Christmas must go!

[Deornwulf]

I've had a startling revelation while reading the writings of the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church & State, and a few other Atheist Organizations - Christians are doing far more harm for this country than good in their insistance of publicly displaying their religion. It would be far better off if religion were a private thing, confined to Sundays (or Saturdays) and never expressed in the public eye.

We must have a secular government free of any consideration of religiously inspired values or morals. Not only will our government be free of any restraints imposed upon it by any religion, the government will be sure to never offend anyone of any religious beliefs if it has none itself.

To this end it is important that the first step be taken by discontinuing the observance of Christmas as a Federal Holiday. It should be treated as just another workday. Those painful reminders of the evils done in the name of Christianity must also go so all those Christmas decorations owned by local, state, and the Federal governemnt are history. (In order to keep from offending anyone not of the Christian faith, municipalities should be encouraged to adopt ordinances prohibiting the use of "Christmas" lights. They do create a great deal of light pollution and waste precious energy.)

We have been moving in the right direction. One will not find Christmas Trees at any school in Southwest Florida nor will any children be singing Christmas carols on school buses in various school districts!

Imagine how much better our children will be when Christmas is gone. No more low self-esteem caused by hearing about the presents other children received at Christmas for those who don't observe it or by those who are too poor to compete! Parents will no longer be embarrassed by accepting gifts from charities for their children to receive on Christmas Day (since those charities will no longer need to collect toys or gifts with no Christmas).

Once Christmas is purged from America, Easter can be addressed next for elimination from the public eye as well as this favoritism for Sundays! Why not change the work week to have Tuesday and Wednesday off?

(This bit of sarcasm has been brought to you by the ACLU, the Grinch, and the letter Y and the number 3)

 

[no1tovote4]

(This bit of sarcasm has been brought to you by the ACLU, the Grinch, and the letter Y and the number 3)

lol.

 

[Bullypulpit]

Yeah, this annual orgy of rampant consumerism that we call Christmas really must go. The true spirit of Christmas has gotten lost in all of the hype to push product. What ever happened to the ideals put forth in Matthew 25?

<blockquote>34. 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35. For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36. I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'</blockquote>

These gifts are the ones we are enjoined to remember and give at this time of year. But where has this message gone? It is lost in the tide of instant gratification...lost in the short-sightedness of the moment.

And, BTW the ACLU has done more to promote the freedom of religious expression for individuals than any politician ever has.

 

[Deornwulf]

Bully - The aims of the ACLU may appear noble but in their pursuit of protecting individual freedom, they sometimes trammel on the rights of others.

 

[theim]

Yeah, this annual orgy of rampant consumerism that we call Christmas really must go. The true spirit of Christmas has gotten lost in all of the hype to push product. What ever happened to the ideals put forth in Matthew 25?

<blockquote>34. 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35. For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36. I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'</blockquote>

These gifts are the ones we are enjoined to remember and give at this time of year. But where has this message gone? It is lost in the tide of instant gratification...lost in the short-sightedness of the moment.

And, BTW the ACLU has done more to promote the freedom of religious expression for individuals than any politician ever has.

So...we should promote the religious side of Christmas instead of the Secular consumerist side?

The ACLU wishes to ban Christianity from America, because that religion has a moral code which 85% of Americans follow, and said moral code discourages activities that fringe (and democratic leaning) groups regularly participate in. So if they can strip 85% of Americans of their moral code by shaming them out of it, all the gay parades and Democratic Fundraisers with genitalia humor can finally become commonplace.

 

[manu1959]

Bully - The aims of the ACLU may appear noble but in their pursuit of protecting individual freedom, they sometimes trammel on the rights of others.

ACLU = double plus good

 

[KarlMarx]

Yeah, this annual orgy of rampant consumerism that we call Christmas really must go. The true spirit of Christmas has gotten lost in all of the hype to push product. What ever happened to the ideals put forth in Matthew 25?

<blockquote>34. 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35. For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36. I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'</blockquote>

These gifts are the ones we are enjoined to remember and give at this time of year. But where has this message gone? It is lost in the tide of instant gratification...lost in the short-sightedness of the moment.

This part reminds me of the scene in "Charlie Brown Christmas Special" where Charlie Brown, exasperated asks "Can someone tell me the true meaning of Christmas?".... OK Bully here goes

Bully, if you're worried about "the message of Christmas" it was that Christ was born of a Virgin so that He might die for our Sins and no one comes to the Father except through Him.

Christ didn't come to the Earth to spread goodwill towards Man. He came to Earth to act as a sacrifice for our sins, because no one is able to attain salvation simply by works, but by faith in His Son.

Another point that you make is "rampant consumerism" during this time of year. Now, I am no fan of "rampant consumerism" if it distracts people from the true meaning of Christmas, but that "rampant consumerism" translates into people having jobs... so from that perspective, it is a good thing.


As for the meaning of Christmas being lost this time of year... I must disagree, Americans are among the most, if not the most generous people on the planet (and probably in history).... I am going to say that it is because of our religious traditions that it is so. And Americans don't confine their good works to this time of year either. They do it all year long 24x7! We not only pay billions of dollars a year to support programs to help the less fortunate (which, however misguided and ineffective, nevertheless have the best of intentions behind them!), but shell out billions more in charity. Whenever a country experiences a famine, an earthquake or other calamity... Americans are on the scene either physically or in spirit with their hearts, checkbooks open or credit cards at the ready.

Many people are especially generous this time of year but don't go and broadcast it, either. Many departments where I work sponsor needy families at Christmas (and I know for a fact that is a very widespread practice all across the country). That these people are not making their charity known conforms to another bit of the Gospels....

Matthew 6:1-4

1“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

So let not your heart be troubled.... the poor will always be with us, but then so will the Son of God!. He will be with us so long as there are those who do these things in His Name.


Now to end this bit of high minded philosophy, let me interject my now famous (some would say more like "infamous") sense of humor.....

And, BTW the ACLU has done more to promote the freedom of religious expression for individuals than any politician ever has.

THIS bit of sarcasm was brought to you by the letters "B" and "S"!

P.S. Merry Christmas Bully!