12A
RELIGION/The CharloRe Post
Thursday, January 2,1997
The Prophet’s Column
This Is a paid advertisement by J. M. Little
As we said in part one, when
you link Christ's name to this
pagan celebration you are
blaspheming the Lord's name!
Just think, preachers are
leading their congregations to
blaspheme the name of the
Lord! There is no fellowship
between the temple of God
and idols. Practically every
church I know of is just a
pagan temple. I realize this
makes people mad, but it's
true. We are told in the
Scriptures to celebrate the
death of Christ, not His birth!
The average preacher will not
preach on the crucifixion,
death, and burial of Christ,
but they will always preach
about Christmas. The average
preacher is just a "con artist."
I realize that what I am giving
you is not popular, but the
Scriptures say we are to
preach the Word, no matter
what people think. Are you
going to believe what the Lord
says about this pagan tradi
tion? There is no neutral
ground. You are either going
to come out of it or rebel
against God and go on in it.
Remember this, if the world
runs after a thing, you flee
from it. We usually remember
our friends and loved ones on
their birthday, and we try to
show a special token of our
love. The world, in their reli
gious zeal, though completely
ignorant of the birth date of
our Blessed Lord, have pre
tended such consideration to
Him as to set aside a special
day to remember His birth
and the world falls over itself
to celebrate Him, but the
strange thing about all this
CHRISTMAS FANATICISM
is that He (Christ) is the most
forgotten Person in the whole
celebration. Everywhere you
hear the slogan, "PUT
CHRIST BACK IN CHRIST
MAS," but of course Christ
never was in Christmas.
Pagan revelry and ritualism
was simply christened with a
Christian name. Christ stands
on the outside of the door and
knocks, and pleads for you to
come out from among them
and touch not the unclean
thing and He will receive you
and be a Father imto you. Pity
that the tinsel of the world
should dazzle our eyes and
hide from view the face of Him
who is altogether lovely. I
pray that you will not waste
His precious time and money
on His enemy's heyday.
Ramadan festivities planned
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT - A growing num
ber of Arab Christians are
joining their Muslim friends
and neighbors in a show of
sohdarity to fast for Ramadan.
Janein Shurafa, a 43-year-
old Lebanese-Christian moth
er of two, is one such person.
She said she used to celebrate
Ramadan in Lebanon with her
Mushm friends.
“Why should I stop celebrat
ing with them in America?”
she asked.
Ramadan, the holiest month
for Muslims, commemorates
the days when the Angel
Gabriel imparted the wisdom
of the Koran, Islam’s holy
book, to the Prophet
Mohammed. It begins Jan. 10.
Muslims from around the
world observe the month with
a fast that involves abstaining
from food, drink and sexual
intercourse from a half-hour
before sunrise until sunset.
“People fast to strengthen
their willpower physically and
spiritually,” said Imam
Husham Al-Husainy, a cleric
at the Islamic House of
Wisdom.
“Fasting is not a new thing.
Jews emd Christians have also
been fasting for a long time,”
he said.
Al-Husainy said Muslims
consider Ramadan a month of
social virtue, meant to create
new bonds of understanding
among all classes of people.
Christians who celebrate
Ramadan give differing rea
son for it. Clara Fakhouri
finds it a bonding experience.
“Last Ramadan, I had din
ner with my friends and col
leagues,” said Fakhouri, 25, a
receptionist at the Mental
Health and Substance Abuse
Services Center in Dearborn.
“It was a wonderful experi
ence. I celebrated Ramadan
with their family and many of
them celebrated Lent with
mine.”
Fasting is the fourth pillar of
Islam. The fasting process,
which can be done any time
throughout the year, is most
worthy during the holy month
of Ramadan.
All who are in good health
are required to fast during the
specified hours for the entire
month. Those who are ill can
not fast, but must make up
the fasting days later.
Children who have not yet
reached puberty, pregnant
women and the elderly are
exempt from fasting.
Ramadan falls at different
times from year to year, due
to a slightly shorter lunar cal
endar in Islam.
School prayer okayed in Texas
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON - Prayer will
still be allowed at a Galveston
school district that was sued
by four students for promoting
religious activity at district
functions, according to a fed
eral ruling.
Galveston U.S. District
Judge Sam Kent ruled that
prayer can remain part of the
Sante Fe Independent School
District's graduation cere
monies and activities before
sports events.
But Kent stipulated that
only students may organize
and present the prayer and
that the prayer must be non
sectarian and non-prosel5d;iz-
ing.
The court also ruled last
week that some former poli
cies of the district violated
constitutional religious rights,
but the district does not have
to pay damages to the four
students who sued.
Kent said student-organized
baccalaureates still may be
held in the district’s high
school auditorium.
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