Christmas messages from President Trump and Prime Minister Johnson. Interesting that Johnson indicates that the persecution of Christians around the world will be a priority for his administration, something that has also been a priority for the Trump administration. Neither Johnson nor Trump have led edifying personal lives, and neither could be considered to be religious. However, God, throughout History, has used the most imperfect of tools for His purposes. We shall see how this plays out.
“Neither Johnson nor Trump have led edifying personal lives….”
The same is true of King David, polygamist, adulterer, murderer, etc. He puts both men to envy with the litany of sins he committed. Yet called him a man after his own heart.
“God, throughout History, has used the most imperfect of tools for His purposes. ”
Constantine the Great or Attila/Genghis Khan (pick your scourge).
Trump’s gotta be somewhere on that spectrum, right?
God paints with all colors Ernst, including black and red. I marvel at the ability of God to bring good out of the worst that Man can do.
You know, perhaps here it should also be mentioned about the passing, appropriately enough, on Christmas Day of the unparalleled creative genius, Lee Mendelson, the creator of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” —-and many sequels—-in collaboration with the late Charles Schultz and extraordinarily talented pianist-composer Vincent Guaraldi.
Some may know the story behind the 1965 production. Part of it is:
Mendelson actually originally shopped a documentary on “Peanuts” and Charles Schultz to NBC execs—-but they declined it, too serious (he had had prior success for the documentary on baseball great Willie Mays.).
However a sponsor came forward and asked him to create a comic strip Christmas special, based on the immortal “Peanuts” characters. So Mendelssohn went to work. He actually wrote the lyrics for the famous opening song, “Christmas Time is Here”, to try to set the theme that he was trying to create. He said he first heard Vincent Guaraldi’s music when his then-unknown composition “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” came on the car radio while driving around San Francisco. The three, Schultz, Guaraldi, and Mendelson, got to get her the story which is famous for its serious theme underline the comic interludes of Snoopy and Linus.
Apparently, about a week before it was to air, Mendelson presented the completed project to NBC execs and they hated it. Especially the biblical themes and the non-professional voices of the children’s choir he used, and also violating another canon of the industry, using children for children’s voices(!). (But I think the clearly Gospel focus stuck in their craw.)
But because the execs had nothing to sub for it, it went forward, expected to be a disaster. The rest is history—-The most popular animated Christmas special in history. DVD and Xfinity sales continue like an avalanche even 50 years later.
I think this shows that biblical scholars and Hollywood executives are equally two of the most benighted intellectual jewels on the face of the earth.
But also it shows, once again, to get the real spirit of Christmas, you have to go to a good Jewish guy, just like with Irving Berlin.