Nothing brings out the Christmas Spirit like scumbags and racial grievance. That’s why a liberal church in California has set up a Black Lives Matter Nativity scene, complete with the names of armed black criminals who were killed attacking police officers. The reason the church went with this sacrilegious display is because they said they couldn’t come up with any other message to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Christian Headlines reports but for some reason doesn’t condemn:
Claremont United Methodist Church, a church known for its unique and controversial Nativity scenes centering around current events, has created a new Nativity scene depicting the Holy family in the midst of a Black Lives Matter protest.
…the Nativity scene shows Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in front of a mural of people wearing masks and holding up signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe,” along with several other quotes. Some Bible verses and biblical sentiments are also included in the signs, including “Jesus wept,” (John 11:35) and “Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk Humbly with God,” (Micah 6:8).
While the statue of Joseph kneels beside baby Jesus in the manger, Mary is shown with her arms in the air as she stands in solidarity with the protestors. Above the mural is a list of over 30 names of Black people who have been killed, including the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
George Floyd died of a heart attack brought on by a drug overdose after he fought with police officers. Ahmaud Arbery was killed after he fought with a cop and stole his weapon. These are people who didn’t feel like any lives mattered, including their own black ones.
Church senior minister, Rev. Karen Clark Ristine, explained the reason for this blasphemy is because they couldn’t think of anything else Christmas-related to do for a Nativity scene:
“We couldn’t think of any other issue that we wanted to keep under the light of the Bethlehem star than the need to address racism,” said Ristine. “We don’t want the need for continuing conversation of racism and white supremacy to get lost in news cycles. This is a centuries-old issue that we need to keep wrestling with.”
Well, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the savior and Messiah for all Christians. I’m assuming that a Methodist church is a Christian church, so it seems kind of weird that they couldn’t come up with anything other than racial grievance to celebrate their holiest day. Maybe this kook needs to go back to Reverend school and bone up on the fundamentals.
No seriously, these people are way off on what Christmas is all about:
The idea for the project was birthed out of the church’s “Creative Peacemaking” committee, which starts putting ideas together for the Advent season in March. The set, which took two months to make, was constructed by the church’s facilities engineer Genaro Cordova.
“We thought that racism was really worse, the worst epidemic that maybe we had around the world. COVID is going to pass, but the struggle [of] our brothers and sisters, Black Americans, is going to continue for a long time,” said Cordova.
So they were going to do a coronavirus nativity, until the George Floyd riots? Yes they were. Check out the church’s theological statement regarding their Nativity scene:
The brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers in the summer of 2020, along with so many other unjustified killings of unarmed Black Americans, galvanized a wide coalition of Americans to seek equal justice under the law and equal treatment in our society for people of color. We affirm and join the call for justice and equity by the Black Lives Matter movement to ensure that Black Lives Matter as much as any other life. Our faith in Christ challenges us to stand with Mary in her call for jus3ce for the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed.
It’s obviously time to find a new “Creative Peacemaking” committee. This is what they’ve done to ruin the Nativity in years past:
In previous years, Claremont United Methodist Church produced Nativity scenes in line with current cultural issues. As Christian Headlines previously reported, last year, the church presented the Holy Family in separate cages to represent families who have been detained and separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Several years ago, the church created another set depicting Jesus’ family as homeless. Mary, who was huddled in a sleeping bag, was holding baby Jesus while she sat in a bus stop alongside a shopping cart.
In 2013, the church sparked controversy for its nativity scene featuring a black hooded figure depicting Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old shot and killed by George Zimmerman in 2012.
Instead of having baby Jesus in the manger, Martin was placed in the set, slumped over and bleeding from his chest. Written in a red pool of fake blood next to Martin was the message “A Child is Born, a Son is Given.”
Compared to this crap, a coronavirus nativity actually doesn’t sound that bad.
