WHEREAS, Christmas celebrates one of the most holy events in Christian history, the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior (Luke 1:5-2:40; Matthew 2:1-23), the incarnation (John 1:1-18), and the good news to all people that the Messiah has come; and
WHEREAS, Secularism is a pervasive and aggressive movement in American culture to exclude religious institutions and symbols from public life; and
WHEREAS, Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, People for the American Way, and many others are relentless in their efforts to remove references to God and Jesus Christ from government discussion or public display; and
WHEREAS, One of the main battlefronts in this effort is the attack against all references to Christmas in the public arena, which rises to the level of a national debate with increasing intensity each year; and
WHEREAS, There is great pressure being exerted on schools, communities, businesses, and other public institutions to replace the term “Christmas” with a secular term such as “Winter Celebration” or “Holiday Festival,” and many schools and other public institutions have capitulated to this pressure, banning the use of the word Christmas; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 10-11, 2008, encourage believers to be aware of businesses, schools, and all other public institutions in their areas that are removing Christmas as the official designation of the season and to use their influence to restore Christmas to its proper place in the culture; and be it further
RESOLVED, That in the Christmas season we emphasize the birth of Jesus, the celebration of the incarnation, and the spirit of giving rather than receiving; and be it finally
RESOLVED, That we encourage Southern Baptists to be aware of and resist the march of secularism wherever it arises in opposition to the historic understanding of our freedom to worship and express our love for Christ in the marketplace of ideas.
Indianapolis, IN
