Christmas ads are the least of Christianity’s problems

Re: Advertising on Christmas Day is hurtful for Christians

In the Dec. 31 Examiner, Bruce Anderson wrote that he and his wife were deeply hurt when their ears and eyes were assailed by advertising on Christmas Day. He identifies John 2:13-16 (where Jesus drives the money changers from the temple) as the part of the Bible that best exemplifies Christ’s dim view of the love of money.

In John 2, Jesus’ anger was not directed at moneylenders and merchants in general, nor was it directed at the Roman overlords of Palestine. It was specifically directed at his own people who were using “his father’s house as a market.”

I respect Mr. Anderson’s right to find advertising on Christmas Day offensive, however I think a more appropriate way to honour the spirit of John 2: 13-16 is to confront the hypocrisy of those who piously profess their Christian beliefs while clearly worshipping power and money.

We could start with those Christians who somehow reconcile their support for Donald Trump with their faith; almost everything Trump does and says is at complete odds with the teachings of Jesus. While some Christian leaders such as Washington’s Episcopalian Bishop Mariann Edgar Budd bravely call out the president’s hypocrisy, too many others support the bully in the White House or have been cowed into silence by him.

Other examples include the numerous televangelists who seem to believe they need a private jet to spread the word of God. A contemporary version of John 2:13-16 might find Jesus in an aircraft hangar with a sledgehammer and a cutting torch.

While more Christ in Christmas would be nice, what we really need is more Christ in Christianity.

Paul Sobanski, Middleton Drive