Author Archives: hlesbrown

About hlesbrown

H. Les Brown is a man of many talents who has worn many hats in his lifetime. He boasts MAs in both philosophy and theology and years of service in the ministry, industry, data processing, life coaching, project management, and even a stint at Headquarters Marine Corps. As a life coach, he had a series of articles published in Worldwide Coaching Magazine. He self-published The Frazzled Entrepreneur’s Guide to Having it All, a self-help book for over-extended entrepreneurs. He enjoys desert hiking, working out, the creative arts, and a has passion for language. He’s up before dawn for morning meditation. He lives with Craig Gibson, his husband of twenty-five years, in a restored midcentury modern home in Palm Springs, California.

The War on Christmas? (Part 4)

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Scrooge

This article will look at “True Meaning of Christmas.” All tthe gift-giving, the Santa myth, the decorations, etc. take second place to what must be the most transformative influence on Christmas in history: the publication of Scrooge by Charles Dickens in 1843. By this time, many of the English Christmas traditions were well-established. But Dickens wanted to point out the hypocrisy of the upper classes with regard to the destitute poor in early industrial London. Taking his cue from the babe in the manger (and a genuine Christian focus on the poverty of the Christ child in contrast with the richness of God), Dickens Continue Reading →

The War on Christmas? (Part 3)

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Coca Cola Santa

In the first two articles in this series, we’ve been focusing on the dynamic behind those who claim a “War on Christmas” exists. Now, in this article that I call, “The Coca Cola Saint,” we can turn our attention toward sorting through the layers of tradition surrounding Christmas to see if we can lay bare more of its true meaning. In the US, Christmas evokes images of Christmas trees and Santa Claus and flying reindeer (especially Rudolph) and stockings stuffed with gifts and lights and stars and angels and special seasonal songs. Sometimes, there’s Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in Continue Reading →

The War on Christmas? (Part 2)

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Holy War

This is Part 2 in my series on the “true meaning of Christmas.” The topic today is “War, Victims, and the Satanized God.” If people believe that there’s a “War on Christmas” going on, then there must necessarily exist an enemy who causes this war, victims of this warfare, and a god who justifies the war and who rescues the virtuous (the “us”) and punishes the impious (the “them”). Let’s start by looking at war itself. War is waged ostensibly for self-preservation. No sane person puts him/herself in harm’s way for the pure enjoyment of it. The costs of war — great as Continue Reading →

The War on Christmas? (Part 1)

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War on Christmas

Today (during the 3rd week of the liturgical season of Advent), I’m going to start a multi-part article on the so-called “War on Christmas” that some people believe is being waged in our culture. Needless to say, I am most decidedly not one of those people. It is almost as if our culture needs another excuse to find fault, lay blame, avoid responsibility, increase hatred and division, and, generally, offer service to the satanized god of death. I believe that I am among a small minority of people who actually understand the feast of Christmas and I have an opportunity to prepare Continue Reading →

The Mantle of the Prophet

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Prophet

The first book of Kings describes the word of the Lord coming to Elijah at Horeb. The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.1 So Elijah went and did what he was told. So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of Continue Reading →