Reply #3: Re trees and praying, from the King James Version

[No Elephants]

Trees

Jeremiah 10:1-4

1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2 thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

Sounds to me as though keeping blinged out dead trees out of government places may be separation of church and state or a war on paganism, but definitely not a war on Christ or Christmas.

The Puritans, etc. did not even believe in celebrating Christmas at all (though, as the colonies matured, some inhabitants sneakily extended their "Thanksgiving" celebration).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_Puritan_New_England

(FYI: If you drop by Paul Revere's home on the first Saturday in December, you will be able to help yourself to some enjoyable colonial baked goodies and some very pleasant warm cider, but you will see no visible sign of the Christmas season per se. However, there may be a guilty pleasure orange or two on the family's dining table, a very big treat in Boston in December in Revere's day and therefore a subtle sign of a very special occasion.)

I doubt that the Puritans or Paul Revere or any of the Sons of Liberty were warring on Christ, Christ's birth or Christianity, though.



Praying--WWJD? Words that the Bible attributes to Jesus:

Matthew 6:5-6

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

(Of course, at that time, Christian churchs had not yet come into existence. So, IMO, the admonition is only about synagogues, but I am no thelogian.)