Obama Uses Christmas to Lecture Christians on Tolerance

Brittany M. Hughes | December 28, 2016
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President Obama once again kicked a predominant Christian holiday to the curb this week, releasing back-to-back statements commemorating Hannukah and Kwanzaa while using Christmas as a catalyst to lecture Christians on tolerance.

On Dec. 23, Obama released a statement wishing Jewish people around the world a happy Hannukah season. Three days later, on Dec. 26, the president published well wishes to those celebrating Kwanzaa, commemorating the holiday as “a joyous time to reflect on the rich African-American culture.”

The White House’s website, however, was notably silent on Dec. 25.

While there was no statement from the president on Christmas Day, the White House did release a blog and video on Dec. 24 in which Obama and the First Lady mentioned Christmas quite a number of times, using the holiday as a springboard to tout the president’s own political agenda, reflect on the past eight years of “progress” and lecture stubborn Americans on why they should be more tolerant toward Muslims and more welcoming to millions of refugees. Less a commemoration of Christmas than a platform for political posturing, the Obamas' weekly address backhandedly informed American Christians that to not blindly accept an endless influx of Islamic immigrants would be to ignore the teachings of Christ.

While certainly not surprising, nor an indicator of the end of the world, Obama’s treatment of Christmas indicates an ongoing apathy toward the faith he himself claims to hold, as well as a shameless habit of guilt-tripping those who don’t share his political leanings. During the eight years Obama has occupied the White House, the Obama family holiday card has consistently omitted any mention of Christmas. (Lest anyone assume this is a historically understood attempt at “inclusivity,” the Bush family was known for incorporating Bible verses on their own Christmas greetings.)

Conversely, Obama is known for issuing lengthy and poetic annual statements acknowledging the beginning of Ramadan, a Muslim holiday featuring a month of prayer and fasting. Unlike Obama’s yuletide sermons to Christians, these annual declarations consistently avoid lecturing Muslims on issues of tolerance.

The president also issues yearly statements on the Jewish holiday of Passover.

To be fair, while President Obama doesn’t issue annual statements on Christmas Day, he does toss a yearly bone to his fellow Christ-followers at Easter. Here’s last year’s, for example.

As for Obama's latest Christmas video, we'll let you judge it for yourself.
 

 

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