Worst Church Sign Ever?
After visiting my family at Xmas this year, I noticed this church sign near my mothers home.This sign struck me as so typical of the new christian attitude toward xmas. It seems that most christians are either upset that xmas isn't being shoved down non-xtian throats, or they are upset that non-xtians are celebrating xmas in a way that has nothing to do with religion.
My wife and I, who are obviously both atheists, enjoy xmas at our respective families homes each year. Our family group celebrations are almost completely secular except for the prayer before the meal and always have been. We only opt-out of a hand-holding prayer that has taken place the past few years at my sisters home.
My point is that my wife and I enjoy all of the secular (pagan) aspects of xmas. We enjoy seeing our families all together at once, we enjoy the food, we enjoy gift-giving, we enjoy playing Santa, we enjoy decorating a tree and putting lights on our house. To us Xmas has nothing to with christ. Indeed, history tells us that in fact, most xmas traditions have nothing to with christ or christianity.
And this is what seems to be motivating signs like the one to the left and the yard signs which say 'Happy Birthday Jesus' etc. Seems a lot of xtians don't like the idea of non-christians enjoying our pagan (secular) xmas.
So to Faith Baptist Church in Norris, SC and pastor Gary James I would like to say that I had a truly joyful pagan xmas without imaginary people 'in my heart', so I suggest that you just get over it.
religion,christmas,atheist,atheism,faith,norris
Labels: baptist, church sign, faith baptist church, norris, s.c.
17 Comments:
"True joy"? -as opposed to untrue joy? Huh?
Further evidence that religious belief is a semantic game people play with their own emotions.
Yes, I thought that the phrase "True Joy" was rather odd also. I suppose that way they (christians) can tell happy atheists that they aren't 'Truly Happy'. You hear that a lot from these delusional folk.
Ramen! Good post!
My Baptist niece sent a letter to me and my husband right before the holidays that was proseltyzing in nature. One of the comments said we cannot truly be happy without obedience to gawd. Another comment said that we cannot truly love without Jeebus in our hearts.
I simply wrote back and said that I am not a bad person, that I do know what love is and I am generally a happy person ... without god beliefs. I then asked her politely to please not "witness" to me or send me overly religious emails and letters anymore and I got a two-page tirade from her pastor wannabe husband saying that I am never to have communication with "his wife" or his family again. That love that comes from jeebus is really something, now isn't it?
Further evidence that religious belief is a semantic game people play with their own emotions.
I have seen from my Baptist family that these folks thrive on emotion. They cry alot too for being so damn happy.
Wow, Stardust. I guess maybe my inlaws are not too bad. My sister's current husband is pretty religious and intoduced a holding of hands during prayer before meals. Our family never did that before so I got word to her that my wife and I would just quitely abstain from holding hands. I am sure that there were insults and unkind words thrown about behind my back, but no one directly confronted us about it (probably because both my wife and I don't take a lot of #!$% from our families)
It is amazing how xtians have to think others are unhappy for them to feel happy isn't it?
Sorry your neice's husband is such a jerk.
that sign is hilarious, despite it's pathetic nature.
i'm not surprised anymore with how many delusional people there are. it's sad. i went to an all girls catholic school, and it was one of the most traumatizing experiences ever.
Great post. Very interesting sign, reveals quite a bit about the Christian mind (or at least what seems to pass for a mind in many).
Atheism - A great religion of people with great faith.
Funny, your post shows that you are living on borrowed ethical capital. But then again, I didn't expect you to have an intelligent post... How could you, when all of life is random and meaningless?
Geez, I Am Not,
How do you presume to tell me my life is meaningless? Is your life meaningless because you don't believe in Allah or Jesus or someone else's god? And what does 'borrowed ethical capital' mean? It seems to me that we atheists, as statistics prove, could teach you religious nuts a lot about ethics. You wouldn't by chance be responsible for the sign would you? Is that why you are taking this post so personally? At any rate, get over it.
If those dippy fundamentalists only realized that Christmas is just a refurbishment of the pagan Saturnalia celebration, it would drive them to distraction.
i was watching something that i thought was news on how china has really been getting into Christmas, it was a nice peace, i thought it odd that they mentioned a few times that china is predominately atheist. then at the end the news anchor says, well hopefully this is a stepping stone for china to celebrate christmas for the real reasons, jesus christ.
I really think all of you people are confused and dilusional. Satan has got you all completely blinded. You don't realize how 'truly unhappy' you are until you finally accept that Jesus is real and is you only way to avoid Hell for eternity. You just don't realize how lost you are. Jesus came to save you too! I hope you will all realize this.
i don't know if you are spelling it "xmas" to try and take Christ out of it, but in case you are, you may want to change that too. the x represents the first letter in the Greek word for Christ.
p.s. i enjoy your blog and find it very informative.
If you are an atheist, why on Earth are you saying a prayer before your christmas meal?!! Coming from the UK, that seems like an incredibly religious thing to do - even people who DO believe in a monotheistic god are rarely found making prayer before eating.
It's kind of like saying "I'm not a crazy, flag waving patriot, but America IS the land of the free and I only fly the stars and stripes on July 4th"
Reply to "The Earl"
If you are an atheist, why on Earth are you saying a prayer before your christmas meal?!!
I don't say a prayer before meals but my christian family does. America is very different from the UK. You will find totally secular gatherings that will have a prayer before meals or to bless some event or meeting.
alan
"You will find totally secular gatherings that will have a prayer before meals or to bless some event or meeting"
Why on earth are they doing that?! Are people even thinking about what they are doing whilst engaging in this act or merely going through the motions out of habit.
I know that there is a fair degree of flag worship over in your part of the world, which can be put down to simple indoctrination techniques and the constant repetition of key phrases across the media, such as: "the land of the free"/ "worlds greatest democracy"/ "pioneer spirit" and all that crap..
I guess there is a tendency to eulogise figures from US history in the states.. Lincoln, JFK and Martin Luther King to name a few (even Reagan in some circles - though these circles are more like mishapen ellipsii) - maybe that is symptomatic of the need to worship in the states - whether Jesus, Flag or JFK
But it's not really all your fault - I blame the counterreformation that propelled all those puritanical oddballs out of the UK and into the (then) american colonies
I am glad that you did enjoy your christmas. The sign refers to spiritual joy, not secular joy. It is very possible to achieve a enjoyable life through worldy endulgences, but not a completely fulfilling one. The joy proclaimed by the sign is a joy that can not be fulfilled by gifts and good food. I am a christian and I do not slander those who have other spiritual beliefs, so I do not see why you feel the need to do so. For some one who is so stead fast in their believes, you seem to find the need to justify it through finding faults in the beliefs of others. I am a Chrisitan college student, and a college is great place to find a degree of forced diversity. I find that the students achieve a respectful atmosphere supporting and questioning each other about their believes without being blatantly audacious. I to had a truley joyful christmas where I not only enjoyed my family but found tranquility in my Christian faith. You may want to consider that the sign was not to "shove CHRISTMAS" down non-CHRISTIANS throats", but to remind the believers not to get completely wrapped up in the secular aspects of the holidays. The sign serves as a platform for the church's message to the community, just as thie forum serves as your platform for expression. You were in upstate South Carolina, at the heart of the Bible belt. You should maybe aim for another destination when you travel this year, as not to be offended. I see you enjoy "playing santa", an entity that you have never seen. Have you written a blog protesting the use of this invisable,"imaginary" person at Christmas, I assume you have not. Ro Christians, Jesus Christ is Christmas. Why the ill will towards one and not the other?I must say you seem a bit Hypocritical in that aspect. Let me conclude in saying that I am not offended by your beliefs, but by your tirade on Christians, and Christian institutions. Just for your curiosity, I seen the sign first hand as well, and I will continue to, each Sunday morning at 10 a.m. God Bless you all, and I look forward to your responce.
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