One can't help but notice the difference between our Christian religion and Islam, Judaisim and virtually any other religion. Other religions guard their writings with some ferocity whereas we seem to be giving it all away trying to be "inclusive". The heads of Christian churches who are white anting our religion need to be brought to account. Members attending church services and have to listen to woke rubbish need to stand up and be loudly counted!
I'm happy to know that inspite of the A FL's reticence to mention Christmas, Carols by Candlelight is still a tradition enjoyed by families here and is a great opportunity to show Christian spirit and share a meaningful joy and spiritual message. I think we should cherish these opportunities to engage the public. That's my hope and am especially happy when local churches organise the event. So that in spite of top down avoidance of the mention of Christmas..good old Jo public can still be engaged .
A great & scary piece James! Multiculturism has a lot to answer for. We are a predominately Christian country & christianity is the basis of the culture we have developed over 2 centuries in Australia. We should be proud of what we have achieved & defend it. Our great Aussie spirit derives from this culture & the fact that the basis of our morals are the Ten Commandments. The pushing aside of the culture of the country only happens in democracies where there is freedom of speech, & this freedom is abused in Australia now.
A very good comment Margaret , We dont educate our new comers enough on what it cost US to build this country to what it is now . Just as an example ,while watching the Boxing Day cricket test the commentator mentioned ,at that time, there were over sixty thousand people in the stands waiting for the match to start . That was how many men our country lost in World War One .(out of a population of under five million )Then when the MCG was full, over one hundred and nine thousand (what Australia has lost in all the wars fought for OUR COUNTRY And this is about one third of the total of wounded as well . And when I hear "activists "bleating about this being "stolen land " and how OUR FLAG is illegitimate .I think that when our new government is elected that a course of instruction on OUR HISTORY be a pre-requisite before citizenship can be GRANTED , with a warning to respect OUR FLAG or else go to where you will respect the flag .
To add the" PRIVELEGE OF CITIZENSHIP "not the right .(ie to just get here doesnt entitle you to anything . ----you must EARN the privilege . Now "leaders" ---up to you
Well researched, James. You have a good eye for what's going on.
Thankfully, there are tolerant voices in other religions - we wish happy Ramadan to our Moslem friends and they wish us happy Christmas in return. There are Christians who refuse to exchange greetings with Mosley's too.
May God give us the grace to "be all things to all men" and draw others to Him!
Thank you James a great summary of the world's christmas humbug. No surprise really as their father is the father of lies. And a thank you to your readers. So many great replies this morning.
I bet every executive, board member, president of woke football & cricket teams have a full Aussie/Christian Christmas at home with family & friends. Tree, presents for the kiddies, the works. Nobody misses out & wishing everyone Merry Christmas (in private). All are full on hypocrites.
Jesus as fully God and fully man has always been a problem for everyone. That He came to join His creation as a baby has always been a problem. The early church had a conflict and thus we received the Athananian creed. Athanasius wrote his creed to condemn those who tried to say that God was three separate beings and condemns those who persisted in error. Gregory Nazianus praised Athanasius for his work in correcting error. Denying Jesus’s divinity is the reason why we say the Apostle’s creed and the Nicene creed. So churches denying Christ and watering down doctrine is nothing new just sad. So many orthodox Anglican ministers and their congregations are leaving the fold in the UK as the leadership darkens. It is just that the media focuses on the mainstream churches and not on the real Christian churches in the UK. The mainstream Anglicans make better copy, I suppose. There would have been many churches that worshipped the triune God in the UK but as usual they don’t get publicity just the error ridden CoE and Catholics.
As for sport- this will only change when we collectively go - let’s not support sports teams anymore. Turn off sports coverage and news, stop turning up except for children’s sport.Attack the bottom line and then maybe they might ask why?
Sorry this is a bit long, but James has said it all and in his own inimitable way, and like you all, I also have a sadness at the way things are going these days. Some thoughts of mine.
I used to take my family to the Lord Mayors Christmas Carols in Brisbane. In the early days with the youngsters all agog at the lights, trees decorated and people picnicking on the lawns awaiting the start, it was a magical evening. Most of the carols were traditional, with a Salvation Army band accompanying the singing and there truely was an atmosphere of peace, and Joy in the air.
But you see, it became too popular and it was run mostly by Christian leaders of the community, and that became a problem.
First change was to import some real singers from the entertainment industry. Oh and of course we must have a full orchestra, with strings and brass and ......you get the picture?
Then TV personalities ran the show, and bringing in some famous tv characters such as bears, and dogs, and of course the man in red along with a sleigh full of donated presents from national chain stores. The kids were almost asleep when he ho-ho-hoed onto the platform and this was the sign for many parents to get out real quick!
The rest of the night's entertainment was to portray the egos of radio, stage and entertainment areas.... Christ was put aside as we were introduced to snow, sleigh bells etc..etc....!
In time it became more of a TV Channel promotion. Christmas was commercialised in the worst sort of way.
Until Christmas 2024!
Since most Australians are paternalistic about Christmas, (it's really for the kids, you know....), and congregations are getting smaller and older, many people have no idea what Christmas is really all about, so they spend too much money impressing family and friends, but do not support the real Reason for the Season!
Woke folk, have demeaned it and anyone who believes in the "fairy tale virgin birth", and now to appease those poor Palestinian refugees, we are taught that Jesus, and Moses were muslims, and a lot of the social network, spread it and believe it!
So I guess this might well be the death knell of traditional Christmas for those who think it all a myth!
As for me and my family we'll still go along with the idea that man was created in God's image, but to undo the mess mankind has made of His creation, God, through His Holy Spirit, brought 'God' into the world in the form of His begotten Son, Jesus, who though still God, became less than the mighty angels, to reconcile us to fully redeemed children of God Almighty.
So we may soon lose what we have always enjoyed, but according to God's Holy Bible, we may be about to gain free admission to the feet of our Lord and the focus will once again be on the resurrected Christ in the realms of Eternity, no longer the babe in the manger, despised by man.
I hope you all had a Wholly, Holy Christmas. May 2025 be the Rapture Year?
i am so disappointed about the hypocrisy by these so called learned men and women in the football clubs etc do they not realize that Australia was founded on Christian beliefs because of that Australia was admired and loved around the world not anymore what are they afraid of?[ On a side note did anybody see the TV news about the Adelaide Harbour Town boxing days sales opening you would be hard pressed to see a white face amongst all crowds pouring in] Both of us went to the Clovercrest Baptist church for there Christmas Eve service you can forget all Christmas shows!! this was the best Christmas service we have been to for many years,traditional carols with the right music a nativity play performed by the church family a wonderful evening to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus
Commercial celebrity led carols leave me stone cold and contemptuous of those that promote it . Syrup and crap and bah humbug to those stupid people . The Sallies and the traditional carols are wonderful.
Thank you James for a great article. God bless you and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Oh, by the way, the Crows wished everyone a Merry Christmas! I am a proud and fanatical supporter.
Thank you James again for your enlightening article and I do trust that you and your family had a blessed and happy Christmas. It is interesting and delightful to me that in Europe Christmas is celebrated widely and there is no woke presence in sight!! I am fortunate to be on a river cruise and each city, country we have been in has been very open with their Christmas lights and decorations - they have been impressive and beautiful. The Christmas markets we have been to, have also been very colourful, beautiful to behold and all about Christmas. I did see a ‘Happy Hanukkah’ sign somewhere along the way. The one comfort I have through all the hypocrisy and godlessness in our Australian society is that there comes a day of reckoning in the future. We have the sheep and the goats analogy. I thank my Jesus for what He has done for me and the assurance that He has gone on ahead to prepare a place for me where His glory will replace the sun. Probably won’t have the Tigers, Bombers or MCG there anyway. What a day of rejoicing that will be James, when we all see Jesus.
On a brighter note-the carols in Melbourne still allow David Hobson to sing Jerusalem and Silvie always makes her christian faith obvious. I've been to a local council run "concert " where all the songs were just songs about Santa/holidays etc, no carols as such. It felt like we were celebrating the coming of Santa, not the birth of Christ. So secular.
The double standards of these sporting organisations is rubbish , Remember Israel Foloau ? He was only stating what his Christian beliefs dictated . (I wonder if the queer Qantas boss has something to do with his banishment ---loss of Qantas sponsorship perhaps )and then that Mamm individual drives drugged up to the eyeballs unlicenced ,causes a head on collision which cruelly injured a four year year old and her mum . His penalty ? an $850 fine suspended from driving (no licence to begin with )and and some match suspensions I forget how many but not for life like Israel Foloau . Smack on the wrist for a druggie "role model" for kids .Bloody revolting standards .
As an old bloke who failed Sunday school many years ago I have always been a believer .but not an active church goer (most of my adult life has been in the bush where there were no churches anyway ) But all this slavering over islam etc has made me more concious of being a Christian . So much so that I bought my wife a crucifix pendant for Christmas and a St Christopher medal for my car ,although we are not of the Catholic faith . We are all Christians and that is good enough for me . (although my grandfathers would not be happy with me for saying that )
Are they, ie those that don’t say “Merry Christmas”, concerned they may be labelled as Islamophobic &/or cancelled?
Seriously, what wrong with these people?
Diversity, tolerance & acceptance are some of the foundations our society is (was?) built on. These pillars have seemingly gone astray or missing.
There is nothing wrong with saying Merry Christmas & acknowledging those who celebrate the occasion.
I don’t need to be a Christian to acknowledge Christmas, Easter or whatever. Just like I don’t need be Jewish to acknowledge Chanukah, Rosh Hashanah or whatever.
Nor would I get upset or offended if someone greeted me with Happy Festivus.
It puzzles me that they don’t mind offending - maybe half? - the population. Maybe because Christians turn the other cheek.
My dear friend Harry, now visiting family in Israel, sent me a Christmas greeting, I wished him the peace and goodwill of the season and a happy Hanukkah. Is it bad that I would never extend a Ramadan greeting, never 👎
One can't help but notice the difference between our Christian religion and Islam, Judaisim and virtually any other religion. Other religions guard their writings with some ferocity whereas we seem to be giving it all away trying to be "inclusive". The heads of Christian churches who are white anting our religion need to be brought to account. Members attending church services and have to listen to woke rubbish need to stand up and be loudly counted!
I'm happy to know that inspite of the A FL's reticence to mention Christmas, Carols by Candlelight is still a tradition enjoyed by families here and is a great opportunity to show Christian spirit and share a meaningful joy and spiritual message. I think we should cherish these opportunities to engage the public. That's my hope and am especially happy when local churches organise the event. So that in spite of top down avoidance of the mention of Christmas..good old Jo public can still be engaged .
A great & scary piece James! Multiculturism has a lot to answer for. We are a predominately Christian country & christianity is the basis of the culture we have developed over 2 centuries in Australia. We should be proud of what we have achieved & defend it. Our great Aussie spirit derives from this culture & the fact that the basis of our morals are the Ten Commandments. The pushing aside of the culture of the country only happens in democracies where there is freedom of speech, & this freedom is abused in Australia now.
A very good comment Margaret , We dont educate our new comers enough on what it cost US to build this country to what it is now . Just as an example ,while watching the Boxing Day cricket test the commentator mentioned ,at that time, there were over sixty thousand people in the stands waiting for the match to start . That was how many men our country lost in World War One .(out of a population of under five million )Then when the MCG was full, over one hundred and nine thousand (what Australia has lost in all the wars fought for OUR COUNTRY And this is about one third of the total of wounded as well . And when I hear "activists "bleating about this being "stolen land " and how OUR FLAG is illegitimate .I think that when our new government is elected that a course of instruction on OUR HISTORY be a pre-requisite before citizenship can be GRANTED , with a warning to respect OUR FLAG or else go to where you will respect the flag .
To add the" PRIVELEGE OF CITIZENSHIP "not the right .(ie to just get here doesnt entitle you to anything . ----you must EARN the privilege . Now "leaders" ---up to you
Well researched, James. You have a good eye for what's going on.
Thankfully, there are tolerant voices in other religions - we wish happy Ramadan to our Moslem friends and they wish us happy Christmas in return. There are Christians who refuse to exchange greetings with Mosley's too.
May God give us the grace to "be all things to all men" and draw others to Him!
Thank you James a great summary of the world's christmas humbug. No surprise really as their father is the father of lies. And a thank you to your readers. So many great replies this morning.
I bet every executive, board member, president of woke football & cricket teams have a full Aussie/Christian Christmas at home with family & friends. Tree, presents for the kiddies, the works. Nobody misses out & wishing everyone Merry Christmas (in private). All are full on hypocrites.
Jesus as fully God and fully man has always been a problem for everyone. That He came to join His creation as a baby has always been a problem. The early church had a conflict and thus we received the Athananian creed. Athanasius wrote his creed to condemn those who tried to say that God was three separate beings and condemns those who persisted in error. Gregory Nazianus praised Athanasius for his work in correcting error. Denying Jesus’s divinity is the reason why we say the Apostle’s creed and the Nicene creed. So churches denying Christ and watering down doctrine is nothing new just sad. So many orthodox Anglican ministers and their congregations are leaving the fold in the UK as the leadership darkens. It is just that the media focuses on the mainstream churches and not on the real Christian churches in the UK. The mainstream Anglicans make better copy, I suppose. There would have been many churches that worshipped the triune God in the UK but as usual they don’t get publicity just the error ridden CoE and Catholics.
As for sport- this will only change when we collectively go - let’s not support sports teams anymore. Turn off sports coverage and news, stop turning up except for children’s sport.Attack the bottom line and then maybe they might ask why?
As f
Sorry this is a bit long, but James has said it all and in his own inimitable way, and like you all, I also have a sadness at the way things are going these days. Some thoughts of mine.
I used to take my family to the Lord Mayors Christmas Carols in Brisbane. In the early days with the youngsters all agog at the lights, trees decorated and people picnicking on the lawns awaiting the start, it was a magical evening. Most of the carols were traditional, with a Salvation Army band accompanying the singing and there truely was an atmosphere of peace, and Joy in the air.
But you see, it became too popular and it was run mostly by Christian leaders of the community, and that became a problem.
First change was to import some real singers from the entertainment industry. Oh and of course we must have a full orchestra, with strings and brass and ......you get the picture?
Then TV personalities ran the show, and bringing in some famous tv characters such as bears, and dogs, and of course the man in red along with a sleigh full of donated presents from national chain stores. The kids were almost asleep when he ho-ho-hoed onto the platform and this was the sign for many parents to get out real quick!
The rest of the night's entertainment was to portray the egos of radio, stage and entertainment areas.... Christ was put aside as we were introduced to snow, sleigh bells etc..etc....!
In time it became more of a TV Channel promotion. Christmas was commercialised in the worst sort of way.
Until Christmas 2024!
Since most Australians are paternalistic about Christmas, (it's really for the kids, you know....), and congregations are getting smaller and older, many people have no idea what Christmas is really all about, so they spend too much money impressing family and friends, but do not support the real Reason for the Season!
Woke folk, have demeaned it and anyone who believes in the "fairy tale virgin birth", and now to appease those poor Palestinian refugees, we are taught that Jesus, and Moses were muslims, and a lot of the social network, spread it and believe it!
So I guess this might well be the death knell of traditional Christmas for those who think it all a myth!
As for me and my family we'll still go along with the idea that man was created in God's image, but to undo the mess mankind has made of His creation, God, through His Holy Spirit, brought 'God' into the world in the form of His begotten Son, Jesus, who though still God, became less than the mighty angels, to reconcile us to fully redeemed children of God Almighty.
So we may soon lose what we have always enjoyed, but according to God's Holy Bible, we may be about to gain free admission to the feet of our Lord and the focus will once again be on the resurrected Christ in the realms of Eternity, no longer the babe in the manger, despised by man.
I hope you all had a Wholly, Holy Christmas. May 2025 be the Rapture Year?
Hi David I agree with every word you have written .
Thanks Dave, Maranatha brother 👍
And a rapturous new year to you to David. Come Lord Jesus come.
i am so disappointed about the hypocrisy by these so called learned men and women in the football clubs etc do they not realize that Australia was founded on Christian beliefs because of that Australia was admired and loved around the world not anymore what are they afraid of?[ On a side note did anybody see the TV news about the Adelaide Harbour Town boxing days sales opening you would be hard pressed to see a white face amongst all crowds pouring in] Both of us went to the Clovercrest Baptist church for there Christmas Eve service you can forget all Christmas shows!! this was the best Christmas service we have been to for many years,traditional carols with the right music a nativity play performed by the church family a wonderful evening to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus
Commercial celebrity led carols leave me stone cold and contemptuous of those that promote it . Syrup and crap and bah humbug to those stupid people . The Sallies and the traditional carols are wonderful.
Hi Bob thanks for your reply you are absolutely right bah humbug!!!!
Shame shame shame Australia. And the footy clubs? Whoa …
Well most of their leadership have had their heads bashed in scrums so their opinions dont really count .
Thank you James for a great article. God bless you and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Oh, by the way, the Crows wished everyone a Merry Christmas! I am a proud and fanatical supporter.
Keep it up JM
Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family.
Thanks for your great work in 2024.
Thank you James again for your enlightening article and I do trust that you and your family had a blessed and happy Christmas. It is interesting and delightful to me that in Europe Christmas is celebrated widely and there is no woke presence in sight!! I am fortunate to be on a river cruise and each city, country we have been in has been very open with their Christmas lights and decorations - they have been impressive and beautiful. The Christmas markets we have been to, have also been very colourful, beautiful to behold and all about Christmas. I did see a ‘Happy Hanukkah’ sign somewhere along the way. The one comfort I have through all the hypocrisy and godlessness in our Australian society is that there comes a day of reckoning in the future. We have the sheep and the goats analogy. I thank my Jesus for what He has done for me and the assurance that He has gone on ahead to prepare a place for me where His glory will replace the sun. Probably won’t have the Tigers, Bombers or MCG there anyway. What a day of rejoicing that will be James, when we all see Jesus.
So many nativity scenes at that Christmas markets in Europe. Christmas river cruises are just great.
On a brighter note-the carols in Melbourne still allow David Hobson to sing Jerusalem and Silvie always makes her christian faith obvious. I've been to a local council run "concert " where all the songs were just songs about Santa/holidays etc, no carols as such. It felt like we were celebrating the coming of Santa, not the birth of Christ. So secular.
Smart mouth from the MCG 😡Yes sickening how they fall over themselves to mention Ramadan. My intolerance has totally overtaken me.
A few politicians acknowledged Hanukkah yesterday - Liberal of course.
Not surprised about Essendon. Remember they dumped their newly appointed executive who belonged to a Christian church.
On a bright note it was standing room only at late afternoon Christmas Eve mass!
The double standards of these sporting organisations is rubbish , Remember Israel Foloau ? He was only stating what his Christian beliefs dictated . (I wonder if the queer Qantas boss has something to do with his banishment ---loss of Qantas sponsorship perhaps )and then that Mamm individual drives drugged up to the eyeballs unlicenced ,causes a head on collision which cruelly injured a four year year old and her mum . His penalty ? an $850 fine suspended from driving (no licence to begin with )and and some match suspensions I forget how many but not for life like Israel Foloau . Smack on the wrist for a druggie "role model" for kids .Bloody revolting standards .
As an old bloke who failed Sunday school many years ago I have always been a believer .but not an active church goer (most of my adult life has been in the bush where there were no churches anyway ) But all this slavering over islam etc has made me more concious of being a Christian . So much so that I bought my wife a crucifix pendant for Christmas and a St Christopher medal for my car ,although we are not of the Catholic faith . We are all Christians and that is good enough for me . (although my grandfathers would not be happy with me for saying that )
Are they, ie those that don’t say “Merry Christmas”, concerned they may be labelled as Islamophobic &/or cancelled?
Seriously, what wrong with these people?
Diversity, tolerance & acceptance are some of the foundations our society is (was?) built on. These pillars have seemingly gone astray or missing.
There is nothing wrong with saying Merry Christmas & acknowledging those who celebrate the occasion.
I don’t need to be a Christian to acknowledge Christmas, Easter or whatever. Just like I don’t need be Jewish to acknowledge Chanukah, Rosh Hashanah or whatever.
Nor would I get upset or offended if someone greeted me with Happy Festivus.
Whatever!
Just be happy.
Just be accepting.
Just be tolerant.
On that note…
I hope everyone had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 🎅🏻🎄
It puzzles me that they don’t mind offending - maybe half? - the population. Maybe because Christians turn the other cheek.
My dear friend Harry, now visiting family in Israel, sent me a Christmas greeting, I wished him the peace and goodwill of the season and a happy Hanukkah. Is it bad that I would never extend a Ramadan greeting, never 👎