Posted on 12/20/2010 12:53:56 PM PST by SeekAndFind
“As a Christian I’m not comfortable with Halloween. If I thought like a liberal then I’d have to demand everyone else stop celebrating Halloween so as not to offend me. Fortunately I’m not a liberal.”
Off topic, but several churches in our town tried to get the schools to stop doing Halloween because it was anti-Christian.
I grew up outside the USA, so we did not do Halloween.
I don’t let my kids participate in Halloween, because I understand it to be linked to some Christian celebration.
Dressing up is for Purim.
Hanukkah (which means ‘to dedicate’), known as the Feast of Dedication or the Festival of Lights.
There is a mention of Hannukah in the Gospel of John...
“Then came the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.” (John 10:22-23, NKJV)
This reference comes right after Jesus’ parable of the good shepherd (referring to Himself) and how He was willing to lay His life down for the sheep (those who repent and obey God).
Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday that celebrates the rededication of Jerusalem’s temple in 164 B.C.
I am Jewish and I love big beautiful Christmas trees. (I would not put one up myself but I love looking at them.) This is such nonsense! And I don’t believe it.
ML/NJ
I really think this was all about offending Muslims. No person of good will could possibly object to their friends celebrating Christmas.
ML/NJ
Chanukkah is a pretty significant holiday, although not in the way that it is celebrated in America today.
Chanukkah commemorates two miracles: the fact that the Temple in Jerusalem was re-dedicated and the pure oil that was expected to burn for just one day burned for eight, long enough for more pure oil to be created; and the fact that the Jews won the right to continue to practice their faith despite laws imposed by the conquering Greeks that prohibited circumcision and other important aspects of Judaism.
It is kind of ironic that the holiday that commemorates lack of Jewish assimilation and the freedom to worship G-d as deemed appropriate under Jewish doctrine has become a milquetoast version of Christmas with a menorah instead of a tree for many Jews. I think Christians should celebrate Christmas as they see fit, with songs of faith rather than sleighbells in the snow, and Jews should celebrate Chanukkah as a commemoration of Jews’ right to worship as they believe they are commanded to do.
When they die and go to .....
How will they feel then?
I think you might be right. And yet we read that Moslems consider Jesus a prophet and revere him. I do not believe that for one minute. I think that they posture about respecting Jesus but really don’t. I have read of Moslems celebrating Christmas but I also wonder about how many do.
Well, their Kwanzaa candles make me feel bad, AND those rear ends stuck up in the air praying toward Mecca make me feel bad, too. - Gosh, and overweight people and Santa’s elves feel bad, too, because they feel excluded from the military. I’m gonna cry. - Let’s get that LEVEL PLAYING FIELD, so everyone will feel comfortable and no hurt feelings. :o(
Taking Christ out of Christmas excludes God and my well-being !
I find this ridiculous because a decorated tree and Santa Clause have absolutely nothing to do with the Christian holiday of Christmas.
How about Kwanzaa?
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Kwanzaa is not too bad. I usually wear some evergreen boughs around my head (fir is the softest) and carry some jingle bells to ring if I have to.
Let me know when I've said something that isn't true. I said no Jew is supposed to take time off from work because of Chanukkah; and no synagogue ANYWHERE has ANY special service for Chanukkah (unless maybe they're not really Jewish). Compare this with Christians and Christmas, and get back to me.
As for what you said about the two miracles, if you knew what you were talking about you would know that it is one miracle, invented post hoc. (The post hoc miracle of the oil was invented because the Rabbis, 800 years after the fact, as a justification for reciting Hallel as part of the regular services during Chanukkah, needed a miracle. You weren't supposed to recite Hallel except for Biblical holidays or to commemorate miracles. Apparently the victory of the Maccabees wasn't a sufficient miracle so the Rabbis invented the thing about the oil. Otherwise, maybe you know what you are talking about.)
ML/NJ
At Chanukkah, many, perhaps most, synagogues, at least the Ashkenazic ones, have the custom of saying psalm 30, “Mizmor shir chanukkat habayit” after davenning. It was composed by King David in honor of his son Shlomo (Solomon) commemorating the construction of the Temple.
In addition, shuls will light the menorah as part of their service during Chanukkah in the evening. Although it isn’t a separate prayer service, it is a unique addition to the Ma’ariv service that only occurs at Chanukkah.
The laws of Chanukkah are in the gemorrah, which is part of the Talmud, which is part of the oral law that has come down to us from the time of Moshe (Moses).
Your anger is misplaced.
They need to redo the study, making these sissies wear panties on their heads and bark like dogs.
Perhaps then, they will feel more highly of themselves.
Complete and UTTER BS!
I have been visiting India three times a year on business for nearly 2 decades now. My total time IN India over the last 2 decades is approaching 120 weeks (2.5 years). And that time has been spent in “India” India and not the westernized part.
Sikhs (one of the examples used in this BS article) are probably one of the most liberal religious groups in the world. Their CORE philosophy is that any “good” religion like Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism can lead to God. Whether us on FR agree to that is besides the point. The point here is that Sikhs are about the most tolerant of all major faiths (and yes, that includes Christians)
The Panjab (in India) is only 2% Christian and yet I have seen Christmas trees all over Chandigarh (its capital), Ludhiana (its commercial capital) and Amritsar (the Sikh Vatican)
I have yet to ever see a Sikh here in the US protest a Christmas tree or even Christmas.
While my exposure to Buddhists is less, I will still say that based on my trips to Thailand, Japan and China, I did not find any anti Christian feelings in Buddhists
About the only people I see protest Christmas are extreme left wing secular Jews (as in Jews by ancestry only but not religious beliefs).
I have never in my 40+ years working for big corporations in Texas ever seen a Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Druze ever file a complaint.
Just my 2 cents... but boy.. these are some INFORMED 2 cents!
To all those offended by my Christmas tree:
Do you believe in tolerance and diversity? Yes? Good! Then I’m sure you’ll be tolerant of my Christmas tree and celebrate the diversity that it represents!
If not, go take a flying leap.
Can I just throw up now?
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