Hating Santa Claus

Canada Free Press ^ | 12/04/14 | Alan Caruba

[Sean_Anthony]

The Christian holy day of Christmas, the birthday of Jesus, has taken on worldwide dimensions, celebrated in some fashion by Christian and non-Christian alike

I receive Free Inquiry magazine monthly even though I never subscribed to it. The magazine is read by atheists who prefer to be called “humanists.” The Council for Secular Humanism that publishes the magazine has “Affirmations of Humanism” that begin with the assertion that they are “committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems.”

I try to apply reason to everything I write and the best science available if the topic involves science. The problem is that most problems arise out of a lack of reason. Almost always, emotion is the factor most in evidence.

[AppyPappy]

What kind of Godless heathen Yankee would hate Santa Claus?

[txnativegop]

How can anyone hate Santa Claus! the promise of goodies if you’re good.
the only down side with Santa is large number of cookies he is known to consume. I guess that causes some people problems.

Merry Christmas!

[Heartlander]

From: Doesn't the religion of Mithra prove that Christianity is false?
At best, Mithraism only had some common themes with Christianity (and Judaism) which were recorded in both the Old and New Testaments. What is far more probable is that as Mithraism developed, it started to adopt Christian concepts.

"Allegations of an early Christian dependence on Mithraism have been rejected on many grounds. Mithraism had no concept of the death and resurrection of its god and no place for any concept of rebirth--at least during its early stages . . . During the early stages of the cult, the notion of rebirth would have been foreign to its basic outlook . . . Moreover, Mithraism was basically a military cult. Therefore, one must be skeptical about suggestions that it appealed to nonmilitary people like the early Christians."1

What is more probable is that with the explosive nature of the Christian church in the 1st and 2nd century, other cult groups started to adapt themselves to take advantage of some of the teachings found in Christianity.

"While there are several sources that suggest that Mithraism included a notion of rebirth, they are all post-Christian. The earliest . . . dates from the end of the second century A.D."2

Therefore, even though there are similarities between Christianity and Mithraism, it is up to the critics to prove that one borrowed from the other. But, considering that the writers of the New Testament were Jews who shunned pagan philosophies and that the Old Testament has all of the themes found in Christianity, it is far more probable that if any borrowing was done, it was done by the pagan religions that wanted to emulate the success of Christianity.

[teacherwoes]

As an atheist he objects to the “idea that some supernatural entity is always watching you—and in some traditions can also read your mind. Why is this potentially abusive? Because it gives people the sense that they are never really alone.”

You just have to wonder what he thinks about all the government spying on him and others? Or is a "supernatural entity" spying on you bad but a "natural entity" spying on you good?

[Damifino]

I've never been big on Santa Claus. Mostly because I know there is already someone checking if I'm naughty or nice. He doesn't need a substitute.

Don't hate Santa though.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

People spend a lot of time and energy on things that do not matter.

[cloudmountain]

I don’t think I have spent a day of my life when war or terrorism was not active somewhere in the world. Read world history. It is one long record of wars. The only thing “reason” can tell you is that some nations and people are just downright evil.

Amen.

[cloudmountain]

What kind of Godless heathen Yankee would hate Santa Claus?

A poor soul caught in the throes of Satan.