'Tis the Season to Boycott, Baptists...

...bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla. To let you know where I stand on boycotts, I once visited Disneyland on a Sunday during the Baptist boycott while a student at the mother of all evangelical seminaries, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  But this is the typical time of the year when everyone comes out calling for a boycott of this or that.  Something or other says "happy holidays," so we say we'll boycott that product, or this or that store peddles such pagan wares, so we won't darken their doors.

But first, why would we expect unbelievers to love Christ and appreciate the celebration of his birth? In a pluralistic, postmodern society, why would we have this expectation, that they would slap "Merry Christmas" all over stuff?

And second, what sort of message does this send to an unbelieving world?  It says, "We expect you to celebrate our holidays, whether you like it or not.  You've taken away our culture, and we're mad as heck."

And third, why would we want to go back to the good ol' days when everyone was Christian, yet few were truly?  These boycotts are a nostalgic cry for "Christendom," the golden days when everyone knew and assumed Christianity to be true.  You can talk to my friends in Mississippi.  That's not always the most enjoyable environment in which to do ministry.  If everyone celebrates Christmas, then no one does.

And fourth, where do we see these sorts of tactics in Scripture?  Did Paul and the apostles encourage the nascent church to suddenly boycott all things Greco-Roman?  Of course not!  No, they were not ministering in the last vestiges of a "Christian nation."  But soon that part of the world would get a "Christian nation," and that was by no means an upgrade.

America is now a mission field, not a Christian nation, which is exactly why we shouldn't look like rednecks, calling for boycotts.