Over at his blog Aurora Walking Vacation, Paul writes about the difference between theists and atheists, pointing out this fact:

Atheists do not try to shelter their children from media that might suggest points of view that differ from the one they hold.

The unfairness of sweeping generalizations can easily help an otherwise reasonable argument miss the mark. I could easily take the argument in another direction and point out that I haven’t seen Christians marching in the streets protesting a particular film’s “attacks” and demanding the execution of the filmmakers for a perceived slight of their God. But that doesn’t really get to the meat of the problem, either.

The fact is that I’ve known many athiests and agnostics whose minds are as closed as Fort Knox. I try my best to be one of the more open-minded of “theists.”

One’s mind is not automatically open or closed based on whether or not you consider yourself accepting of a particular religion or of religion in general.

Each year, as we debate the appropriateness of the word Christmas in the holiday season and its marketing by retailers, it could well be a Jehovah’s Witness or a Jewish person who feels compelled to argue for a more generic “Happy Holidays” before an atheist would. And those people are as much “theists” as the Christians they would likely incite by such a notion.

When it comes to how you deal with others, I think it’s important to be respectful of other people’s beliefs (or lack thereof) even if they disagree with your own. To respect someone else’s point of view isn’t to accept it as fact; it is simply to recognize that not everyone else happens to share your own.

Perhaps the argument shouldn’t be about theists and atheists, but rather religious and anti-religious: you can be non-religious and not particularly anti-religious, and you can be the most religious person in the room and still do more damage to the concept of religion in other people’s minds than the least religious person in the room does.

In the old days, traditions were traditions.

Not anymore. Now, no tradition is safe, because someone might become offended.

Santa Clauses in Australia are being instructed not to use the icon’s famous trademark laugh, “Ho ho ho,” because it might be “offensive” to women. The word “ho” is often used by rappers and others as a derogatory term for women.

So Santas are being asked to say, “Ha ha ha” instead. Of course, what will end up happening is that the kids will ask their parents why Santa is saying it wrong, the parents will have to explain that “ho ho ho” is offensive to some people, the kids will ask why it’s offensive, and the parents will then have to explain the very controversy these worry-wort Santa organizers are trying to avoid to start with.

Ironic, isn’t it? Some people really need a reality check.

I wonder how long it will be before hoes disappear from the aisles of gardening stores because their mention is offensive.

As I have run errands over the past week, particularly on Friday, my day off, I noticed that almost everywhere I went, people wished me “Happy Easter.”

Since I am a Christian, that doesn’t strike me as being inappropriate. I certainly don’t find it offensive.

At the same time, I do find it a little odd.

Every December, there’s a big deal made of stores being less likely to say “Merry Christmas.” Many opt for the more generic “Happy Holidays” instead. Granted, besides Christmas, there’s Hannukah and Kwanzaa that some celebrate either along with or instead of Christmas. But it seems that there is a hesitancy to assume that people celebrate Christmas, as if people are afraid that making the wrong assumption will trigger some kind of negative reaction.

I wonder why it doesn’t seem that this is such a concern for Easter, at least not in the various places I went this weekend.

Consider this: Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s birthday. There are even non-Christian religions that believe that Christ was actually born. While Christians consider Him the Messiah, others feel that he was more a good prophet.

Easter, however, is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from death on the cross. Easter, therefore, is a more powerful event for Christians than the Christmas holiday.

That’s why I wonder why people would seem to be more willing to assume it’s okay to wish someone a Happy Easter and less okay to wish someone a Merry Christmas.

Any thoughts?

This Christmas Eve, I must share with you two posts I’ve found elsewhere that talk about the meaning of Christmas from a non-Christian point of view.

I don’t point these out from the standpoint of a Christian trying to show the world how wrong these points of view are; quite the contrary, I point them out to show that people with very different beliefs can still find common ground and come together.

First, there’s Paul of Aurora Walking Vacation, who says this:

“…As an atheist myself, I am quite happy to be wished a “Merry Christmas,” and will immediately respond in kind. In fact, I have been known to utter the greeting myself at times, totally unprovoked.”People might ask how, if I don’t believe in God, I can participate in what is essentially a Christian Holiday. The answer to that is simple: no man is an island….”

His complete post can be found here.

Then, there’s another Paul, of Waterboy, who says this:

“…My attitude is this: it’s all good. Creche scenes on the town green? Fine by me, as long as they are privately funded. Public school choirs singing Handel’s Messiah? Why not? It’s great music. People celebrating the Winter Solstice? Ramadan? Chanukah? Kwanzaa? Even Festivus? If people are smiling, singing, dancing…I’m there.”Relax. Smile. Take it all in. Merry Christmas.”

His complete post is here.

To me, spreading kindness to others is at least part of what Christmas is all about. And in those debates on which the two sides will likely not see eye to eye on everything, isn’t genuine goodwill better than nothing? I think so.

I hope that all of you, no matter what your religious beliefs happen to be, are able to share the positive, kind aspects of the season and that you have a very joyful holiday.

I found an interesting newspaper article about a local business man who “has a lot of nerve,” as the columnist writes: “You say ‘Happy Holidays’ to him and he’ll come right back with ‘Merry Christmas!’”

This businessman owns a local office park is fed up with the “political correctness” that seems to want to remove “Christmas” from Christmastime. So, unlike many other businesses that have replaced mentions of Christmas with more generic holiday wishes, his proudly displays banners with heralding angels and a manger scene.

Noting that more than 90 percent of this country’s residents celebrate Christmas, he says, “the Christians are not taking a stand. They’re letting a small amount of people demean the holiday and the reason for the season. Somebody has to take a stand. It ought not be me — it should be the preachers of Richmond.”

Christmas, a holiday intended to commemorate Christ’s birth, finds itself at the center of a “holy war.” Ironic, isn’t it?

One of the business park’s tenants doesn’t share its owner’s enthusiasm. “We think that the winter solstice is the reason for the season,” said a doctor who did not want to be identified. He says the Christmas banners make him feel “proselytized and excluded. It’s an imposition of a world view — we don’t like it shoved down our throats.”

He calls for “less-charged iconography”…like holly, snowflakes, and Frosty.

(Nothing says “winter solstice” like Frosty, right?)

Asked if he was offended enough to relocate, he said that he wasn’t. He likes the location.

Retail outlets are quietly removing mentions of “Christmas” in their advertising and signage. Yet they continue to decorate their stores with Christmas trees and images of Santa Claus — the famous “Father Christmas” who does his magical work on Christmas Eve — hoping that those who celebrate Christmas won’t notice.

Some retail outlets have signs that wish shoppers a “Happy Hanukkah.” Even more will pull out the “Happy Kwanzaa” signs soon. Why is it okay to wish these sentiments if Christmas has to be lumped into generic ones? If I walk by a sign that says “Happy Hanukkah,” it doesn’t impose someone else’s view on me. I understand what Hanukkah represents, and though I do not celebrate it myself, I find nothing offensive about being reminded that others do. I understand what Kwanzaa means, and I’m fairly certain from conversations I’ve had in the past that I understand the history of Kwanzaa better than at least a few who do celebrate it. It doesn’t impose someone else’s views on me if I pass a sign that wishes me a happy one.

I don’t understand why it bothers people who don’t believe in Christmas to see the word. If someone wishes you a “Merry Christmas” and the concept of Christmas means nothing to you, at worst, they’ve still told you that they hope your 25th of December is pleasant. Is that so terrible? When I wish someone “Merry Christmas,” I don’t do so because I want to convert them. If I know that they don’t celebrate Christmas in any way, I say something else. But if I don’t know their holiday plans, I assume that they are celebrating what most people celebrate, and so far, I’ve never been challenged. (If one ever is offended enough to correct me, I wish them happiness at the holiday of their choice. I don’t generally ask a complete stranger what religious affiliation they are right off the bat because that’s often considered more offensive than wishing a non-celebrant “Merry Christmas.”) Oy vey!

If these stores are going to pretend that it’s not about Christmas, they should stop with the Christmas decorations. Yes, it would mean they’d have to put their money (or lack of it from potential lost sales) where their mouths are, but if it’s really that important to them, they shouldn’t be afraid to do so, right?

The owner of that business park thinks it’s important enough to him to risk offending people whom he wishes “Merry Christmas,” whether they want to have a merry one or not. The doctor who rents space is offended, but doesn’t want to identify himself or relocate because he’s afraid of losing clients.

And on December 26th, when that “certain holiday” is over for another year, who’s really hurt by people having wished each other a merry day?