Brilliant LTTE re : O'Reilly's Christmas

[Davros]

I found this in our weekly town paper from a contributor who attacked O'Reilly's Save Christmas Crusade.

http://howelltimes.micromediapubs.com/news/2007/1221/Letters/009.html

Winter Solstice Is Reason For The Season


Bill O'Reilly continues to whine that secularists are attempting to steal Christmas away from Christians and rob them of what the true meaning of the holi- day is all about, the birth of Jesus.

People have been celebrating the holiday season (winter solstice) long before Christianity and Jesus came into existence. If Christ had never been heard of, we still would be celebrating this joyous holiday.

In truth, it was the Christians who did the stealing. In the 4th century, the church surreptitiously absorbed this Pagan holiday; invented December 25 as the birth of Jesus and simply incorporated it into their new religion as their own. They have gotten away with an outrageous fraud and few seem to realize it. How ironic the plea to "Put Christ back in Christmas" becomes!

Even more ironic is why Christians celebrate the holiday at all? In the Bible, God specifically commands: "Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen for the customs of the people are vain…" (Jeremiah 10:2,3,4). This is the reason why early American Christians (the Puritans) banned the celebration of Christmas and why even today some Christians including Jehovah's Witnesses still ban it, correctly recognizing gift exchanges, festivals of light and evergreen trees as all vestiges of the Pagan past.

Atheists don't mind sharing the holidays with Christians, but the atheists don't like the pretense that it originates with the birthday of Jesus. The real meaning of this holiday was originally to celebrate nature! It was the birthday of the unconquered Sun, Dies Natalis Invicti Solis. In celebrating winter solstice, the Pagans celebrated reality. Christmas is a relic of Pagan sun worship.

Most Christians today don't know they are actually observing a "natural holiday," the shortest and darkest day of the year, the harbinger of the new year and a continuance of life, in a manner similar to that of our Pagan predecessors.

As for Mr. O'Reilly, he knows as much about the true origins of this holiday as a donkey knows of harp playing. It is apparent our species will never run out of simpletons.

The holiday season is beyond all dispute Pagan in origin but has over time become secularized, that is to say, human and natural. Fortunately, because it is, it is celebrated by all who believe in good will, friendship and family. It is also a good time to forgive and forget, a good time to throw away prejudice and hatred, a good time to fill your heart and your home, and the hearts and homes of other, with sunshine.

Winter solstice is the "Reason for the Season," but atheists, unlike so many of our religious compatriots, are a tolerant lot and welcome the Christian latecomers to our happy secular celebration.

May I bid all an inclusive, happy holidays. Borden Applegate, Jackson

[tularetom]

1. Fantastic letter!

Unfortunately it will have absolutely jack shit impact on assholes like o'reilly. Or the dumb woman on the view who opined that jesus predated the dinosaurs.

The message is right on and what i have tried awful hard to do this year. What with my wingnut relatives and all.

[zbdent]

7. You're right ... because the history of Christmas actually would require

research ... and that's not done at Faux ...

[tom_paine]

2. K & R

[me b zola]

3. k&r

"It is also a good time to forgive and forget, a good time to throw away prejudice and hatred, a good time to fill your heart and your home, and the hearts and homes of other, with sunshine."


I cannot understand christians who insist upon making the holiday hateful and exclusionary. Jesus,imo, would have greatly approved of the above statement. I just heard a christian call into AAR an hour or so ago to say that Jesus would be pro death penalty. :( Mass hysteria has overtaken this nation.

[CoffeeCat]

5. ...what gets me...

...is that they'll get hysterical over a manufactured "War on Christmas" lie, but
they're as calm as sleeping sheep over our democracy being destroyed--right under
their noses.

How can these two extremes co-exist in so many people who have over-the-top outrage
for a "War on Christmas" that doesn't even exist, but blank stares when our President
wiretaps us illegally, tortures innocent people, continues a lie-based war and bankrupts
our nation?

[tex-wyo-dem]

6. I'll tell you why: it's because amoung the most extreme religous right...

We (you, me and every other liberal in the world) are the enemy. We are the equivalent of the "muslim extremeist," the "godless communist," satan himself, so no matter how based in fact our positions might be, they will never accept them because we are propogating the "devil's message."

GWB, on the other hand, is one of them: a true "christian" who is doing "God's work" and protecting good chistians." He could quite literally take a piss on the Constitution for national cameras and they wouldn't bat an eye.

It's a hopeless argument and I give up trying to reason with them, because they have no reasoning ability.

Thank you for posting this LTTE...this bit of truth will surely make a few heads explode.

[alfredo]

4. Love it!

[zbdent]

8. wait a minute ... "Jesus is the reason for the season"?

Can I blame him for the snow?

I would bet you'd have a lot more people baptized if they celebrated Jesus's birth in the summer, what with all the kids in the swimming pools and all ...

[0007]

9. .......and a happy holiday to YOU.

"On dasher, on Blitzen, up over those walls,
"Quickly now, damnit, or I'll cut off your balls."

[UTUSN]

10. In case nobody's sent this to O'LOOFAH, *I'm* sending it!1 n/t

[KharmaTrain]

11. Wasn't Jesus Born During The Spring??

If he existed at all (another string, another day)

I've long heard theories that according to astrological data and other accounts, he/she/it was born in the Spring. Solstice is still celebrated around the world by many cultures than never had heard of Jesus before encounters with Eurpoeans and the Catholic church, in a move of "good PR", hijacked Solstice to compete with the "heathen" festivals.

To me, the Solstice has always been a reason to celebrate...warmer and longer days are on the way.

[tavalon]

15. I'm a Pagan

In a few hours I will be going to work and I will be working tomorrow night as well. I volunteered, because I also celebrate the Winter Solstice and I want someone else who actually celebrates this holiday on the 25th to enjoy having it off.

[hvn_nbr_2]

12. "knows as much about (Christmas) as a donkey know about harp playing"

What a great line!

[Beaverhausen]

13. K & R

[pleah]

14. That was a very good history lesson,

too bad the majority of people that need to read it, won't. K&R