Mike Huckabee told a crowd of Baptists that Christians need to be firm when dealing with atheists, fags, and baby killing presidents-elect:
Christians need to be “very firm” but not angry in addressing issues like the recent flap in Washington state, where atheists have placed a sign in the rotunda of the state capitol denigrating religion, former presidential Mike Huckabee told the Florida Baptist Witness in an interview Dec. 7.
“It’s not a matter of turning the other cheek,” Huckabee said. “Atheists resent that there’s a holiday that Christians can celebrate.” … Huckabee suggested that atheists who criticize the celebration of Christmas work on Dec. 25 and then choose another day for their holiday—perhaps April 1, he joked.
That’s funny—because this atheist is blogging from his living room, with a Christmas tree in front of him and a creche behind him. Do atheists really criticize the celebration of Christmas? None that I know. Some have a problem with the state promoting religious belief or practices, or favoring one religion over another, or showing favoritism to one religion, or displaying religious imagery on public property. But a problem with Christmas? P’shaw. In 2006 the New York Times interviewed superstar atheists Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins about their holiday plans—and guess what? Both men celebrate Christmas.
“It seems to me to be obvious that everything we value in Christmas—giving gifts, celebrating the holiday with our families, enjoying all of the kitsch that comes along with it—all of that has been entirely appropriated by the secular world,” [Harris] said, “in the same way that Thanksgiving and Halloween have been.”
…
“[Christmas,” said Dawkins,] has long since ceased to be a religious festival. I participate for family reasons, with a reluctance that owes more to aesthetics than atheistics. I detest Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the obscene spending bonanza that nowadays seems to occupy not just December, but November and much of October, too.”
Dawkins added: “So divorced has Christmas become from religion that I find no necessity to bother with euphemisms such as happy holiday season. In the same way as many of my friends call themselves Jewish atheists, I acknowledge that I come from Christian cultural roots. I am a post-Christian atheist. So, understanding full well that the phrase retains zero religious significance, I unhesitatingly wish everyone a Merry Christmas.”
Atheists celebrating Christmas—it should warm Huckabee’s heart. As should the ability of post-Christian atheists to take enjoyment—in a secular and hedonistic sense—from the Christmas holiday. I mean, it’s evidence of Christianity’s cultural triumph, right? But Huckabee won’t take the compliment, of course, not so long as there’s a political benefit to stoking the paranoia and delusions of oppression that characterize the GOP’s evangelical base. Back to Mike:
“We shouldn’t be angry, but we should be also very firm in saying that we are a nation that not only allows, but actually encourages people of faith to express themselves,” Huckabee said. Citing foot baths provided for Muslims at the University of Michigan, he said accommodation are made for people of “every faith except Christians.”
“It’s perfectly legitimate in our culture today to engage in outright persecution against Christians with seemingly no social penalty for doing it.”
Yeah—remember how the gays organized to strip Christians of their right to marry? That was crazy, man. Why couldn’t we just live and let live? Why do we feel a need to engage in outright persecution like that? And is it any wonder that Christians are upset right now, what with Barack Obama asking a militant atheist to give an entirely secular invocation at his inauguration. That had to sting.
Huckabee tells the Baptists that he hasn’t decided if he’s going to run again in 2012, but he says he’ll make up his mind by 2010. He also says that civil unions are “prelude” to same-sex marriage, that Obama is pro-infanticide (to a crowd that thinks it’s okey-dokey to shoot abortion doctors, btw), and that Sarah Palin is a “wonderful person.” You can almost hear his teeth grinding when he’s talking about Palin…
Huck Mike Fuckabee.
All I know is, there better be a Westboro Baptist Church display in Olympia next Christmas, or nothing. Preferably nothing, but if we have to have Christian shit at the state capitol, I want Fred Phelp’s Christian shit front and center.
@2
Amen! Maybe the sign should read “God hates Christmas”
Because people aren’t already utterly confused with Phelp’s bizarre behavior.
He’d do well to remember the origins of what we now celebrate as Christmas. Those that live by the Bible always seem to lack context.
During his visit to the Daily Show, he insisted that voting “No” on 8 didn’t make one a homophone, and that those people are being singled out for their beliefs. In fact it’s the opposite, those people are being singled out FOR THEIR ACTIONS.
I wish I was as smart as Richard Dawkins. Really, no sarcasm at all, I love that old fuck!
I detest Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the obscene spending bonanza that nowadays seems to occupy not just December, but November and much of October…
Classic!
I get so sick of Christians whining that we big bad Atheists are taking away THEIR holiday.
I like to look at it this way: Atheists are simply stealing from them what they stole first from somebody else.
Are there really that many people who still don’t know that, among other things, the date was deliberately selected by the Catholic Church roughly 1600 years ago, in order to commodify the pagan Roman festival of “Saturnalia”, and that it has, in point of fact, no correlation whatsoever to the actual date of Yeshua’s birth?
If Christians really want a holiday to celebrate the birth of their Messiah, they should do it closer to his actual birth date, say in March, or April.
@1
fery vunny!
Um…no. To both Huckabee and the quoted atheists.
There never was a time when Christmas was a Christian holiday. It began as a variety of pagan celebrations centered around the winter solstice, and many of our traditions in celebrating it still come from this (there are even biblical references to the pagan practice of sticking a dead tree in one’s house). When early institutional Christianity began to find its roots, it co-opted many pagan holidays into Christian ones. This is why a Christian Christmas has NEVER really taken hold in the way fundies wish it would.
Every demagogue tells the rabble who follow him/her that they are being persecuted by a group of people who must be eliminated. Let the scapegoating begin! Once upon a time it was Jews. Or Communists. Or gays. Or feminists. Or liberals. And let the people say Amen! Or “Ditto, Rush!” Or “Seig Heil!”
Comte @6 is on to something I remember thinking many years ago. If Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus at some other time of year December 25 wouldn’t need to change much. The void left by the departure of shepherds, angels and the manger for, say, August (not much else going on then) would be more than made up for by Santa, eggnog and jingle bells. The nativity could become one of those movable feasts that are a big hit on the liturgical calendar but barely noticed by anyone else; like Maundy Thursday, for instance.
Christians who lament “Christ being taken out of Christmas” could have their celebration in its rawest form, stripped of the holly and tinsel of the December observance. And people of another or no religious tradition could participate in the newly secularized Christmas (we would have to come up with another name of course) with a clear conscience. And having a decorated tree (a Druid custom) on public property wouldn’t be a problem. Unless, presumably, any Druids object. Sounds like a win-win for everyone.
I also am a Christmas celebrating atheist.
Merry Christmas!
It’s so nice to hear that Richard Dawkins wishes folks a Merry Christmas. I never could get into the whole Happy Holidays thing.
Dude, what’s a creche? Do you eat it with cheese?
Christmas pisses my atheist ass off. But it wouldn’t if Christians would keep their religion out of my business (specifically: if they would keep their religion out of my relationships, and my hypothetical kids’ schools, and my government).
How weird of Huckabee. Isn’t Christmas still a national holiday, for crying out loud? How many other religions in America get a national holiday. Sheesh. Be grateful for what you have and shut up, already! (I don’t remember Jesus being a whiner.)
Dan…you’re making waaaay too much sense!
Huckabee is of course pandering to the dimmest of the dim dumbshits, those who still support the putrid carcas of the Republican Party.
Even many evangelicals finally came around to support Obama. The remaining neanderthals are fodder for Huckabee & his fellow opportunistic vultures.
If only our culture did persecute christians….that would be the best christmas present ever.
I’m technically an atheist I suppose but I prefer my made-up label “Inspired Rationalist” with the credo “The universe is an amazing enough place without having to make crap up about it.” I’m the only one on Facebook, join me!