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It's Saturday, December 16, 2023.

Today’s edition covers the erection of nativity scenes in state capitols across America, the beheading of an opposing Satanic shrine, the historical felling of Donar’s oak, and whether the Christmas story is true. Plus, other news and content highlights.

Hannah declared, “the LORD is a God of knowledge” (1 Samuel 2:3). Let’s be a people of knowledge!

Of Christian Concern

WHILE NATIVITY SCENES ARE ERECTED IN STATE CAPITOLS ACROSS THE U.S., A CHRISTIAN MAN BEHEADS A RIVAL SATANIC SHRINE

A Christmastime prayer service in the Iowa State Capitol (left), and a Satanic display in the same building (right). (Photos: Gov. Kim Reynolds and Rep. Jon Dunwell, respectively)

“Celebrations of the Savior’s birth are scheduled with 43 State Capitol Nativity Scenes across America this Christmas,” Thomas More Society announced two weeks ago. Thomas More Society partnered with American Nativity Scene to plan the erection of the nativity displays across the U.S., and provide pro bono legal support to ensure “that citizens who privately fund religious displays on public property are accorded their right to do so.”

Thomas More Society president and chief counsel Tom Brejcha told The Christian Post there has not been much opposition to setting up the nativity scenes. Rather, he says, the “complication” has been “the exercise of free speech rights by other groups who put up some horrendous displays in the same public space”—particularly Satanic groups.

The Satanic Temple says it campaigns for representation, such as by erecting its own displays in public spaces, as a way to “[promote] pluralism and [fight] for the religious liberty” of its members. As The Guardian reports, the organization claims to neither worship nor believe in Satan, but to merely use Satan “as a symbol of free will, humanism and anti-authoritarianism.”

The battle between Christmas imagery and Satanic imagery came to a head (pun intended) on Thursday when a Christian, Michael Cassidy, knocked over and beheaded a statue portraying the occult deity Baphomet that was set up in the Iowa State Capitol. The Mississippi man, a former Navy pilot who previously ran for Congress in Mississippi, surrendered to police and was subsequently charged with fourth degree criminal mischief.

The co-founder of The Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, told CNN that Cassidy’s action was “cowardice dressed up as heroism,” and said “politicians who do this…[are] really yielding to the whims of an uncomprehending, undemocratic mob…” He further argued, “And there’s a certain point at which we need some adults in the room to tell people what our liberal democratic values are, what their value is, why we uphold them, what they’re good for, and they need to stand up for these types of values, or we’re going to further degenerate in our [polarization] towards autocracy.”

Meanwhile, Cassidy told The Sentinel, “The world may tell Christians to submissively accept the legitimization of Satan, but none of the founders would have considered government sanction of Satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment.” He describes himself as having become “outraged” at the “blasphemous statue,” and acting according to his conscience. Citing 1 John 3:8, he said, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil,” adding that “Scripture exhorts us to think and act like Jesus Christ.”

A fundraiser for Cassidy’s legal defense reached its initial goal of $20,000 within three hours, but was reportedly reopened when his attorneys decided to challenge the investigation, details of which have not been released. As of writing, the fund has reached $63,971.

Also Noteworthy

→ Oklahoma pastor Dusty Deevers won the race on Tuesday for State Senate District 32, on a platform that included abolition of abortion and a return to scripture. His campaign, which was monetarily opposed by the likes of Southern Baptist Convention president Bart Barber, is likely to inspire others.

→ Gay YouTubers Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams had twins this week through the use of IVF and surrogacy, provoking outrage from Christians over ethical concerns.

→ Pregnant mother Kate Cox, whose child tested positive for Trisomy 18, fled Texas so she can get an abortion, sparking debate. Besides arguing that a bad diagnosis doesn’t justify murder, Christians online counter misconceptions that Trisomy 18 is necessarily fatal to the child or the mother.

→ The FBI arrested actor Siaka Massaquoi, perhaps best known for his work with the Christian satire news site The Babylon Bee, over charges of misdemeanors at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. In an interview, Massaquoi, an outspoken Christian, tells the story of his actions at the Capitol, his arrest, and his overnight stay in jail—during which he shared his faith with guards and other inmates.

→ Pro-life Democrat Terrisa Bukovinac, who is challenging Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, ran a pro-life ad on NBC. “Pretending like millions of pro-life Democrats like myself don’t exist isn’t a winning strategy,” she reportedly said in a statement.

Content Catch-Up

Recent, notable content by Christian creators, or of Christian interest.*

→ To Prosecute Mothers?: T. Russell Hunter and David Silberman of the Oklahoma-based anti-abortion group Abolitionists Rising debate pro-life Joel Berry of the Christian satire news site The Babylon Bee over whether women should be prosecuted for getting an abortion. (Video)

→ Lennox and Tour and WLC, oh my!: Christian chemist James Tour hosts a dinner Q&A with Christian apologist William Lane Craig and Christian mathematician John Lennox, where the discussion ranges from philosophy of science to Christians’ use of social media to much more. (Video)

→ Sex Abuse and the Need To Take Action: Pastor Tom Buck tells an alarming personal story highlighting the importance of pastoral vigilance against potential sexual abuse in the church. He urges pastors, “Imperfect action is better than no action.” (Thread)

*Not necessarily an endorsement

The Bible, Briefly

Is the Christmas Story True?

(Photo: Burkay Canatar)

In his book Christmas: A Candid History, Morningside College professor of religious studies Bruce David Forbes addresses the question, “Is the Christmas story true?”* His answer, in part, outlines four details of the traditional Christmas story that are nowhere to be found in the biblical gospels—only two of which (Matthew and Luke) give any details about Jesus’ birth.

1. “No donkey.” While many Christmas portrayals represent Mary riding on a donkey being led by Joseph, the Bible doesn’t mention a donkey. This tradition may have been developed from an interpretation of Isaiah 1:3 or the second-century apocryphal book the Protoevangelium of James, but it is not found in the biblical gospels.

2. “No oxen or sheep around the manger.” While nativity scenes usually portray the holy family in a stable surrounded by barn animals—a stable that is perhaps behind the inn where there was no room for them—the Bible does not mention any animals present. In fact, the Bible doesn’t mention a stable, or suggest they were helped by a benevolent innkeeper. Luke 2:7 just says Mary “laid [Jesus] in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” The other details are inferences, which may or may not be correct, added by later tradition.

3. “No bright star.” Matthew 2 clearly teaches that the wise men followed a star to find Jesus, but it makes no comment on the brightness of the star. Brightness is a detail introduced, again, by the extrabiblical Protoevangelium of James. There, the Magi are quoted as saying, “We have seen a star of great size shining among these stars, and obscuring their light, so that the stars did not appear.”

4. “No specific number of wise men, no kings, and no names.” While the wise men are often thought to be three kings, and sometimes given the names Balthasar, Melchior, and Caspar—one of whom is supposed to be black—the Bible gives no such details. The number three and the idea that they’re kings is often assumed on the basis of the number of gifts the wise men present in Matthew 2:11 (gold, frankincense, and myrrh), plus a cross-reference to Psalm 72:10-11 where kings come from three places to present gifts (to Solomon, presumably). The names and the idea that one of them was black are simply later additions.

So, is the Christmas story true? It depends on what you mean by “the Christmas story.” The story of Jesus’ birth is true, but if “the Christmas story” is taken to include all the familiar details with which it’s often portrayed, there is apparently a degree of embellishment.

___________

*Bruce David Forbes, Christmas: A Candid History (Berkley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2007), 18-19, 32-36.

Church History Tidbit

The Felling of Donar’s Oak

Boniface cuts down the Oak of Jupiter, or Donar. (Original image by Reinier Vinkeles, Christian Bernhard Rode / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Deed)

Right or wrong, the history of Christendom has some precedence for destroying pagan objects of worship. Perhaps best known is the example of Boniface.

Saint Boniface (672-754) “is one of the most famous saints in the Netherlands,” World History Encyclopedia reports. Born in southern England to a noble family, he—despite his parents’ initial intentions—took to religious life at a young age. Under the authority of bishop Berthwalt of Canterbury and the supervision of Abbot Winbert, “he rapidly advanced in sanctity and knowledge,” gaining “a reputation as a diplomat, teacher and preacher.”

He was eventually sent as a missionary to evangelize the Frisians, “an ethnic group in the Netherlands and Germany.” He found himself at times occupied with organizing a number of troubled churches rather than evangelizing pagans, but one particularly memorable encounter with pagans was the episode of Donar’s Oak.

According to Life of Saint Boniface, an 8th-century biography by a bishop named Willibald, Boniface had earlier “delivered the people of Hesse [an area in Germany], who up to that time had practiced pagan ritual, from the captivity of the devil by preaching the Gospel as far as the borders of Saxony.” Some of the Hessians, however, had not converted or fully reformed their practices. These people still engaged in pagan rituals, including the worship of a particular massive oak tree which they called “the Oak of Jupiter” (a.k.a. Donar’s Oak, or Thor’s Oak).

Boniface, defying a crowd of cursing pagans, endeavored to chop down the tree, which, after “a superficial cut,” miraculously split into four parts. At this miracle, the astonished pagans stopped their cursing and instead began “to believe and bless the Lord.” Boniface and his helpers used the wood to build a church, which was dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle.

Whether or not every detail of Willibald’s account is accurate, the tradition of Boniface’s bold action has captured the imaginations of Christians for centuries, and continues to inspire those who defend such expressions of zeal.

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Why "18:15"? The name Project 18:15 is based on Proverbs 18:15: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” The aim is for this weekly email—a Christian news briefing, a Bible study, and a Church history lesson rolled into one—to be one way you keep abreast of current events and acquire knowledge you might not acquire elsewhere.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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