Further. Every. Day.

Why Has The West Embrace The Anti-Hero Story?

Why has this become so popular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0tobM9b_9I ? The renewed interest in the anti-hero has taken a somewhat novel context, an article from Shadi Neinmeh at the University of Manitoba:

“…consider anti-heroism as a response to modern man's uncertainties about traditional values and as a feature of modernity's Zeitgeist. Modern anti-heroism captures the sensibility associated with modernism, with its attempts at cultural renewal, and it ranges between the low mimetic and the ironic mode.”

https://www.jstor.org/stable/44030709

Let's explore why as we watch our culture stray Further. Every. Day.

Name some common anti-heros, I know you can do it if you've been watching popular cinema in the last decade or two: Walter White, Deadpool, Punisher, Tony Soprano, Joker, Judge Dredd, Catwoman, and the list goes on forever. Some of these story types are tragedies, think Tony Soprano and Walter White. In the Sopranos a gangster becomes more human to the eyes of the viewer before the show is over, but in the end, Tony is killed by a long time friend. The villain's story ends in tragedy, as we know it should be based upon our learned experiences.

In Breaking Bad, we see a family man beset with difficult decisions. Walter's descent from broke teacher and loving family man into heartless mobster with all of the wealth in the world, but at the cost of his family is a Greek Tragedy in modern form. In fact, the perspective of the Anti-Hero has, until recently, always been a story of warning. The Anti-Hero narrative is generally only satisfying in the moral culture, when it ends in tragedy.

This brings us to today, where truth is relative and the respect for the valuable traits of the Anti-Hero, can be taken as bonafides in the Anti-Hero's virtue. Take the Hazbin Hotel, for instance, the whole narrative is focused on the virtue of Lucifer's “creativity” that sounds great! However, what happens when fiction like Hazbin Hotel slips in assumptive truth claims about God? What does that do to the psyche of the human being? Why do you think we see a pivot towards this type of artistic expression?

Theology: We see the Bible document men and women of terrible standing, some of these men and women could easily fit the role of Anti-Hero if their story was written as a Hollywood Script. Who are these people, and what does God show us through History concerning the accomplishments of wicked people?

Philosophy: Humans are naturally sponges intellectually. Christ spoke on the issue of the heart when He said: “It is not what goes into the man, but what comes out that makes him unclean.” The Proverbs are full of verses about avoiding people who's tendencies are towards sin. How should we as Christians go about consuming media?

Culture: When the culture sees us consuming the same media as them, with no reservations for the content, what does that do to our witness? How should we live our lives in the culture?

Politics: Many people have tried to fix the culture in the political sphere. The problem with this is that this issue is one of the heart. How is this not an issue for Politics, but one for the family?

Economics: What should we do when it comes to Hollywood as media consumers? How has the family failed to protect children via cheap babysitting through TV?

Last Question: Favorite Villain and why?

Why Hollywood Hates Prince Charming Further. Every. Day.

Fairytales, Fables, parables, these are all names for the ideal of stories that we tell children to represent the world as it ought to be, not necessarily as it is. We teach our children about morality via these stories.

In 1937 Snow White, hit the Theatres and the world was in awe at the story of the technical achievement and the beauty of the story of Snow White, the animated masterpiece captured even the hardest of hearts. Today, the story is seen as paternalistic and harmful, but why? And it's not just Snow White, but every princess or woman who is saved by a man is considered a harmful archetype, to be replaced only by the woman saving, and rejecting romantically, the man. Why the shift? Let's talk about that today as we watch our culture strays Further Every Day.

To get context, let's watch two clips of Snow White:

Here's where Snow White wishes to meet the Prince and gets that wish granted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54QeNL5ih6A

Here's the controversial scene where the Prince kisses the deceased Snow White:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bOwgBV_IbU

Rachel Zegler is the embodiment of the Woke Culture's view on the above scenes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUdwH4lqaUQ

There are three things that can be seen here in Zegler's remarks:

A disdain for Traditional Gender Roles and Men

A disdain for history and the desire to remake the world into a woke world

A disdain for everyone who came before her and gave her the privileges she enjoyed as a Disney Princess

Let us look at another re-characterization of a classic story, Sleeping Beauty.

Here are the scenes that have sparked controversy:

Once Upon A Dream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXbHShUnwxY

Here's the culture's take on both of these stories:

https://sites.middlebury.edu/disneyprincesses/perpetuation-of-rape-culture/

Here's the substitute that we see placed in the prince's kiss for both movies: https://youtu.be/ZPrAFHAfpng?feature=shared

Jordan Peterson on the valuable lessons from Sleeping Beauty:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pavFsm5ZL8U

Peterson also goes onto a different interview to say that the story of Snow White has other valuable insights about how a woman must sort through the 7 Dwarfs of her life, each with a piece of what she specifically needs, until she can truly understand and “wake up” to or understand what type of man she truly wants, in Prince Charming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyWkgWsdPXY

All of these are valuable lessons that postmodernism shuns, as a woman doesn't need man, and men are basically evil. The root of this lies here: A Disdain and Hatred for Natural Gender Roles and Marriage. If the Enemy of Our Souls can destroy marriage, then how can we ever enjoy the picture of Christ and the Church that was inlaid into the framework of marriage? In the Bible, we see the and and woman specifically given roles that look like Christ and His Bride.

There is nothing wrong with the female protagonist. No one here wants a world of only Prince Charming movies, but if you look at the trend against men saving the day and only becoming the lesser, dumber, or even the completely villainous suitors, you see a move by the postmodern world against the value of traditional marriage. To say that such men do not exist is to be a blind as to say that no princesses are in fact shrews. However, the fairytale genre is focused on the idealist interpretation of the world for the minds of children so as to shape their worldview.

If we tell our youth that men tend to be evil and women should invariably be the leaders alone without a family, then we rob children of their God Given Roles. God designed men to be the Savior (with a role of sacrifice, provision, and protection) of the family. This makes him accountable to God for how he leads his family. God designed women to desire children and to nurture them. When we make the man the villain and the woman the Lone Ranger, men never fulfill the purpose of “Saving the Day”, and women grow old in a childless state, only comforted by professional accolades and cats.

Theology: What are the traditional roles for man and Woman?

Philosophy: Why is the world breaking down these roles, even to the point of mockery?

Culture: What has our culture done to the male figure? Are women actually happier?

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19369925/Panel_5.png

Politics: As we've seen this shift in the Postmodern World, how has the Government attempted to prioritize the push of the career woman at the expense of outcome? How has this affected people's view of the beneficiaries of affirmative action?

Economics: How has the destruction of gender roles devalued the innate beauty and merit of the individual genders? What has this done to our view of marriage? What has this done to our society at its core structure?

“You Lost Me” - The Young American Church

Introduction: How has the Church lost the youth in the West? Why do we see so many teens and young 20s fleeing the Church? Let's explore that problem as we watch our culture stray further every day.

Introduction of the Panel:

So what is happening with the youth in the West? Let's look at some numbers:

What Children Currently Believe

Noting that a person's worldview is typically formed before they reach the age of 13, Barna provided data from a Cultural Research Center national survey of adolescents conducted for the Raising Spiritual Champions book. That survey revealed that of the seven cornerstone beliefs, a majority of adolescents believes only one of those points of view.

• 69% - God exists and is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect Creator and ruler of the universe

• 36% - As a sinner, the only solution to the consequences of sin is to acknowledge your sins, ask

God to forgive you through Jesus Christ, and rely on Him to save you from those consequences

• 35% - Sin is real, and significant; we are all sinners, by choice

2

• 27% - Your most important reason for living is to do what God wants

• 25% - You trust the Bible because it is completely true and personally relevant to your life

• 21% - The Bible provides a complete and reliable understanding of right and wrong

• 17% - Success is consistently doing what the Bible teaches

In terms of developing a solid foundation for a biblical worldview, just 3% embrace all seven of those

perspectives. That does not bode well for adolescents building a stable foundation that will lead to a

robust and biblical worldview.

Adolescents clearly are exposed to many different points of view related to the subject matter of the

cornerstones. The Cultural Research Center study revealed that most of today's adolescents (58%)

believe just two or fewer of the seven cornerstones.

Cornerstones Embraced Percentage of adolescents

So no wonder we see exits from the church like this:

So is it Youth Pastors? Are they to blame? You might make that argument if you take this information in vacuum:

https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AWVI2022_Release05_Digital.pdf

However, let's zoom out a bit and look closer at the Church as a whole:

https://www.barna.com/research/changing-state-of-the-church/

It's almost like there's a cancer of unbelief in the Church at large. Do you REALLY believe that God is real? If you did, what would you do about listening to Him, seeking council of Him? Would you not have a desire for a stronger relationship with those who call Him Lord?

Chair of Theology:

What does the Bible say about generational knowledge of God? Joshua 4:9, Judges 2:10-19

Judges 21:25, 2 Chronicles 33:1-6. How long does it take to lose such respect for God?

Chair of Philosophy:

If this world is not our home, how should we go about preparing our children for the next world? How should WE live in this world?

Chair of Culture:

The world has had its way with the Church instead of the Church promoting God to the World. What is the process by which we can see Godly change in our Culture?

Chair of Politics:

What have we seen happen to our freedom of worship and the sovereignty of the parent in the political sphere without God in the Culture? Voting is important, but how can we correct this problem at its root?

Chair of Economics:

Where one's treasure is, so is their heart. If we are to be wise stewards of our time and treasure, what would that look like on this Earth and how would that translate into a lifestyle?

Outro

Final Question: Favorite Youth Group Game

When Did The Church Lose The Culture War? Introduction: When did the Church lose the Culture War? Spoiler Alert, she lost something much more important LONG before she lost the Culture War. What is that, you may ask? Let's explore that as we watch our culture stray further, every, day. Introduce the Guests and Panelists What happened in the 1940s-1960s with the Church, what happened to our view of Biblical Inerrancy? Well, since the 1800s, there had been an attack on the integrity of the Bible's Historical translation and preservation. By the 1940s and 1950s, seminarians were being taught things like Mark 16:9-20 was not originally in the Bible and Jesus did not rise from the dead, in contradiction to all evidence to the contrary. However, this showed in the belief of those in the pews: https://news.gallup.com/poll/166613/four-report-attending-church-last-week.aspx We then see a slow decline in those who even believe in a God leading up to today: https://news.gallup.com/poll/393737/belief-god-dips-new-low.aspx All of this to say, when we see how the Bible had taken back seat to Human Philosophy, the Church truly lost its power within its own borders. Shortly after that she lost her authority in the culture. Just a few years later, the Supreme Court reversed its long standing view on prayer and God in schools and the following happened: SAT Scores Plummeted: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Historical_Average_SAT_Scores_%28Vector%29.svg Unwed Teenage Pregnancy Skyrocketed: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/US-birth-rates-for-ages-15-19-and-percent-of-nonmarital-births-Source-US-vital_fig1_310512785 Now we see a rapid decline of Christianity within the last decade, and the rise of not atheism, but spirituality: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/how-u-s-religious-composition-has-changed-in-recent-decades/ It's almost like we shutout the authority of all knowledge and excellence from the Pulpit and as that trickled into the rest of the Culture, we saw a regression in every sphere of American Life. How can we as Christians in this nation begin to reverse this course? Chair of Theology: What should our fundamental mission be in our world today, and I don't mean the Earth, or the USA, but in our Families, Friends, and Work Relationships? Chair of Philosophy: With the above in mind, how should we order our lives? If we know that our relationship with God directly affects our ability to witness and be effective in our day to day world, how will this knowledge affect our daily lives? Chair of Culture: What must we do in our lives and in our Churches to regain an Authority in the Culture? Is it possible to further damage the view of Christ in the Culture during our outreach? How do we avoid this? Chair of Politics: How has the Christian often confused Politics and Theology? How have we divorced them? How does one go about living as a Citizen of both this world and the next? Chair of Economics: How have we lost the value of the Gospel in whitewashing it to make it more “applicable” to the “seeker”? In the 1960s, the Church focused on making itself more “accessible” to the world. There is something to be said for dispensing with the us 4 and no more attitude that develops in Churches, but how has the Church devalued Holiness in America? How have we become more focused on seats filled and money raised, as opposed to lives changed? Final Thoughts One last thing: What is your favorite thing from the 1960s? #respect #goodguyswinning #Guns #trans #nra #transgender #brettcooper #mattwalsh #changemymind #stevencrowder #michaelknowles #benshapiro #fed #woke #podcast #christianity #furthereveryday #america #rights #listenable #abortion #deathofthewest #israel #palestine #hamasattack #israelhamaswarnewstoday

To Resolve or Not to Resolve – That is the Question! Do you know the origin of the tradition of making New Year's resolutions? It's an interesting one indeed! And we're going to talk about this and more in this particular podcast. But let's meet our panel today before we get into the topic. Approximately 4,000 years ago! - Introduce everyone Theology · Should Christians make New Year's resolutions? o Does the Bible have anything to say about making New Year's resolutions? · What does the Bible say about planning? (Be sure to include “count the cost”) Philosophy · Why do so many people “fail” at keeping New Year's resolutions? · Is there any wisdom in making a New Year's resolution? · Is it OK for a person not to make a New Year's resolution? Culture · What are the most common reasons/purposes that we make New Year's resolutions? · What are the top 5 New Year's resolutions? · How does the keeping/failing of New Year's resolutions impact our culture? Political · Does this issue of New Year's resolutions directly affect our politics? Economics · How does New Year's resolutions impact our economy? Impact can be found on gym's/memberships Impact can be found in diet plans and foods Impact can be found on alcohol and tobacco - subsequently, healthcare References History of New Year's resolutions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHqIlFi79aA https://www.insightvacations.com/blog/new-years-resolutions/ Who's making New Year's resolutions https://today.yougov.com/society/articles/48233-what-are-americans-new-years-resolutions-for-2024-poll Key statistics regarding New Year's resolutions https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/ RESOLVE, noun rezolv'. 1. Fixed purpose of mind; settled determination; resolution. GOAL, noun 3. The end or final purpose; the end to which a design tends, or which a person aims to reach or accomplish. #respect #goodguyswinning #Guns #trans #nra #transgender #brettcooper #mattwalsh #changemymind #stevencrowder #michaelknowles #benshapiro #fed #woke #podcast #christianity #furthereveryday #america #rights #listenable #abortion #deathofthewest #israel #palestine #hamasattack #israelhamaswarnewstoday

To Resolve or Not to Resolve – That is the Question! Do you know the origin of the tradition of making New Year's resolutions? It's an interesting one indeed! And we're going to talk about this and more in this particular podcast. But let's meet our panel today before we get into the topic. Approximately 4,000 years ago! - Introduce everyone Theology · Should Christians make New Year's resolutions? o Does the Bible have anything to say about making New Year's resolutions? · What does the Bible say about planning? (Be sure to include “count the cost”) Philosophy · Why do so many people “fail” at keeping New Year's resolutions? · Is there any wisdom in making a New Year's resolution? · Is it OK for a person not to make a New Year's resolution? Culture · What are the most common reasons/purposes that we make New Year's resolutions? · What are the top 5 New Year's resolutions? · How does the keeping/failing of New Year's resolutions impact our culture? Political · Does this issue of New Year's resolutions directly affect our politics? Economics · How does New Year's resolutions impact our economy? Impact can be found on gym's/memberships Impact can be found in diet plans and foods Impact can be found on alcohol and tobacco - subsequently, healthcare References History of New Year's resolutions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHqIlFi79aA https://www.insightvacations.com/blog/new-years-resolutions/ Who's making New Year's resolutions https://today.yougov.com/society/articles/48233-what-are-americans-new-years-resolutions-for-2024-poll Key statistics regarding New Year's resolutions https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/ RESOLVE, noun rezolv'. 1. Fixed purpose of mind; settled determination; resolution. GOAL, noun 3. The end or final purpose; the end to which a design tends, or which a person aims to reach or accomplish. #respect #goodguyswinning #Guns #trans #nra #transgender #brettcooper #mattwalsh #changemymind #stevencrowder #michaelknowles #benshapiro #fed #woke #podcast #christianity #furthereveryday #america #rights #listenable #abortion #deathofthewest #israel #palestine #hamasattack #israelhamaswarnewstoday

A Fun Beginning of the year

Why Is America The Best Nation On Earth, and Why She's Losing Everything -Further. Every. Day. Why is America losing her place in the world? She was the nation that led, with Great Britain, the movement to abolish slavery, abolish the practice of polygamy (it never goes well long term for the women), and promote peace in the world. In fact, after WWII, America became a largely good force in the world, protecting many millions of people from the Tyranny of the Ideological Left, see South Korea, the breakup of the USSR, etc. So what happened in the mid 60s that destroyed a nation with such a positive impact on the world? 28:20-29:56 • American Heritage Collection | Episod... So with the truth of our Founder's Intentions in mind, let's deal with the source of that so called Separation of Church and State. This phrase originated in the Jeffersonian Letters to the Danbury Baptist Church, a group of individuals that Jefferson himself has fought the British Monarchy to protect. Jefferson wrote: “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.” Not too convincing for the Separation of Church and State crowd's argument. Let's look at how the courts ruled on attacks on Christianity back then: • American Heritage Collection | Episod... 42:09-43:10 It would almost seem that the modern rulings fly in the face of Historical precedent. John Adams to the Massachusetts Militia in 10-11-1798: “Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition, Revenge, or Gallantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other” "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim tribute to patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness -- these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. . . . reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles." George Washington "Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles." Patrick Henry So when did this change? When we took God out of the public square. What were the results? 1:08:48-1:12:15 Do we have such dedication?

Dangers of Christian Nationalism Is Christian Nationalism yet another form of identity politics? From MSN.com: (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/rob...) Film producer Rob Reiner stated the following on December 7th, 2023: “Christian Nationalism is not only a danger to our Country, it's a danger to Christianity itself.” This raises the question of what exactly Reiner thinks Christian Nationalism is. Do you know what Christian Nationalism is? Is it compatible with Christianity? This and more as we travel Further Every Day! (Play Wretched video clip) 1. Defining Nationalism and Christian Nationalism a. What does the Bible say about nationalism? From GotQuestions.org - https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-na... b. What is Christian Nationalism? From GotQuestions.org - https://www.gotquestions.org/Christia... 2. Sub-topics to discuss a. Theology i. What does the Bible say about nationalism? ii. Is it not true that God wants all people to be Christian? If so, does it not support the premise that some in the US would want a Christian Nationalist country? b. Philosophy i. What should we remember when considering Christian “leaders” (some calling themselves, “evangelicals”) assisted Rob Reiner in making this documentary? ii. If America was not “Christian Nationalist” in nature, would it not be true that it would be something else, maybe “Atheist Nationalist”? iii. What are some of the competing worldviews to this? (ie – Global Liberalism, Socialism, etc.) c. Culture i. How deeply embedded is Christianity in America and where did it come from? d. Politics i. Should our government be influenced by Christianity? Why or why not? e. Economics i. What would the economic impact be on the United States if Christianity was destroyed, as Rob Reiner states, by Christian Nationalism? Video Clips Michael Knowles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIFAv... (8:45 – 10:50) YouTuber: Middle MAGA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg1k3... YouTuber: Wretched (0:01 – 2:55) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8SvP_O1fY8&t=439s&pp=ygUkd3JldGNoZWQgcmFkaW8gY2hyaXN0aWFuIG5hdGlvbmFsaXNt

Today, let's look at the common arguments for a Pagan Origin of Christmas. Let's put them into 3 categories: 1. The 25th Date coincides with other pagan holidays like Saturnalia and Sol Invictus 2. The gods who were born on the 25th make Christ look like a copycat in a long line of copycats. 3. The Christmas Tree appears to be the Asherah Pole from Jeremiah 10:1-5. So let's start with the date of the 25th. Where did the date come from? Some sources attribute Theophilus of Antioch circa 171-183 AD as the first to use the 25th of December date as the date of Christ's birth, due to the notion that prophets are conceived on the day they die (Christ's death being attributed here as the 25th of March). Some even attribute Pope St. Telesphorus in circa 125-136 AD as having ascribed the December 25th date decades earlier. The dates of Saturnalia were the 17th-23rd , never on the 25th. A Pre-Christ Sol Invictus is only referenced in 1 manuscript, the Chronography of 354. This manuscript was written over 100 years after Hippolytus of Rome's Commentary on Daniel (circa 202~211 AD), which references the December 25th Birth of Christ. It is entirely possible that the observance of Sol Invictus's birthdate may have even been a mimicry of the December 25th date! There go those two points, showing a crippling lack of scholarship on the part of the proponents of a Pagan Origin of Christmas. As for other gods who have held or picked up the 25th, some of these have resurrection stories and other vague similarities to Christ's story. I'll have to quote Lewis here on this general contention as Lewis said it better than I could: “And what did God do? …He sent the human race what I call good dreams: I mean those queer stories scattered all through the heathen religions about a god who dies and comes to life again and, by his death, has somehow given new life to men.” If one takes the proposition that man came from Noah, and Noah expected the redeemer of the Genesis 3 covenant, would not man expect such a redeemer? Also, would not the Devil himself love to abuse this desire for a Savior and propagate such false religions for the Devil's own gain? This view, even if you believe it to be wrong, is at least consistent. On a side note, I do not believe, like many that Christ's birth was on the 25th of December. It was likely on the feast of First Fruits in April. This would better fit the prophetic timeline and The Christ Comet is a theory of the Star of Bethlehem that plots the activities of a specific comet to that time frame. This comet would have behaved in such a way as to lead the Magi to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem, but this is neither here nor there for this discussion. On the note of the Christmas Tree, the Asherah Pole of Pre-Christ Iran is often connoted with the Tradition of the Christmas Tree, which was started around the 1500s by the French and Germanic Christians, the better part of two millennia separated from Jeremiah's words in Jeremiah 10:1-5: "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. 5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good." On that note, how would uncarved trees have anything to do with carved wooden idols? Just because heathens used trees in false worship, does not mean that trees are somehow pagan. If pagans doing something or celebrating in a certain way makes any association with the item or practice anathema, stop singing, stop praying, and while you're at it, stop breathing! This extreme is almost a strawman, but the point of this should be why are we doing what we do? Some traditions are valueless, granted. Some are even dangerous, agreed. But let's base our critiques, if we have them, on facts and not unsupported nonsense. (For example, find an actual ancient source on the use of Christmas Trees for Saturnalia. Few if any exist, and none that we are aware of.) https://www.learnreligions.com/why-is... https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearm... https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/201... https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/201... https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/re...