history test I’ve reprinted for everyone. See how you do. [Answers Below]
BLACK POLITICAL HISTORY: THE UNTOLD STORY*

1.  What Party was founded as the anti-slavery Party and fought to free blacks from slavery?
[  ]  a.  Democratic Party
[  ]  b.  Republican Party

2.  What was the Party of Abraham Lincoln who signed the emancipation proclamation that resulted in the Juneteenth celebrations that occur in black communities today?
[  ]  a.  Democratic Party
[  ]  b.  Republican Party

3.  What Party passed the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U. S. Constitution granting blacks freedom, citizenship, and the right to vote?
[  ]  a.  Democratic Party
[  ]  b.  Republican Party

4.  What Party passed the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 granting blacks protection from the Black Codes and prohibiting racial discrimination in public accommodations, and was the Party of most blacks prior to the 1960’s, including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
[  ]  a.  Democratic Party
[  ]  b.  Republican Party

5.  What was the Party of the founding fathers of the NAACP who were themselves white?
[  ]  a.  Democratic Party
[  ]  b.  Republican Party

6.  What was the Party of President  Dwight Eisenhower who sent U.S. troops to Arkansas to desegregate schools, established the Civil Rights Commission in 1958, and appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court which resulted in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision ending school segregation?
[  ]  a.  Democratic Party
[  ]  b.  Republican Party

7.   What Party, by the greatest percentage, passed the1957 Civil Rights Act and the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s?
[  ]  a.  Democratic Party
[  ]  b.  Republican Party

8.  What was the Party of President Richard Nixon who instituted the first Affirmative Action program in 1969 with the Philadelphia Plan that established goals and timetables?
[  ]  a.  Democratic Party
[  ]  b.  Republican Party

9.  What is the Party of President George W. Bush who supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s University of Michigan Affirmative Action decision, and is spending over $200 billion to fight AIDS in Africa and on programs to help black Americans prosper, including school vouchers, the faith-based initiative, home ownership, and small business ownership?
[  ]  a.  Democratic Party
[  ]  b.  Republican Party

10.  What Party fought to keep blacks in slavery and was the Party of the Ku Klux Klan?
[  ]  a.  Republican Party
[  ]  b.  Democratic Party

11.  What Party from 1870 to 1930 used fraud, whippings, lynching, murder, intimidation, and mutilation to get the black vote, and passed the Black Codes and Jim Crow laws which legalized racial discrimination and denied blacks their rights as citizens?
[  ]  a.  Republican Party
[  ]  b.  Democratic Party

12.  What was the Party of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Harry Truman who rejected anti-lynching laws and efforts to establish a permanent Civil Rights Commission?
[  ]  a.  Republican Party
[  ]  b.  Democratic Party

13.  What was the Party of President John F. Kennedy who voted against the 1957 Civil Rights law as a Senator, then opposed the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. after becoming president, and later had the FBI (supervised by his brother, Attorney General  Robert Kennedy) investigate Dr. King on suspicion of being a communist?
[  ]  a.  Republican Party
[  ]  b.  Democratic Party

14.  What is the Party of current Senator Robert Byrd who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, Senator Fritz Hollings who hoisted the Confederate flag over the state capitol in South Carolina when he was the governor, and Senator Ted Kennedy who recently insulted black judicial nominees by calling them “Neanderthals” while blocking their appointments?
[  ]  a.  Republican Party
[  ]  b.  Democratic Party

15.  What was the Party of President Bill Clinton who failed to fight the terrorists after the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, sent troops to war in Bosnia and Kosovo without Congressional approval, vetoed the Welfare Reform law twice before signing it, and refused to comply with a court order to have shipping companies develop an Affirmative Action Plan?
[  ]  a.  Republican Party
[  ]  b.  Democratic Party

16.  What is the Party of Vice President Al Gore whose father voted against the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s, and who lost the 2000 election as confirmed by a second recount of Florida votes by the “Miami Herald” and a consortium of major news organizations and the ruling by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission that blacks were not denied the right to vote?
[  ]  a.  Republican Party
[  ]  b.  Democratic Party

17.  What Party is against the faith-based initiative, against school vouchers, against school prayers, and takes the black vote for granted without ever acknowledging their racist past or apologizing for trying to expand slavery, lynching blacks and passing the Black Codes and Jim Crow laws that caused great harm to blacks?
[  ]  a.  Republican Party
[  ]  b.  Democratic Party

ANSWERS: All answers are “b”.

*This quiz was originally found in The Black Republican magazine.

Genogram

I’m reading the book, The Emotionally Healthy Church, by Peter Scazzero and in it he suggests creating a genogram to provide insight into family behavioral patterns. The basic gist is this: go back 3 or 4 generations and see if you can determine family emotional/behavioral patterns. Some easy ones to see would be alcoholism, anger management issues, inappropriate sexual behavior, etc. Not every family has those, but you get the idea.

Once you see the patterns, it help you understand where those behaviors came from, and then enables you to try to be a “chain-breaker” (that would be a good name for a song Charlie Hall :-)).

Well, I did the exercise this week and I have to say, it’s quite fascinating. I will probably bring my Genogram with me to my next counseling appointment.

Yes, I said counseling appointment. Everyone goes, don’t they? If you don’t go, and you think that people who do go are crazy, then perhaps you should make a genogram to see how far back your ignorant line of thinking goes…(this means you, Tom Cruise.)