Encouraging ex-Christians
From Steamboat Willey:
John Stewart described himself as a Jew in the sense that he loves a good bagel buffet. I am a still a Christian only in the sense that I love the the time off from work, spending it with my family, and the kids' excitement over having Santa Claus visit. I even enjoy the tree, the decorations and some of the music.
It's ironic that when I was a fundy we kept Christmas to a minimum. Others in my church (Seventh-day Adventist) didn't observe at all. We also didn't wear wedding rings. Now we wear diamonds and Christmas is a bash. It's part of throwing off the yoke. We won't take any of it with us where we're going, so we celebrate life.
Go then. Eat your food with gladness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart. Enjoy life with the person you love. It's cool; there is nothing to feel guilty for.
Merry Christmas all you ex-Christians.
How's that for encouragement?
John Stewart described himself as a Jew in the sense that he loves a good bagel buffet. I am a still a Christian only in the sense that I love the the time off from work, spending it with my family, and the kids' excitement over having Santa Claus visit. I even enjoy the tree, the decorations and some of the music.
It's ironic that when I was a fundy we kept Christmas to a minimum. Others in my church (Seventh-day Adventist) didn't observe at all. We also didn't wear wedding rings. Now we wear diamonds and Christmas is a bash. It's part of throwing off the yoke. We won't take any of it with us where we're going, so we celebrate life.
Go then. Eat your food with gladness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart. Enjoy life with the person you love. It's cool; there is nothing to feel guilty for.
Merry Christmas all you ex-Christians.
How's that for encouragement?
Comments
I think a more interesting question is where did the Tree appear in the Christmas. The Bible doesn't say to worship a tree. I believe the tree came from the pagan druids who worshipped the tree gods.
So the next time you see Christians worshipping the Christmas tree, tell them that is idolatry by placing the tree gods over Jesus, and remind them the penalty for breaking the 10 commandments is death.
Merry Christmas, Murry, I hope this year you can get the beard to stick a little better....
vs.3;For the customs of the people are worthless.They cut a tree out of the forest.Vs.4; They adorn it with silver and gold,they fasten it with hammer and nails.
According to the babble,christmas trees should be forbidden,(as pagan idols),to fundy christians.
***Not ex-christians though! lol
Yours truly,..freedy the pagan
Santa Claus only came from the now-recognized as fictional Saint Nicholas in that they both came from the same sources. And yes, the bible says that trees taken indoors and decorated with silver and gold, as the peasants did, is wicked.
So actually, you are a PAGAN/PEASANT/regular Joe in the sense that you like trees and Santa.
If anyone doubts the true origins of the festival, they should go to Austria and see the bonfires, and men dressed in monster costumes with antlers--or simply look up "Krampus."
The evergreen in the house standing in a pot of water thing was in Germany, a Christmas thing......but Germany was Celtic/Aryan for a long time before it was Judaic/Christian....Martin Luther is often credited with lighting a tree for the first time, with candles..fire on the tree, instead of the tree in the fire...Germany again gets the 'props' for the first and best blown glass ornaments. The Christians have, and come from, a long tradition of either adopting, perverting and then adopting, or demonizing other cultures' traditions. The tradition of the tree in mid winter goes back into pre-history.....and therefore, we will never really 'know for sure', till we build a time machine. But it makes sense, from a Pagan world view, either way..the burning of the Balefire, calling back the Sun (and by the way, keeping warm), and the representation of Life's Renewal in the evergreen tree.
Every culture that was capable of seeing the sky and noticing a difference in the length of the days had some ritual to mark the Solstice. Being the time of year when we (Europeans) ate from our stores and huddled close to our fires, it was a time when the bonds of community were most important. Sharing and giving (and accepting graciously) were essential to survival of the community. So that tradition makes sense, too. (Kriss kringle was a Pagan).
why have a site for EX-Christians? rather than just plain atheists? Have you not transcended from that way of life? Or is it to garner support from each other due to a fear of "backsliding" (see how I put that one in:)) to a state such as mine? Or rather are some of you now practitioners of other beliefs based on other gods e.g. Islam?
I can understand..we Christians gather as Christians because we believe in that...are you gathering because you rather than just not believe are actually trying to DISbelieve? Like an AA group?
Oh anony, how terribly lame to apply a fundy term to us and then point it out as if we might have missed your clever quip. I notice that many christians attempt to be funny, clever, or ironic when posting here (a sort of "aren't I so darned clever" narcissistic introduction.) It's nothing more than stunted humor from stunted minds. Christianity and comedy are like oil and water, unless the comedy is about christianity (George Carlin and Eddie Izzard are masters at this).
And, anony, your implication that we need this site in order to prevent some kind of reversion to christianity is really your own fantasy--something to make you feel better about your own need to keep attending church, reading the bible, etc., so that you remain enntrenched in your beliefs. You think that how you feel, act, believe, and speak about christianity is the same for us ex-christians when we stop believing--when it is not. Once we stop believing, that's it. We don't need to obssessively keep repeating any sort of mantra in order to maintain our disbelief. What we do is make up for all the lost years spent in christianity by reading and educating ourselves with the truth behind this cult. Education, not indoctrination--there is a huge difference.