Merry Christmas-- Damn It!

Many of the residents of Jesusland seem to have a bit of an attitude this Christmas season. I notice people saying that they are sick and tired of hearing the phrase "Happy Holidays" as opposed to "Merry Christmas". These same people assert that we ought to know the true reason for why we even have Christmas; Avoiding the very word Christmas is the same as being bullied by the proponents of secularism.

People in Jesusland have worn t-shirts admonishing people to not be afraid to say "Merry Christmas"-- as though they might possibly be persecuted or lose their jobs for keeping Christmas Christian. They make angry Facebook posts and tweets condemning anyone who says "Happy Holidays" in place of the mandatory phrasing for this time of year.

I submit today that people who share that sentiment wrongly believe that Christians should own the holiday season. I believe that such people unwittingly feel entitled to more rights than others. They assert there is a "war" on Christmas without realizing the irony of their words.

Let me explain.

My daughter comes home from school earlier this week (based on the time of this post) saying that Hanukkah is Israel's way of celebrating Christmas.

No. That's just not true about Hanukkah. But, this bit of misinformation shows how Christianity gradually absorbs so many non-Christian traditions over the centuries. Perhaps the teachers are unwittingly imposing their Christian bias onto others. But purposefully or not, they are slowly assimilating a Jewish celebration that has nothing to do with Christmas at all. As a rule of thumb, Jews simply do not accept Jesus as the Messiah. Christmas in it's most strict religious form is counter to mainstream Jewish belief; Didn't you learn anything in Sunday School?

Why would an Reformed Jew celebrate Christmas, then? I think it's safe to say that they only celebrate Christmas for as far as the gift giving and the decorations go. You know-- just to enjoy the holiday spirit of giving and such. Can you blame any Jewish parents who might not want their children to feel left out when all their Gentile classmates and friends rave on and on about how the baby Jesus-- um . . . I mean Santa Clause-- er . . . I mean . . . their parents left tons of toys and gadgets for them under their Christmas trees?

Judaism is a good example of why greeting others with the phrase "Happy Holidays" as opposed to the phrase "Merry Christmas" is, in my opinion, simply being sensitive to others. But, just as I feel offended that someone would mandate that I only greet others with "Merry Christmas", I don't want to suggest that the greeting in and of itself is inappropriate for this time of year, either. Like Thomas Jefferson said, "But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg". And quite frankly as an atheist, I feel that way when people greet me with "Merry Christmas". I don't mind the greeting and I even reply in kind. But, for people to get an attitude because you don't say it . . . I begin to wonder if they even understand why freedom of religion is so special and important at all.

With much attitude, I hear people insist that Jesus is the reason for the season as they decorate their "Christmas" trees and plan to buy their "Christmas" gifts. No harm in having a Christmas tree or buying gifts. Hell, I have a Christmas tree up in my home and I'm an atheist for crying out loud! I just got back from Christmas shopping before starting on this post. But, the difference: I'm willing to accept the fact that a Christmas tree ain't got shit to do with Jesus; and if a Jew can buy Christmas gifts, so can an atheist. But more importantly, consider how this season as a whole seems to come more from the Yule festivals of the Winter Solstice. Think of how Christianizing other cultures has overshadowed so many festivals and traditions over the centuries and made them Christian. Don't believe Christians ever assimilated other traditions? It's happening now as evidenced by my daughter coming home and calling Hanukkah the "Jewish Christmas".

The sort of Christians who demand that we all use the phrase "Merry Christmas" feel entitled whether they realize it or not. And worse, when such people don't get their entitlement, they claim to be bullied by everyone else. It's as if Christians of this sort feel their rights are being stepped on if they cannot make everyone else participate in their Christian activities. Take prayer in school, for example. The law is not telling Christians that they cannot pray. The law is telling them that they cannot have teachers lead the class into prayer and mandate that each child takes on prayer. Would a Christian parent want a Muslim teacher mandating that their child prays towards Mecca daily?

But, the law does protect the right for children of any faith to gather together before or after school (or even during the activity period within the school day) and pray to their hear's content so long as the activity is student initiated. Also, no one can be forced to participate against their will, either. Our children still have that precious right because of freedom of religion (and freedom from it, too). Yet, certain Christians feel that if they cannot make your child pray in school, you are stepping on their rights. That's a sense of entitlement. That's the same reason why certain Christians feel they own the Yuletide traditions all to themselves; they feel entitled.

And with all of this assimilation and entitlement going on, how can Christians honestly assert there is a "war" on Christmas? There is no war. People are merely tired of being assimilated.

Case in point: the office manager at my place of employment sent out a mass e-mail spreading the notion that Christians need to stand up against the secular bombardment upon their faith. In her thinking, she's got 100% support within the office and can send her message out in total confidence. Of course she won't be reprimanded or fired for circulating that e-mail to everyone in the office. Who in the world would object?

Never mind that the e-mail was a partially forged message attributed to Ben Stein. If integrity is so important to Christian faith, why go around spreading an e-mail that falsely attributes words to someone? I know we make mistakes, but I can't count how many e-mail messages I have received that spread fables in the place of truth only to make a an often unfair point.

Below, I'll share a portion of the e-mail I received. This portion below really was delivered in a commentary by Ben Stein back in the year 2005. But, it's being circulated as though he stated this during the 2012 Christmas season and extra paragraphs were added on by other authors. The message as a whole is made to look like it was signed as coming from Stein even though only a potion of the message in circulation comes from his original commentary:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish.  And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees...  I don't feel threatened..  I don't feel discriminated against.. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me.  I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto.  In fact, I kind of like it.  It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu .  If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. 

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians.  I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.  I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country.  I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat...  

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?  I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.  But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to. 

Again-- my office manager can send this around the office with total confidence and not worry about losing her job. She can take for granted that she's sending this e-mail to an office full of supportive people who are undoubtedly in her corner and share this sentiment of entitlement.

However, should I talk too loudly about my atheism from behind my cubical wall, I feel that I could realistically put my employment status in jeopardy.

So then, tell me; who exactly has the upper hand in this supposed "war" on Christmas?

Look-- I don't feel pushed around when someone greets me with "Happy Holidays". I don't even feel pushed around when someone greets me with "Merry Christmas".

But, I do feel pushed around when I'm slapped in the face with a sentiment that basically and angrily says, "Merry Christmas-- damn it.". I'd rather be greeted with the infamous, "Bah! Humbug."

So much for making the Season bright with "Christmas" cheer.

No Choice

Prayer is neither peaceful nor sacred when someone is forced to participate in it.

Prayer Duds

Recently, my wife went to a series of group therapy sessions for people dealing with clinical depression. She's battled this for some time now. And boy, depression is a battle. Depression is a very serious disorder that should not be taken lightly at all.

In her group session, she mentioned how all the prayer in the world never helped. No matter how much she prayed, no matter how much others prayed for her, she never saw results with her depression-- apart from taking medication, attending therapy, and having a supportive social base.

The therapy session took place at a semi-religious institution. I mean-- I'm in Jesusland, for cryin' out loud! Where will we find a secular therapist?

And many of the people in her group were admitted Christians. But my wife says that everyone in her group emphatically nodded in agreement to her statement.

They all had that common experience that when it comes to depression-- prayer seems to only be a dud.

Why is that?

Maybe for the same reason that God doesn't heal amputees, perhaps.

Where's Your Bible?

During our Thanksgiving festivities, I wondered if I would be asked to pray before we ate. I really hoped no one would press the issue. And thankfully, nobody brought it up.

But a different subject did come up.

My mother-in-law (who is a minister by the way), was sitting at our table waiting for dinner to be served. When out of the blue she asked, "Where's your Bible? I'd like to read something . . ."

I'm sure she saw the flash of panic in my eyes for I have no fucking idea where my Bible is.

None. Whatsoever.

I looked to my wife for help-- only to see the same flash of panic in her eyes.

Luckily, my sister-in-law came to the rescue. "Momma, I've got my Bible in my car . . . I'll just run out and get it real quick".

My mother-in-law has been trying to figure out what's "wrong" with me. And I think she asked for my Bible as a test. She knows that if I cannot even tell her where it is, then there is no way I've been studying it! I think it was a spiritual litmus test; and my spirit score was way too low.

I know she's becoming suspicious. She didn't bother to ask me to pray like at past Thanksgiving dinners. She assumed that role for herself this year. She didn't want to risk asking a backslider to bless the food.

And that's fine with me; I had no complaints about that.

Nobody At Home

A winter weather advisory recently went out for my local area, but everyone was expected to still come to work. But as the day went on, businesses decided to close and let employees go home early due to the worsening conditions of the weather. Icy rain and high winds were causing accidents on the interstate and power outages in some residential and business areas.

I made my way home after our employers gave us permission to leave. Shortly after getting home, my wife also arrived. She said that she heard some schools may let out early. Maybe our son would come home early, maybe he wouldn't. She wasn't sure.

Then I though, "Gee, I wonder how will we know if our son's school has dismissed early? The local news doesn't always announce this kind of information. And, I can't always hear the bus drive past our home. And how will my son know that we're home should the bus drop him off? He will most likely assume no one is home if he doesn't see some obvious sign that we're here. I'd better let the garage door up, or something."

I understood my son's mindset. As a result, I predicted that he wouldn't ring the door bell because he would assume nobody was at home -- I knew that he wouldn't see any use to knock or ring the door bell.

So to prevent unnecessary suffering for my son, I figured I should leave some sign that we were home. Just in case his school had an early dismissal.

Then just as I perceived all of this, I allowed myself to get distracted and failed to lift the garage door to our home.

I totally forgot to follow through with my plan. My idea melted away as I became concerned with other things around the house. I also think that in the back of my mind I had a mindset too -- I partially assumed school would not dismiss early.

A good hour or so went by before my wife decided to sit down on the couch to watch a movie. Then she heard a whimpering sound at the door.

There was my son, standing in the icy cold rain, crying and lamenting that no one was home to let him in the house! He'd stood at the door crying for about an hour before we realized he was there!

Yet all along, we were home. He just didn't know we were inside. And we didn't know that he was outside.

We whisked him into the house and got him out of his cold, wet cloths. We dried him off and had him put on some warm pajamas. Then we quickly made him a hot cup of coco.

We treated him like the prodigal son who finally came home.

We profusely apologized to him and let him know that we didn't realize he was standing outside.

We felt horrible. Personally, I felt like a very bad parent. I felt especially bad because I figured this would happened, but I neglected to prevent it. I simply forgot to push the button to the garage to let it up. All of this could have been avoided.

But after he got warmed up, he started to play and was happy again.

On that day, I learned the dangers of making assumptions. Mindsets should constantly be challenged. And, if you have a good idea -- follow though with it. Especially if that good idea can help someone or even save a life.

But, I learned even more a few days later.

At the time when I was just beginning to suspect the bible was man-made, I prayed. I begged god to help me avoid the path of non-belief.

Just like my son crying at the door to get in from the cold, I cried out to god for help. I begged him to rescue me from the assault against my beliefs.

Yes, it was very bad of me to anticipate our son's early dismissal, and yet I still forgot to prepare. But I can say that when we heard him crying outside, we let him in -- and we did it quickly.

But, when I cried out to god in my hour of need all I heard was silence.

I felt remorse on the day that my son was locked out in the cold. But, I also realized deep down inside, I was simply a good person who made a bad mistake. I will learn from my past negligence and become a better parent because of it.

But for god to ignore his children at their darkest spiritual hour -- what does that say about him?

Maybe that means god isn't home.

Tolerance

With all my God-bashing lately, perhaps I sound a little harsh and intolerant.

I don't mean to sound that way . . .

I don't have an issue with someone practicing religion. I don't mind that United States currency says, In God we trust. I'm not bothered by the Pledge of Allegiance including the phrase, One nation, under God. However, I do wish that more people realized that our Pledge never included this phrase until 1954.

I don't really mind prayer in schools. Besides, students can pray in their hearts whenever they want; prayer cannot truly be stopped. Here is a seemingly little known fact: student lead meetings of a religious nature are allowed in public schools. Federal Law allows this. Yep, that's right. Students may have a Christian club or prayer meeting before or after school as an extra curricular activity and pray! pray! pray! And believers of any faith can enjoy this freedom. This can also be practiced during a school's "activity period" or "booster club" period. The only catch is that the organization must be student prompted to ensure the free will of all participants.

So, people should stop saying that prayer has been taken out of school. Rather, such people should use their present freedoms to continue praying in school. Then, focus their rant towards something else more needful -- like generating better funding for their neighborhood school.

Now, I'll tell ya what I truly dislike: intolerance.

Religion should be a private matter because free will must be upheld. This is why prayer in school may continue if students organize for themselves; free will is exercised. The prayer sessions are made private, yet the schools are not forcing religion of any sort. That's the spirit of the First Amendment.

May I also submit that Christians should exchange the notion that culture should be dominated by Christian principles with the idea that they should simply attempt to witness to people. Our government is secular and doesn't need to specifically reflect Christianity. Such a mindset comes from a distortion of an Old Testament concept which assumes the United States has replaced Israel as God's chosen people. Just try to win souls one by one. After all . . . didn't Jesus say, "render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's"? Consider the notion that Christians should have desire for the advent of the Kingdom of Heaven . . . and not to busy themselves with turning the world into the Kingdom of Heaven.

And what of Paul the Apostle's words when he says not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers? He says to "come out from among them and be separate".

Paul didn't say, "You will be assimilated. Resistance if futile."

Christians shouldn't act like the Borg.

Be tolerant of other people's faiths and the lack thereof; I will be tolerant of yours in return.

Share your faith. Make your point. Disagree with me; Witness to the world.

I'll make my points and share my non-faith. I'll disagree, too. Enlighten the world.

But, if we agree to disagree -- no one has to get nasty.

I think we can all get along just fine with that attitude.

If everyone within the spectrum of faith and non-faith could better get along, I would be quite glad!

A Broken Friendship

I do admit -- sometimes I miss god.

Sometimes.

He was my friend.

He gave me comfort and I felt secure when I trusted him and stopped worrying about imagined and actual problems I faced in life.

I could cry out to him and feel better. I could praise him and fall into a world of euphoria. I could fall out before him and have a cathartic outburst and feel relieved.

He was a true friend to me.

Among my favorite hymns was What A Friend We Have In Jesus. I would sing that song and wonder why anyone would ever feel troubled. Just pray. Like the song said:

Oh what peace we often forfeit! Oh what needless pains we bare.
All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.

My troubles would melt away.

When I first realized real evidence existed against the Bible, my heart sank.

Whoa! All that time and energy I spent!

But worst of all . . . I lost a really good friend.

God changed from a Person into an imaginary friend.

I didn't want to stop believing in god at first. But, once you have that moment -- that stroke of insight and reason -- your mind just stops believing; your faith just shuts off. This is really no different from realizing your parents were playing the role of Santa Clause all along. You catch them wrapping your gifts and placing them under the tree as you sneak into the living room to catch Santa visiting your home.

After that, you just can't go back to believing Santa Clause exists.

I lost a friend when I lost my faith in God.

But, that's okay. With a little time, I could happily move on.

And so I have.

Preach the Word!

What if you visited a church and the preacher started saying things like . . . .

Now, you men . . . you listen up! God's got a word for you -- He's got a word. Next time you have your buddies over for a few drinks and you guys are watching the game . . . keep the word of the Lord in mind! If you ever have a gang of gay men start banging on your door 'cause they want your buddies' booty, you remember God's will is for you to give over your daughter or your wife. Homosexuality is so nasty that you should let them rape your daughters and wives before letting those gays get in your buddies' booty holes!

Or, what if you heard something like . . .

God wants us to be fruitful and multiply! Multiply! This is important. If you don't obey God's commands He will be angry with you! If you can't have children, you need to get your sister-in-law, or somebody, and make sure you have yourself a man-child . . . or at least try. God wants us to fill the earth! If your daughters can't get nobody and start havin' babies . . . then daddy . . . you need to do the deed yourself!

Or, how about something like this:

You people goin' round depressed all the time . . . you just ain't praying enough. You don't fast and pray. Done just let the devil get into your homes and your lives. Can't even get a prayer up. You need to fast and pray and break the power of the devil in your home. You don't need no anti-depressants! You don't need none of that stuff. You just ain't trying enough . . . praying enough . . .

No . . . I've never heard these exact words in a sermon before. I've never heard a preacher utter words quite like the ones above. (well, I have with the depression bit)

But, I have read in the Bible on two occasions where men visited someone's home and a mob came to the house demanding to have intercourse with guests inside. And on both occasions, either daughters were offered up or a concubine. In the first story, the daughters were spared. But in the second case, the concubine was ravaged all night long and died from the punishment. This was more acceptable than the male guest being ravaged. Granted, neither the guests nor the concubine should have been threatened. But somehow, pushing the concubine into the mob was the lesser evil.

On several occasions, women felt so pressured to have children that they tricked people into having sex with them. Before you get excited at the idea, Judah was tricked into having sex with his daughter-in-law and Lot with his two daughters! And Onan was ordered to sleep with his deceased bother's wife and impregnate her so that his brother's name could live on. Onan didn't follow through and was killed by God.

If sex is so taboo, why was Onan killed for not impregnating his sister-in-law?

If continuing one's name is so important, why doesn't God strike down everyone that uses birth control?

If the rape of a woman is less heinous that homosexuality, why do we punish rapists over homosexuals?

What would your wife do if you pushed her out of the front door and into a mob that was trying to break into your home for sex?

What if God told you that you were not fit to serve him if you took time to tend to your own father's funeral before leaving home for good?

What if you have a real, legitimate biological condition that needs medical treatment, but the church made you feel guiltily for accepting it? They guilt you into believing that you simply are not praying enough and you avoid the treatment that you really need.

Before you get defensive . . . before you give into that urge and say that I'm taking these scripture passages out of their context, put yourself into the shoes of all the people in these passages.

Do you think like any of them, today?

Do you think you are worshiping the same God that they were? Are you really holding to the same ideals as the characters in the example stories above?

Do you still think that the events I've just mentioned happened for real?

Is God a Democrat or a Republican?

Skipping the details, I can say that I run across a lot of e-mail.

Over this election period, I've seen quite a lot of e-mail where people are urging each other to pray, pray, pray for the outcome of this election.

Christians desperately call on faithful prayer warriors to cry out to God so that Sen. John McCain gets elected and takes back our country for the Christian cause. Sen. McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin are anointed by God to lead this country back into the center of God's will. Take up your arms in spiritual warfare and beat back the demons of Kenya that are supporting Sen. Obama and causing a dull stupor to fall over the American people.

On the other hand, other Christians desperately call on faithful prayer warriors to cry out to God so that Sen. Barack Obama is kept safe and secure from all the racial hate and bigotry that is percolating. As the election comes to a close, people are praying that God will let justice prevail. People quietly pray and silently yearn for Sen. Obama to have the opportunity to set this nation back on track in a way that will gain the world's trust and respect once again.

And people are quietly, prayerfully, offering up their condolences at the passing of Sen. Obama's grandmother. She passed away the day of this blog posting -- yes, just one day before the most anticipated presidential election to date.

With such sharp distinctions between these two camps, can they possibly be worshiping the same God even though they both say they are Christians?

So, you tell me. Is God a Democrat or a Republican?

We'll find out Tuesday, won't we?