Merry Christmas from POTLATCH. Click for a Charlie Brown Christmas webpage.
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Posted on 12/24/2008 7:51:12 AM PST by Daffynition
I’d settle for having clear hair...I’ve been a cue ball since I was 25!
Did Dawkins say he celebrates “Christmas” or “Yule”?
Christians own “Christ Mas” by virtue of the name.
Why do you consider the phrase “pagan sun worshipping” to be a dig? Is it not a fact that druids celts wiccans egyptians mayans etc were/are celebrating, not “the time of the year”, but the return of the sun?
Definition of "own" when used as a verb, as per the American Heritage Dictionary:
1. To have or possess as property
2. To have control over
How, exactly, do Christians "own" Christmas?
I’m a Deist but still thoroughly enjoy celebrating the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays with friends and family.
I can understand why an Atheist would feel the same, especially if they were brought up in a Christian family.
“…There’s a lot of room between what Bob calls “Sacred” and treating everyone and everything like a sack of meat, with no meaning or value. … For those who do not acknowledge a specific “supreme being”, there is absolutely no reason why they can’t feel love, nurture their children, and show reverence for life.”
On the contrary, history and human experience shows differently. Once atheism is established in a population, as a matter of course it must migrate from the individual to all those institutions inhabited by the individual. Henceforward, for its own survival, the atheistic mindset imposes upon all creatures, great and small, its natural totalitarian impulse. When institutions become atheistic, they marginalize empathy, and mercy becomes a quaint but un-pragmatic defect of human sympathy. At that point, men lose their humanity, becoming servile objects for the state; and their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is wholly subjective, being measured only by their utility to the state. That is the lesson of communism, without exception. That is the unavoidable course of all atheistic thought.
Man possesses freedom in direct proportion to his acknowledgement of God, from whom all liberty comes, for He is its author. When men disavow God, they naturally separate themselves from His charity, and thus from their own humanity, for we are created in God’s image (free will and reason). Even if unawares to an immediate consequence, nevertheless the realization materializes itself with the passage of time… without grace, the soul grows cold, as surely as does an ember without oxygen.
On what basis is the moral law found? If not upon an external point of reference that is immutable and absolute, then it cannot have value, for all just law is by its nature immutable. Men do not willingly follow what is contrary to their own selfish interests, unless something more profound compels them to do so. By what force of nature was the human conscience imbued with its unique character to “know” right from wrong, even without the external suggestion of other creatures? A higher intelligence, and one beyond the natural world, has imparted to our human flesh its stamp of law. Even though we deny, we know truth when we hear it… our conscience will not allow us to escape the divine axioms of its Creator.
So I ask: How does one show “reverence” for life, if being atheist, the concept of reverence has no basis of meaning? From whence does the word hold its place of honor? To “revere” is to place others above self. This is Agape love. True love is more than human emotion, if it is Agape love (Greek: selfless) Self-sacrifice runs contrary to the instinct for survival, in which atheists place much worth. Since this expression of Agape love runs counter to the “natural” impulse of self-preservation, then it must therefore have a noble first cause and one that is “supernatural”… but to be supernatural in cause requires a supernatural being. The One being that, by His own example, showed us the Creator Father, proved Himself divine, by His Word… by His Deeds… and by His ultimate Act of Agape love: He humbled Himself, condescending to take on human flesh, so to offer the perfect sacrifice, that perfect singular act of unselfish love by which to crush the reign of sin (the “I” found in the middle of sin: selfishness) It is that love exemplified by our Creator God, who is Jesus Christ. He died and rose again, “so that we men may have life, and have it more abundantly” … His story is true “reverence for life.”
You are playing semantics with a quote I responded to. It is tiresome.
Merry Christmas.
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What does your handle, ‘GL of Sector 2814’ mean? That is rather unique.
You have atheists who love Christmas and then there are Christians I know who refuse to celebrate Christmas. Why? Because as they believe it, Christ wasn’t born on December the 25th. Supposedly he was born on some other date. Who the heck knows. One guy I know at work is the world’s biggest Christian (in his own mind.) But if you wish him a Merry Christmas, he’ll read you the riot act. It takes all kinds.
Joseph20 stated that "Christmas is not owned by Jesus or Christianity". You responded, "Christians own “Christ Mas” by virtue of the name.".
Asking you to defend your statement is not "playing semantics" with a quote to which you responded. You made the statement that Christians "own" Christmas. What you are doing is dodging my question because answering it would make you look foolish.
Merry Christmas!
He needs to Get A Life.
It's an obscure comic book reference. GL stands for "Green Lantern" (the superhero comic published by DC Comics). Green Lanterns are intergalactic policemen, and the universe is divided into 3600 sectors. Earth is in sector 2814.
And to think I said some else needed to get a life... :-)
I know several families in China that celebrate a semi-secular type Christmas. They have trees, exchange presents and sign songs. They even have some religious related items like a manger and an angel on the tree. They are aware of the christian meaning behind Christmas but don’t understand it. It’s sort of like explaining baseball to someone that has never seen the game.
Nothing wrong w/celebrating Christ’s Birth and not acknowledging he is Lord. Certainly better than the fundamentalist Atheist who want it banned.
Merry Christmas
Thank you, potlatch. That's great! Your creativity never ceases to amaze me.
Merry, Merry Christmas to you, too.
Where do these media get their Christmas stories?
Dawkins? Who gives a rat’s behind what he thinks about Christmas?
Yeah, he's like that. Lot of courage ~ he's one of the reasons I know that every Moslem on Earth is not necessarily a bad guy.
Merry Christmas potlatch.
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