Season’s Greetings 2024

Do you recall when there were publicly shared words "Season’s Greetings"?  It was a call to the best of humanity.  A reminder of the goal of "peace on earth and good will toward ALL." 

In 2024, we have shifted to cultural and societal spaces that carry the message "Greetings Deserved Only by Those Who Think Like ME!"  Individualistic politics and theology shaped by fear, control, grievance and greed turn great faith traditions inside-out and upside-down. "Do unto others" has become "Grab for myself," current politics suggest we believe Goliath is heroic seeking to kill the weaker David, or King Herod was putting his nation first by persecuting the immigrant family of Jesus.

There is nothing righteous about limiting public education so that one narrow expression of history can be taught. There is no "goodwill to all" when taxes and healthcare benefits are distributed unequally. There is no openness to truth when diverse cultures are seen as a threat or when the Indiana University's Kinsey Institute is under attack simply because it seeks to offer a scientific and complete view of human sexuality.

Division, discrimination and selfishness may last for a time, but a more honorable human future rests in the sharing of "Season’s Greetings" and acting like it we mean it for each and every person we meet.

[Letter to the Editor, Indianapolis Star, December 10, 2024]

Philip Amerson,

Bloomington, Indiana

President-emeritus

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary