The Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia, the misnomer for a group of atheists, applied for and was granted the right to erect a holiday display on public property in West Chester County, alongside a crèche, a Christmas tree and a Menorah.
To celebrate the notion that they are slaves neither to religion nor tradition, these "freethinkers" have erected a 15-foot evergreen tree which they have dubbed "The Tree of Knowledge" and which they have decorated with colorful book covers.
Some view this as a satisfactory compromise. I do not. Why should Christians and Jews be forced to share their holidays with nonbelievers? Why should either holiday be compromised?
A number of questions arise, not the least of which is why would an atheist want to share in the celebration of either Christmas or Hanukkah, since both are based on worship of the One True God?
Speaking on Fox & Friends last December, a spokesman for the group said they just didn't want to be "left out", that they, too, enjoy getting together with friends and family, "especially at this time of the year."
And what, precisely, is "this time of the year" to an atheist? Anyone care to hazard a guess?
To Christians, it's a celebration of the time when God descended to earth to dwell among us in the form of his Son. To Jews, it's a commemoration of the rededication of the Temple, when a small flask of holy oil miraculously lasted eight days. To atheists, it's… Why, it's nothing at all! The holiday season holds no significance at all for an atheist!
If these folks were truly atheists, Christmas would be just another day. If they were truly atheists, rather than feel "left out" when they pass a Christmas display, they would rejoice that they are not among the poor deluded souls who celebrate such nonsense.
And then there's the evergreen tree they chose to erect—a Christmas tree, if you will. And they dare to call themselves "freethinkers"?! Surely one whose intellect is truly free, who is unencumbered by religious myths and cultural traditions, could have come up with something more original than a Christmas tree!!
The atheists claim to be promoting free speech and free thought with their display of a secular Christmas tree when, in fact, they are doing nothing more than copying the very tradition they claim to disdain—and setting a very poor example for their children in the process. They are telling their children, in effect, that they have nothing worth celebrating, no focus for their lives, so they must insinuate themselves into the holidays of those they claim to despise in order to feel they are a vital part of society.
Christmas is a Christian holiday. Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday. If atheists don't wish to celebrate either, they certainly have the freedom not to participate!
But if they think that by erecting a Christmas tree decorated with covers of books written by atheist authors, they are persuading the rest of us that their sole purpose is to encourage free speech and free thought, they are deluded.
If atheists are the freethinkers they claim to be, then why don't they exhibit a little of that vaunted freethinking and create their own holiday? While they're at it, they could develop their own holiday traditions!
Ripping off someone else's holiday and aping their traditions are poor ways of communicating your supposed intellectual superiority! The members of the Freethought Society strike me not as freethinkers, but as little children sulking because no one else wants to play their game.
© 2008 by Libbi Adams. All rights reserved.
To celebrate the notion that they are slaves neither to religion nor tradition, these "freethinkers" have erected a 15-foot evergreen tree which they have dubbed "The Tree of Knowledge" and which they have decorated with colorful book covers.
Some view this as a satisfactory compromise. I do not. Why should Christians and Jews be forced to share their holidays with nonbelievers? Why should either holiday be compromised?
A number of questions arise, not the least of which is why would an atheist want to share in the celebration of either Christmas or Hanukkah, since both are based on worship of the One True God?
Speaking on Fox & Friends last December, a spokesman for the group said they just didn't want to be "left out", that they, too, enjoy getting together with friends and family, "especially at this time of the year."
And what, precisely, is "this time of the year" to an atheist? Anyone care to hazard a guess?
To Christians, it's a celebration of the time when God descended to earth to dwell among us in the form of his Son. To Jews, it's a commemoration of the rededication of the Temple, when a small flask of holy oil miraculously lasted eight days. To atheists, it's… Why, it's nothing at all! The holiday season holds no significance at all for an atheist!
If these folks were truly atheists, Christmas would be just another day. If they were truly atheists, rather than feel "left out" when they pass a Christmas display, they would rejoice that they are not among the poor deluded souls who celebrate such nonsense.
And then there's the evergreen tree they chose to erect—a Christmas tree, if you will. And they dare to call themselves "freethinkers"?! Surely one whose intellect is truly free, who is unencumbered by religious myths and cultural traditions, could have come up with something more original than a Christmas tree!!
The atheists claim to be promoting free speech and free thought with their display of a secular Christmas tree when, in fact, they are doing nothing more than copying the very tradition they claim to disdain—and setting a very poor example for their children in the process. They are telling their children, in effect, that they have nothing worth celebrating, no focus for their lives, so they must insinuate themselves into the holidays of those they claim to despise in order to feel they are a vital part of society.
Christmas is a Christian holiday. Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday. If atheists don't wish to celebrate either, they certainly have the freedom not to participate!
But if they think that by erecting a Christmas tree decorated with covers of books written by atheist authors, they are persuading the rest of us that their sole purpose is to encourage free speech and free thought, they are deluded.
If atheists are the freethinkers they claim to be, then why don't they exhibit a little of that vaunted freethinking and create their own holiday? While they're at it, they could develop their own holiday traditions!
Ripping off someone else's holiday and aping their traditions are poor ways of communicating your supposed intellectual superiority! The members of the Freethought Society strike me not as freethinkers, but as little children sulking because no one else wants to play their game.
© 2008 by Libbi Adams. All rights reserved.
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