It was diverse! Even Catholics were allowed!
Lift Every Voice and Sing. The third verse is God filled, the first two are really about the struggle for freedom and equality. Its a pretty good song.
Dam, It’s no wonder someone complained.
You have been awarded +1 internets.
Never mind that: if atheists are the only ones who look for things to be offended by, why does this thread exist?
The better question is, “why do we need to rename a Christmas tree a holiday tree”? A bit of faulty cause and effect, don’t you think?
I’ll simply write this comment off as a feeble attempt at humor.
Renaming a Christmas tree a holiday tree is stupid. Being offended by it is stupider still. It’s not as though a Christmas tree is some kind of sacred object; why should anyone give a shit what it’s called?
First off, who said it’s “unnatural”, and second, since when does “unnatural”=“bad”? Posting on a message board isn’t “natural”, either.
Something being natural has nothing to do whether it’s good or bad. Both snake venom and oxygen are natural. Except one is necessary to live, and the other will kill me.
So who gives a shit?
(And why can’t both you just admit that both Christians and atheist have both been dicks at times? The rest of us who don’t like to be dicks can go off and have donuts and coffee)
For that matter, why rename a Saturnalia tree to Christmas tree to begin with?
It’s not a Saturnalia tree. I mean, the celebration of Christmas itself is a direct continuation of the Saturnalias of course, but the tree is Germanic folk paganism. Used to be a Thor thing.
I thought it was related to the yule log? Christmas trees are an old German custom, right?
Seems to have originated with Germans for Christmas in the 15th century and isn’t clear on where it came from before that.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/xmas_tree.htm
This indicates there were predecessors well before Christ and that early (and even up to the 19th century) Christians condemned Christmas Trees as Pagan and Heathen.
So relax, and enjoy your Seasonally Decorated Tree. It’s firm adoption as a Christian symbol is only a very recent one and its history as a non-Christian thing is much longer.
One of the reasons retailers do the happy holidays thing is to save on signage. They can use a lot of the same signs from before Thanksgiving , until after New Years.
I echo the sentiment that being offended at holiday tree is ridiculous. I knew Christians that celebrated the birth of Christ and refused to participate in the tradtions borrowed from pagens. What the hell does a decorated tree with gifts underneath have to do with Jesus?
This is another aspect of doctrine that makes no sense to me. People continue to sin after they accept Christ. Does the fact that they accept Christ mean they can do whatever they want now and are still forgiven because they believe the right thing?
Of course not, and clearly not according to the words of JC. Is a loving act of compassion for another human being less loving and compassionatebecause someone happens to be a non Christian?
and ftr; the history of Christianity is full of bad doctrine and beliefs, justified by interpretations of biblical passages, that have changed as society changed and grew up.
This is one of those issues. Christianity will evolve and grow as people do.
When I hear that trumpet blowing, I hang my head and cry.
No doubt there are some non believers who would like to see all religion go away , but I suspect they are vastly outnumbered by hateful folks calling them selves Christians , like the recent video of the pastor preaching that all homosexuals should be put inside an electrified fence until they die off. That was hateful and stupid.
Or maybe the pastor who thinks that according to the Bible the Government should be killing gays , or the congregation cheering as a toddler sings “ain’t no h***s gonna mae it to heaven”
And then there’s that bit about Jesus hanging out with criminals and prostitutes telling everyone to love each other.
Some days I don’t get how they reconcile the two.
Then I realize they’re HUMAN and are just looking for people to hate and excuses to do it.
You are pretty ignorant about Christians if you think your examples represents most churches. Many Christian leaders including the Southern Baptist Convention publically condemned the NC pastor’s remarks about gays.
Christians do a lot of good work with mission work and helping the needy especially the Salvation Army. This organization helps anyone in need, gay or straight. You think the world is better off with the Salvation Army?
Vanderbilt is a privately funded university.
How is this relevant?