Evangelical Christians seeking to engage the culture should take a lesson from the late Charles M. Schultz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip. Although Wikipedia notes that Schultz may have turned to secular humanism [1] in later years, a distinctly Christian theology is apparent in the 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas [2], which aired on ABC tonight.
In the special Charlie Brown, exasperated, asks if anyone knows the true meaning of Christmas. Linus obliges, and begins to quote verbatim from Luke 2 [3], explaining, in effect, that the birth of Christ is the locus of meaning for Christmas.
No show created today could pull off such a display of overt Christianity and get away with it. It’s amazing that the show still eludes the media censors who might pull it lest it offend someone. With Christmas a completely secular holiday in our culture, A Charlie Brown Christmas is an oddity that Christians should applaud and seek to emulate.