My atheist sister told me she's not celebrating Christmas this year...

[BreezeWood]

If a Buddhist gave me a gift on Buddha day I would say "thank you", smile, and accept it.

The courteous thing to do for your sister is not get her a present and don't invite her to holiday celebrations.

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The courteous thing to do for your sister is not get her a present and don't invite her to holiday celebrations.

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seriously why would that be a courtesy ... did she say not to invite her to their dinner.

 

[LittleNipper]

...she said that if I buy her a present, she will donate it away.

Question for atheists: Do you consider this an acceptable way to treat your relatives?

Invite her to the family dinner and to the church Christmas program. But especially pray for her that GOD would open her heart. Honor her request and give her no present, but you can most certainly purchase a gift and donate it to an orphanage or some foreign mission (I think of Angel Tree Ministry) in her name. In this way you are keeping YOUR door open and at the same time abiding by her wishes.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

If a Buddhist gave me a gift on Buddha day I would say "thank you", smile, and accept it.

The courteous thing to do for your sister is not get her a present and don't invite her to holiday celebrations.

.

The courteous thing to do for your sister is not get her a present and don't invite her to holiday celebrations.

.
seriously why would that be a courtesy ... did she say not to invite her to their dinner.

Does she want to celebrate the holiday or not?

 

[Meriweather]

You accept gifts graciously from your family because you love them.

My sister, apparently, doesn't get that.

Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory Sit Com): He remarked that when someone gives you something it is not a gift, it is an obligation for them to reciprocate back to you. Perhaps your sister doesn't want the time and trouble of reciprocating?

 

[Blackrook]

You accept gifts graciously from your family because you love them.

My sister, apparently, doesn't get that.

Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory Sit Com): He remarked that when someone gives you something it is not a gift, it is an obligation for them to reciprocate back to you. Perhaps your sister doesn't want the time and trouble of reciprocating?

Taking the concept of love out the equation, that seems accurate. But Sheldon Cooper isn't supposed to be someone we listen to and emulate.

 

[LittleNipper]

I'm not an atheist but buying an athiest a Christmas present is insulting. Don't do it.

Jesus never did put a present under the tree he was a Jew...

But the Wise Men brought gifts to the baby Jesus. Jesus was a Jew. Why? Why was Jesus a Jew and not a Christian? There were no Christians until after Jesus died.

But Christ had to be a Christian and a Jew it's the duality of the whole concept of Christ being Father in Heaven at the same time.

Actually, I would submit that Jesus is the CHRIST/MESSIAH to whom "Christians" worship and adore as the SAVIOR that the FATHER sent. Jesus was born a Jew outside of Jerusalem (in the little town of Bethlehem) to a Jewish Mother and a Jewish Stepfather. Jesus has Jewish half-brothers and sisters. Jesus was dedicated in the Jewish Temple at Jerusalem, and participated in the Jewish Passover... Jesus spoke in that Temple expounding on the "Jewish" OLD TESTAMENT Text. Jesus read Hebrew.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Jesus was a Jew. There were no Christians until after Jesus was crucified.

 

[LittleNipper]

When Jesus was born it was just after breeding season and new lambs at pasture...not Dec

Jesus never existed.

Luke says he was born in 6 CE
Matthew says he was born in 4 BCE.

They can't both be right.

Neither book provides an exact date for the birth of Christ. And if people get the dates of particular events wrong, they could most certainly be off by a decade ----- one way or another.

 

[BreezeWood]

If a Buddhist gave me a gift on Buddha day I would say "thank you", smile, and accept it.

The courteous thing to do for your sister is not get her a present and don't invite her to holiday celebrations.

.

The courteous thing to do for your sister is not get her a present and don't invite her to holiday celebrations.

.
seriously why would that be a courtesy ... did she say not to invite her to their dinner.

Does she want to celebrate the holiday or not?

.

Does she want to celebrate the holiday or not?

.
how about the holidays ... my guess is she does.

how about investing time and love choosing a present the person you have in mind and in return they send you a $20.00 dollar bill - that could be her response to blackey their kind of gift.

 

[Unkotare]

...she said that if I buy her a present, she will donate it away.

Question for atheists: Do you consider this an acceptable way to treat your relatives?

Tell her she is acting just like some of the first and most religious Americans. Enjoy the show.

 

[Quasar44]

...she said that if I buy her a present, she will donate it away.

Question for atheists: Do you consider this an acceptable way to treat your relatives?

That is terrible
I would give her zero

 

[JoeB131]

There is no such thing as CE. It's AD.

Well, no, because Non-Christians measure this as 2020.

Also, since we don't know what year Jesus was born (Luke says 6 CE, Matthew says 4 BCE), this is certainly not 2020 AD. It's either 2014 or 2024.

 

[JoeB131]

Neither book provides an exact date for the birth of Christ. And if people get the dates of particular events wrong, they could most certainly be off by a decade ----- one way or another.

Yeah, but these aren't really in dispute. It's a undisputed fact that Herod the Great died in 4 BCE. It's recorded in multiple sources. It's also an undisputed fact that Publius Sulpicius Quirinius ( Cyrenius ) was governor of Syria in 6 AD and ordered a census that nearly triggered a revolt.

The reality was, both Luke and Matthew were working from copies of Mark's Gospel, which didn't have a nativity story. They both realized that they somehow had to put Jesus of Nazareth into Bethlehem for his birth to fulfill messianic prophecy.

Matt was kind of simple. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Herod went on a baby killing rampage, (Much like Pharaoh in the book of Exodus) and his parents had to flee.

Luke came up with a more convoluted scheme requiring Joseph to return to his family's place of origin (the Romans did not conduct censuses this way) putting them in Bethlehem even though there was no room at the in.

 

[K9Buck]

I'm not an atheist but buying an athiest a Christmas present is insulting. Don't do it.

Jesus never did put a present under the tree he was a Jew...

Jesus wasn't a Christian???

 

[Correll]

What's the relative's favorite charity? Make a donation in your relative's name.

The local Veterinarian has a Giving Tree. Every year I buy paper ornaments in the names of my beloved fur babies that have gone on and hang them on the tree. I don't know if my babies were atheists. I know that they were loved. I give in their name.

Not a bad work around. but your sister is still being a bitch.

 

[Correll]

You accept gifts graciously from your family because you love them.

My sister, apparently, doesn't get that.

Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory Sit Com): He remarked that when someone gives you something it is not a gift, it is an obligation for them to reciprocate back to you. Perhaps your sister doesn't want the time and trouble of reciprocating?

Years ago, for financial reasons, my wife and I asked our EXTENDED family to cease the gift giving. We were focused on eliminating debt and the large numbers of gifts had grown to be a real burden.

We still attended Christmas get togethers and sat though the gift giving and enjoyed the meal and time together.


I hope that people understood.

 

[Mr Natural]

Consider yourself lucky.

One less Christmas present to buy.

 

[Correll]

It is also worth noting that Christmas is an insanely commercialized and secularized holiday.

No atheist should have a problem celebrating Christmas the way America celebrates it today.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

I'm not an atheist but buying an athiest a Christmas present is insulting. Don't do it.

Jesus never did put a present under the tree he was a Jew...

Jesus wasn't a Christian???

No. Jesus was a Jew who did not worship himself. Truly that can't surprise you.

 

[norwegen]

I'm not an atheist but buying an athiest a Christmas present is insulting. Don't do it.

Jesus never did put a present under the tree he was a Jew...

Jesus wasn't a Christian???

No. Jesus was a Jew who did not worship himself. Truly that can't surprise you.

I've never known of anyone who recruited himself to follow himself, although Barak Obama came close.