Liberal Forum

The December 1957 News and Views published by the Church League of America, a conservative organization co-founded in 1937 by George Washington Robnett,[18] attacked the use of Xmas in an article titled "X=The Unknown Quantity". The claims were picked up later by Gerald L. K. Smith, who in December 1966 claimed that Xmas was a "blasphemous omission of the name of Christ" and that "'X' is referred to as being symbolical of the unknown quantity". Smith further argued that the Jewish people had introduced Santa Claus to suppress New Testament accounts of Jesus, and that the United Nations, at the behest of "world Jewry", had "outlawed the name of Christ".[19] There is, however, a well documented history of use of Χ (actually the Greek letter chi) as an abbreviation for "Christ" (Χριστός) and possibly also a symbol of the cross.[20][unreliable source?][21][unreliable source?] The abbreviation appears on many Orthodox Christian religious icons.Dennis Bratcher, writing for Christian website The Voice, states "there are always those who loudly decry the use of the abbreviation 'Xmas' as some kind of blasphemy against Christ and Christianity".[22] Among them are evangelist Franklin Graham and former CNN contributor Roland S. Martin. Graham stated in an interview: