Serious question for atheists...please respond...

I am not a religionist, but that has nothing to do with my not participating in the holidays . . . I reject gross commercialism, manufactured traditions, and sheeple mentality.

do you know the meaning of christmas?

totaly serious question...

Thats respectable, but shouldnt all year round be that way?

On the solstice I usually sacrifice a Christian to my pagan gods.
If one's not available a Moslem or J-e-w will do.
And I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was about twelve so no I don't buy presents.
And every day is a holly day so I'm an all year round slacker.

the reason is the tree and what grows beneath it :) thats why u put them under a tree ,the presents that is :)

The real meaning or hallmark one?

what's your reason for participating in these pagan traditions like having a christmas tree with lights on it? or hanging up mistletoe? or burning a Yule Log in the fireplace?

No, I don't buy Christmas presents for my family, because I don't celebrate Christmas. The rest of my family exchanges gifts and gets together, but I don't. Nothing worse than exchanging unwanted gifts with people you can't stand being around and pretending to like said gifts. What a waste of my time and money. And the boring or awkward conversations that abound...kill me. I'm not sure why people put so much emphasis on family. Either you like a particular individual or you don't. Don't pretend to like someone just because they are part of your family.

Anyway, December 24th-25th are just days like any other days to me. It's hard to not take off work on those days, seeing as how most businesses are closed. And if it wasn't blatantly obvious, I don't believe in any deities. I believe in myself.

Happy Holidays!

This should help you believe some, since this is exactly what is happening right now. For educational purposes at least read and objectively break it down as it is here for you. Clear and easy to understand. Then decided!

Read the whole page in the main middle part then down the left side, then watch the videos!

"Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." Acts 13: 40, 41

[link to www.nowtheendbegins.com]

This is happening in the NEWS!! RIGHT NOW!! TODAY!! There are facts about this news happening right now in the main forum posts that are pinned on this website!!! PLEASE READ!!

"Christmas" existed before Jebus, but was known by a different name.

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

[link to www.lasttrumpetministries.org]

[link to www.essortment.com]

I am Agnostic

Hahahaha “celebrating Christmas” is like “celebrating Black Friday.” Hey, let’s make up yet another thing “celebrate” by BUYING SHIT. Damn shill, you know damn right why NOBODY should be “celebrating Christmas” by BUYING GIFTS.

Oh yes, but i can't afford to give all year round haha.
But its that one day a year when no one is working (well most people) and everyone is able to get together.

Also I do say Merry Christmas, I don't like the happy holidays thing.

Well i dont burn "yule logs" or hang mistletoe, so i need no reason. As far as a tree goes, i do that for my kids sake. If it werent for them the only trees on my property would be in the yard

Hell yea

hahah... funny to see how pagan were hijacked their holidays by christians, and now capitalism is hijacking their holidays too!

Agnostic.

Why celebrate Christmas and take days off?

Uh, Pretty lights, giving gifts to loved ones.
Uh, DAYS OFF work.

The question has the answer.

If cornered I would say I was celebrating Kris Kringle, St. Nicholas' good kind spirit.

Lent however, can f*ck right off.

The craziest part about this whole thread is the fact that if a person wants to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, they go about it in a way I think would disappoint him. If Jesus were here today, he'd tell Christians to sell all their shiny new toys....as a matter of fact he'd much prefer no one spend any money on buying each other pointless, wasteful gifts and decorating trees. A person that truly followed the teachings of Jesus would spend all their money helping people who are suffering. Ya know, like the people that are starving or sick. A true follower would not spend their Christmas vacation with shopping, wrapping gifts and stuffing their fat faces but instead by volunteering at shelters, hospitals, etc. So please someone tell me how "Christmas" in anyway shows any reverence to the one it was named after. Oh and attending a couple of extra church services and watching kid's pick their noses on stage in shepard costumes doesn't count.

there you got your answer christian ,,you are just as guilty in celebrating christmas because christmas is worshipping of the sun god .As the person responded truthfully that is their pagan holiday "solstice"..christians call it christmas because it is the birth of the sun/son God Tammuz whom the catholic romans fooled you into believing it was the christs birthday

Last Edited by Neim-Ya'shar on 11/20/2012 11:20 PM

Oh Lord, thou art, please stop forgiving sins of the believers with immediate effect. Since believers are no longer afraid to commit any crimes/sins be it rape, be it murder, be it adultery, be it cheating , etc, because they know you died for their sins and they will reach heaven whatever they do and the victim of their crimes/sins will burn in eternal hell.
This is causing serious law and order trouble in the world.

You didn't think this through properly did you OP ?

:failbait:

OP, do you celebrate your birthday or give gifts to others on theirs? The 3 wise men did not give gifts to celebrate Jesus' birth, they arrived after he was born. They brought gifts to a King they were about to meet. Nothing more. Everyone did it, and no one dare not.

Celebrating of birthdays was not an occurrence mentioned in the bible. So where did the ritual come from?

The giving of birthday gifts is a custom associated with the offering of sacrifices to pagan gods on their birthdays. Certainly the custom was linked with the same superstitions that formed the background for birthday greetings. The exchange of presents is associated with the importance of ingratiating good and evil fairies on their or our birthdays.

The traditional birthday cake and candles have their origin in ancient pagan idol worship. The ancients believed that the fire of candles had magical properties. They offered prayers and made wishes to be carried to the gods on the flames of the candles. Thus we still have the widely practiced birthday custom of making a wish, then blowing out the candles. The Greeks celebrated the birthday of their moon goddess, Artemis, with cakes adorned with lighted candles.

Originally the idea of birthday greetings and wishes for happiness was rooted in magic. The working of spells for good and evil is the chief usage of witchcraft. One is especially susceptible to such spells on his birthday, as one’s personal spirits are about at that time. Dreams dreamed on the birthday eve should be remembered, for they are predictions of the future brought by the guardian spirits which hover over one’s bed on the birthday eve. Birthday greetings have power for good or ill because one is closer to the spirit world on this day. Good wishes bring good fortune, but the reverse is also true, so one should avoid enemies on one’s birthday and be surrounded only by well-wishers.

Since it was believed that the positions of the stars at the time of birth influenced a child’s future, astrological horoscopes came into being, purporting to foretell the future, based on the time of birth. “Birthdays are intimately linked with the stars, since without the calendar, no one could tell when to celebrate his birthday. They are also indebted to the stars in another way, for in early days the chief importance of birthday records was to enable the astrologers to chart horoscopes” (The Lore of Birthdays, p. 53). Rawlinson’s translation of Herodotus includes the following footnote: “Horoscopes were of very early use in Egypt… and Cicero speaks of the Egyptians and Chaldees predicting… a man’s destiny at his birth"...

If you examine the principles of God’s law closely, as they relate to birthday celebrations, you will understand why neither Christ, nor His Apostles, nor their true followers, observed their birthdays. The practice has its origin in idolatry and the worship of the sun, moon and stars.

But I will assume you do celebrate your birthday, OP, and give gifts to others on theirs, which is both Pagan and Magic, which to your faith is evil, yet Christians still celebrate their birthdays and give gifts without a second thought. Wouldn't regularly participating in and celebrating a Pagan ritual send you all to hell? Next let's talk about all my Christian friends that have no problem sending their kids out for Halloween.

do you honestly think christmas is anything to do with religion now? for the last 50 years its all about family and presents. not jesus. no one gives a crap about that phony religion

Of course! Why do you ask?

I do agree with you. Christmas is far, far too commercialized and a poor reflection of what it should be.

More or less out of curiosity. We actually got into a debate about this at work. Was curious what those of GLP thought, and wanted sincere answers from actual atheist.

Here is some math on the bible!

"We must seriously consider the evidence, as eternity hangs in the balance. The Bible can be easily validated by any open mind that will honestly consider all the facts. Any skeptic will be hard pressed to deny the following pages in this publication. It is a choice to investigate this matter with an open mind and sincerity?"

*The number of words in the vocabulary will divide by the number seven.

*The number of words beginning with a vowel is divisible by seven.

*The number of words beginning with a consonant is divisible by seven.

*The number of letters in the vocabulary is divisible by seven.

*Of the vocabulary letters, those which are vowels and those which are consonants will both divide by seven.

*The number of words in the vocabulary occurring more than once is divisible by seven. Those occurring only once likewise divide by seven.

*The number of words occurring in more than one form is divisible by seven. The number occurring in only one form likewise divides by seven.

*The number of proper names divides by seven. The male names divide by seven. The female names divide by seven.

*The number of words beginning with each of the letters of the alphabet is divisible by seven.

*The numerical value of the vocabulary is divisible by seven.

*The numerical value of the various alphabetical groups of words is divisible by seven.

*The numerical value of the various forms in which the words occur produce the same phenomenon.

Much more on the math of the bible and how the actually odds of the numerical calculations are beyond human comprehension. Here is more on this!!

[link to muiczone.com]

As an atheist I see no need to celebrate christmas or other christian holidays, your holidays are based around previous pagan holidays. So ask yourself why you celebrate them yourselves. But I do celebrate them with my family only because they are religious. My kids believe in christ only because I give them the option to choose in their young age. We have talked and they are skeptics. But at the age of 15 I believed as well.have you ever asked yourselves wtf santa means for christ? Does your tree serve any purpose at all? Its propaganda to keep people buying tons of shit they dont really need.

Agnostic here....

To me Xmas is about family, not religion.

I do not argue that the original meaning of the holiday is christian. But today, it's grown to incorporate many different meanings depending on the person.

I don't take any holidays off. As a small business person, I work if there's work to do. In all honesty, it's rare that I have business on Xmas or Thanksgiving, but if a customer needs attention, I work.

well put.

christmas should be an all inclusive holiday. a time to treat people with the best intent, to be just a little better than you already are.

i am not an atheest, but i say welcome all to my hearth and home. come celebrate christmas with me- whatever you believe!

is there any holiday that actually came from christianity and not pagan customs?