The Angriest Time of Year

SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUNDS IN
ANTI-CHRISTIAN MESSAGES

’Tis that season when our secular culture offers a nod to its Christian roots with endless songs about angels, wisemen, and a babe in a manger.

It’s also when leftists, who would normally never set foot inside a church, suddenly rediscover the usefulness of faith.

Useful, that is, in scoring ideological points — per the graphic above.

Critiques of Christianity turn up on social media all year ’round. But there’s nothing like the holidays to make the hearts of agnostic memesters go all aflutter.

As you’d expect, the most common theme in these graphics is hypocrisy.

We Christians do often fall down in the sincerity-and-commitment department, sad to say. And there are plenty of skeptics eager to point out our shortcomings — as in this message…

Also among the most popular anti-Christian clichés is the old they’re-only-in-it-for-the-money trope. And here too, one must admit there have been plenty of religious hucksters to provide fodder for the critics…

But what I find most annoying are the totally insincere adaptations of Jesus’ words and the exploitation of biblical images that are given a decidedly political twist — like this one, which might be titled “The Sermon on the Soap Box”…

…or this one that manages to touch on immigration, gender and a couple of other hot-button topics…

This meme, created (and watermarked) by someone calling himself “Mike Pineapple,”  slips in a gun-control message along with a subtle anti-MAGA poke and an oblique racial reference…

And since one can never over-emphasize Christian racism, this image is more overt…

A private group on Facebook posted this blunt statement, summing up their collective attitude succinctly…

Now, I’m a Catholic who “crossed the Tiber” (that is to say, I’m a convert). But I feel for my Protestant brothers and sisters when they have to endure this kind of stupid nastiness…

…or this snide swipe at Christians who offer thoughts and prayers for people’s suffering…

Still, I understand that such vulgarity is actually a kind of nervous bluster, intended to cover deep uncertainty in the hearts of non-believers…

“Gee, what if Christians are right?” they ask themselves.

This anxiety prompts a certain self-righteousness, evident in puffed-up statements like…

…not to mention the smug assumption that those outside the Church are the ones who know what the Christian message is really all about…

…as well as…

Of course, a lot of these Gospel adaptations just come down to plain partisanship…

…especially in this age of Trump Derangement Syndrome…

…and…

At their core, all these messages have an ideological purpose. The central point is that traditional faith has to go, because it stands in the way of fulfilling the Progressive ideals of secular egalitarianism and unfettered self-expression. Everyone should be free to define their own reality any way they like, without having church people around raising sticky moral issues.

To that end, the more offensive the better — Faith be damned! — as in this meme that says a lot about the motives behind these ongoing assaults on Christianity…

Rejection of belief is an intriguing phenomenon. There are people who ask serious questions about religion, and reach an honest conclusion that they just can’t give themselves to any particular church. I respect their intellectual and emotional struggles.

And I draw no conclusions about their ultimate disposition. That’s between them and God.

But those who choose to celebrate non-belief on social media are pursuing a different agenda. They’re on a mission.

Much as we would wish it to be otherwise, for many people this really is the angriest time of year.

Remember them in your Christmas prayers — even if they don’t appreciate it.

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I’m not sure whether this meme is a commentary on the moral obtuseness of Christians or on the hypocrisy of non-believers. But I offer it for your consideration…

But kudos to a lady named Elizabeth, who puts her finger on a fundamental truth about lefty self-righteousness…

God bless you, Elizabeth.