Jesus: An historical figure, too

We read:

"Another holiday season is upon us and, I can just see the lawsuits materializing against various towns, cities and municipalities over an improper display of a nativity scene.

Of course, they will be driven by various civil liberties organizations such as People for the American Way and the American Civil Liberties Union (both of them misnomers at all levels). The grounds for these lawsuits will be that they represent an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by government. The people behind them are evidently as ignorant of history as they are of the underlying spiritual assumptions behind the principles of this republic....

We enshrine the great figures of our history with statues, paintings, pictures and excerpts of their greatest sayings. Some had religious backgrounds, notably Martin Luther King, Jr., the legitimacy of whose work was enhanced due to his religious training. There have been many others. Across from the United Nations in New York City is the ’swords into plowshares’ quote from the bible carved into a marble edifice on an outside staircase. Religion is central to our entire culture.

Jesus was a religious figure but he was an historical figure as well. He permeates our heritage. Acknowledgment of him is not an endorsement of a religion but a testament to his importance to our society and no one was more important, not George Washington, not Thomas Jefferson, not James Madison. The influence of all the Founding Fathers combined, along with all of the other figures of history, pales next to that of Jesus Christ. He deserves recognition in our nation and our halls of government and perhaps, not limited to Christmas time.

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