Heya, Hort!Hortmage wrote:Hi! Long time reader, first time poster....
I need to join another forum like I need another hole in the head, but I couldn't pass this one up.... Although it's nice to see I recognize a few familiar "faces."
*ahem*What Christians feel as a constant attack against them is merely us weak, disenfranchised "heathens" who are just trying to break the shackles of Christian domination we have had to wear for centuries.
First, we have freedom of religion and speech in this country. There are no "shackles of Christian domination" preventing anyone from adhering to whatever religion they prefer.
Second, there WILL be social stigma, but that applies to any society in which a given religion is held by the majority of the population. It's the obvious and unavoidable byproduct of what happens when a large number of people think they're right and you're wrong --- and no religion is free of this mentality.
Third, any "wish to enlighten" amounts to nothing more or less than the unspoken words, "I think your religion is screwed up, now let me tell you why I hold that position". Until and unless some definitive proof of accuracy is provided, all of this amounts to opinion --- and should be treated as such.
*looks around* It is? I haven't noticed anyone acting like they feel very threatened by, say, Paganism...The fact that we are trying to be seen as equals is apparently very threatening to the established powers.
S'news to me. I've never been exposed to any version of Christianty which has a problem with getting plastered on Sunday. I rather imagine God would have liked to have tipped back a bottle of Molson if it had existed on Day Seven.For instance...in my home state, there are still Blue Laws that prevent the sale of alcohol on Sundays...the Christian Sabbath. Every time someone proposes getting rid of this antiquated law, or equalizing it by banning alcohol on Saturdays (the Jewish Sabbath) or Fridays (the Muslim Sabbath), Christians come swarming out of the woodwork claiming anti-Christian elements are attacking them again.
Not at all. The problem is not with the expression, but with the specific decision to remove any reference to Christmas through substitution. Which HAS been done by many corporations as well as government facilities.Another example: over the last year or two, Christians have seen the phrase "Happy Holidays" to be a direct assault on Christianity
Here in Arizona, there was an uproar when ANYTHING referring to Christmas was banned by decree of the State Secretary from being displayed in any state-owned building. Other seasonal holidays were undisturbed, so Hannukah displays were perfectly okay --- but not Nativity scenes or even a card showing Santa Claus on the front. Ultimately the Governor "settled" things by ordering the traditional Christmas tree to be set up inside the foyer of the Capitol building, as it always has been, forcing the StateSec to amend her policy or make an even bigger fuss out of it.
No one's ever forgotten Hannukah, Hort. It is, however, a religion practiced by less than 10% of the population, so it's obviously not going to get the same exposure. As for New Year's, I've never known anyone to refer to January First through the use of "Happy Holidays". They always mean Christmas, Hannukah, or both.whereas it's simply some of us "heathens" trying to also acknowledge other winter holidays, such as Chanukah and Kwanzaa and New Years.
Then there's Kwaanza...which never existed prior to the 1960s and was in its entirety the creation of a prison inmate. It is NOT what it claims to be; an African seasonal rite, or even an authentic amalgamation of different rites. Such rites do exist in Africa, but they differ wildly from nation to nation and indeed from tribe to tribe. In short, it was designed as a specific alternative to Christmas for black people living in the States and has no actual religious significance of any kind.
I was around, thanks.This "artwork," often used as the poster-child proving anti-Christian feelings, was created by Andres Serrano in 1987. I would hazard a guess that many of the readers of Nip/Tuck weren't even born when this nonsense hit the fan.
Worked for the KKK too; everyone talks about their cross-burnings. Do something highly visible and offensive, and people will talk about it. Can't blame the commenters for that.I mean, a person who's talent shouldn't even have given him a footnote in history is STILL being talked about 20 years later.
True enough: Islam doesn't use stakes. But it DID engage in massive purges against Christians, as well as Jews, living in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, Spain and the Balkans. This occurred throughout the period Pagans call "The Great Burning", and lasted well into the 20th Century.And I do believe that more non-Christians (or 'not the RIGHT type of Christians') have been burnt at the stake more recently, and more abundantly, than true Christians ever have.