War on Christmas

[WillowTree]

I'm not Jewish. I have never been to Jerusalem. I disagree that atheists want to cut Christ out of Christmas. Consider Christmas from their point of view if you can.

I'm Buddhist. I respect and revere Christ as a role model for love and compassion.

IMO. Commercialism is not an invention of atheists. If anything has taken Christ out of Christmas its capitalism.[/QUOTE]



that's why I don't do shopping,, I don't do "Holiday Shopping"

 

[wihosa]

There is no war on Christmas, it's just a phony issue drummed up by the likes of Bill O'Reilly in an attempt to divide us.

 

[sky dancer]

I said it once, twice three or four times.. I am happy to say Merry Christmas, and they should be happy to say Happy Holidays.. butttttttttt, I am not going to stop saying Merry Christmas to please themm... capiche.. I'm not Jewish either.. but I have been to Jerusalem,, three of the world's biggest religions all reside in the Holy City of Jerusalem,, Jews, Christians and Muslims.. It's a very worthwhile trip..

I see.

 

[WillowTree]

Aren't you in effect saying that you are offended that atheists are offended? Why not consider the atheists point of view?

once twice thrice, quatro senco I am happy to say Merry Christmas and let them be happy to say Happy Holidays..

 

[wihosa]

My brother owns a record store (yes there are a couple of them left) in a predominately Jewish neighborhood, is it wrong that he has Happy Holidays in his windows?

 

[sky dancer]

There is no war on Christmas, it's just a phony issue drummed up by the likes of Bill O'Reilly in an attempt to divide us.

Yup. Lets get everyone all riled up, O' Reilly. Let's invent a culture war.

 

[KittenKoder]

I'm just saying.. I've never met a Jew who was offended.. I say "Merry Christmas,, the Jews say in return and "Happy Hanunaka" and we smile at each other warmly.. Until athiests I've never met people who wanted to cut Christ out of Christmas.. Jews, know who Christ was, they just don't recognize him as the messiah.. but they still understand a celebration of his birth.. Ever been to Jerusalem?

Oooh ... sometimes I feel funny and reply "Bah! Humbug," myself just for the reaction. But you are wrong, the numbers on all sides are about the same. I see LOT of christians get offended when I use my playful humbug greeting and that baffles me.

 

[mattskramer]

Aren't you in effect saying that you are offended that atheists are offended?

This is getting silly. There is no law prohibiting people from getting offended. I’m offended that you are offended that he was offended that I was offended. I’m sorry to but in. I hope that you are not offended, but this is getting to be downright funny. Happy Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or Festivus or some combination thereof.

 

[sky dancer]

once twice thrice, quatro senco I am happy to say Merry Christmas and let them be happy to say Happy Holidays..

I don't consider you shoving Merry Christmas down an atheists throat when it would be respectful to him or her to say Happy Holidays very Christian practice. JMO.

It's aggressive.

 

[KittenKoder]

There is no war on Christmas, it's just a phony issue drummed up by the likes of Bill O'Reilly in an attempt to divide us.

While you are correct there is no real war on xmas, O'Rielly didn't start the crap he just mislabeled it. There is no conspiracy or anything, it's just been blown so far out of proportion that the two primary sides of it are going overboard.

 

[sky dancer]

My brother owns a record store (yes there are a couple of them left) in a predominately Jewish neighborhood, is it wrong that he has Happy Holidays in his windows?

I don't know. Maybe it would offend Willow Tree.

 

[WillowTree]

Yup. Lets get everyone all riled up, O' Reilly. Let's invent a culture war.

yes, that's the ticket,, blame it all on O'Reilly,, if it's not Boooosh it's O'Reilly!

 

[WillowTree]

Oooh ... sometimes I feel funny and reply "Bah! Humbug," myself just for the reaction. But you are wrong, the numbers on all sides are about the same. I see LOT of christians get offended when I use my playful humbug greeting and that baffles me.

you are probably one of those who are easily baffled!

 

[KittenKoder]

you are probably one of those who are easily baffled!

Very easily baffled when humans act less intelligent than animals.

 

[sky dancer]

yes, that's the ticket,, blame it all on O'Reilly,, if it's not Boooosh it's O'Reilly!

Are you an O'Reilly fan?

 

[WillowTree]

I don't consider you shoving Merry Christmas down an atheists throat when it would be respectful to them to say Happy Holidays very Christian practice. JMO.

It's aggressive.

well, if they will wear a tee shirt saying I'm an atheist I promise I will not tell them Merry Christmas.. other wise I'm going to say Merry Christmas and hope they are adult enough to understand I'm not trying to "shove" anything down their throats,, Christians don't cause disease or illness, you will recover from a chance encounter with a Christian.. so relax a little

 

[sky dancer]

well, if they will wear a tee shirt saying I'm an atheist I promise I will not tell them Merry Christmas.. other wise I'm going to say Merry Christmas and hope they are adult enough to understand I'm not trying to "shove" anything down their throats,, Christians don't cause disease or illness, you will recover from a chance encounter with a Christian.. so relax a little

Who does cause disease?

I think expecting to be dominant over all other religious groups when you live in a plurality is a kind of disease.

 

[sky dancer]

It is claimed that use of Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas excludes Christmas and is anti-Christian. This is nonsense. People use Happy Holidays to cover all holidays during the season, including Christmas. Christians who get upset over this aren’t seeking tolerance or respect, they are seeking privilege and status. They want others to make them feel better about themselves by treating Christianity as special and more important than other religions.

Why Not Just Say Merry Christmas?:

If you say Merry Christmas, you assume that the other person celebrates Christmas — often a fair bet, but not as guaranteed as it once was. As the religious pluralism of America increases, so must the sensitivity of its citizens. The fewer traditional Christians there are around, the less people can assume that everyone is celebrating the usual Christian holidays and doing the usual Christian things. It’s impolite to make assumptions.

Many Christians complain that Christmas is a religious holiday, but is treated in an inappropriately secular way in contemporary America. This has some merit, but it’s not the result of any conspiracy. Christians have been transforming it into a secular holiday by moving it out of churches and into the public, secular sphere. Pagan elements of Christmas have come to dominate its public celebration and Christian meaning has been lost.

Some are turning the phrase Merry Christmas into a fetish, something done for its own sake instead of using it as a sincere greeting. It’s an aggressive statement about one’s own identity that is thrown in the face of others as a challenge or even an insult. It’s not about defending religious meaning in Christmas, but defending a religious identity and a set of traditional privileges.


Christmas Wars & Conspiracies: Political, Social, Religious Conflicts over the Meaning of the Christmas Season

 

[KittenKoder]

Who does cause disease?

I think expecting to be dominant over all other religious groups when you live in a plurality is a kind of disease.

However again, christmas isn't even their holiday, they just added a couple parts that are theirs. At most christmas can be called an Agnostic holiday, at worst pagan (since that's it origins). To clarify, I hated xmas for a long time after I broke free from christians, but it was actually a christian preacher who told me to look up the origins and see that even my own religious ideals have a holiday on that day anyway. After digging, found out almost all of it is pagan. Knowledge can change your perspective regardless of it's source, but from one noon-christian to another, it's not really a christian holiday. So it doesn't actually enforce a dominance of anything.

 

[WillowTree]

Who does cause disease?

I think expecting to be dominant over all other religious groups when you live in a plurality is a kind of disease.

you lost this argument a long long time ago cause in essence what you are saying is that we should avoid all things Christian lest they offend someone,, and at the same time Christians should be very tolerant and inclusive of everyone else, all feelings in this matter should be considered except the Christians feelings. These celebrations of Christmas should exclude Christians.. You guys are not fooling anbody with your not so subtle nuances! To date I haven't heard a single utterance in protest of Happy Hanauka or Rhamadan or Happy winter time..


anyhoooo Have a very Merry Merry Christmas...btw I have a sister in law who practices Buddhism.. she dosen't have a problem with Merry Christmas, she even rubs shoulders and elbows with her Christian relatives and we don't make her sick or shuddery..