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The host of the high-ranking CNN program “What Would Jesus Really Do?” which featured Christian heavyweights like Rick Warren and Bishop T.D. Jakes, will return to airwaves this Friday to examine how secular influences have led to the de-emphasis of Christmas in America.
“We hear that ‘Jesus is the reason for the season,’” says host Roland Martin in an interview with The Christian Post, “but how in the world can you celebrate Christmas without mentioning Christ?”
In April, the CNN contributor and talk show host on WVON-AM in Chicago, Illinois, asked prominent Christian leaders how Jesus might solve modern-day problems including the war in Iraq and global warming during the hour-long special, “What Would Jesus Really Do?” The program was aimed at breaking the stereotype that Christians will only discuss two highly debatable issues: homosexuality and abortion.
On Friday, Martin tackles the religious issues that modern-day Christians face from factoring faith into the presidential election to celebrating Christmas in a pluralistic culture.
The show, entitled “What Would Jesus Really Do? Holiday Edition,” will also discuss how the commercialization of Christmas has affected how Americans view the holiday.
Many people are more focused on buying gifts than on celebrating the birth of Christ, lamented Martin.
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He said he hopes to remind people that Christmas is not about toy sales or Santa Claus.
“When Christmas becomes about Santa, the snowman, and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, then what we have done is eliminate what the actual purpose of the holiday is,” said Martin.
While Martin expects to examine the links between cultural sensitivities on religion and the de-emphasis of Christmas through a roundtable discussion with representatives from other faiths, he takes a bold stand on his position.
“I can’t take out Christ from Christmas,” Martin told The Christian Post. “You’re not going to see me write on cards X-M-A-S.”
Other topics covered during the hour-long program will include Mike Huckabee’s rise on the GOP side and a case in which a 30-year-old Lutheran priest who turned atheist sued the police department in Spokane, Wa., for allowing a volunteer chaplain to display a cross on his badge.
Such contemporary issues are also the focus of Martin’s book Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith, which features his columns on faith in God and faith in respect to politics, marriage, urban culture and daily circumstances.
“What Would Jesus Really Do? Holiday Edition” will air live on Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. (EST) on CNN. The hour-long program is scheduled for re-broadcast on Christmas Eve.
On the Web: www.rolandsmartin.com/
