Posted on 12/22/2004 7:21:33 AM PST by Rakkasan1
Habitual watchers of "Seinfeld" reruns know that tomorrow is Festivus, the holiday for the "rest of us" created by George Costanza's father for "the airing of grievances."
It's in that comic spirit that we offer a holiday grievance of our own: the perception that Christians are victims of religious persecution in America and, more specifically, their warnings of a secular conspiracy to stamp out Christmas.
These complaints strike us as melodramatic. For a rising tide of evangelical believers to raise these laments is a bit like the wealthy complaining about high taxes or the Yankees about not winning the World Series. It leaves a bad taste. Millions of people around the world suffer unjustly and sometimes horrifically for their religious beliefs, but we doubt that many of them reside in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Still, the notion persists. A pastor in North Carolina bought a full-page newspaper ad urging Christians not to buy presents in stores that greet shoppers with "Happy Holidays" or any generic salutation that fails to specify Christmas. "Are we going to abolish the word Christmas?" asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, warning that "it absolutely can happen here." Fox TV commentator Bill O'Reilly called the abolish-Christmas movement "so vicious, so dishonest" that it "has to be dealt with."
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Because they do not take faith seriously.
Only a lib dummie would cite all those MSM anti-christian hit pieces as evidence of lack of bias against Christmas and Christians. Blind fools.
If Christians must tolerate pagan names like January (for the Roman god Janus) and Thursday (named for Thor), heathens should be tolerant of Christmas.
The Christian Church isn't "tolerating" the pagan naming of the months, per se, but rather embraced the Julian calendar in the latter days of the empire as the Church grew in the post-persecution era.
Obviously you know what holiday Jews celebrate this time of year, so why not say "Happy Channukah" to them instead of the PC nonsense? That would be even more respectful.
What exactly is written in the federal holiday law? Is the word "Christmas" used? Like Rep. Ragel's draft bill, someone needs to submit a bill to do away with the federal holiday. At the same time, submit a bill stating what is allowed as a government recognition of Christmas. Then let's have a full house and senate debate on these subjects.
Your worry of offending someone by saying "Merry Christmas" leads me to believe you may have been worked over by someone in the past.
Be careful with what you wish for......
Actually, you'd also need to ask about Kwanzaa (sp?), winter solstice (Wicca), atheist (Happy December the 22nd!), and a whole plethora of other weird holidays that I'm sure that I've forgotten.
And actually, my referral to them as 'weird' is too dismissive. Perhaps I should call them 'unique, but not overly so, for truly, each and every one of us worships, or not, in our own, intensely personal way and each persun's beliefs need to be recognized, but not judged, on their own merits.'
Merry Christmas. :-)
Makes more sense than Quaanza (however it's spelled.)
My worry has less to do with contemporary secular arguments, but general, personal experience in evangelizing through campus ministry while in college. You develop an instinct not to touch any switch that will "turn them off" to the faith before they even know you. Build the relationship first, then smack them with the Truth.
I'm not saying its right or wrong, but just a defense mechanism developed from fighting in the trenches :-)
Interesting and not the response I expected at all. Thanks.
lol, no its okay. You can call them wierd, by every definition or interpretation of the word :-)
Merry Christmas to you too!
LOL! Guess I've been reading too much James Finn Garner. 'Politcally Correct Holiday Stories' is a hoot....I like 'Frosty, the Persun of Snow'. :-)
*spills coffee*
ha! Or "Santa and his pre-emptive coal war."
Why we are even debating this is absurd and only goes to further demonstrate just how far this country has descended into the malignant pit of "tolerance" and "political correctness". These are both chilling methods of thought and speech control which can only end in grief and bloodshed for America!
Of course not; that would be profiling, which is akin to a hate crime.
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