Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.

Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world;

Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population;

Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population;

Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible;

Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;

Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity;

Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ;

Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace; and

Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

First, looking through the whereas':

In the fourth whereas (Christians identify themselves...), King apparently hopes to get a statement of faith into the congressional record. It actually makes no grammatic sense in the contest of the resolution. The whereas' are the reasons for the resolution. The first three make logical sense (whereas there are lots of Christians in the country, we support one of their holidays). The fourth does only makes sense as an effort to deny other religions the same support (whereas Christians believe in salvation through Christ, we support their holidays. If they didn't believe that, we wouldn't support them).

The next two whereas' are an effort to get congressional support for a watered down version of the Christian republic form of historical revisionism that is popular among the far Christian right and home-schooling crowd.

The eighth whereas (Christmas is celebrated as a recognition...) returns to trying to get Congress on record actually supporting articles of Christian dogma, not merely the observation of a holiday.

Now, on to the resolution itself:

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

If by "great" King means large, then the point is as meaningless as a resolution recognising the wetness of water. If by "great" he means a value judgment, then who are the not great religions in his opinion?

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

Congress expresses continued support for three quarters of the voters in the United States. That's nice, though pointless. Shouldn't they be more concerned about that support flowing the other direction?

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

This should be the meat of a feel-good resolution, but it goes on.

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

Of course, Christians played a role in the founding of the United States, but this is a more explicit attempt to get the Christian republic historical revisionism on record. The actual wording is harmless enough to allow King deniability, but once passed, this resolution will be mentioned by the revisionists for years to come.

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

Why say Congress is opposed to bigotry and persecution directed against Christians and not mention other groups? On one hand, it plays to the persecution narrative that is epidemic among conservative Christians. On the other hand, it denies support to non-Christians.

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

How nice. Not only does Congress express support for three quarters of the voters in the United States, but it respects them too.

A mere feel-good resolution should be limited to points one, three, and six.
The others all give veiled support to the religious right's world view and political agenda. Unfortunately, the language is veiled enough that most members of congress will miss the point and, in any case, will be afraid to go on record opposing Christmas. The bill is a trap for Democrats and should not be allowed to make it to the floor. Someone was asleep at the wheel to let this happen.