Bryan J. Fischer, the issues director of the good ol' American Family Association, who has many interesting Thoughts on interesting Topics, has some airtight logic for us, and that is that if the Founders did not want a Christianist theocracy, then why did they put a date on the Constitution, HENGGHHHHH?
If you want a real War on Christmas, read about England under Cromwell. In the early 19th century it was observed in a spotty fashion in the U.S. Congress even met on Christmas Day. It became a Federal Holiday in 1870, and Oklahoma became the last state to make it a State holiday in 1907.
The Julian calendar was created long before the year in which Jesus of Nazareth was said to have been born, so it has nothing to do with Christianity. The US Constitution is dated according to the Gregorian calendar, which is the one that we still use.
The Anno Domini dating system was invented by a monk in the 6th century and it has no Scriptural basis. One would expect that this might matter to a fundamentalist like Fischer. It didn't become widely used in Europe until the late Medieval period.
Anyone acknowledging the Julian calendar is essentially siding with the <i>Populares</i> against the <i>Optimates</i>. From there, it&#039;s one short step to the Gracchi brothers, agrarian reform, and socialism. Is that what you want, America?
Both Christmas as an important date and the Anno Domini dating system were implemented by the established Roman Catholic church well after the early Christian era and neither one had very much importance to the early Christians. It is those early, pre-Catholic Church Christians who modern fundamentalists regard as role models, so it is odd that a fundie like Fischer suddenly has great reverence for a couple of Medieval Papist inventions.
The subtlety of the Founders is astonishing. I mean, they could have just reworded the First Amendment:<blockquote>Congress shall <b>make only laws</b> respecting establishment of <b>Christianity, and</b> prohibiting the free exercise <b>others</b> thereof; ...</blockquote>But they went all DaVinci Code with hidden religious clues.
There was a recent story about some burg in this Christian Nation trying to ban Halloween costumes in schools because Halloween is a &quot;religious holiday&quot;. I can only imagine this stems from Xtian pissiness over the the gubmint not following the constitution as our founding fathers intended and instead &quot;Taking God Out of Our Schools&quot;(TM) by not allowing a wholesale fundamentalist Xtian invasion into education.
I haven&#039;t heard lot of Halloween songs about the grace of Cernunnos and/or the Mother Goddess sung by tikes in Batman costumes at Reagan Elementary.
Baptists especially were in favor of religious tolerance, because they were a highly disfavored minority especially in the South, where the Anglican church was the established religion. Funny, how mainly Southern Baptists find the idea of freedom of religion anathema now.
If you want a real War on Christmas, read about England under Cromwell. In the early 19th century it was observed in a spotty fashion in the U.S. Congress even met on Christmas Day. It became a Federal Holiday in 1870, and Oklahoma became the last state to make it a State holiday in 1907.
For crying out loud, you have a chance to edit your stuff. Clean up the coded nonsense.
No. It&#039;s 8675309...
In fairness, though, if you are making crafts for xmas presents, you do need to buy stuff early.
Which version is that? My commie ACLU version still uses the Year of our Lord.
He&#039;s long past teen spirit.
The Julian calendar was created long before the year in which Jesus of Nazareth was said to have been born, so it has nothing to do with Christianity. The US Constitution is dated according to the Gregorian calendar, which is the one that we still use.
The Anno Domini dating system was invented by a monk in the 6th century and it has no Scriptural basis. One would expect that this might matter to a fundamentalist like Fischer. It didn&#039;t become widely used in Europe until the late Medieval period.
Anyone acknowledging the Julian calendar is essentially siding with the <i>Populares</i> against the <i>Optimates</i>. From there, it&#039;s one short step to the Gracchi brothers, agrarian reform, and socialism. Is that what you want, America?
Both Christmas as an important date and the Anno Domini dating system were implemented by the established Roman Catholic church well after the early Christian era and neither one had very much importance to the early Christians. It is those early, pre-Catholic Church Christians who modern fundamentalists regard as role models, so it is odd that a fundie like Fischer suddenly has great reverence for a couple of Medieval Papist inventions.
The subtlety of the Founders is astonishing. I mean, they could have just reworded the First Amendment:<blockquote>Congress shall <b>make only laws</b> respecting establishment of <b>Christianity, and</b> prohibiting the free exercise <b>others</b> thereof; ...</blockquote>But they went all DaVinci Code with hidden religious clues.
There was a recent story about some burg in this Christian Nation trying to ban Halloween costumes in schools because Halloween is a &quot;religious holiday&quot;. I can only imagine this stems from Xtian pissiness over the the gubmint not following the constitution as our founding fathers intended and instead &quot;Taking God Out of Our Schools&quot;(TM) by not allowing a wholesale fundamentalist Xtian invasion into education.
I haven&#039;t heard lot of Halloween songs about the grace of Cernunnos and/or the Mother Goddess sung by tikes in Batman costumes at Reagan Elementary.
There is no end to Christian butthurt.
Classic. I regret that I have insufficient fists to up this.
Baptists especially were in favor of religious tolerance, because they were a highly disfavored minority especially in the South, where the Anglican church was the established religion. Funny, how mainly Southern Baptists find the idea of freedom of religion anathema now.
Never bring a fact to a derp fight.
Ah, vote him in the eye.
There are all kinds of clauses in the Constitution. QE Fucking D.