Well, it happened again!

            After purchasing several children’s books, I had divided them up for distributing to each grandchild. The few that had not been assigned to a particular kid and bag remained in my vehicle. A week or so later while driving the girls around, the elder picked up Madeline in London, then another couple. After that she grabbed the one illustrating Away in a Manger. (In my defense, I have other grandchildren who are or will be allowed to know about Christmas. So purchasing it was acceptable.)

            As she read it, she came upon the music bars and asked if this were a song. I announced that it was, in fact, one of those Christmas tunes known as Carols. So I sang it to her and she loved it. We sang it several times. I hate to admit it was a bit off-key and not as melodious as it should have been for a first exposure to a treasured piece.

            I did reassure her it did not hold anything off-limits to her or contradictory to the Koran. Although “Christ the Lord” might seem extreme, it is clear that such a special gift from Allah should warrant strong praises and a higher name than for an ordinary child. I think it depends upon what your definition of lord is. I would guess that Muslim children would not assign the highest usage to Him.

            I wrestled with it later.  But a Koran study of Jesus, starting with what are the good things that book has to say of Him, if He is who those verses state, then surely it should be no crime to celebrate His birthday. At the very least, it should be okay to learn a couple of songs, or to read about the angels singing, the shepherds and wise men coming to pay honor, or to hear that there was no room at the inn.

            However, in fairness to both Scriptures, the differences would need to be discussed as well. Still I find that if the Koran records He was a gift from God, a Righteous one, full of the Spirit, and such similar statements, celebrating His birth by receiving a present seems harmless. And colored lights for decorations could hardly endanger their souls to celebrate the birth of one of your prophets.

            Therefore I have composed a list for your usage to clarify which ones are safe for your children to encounter. My criterion was if the verse called Him the Son of God, or Savior, or such then that would disagree with the Koran. For instance in God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, it says “God rest ye, merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day to save our souls from Satan’s power when we had gone astray. Oh, tidings of comfort and joy!” The second and fifth verses are safe, but the first, third, and fourth are not.

            The Koran already informs you we believe He died on the cross for our sins. Mohammed was very clear in denying anyone could take another’s punishment. That is why he so repeatedly stated that no one can intercede for another. I suppose it might be safe then to hear these songs because the Koran already discusses the theology.

            The same could be said about the carols that name Him as the Son of God. Your book already records “And they say that Jesus, the son of Mary is Allah,” and denies God has a son. It does say, though, “If Allah Most Gracious had a son, I would be the first to worship Him.” If your children are at all familiar with the Koran, we offer no additional information. (I offer this to all Muslims who might read this, not merely the ones in my family.)

            Here is the list of acceptable carols: Away in a Manger, Silent Night-1^st verse, We Three Kings-1^st verse, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear-also 1^st verse. The First Noel is safe as well, though it claims Him as King of Israel. That teaching merely refers to him as such because it is approximately equal to the meaning of Messiah or Christ. While a Jewish parent might take great offense to that teaching, the Koran refers to Jesus as such. (Herod was the actual king at that time, under Roman supervision of course. The gospels reveal the title of King of Israel was tacked onto the cross under Roman authority. But that was at a later time.)

            The ones in the second list are Joy to the World, Silent Night-2^nd verse, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, God rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, And “Mary, Did You Know?” You might decide these are no longer dangerous since you already have that information and can use them as examples of our beliefs. Either way, you shall be well informed.

            Hark the Herald Angels Sing is definitely off-limits. In the 1^st verse, it explains why the angels announce what Scripture says is “peace on earth, good will to men.” They sing, “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and men are reconciled.” The 2^nd verse is much worse. “Offspring of a virgin’s womb, veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the Incarnate Deity. Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.” (Emmanuel means God with us.)

            The third verse continues with your heresy (what you consider to be so.) “Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n with healing in His wings. Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.”

            This requires a few explanations. No, we do not claim He had wings, though He rose in the air at the ascension. It just rhymes and the author took poetic license. Laying aside His glory refers to his humility as being God, setting aside the worship and glory He had to become a man. Having a halo or aura as He walked around would have lessened His ability to be treated as a normal person.

            The "second birth" was part of Jesus’ teaching. He instructed one of the learned men who came to him secretly. Nicodemus was a leader in the Sanhedrin. Asked “what must I do to be saved,” Jesus said we must be born again. The elder pondered, could I enter again into my mother’s womb? It wasn’t possible, so what did this man mean?

After chastising him for being a spiritual leader and not knowing this, Jesus explained that we had to be born a second time with a spiritual birth. (Our natural man was too corrupt and was not capable of pleasing God. Only by having His Spirit change us could we be acceptable to the Most High.) The words to this hymn were written by Charles Wesley, and the music was by Felix Mendelssohn.

            On reconsideration, Joy to the World, by Isaac Watts, music by George F. Handel does not seem dangerous. However you might not appreciate Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel. “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

            The second verse asks Him to “free thine own from Satan’s tyranny, from depths of hell Thy people save and give them victory o’er the grave.” The fourth verse asks Him to “open wide our heavenly home, make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path that leads to Misery.” Sometimes verse numbers change as different hymnals omit some stanzas and include others.

            Likewise you may not approve of Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, though it seems gentle enough. “Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie, above thy deep and dreamless sleep  the silent star goes by. Yet in that dark street shineth the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight." (The Gospel of John announces in its first chapter that besides being the Word of God, he is the light that gives life to men.)

            Several of our favorite hymns were music of Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach. These were intentionally written as sacred music by those devout men. The most thorough, but difficult to suffer through except by the most devout is Handel’s Messiah, in which prophecies from our Scripture are sung in operatic form. Highly treasured, unbelievers (in Jesus) can find it takes way too long to get through even one verse because of the repetition. I love it, but it is an entire symphony gloriously composed of multiple songs, including a section reserved for Easter (discussing the death of Jesus, His resurrection, and ascension to heaven.)

            Good Christian Men Rejoice and Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Angels We have heard on High) are other carols I haven’t evaluated yet. Oh hear the Bells on Christmas Day seems harmless. Though Carol of the Bells cannot be listened to well without some thought of Hogwarts by Harry Potter fans. There are many more hymns of lesser renown.

            Some hymnals include songs from a variety of ages: 200 AD, 1100, 14^th, 15^th, and 16^th centuries as well as the more common ones written since then. Also, their fame varies from denomination and country. Some are more exclusively English, or German, or French. We are not writing a book here, so I must cease. This should have covered the most common to give you preparation of what you might allow. Hopefully it will also decrease worry over Christian relatives interacting with your children, or what the kids might encounter if they walk through a mall at the wrong time.