“No god? … No problem!” reads the advertisement featuring the smiling faces of people wearing Santa Claus hats. “Be good for goodness’ sake.”
Over the next two weeks, 270 of the ads will go up on city buses and trains in the Washington area as part of the holiday kickoff to campaigns sponsored by secular groups in cities around the country and abroad. If last year was any indication, the signs are likely to spark a theological war of words.
“We don’t intend to rain on anyone’s parade, but secular people celebrate the holidays, too, and we’re just trying to reach out to our people,” said Roy Speckhardt, the executive director of the American Humanist Association. “To the degree that we are reaching out to the godly, it’s just to say that you can be good without god…”
Elsewhere, this year’s secular signs vary in tone.
In Seattle, this year’s signs say “Millions are good without God.” In Las Vegas, signs to be put up this week will say “Reasons Greetings” and “Yes, Virginia … there is no God…”
The campaigns come against a backdrop of a growing number of nonbelievers. Fifteen percent of Americans identified themselves as having “no religion” in a 2008, up from 8 percent in 1990, according to a study by the Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford.
Overdue.
Pre-emptive strike.
Before anyone starts crying blasphemy, people need to realize, nearly EVERY single “Christian holiday”,including Christmas, has been borrowed and/or appropriated from Pagan and Roman celebrations held the same time of year, that pre-date Christianity. People need to learn their anthropological history before they start crying everything is an attack on their faith.
What do you mean by overdue? Haven’t they run these type of ads for awhile (they have in Atlanta, GA)? I disagree with the message and in fact I think it is a dumb argument to make at Christmas. In saying (in case of any boycotts planned) that these peoples freedom of speech shouldn’t be silenced anymore than mine to say Merry CHRISTmas!
Speaking as an atheist, I have no problem with the ads, nor do I EVER have a problem with the various religious salutations like Merry Christmas. I wish it back to everyone as well. This is the point where some atheists really beat a drum that doesn’t really need beating.
Now if you start telling me I need to be saved, then we start to have a problem.
Very sophisticated, worldly, and intellectual. It will be a struggle but I think religion will survive.
“Keep the ‘X’ in Xmas”?
I hate to tell ya, but keeping “X” in Xmas is the same as keeping “Christ” in Christmas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmas
X representing Christ, particularly his crucifixion, dates back to the early church.
Christmas is a non-secular American holiday by law anyway. You can celebrate it as such without even dealing with religion.
This new breed of atheists supremacists give me the creeps.
My people where driven from our lands, imprisoned, raped and even slaughtered by atheists because, supposedly, religious people where holding back society’s progress. The world would be better without superstitious primitives like us.
To be clear… I’m NOT saying that all atheists are cold blooded murderers but MANY of these new atheist supremacists spout the SAME rhetoric as THOSE cold blooded murders.
I sometimes wonder if it is the same creeps that Jewish people get from neo-Nazis. I mean, the movement seems like a joke but, still, the memories they evoke are horrible.
[Atheist supremacists? Really? – ed.]
#1
While it may be true that the date is borrowed, because the actual date of Jesus’ birth is uncertain. Some theologians think it was closer to springtime. The point I’m trying to make is being good and nice won’t save you from an eternity in h3ll whether you belive or not.
I think the main point with these ads is you can be a good person with out being religious, or believing there is a god in the first place.
You can be a good person and cuss and swear like a sailor. You can be a good person and be promiscuous and have multiple lovers. You can be a good person and be bi, or homosexual. You can be a good person and be transgendered. You can use drugs and drink and still be a good person.
I can make this list go on forever. Point is religion focuses too much on sinning making you an automatic bad person, which just isn’t true. Even the bible points out instance of murder and genocide, and they were good people. >sigh<
Religion isn't for God, it's for people and the control of them "en masse."
>> Mikey Twit said,
>> Now if you start telling me I need to be saved, then we start to have a problem.
This is the same “problem” that religious people have when they are told they need to have no God.
That’s the irony of this… these new atheist supremacists are so very similar to the worst fundamentalists … for basically the same reasons.
As for me… I’m OK with proselytizing until I’m told that the world would be better without people like me in it. THAT gives me the creeps. Talk like that never leads to anything good.
To correct previous statement, i meant to say whether you believe in the Christmas holiday. Belief in Jesus Christ is the only thing that will save you.
@#1 ‘…borrowed and/or appropriated from Pagan and Roman celebrations…” – only item missing: these celebrations were also about some or another Deity.
Quote from this campaign: “…idea that you can be good without belief in God…” – there is the difference.
It is fine to be atheist. Just, in that case you do not have any empirical source for morals/good/… What prevents you from deciding “killing my neighbour and taking his stuff is good, he really has good stuff…” from atheistic perspective? Who holds the “reference frame”?
Finally, attack on Christmas is not even about this issue. It is attempt to secularize clearly religious holiday. I grew up in Communist country where similar though Govt. driven scheme was in works for decades. They knew it is hardest to eliminate the holiday. So they redirected it: I grew up with Santa who delivers New Year and decorations on New Year tree. Guess what, older and deeper traditions emerged around Christmas: oak branches decorations, straw and walnuts on floors, greetings of “Christ is borne” vs. “Merry Christmas”,… No gifts, yet every child wanted to wake up before sunrise to symbolically greet “little God”, outside, making bonfire. Echoes of older religions? – likely but certainly not echoes of atheism.
From the article:
“It is the ultimate Grinch to suggest there is no God during a holiday where millions of people around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ,” said Mathew D. Staver, founder and chairman of the Liberty Counsel…
I see no conflict of interest. Belief in God and Jesus are two entirely separate concepts.
Jesus was a great man with intelligence and wisdom who came up with the idea that maybe people should start being nice to each other – so they nailed him to a cross.
The problem with the poster on this blog post, is that it is deceptive.
The poster is technically true but implies that humanists are atheists. This is so not true.
I, myself, am a religious humanists and there are a zillion just like me. My guess is that we religious humanists outnumber the fundamentalists.
However, the poster is technically true — we religious humanists believe that humans, regardless of religion, have the capacity for goodness. However, we believe this is a god-given capacity but that it is given to atheists, too.
(I’m taking a risk by speaking generally for religious humanists but I think I’m generally right on this point. I’m sure there are exceptions.)
>> Mikey Twit said,
>> Pre-emptive strike.
>> Before anyone starts crying blasphemy, people need to realize, nearly EVERY single “Christian holiday”,including Christmas, has been borrowed and/or appropriated from Pagan and Roman celebrations held the same time of year, that pre-date Christianity.
Why do people act like this is some sort of gottcha? Do they think this is some sort of big secret? Hardly!
I’m fine with it — in fact, I like that our traditions follow the seasons. It keeps me in touch with natural time. Also, I have a couple of neo-pagan friends and I like that we have something in common.
That being said — I’m not sure you’re 100% correct.
Holy Week is from the Jewish calendar, right? (Or so I’ve assumed. I’ve never really researched it.)
This is a huge deal for us, as you probably know. I assume it pre-dates the Romans and, maybe, has some origin in ancient Egyptian tradition. (I don’t know).
gal416
Can’t spend an eternity in a place that probably doesn’t exist.
dusanmal
If the only reason you are good or do the right thing is fear of a god, then you are morally bankrupt, and I fear people like you the most. My frame of reference is the golden rule, which predates ANY religion and actually has an evolutionary basis for it, not handed down from on high. Look it up, beyond the religious texts, of course.
This crap is like Protesting Halloween because you don’t believe in ghosts… gah shut the hell up.
So your aithiests bigots, most of us care as little about them as little as we care about you.
If you do not believe, do not celebrate. Do not accept gifts. Do not ‘OMG’.
You will be dead for a VERY, VERY, VERY LONG TIME. Your choice.
Oh… and get back to work!
#11 – “What prevents you from deciding “killing my neighbour and taking his stuff is good, he really has good stuff…” from atheistic perspective?”
Because we know this without having to be told? Surely you don’t think every non-Christian today, or anyone who lived more than 2009 years ago, walked around killing and stealing indiscriminately, because they didn’t know it was wrong.
Never having been religious, I’m pretty sure my idea of being “good” pretty much corresponds with yours – helping out those less fortunately than I, making people laugh, enjoying time with friends and family, etc. Those ideals didn’t originate in religion.
I am confused, why do atheists feel the need to post these kinds of things publicly? do they feel threatened? do they feel the need to spread their points of view? Christians believe that they should share their faith with others, do atheists also believe this? It just seems strange and unnecessary if your “belief” is in not having a belief. All this does is divide our culture more than it already is.
A note on the title:
Funny thing about writing XMAS and not Christmas is that it was XMAS when being a Christian got you eaten by lions. So XMAS is just as Christian as Christmas.
Also why are you celebrating Christmas if you are an atheist? Stand by your beliefs and reject the gifts and don’t give any out.
#6, Greg: Perhaps. But there are also religious supremacists who would just love to burn people like me at the stake. Again.
How can someone have no religion?
If atheist don’t like Christmas, who says they should participate. It is a clearly religious holiday. If atheist can’t stand the fact that a great big powerful God humbled himself to come to Earth in the form of an infant to later die for the sins of the world, than I am truely sorry for them. Salvation from God is free to all those who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Why don’t the atheist protest Ramadan and hold signs that say, “You can eat during the day because Allah does not exist”?
Why don’t they protest Scientology or Wiccans, or Zoroastrians? Why no signs that say, “Go ahead and eat that steak because Ganesh doesn’t exist.”
I’ll leave those questions as an exercise for the reader.
#20 Jared said, on December 2nd, 2009 at 9:38 am
“Funny thing about writing XMAS and not Christmas is that it was XMAS when being a Christian got you eaten by lions. So XMAS is just as Christian as Christmas.”
The X is an abbreviation for Christ. I frequently abbreviate Christ with the letter X in my personal notes. Xians can abbreviate Christmas with Xmas. It is still pronounced Christmas, but never Ex-mas.
# 14
Greg Allen, you are correct. The primary celebration is of the winter solstice, and that particular celebration has been going on since humans understood the heavens.
22,
Sargasso, look up “Deist“.
33,
Benjamin, in the case of Ramadan and many of the other examples you provide, it is not shoved down our throats at every turn.
From the post, this is really bad: ““We don’t intend to rain on anyone’s parade, but secular people celebrate the holidays, too, and we’re just trying to reach out to our people,”
ATHEISTS DON’T HAVE ANY HOLIDAYS!! -and- “WE” DON’T HAVE ANY “PEOPLE!”
Sadly, this dumbshit is confusing lack of religion with having religion and all the claptrap that goes with it.
Atheists can only enjoy the time off from work, their families, hobbies and whatnot given that our society is at this stage at this point in time. The achievements/hallmarks of science are “recognized” when they are. No time off from work is necessary for this individual activity.
Religion/Atheism posed as religion is gibberish. Life is good. Enjoy whatever you enjoy===all the time.
Take THAT God, you bastard!
“Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man – living in the sky – who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time… But he loves you!”
(George Carlin)
http://tinyurl.com/why10
A group of nice looking young men read out comments from fundamentalist Christian forums, which just goes to show, people’s opinions will differ…
Why can’t we all just get along?
And failing that, why can’t we all just eat each other?
http://tinyurl.com/yby9rjo
I have some Jewish friends coming over for Christmas dinner. But now I’m worried that might be a sin.