Source/Credit: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
By Jonathan M.A.Ghaffar | January 11, 2011
"The original version -- as submitted"
Regarding Mr. James Logan’s letter [the Dec. 30 letter ("Events overlooked")] decrying the front-page story on a Muslim convention held in Chino over Christmas weekend:
Point one: a newspaper’s job is to report the news – not just the stories some people may want to read on the pages they might prefer to read them on. I salute the Bulletin for reporting Inland Valley-related news with timely impartiality.
Point two: Jesus (peace be upon him) was not even born on Dec. 25th anyway – that honor belongs to the Roman sun god Sol Invictus (along with dozens of other pagan gods) whom Christianity replaced with Jesus as the “son” God, setting his birthday on Dec. 25th once Christianity joined the prior pagan beliefs to become a state-sanctioned religion in the early 4th century AD. (Look it up at www.POCM.info.) And in the New Testament book of Luke, 2:8, it says Jesus (pbuh) was born when shepherds stay outside with their flocks at night, which is only up until late August or September, after which time it gets too cold.
Point three: ask any kid who he or she thinks of when you say “Christmas” and I’m betting it’s Santa not Jesus (pbuh). And who encourages this idolatry? Christian parents. Perhaps if they spent more time telling their kids about Jesus instead of lying to them about a fat white guy in a red suit whose flying reindeer pull a sleigh with presents for every Christian kid on the planet then maybe -- just maybe – their kids might associate Christmas with Jesus in some meaningful, spiritual way instead of waiting impatiently for the fat white guy to show up with their stuff.
Is it any wonder that when children are old enough to realize they’ve been lied to about one part of the Christmas “story” they are less and less inclined to believe in the religious part? And let’s face it, in the miracles dept., Jesus did all his crowd-wowing 2,000 years ago. But Santa? He’s a perennial, on the job year after year -- and truly “god-like” because he knows when you’re asleep or awake and if you’ve been naughty or nice. Plus, he’s got that never-empty bag of toys going for him. And for the coup de grace, you can see Santa in the flesh and even talk to him in any mall from after Thanksgiving right up until Christmas eve. Why, even NORAD tracks Santa’s progress on the big night, fielding tens of thousands of calls from sleepless kids – and you know you can always trust the government to tell you the truth, right?
You would think this kind of idolatrous brainwashing that replaces Jesus with Santa would be more than enough to motivate Christians to do something to save their own holiday from spiritual extinction. And to put icing on the cake, this Christmas some churches decided to not have Sunday worship services because it conflicted with the “family time” of parishioners opening presents on Christmas Day. Yes, that’s right. Santa trumps Jesus once again -- on the only day reserved for celebrating the birth of Jesus because it got in the way of the birthday party for Jesus.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Mr. Logan for reminding readers that Ahmadi Muslims are the ones who believe the Second Coming of Jesus already occurred more than a century ago. To learn more, contact the Baitul Hameed Mosque at 909-627-2252 or go online to www.alislam.org or www.TombofJesus.com.
And next Christmas if your church is closed on Jesus’ big day, don’t worry. The Ahmadiyya mosque in Chino on Ramona Ave. is always open with five prayers daily. Seekers of truth and lovers of God are always welcome.
- JONATHAN M.A. GHAFFAR, is an essayist, poet, speechwriter, journalist, author, editor, radio show co-host and graphic designer. He writes on many subjects including socio-political issues, comparative religion, Islam, Christianity and the historical Jesus. He lives in Chino, Calif., and can be reached via his e-mail at: JonathanMAG@Gmail.com
Read original post here: Jesus vs. Santa
LOL this was a very entertaining article. Thank you, Mr. Ghaffar, for speaking your mind. You're a funny guy :)
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