Christmas
Posted on: December 10, 2009 - 2:08pm
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Christmas
I am new to this website and stumbled upon it while researching ancient pagan traditions and how they influenced many christmas ones. I am a former christian and so understand the importance of this time of year and still appreciate it from an agnostic perspective. Where I am struggling is in finding good, reliable, accurate information on christmas' early pagan origins and connections with other cultural traditions that appear to have been adopted by the Roman Empire to make it easier for those they conquered to convert. Any suggestions on a good website, book, or database to find well cited and documented information on this topic?
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I just created http://www.thepurposeofchristmas.net which has a good book advertised on the side and a good article on the homepage. I'll also be starting to write on that site very soon. As for other references... I hope people post some great links below. I could use them as reference when I start writing my responses to "The Purpose of Christmas" by Pastor Rick Warren.
- Brian
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clemson? do you go to clemson? man, that place is like jesus freak central. i used to be involved with campus crusade and anytime i went on a mission trip or to a conference everyone i met seemed to be from clemson. how do you cope?
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Here's a pretty good piece on it:
http://themoralcollapseofamerica.blogspot.com/2008/10/christmas-was-not-originally-christian.html
Also these by Robert Ingersoll:
http://freethought.mbdojo.com/sermon.html
http://freethought.mbdojo.com/whatiwantforxmas.html
http://freethought.mbdojo.com/agnostic_christmas.html
Feel free to celebrate Christmas as a secularist. Think about what you see during the season: Trees with lights, snow, snowmen, dinner with family, gifts, rampant consumerism, peppermint and gingerbread flavored coffees, really strong beers, the modern image of Santa Claus invented by COCA COLA... they can't claim ANY of it.
It's a celebration of WINTER, FAMILY and being a CONSUMER. Congratulations everyone! The war on Christmas is over... it's ours. We already won. Baby Jesus is a rounding error.
Merry Krismas!