Hypocrite or Christian?

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Ever hear of Rev. Donald Wildmon? Well, every gay man and woman should learn about him. He is rich, powerful, dangerous, and a Christian. For several years, this Christian man has waged a war against homosexuality and a whole lot more.

Rev. Donald Wildmon, of the extremist Christian group American Family Association, has said he won't rest until homosexuality is criminalized in every state of the Country. In 2000, Wildmon called for the arrest of openly gay Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe for violation of the Arizona sodomy laws. His argument was that since Kolbe admits to being gay, he obviously has broken the law and should be jailed for doing so.

And now Wildmon wants to boycott Pepsi for openly supporting the gay community within their own organization and out in the public. He wants them punished with hopes to running them out of business. To his horror, Pepsi has been giving tolerance training to its management and employees.

Pepsi also openly supports Gay Pride events in various cities. For this, Wildmon has convinced thousands of his followers to boycott Pepsi until they agree to stop supporting the gay community.

He has also called for a 2 month boycott of The Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy (all owned by the same organization). He claims they have refused to use the word "Christmas" in their holiday ads, and believes they should be punished for recognizing other religious holidays that occur around the same time as Christmas; such as Hanuka and Kwanzaa.

Again, he has manipulated thousands of people to punish the company, the employees and their families by boycotting these stores through the holiday season. How very Christian of him.

What I find truly amazing about the whole thing is that the founder of The GAP, Donald Fisher, is Jewish! Rev. Donald Wildmon wants to FORCE a Jewish businessman to exclusively advertise to the Christian community! How ridiculous is that?

The GAP has often used the words "Christmas" in their advertising and marketing, but they more often advertise a Season filled with a number of Holidays. The GAP even sells shirts that read, "Christmas 2009" printed across the chest. But that isn't enough for this small-minded, self-centered, power-thirsty, religious fanatical hypocrite. He wants them to advertise exclusively to the Christian community. Anything less, and he considers it an insult to God and Christ.

I guess he has forgotten that Christ, according to the bible, is King of the JEWS...not King of the Christians!

And obviously this man would rather concentrate on creating a frenzy within his followers than educating them on the origins of Christmas. He knows there isn't a profit to be made unless he can tap into his followers basic fears. Heaven forbid should his followers know the origins of the holiest of their holy holidays!

No one (least of all Wildmon) knows on what day Christ was born. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. One thing they agree on is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December, since the bible mentions shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter. So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday on December the 25th?

The answer lies in the pagan origins of Christmas. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis was celebrated on December 25. Partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast.

It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of caroling was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born.

In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. The pagans of northern Europe celebrated their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun God grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage the sun to reappear next year. Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun.

Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Hollyberries were thought to be a food of the gods.

The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol.

In 350AD, Pope Julius I, declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25th. It is common knowledge that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans to convert to Christianity. The new religion was easier to accept knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.

Wildmon considers his organization a "Christian organization promoting the biblical ethnic of decency in America society..." Which I find interesting, since America society has always been, and always will be, made up of a variety of religious beliefs.

Wildmon hides behind his freedom of speech...but he uses his freedom of speech to intrude upon another man's Freedom of Religion.

And to further demonstrate this man's hypocrisy, I invite you view his website: http://www.afa.net/

In the upper left corner of the page, you'll notice a rotating marquee with different topics. Look for the "Naughty and Nice" retailers article. Click on the "Visit Our Store" button at the bottom of that advertisement. While reading the article, you'll notice they are scrutinizing businesses for encouraging materialism. The AFA wants its members to take action in reminding the world that Christmas is about more than materialistic possessions. How do they want you to do that? They want you to BUY their buttons by the hundreds to hand out to all your friends, family, neighbors, church members and anyone else you meet. Depending on how many you buy, you'll be paying .55 to .90 per button. That certainly isn't selling them at cost, which means the AFA is collecting a profit for these buttons.

Now here is the manipulating part: These buttons don't cost you anything. It is a "suggested donation" for these buttons. Although, there is no ability to opt out of the suggested donation. You can donate more, but you can't donate less than their "suggested" amount.

Just another manipulative, greedy religious leader sucking hard earned money from people who desperately want to belong and believe.

I intend to openly and purposefully buy Pepsi products. And, even though I have never shopped at The Gap, Old Navy or Banana Republic, I will be a customer throughout the Holiday Season.

Happy Holidays everyone.


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