The Real Meaning of Christmas--It's a Capitalist Trick

Forgive our absence, we have had to deal with a loss that has taken a toll on us, but we are now making our way back into "the fold" so to speak, and this seems to be a good time to do so.

Christmas--what is it?  What does it mean?  When I wander the malls, all I see is stress in the eyes of shoppers who somehow believe that getting that perfect gift is all that matters.  Or maybe it's cooking that perfect Christmas dinner, or hosting that perfect Christmas party......   Interestingly, until a few years ago, I used to be one of those people that was always looking for the perfect gifts, and hoping to cook that perfect dinner, and host that perfect party.  That is, until I boycotted Christmas.

Sadly, Christmas for me had nothing to do with being jolly or happy.  It was, in fact, an exhausting time of year where I was responsible for all the cooking, cleaning, decorating, shopping, etc. etc.--which put me under a lot of stress.  So why did I do it?  Most would say I did it for my family--but when I think about it, that isn't completely true.  Certainly, I bought those gifts and cooked those meals for the people I cared about, but what prompted those actions in the first place?  Was it religion? Yes, but it's not that simple.  Christianity is part of  the capitalist matrix that promotes the excessiveness of the Christmas season--which I have boycotted.  Christianity within the matrix created the perversion that "Christmas" has become.

Now, most would believe that when anyone says that Christmas has become a perversion, this would mean that we have taken "Jesus" out of the equation, and turned it into a quest for more material goods.  But no, Christmas has ALWAYS been a perversion, and I will explain why.  Although I disagree with the excessive materialism which has become part of the "Christmas season", people should also realize that Christmas never really was about Jesus at all until the emperor Constantine made it so a long time ago.  Christmas in essence, is a pagan celebration--not a Christian one.  

To be honest, since I know the history, I shake my head when I see the pagan symbols intertwined with the Christian ones--knowing very few people understand how this came to be.  (Easter is very similar, but that is for another post some other time.)  Christmas is not really about Jesus, as no one knows IF he was ever born, and if he was, no one knows exactly when that might have taken place.  Most likely, if he had been a real person, it would have been in the spring as Luke 2:8 states that when Jesus was supposedly born:

 “... there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” 

As winters in Judea were cold and wet, sheep at that time would be placed in corrals and would not be in the fields.  Shepherds were not in the fields in the winter time.  In spring however, shepherds would stay with their flocks night and day, tending new births.  They are in the fields early in March until early October. This would place Jesus' birth in the spring or early fall.

Furthermore, the Bible tells us that Mary and Joseph were on their way to pay taxes when Jesus was supposedly born, but Palestine is very cold in December, and it was much too cold to ask everyone to travel to the city of their fathers to register for taxes. Shepherds were not in the fields in the winter time. They are in the fields early in March until early October. This would place Jesus' birth in the spring or early fall. 

So if Christmas isn't really about Jesus, what is it about then? Originally it was a pagan celebration based on "Saturnalia," which has nothing to do with Jesus at all.  The Roman Emperor Constantine created the Christian celebration known as Christmas during Saturnalia in order to make it easier to convert the pagans to this new religion. The first official "Christmas" celebration on December 25th was held in 336AD, and a few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December.  Funny how a pope can decide when a so-called "god" was born--lol.  Really, I find that highly amusing. Constantine also paid people to be baptized into Christianity in order to gain new converts, which explained its growing popularity.  The gift giving, feasting, etc., which are integral to the "Christmas season" however, all have pagan origins, some based on Saturnalia. As wikipedia states:

Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the deity Saturn held on December 17 of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through December 23. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves.^[1] The poet Catullus called it "the best of days."^[2]
In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity who reigned over the world in the Golden Age, when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labor in a state of social egalitarianism. The revelries of Saturnalia were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost mythical age, not all of them desirable. The Greek equivalent was the Kronia.^[3]
Although probably the best-known Roman holiday, Saturnalia as a whole is not described from beginning to end in any single ancient source. Modern understanding of the festival is pieced together from several accounts dealing with various aspects.^[4] The Saturnalia was the dramatic setting of the multivolume work of that name by Macrobius, a Latin writer from late antiquity who is the major source for the holiday. In one of the interpretations in Macrobius's work, Saturnalia is a festival of light leading to the winter solstice, with the abundant presence of candles symbolizing the quest for knowledge and truth.^[5] The renewal of light and the coming of the new year was celebrated in the later Roman Empire at the Dies Natalis of Sol Invictus, the "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun," on December 25.^[6]
The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, some of its customs may have influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year.^[7]

 Saturnalia--a solstice celebration, in honor of the coming of the new "sun." (son?)  Sound familiar?  It should. The birth of many other "sun/son" gods such as Mithra were also worshiped at this time.  The notion that Jesus too was supposedly born at this time as the "son" of God has, for our world today, created a perversion on top of a perversion.  That is, a so-called god, who is said to come for all, is instead celebrated by some via gluttony and exorbitance, while millions of "believers" and others starve to death without proper clothing or shelter.  But remember, these so-called "Christians" who indulge in these "Christmas celebrations" are not honoring their god, but the pagan gods, Saturn, Mithra, etc. In fact, Christmas does not honor Jesus at all, and Jesus, according to the Bible, would NOT be pleased with all the excess that has become a part of the "Christmas season".  The Bible quotes him saying as such to a rich man looking for a way into heaven:

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21

In other words, what so-called "Christians" celebrate as "Christmas" today are nothing but perversions, on top of perversions, on top of perversions, and they are all promoted via the Capitalist matrix we all live in.......which brings me to the tree.

Many times, I have seen Christmas trees in churches. Why, my mother used to take me to what is known as "The Singing Christmas Tree" which was a concert held in a Pentacostal church.  There, the carolers were tiered up to look like an actual tree!  It was quite beautiful, but it had nothing to do with their so-called Jesus, and really, should be considered "sacrilegious"--lol.  I can't help but to laugh when I think about that tree now. In fact, the Christmas tree has pagan origins. According to Encyclopedia Brittanica:

"The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands to symbolize eternal life was a custom of the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. Tree worship was common among the pagan Europeans and survived their conversion to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating the house and barn with evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil and of setting up a tree for the birds during Christmastime."

So no, I do not set up a tree (when I used to have a real tree, a nativity scene {how bizarre!!} lights, and everything else) and I do not exchange gifts. I do not participate in a "celebration" co-opted by Christians in order to promote their own agenda.  I do not participate in a "celebration" which is promoted by the system in order to generate a larger cash flow for the capitalists.  Instead, I give money to certain charities, and have a nice relaxing dinner with a good bottle of wine, because, as Tony's grandmother once wisely said, "Every day should be like Christmas day."  In other words, we should treat our fellow human beings every day with the same love and respect many show only at Christmas time.    For us, Christmas means the love of family and friends, no headaches, no hangovers, and no excessive bills to pay.  That is the BEST Christmas of all....:) Cheers!!

Separation of Church and State?

One of my old professors, (and now my friend) sent this article my way--which, when I read, disappointed me immensely.  It seems some state governments in the United States are ignoring their own constitutions by offering poor students "vouchers" for private, mostly Bible based, schools.  This means, that some states (in this case, Louisiana) are using tax payer's money to fund schools that teach that dinosaurs roamed the earth with humans 6000 years ago--among other things.

We all should be appalled--in fact, we should be outraged that this is happening.  It sets the precedent that there are no standards for education, and that as long as you have enough money to back you, you can teach students that Leprechauns really do have a pot of gold, and at this school, we will teach you how to find it!!

No.  Instead, we should be focusing on teaching students critical thinking skills, so they can identify this type of hokum when they see it. But this is not what the government wants.  You see, if you teach people how to think, then they are more apt to see what is really going on.  Can you see it?  Can you see what is really going on?  Governments LOVE religion, because it keeps people in the "sheeple state"--they believe what they hear without thinking about why.  What governments fear are those that question why--and demand real answers.  This is what critical thinking skills gives us, and this is what governments want to avoid.  So now can you see why governments support creationist nonsense?  Ah yes---to keep the critical thinkers at bay. So those of us that can think, we need to do what we can to stop this nonsense in its tracks. 

Christian Gobblydegook--Theologians are Full of It

What is written below is an excerpt from a book written by a Dutch Theologian named Herman Bavinck, titled, “The Doctrine of God”:

"Mystery is the vital element of Dogmatics. It is true that the term "mystery" in Scripture does not indicate abstract-supernatural truth in Romish sense; nevertheless, the idea that the believer would be able to understand and comprehend intellectually the revealed mysteries is equally unscriptural. On the contrary, the truth which God has revealed concerning himself in nature and in Scripture far surpasses human conception and comprehension. In that sense Dogmatics is concerned with nothing but mystery, for it does not deal with finite creatures, but from beginning to end raises itself above every creature to the Eternal and Endless One himself." p. 13

What was written above is a prime example of illogical gobblydegook written by, and promoted by many so-called “respected theologians.” So, what does it REALLY mean? Let's look at it logically to find out.

P1. If a mystery is revealed, then it would be understood.
P2 According to Bavinck, God's mysteries are “revealed.”
C. Therefore, God's mysteries are understood.

But that is not what Bavinck said. He said that what has been “revealed” surpasses human conception and comprehension, i.e., they CANNOT be understood. This then begs the question as to how a Christian can know ANYTHING about any so-called “mysteries,” if these mysteries surpasses their conception and comprehension. Again, let's look at it logically.

P1 If something surpasses human conception and comprehension, then it cannot be revealed to humans.
P2. God's mysteries surpass human conception and comprehension.
P3. Therefore, God's mysteries cannot be revealed to humans.
P4. If God's “mysteries” cannot be revealed to humans, then humans have no method of verifying God's “mysteries” as being true.
P5. God's mysteries cannot be revealed to humans.
C. Therefore, Christians have no justification for saying God's “mysteries” are true.”

Furthermore, if God's mysteries cannot be revealed to humans, as they surpass our conception and comprehension, then we have no way of knowing anything about this god. We have no way of knowing if he is what Christians claim he is, i.e., whether or not he is an all-loving, all-knowing, all-good god, or whether he is a sadistic tyrant, because the Bible indicates that the Christian god is capable of being all of these things.

So much for "revealing" the "mysteries" of God.   Instead, what I have "revealed" is just another Christian theologian spreading illogical gobbledygook as his own version of "truth."

Why James Holmes' Rampage is the Result of the Teachings of Christianity - Part 2

This post is a follow up to my previous post,  Why James Holmes' Rampage is the Result of the Teachings of Christianity.  For clarification, I will restate my thesis from my previous post:

"One hypothesis was put forth by the Christian apologist, Rick Warren, in one of his latest tweets, when he said, "When students are taught they are no different from animals, they act like it." The implied hypothesis being, that it's the result of teaching science, and in particular, Darwinianism and materialism. I propose that there is a better explanation. My hypothesis, which is not new by the way, as I have pointed out numerous times, the great Christian philosopher Pelagius pointed out long ago, that if you promulgate the notion that people are born bad, and cannot help but to sin, but will still gain entrance into paradise as long as they "repent"-- they are more likely to sin, repent, sin, repent--and repeat when necessary. Pelagius was wise, and realized that this belief would lead to "moral laxity"--which is quite evident in our predominantly Christian society, and amongst Christians in particular. My hypothesis is that when Christians are taught they are "born sinners" and cannot help but to sin, as they are taught it is not possible for them to be perfect, and that they are nevertheless given the "free gift" of salvation, they will have more of a tendency to act immorally, or, when Christians are taught they live in a world that is dominated by Satan, that it leads to immorality. Either way, it leads to immorality and chaos, and Christianity provides believers with a basis for the belief that they are absolved from taking responsibility for their own bad behavior. Jesus does that for them."

Why James Holmes' Rampage was the Result of the Teachings of Christianity

In times like this, when something horrendous happens, people tend to hypothesize as to the reasons why. As most everyone knows by now, the "nice Christian boy," James Holmes massacred 12 innocent people and wounded many more in his rampage in a Colorado movie theatre. One hypothesis was put forth by the Christian apologist, Rick Warren, in one of his latest tweets, when he said, "When students are taught they are no different from animals, they act like it."  The implied hypothesis being, that it's the result of teaching science, and in particular, Darwinianism and materialism.  I propose that there is a better explanation.  My hypothesis, which is not new by the way, as I have pointed out numerous times, the great Christian philosopher Pelagius pointed out long ago, that if you promulgate the notion that people are born bad, and cannot help but to sin, but will still gain entrance into paradise as long as they "repent"-- they are more likely to sin, repent, sin, repent--and repeat when necessary.  Pelagius was wise, and realized that this belief would lead to "moral laxity"--which is quite evident in our predominantly Christian society, and amongst Christians in particular.  My hypothesis is that when Christians are taught they are "born sinners" and cannot help but to sin, as they are taught it is not possible for them to be perfect, and that they are nevertheless given the "free gift" of salvation, they will have more of a tendency to act immorally, or, when Christians are taught they live in a world that is dominated by Satan, that it leads to immorality.  Either way, it leads to immorality and chaos, and Christianity provides believers with a basis for the belief that they are absolved from taking responsibility for their own bad behavior.  Jesus does that for them.

Humpty Dumpty Meets Reductio ad Absurdum--How Christian Rabbits Morph into Mad Hatters

This post is a followup to my previous post, “What Happened When Humpty Dumpty Met the Sons of Gods.” 

When I wrote the post, I was setting up a snare to catch Christian rabbits, as they take the bait and travel further down the rabbit hole. In doing so, they are “hoisted by their own petard” as they try to explain away problematic Biblical passages—in this case, Genesis 6:1-4. The Christians claim that Jesus is the only son of god, but then Genesis 6:1-4 states there are “sons of gods” --meaning there are many gods, and many sons of gods! It also implies there are goddesses as well, and that gods and goddesses have sex. This is where Humpty Dumpty semantics comes in, as I want them to admit that the words don't mean what they say they mean—literally. In doing so, they get entangled in a Humpty Dumpty semantic snare, as their explanations can then be turned against them, because now they have provided weight to these explanations that can now be used against them in the case of the Trinity. It leads to an absurd position for the Trinity doctrine and the historic Christian faith as a whole.

Why Would Death be Pleasing to a God in that he Requires a Living Blood Sacrifice, When he is Said to Love “Living” Beings?

This is from a series of twenty questions at the back of the book I am almost finished (editing is taking longer than I thought)  The answers come from a rational as well as a Christian perspective, and are meant to be though provoking, as well as offering better rationalizations.

What Happened When Humpty Dumpty Met the Sons of Gods

While I have presented this information in a paper, this post was inspired by a podcast by Credo House in their failed attempt to explain the difficult passages of Genesis 6:1-4, which speaks of the “sons of god” who TOOK women and had children with them:

Did Jesus Ever Sin?--YES!

Most Christians will adamantly claim that Jesus was without sin, as the Bible makes reference to his so-called "sinless nature" on many occasions such as 2Cor. 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1Peter 2:21-22; 1John 3:5.  However, Jesus himself notes that only God is "good" (Mark 10:17-18)--thereby implying that he is not "sinless" and not "god" either! The passages below indicate that if Jesus existed, then he was not lying when he implied that he was not "good" as he himself broke the laws, and under his direction laws were broken. In Luke, he forgoes the law by healing people on the Sabbath:

Credo House Proves the Bible is Illogical and Inconsistent via the Trinity

In my previous post on the trinity, I PROVED that the Christian conception of Trinity is illogical, and inconsistent with other passages in the Bible, such as Jesus sitting at the right hand side of Yahweh.

In this post, I will go further, and show that this Christian conception of the Trinity is actually based on the Bible, which would mean that the Bible itself is illogical and inconsistent.

Assume what the authors, C. Michael Patton, Th.M. and Tim Kimberley, Th.M from the Credo House say is true in the video below, and in this case, we actually believe they are right. That is, Athanasius, Constantine and the rest of the Nicene Council base their conception of the Trinity on the Bible.


10 Myths about God: #5 - The Trinity was Invented from Credo House on Vimeo.


As I had proven in my last post, the Christian conception of the trinity is illogical and inconsistent with other Bible passages. Now we see that the Christian conception of the Trinity is actually based on the Bible. If the Christian conception of the Trinity is actually based on the Bible, then the Bible itself is illogical and inconsistent. Therefore, the Bible is illogical and inconsistent.

Thanks Credo House--for proving that the Bible is illogical and inconsistent!!