Going too far
I usually don't post twice in a day but I just had to say something about this. Apparently a parent in Wisconsin is upset that the local school changed the lyrics to Silent Night to something secular. Why? In order to continue taking the Christ out of Christmas? To denegrate the song? No, because it is part of a play. They're putting on a little play about a family going to buy a Christmas tree. They took well known tunes (like Silent Night, Jingle Bells, and We Three Kings) and changed the lyrics to help tell the story. You know, like REAL musical produces tend to do. Hello! This guy seems to think Silent Night is some sort of sacred song that cannot be modified in any way. He was quoted as saying: "To take 'Silent Night' and to intentionally change the words as they do here is wrong. No matter if they've done it in the past, no matter if somebody else wrote the song, it's the school's actions [that are the problem]."
That's right, the schools actions were to adapt a popular tune (that by the way is eminent domain, meaning it has no copyright) to a performance they put together. How sinful. The lyrics are as follows: "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." Do you not see how they mock the original lyrics, as the parent claims? Can you feel the fervent Anti-Christian theme being presented?
One last bit of trivia I just learned. Silent Night was originally a poem, not a song. It was later put to music, much like our national anthem. What really annoys me about all of this is that while I agree that Christ is getting taken out of Christmas a little too much these days, people are going too far. Groups are advocating boycotting Target and Sears because they don't go far enough in promoting Christmas over "the holidays". I hate to sound like a conservative or anything, but these are businesses. They want to appeal to as large a population as possible so people will come to their store and buy stuff. If we start boycotting businesses for every little stupid thing, they're won't be any place to shop, because there's no way they can't keep from offending someone. Let's get a grip here people.
I guess my big beef with this whole thing is that I feel many Christians are loosing sight of the meaning of the holiday and concentrating on buying stuff and Christmas being ruined if you can't buy that one popular thing that everyone wants (Cabbage Patch Doll, Playstation, X-Box, whatever). Christmas is both a religious and secular holiday. I have no problem with the secular side. When those claiming to believe in Christ loose sight of the celebration of His birth and what it means for the secular meanings of the holiday, I have a problem.
That's right, the schools actions were to adapt a popular tune (that by the way is eminent domain, meaning it has no copyright) to a performance they put together. How sinful. The lyrics are as follows: "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." Do you not see how they mock the original lyrics, as the parent claims? Can you feel the fervent Anti-Christian theme being presented?
One last bit of trivia I just learned. Silent Night was originally a poem, not a song. It was later put to music, much like our national anthem. What really annoys me about all of this is that while I agree that Christ is getting taken out of Christmas a little too much these days, people are going too far. Groups are advocating boycotting Target and Sears because they don't go far enough in promoting Christmas over "the holidays". I hate to sound like a conservative or anything, but these are businesses. They want to appeal to as large a population as possible so people will come to their store and buy stuff. If we start boycotting businesses for every little stupid thing, they're won't be any place to shop, because there's no way they can't keep from offending someone. Let's get a grip here people.
I guess my big beef with this whole thing is that I feel many Christians are loosing sight of the meaning of the holiday and concentrating on buying stuff and Christmas being ruined if you can't buy that one popular thing that everyone wants (Cabbage Patch Doll, Playstation, X-Box, whatever). Christmas is both a religious and secular holiday. I have no problem with the secular side. When those claiming to believe in Christ loose sight of the celebration of His birth and what it means for the secular meanings of the holiday, I have a problem.
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