The Christmas War: Chapter 1: The Fight for the Nativity

Atheists, clearly agitated that Christians purportedly “stole” various holiday traditions from pagans, have come up with a solution: A potentially-offensive “natural nativity scene” that removes baby Jesus and replaces traditional Bible characters with some eyebrow-raising alternatives. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is behind the spectacle, which emerged this week as part of a diorama inside the Wisconsin state capitol.The angel that typically graces the nativity is replaced with an astronaut. And the wise-men – prominent figures in the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth — are replaced with evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, scientist Albert Einstein, anarchist Emma Goldman and author Mark Twain. The Statue of Liberty is also placed in the alternative nativity to purportedly symbolize freedom. (for full article, click here.)

City authorities halted all Christmas displays after finding themselves in the crossfire between supporters of traditional Christmas celebrations and their secular opponents. Religious groups conceded "the atheists won" and compared the judge's ruling to Pontius Pilate's decision not to intervene and halt the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (For full article, click here.)

I will say this right now: I do believe there is a war on Christmas, not just to ban it from the public eye but to ban it from our collective memory. This is no different than attempts by communists to ban Christmas in Russia and every nation where communism took hold (Side note: the vast majority of atheists do support communism, but I'm sure that's just a coincidence).

So my question to everyone is this: however did we get from a Bing Crosby style Christmas to a detestable pile of junk known as Black Friday rush? How did we get from Christmas to "Consume-Us?"

I assure you this did not happen overnight. Little things lead the way, as they often do: we neglected our families by putting ourselves first; we started forgetting our sacred traditions; we turned our children and by proxy future generations onto the notion freedom must be sacrificed so no one is offended. I can name several other reasons but it all boils down to this:

We have forgotten who we are and took what we had for granted.

Be honest: when was the last time you went to a card store and most of the cards had a religious element tied to Christmas? When was the last time a store clerk wished you Merry Christmas? When was the last time Christmas didn't become a drag or feel like a chore? How many can either name or recognize their own ethnicity's (blood family doesn't count) Christmas traditions? This is what the tide of atheism has done to us and it begins with accepting little lies that are part of the big lie.

In fact, let's take a look at them. Bear in mind all these statements are lies and they must be stopped right in their tracks:

Lie #1: The Nativity portrays a fictional account.

Well, that would be a shock to historians and scholars (two groups atheists don't care for whenever said scholars disagree with them). Virtually all scholars agree Jesus did walk the earth, and the Nativity story did happen as it is written.

Lie #2: The Nativity doesn't serve any real purpose.

Any check on the Nativity's background would prove this false. It was begun with Francis of Assisi to show people the lowly conditions and circumstances around Our Savior's birth. In other words, it was about showing the virtue of poverty, and you can't see that as a virtue if you're bombarded with messages to shop.

Lie #3: Most people are offended by seeing the Nativity scene.

That would be a shock to poll numbers. According to a 2005 poll (the last time this question was asked), 85% of people are not offended by seeing Nativity scenes on public property. While about 70% would like to see it placed with other non-Christian religious symbols, only 1% want all expressions banned.

Lie #4: Merry Christmas offends most people.

Again, poll numbers don't support this. According to the Pew Center, 60% of customers prefer to hear Merry Christmas over Happy Holidays.

Now, strange as it may seem, atheists were not the first ones to declare war on Christmas; the Puritans flat out banned it in both England when Oliver Cromwell ran the country and in the American colonies up until the 1800's. Now, why would atheists try something that Puritans (a heretical Christian group, mind you) already tried and failed?

Easy...atheists are morons.