President Joe Biden recently faced criticism for omitting the name Jesus Christ during his Christmas message last week.
While Biden did not specifically say Jesus Christ, he did make reference to the “child Christians believe to be the son of God.”
“Yes, even after 2,000 years, Christmas still has the power to lift us up, to bring us together, to change lives, to change the world. The Christmas story is at the heart of the Christian faith. But the message of hope, love, peace, and joy, they’re also universal,” Biden said.
“It speaks to all of us, whether we’re Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, or any other faith, or no faith at all. It speaks to all of us as human beings who are here on this Earth to care for one another, to look out for one another, to love one another.”
During his message, Biden lamented the current political divide across the country, noting that “politics has gotten so angry, so mean, so partisan” and that “too often we see each other as enemies, not as neighbors; as Democrats or Republicans, not as fellow Americans.”
“So, my hope this Christmas season is that we take a few moments of quiet reflection and find that stillness in the heart of Christmas [and] really look at each other, not as Democrats or Republicans, not as members of ‘team red’ or ‘team blue,’ but as who we really are: fellow Americans,” the president continued.
As reported by The Christian Post, Biden’s omission of Jesus Christ in his message was criticized by some Christians.
“President Biden failed to mention the name of Jesus during his Christmas message to the nation. He mentioned the Muslims, but he failed to name the Reason for the Season. Nothing triggers the Left like the name above all names,” Christian commentator Todd Starnes tweeted.
Kara Frederick of the conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation contended that the omission is reflective that “America’s lost its sense of God.”
“I think this is just a manifestation, this speech not mentioning Christ, talking about how divided this nation’s been for so long, it’s all part and parcel of the secularization of America, and we need to return to our faith,” she said during an appearance of Fox News’ daytime show “Outnumbered.”
“That’s the only way society is going to work going forward, and it’s made us a city on a hill. We need to reclaim that. We need to reclaim our founding principles, period.”
Conversely, actor, filmmaker, and progressive activist Rob Reiner, who was born Jewish but is now considered nonreligious, praised Biden for his remarks.
“Listening to President Biden deliver his Christmas speech, you can’t help but be struck by his kindness, his compassion, his decency, his humanity. At times like this, I’m so grateful we have him,” tweeted Reiner.
Another progressive-leaning Twitter user considered Biden’s Christmas message to be “one I highly recommend you listen to.”
“He finishes this statement by saying … that we can never know what someone else is going through. The pain they may be doing their best to work through,” he tweeted.
“A simple act of kindness from us may give a stranger what they need to survive.”