Do you think this is a disrespectful thing to do?

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catholiclala said:
. It strikes me as something I would have done to be ironic when I was Atheist, not something a practicing Catholic should feel inclined to do, even at home. Some things should be kept sacred to symbolize the strength of our faith, to remind ourselves and witness to others. Leave the pranks to non-believers.
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Spot on observation
 
Okay, I see your analogy. So using your analogy, how you dress shows your respect for people in a situation. When you are in their presence, you want them to see you as being respectful by your outward appearance.

Do you not think God sees you at all times? It is as if you are saying it is okay because no one else is going to see it. Again I ask, why is it okay at home if it is not okay in church?
 
There are many things I do at home but not at church.

It doesn’t make it wrong because I’m not willing to do them at church. Sex with my husband comes to mind. Sleeping. Showering. Watching tv.

These things are not wrong or irreverent. They simply are not proper in church.
 
The Magi, depicted in basically every Nativity scene, were Zoroastrian astrologers. Not comparing Yoda to the Magi, but by your logic, the Magi should be excluded for being from a religious tradition whose sensibilities are foreign to Christianity.

And “Xmas” is a shortening based on the Greek spelling of “Christ,” and such shortenings are extremely common in Christian art and writing for centuries. Look at every Byzantine icon, and you’ll see “Iç Xç” written over the head of Jesus. It’s a shortening for “Jesus Christ.”

In general, I think the “Yoda in the Nativity” thing is fine, a little funny. It’s not a terrible thing for us to have a sense of humor about our faith once in a while. As long as no disrespect is intended, this isn’t the kind of thing that’s worth worrying about too much.

-Fr ACEGC
 
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edward_george1 said:
And “Xmas” is a shortening based on the Greek spelling of “Christ,” and such shortenings are extremely common in Christian art and writing for centuries. Look at every Byzantine icon, and you’ll see “Iç Xç” written over the head of Jesus. It’s a shortening for “Jesus Christ.”
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The hybridization doesnt excuse the way this is used in the secular world at Christmas time.
Either write the word completely in Greek , or completely in English . In todays non Byzantine Icon world of secular and very commercial Christmas its use has significant implications surrounding the the reason for Christmas. I know people with no idea what is behind the Easter and Christmas vacations, People who grew up with these Vacations. People well educated within the secular world.
edward_george1 said:
The Magi, depicted in basically every Nativity scene, were Zoroastrian astrologers. Not comparing Yoda to the Magi, but by your logic, the Magi should be excluded for being from a religious tradition whose sensibilities are foreign to Christianity.
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There is a huge difference here, the Magi are part of the Nativity because they were there and as such are an accepted and traditional part of the Biblical story. And although the religious sensibilities of the Magi were not Christian, the Magi recognised Christ the King and travelled a long way to worship Him.
Worship being the key. Didnt they then protect the Christ child from Herod by not going back to inform Herod as asked. That in itself was a big thing, foreigners ignoring the request of the king after observing protocol and visiting Herod first.
The Magi found Christ, worshipped Him , gave gifts, and went home.

My logic is that a character shaped on a set of Eastern religions and martial arts is a character that would not worship an ultimate Christian Christ the King.
Yoda is all about self , the rejection of a creator in preference to growth of the all powerful self.
And that is my opinion, living as a practising Catholic in an extremely secular and increasingly non believing to pagan worshipping world. People who would rather for example , worship non existent power in minerals , then in their creator God.
 
Irishmom2 said:
So would everyone that doesn’t think it is disrespectful be okay with seeing something like this in the Nativity set at their church?
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It’s not meant for church. It’s meant for our own friendly interpretation of the Nativity.
If you did it at church then it’s imposing the fictional character on the official narrative and on the community, which isn’t going to work because the character doesn’t mean the same thing to all people. It’s likely some people wouldn’t even know who it was, others would get upset by pop culture in the church, still others would get hung up on the idea of alien existence or alien worship, etc. It detracts from the official community worship experience.

If someone did this at home because they or their child loved the character or the movies, then it’s respectful and fun. If someone did this at home because they knew it would upset their mother or out of disrespect for the Lord, then it would be sinful. Attitude is everything. And private devotion is private devotion.
 
Irishmom2 said:
Do you not think God sees you at all times? It is as if you are saying it is okay because no one else is going to see it. Again I ask, why is it okay at home if it is not okay in church?
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By this reasoning, I can’t walk around my house with the shades down in my underwear, because that’s not proper at church.

I can’t eat a bag of Doritos at home because we don’t eat Doritos in church.

I can’t have marital relations with my husband at home because we wouldn’t do that in church.

There’s a time and a place for everything. Church is for community worship according to the official norms of our faith. Private behavior and private devotion is for our home.
 
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Frankie65 said:
Imagine if you had a memorial to a family member and someone put something ‘humourous’ in the display.
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If my deceased family member loved Star Wars, then a Yoda would be totally appropriate for his display.
When I visit cemeteries, I see some graves with "fun stuff"on them relating to sports teams and other activities the deceased person presumably enjoyed when alive. It’s done out of love and personal connection, not disrespect.

A home nativity set is for the people who live in the home. It’s not for “the rest of us”. . . Unless of course somebody decides to post it on CAF, which is generally a bad idea because people’s senses of humor are all over the map as shown by this thread and a few others lately.
 
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The intent is what matters here! For example, I’m pretty sure that most people wouldn’t object to a child placing their favorite stuffed animal in or near the home Nativity.

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Personally, my children will enjoy the Fisher-Price Little People Nativity.
 
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Titivillus said:
I got one word for you:

Caganer
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Well, I wasn’t going to bring it up, but that was the first thing that came to mind.

I am not Catalonian and I don’t pretend to understand how this is acceptable in their culture. When I go to Europe for a month in 2022, I’ll have to be-bop on down to Barcelona and check it out. (I know my son would get a kick out of them!) The sculptures themselves are comical (if in poor taste from an American point of view), in a nativity scene, that’s another thing. As people are so fond of saying these days, not to judge, not to judge…

I had a good friend in college who was Catalonian. If I’m ever talking to her, I’ll have to ask her about this.
 
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I can’t speak for everyone, but I would be OK with it. What is your specific issue with it?
 
GiftofMercy said:
shortening Christmas to xmas is bad enough.
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This seemed like a good place for a response to insert random trivia:
Unicode has this symbol at position U+FB29 " Hebrew letter alternative plus sign " (﬩). The reason for this practice is that it avoids the writing of a symbol “+” that looks like a Christian cross.
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I spent three years preparing to become an Orthodox Jew (eventually decided not to) and I’d never heard of this. Of course, I wasn’t doing a lot of addition, so maybe that’s why. I do remember saying names of cities like S Francisco and S Diego, because as the rabbi said, “those are their saints, not ours.” Their mine now. 😃
 
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IMHO if it is in a Church it is definitely disrespectful.

If it was done at home this would be a perfect opportunity for a teaching moment in the faith. If it was an older child playing a joke, why not remind them of the respect we owe to Christ and His upcoming sacrifice. Also, a good time to point out the difference between what is real and what isn’t. Star Wars vs the Gospel message.

If it is a younger child, and I can understand little ones sticking things in nativity scenes out of curiosity or wanting to play with the images, but what a perfect time to teach them about the birth of Christ, why the nativity set is even there and again what is true and what isn’t.
 
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Well, if a young child who doesn’t know any better put Yoda there, that’s one thing. However, I have the feeling it was not a three year old who posted that meme online, but a teenager or young adult who lives with his or her mom.

Purely tasteless either way, and rather than encouraging it as a parent, I would teach the child that a Nativity set is more than just a toy or display piece. Call me no fun, but unless you want to see your kids enter their terrible teens disrespecting Nativity figurines for laughs (defacing them, hanging them from a staircase, launching them from a treadmill, you name it), and at the same time finding Catholic teachings “abhorrent”, and then carrying these same immature attitudes into adulthood (as so many of them do), then it’s best to educate them from a young age.

Have your kids play with something else instead. If you wouldn’t let them mess with a display piece that costs a lot of money, then why is messing with a display piece of significant spiritual importance okay? Material cost is more important than education and faith now? Just my two cents.
 
CathoRick said:
Call me no fun, but unless you want to see your kids enter their terrible teens disrespecting Nativity figurines for laughs (defacing them, hanging them from a staircase, launching them from a treadmill, you name it), and at the same time finding Catholic teachings “abhorrent”, and then carrying these same immature attitudes into adulthood (as so many of them do), then it’s best to educate them from a young age.
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No offense, but to me this sounds like “Trouble in River City” where the salesman talks about all the catastrophic things that will come from a pool hall simply opening up in the town.

Most of the people I met who found religion abhorrent as adults were raised in a strict, no-fun, super “reverent”, lecture-y environment, rather than a loving one where the parents weren’t afraid to play along with a little fun about Jesus, Mary, Joseph and religion once in a while.

Think I’m gonna mute this thread now, I’ve said my piece. . . .
 
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