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December 25, 2010
"Santa Was in Prison and Jesus Got the Death Penalty"
The title of this post come from the title of this holiday blog post at Mother Jones. Here is how it starts:
As Christmas is celebrated in Incarceration Nation, it’s worth remembering certain things about the two figures who dominate this holiday.
As more than 3,000 American sit on death row, we revere the birth of a godly man who was arrested, “tried,” sentenced, and put to death by the state. The Passion is the story of an execution, and the Stations of the Cross trace the path of a Dead Man Walking.
Less well know is the fact that Saint Nicholas, the early Christian saint who inspired Santa Claus, was once a prisoner, like one in every 100 Americans today. Though he was beloved for his kindness and generosity, Nicholas acquired sainthood not by giving alms, but in part by performing a miracle that more or less amounted to a prison break.
December 25, 2010 at 02:24 PM | Permalink
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Comments
Would we all be better off, now, had the Roman Empire survived the internal, suicidal weakness brought about Christianity? Would there have been the Dark Ages? Would there have been a Holocaust under the descendants of Roman law systems? The Romans copied Athens a lot, and had a lot of Greek consultants. Didn't the Founding Fathers do the same? How would people like to have science and technology be 1000 years ahead, which they would be without a 1000 years of the Dark Ages, imposed at the point of the sword by the Church? Would a strong, Imperial Rome have allowed the Hun to take over half the world and impose their peasant values? Would Rome have allowed Islam to impose an anti-improvement culture on 1.5 billion people? The Romans should have executed Paul, James and Peter, summarily, after a trial for one hour. To deter. They should have offered Jesus the plea of a quick, painless poison, to avoid the attention getting drama and rallying martyrdom. Their human intelligence and foresight was less advanced than that of Saddam Hussein, "If there is a person, then there is a problem. If there is no person, there is no problem."
Posted by: Supremacy Claus | Dec 26, 2010 11:11:29 AM
That was an interesting story that I didn't know about Santa Claus. But I'm still trying to figure out their point. Is it that we should be thinking about people in prison on Christmas? Or do they want us to stop shopping to commemorate Saint Nicholas and instead spend some time in jail?
Really though, the holiday season has morphed into a time where you should be thankful to have family and give each other gifts because you enjoy giving. The religious and other meanings surrounding it have slowly lost importance for various reasons. Whether that's good or bad is up for debate.
(non-practicing attorney)
Posted by: Bumper Plates | Dec 26, 2010 12:43:43 PM
