596: The Surprising Origins of Christmas in America with W. David O. Taylor
The Holy Post
Phil Vischer
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 December 2023
⏱️ 96 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If Jesus is the reason for the season, why do most Christians celebrate Christmas at home with their families rather than at church? David Taylor, a professor of culture and theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, joins Skye to discuss the origins of Christmas in America. He says Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, and Coca-Cola have done more to influence how we celebrate the birth of Jesus than gospel writers. And he explains why the Puritans who first settled in America believed Christmas was satanic. Speaking of Satan, we have an update on the Satanic Temple display in the Iowa State Capital. The Texas Supreme Court made a controversial, and confusing, ruling about abortion. And what happens when Americans say they’re more religious but they are less likely to engage in religious practices like attending a church?
Holy Post Plus
Getting Schooled - Saint Nicholas
https://www.patreon.com/posts/94956592
0:00 - Intro
1:29 - Show starts
3:57 - Theme Song
4:18 - Sponsor - World Relief - Visit https://worldrelief.org/holypost/ to download your family refugee guide and learn more about the Path Community
5:37 - Live Show Recap
11:14 - Satanic Statue Decapitated
22:01 - Texas Abortion Case
44:09 - Republican and Democrat attitudes towards Religion
56:33 - Sponsor - Get 35% off your first order of Sundays. Go to www.SundaysForDogs.com/HOLYPOST or use code HOLYPOST at checkout.
57:44 - Sponsor - Magic Spoon - Go to www.magicspoon.com/HOLYPOST and use code HOLYPOST to get $5 off
59:23 - Interview Intro
1:05:28 - The Puritan’s impact on Christmas
1:09:18 - Queen Victoria’s impact on Christmas
1:17:23 - Charles Dickens impact on Christmas
1:26:44 - Christmas in America Today
1:35:36 - End Credits
Links mentioned in news segment:
Satanic Temple says part of display in Iowa Capitol 'destroyed beyond repair'
Religion as a Cultural and Political Identity
https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/religion-as-a-cultural-and-political
5 things to know about the latest abortion case in Texas
Other resources:
https://www.wdavidotaylor.com/
THE LIGHT HAS COME: PRAYER CARDS FOR ADVENT, CHRISTMAS AND EPIPHANY
Daily Advent Devotionals by David Taylor
https://www.wdavidotaylor.com/blog/daily-advent-devotionals
Why Putting Christ Back in Christmas Is Not Enough
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Holy Post. If Jesus is the reason for the season, why do most Christians celebrate Christmas at home with their families rather than at church? |
| 0:10.0 | David Taylor, a professor of culture and theology at Fuller, joins me to discuss the origins of Christmas in America. |
| 0:17.0 | He says that Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, and Coca-Cola have done more to influence how we celebrate the birth of Jesus than the writers of the |
| 0:25.0 | Gospels. |
| 0:26.0 | And he explains why the Puritans who first settled in America believed Christmas was |
| 0:30.6 | satanic. |
| 0:31.6 | Speaking of Satan, we have an update on the satanic temple display in the Iowa State |
| 0:36.3 | Capitol. |
| 0:37.3 | The Texas Supreme Court has made a controversial and very confusing ruling about abortion, |
| 0:42.4 | and what happens when Americans say they're more religious, |
| 0:45.4 | but they're less likely to engage in actual religious practices like attending church. |
| 0:50.1 | And for our Holy Post Plus subscribers this week, we have a brand new holiday edition of Getting Schooled by Caitlin Shess. |
| 0:56.4 | This time, it's about St. Nicholas and the origins of Santa Claus. |
| 1:00.8 | And just a heads up, it's way darker than you would imagine. To all of our Holy |
| 1:05.2 | Post Plus subscribers, thank you so much for your support this past year and we're really |
| 1:09.5 | excited to share with you all the new things we have planned for 2024. |
| 1:13.4 | And if you're not yet a subscriber, now is a great time to sign up so you don't miss any of the |
| 1:18.0 | new shows, bonus interviews, merch, live streams, and Holy Post Book Club selections in the new year. |
| 1:24.6 | Go to Holy Post.com to learn more. |
| 1:27.5 | Here is episode 596. |
| 1:30.1 | Hey everyone at Sky, welcome back to the Holy Post. |
| 1:32.4 | I am joined by Caitlin |
... |
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