Christians in America

[Luminous]

Butthe fact remains that separation of church and state means that the government cannot put one religion over another.
Now since the generic term god refers to various deities, depending upon whom you talk to, it is not putting one religion over the rest.

Just because YOU think of YHWH when you hear the word god, does not mean that every one does.

Right, but actually there is no "separation of church and state" that is just a tradition...what there is is FREEDOM of relgion. and the inability of government to support one faction of it. meaning i do not have to be pushed around by monotheists who will soon allow this nation to think that "God" means Muhammad's God. there are Deist religions, there are polytheist religions, there are atheist religions, and then there is Agnostic Truth. monotheist religion is being established by a represive Christian and Jewish and Muslim government. basically an Abrahamic Government, and THAT is against the establishment clause.

 

[dogsgod]

No religion has a monopoly nor the exclusive rights to the word 'god'.
Therefore the word god in and of itself in the pledge of on the currency is not a violation of the separation of church and state.

It's rather obvious that God with a capital 'G" is a reference to the Christian God, especially in the US. It certainly is not taken to mean Vishnu. It's a total violation and a lot of Christians like it that way.

 

[McBell]

Right, but actually there is no "separation of church and state" that is just a tradition...what there is is FREEDOM of relgion. and the inability of government to support one faction of it. meaning i do not have to be pushed around by monotheists who will soon allow this nation to think that "God" means Muhammad's God. there are Deist religions, there are polytheist religions, there are atheist religions, and then there is Agnostic Truth. monotheist religion is being established by a represive Christian and Jewish and Muslim government. basically an Abrahamic Government, and THAT is against the establishment clause.

*puts on rubber boots*

seems to me you are grasping at straws.

 

[McBell]

It's rather obvious that God with a capital 'G" is a reference to the Christian God, especially in the US. It certainly is not taken to mean Vishnu. It's a total violation and a lot of Christians like it that way.

yes, cause the ONLY religion on the WHOLE WIDE planet that capitalizes the word god is Christian....


:sleep:

 

[McBell]

I am waiting for the allegedly unconstitutionally rendered word god on the currency to be removed.
I wonder how long I will have to wait....?

 

[dogsgod]

yes, cause the ONLY religion on the WHOLE WIDE planet that capitalizes the word god is Christian....


:sleep:

That's true. The name for the Christian god is God. There are a zillion gods with all kinds of names, but Christianity chose God for the name of their god.

 

[Feralbeest]

That's true. The name for the Christian god is God. There are a zillion gods with all kinds of names, but Christianity chose God for the name of their god.

The name of the Christian god is the same as the name of the Hebrew god. It is a four-letter, unpronouncable name. It nis most definitely NOT "God"!

 

[Luminous]

*puts on rubber boots*

seems to me you are grasping at straws.

extremely big straws that are sticking in my eye.

 

[Luminous]

The name of the Christian god is the same as the name of the Hebrew god. It is a four-letter, unpronouncable name. It nis most definitely NOT "God"!

I'll trust the individual believer when they tell me their christian god has no name so they just named it God. and they have.

 

[Feralbeest]

I'll trust the individual believer when they tell me their christian god has no name so they just named it God. and they have.

They say such things because they don't know any better. Most Christians just parrot what they have been told, and are woefully ignorant about their own religion. Christianity grew out of, and is based on Judaism. They claim their god is the same one in the Old Testament (the Jewish Torah, etc.). I have been approached by Christians trying to proselytize, and found that they knew next to nothing about their Bible, or where their beliefs come from.

 

[The Neo Nerd]

christmas is a tradition and it just so happens it's a christian tradition

Chock full of pagan symbolism.

 

[dogsgod]

Chock full of pagan symbolism.

True, the only Christian aspect to Christmas is those funny little nativity scenes with donkeys and songs that make reference to their Jesus, the rest is all pagan.

 

[xkatz]

True, the only Christian aspect to Christmas is those funny little nativity scenes with donkeys and songs that make reference to their Jesus, the rest is all pagan.

And Hindu.

 

[T-Dawg]

And Hindu.

Erm, what Hindu traditions are in Christmas? Christmas, to my knowledge, was developed exclusively in Europe, being a corrupted, Christianized version of the pagan holiday Saturnalia.

 

[xkatz]

Erm, what Hindu traditions are in Christmas? Christmas, to my knowledge, was developed exclusively in Europe, being a corrupted, Christianized version of the pagan holiday Saturnalia.

Well they weren't influenced by Hinduism necessarily, but some of their beliefs and theology are similar.

[youtube]TgksXcesXrA[/youtube]
YouTube - Comparative Mythology: Jesus, Krishna and Buddha

 

[Kathryn]

Frankly, if I had to listen to 15 minutes of Christmas carols while I stood in line at the bank, I'd probably start thinking about finding another bank. If I had to listen to that all day in my own workplace, I'd probably start looking for another job.

This isn't because of the religious nature of the songs, though... I'd feel the same if you were pumping Celine Dion's greatest hits into the place all day long. Way too many Christmas songs and carols are deeply annoying and can't stand up to even one listening... never mind hearing them every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

And I know observant Christians who feel the same way - for many people, carols just get annoying. A bank deciding not to play them might not be so much about bowing to accommodationalism as it is about not driving their customer base away to competitors.

Thing is - the bank's decision has NOTHING to do with what you're suggesting, and everything to do with political correctness. We live in a small, southern town - where most people, believe it or not, like Christmas music. Without exception, our staff WANTS to play Christmas music during the season. We simply can't because of a corporate decision. I want to assure you that if our customers knew that our corporate office had BANNED Christmas music, a good share of them would probably change banks just on principle. I do live in the bible belt.

 

[T-Dawg]

Thing is - the bank's decision has NOTHING to do with what you're suggesting, and everything to do with political correctness. We live in a small, southern town - where most people, believe it or not, like Christmas music. Without exception, our staff WANTS to play Christmas music during the season. We simply can't because of a corporate decision. I want to assure you that if our customers knew that our corporate office had BANNED Christmas music, a good share of them would probably change banks just on principle. I do live in the bible belt.

Sounds like a good bank (if there is such a thing), going by that description. Banning offensive music is a good rule, so long as they ban "holiday" themes as well (seriously, "happy holidays" ****** me off. It's like they're too shallow or too much of a sellout to celebrate one specific faith's holiday, but too tradition-minded and shallow to give up the idea of a winter-based holiday).

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

Erm, what Hindu traditions are in Christmas? Christmas, to my knowledge, was developed exclusively in Europe, being a corrupted, Christianized version of the pagan holiday Saturnalia.

To my knowledge, it was a corrupted and Christianized version of the Yule holiday.

 

[tumbleweed41]

(seriously, "happy holidays" ****** me off. It's like they're too shallow or too much of a sellout to celebrate one specific faith's holiday, but too tradition-minded and shallow to give up the idea of a winter-based holiday).

Mid-winter celebrations have been part of many societies since man first started keeping track of the seasons. What reason would we have to give them up?
Winter solstice means winter is halfway over, looking forward to spring.
Good grief, it's the Hump-Day of winter.
You might as well ask people who enjoy the weekends to quite getting happy on Wednesday.


BTW, Decembers coming......
Happy Holidays T-Dawg!!!

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Thing is - the bank's decision has NOTHING to do with what you're suggesting, and everything to do with political correctness. We live in a small, southern town - where most people, believe it or not, like Christmas music. Without exception, our staff WANTS to play Christmas music during the season. We simply can't because of a corporate decision. I want to assure you that if our customers knew that our corporate office had BANNED Christmas music, a good share of them would probably change banks just on principle. I do live in the bible belt.

Wait - so your company decided on its own not to have Christmas music?

Then what was with all that stuff before about business owners not being allowed to do what they want? That made it sound like you were talking about some sort of requirement imposed on your bank by the government.