allisnow | (no subject)

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So I've started reading John Gibson's The War on Christmas and there was an interesting issue brought up that I'd like to present here. Plus I haven't had a good freak-out on my journal for a while, and I'm nostalgic:

Please note that Question 1 is for Americans, 2 is for non-Americans, and 3 is for everybody.

[Poll #617663]

For the time being I'm making the results viewable to just me, because I know all too well the lemming effect ;)

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How's the book so far? I don't think I could read it, because it would tick me off too much. My philosophy is: if you don't want to celebrate Christmas, then don't. Buzz off and let everyone else have their freaking holiday! :)

I'm into the second chapter, and so far I'm really enjoying it. It's tick-off worthy, yes, but I love the tone of the book. It says "these people are morons and we all know it" ;)

How am I supposed to answer when all is relative and in fact both questions I could answer depend in which aspect you mean them, eh? Because as a whole nothing is true and nothing is false, it just is.

Oh please, don't start with that 'it's all relative' BS ;)

The point of the questions being questions (and not three-page legal documents) is for the person answering them to take them in whatever spirit they interpret them.

it wouldn't be me if I hadn't ;) But I must add that I consider the US as both Christian and no-Christian, it depends in the place you get 'into' and the people. But as in officially I wouldn't say it's a Christian country even though the actual president is Christian and does show that he is one.

I would do the US- school one but I have no knowledge about it so I would be making wild guesses in the 'just because'-reasoning.

I couldn't come up with a good answer either. America was founded by a group that was predominantly Christian, and there are many Biblical values in the way the government was established. I think America has gotten far away from her roots.

IMHO, the debate whether or not Christmas is a religious holiday is becoming an excuse for small groups to throw sleet on everyone else's holiday. I couldn't figure out an answer because I think it really depends on how people choose to celebrate it. For the folks in my church, it's a highly religious time, and we make it a special time of worship. I'm sure that's not keeping kids from sitting on Santa Claus's lap down at the mall.

It's certainly a difficult issue, and trust me, I was well aware of that when I made those questions yes or no (the sliding scale for the third question was just because I had never used a scale before in a lj poll ;)).

For instance, the question 'is the US a Christian nation'. Well, if you're going by the government, which is not allowed to establish or prohibit any religion, then we're not. If you're going by the people, and I think the last numbers I saw 84% of the population self-identifies as being Christian, then we are. It's all in how one chooses to address the issue, and that in itself is just as interesting as the actual answer.

I should probably qualify:

2. The US is not a Christian nation as I comprehend the term: a theocracy (God at the helm, not the Prez) - they endorse largely Christian values, but that doesn't make the US a Christian nation any more than living in a stable makes you a horse.

3. Christmas is a spiritual/faith-based holiday to me. Has it been secularised? Yes. But, personally, it's still a spiritual reminder.

See, this is why I love polls like this :D

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