Signs warn Christmas carol singers away
I just noticed a piece in the Telegraph regarding yellow postcard sized signs, which are being handed out to folks in Lancashire which read:
“Sorry no carol singers, I won’t open my door to you.”
But it was the sub-headline that caught my attention:-
They bring a message of “peace on Earth and goodwill to all men” but carol singers are to be warned away from doorsteps this Christmas in case they appear threatening.
“Peace on Earth and goodwill to all men”? Where does this come from? Firstly Jesus quite plainly says in Matthew 10:34:-
“I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword”
And secondly it’s not ‘peace on Earth and goodwill to all men’, but rather from Luke 2:14:-
Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.
A subtle but rather significant difference in meaning I would say.
This is the rather depressing piece from the Telegraph, full of festive cheer, should you wish to read it:
If you have stumbled onto this blog please do take a few moments to read the following piece:- Echoes of GodPolice and neighbourhood watch organisers in one area of Lancashire have produced official notices for nervous residents to place in their windows telling the festive singers not to call.
The yellow postcard-sized signs, which are also being handed out at libraries and GPs’ surgeries, read: “Sorry no carol singers, I won’t open my door to you.”
Produced by the Safer Chorley and South Ribble Partnership, an umbrella body for police, local councils and neighbourhood watch groups, they have already been distributed in Penwortham, a middle class suburb of Preston and there are plans to hand them out more widely.
Tags: Christianity, Media