The holiday season is upon us, and cheer and all that stuff is in the air. My personal favorite example of Yuletide cheer is the guys across the hall from me in Frederiksen Court who decorated the bushes outside their window with lights and glowing candy canes.

But all this Christmas cheer has got me thinking about how our country is changing. After the election, a debate of the new Christian appeared throughout the country and the world. This new demographic used “Christian morals” to vote, and it won the election for President Bush. The Christmas season and the presidential election have gotten me thinking about such things recently. I see many contradictions to this “moral” voting and the new purpose of Christmas. Plus, it’s a very painful reminder of what is happening to Christmas.

We shouldn’t forget the real reason Christmas is celebrated, but I’m afraid many have. Commercial success and capitalism are great for the economy, but detrimental to the soul: Merry Christmas, I bought you a really expensive thingy.

Christianity has come to a new level of commercialism, and farther from the teachings in the book we Christians hold dear. A whole slew of business marketing aimed directly at Christians with Christian material has popped up. T-shirts proclaim how important religion is in our lives, but my favorite shirt says, “jesUSAves: One Nation, Under God.” This type of rhetoric is actually quite frightening if you’ve studied the Bible much.

The U.S. government has taken upon itself to impose the religious beliefs of those in charge upon the population and upon the rest of the world. Just as the T-shirt implied, we are on a mission from God. Bush himself said that this war on terrorism “Is against terror and evil … Our struggle is going to be long and difficult. But we will prevail. We will win. Good will overcome evil.” Jerry Falwell on CNN Late Edition said, “Blow them [terrorists] all away in the name of the Lord.”

Religion has become a vehicle for those who are excited by power and on a “divine appointment” to “rid the world of evil.” Americans strongly condemn Islamic extremists for carrying out acts of terrorism, yet we are killing thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan in the name of the Lord. The strategic misuse of our morals to manipulate political ideology by choosing the “moral” politician was inconsistent with the teachings they claim to follow.

This rhetoric is frightening because we are basically using our religion to justify and wage a holy war against those who are against us, the “evildoers.” This new political agenda has risen with the popularity of Christian commercialism. Commercialism is perpetuating the ignorance and apathy of today’s Christians.

I believe, as I have been taught, that this is in direct contradiction of what the Bible says and the message Jesus taught. He said “blessed are the peacemakers for they will be the children of God.” Jesus shared preaching a word of peace and understanding. No matter what your religion or your spirituality is, teachings of nonviolence, peace and humility can be found in faith-based texts. Every church from the Methodists to the Catholic Church has strong statements on the war in Iraq and other matters of great moral and political importance.

When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, he spoke to all peoples, regardless of nation-state borders. He spoke to humanity. This holiday break, spend time with family, enjoy the food, enjoy the presents, but remember what the occasion is and what the man we are remembering taught.