War on Christmas? Part 2: Who is Lying to Whom?

The Truth:

 War on Christmas: As reported in USA Today in December of 2005: Last December, a group called Public Advocate for the United States (which claims to defend America's traditional family values) sent some Christmas carolers over to sing in front of the ACLU offices in Washington.

Carrying signs reading "Merry Christmas" and "Please Don't Sue Us!" -- they also seem to have carried with them some rather strange imaginings about an assault on Christmas.

To tell the truth, the ACLU is not often serenaded by Christmas carolers. So it was with some excitement that the staff went outside and joined in the singing. They brought with them cookies and warm drinks to share. One staff member, who is an ordained Baptist minister, did a little witnessing about his faith to some astonished proponents of family values.

Fox News did broadcast the event (as a part of its "war against Christmas" campaign). Although the visiting singers were shown, the cameras failed to include any footage showing that everyone had participated in the caroling. Rather than reporting the facts, the anchor preferred the propaganda: "We believe the ACLU heard the message loud and clear, but they don't care." 5.

What about all of the reported claims where the Secular Left is attacking Christmas?

The majority of incidents I have been able to find thus far that are reported to be evidence of this alleged "War on Christmas" by the Secular Left have, in fact, been proven to be hoaxes. I prefer to call them what they are, lies.

• In Saginaw, Michigan it was alleged that Township schools opposed red and green clothes and prohibit singing Christmas songs. The fact is that the official school color is green and that no such policy ever existed. 26
• In Watchung, N.J. it was alleged that the city council passed a policy to start calling the Christmas tree a "Mitten Tree" replace all references to Christmas with the word "Holiday." In response Mayor Albert Ellis said the "Tree of Lights" is sponsored by the local rescue squad as a fundraiser. The town has been doing so for 15 years. The town has a holiday display policy negotiated with the two local churches. The policy allows private citizens to erect holiday displays. 26
• In Plano, Texas, the school allegedly told the students they could not wear red and green because they were Christmas colors. The district has responded by saying this is not true and never has been true. The Superintendent has expressed frustration that this story continues to circulate and instructed its attorney to write to Bill O'Reilly, requesting a correction. 26&27
• At Glendale-River Hills School District in Wisconsin it was alleged that they prohibited any song close to the Christmas holiday from having any religious "motive or theme," yet they would still allow secular and Hanukkah holiday songs. The district responded by saying this is not true. In fact they do recognize the Christian religious tradition with songs being sung that include "Angels We Have Heard on High" and "I Saw Three Ships." 26

Lying, by omission, is still lying. To intentionally report only half the truth in order to promote false claims is unconscionable, especially from someone who is expected to report the truth as a member of the forth estate. The members of the press have an obligation to report the whole truth. With these blatant attempts at misdirection the agenda becomes clear. This is another attempt at creating a wedge issue designed to separate the Christians from the "liberal left" and manipulate the moderate independent voter. Isn't it ironic that these self proclaimed Christians have to bear false witness in order to manipulate the public? After all doesn't their own God order "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

Secular Legislation:

Where is all of this legislation that is being pushed through that allegedly strips Christianity from America as many have claimed? Where are all of the "activist decisions" by the courts that have left religion lying in a pool of its own blood about to expire?

It doesn't exist, these false claims and misdirection are designed to keep America from seeing what is really going on.

Take witness;

[S]ince 1989...more than 200 special arrangements, protections or exemptions for religious groups or their adherents were tucked into Congressional legislation, covering topics ranging from pensions to immigration to land use. New breaks have also been provided by a host of pivotal court decisions at the state and federal level, and by numerous rule changes in almost every department and agency of the executive branch.

One result is that religious institutions participating in essentially secular business ventures now enjoy financial and other advantages over their secular competitors. And, a greater tax burden falls on ordinary citizens.12

The Courts:

The distinction that the press fails to make over and over is that the ACLU and other groups are trying to hold the government accountable to the First Amendment which prohibits the government from making a law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

There are numerous examples of the ACLU defending Christian Americans and their right to express their faith in the public square.

For example, in 2006 alone:

1. The ACLU has helped a New Jersey student's right to sing "Awesome God" in a voluntary after school program. 6
2. In Louisiana the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Christian man who was protesting Wal-Mart based on his religious beliefs. Wal-Mart had the man chased away for carrying a sign that read "Christians: Wal-Mart supports Gay Marriage and Gay Lifestyles. Don't Shop there." 6
3. The ACLU of Rhode Island filed an appeal in federal court on behalf of an inmate who was barred from preaching during Christian religious services, as he had done for the past seven years under the supervision and support of prison clergy. The prisoner, Wesley Spratt, believes his preaching is a calling from God. Prison officials cited vague and unsubstantiated security reasons for imposing the preaching ban on Mr. Spratt. The ACLU argued that the ban violates the religious freedom guaranteed to Mr. Spratt under federal law. 6
4. The list goes on, and on, and on.....

The ACLU lists approximately 80 such cases defending religion in places like the public square and public schools over the last 5 years. The alleged war on Christmas is what generates ratings - the truth, apparently, does not. The media continuously fails to point out the vast number of cases where these groups that are "determined to exterminate religion in the public square" and kill Christmas have expended vast resources to protect the very thing they are being accused of trying to destroy. Traditional Values?

Individuals are free to preach on the street corner, that is their right under the Constitution. They just aren't allowed to use tax payer dollars to fund their preaching. The government is prohibited from endorsing that person, or stopping that person. It is so very simple yet there is a huge percentage of Americans that chose to believe the exact opposite and demand that their government do the same. How patriotic is it to ignore the Constitution and force un-American values on Americans?

The attacks on the courts and several attempts to pass legislation that strip the courts of their Constitutionally defined duties are as un-American as Stalin.

Using the law to deny rights or to silence dissenting political opinion is the warning bell that danger lies ahead. To silence political free speech and dissent is more in line with policies of the Red Coats.

If these anti-democratic actions are allowed to get a foothold, it will be the beginning of the death of America and the birth of another giant theocratic government or dogmatic dictatorship.

The same people that are screaming "Beware of Burning Flags and Marrying Fags." are the exact people that are attempting to yank the Constitution and the Bill of Rights right out from under us all.

The Religious Right has been very affective in their campaign of terror. They are constantly running around and bellowing at the tops of their lungs about the DANGER AMERICANS FACE, the DANGERS AMERICAN CHILDREN FACE, the DANGER MARRIAGE FACES, and on and on and on. They distract the average person from real issues through fear and erode their rights while they look the other way. Didn't anyone learn from the story of Chicken Little or the Little Boy that Cried Wolf?

There is further irony in the fact that the Religious Right has the highest divorce rate in America.9 How can it be that the righteous, who are waging the war against homosexuals in God's name, have the highest divorce rates? I thought the Gays were destroying marriage?

If the Religious Right are the saviors of Marriage in America, then how is it that "90% of divorces among born-again couples occur after they have been 'saved?' 9

Look at how the Religious Right entertains their children with the new computer game "LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces". 29 This game is a perfect example of the hypocrisy that these Religious Right groups preach. They protest and demand new laws to protect their children from games that depict street violence or emulate warfare unless that game promotes their world view to "Conduct physical & spiritual warfare : using the power of prayer to strengthen your troops in combat and wield modern military weaponry throughout the game world." 29 The game takes place in New York City after the rapture. The objectives of the game include creating Christian militias in order to roam the streets of New York City. Simulate Christian conversion of non-believers while killing those who will not convert. After large scale and violent battles players must use prayer to recharge their "soul points" which are drained by all the killing. Doesn't this just sound more like "Grand Theft Auto: The Rapture?"

Then we can mention the sexual misconduct by the conservative religious leaders, both liberal and conservative, but all Christians.

Wake up people. This is like having Michael Jackson telling you how to protect your children from sexual predators!

What's the Point here?

There most certainly is not a war on Christmas, much less religion. There is no great conspiracy by the Secular Left nor is there some hidden "Gay Agenda." These are fabricated lies designed to divide Americans with fear.

Inversely, there is definitely a great and vast conspiracy by the Religious Right to gain control of the United States and its government, to pass laws that reflect their values, and to revoke rights that our Constitution currently protects. I don't have to make this stuff up, they have said so in they own words and in writing thereby making their thoughts and intentions perfectly clear.

There are those that would argue, "80% of America is Christian; the majority rules." That is also completely and utterly wrong. The United States Constitution was drafted with a specific intent of protecting the minorities from majority rule, which is clearly explained quite eloquently on the United States Senate's website:

For over two centuries the Constitution has remained in force because its framers successfully separated and balanced governmental powers to safeguard the interests of majority rule and minority rights, of liberty and equality...17

What to do?

We should all be more vigilant in protecting our Constitutional rights. We should all get offended when our tax dollars are used to proselytize or build houses of worship. Religion, like people, should be able to stand on its own two feet and be funded by its believers. If welfare for people or corporations is not good for America, why should we remain silent about welfare for religion? 22&23

The only people that can hurt Christianity are the Christian extremists. If you fear that religion is falling in numbers in America like they did in Europe then stop the Religious Right's zealous venture towards theocracy in the United States.

The reason religion has failed in Europe is solely because they have or had state-sponsored and state-funded religion. The Europeans have seen the horrors of that sponsorship and they remember them.

Europeans also greatly resent their tax dollars being used to support a religion that they themselves may not subscribe to. Therefore, they stopped going to church and stopped believing the myth.

So to close:

The preponderance of evidence shows that we need understanding and tolerance to grow, not fear and not war. There is absolutely no way our tiny little minority can harm Christianity or kill Christmas. After all...

1. We still like getting presents.
2. We still like the days off from work.
3. We still enjoy the extra time with family and the big dinners.
4. We aren't organized enough to pull it off.
5. We don't have the money to pull it off.
6. We don't care enough about it to even try to pull it off.

Oh yeah,

1. The majority of my fellow liberals, they are Christians too.

I predict that the harder the Religious Right pushes their agenda to achieve their theocratic goals the harder individuals that are liberal and moderates in this country will push back. America is the land of the free. Remember that one person's religion is another person's mythology; to each his or her own. Sources:

1) Religions in the U.S. - Wikipedia collection from U.S. Census Bureau.

2) Adherents.com - ("membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc")

3) The Telegraph U.K. - Jedi Knights

4) Media Matters - Bill O'Reilly & The War on Christmas, Religion out of the public square & Secular Progressives.

5) Fictional War on Christmas: USA Today

6) ACLU - The ACLU has numerous examples of where it defends religious liberty.

7) Theocracy Watch - A Religious Right watchdog group.

8) Americans United for the Separation of Church and State - The Religious Right in their own words.

9) Religious Tolerance - Divorce rates are slightly higher for Born Again Christians than Atheists or Agnostics.

10) Statement by the President - Activist Judges

11) Renew America - Calling Someone a liar

12) Rational Radical - Podcast #65

13) Wedge Document (PDF file), a 1999 Discovery Institute fundraising pamphlet. Cited in Handley P. Evolution or design debate heats up. The Times of Oman, 7 March 2005.

14) Dover Trial - Full text of Judge Jones' ruling, dated December 20, 2005 (PDF File)

15) Killing Policeman was a gift - [http://judicial-inc.biz/Horsley.htm]

16) Refuse & Resist - Anthrax Threat letters sent to 250 Abortion Clinics

17) Majority Rule - U.S. Senate Website

18) McCollum v. Board of Education

19) Eric Rudolf - Christian's raising funds for Abortion Clinic Bomber

20) NY Times - Run, Rudolph, Run June 31, 2003

21) NY Times - Sympathy for bombing suspect may cloud search for evidence - June 2, 2003

22) March, 2004, issue of Church and State - "Faith Czar" Jim Towey announced $40 billion dollars was now available to religious charities.

23) NY Times - Lawsuit Challenges Use of Federal Aid for Bible-Based Counseling 09/13/2006

24) Christians against Christmas - http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/Xmas_ch2.htm

25) Puritan & Reformed against Christmas

26) American United - The Religious Right's Phony 'War on Christmas': Mything in Action

27) Plano Independent School District - Public Statement

28) Find Articles - Jerry Falwell Opens Law School To Train 'Radical' Attorneys

29) Left Behind: The Game - PC Game that is based on the left behind series of books.

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War on Christmas? Part 1 The Evidence

Under Attack?

 In America it seems that numerous Christian leaders claim that Christianity is under assault, in a war even. It would also seem this war is being fought on many fronts.

For example; The War on Christmas & the "Battle" against "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, the forceful removal of "God from the public square" and the forced removal of "God from our public schools," and of course the "Hidden Gay Agenda."

Setting Standards: Robert Meyer states in one of his articles the following:

"To call someone a liar, you must know something about the thoughts and intentions of the individual making the claim. In this era of reckless character assassinations, we have become impervious to the principle that if lying is despicable, then calling someone a liar gratuitously is proportionally as repugnant.11

It is with this in mind that I proceed.

Religiosity in America: America is a religiously diverse country, with one clear majority.

Jews: Approximately 1.4 % of Americans are Jewish while approximately 0.22% of the world is Jewish.1&2

Muslims: Approximately 0.6% of Americans are Muslims while 21% of the world religions are some form of Islam. 1&2

Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese traditional & Primal Indigenous: The World Report shows that these religions collectively account for 32% of the world population and approximately 1% of the United States population. 1&2

Agnostics Atheist Humanists, Theist & Jedi Knights3: Based on the World Report about 8% of people world wide have no religion or are atheist/agnostic and 8% are theists, meaning they believe in a god or gods with no revelation while they are less than 1% of the American population. 1&2

Christians: According to Adherents.Com 33% of the world's Population is some form of Christian. While the U.S. Census approximates that 80% of Americans are some form of Christian. 1&2

Who is really waging a war on who? The easiest way to identify a "war monger" is by their own pro-war rhetoric.

Pat Robertson: "There will be Satanic forces... We are not... up just against human beings, to beat them in elections. We're going to be coming up against spiritual warfare."

Pat Robertson, Road to Victory, 19917&8

Robertson named his enemies in a 1992 newsletter, Pat Robertson Perspective. The list includes, among others, the National Organization for Women, the National Education Association, the National Council of Churches, the Gay-Lesbian Caucus, as well as People for the American Way, and Americans United for a Separation of Church and State. They are lumped together as the "Radical Left." 7&8

"The strategy against the American Radical Left should be the same as General Douglas Macarthur employed against the Japanese in the Pacific... Bypass their strongholds, then surround them, isolate them, bombard them, then blast the individuals out of their power bunkers with hand-to-hand combat. The battle for Iwo Jima was not pleasant, but our troops won it. The battle to regain the soul of America won't be pleasant either, but we will win it."

Karl Rove: "We need to find ways to win the war" Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political strategist, and deputy chief of staff told a gathering of the Family Research Council in March, 2002. 7&8

Tim LaHaye: Reverend Tim LaHaye co-authored Mind Siege: The Battle for Truth in the New Millennium, published in 2000. The best-selling book issues a call to arms for evangelical Christians to battle against secular humanism. Mind Siege declares that secular humanism is a "religion," and issues marching orders to evangelical Christians to gear up for an all-out battle to root secular humanists out of public life; their bottom line is that "No humanist is fit to hold office." 7&8

Paul Weyrich: Paul Weyrich said in a talk, "The real enemy is the secular humanist mindset which seeks to destroy everything that is good in this society." 7&8

James Dobson: "Children are the prize to the winners in the second great civil war. Those who control what young people are taught and what they experience - what they see, hear, think, and believe - will determine the future course for the nation." 7&8

Children At Risk: The Battle for the Hearts and Minds of Our Kids, Word Publishing, 1990, p. 35

Jerry Falwell: "One day, I hope in the next ten years, I trust that we will have more Christian day schools than there are public schools. I hope I will live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!"

America Can Be Saved!, (Sword of the Lord Publishers, Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 1979, p. 52-53

"[T]he only hope for the inner city is vouchers, so that all the churches can go in and plant Christian schools in the inner cities and capture these fatherless young people for Christ and teach them biblical discipline and so forth. It's either God or it's ruin for our country, I do believe."

"The 700 Club," Sept. 3, 1996, (reported in Church & State, October 1996, p. 19)

D. James Kennedy: "This is our land. This is our world. This is our heritage, and with God's help, we shall reclaim this nation for Jesus Christ. And no power on earth can stop us." 7&8

Character & Destiny: A Nation In Search of Its Soul, (Zondervan Publishing House, 1997)

"God forbid that we who were born into the blessings of a Christian America should let our patrimony slip like sand through our fingers and leave to our children the bleached bones of a godless secular society. But whatever the outcome, one thing is certain: God has called us to engage the enemy in this culture war. That is our challenge today." 7&8

Character & Destiny: A Nation In Search of Its Soul, (Zondervan Publishing House, 1997) 7&8

"How much more forcefully can I say it? The time has come, and it is long overdue, when Christians and conservatives and all men and women who believe in the birthright of freedom must rise up and reclaim America for Jesus Christ." 7&8

Tom Crouse: Crouse called on the church to stop worrying about appearing tolerant and start proclaiming the truth, saying that Jesus was the most intolerant person in the world. 7&8

Christian Citizens regarding the Christian Terrorist Eric Rudolph:

Crystal Davis: "He's a Christian and I'm a Christian and he dedicated his life to fighting abortion," said Mrs. Davis, 25, mother of four. "Those are our values. And I don't see what he did as a terrorist act." MURPHY, N.C., May 31, 2003 20

Betty Howard: Changed the sign in front of her diner from "Roast Turkey Baked Ham" to "Pray for Eric Rudolph." Mrs. Howard said she was going to start an Eric Rudolph legal defense fund. Many customers have already said they would chip in. 21

"Bless his heart," Mrs. Howard said. "Eric needs our help." 21

I challenge you to find similar, verifiable rhetoric, from the Secular Left. I couldn't find any. In fact, my searches only found vast fonts of rhetoric from the Religious Right.

Common Sense & Simple Math: The "War on Christmas", the vast conspiracy by the "Secular Left" engineering the death of Christianity in America and the numerous other claims made by the "Religious Right" just do not add up.

Here is why:

Let's do some fairly simple math: Approximately 80% of Americans are Christian. Approximately 8% of Americans are secular if you include, atheist, agnostic & theist. That is a 10:1 ratio. It just doesn't add up that such a small minority could hold so much influence over such a vast majority. This would require a far greater amount of resources per person amongst the minority to be able to exert such a disproportionate influence.

Let's exercise some common sense: If there has been a war on Christianity in America it has been a greatly sustained war and appears to have started in the 1948 in the McCollum v. Board of Education case where religious education in Public Schools was first struck down by the Supreme Court.18

We should consider how much money it takes to wage war. If there is one thing we American's should be acutely aware of, it is that war is not cheap. War costs money, a sustained war costs even more money.

When it comes to fund raising we should consider some things about the "Secular Left" versus the Religious Right. It is fairly safe to assume that the Religious Right is one of the most effective fund raising machines in the world. The sources to validate such claim are so vast it would take a book about the size of Encyclopedia Britannica to track them all.

Where's the organized effort by the left? Where are the meetings? How can you have a war without meetings and organization? I have never been invited to one, I have never seen a Death to Christmas handbook, nor can I find one. There are no leaders or organizers in the "War on Religion." How can you go to battle without a clear chain of command? The only document we have is the U.S. Constitution while the Religious Right has the Wedge Strategy.

Let's consider some of the problems with the "Secular Left":

1. They are too fragmented, the left's greatest weakness is that they go in too many directions at once and can almost never agree on a single cause. It is either, save the whales, save the trees, save the owl or save the (Fill in the blank).
2. A lot, not all, of the extreme left are financially disorganized and don't do as good of a job at raising money as the Religious Right.
3. They are an extreme minority, with a 10:1 ratio they have a much smaller base from which to raise funds. The point being, it is far easier for the Religious Right to raise money to fund a war simply because a vast number of Americans are Christian.

The question then is how can a sustained and expensive war be waged by the Secular Left? No Money, No War. Let's consider some of the problems with the "Religious Right": The tactics actively utilized by the Religious Right are themselves evidence of the fact that they don't have a legal leg to stand on. They know their actions are unconstitutional. Thus the Religious Right's only approach is: a. To create their own theistic law schools where teaching falsehoods and granting law degrees to people that have been indoctrinated into a false belief system about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is the primary goal. 13&28

a. As Falwell himself states" "We are unabashedly proactive," "We are on a mission to return America to her religious heritage. We're hoping we are training the lawyers who can turn the legal profession back to the right." 28

b. In an interview with the Associated Press, Falwell added, "We want to infiltrate the culture with men and women of God who are skilled in the legal profession. We'll be as far to the right as Harvard is to the left."28

b. To create a public campaign of disinformation which: 13

a. Promotes the false idea that The United States of America was founded as a Christian Nation. 13&14

b. Redefines Science, the Scientific Method & Scientific Theory to include the supernatural as a plausible explanation as cited in the Discovery Institutes own document appropriately titled "The Wedge Strategy." 13&14

c. Uses lies and deception, intentionally marketing falsehoods about science,13 education,13 birth control, abortion, stem cell research, the War on Christmas, etc...

d. Uses hateful rhetoric, even alluding to calls for violence, such as prayers for the death of people such as Pro-Choice participants, Supreme Court Justices and other "Activist Judges."

e. Raises funds to mount the criminal defense of people that commit acts of terrorism by murdering doctors and nurses that perform abortions, or planting bombs at abortion clinics. 19

f. Commits terrorist acts to promote a fundamentalist agenda. 16&19

g. Attempts to legislate away the intended checks and balances as defined by the Constitution and using false claims about Activist Judges that are "legislating from the bench" as a means to undermine the law.

h. Promotes laws that undermine the very essence of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and our Democracy by silencing free speech.

i. Intentionally undermines and degrades public education by promoting a theistic agenda that is designed to force a single religion and world view upon the children of America regardless of their families' belief system.

The Lies: War On Christmas: Fox News host Bill O'Reilly claimed that "it's all part of the secular progressive agenda ... to get Christianity and spirituality and Judaism out of the public square." He then added: "[B]ecause if you look at what happened in Western Europe and Canada, if you can get religion out, then you can pass secular progressive programs, like legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage, because the objection to those things is religious-based, usually." 4

The War on Christmas as some like to call it is far from a reality. Though I can actually find one group that is opposed to Christmas, it is not the Secular Left:

"There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's Day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called Holy days, having no warrant in the Word of God, are not to be continued." The Directory for the Public Worship of God Agreed upon by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster. 25

Kevin Reed offers this summary of the Puritan opposition to Christmas: 25

"(1) No time of worship is sanctified, unless God has ordained it; (2) unscriptural holy days are a threat to the proper observance of the Lord's day because these holy days tend to eclipse the sanctity which belongs only to the Lord's Day; (3) the observance of unscriptural holy days tends toward the superstition and innovation in worship which is characteristic of Roman Catholicism." (Christmas - An Historical Survey Regarding Its Origins And Opposition To It) 25

What would our godly forefathers think of the nonsense that goes on at this time of the year, in and out of public worship? We can only imagine what they would have thought of Santa Clause - 'who sees and knows all about little children'. That some Christians even lie to their children, telling them that there is a Santa is almost incredible - their children may well ask when older, 'Is God fictional too, just like Santa and the Tooth fairy?' We plead with you not to try to put Christ 'back into Christmas' for he was never there, nor does he belong there. We ask you instead to stand apart - though admittedly this is very difficult, and you will be vilified for it - and emphasize God's weekly Holy Day all the more. 25

The reasoning for this Christian opposition to Christmas is based on the historical evidence that the real origins of the Christmas holiday are in fact rooted in pagan and non-Christian traditions. According to these Christians, the act of celebrating Christmas is actually an affront to God and his son.

The ignoble nature of the origins and customs of Christmas can be found in many standard reference sources; therefore, we will not dwell on them in great detail. It is appropriate, however, to mention a few highly significant facts pertaining to the origins behind Christmas. 24

...

The transition from festivals commemorating the birth of a sun god to a celebration ostensibly for the Son of God occurred sometime in the fourth century. Unable to eradicate the heathen celebration of Saturnalia, the Church of Rome, sometime before 336 A.D., designated a Feast of the Nativity to be observed. 24

The only references to an actual organized effort to eradicate Christmas and remove references to Jesus from Christmas are solely by Christians for Christian purposes.

Of course I am not saying there are not any members of the secular left that advocate or even call for the end of religion. There is Richard Dawkins who is very outspoken about the damage that has been done to society in the name of religion. There most certainly are others like him, however, this does not constitute an army nor a major organized force against religion.

The Assaults on Christmas:

• In Saginaw, Michigan it was alleged that Township schools opposed red and green clothes and prohibit singing Christmas songs.26
• In Watchung, N.J. it was alleged that the city council passed a policy to start calling the Christmas tree a "Mitten Tree" replace all references to Christmas with the word "Holiday." 26
• In Plano, Texas, the school allegedly told the students they could not wear red and green because they were Christmas colors. 26&27
• At Glendale-River Hills School District in Wisconsin it was alleged that the schools prohibited any song close to the Christmas holiday from having any religious "motive or theme," yet they would still allow secular and Hanukkah holiday songs. 26

Gays will Destroy Marriage & The Earth: Focus on the Family founder James Dobson warned those attending the Friday afternoon rally at Oklahoma Christian University that the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman must be protected. ... "Homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage," Dobson said. "It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth." Activist Judges:The Whitehouse has a Statement by G.W. Bush; The sacred institution of marriage should not be redefined by a few activist judges. All Americans have a right to be heard in this debate. I called on the Congress to pass, and to send to the states for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting marriage as a union of a man and a woman as husband and wife. The need for that amendment is still urgent, and I repeat that call today. 10

Continued in Part 2:

http://ezinearticles.com/?One-Mans-Religion---Part-2&id=397903

Sources:

1) Religions in the U.S. - Wikipedia collection from U.S. Census Bureau.

2) Adherents.com - ("membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc")

3) The Telegraph U.K. - Jedi Knights

4) Media Matters - Bill O'Reilly & The War on Christmas, Religion out of the public square & Secular Progressives.

5) Fictional War on Christmas: USA Today

6) ACLU - The ACLU has numerous examples of where it defends religious liberty.

7) Theocracy Watch - A Religious Right watchdog group.

8) Americans United for the Separation of Church and State - The Religious Right in their own words.

9) Religious Tolerance - Divorce rates are slightly higher for Born Again Christians than Atheists or Agnostics.

10) Statement by the President - Activist Judges

11) Renew America - Calling Someone a liar

12) Rational Radical - Podcast #65

13) Wedge Document (PDF file), a 1999 Discovery Institute fundraising pamphlet. Cited in Handley P. Evolution or design debate heats up. The Times of Oman, 7 March 2005.

14) Dover Trial - Full text of Judge Jones' ruling, dated December 20, 2005 (PDF File)

15) Killing Policeman was a gift - [http://judicial-inc.biz/Horsley.htm] 16) Refuse & Resist - Anthrax Threat letters sent to 250 Abortion Clinics

17) Majority Rule - U.S. Senate Website

18) McCollum v. Board of Education

19) Eric Rudolf - Christian's raising funds for Abortion Clinic Bomber

20) NY Times - Run, Rudolph, Run June 31, 2003

21) NY Times - Sympathy for bombing suspect may cloud search for evidence - June 2, 2003

22) March, 2004, issue of Church and State - "Faith Czar" Jim Towey announced $40 billion dollars was now available to religious charities.

23) NY Times - Lawsuit Challenges Use of Federal Aid for Bible-Based Counseling 09/13/2006

24) Christians against Christmas - http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/Xmas_ch2.htm

25) Puritan & Reformed against Christmas

26) Americans United - The Religious Right's Phony 'War on Christmas': Mything in Action

27) Plano Independent School District - Public Statement

28) Find Articles - Jerry Falwell Opens Law School To Train 'Radical' Attorneys

29) Left Behind: The Game - PC Game that is based on the left behind series of books.

**Hyperlinks to sources removed in order to comply with EZine policy limit of 3 external hyperlinks. Contact me via profile for hyperlinks by e-mail.

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Secret Service Santa - An embedded teacher reports from the war on Christmas

There are 8 million stories in the naked city, and not very many of them are about the War on Christmas, but this one is. Los Angeles is like that. People tend to live day to day without thinking about the fact that they are on the front lines of a War On Christmas. Or that they're naked. But I do. I have to. It's my job. Who am I? MaryC. I'm a public school teacher.
(cue Dragnet music)

December 14. A perfect winter day in southern California. Only 11 days before
Christmas, and the good people of Los Angeles were going about their ordinary lives: in the downtown office buildings, disgruntled temps put cover sheets on TPS reports, at the Farmers Market, housewives dickered with greengrocers over the price of Bartlett pears, while in West Hollywood, apple-cheeked young women with a stars in their eyes and dreams in their hearts searched for someone cosign the financing for their breast enhancement. Pretty typical. But beneath the comforting rhythms of everyday life, this day was anything but typical and the students at my school knew it. We all knew it. We had a special visitor coming that day. A man many know as Santa Claus. Alias St. Nicholas. Alias Kris Kringle. No distinguishing marks or scars.

He was coming to deliver toys to the children of our "inner-city" school. A dangerous assignment, but he was ready, and so were our men in blue, khaki and suits. Yes, Santa Claus was coming to town, with a Secret Service escort. Tall, broad-shouldered men with sunglasses and radio earpieces, any one of which was ready to take a bullet for Santa. More importantly, they were ready to kill for Santa. So I warned my first graders against making any sudden movements or rushing to Santa to give him a hug, lest that roly-poly belly that shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly was the last thing they ever saw.

9:30 am. We marched out to the playground. The students were happy and excited. I was tense and worried, and constantly scanned the crowd of children and adults. I'd been warned by battle-scarred veterans of the War on Primary Colored Napkins that we were under attack. Would one of these people try to stop Christmas from happening at a public school? Could the Secret Service agents hold off an assault of pro-Happy Holiday sentiments until Bill O'Reilly arrived with his bag full of horror?

Sirens began to sound in the distance, and an armored limousine came roaring onto the playground. Screams of delight rose from the crowd as Santa himself exited the vehicle, surrounded by a crack team of grim-faced security elves.

Carols were sung, and the Bomb Squad truck arrived with the presents. Yes, even Santa's presents had become potential weapons in this Yuletide Battle, but these gifts had been screened for explosives and deemed safe to hand out.

The students lined up and waited patiently for their turn. That's when HE showed up. The villain who's tried to steal Christmas EVERY YEAR since 1966. It was the Grinch. The kids noticed him right away, and screamed for the surrounding agents to DO something. But like George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden, the Feds apparently just weren't that concerned about the Grinch.

But our students eyed the green monster warily, shouting each time he crept closer to Santa. That's when we spotted it. The gun. The Grinch was strapped, and he'd come to waste Father Christmas (better known by his hip hop name, Malcolm Xmas). Suddenly, everything seemed to move in slow motion: The Grinch's paw going to his belt to retrieve the weapon. The children's shouts of terror, fingers pointing to the danger. The gun was out of the belt. It was aiming. But not at Santa! At the children! The fiend! Water sprayed forth in a deadly (well...a moist) fountain. Students ducked and covered! And that's when the agents reacted.

The Grinch was wrestled to the ground. Nightsticks disguised as candy canes where whipped out and used to bludgeon the monster. His hands were cuffed, and the children cheered as the verdant fiend was frog marched off the playground. I saw one agent rip open a package of glow sticks, and follow the entourage off to a waiting van. Someone was going to get some pretty interesting Holiday Photos in their Christmas card this year.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I lined my students up to return to our room. The class wrote their names on their presents and happily lined up for lunch. They didn't seem affected by their near extinction (or collateral drenching) at the hands of anti-Christmas insurgents from the ACLU and Media Matters. Or a Treasury agent who drew the short stick and had to wear the goofy green felt costume. But we survived. We had been on the front lines and lived to tell about it. I thought the danger was over. I was wrong.

A "runner" came to my classroom later that afternoon. She handed me a note which read: Don't forget! The Holiday Program is tomorrow! Be at the auditorium at 1:00!

Holiday Program. I smiled grimly at my class of brave 6 and 7 year olds. "All right, saddle up, you candyasses. Let's get back in the War!"

If you enjoyed this tongue in cheek look at "The War On Christmas", enjoy more political and pop cultural comedy at World O Crap [http://www.world-o-crap.com/blog]!

Mary Clevenger is a Los Angeles based writer. When she's not fighting in the "War on Christmas", she is writing the next great American Novel.

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The War on Christmas - Have a Happy Holiday

For various reasons, religious, economic, personal, some people just do not do Christmas - shock, horror, absolute blasphemy!!! Not that the naysayer can escape from Christmas, the concept and associated musical and visual baggage being shoved down their throats whether people want it or not from pretty much the last week in November (immediately post Thanksgiving in the US of A) through Christmas Day. That's roughly 1/12th of your year when all things Christmas, Christmas and more Christmas is pounded into you. Christmas probably gets more exposure or saturation coverage than a lead-up to a federal election. At least department stores, shopping malls and supermarkets don't broadcast political candidate's speeches while they're on their political hustings. No such respite do these retail establishments give you regarding Christmas. Music, displays, and zillions of ads suggesting this or that perfect gift is the order of the month, and of course all those retail store Santa's are just egging on the kiddies to pester their all and sundry family and friends with "I want, I want, I want, gimme, gimme, gimme" with produce from their store of course. Maybe that's why there's finally an anti-Christmas backlash underway - enough is now enough! It's called the "War on Christmas".

There's been a lot of huffing-and-puffing, especially in the US of A over a so-called "War on Christmas", summed up I guess by replacing "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays" and other wise downplaying the religious and traditional significance of the, ho, ho, ho, Christmas. For example, no Nativity displays in public areas. Actually that might be working since this year (2012) the annual Nativity display in my local shopping centre has been conspicuous by its absence. I miss it not one bit since it has all the same degree of historical reality of Santa himself. [Actually, the day after I wrote that bit of wishful thinking it showed up - curses, foiled again.]

Personally, I'd be more than happy to have the entirety of Christmas and all of the associated baggage, mainly economic, tossed out the window, preferably a high-rise window. Since that's not going to happen, I'll settle for the downgrading. Of course the Christian Right Wing are spouting hellfire and brimstone over this trend, though that's really irrelevant since Christmas has bugger-all to do with Christianity or anything related to monotheism - more on that shortly.

For better or worse, most of the advanced countries in the world today, especially those in North America (United States & Canada), Europe, and the Pacific region (Australia, New Zealand) are no longer WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) societies, but multicultural societies. That means, cultures that have significant populations that don't share the WASP culture, including WASP religions and holidays. "Merry Christmas" has little if any significance; "Happy Holidays" probably has more significance to a broader audience than just WASPs.

One example of personal note, I don't know about your neck of the woods, but where I live, it is near mandatory for supermarkets, department stores, shopping malls, etc. to pipe in and bombard customers with so-called Christmas music. Much of it is just Northern Hemisphere wintertime music like "Frosty the Snowman", "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let it Snow", and "Sleigh Ride" (vastly inappropriate in the Southern Hemisphere celebrating high summer where I am, but that's another issue); some have no religious significance like "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" or "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town". But you get the religiously themes songs too, like "The First Noel", "Silent Night" or "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". It's with the latter I take objection.

The question is, is it the place of supermarkets, etc. to seemingly endorse a particular brand of [monotheistic Christian] religion by playing these religiously themed Christmas Carols? It's perfectly legal of course, but is it ethical? I mean these stores don't pipe in music appropriate to the beliefs of Hindus or those of the Buddhist faith. In a multicultural society, I would strongly suggest that department stores, etc. stick to subjecting their customers to non-religious Christmas, or even better winter holiday, songs, and not ram down a specific monotheistic religious point of view to anyone within earshot. I mean this is not voluntarily attending a concert. People have to shop for necessities, like food. Should part of that experience be the involuntary scenario or experience of listening to music you'd rather not be subjected to? Opting to shop elsewhere probably results in no letup since nearly 100% of stores participate in the unrelenting bombardment. Apart from the unwilling shoppers, pity the poor staffers who have to put up with it for eight hours straight, day-in and day-out for the roughly month long duration. As one such staffer told me, they just tune out as best they can and sort of go into zombie mode for the duration.

The other issue is does Christmas really have any religious connection worthy of its salt at all? The answer is clearly no. You will not find, in any religious text, including the Bible (any version of the Bible in any language) the date, month, or even season when an alleged entity we call Jesus, was born. In short, if you celebrate the 25th of December as the birthday of Jesus, you have only a 1 in 365.25 chance of being correct. So, why was that date chosen?

Well once upon a time, in days of yore, when pagans ruled, it was usual for ancient and in the main rural societies dependent on farming to divide the year into twelve months of thirty days each. Of course that left a remainder of five days, which had to be used up or accounted for, or else the calendar would eventually get seriously out of sync. Now recall that all of this tradition started from and evolved in the Northern Hemisphere. Now what was THE most important thing to these agricultural communities? The Winter Solstice (the shortest daylight day of the year being 21 December) and confirmation that the day's daylight started getting longer immediately afterwards (the gods were therefore pleased) and that meant that although it might be a while, spring was returning, with that a promise of planting and another harvest and therefore food on the table. And so you used up that surplus five days in a post 21 December celebration that winter would eventually wan and good times would return.

Enter Christianity and their hatred for all things pagan and polytheistic. The easiest way to deal with this annual pagan festive season was not to fight city hall but to assimilate it and use it for their own purposes. Easy, just give the masses another reason to celebrate roughly five days post Winter Solstice - the birth of Jesus was a convenient substitute since no one could prove any different. And slowly but surely as Christianity replaced paganism and rural communities morphed more into urban societies and one realised that lengthening daylight was the norm of nature and not subject to the whim of the gods, well, there you have it, the evolution of Christmas. But Christmas is celebrated under false pretences. It was equally false when the reason was the whim of the god's bestowed favour and promised another spring, but then those ancient rural farmers didn't know any better. We know better for both reasons - Mother Nature rules the hours of daylight and the odds are overwhelming that the birth of Jesus didn't take place when the Christian Church says it did. But please don't take my word for it, just ask your local religious clergy or priest or whoever to prove that Christmas Day has any Christian religious significance; they can't, and it doesn't.

Let's be brutally honest about Christmas. It has nothing to do with monotheism, Christianity or Jesus, and everything to do with consumerism and the economy. All the month long hype, all the ads, all the displays, all the music, all the Santa's, all the ho, ho, ho you receive, etc. are designed to get you, as one staffer put it to me, in the proper Christmas mood, which, basically means psychologically getting you to loosening the purse strings and maxing out your credit cards in keeping with all that Christmas spirit, and spirits. Fortunately, more and more people are waking up to this annual manipulation and perhaps are coming around to the point of view that they would just rather have a non-religious "Happy Holiday" without being made to feel guilty that they aren't having a "Merry Christmas" a concept shoved down your throat by society at large.

Conclusion: Christmas is as phoney as a $7 bill and therefore the "War on Christmas" is not only just and logical, but way, way, way overdue.

Happy holidays all!

Science librarian; retired.

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The War on Christmas: It's Real

Ask anyone if the "mob" exists, and they'll tell you: of course it does. Anybody, that is, except a member, who will staunchly declare that there's no such thing as the Mafia or Cosa Nostra.

It's much the same with the War on Christmas. Liberal secularists (who are in the vast majority of positions of power in the media in the United States) never tire denying that the War on Christmas is a figment of right wingers' imaginations.

Gawker Media, for example, writes that "atheists and liberals have been trying to destroy Christmas and Jesus for many years, according to the profitable misinformation-exploitation industry." Americans United for Separation of Church and State mocks the "Christmas cranks" at the American Family Association for their "annual whine-fest over seasonal greetings." And so on. What they're trying to do, of course, is invert the truth: make it seem as though anyone who complains about the War on Christmas is the real villain for trying to take away non-Christians' right not to celebrate Christmas.

Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock for the last 40 years cannot help but see that the War on Christmas is an ongoing phenomenon. Company Christmas parties have all but disappeared and have been replaced by "holiday" parties. While private individuals still sometimes send Christmas cards and give Christmas gifts, just about everything Christmas in the public sphere has been replaced by something "holiday" or perhaps "winter." If you're under 35, you've probably learned to take this for granted. If so, just ask your parents or grandparents. They'll tell you that before 1970 or so, it was rare for anyone to throw a "holiday party" or give a "holiday gift."

When you think about it, "holiday" celebrations are absurd. After all, Independence Day, Columbus Day, and "Sweetest Day" can also be considered "holidays" and have a very different meaning than Christmas-if any. If a day is to be anything more than an opportunity to get off work, it has to have its own special meaning. A generic "holiday" is no holiday at all.

Clearly, then, there is no value to celebrating "the holidays" other than suppressing Christmas. Some claim that doing so somehow honors those who aren't Christian, or for other reasons don't wish to celebrate Christmas. But one rarely finds Muslims, Jews, Baha'is, or others attacking Christmas. Instead, it's corporations, government entities, and the media who seem most intent on ferreting out, and getting rid of, anything that smacks of Christmas. When one considers this, one might conclude that the War on Christmas isn't a religious war, but a cultural one; and that it's being waged not by non-Christians who want to suppress religion, but by powerful elites who want to transform our culture. And in this conclusion, one might be right.

Ed Garrison is Executive Director of the American Association of Future Retirees. He also contributes to the War on Christmas site.

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Is Sunday Really the Lord's Day?

Sunday, the first day of the week, is Satan's day. It is the day through which he has managed to fulfill his boast that he would become like the Most High. This is so, for millions of Christians over the course of almost twenty centuries have been directing their worship to him, albeit unknowingly. Amazingly, he has pulled off this deception by using the same trick used back in the garden of Eden when he was able to get Adam and Eve to go against God's will by asking them "Did God Really Say...?"

God, in His word, clearly expresses a specific time in which He and His children are to come together in holy Sabbath convocation. But Satan's "Did God Really Say?"seed-of-doubt grew, causing God's will to be set aside and replaced by man's sentimental reasoning. Therefore, most Christians have come to believe that Sunday is the day of the Lord; the Sabbath, because it is the day that Jesus rose from the grave.

But Sunday observance is not Biblical, though many profess that it is found in the good book. Taking a look at the eight references made to the first day of the week in the Bible is the best way to provide evidence for or against Sunday being God's sacred day.

Sunday Verses

1. Matthew 28: 1 - Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.

This verse clearly shows that the Sabbath isn't the first day of the week, for the scripture says that the Sabbath had ended by the time the two women arrived.

2. Mark 16: 1, 2 - When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

There is nothing in this about a Sabbath transference. Instead it shows the women having honored the seventh-day Sabbath by waiting until it was over before going out to buy the spices.

3. Mark 16: 9 - Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

Nothing is mentioned here about the first day being made holy; nor that it should be observed in honor of the resurrection.

4. Luke 24: 1, 2 - But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

Notice that the women didn't consider the first day as the Sabbath, for they came to do labor on that day. Furthermore, nothing else shows any evidence of any sacredness being attached to the first day.

5. John 20: 1 - Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

There's a total absence of proof here that Sunday was thought to be holy, or that anyone kept it as the holy Sabbath.

6. John 20: 19 - So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

The disciples were not gathered for Sunday worship to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, as some have interpreted. In fact they didn't even believe that Jesus had been resurrected, as had been told to them by Mary and the other disciples (Mark 16:10-14). The Scripture plainly states that they were huddled together in that room, "for fear of the Jews." They were frightened,
expecting to be charged with stealing the body of Jesus. They were there thinking to be protected. Again, there isn't any evidence here for Sabbath transference to the first day.

7. I Corinthians 16: 1, 2 - Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.

The assumption here by many Sunday advocates is that because Paul mentioned collections, he must be referring to the collection plate that is passed around for money during religious services. But the reality is that Paul was asking for food, clothing, and anything else, to help provide for the daily needs of many Christians in Jerusalem who were suffering. The need was greater for more than just money because there was famine in the land (Acts 11:27-30), and the saints in Jerusalem were in need of carnal things (Romans 15:25-28).

Most Bible scholars agree that the phrase, "put aside and save" ("lay by him and store" as translated in other Bible versions), has the original Greek implication of putting aside at home. Paul was asking in his letter that donated items be stored up at home. This letter would have been read while all were gathered for worship on the Sabbath, the last day of the week.

After the week was over, Sunday, the first day, would have been the first opportunity to do the work of gathering material items and storing them up at home until Paul could send men around to collect them. Once again, Sunday, the first day of the week, is shown to be just another secular day. There is nothing to show that the saints had received a command from God to observe the first day of the week as His Sabbath day.

8. Acts 20: 7-12 - On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him." When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

In Biblical times, among the Jews, a day began at sundown and ended the next sundown, as opposed to the pagan Roman method we observe now, which is midnight to midnight. The Jewish people were following God's method of reckoning time, which was established during creation week. You'll recall that in the book of Genesis, it is said "The evening and the morning is the first day; the evening and the morning is the second day," etc. This means that the evening, the dark part, is the first part of the day. That's why Sabbath keepers, in our time, as was then, Biblically observe the Sabbath as from beginning Friday at sundown and lasting to Saturday at sundown. So with this Biblical pattern in mind, and applying the Roman-named days to the numbered-named days, it is clear that Paul was fellowshipping with believers on Sunday. And because verse eight mentions lamps in the room, we know that this scene took place at night. In other words, the Sabbath had ended at sundown, and the first day had begun.

Defenders of Sunday-keeping say that there was a religious meeting going on during this first day. And that may well be the case because Paul did deliver a message. But this does not prove that those at this meeting thought of the first day as the Sabbath. After all, religious meetings among Christians were held on various days then, as they are today (Wed. prayer meetings, for example). But we don't give credence to those days as God's holy Sabbath. Instead the context of this meeting shows this gathering to be a special farewell gathering in honor of Paul's departure.

Some have said - in furthering their view that this was a religious service - that the breaking of bread shows that this scene involved a communion service (a celebration/remembrance of Jesus' suffering and death). However, Scripture doesn't support that breaking bread necessarily means a communion service. In Acts 2:46, we're told that, "Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they [believers] were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart." In other words, breaking bread daily indicates common meals. There is nothing in these upper room verses confirming that the Lord's supper (communion) was taking place. But even if it were, that wouldn't give credence to Sunday observance because communion isn't associated with any particular day.

It should be obvious that this was not a regular weekly worship service taking place. After all, it appears that the importance of this episode being written was not to highlight the content of some theological point in Paul's marathon message; nor to attach some spiritual significance to the first day. But instead, this scene was written to show the miracle that Paul performed in bringing a dead Eutychus back to life, and to document Paul's departure from Troas.

Verdict

In going through these eight Bible references to the first day of the week, it is seen what the word of God has to say about the matter. In these verses cannot be found one shred of evidence that God sanctified, nor that man celebrated the first day as God's holy day. God's word has revealed that those who worship on Sunday, as the Lord's Day, are not following the truth.

Instead, they are following the dictates of a malevolent, so-called Christian organization. It is an entity, full of itself, that boasts of thinking to change God's Sabbath. As a church, it says things such as, "Our authority is above the Bible." And, "We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty." Furthermore, in instituting Sunday as the lord's Day, it admits that the change from the Sabbath to Sunday is its act, a mark of its ecclesiastical authority.

The Bible identifies this organization as the book of Revelation's beast that possesses the infamous "mark of the beast."

Lovers and seekers of the truth will want to read Christian author Gregory John Monroe's book The Three Angels' Message. It reveals the true Lord's Day; Satan's earthly agents who subverted it; and how the "mark" of the beast is involved. Get a copy today at http://www.tinyurl.com/44arldz.

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Christian Holy Days

Christmas - is the remembrance of Jesus' birthday. Although the precise date of his birth is unknown, December 25th was probably chosen because it coincided with a pagan mid-winter festival. The 'Twelve Days Of Christmas'' mark the days between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6th), which was the day of the wise men's visit.

Easter - is the most significant day in the Christian calendar, because it remembers Christ's Resurrection, which gave / gives Christians the hope of salvation and eternal life. Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal (Spring) equinox, which is on 21st March.

Shrove Tuesday - (Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday) was originally a day of penance, but is now marked by merrymaking. It is the day before the beginning of Lent.

Ash Wednesday - is derived from the marking of a cross on the forehead of believers with the ashes from the burnt palms used on Palm Sunday.

Lent - 40 days of atonement and fasting

Palm Sunday - the Sunday before Easter, remembers the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem, where palms were strewn on the road ahead of him.

Maundy (Holy) Thursday - the day of the Last supper.

Good Friday - is the day of Christ's crucifixion.

Holy Saturday - is the day before the Resurrection.

The Annunciation - March 25th is commemorated by Catholics as the day that Archangel Gabriel spoke to Mary about her impending pregnancy.

Trinity Sunday - is commemorated by some denominations in honour of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. It was declared part of the holy calendar in 1334 by Pope John XII.

Corpus Christi - Catholics celebrates the presence of the body of Christ on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.

All Saints Day - this mainly Catholic celebration is on November 1 and honours all Christian saints.

Advent - a religious season that starts on the Sunday nearest to November 30 and lasts until Christmas Day. It remembers the birth of Jesus and anticipates his Second Coming. It was once a period of fasting, but now no longer.

Holy Days Of Obligation - are feast days in the Catholic calendar marked by attendance at mass and the avoidance of unnecessary work. There are six in the USA:

Solemnity of Mary - January 1: Christ's circumcision, ie his first shedding of blood

Ascension - 40 days after Easter

Assumption - August 15: Mary is accepted into Heaven

All Saints' Day - November 1

Mary's Immaculate Conception - December 8

Christmas Day - December 25.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Franklin Covey planner refills s If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

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Holidays and Holy Days

Congress and the president have selected ten days as federal holidays. Being 'federal', these holidays technically only pertain to federal employees and residents of the District of Columbia, although they are so widely observed that they can be thought of as national holidays.

Legally, it is up to each individual state to designate public holidays. If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Friday before or the Monday following is given in lieu to make a long weekend.

New Year's Day (January 1) - celebrating the New Year dates back to pre-Christian times, when rites were performed to try to guarantee the return of Spring.

Martin Luther King Jnr. Day (third Monday in January) - before he was assassinated in 1968, Martin Luther King Jnr. was the foremost civil rights leader of the 1950's and 1960's. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Congress set this day aside to celebrate his life and achievements in 1983.

Washington's Birthday (third Monday in February) - originally it was commemorated on Washington's real birthday, the 22nd of February, but it was moved in 1971 to make a long weekend. It is occasionally known as Presidents' Day, because it is close to Lincoln's birthday on the 12th February.

Memorial Day (last Monday in May) - also known as Decoration Day, it honours soldiers fallen in battle.It dates from the Civil War and is traditionally marked by parades and services.

Independence Day (4th July) - this, the most significant US holiday, marks the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. It was first celebrated in 1777 and is marked by fireworks, parades and speeches.

Labor Day (first Monday in September) - this, the suggestion of Peter J. McGuire, the president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was taken up in 1894 to celebrate American workers.

Columbus Day (second Monday in October) - Christopher Columbus and his crew landed in the Bahamas on Oct 12th 1492. It was first celebrated in 1792, although it was not formally recognized until 1909. It is a source of particular pride to Italian-Americans, who claim the Genoan voyager as their own.

Veterans Day (Nov 11th) - or Armistice Day commemorates the end of the First World War on Nov 11th 1918. It was made a legal holiday in 1938, but its name was changed in 1954 to honour all American veteran soldiers.

Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November) - it was first commemorated in Plymouth County, Massachusetts in 1621, the year in which the Pilgrims landed in the New World to give thanks for the new harvest and the new land they had colonized. President Lincoln proclaimed it a holiday in 1863.

Christmas Day (December 25th) - Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Franklin Covey planner refills. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

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