Anglican bishop shows disdain for Christmas carols

What the good gentleman from Crydon fails to realize is that, in the increasingly secular UK, these "nonsense" songs are one of the last few hooks he has to get people to remember Christ at all. In Constantinople the Arians were forbidden from organizing within the city walls. As a result they set about writing Arian hymns to draw people out of the city. On noting this St. John Chrysostom used the imperial coffers to have hymns written lest those that didn't know better went over to the Arian side. Music matters. It is better to have sometimes cloying carols that remind families about His birth than have them replaced with feel-good songs completely devoid of any reference to the "reason for the season."

I find his attacks against a quiet, obedient, and mild Christ odd. I find his dislike for 'Come All Ye Faithful' on the grounds that it was pagans who went to see Him more odd still. Were there Christian waiting in the wings for Christ that didn't feel like making the late night trip? Did the Jews, even when He walked among them, follow Him when He made it plain who He was? How many things did Christ do amongst Baptized Christians? Do we not get to sing joyfully that the event happened whether we happened to be there or not?

When Mary heard these amazing words,
she bowed low and worshipped the offspring of her womb
and with tears, she said, “Great, my Child,
great is all that you have done for me in my poverty;
for see, magi are outside seeking you.
The kings of the East
seek your face,
and the rich among your people beg to see you,
for truly your people are those to whom you have been made known as
a little Child, God before the ages.

“So, since they are your people, my Child, bid them
come under your roof, that they may see
rich poverty, precious beggary.
You I have as glory and pride, therefore I am not ashamed.
You are the grace and beauty
of my dwelling and of me. Nod and let them enter.
My poverty does not worry me;
I hold you as a treasure that the kings have come to see,
for kings and magi know that you have appeared
a little Child, God before the ages.”

LONDON (RNS) A leading Church of England bishop has slammed a number of the world's favorite Christmas carols, saying some have "nonsense" words that are embarrassing and others reek of "Victorian behavior control."

Bishop Nick Baines of Croydon said "all sorts of fantasies have grown up around Christmas" that leave many people thinking of the celebration as "nothing more than some sort of fairy story."

In his new book, "Why Wish You a Merry Christmas," Baines cites the line in "Away in a Manger" that goes "no crying He makes," and wonders, "How can any adult sing this without embarrassment?"

"It's nonsense," he says, adding that he finds it "slightly bizarre" that parents could sing that carol "as if it actually related to reality."

In the carol "Once in Royal David's City," a particular favorite in Britain, its line "mild, obedient, good as He" smacks of "Victorian behavior," Baines said.

For good measure, the bishop attacks another well-loved Christmas hymn, "O Come, All Ye Faithful," suggesting that it should more accurately be called "O Come All Ye Faithless."

Baines noted that it was not the "faithful" but the shepherds -- "the great unwashed," as he described them -- and the "pagan" Wise Men who went to see the baby Jesus.

The bishop describes such Christmas fantasies as "nothing short of tragic, because nothing could be further from the truth."