Christmas, Atheists, and the Separation of Brain and Reality

A recent edition (Dec. 16, 2008) of the local newspaper, The Register Guard (aka, "The Red Guard"), contained this letter to the editor, filled with the joy and wonder of Christmas. Or something like that:

We’re bombarded by religion

Get Christmas out of my face. Not everyone is Christian.

Last December, I was thrown out and banned from Market of Choice for complaining about the religious lyrics in the Christmas music playing in the store.

Most people are not even aware that they are constantly being bombarded by religious beliefs in public places. It permeates all aspects of our society. “In God We Trust” on our money. “One Nation Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Politicians almost always end their addresses with “God Bless America.”

Whatever happened to separation of church and state?

ALLAN GROSSMAN
Eugene

Hmmm. Which is worse: the overt stupidity or the pitiful whining? I can honestly say, having lived in Eugene, Oregon, since 1995, that no one here is "bombarded by religion." Quite the contrary. It's tempting to say, "Hey, Allan, get atheism out of my face. Not everyone is an atheist." But I don't think he'd get it. So, instead of mere barbs, I've decided to write some some new lyrics (musical barbs!) for "We Three Kings," just for Allan and the Atheists:

We four kings of atheism are
Writing books we sneer from afar.
Harris and Dawkins, Dennet and Hitchens,
Wanting to be a star.

Stars of reason, stars of spite,
Stars with the nickname: the "brights",
Anger leading, condescending,
Guide us in our Godless fight...

By the way, Allan, don't you think Market of Choice, which is a private business (and which I shop at quite often, as I live three blocks from one of the stores), should be able to choose what music it plays? Or do you think that since there are only two possible, ultimate masters in this world—the Church and the State—that the former must not only submit to the latter, but be subsumed, consumed, and eliminated by it? I suspect such is the case.

Hilaire Belloc, in his essay, "The Catholic Church and the Modern State," wrote:

All men accept authority. The difference between different groups lies in the type of authority which they accept. The Catholic has arrived at the conviction, or, if you will, has been given and has retained the conviction [some come in from outside; some go outside and come back again; most receive the Faith by instruction in youth, but test it in maturity by experience] that there has been a Divine revelation. He discovers or recognizes a special action of God upon this earth over and above that general action which all who are not atheists admit. He discovers or recognizes a certain personality and voice-----that of the Catholic Church-----which conforms to the necessary marks of holiness and right proportion, and the ramification of doctrine from which is both consistent and wholly good. The incarnation of the Deity in the Man Jesus Christ, the immortality of the human soul, its responsibility to its Creator for good and evil done in this world, its consequent fate after death, the main rite and doctrine of the Eucharist-----these and a host of other affirmations are not dissociated, but form a consistent whole, which is not only the sole full guide to right living in this world, but the sole just group of affirmations upon the nature of things.

  To take up that position is to be a Catholic. To doubt it or deny it is to oppose Catholicism. ...

  Each Modern State is but one among many rivals; yet does it claim greater powers than ever the State claimed before, and with those powers I submit that the Catholic Church must inevitably come into conflict sooner or later; not because the State is modern, but because it claims unquestioned authority in all things.

Read the entire essay.

Comments

[Stohn]

"Get Christmas out of my face. Not everyone is Christian."

Well, Mr. Grossman, not everyone is an atheist, so get your secularist bull out of my face.

[Michael]

Not only does Market of Choice have the choice of what to play, Mr. Grossman has a choice of where to shop. Market of Choice doesn't have to be his market of choice.

[Mike M]

I don't have much to say other than I absolutely loved this:

We four kings of atheism are
Writing books we sneer from afar.
Harris and Dawkins, Dennet and Hitchens,
Wanting to be a star.

Stars of reason, stars of spite,
Stars with the nickname: the "brights",
Anger leading, condescending,
Guide us in our Godless fight...

[LJ]

"Last December, I was thrown out and banned from Market of Choice for complaining about the religious lyrics in the Christmas music playing in the store."

There's something missing here. Thrown out and banned for complaining? I would love to hear the description from the store manager of that complaint. To get thrown out he would have had to have been belligerent at the very least, and to be banned would have required something as serious as a threat.

Or perhaps the manager told him that if he didn't like it he could always leave and he interpreted that as being "thrown out."

"It permeates all aspects of our society." Indeed, right from the beginning. Mr Grossman ought to read the founding documents and records of the debates and the rest of the writings of the founders, but in particular that famous line from the preamble to the declaration in the second section;

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

or from the section before that;

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's GOD entitle them..."

That's America but it seems Mr. Grossman wants to remake America in his own belligerent atheist image. Perhaps he should test the atheist market by going into business himself and declaring to all that his store is atheist and will not cater to any religious seasons or beliefs through music or any other means including closing for Christmas day or Good Friday or Easter or Thanksgiving, etc. He could even throw out and ban any Christian that got in his face about it.

As has been pointed out, Market of Choice is not the State, it is a private enterprise. Unless of course Mr. Grossman is one of those Communist type atheists who would like everything to belong to the State. And we know what those kind of peace loving atheists are capable of in their obsession to get rid of God.

[Janny]

The previous poster hit the nail on the head--the owner/operator of the Market of Choice has HIS choice of what he plays over HIS loudspeakers, what HIS employees say, and what message HE sends to HIS customers. I don't go into stores that obviously cater to pagans and Wiccans. I don't go into bookstores that stuff their aisles with anti-Christian, anti-conservative "literature" that bashes my beliefs, my politics, and even my integrity. I don't shop at places that hang gay flags in their windows or openly and gaudily participate in Gay Pride Parades. That's my choice.

There are plenty of choices out there, and "Market of Choice" has made their own particular one...in what is probably an unassuming, subtle way that 99% of the customers probably don't even notice. If this man's representation of what happened to him last year is truly accurate, then a whole lot of those unassuming customers would have witnessed a scene so lacking in justice that they, too, would probably have left the store in support. The fact that he doesn't mention "and others joined me in this" is probably the clearest indication that he's either greatly exaggerating what happened, or he made such a nuisance of himself that the owner exercised his right NOT to have such a disturbance on his premises. I strongly suspect the latter.

Again...that's his right, and it's a right that this man apparently would have revoked just so he wouldn't be "bombarded by religion" while he was shopping.

On the other hand, it's like the old saying goes: you never notice a particular brand of car until you're in the market for one. Then, they seem to be everywhere. Maybe this man's complaint that religion seems to be "bombarding" him has a lot more to do with his own conscience than it does with any music piped over a store system...in which case, no matter how many stores he refuses to shop in and how many owners he complains to, the bombardment might just continue until he surrenders to the God who is obviously still loving enough to pursue him.

Merry Christmas to him, is what I say! :-)

JB

[History Matters]

So I'm not into sports - at all. I don't mind if you are, but I don't wish to participate. Have you ever noticed how many stores, restaurants, and other establishments go bonkers for sports themes at various times of the year? Should I complain to the manager? Should I feel hurt or left out?

The phrase "separation of church and state" is used above as part of the justification for complaining about Christmas in the public arena. I assume that refers to its use by Thomas Jefferson. That would be the same Jefferson who declared state days of fasting and prayer for Virginia when he was governor. The same Jeffersion who attended Christian worship services in The U.S. Capitol Building.

Christianity has a practical benefit to society over and above the salvation of souls. According to this post:

http://churchvstate.blogspot.com/2008/10/charles-carroll-christianity-and-free.html

Charles Carroll was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was the longest lived signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Continental Congress. Consider his words:

"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure...are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."

If you are not Christian, that's your right. Just be glad so many of your neighbors are in a better mood this time of year because the celebrate this National Holiday.

[Salome]

I object to religious Christmas lyrics being pumped at me during Advent. And I object to the absence of such things during Christmas. But I object in my heart. I know it is futile to complain.