Scrooge is a secularist

"That being said, I also think that the White House should put up a Maypole on May Day. :D
Posted by: Athena4"

Or maybe they'd let us use the Washington Monument; red, white and blue ribbons, of course! ;-)

wmpowellfan

Isn't it interesting how many atheists "celebrate" Christmas?
Or as one observer here puts it, enjoying Christmas "without the Christian nonsense." Seems to me if you hate Christ, you wouldn't observe Christmas. Or Easter.
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What an idiotic thing to say. 1) You can agree that Jesus was an amazing theacher without thinking he is the son of God. Athiests and ignostics don't HATE Jesus 2)for the first 300 years after his death, no one celebrated "Christmas" 3)It was Constantine who placed the celebration on Dec 25th, over the exsting pagan Roman celebration of Saturnalia, which itself is a celebration of the Winter Solstice 4) the American Puritans outlawed Christmas celebrations as anti-Christian 5) one of the first christmas trees erected i US in 1861 in a church in Ohio was considered pagen by the parishoners 6)The Bible isn't even conclusive about the time of year of Jesus' birth 8) Go look up the word "Easter" and oyu will find it is based on the Germanic pagan goddess Ēostre for fertility and Christians overlayed their holiday to fit in the cycle of rebirth 9) We can celebrate the American traditions of the holiday time and family togetherness without it being about Jesus.

Of course, the Obamas should have a creche if they want one. There wasn't this fuss over the Bushes having a creche.

That being said, I also think that the White House should put up a Maypole on May Day. :D

"Seems to me if you hate Christ, "

Being an atheist doesn't mean you "hate Christ", it means you do not believe in the existence of a god, or gods. Jews don't celebrate Christmas, either; do you accuse them of hating Christ?

Winter solstice time has had a plethora of celebrations associated with it for thousands of years prior to the birth of someone you consider your savior. People like to have parties and see their families. It's not restricted solely to Christians.

Isn't it interesting how many atheists "celebrate" Christmas?
Or as one observer here puts it, enjoying Christmas "without the Christian nonsense."

Seems to me if you hate Christ, you wouldn't observe Christmas. Or Easter.

What's the big deal? The Obamas are Christian, so they would celebrate Christmas anyway. If they were Jewish, I would imagine they would celebrate Hannukah and tolerate a great big Christmas tree in the foyer, if they had to do so. It's a moot point, as they're not non-Christians.

As for Scrooge, well, he celebrated Christmas so we can assume he was a Christian. Just like his creator (Dickens was Unitarian for much of his life. He left the Anglican Church in his 30's).

All Dickens’s novels reflect the central ideas of nineteenth-century Unitarianism: the belief that Jesus was a human being who exemplified a truly religious life; the rejection of materialism and the doctrine of necessity; the rejection of a God of stern judgment; a disdain of theological controversy; the rejection of dogma; an inclusive rather than an exclusive religion; and an emphasis on doing good works.

In A Christmas Carol, without once mentioning Jesus, Dickens shows it is possible to experience a conversion--not necessarily based on a specific religious experience--but a personal regeneration that leads one to help others. With Scrooge’s transformative change of heart, Dickens illustrates that his readers, too, can be converted from a harsh, complacent, selfish worldview to one of love, hope, and charity and, like Scrooge, can again become part of the human community. For Dickens, that was the true meaning of Christmas.

I'll post a response here shortly as soon as I finish Chapter 6 of my read, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins....

norriehoyt

You wrote, "America celebrates "a non-religious Christmas", so why shouldn't the Obamas?"

Just because they are the President and First Lady, does not mean that they are not still Americans, does it?

They should celebrate Christmas however they wish to celebrate Christmas, don't you think?

By the way, "America" does not celebrate anything, it is a country. We are free, at least theoretically, to celebrate or not celebrate what others, including those in the power structure, "designate" us to celebrate.

Maybe I missed it, but has there been some kind of "mandate" from the "government" saying that we have to celebrate Christmas in a way that is proscribed by them?

Americans, so far anyway, are free to celebrate Christmas however they choose to or choose not to, shouldn't they?

There is a saying, "Land of the Free", just how true this is, is open to debate but it seems as if it is closer to "Land of the politically-correct".

Christmas sure does seem to scare a lot of people, doesn't it? Check out the comments.

Hope you're doing fine.

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

The initial settlers came to the New World not to found a nation built on tolerance and religious freedom, but so they could get away from their governments' sanctioned religions and worship in their own way without harassment.

Also, the Puritan values people are so fond of saying this country is founded on originally did NOT include the celebration of Christmas, which was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681.

Although Christmas was celebrated in Jamestown early on, the holiday widely fell out of favor after the Revolutionary War, and was not celebrated again until 1789, the first Christmas ever under the new constitution (which founding document, of course, does not mention Christmas, Jesus, or Christianity at all).

Christmas was declared a federal holiday in America in 1870 after which it slowly gathered momentum into the unfortunate commercial orgy it is today.

And, in 2009, at the end of the day, YOU may be "children of faith and commerce," Pastor Rodriguez, but the 1st Amendment was added to the Constitution in order to protect those people of religious minority (and even secularists) from the religious majority mandating a state religion in America.

Most "secularists" do not want to "convert America into a post-religious, uber-secularist society." We love the America that welcomes all people, regardless of their skin color, religions beliefs, creeds, and even opinions. We would just appreciate it if the religious majority would stop expecting us to fund displays of their religious traditions with our tax money.

I have absolutely no problem with public displays of religious belief (as long as no one gets physically injured). I just don't want to subsidize them.

Scrooge was a Republican who, when threatened, found empathy.

I'm having a good christmas season, without any concern with the christian nonsense surrounding it. I enjoy the time spent with my family, with my friends, I enjoy the happiness I see in children ... and most of all I enjoy the the fact that I've lived another year successfully free of the mental retardation caused by the religious nonse surround the "reason for the season".

It's been a good year. I'm happy. If you christians keep freaking out with this war on christmas nonsense, I guess I'll enjoy it even more.

Merry christmas, suckers.

Sam,

Don't forget that Mr. Scrouge redeemed himself at the end of the story, so if Mr. Scrouge is a Secularist, then he is a Christian Secularist that also celebrates the spirit of Christmas.

And just like Mr. Scrouge, most Secularists in America are Christians who celebrate Christmas.

What on earth makes you think American Secularists don't celebrate Christmas?

Atheists gebnerally don't celebrate Christmas but Mr. Scrouge, of all things, was certainly not an atheist.

America celebrates "a non-religious Christmas", so why shouldn't the Obamas?