A rational opinion on faith in the public arena

Michael Medved has an excellent op/ed piece in USA Today entitled "Faith in Film: Why not?" He's examining the controversy over the release of the film based on C. S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Medved, an observant Jew, notes that a devout Christian family's celebration of Christmas in no way threatens his faith or observance of Hanukkah. Nor is a Christian family threatened or somehow weakened when it

" . . . watches its neighbors joyously, meticulously celebrating Hanukkah--or Ramadan or Kwanzaa, for that matter . . . . In fact, confronting other religious practices may help raise substantive questions about the deeper meaning of the holiday, beyond Santa and sleigh bells."

Read the article in it entirety. I think Medved has it right. We who celebrate Christmas in an overt way pose no threat to the deeply held faith of others. We are contributing to "the kindly, soulfoul seasonal atmosphere that encourages all people to take their traditions and commitments more seriously."