Your ancestors were Roman Christians? Really? So that makes you a victim now?
So, what - you’re saying that the pagan Romans were also murderous assholes? We already knew that. What does that have to do with anything?
No actually they wern’t.
Polish German and Norwegion here.
Voyager is the one who claimed his ancestors were torchered by Christians. Don’t see you questioning his statement.
Really I’m just answering questions. Don’t know how torture got into this discussion.
Maybe you can explain why someone would bring it up.
I think you need to go into the nature of offensive.
Are some people offended by a well intentioned “Merry Christmas.” Yep. Some CHRISTIANS are offended by it (i.e. the whole co-opting their holiday by non-believers). These people have to stop growling “what’s so good about it” when someone wishes them a nice day.
However, when the intent of wishing someone a Merry Christmas is not well intentioned - i.e. wishing your Jewish coworker Merry Christmas to rub his face in his exclusion, or wishing someone a Merry Christmas as a opening to witnessing, then I think you have a good reason to be offended.
The problem is that the recipient of the wish may have a hard time telling the difference. I have wished Jewish coworkers Merry Christmas out of simple forgetfulness, not ill will. But sometimes its easy to tell.
Uh, excuse me? I’m a Pagan Roman, you know. I am a priestess of the goddess Cybele. I never murdered anyone, and in fact I practice ahimsa (nonviolence). I don’t do that empire thing. My people, the priestesses of Cybele, lived outside Roman civilization in the wild hills where we drummed and danced ecstatically.
So watch it with the stereotyping, OK?
Actually I was refering to much later day martyrs. Many were missionaries.
Just remember: “Merry Christmas!” is sectarian, but “Bah! Humbug!” is transcultural! 
Wouldn’t that last sentence pretty much make you a non-Roman pagan?
Only if the Jew said it, if a Gentile said it, it would be a harmless greeting.
As for the ‘marketing’ of Christmas, it doesn’t matter what Macy’s does, they will make a marketing decision based on what they think the political trends are, which are largely shallow. Any Christian who really knows their faith, and any Jew that really knows their faith would probably be friends were they to meet. It’s only the jackasses that really think there is some kind of big conflict, and their attention spans were manufactured by television networks.
Erek
I think you’ve been whooshed.
Couldn’t “Merry Christmas” just be saying, “Have a nice day on the day that is designated as Christmas?”
You need to learn how to use the quote tag.
put [ quote ] PUT QUOTED TAG HERE!!! [ /quote] .
Only leave out the spaces in between the word “quote” and the [ and ] so it looks like this (if spelled correctly).
[quot]
Balh blah blah
[/quot]
To attibute a quote to a various poster, simple put quote=such and such Doper in the first bracket.
Okay? Because your posts are impossible to parse when you try to repeat others’ statements.
I’m not sure who you’re castigating here, exactly, but the difference between Jews and early Christians was a little more significant than you imply.
Also: justwannano, what is your major malfunction? I don’t see anyone here saying you shouldn’t celebrate Christmas if you want to. The point is: it’s rude to imply (as Bill O’Reilly did) that everyone should celebrate Christmas. I don’t care about your own religious celebrations, but a little acknowledgement that not all of us are Christians and some of us do not celebrate Christmas would be nice now and then. (Which is actually fairly standard, for some reason O’Reilly can’t stand this. Oh wait, I remember the reason now: he’s a blowhard jerk.)
I have a malfunction?
If you look at my first post you’ll notice that I started this discussion wondering why anyone would be offended by a celebration of someones birthday.
Better take a good look inside yourself hon.
Nobody IS offended by the celebration of whatever mythical event you want to believe in. What’s offensive is pointedly sneering a religious slogan at someone who does not share your religious views with the clear intent of insulting them- particularly if that person is part of a minority which has been historically victimized by your religion.
I thought Cybele was worshipped by priests who cut off their wangs?
Now, see, that right there is why I object to circumcision on principle
first they take the front, and later they come back for the rest…
The Cybelines had both male and female priests/priestesses.
ought we not distinguish between the cute shiksas singing christmas carols at Macy’s and Kid Astroglide, who is riding this theme as some kind of jihad to bludgeon conformity out of what Dave Dinkins used to call “our glorious mosaic”.
If O’reilly wished ME a Merry Christmas I want to bust him in the chops, partly for speaking my cousin’s name with the same filthy lips he uses to whisper loathsome suggestions into the phone
Ya know I think you are reading way way too much into this.
I learned in grade school that if you allow someone to get your goat they will continue to do so.
Best to ignore it and it will go away.
Now as to the hateful part of your comment.
I would like to see know what kind of comment leads you to believe that "Merry Christmas " is sneeringly a religious slogan.
Also Please explain
Not to put words in his mouth, but I’d wager it was the circumstances of the quote with Bill O’Reilly wishing a “Merry Christmas” to someone he knows is a Jew in the context of O’Reilly’s continued attacks on the ‘secular agenda’ or whatever phrase he trots out. As I said in my first post to this thread, it reads like him saying “Hah, this is a Christian nation and we’ll keep it that way and rub your nose in it to boot. Suck it up Jewboy.”
Again not to put words in his mouth, but the Jews have gotten a hard time from Christianity for quite some time. IIRC it was only in Vatican II that the Catholic church, for example, rescinded their claim that it was “The Jews” who killed Jesus.