To the Editor:
Most American adults still believe Jesus is the reason for the season and prefer Christmas greetings over generic holiday ones. A new Rasmussen Reports (www.rasmussenreports.com) found a national survey of American adults finds 67 percent believe Christmas should be more about Jesus than about Santa. While 19 percent are undecided and 14 percent think the holiday should be more Santa-focused. So five times more believe in focusing on Jesus than Santa. A new Rasmussen Reports also found 74 percent of American adults say Christmas should be celebrated in public schools. Twelve percent are unsure and 14 percent disagree. Five times as many want Christmas celebrated in public schools. A new Rasmussen Reports found that 78 percent plan on decorating their homes for Christmas.
Sadly, many people don’t want to focus on Jesus and light decorations but getting lit (drunk). Many want to focus on themselves and getting drunk at Christmas and New Years and the Elizabethton City Council has just made it easier for them. Sadly over 300 Americans die from drunk driving between Christmas and New Years each year. Sadly there are evil haters of Christmas stealing decorations even in East Tennessee. In this season to be jolly people are stealing holly, lights and even the baby Jesus from nativity scenes. The Greeneville, Tenn. Parks and Recreation Department reported that the baby Jesus figure was stolen from their nativity scene on Sunday night. The baby Jesus was also reported as stolen from Johnson City nativity scenes. These thieves can’t steal our joy and love for Jesus, the greatest Christmas gift in the world!
The baby in the manger makes a beautiful Christmas scene but don’t leave Jesus there. Make Jesus your Savior and Lord and have a relationship with Jesus that will change your life forever. The song, “Away in a Manger,” is a beautiful song. Jesus is truly a Way in a manger to have your sin forgiven and have a relationship with God. Jesus isn’t coming back to a manger but soon to a throne in Israel to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
The media won’t inform people about any of the positive effects of Jesus. According to Dr. John McTernan even most Christians are unaware that Jesus said he came to heal the brokenhearted. See Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1-2. Getting through Christmas when you’ve lost a loved one can be difficult. Those that are lonely at Christmas can visit the lonely at nursing homes. Some never get a visitor. What you do for others God will do for you. Most of all it helps to focus on Jesus and the spiritual dimension of Christmas. Isaiah 26:3: “Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee (Jesus). Because he trust in thee (Jesus).” One day God will wipe away all tears. Until that day God will give us peace if we focus on the prince of peace, Jesus!
The book, What if Jesus Had Never Been Born, by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy, documented how Jesus had the most positive effect of anyone in history. Christians have done more than any group or religion to promote education and literacy worldwide. Christians have built thousands of hospitals and orphanages all over the world. Organizations started by Christians such as the Salvation Army and Red Cross have helped millions. Charles Murray, an agnostic and libertarian scholar, in his book, Human Accomplishment, found that Christianity underlies most of human accomplishment. For positive impact Jesus reigns supreme. No one even comes close. Those who think they can go to heaven or even celebrate Christmas without Jesus are only going through the motions. C.S. Lewis said it best in describing the importance of Jesus and how dark and cold the world would be without Jesus. It would be, “always winter never Christmas!”
Without question Jesus is the most unique an important person to ever live. We celebrate the unique virgin birth of Jesus at Christmas and Jesus’ unique resurrection from the dead at Easter. Paraphrasing the end of an old poem by James Allen Francis best shows the importance of Jesus. “Twenty centuries have come and gone and today Jesus is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the governments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned — put together — have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life!”

D.D. Nave
Elizabethton