Imagine if all the money we spend on Christmas gifts for all our greedy relatives and co-workers simply went to helping feed the poor, and getting medical attention for all the AIDS victims in Africa? What a different place this would be.
Imagine if we could have good have peace on earth and goodwill to all humankind every day. Not just on the Winter Solstice festival of *that* Roman Son God.
But I agree with Jesus here. Keep ‘Christ’ out of Yule.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the poor and the hungry and the sick would suddenly stop having children that they can’t care for if they were healthy and well fed. And rampant overpopulation is a major cause of the very misery we wish to relieve. In fact, the survival tactic seems to be to have as many children as you can when times are hard in the hope that at least a couple will live. Just look at the average age in any developing country – it’s about 16. And that’s not just the result of many of the adults dying. In Somalia we fed so many people that the farmers couldn’t sell their crops – hard to compete against free. So the farmers are out of business and the people are dependent.
As for the peace part, peacetime seems to result in a gradual loss of perspective that makes war possible again at some point. Our sports arenas don’t seem to be a sufficient release valve for our aggressive emotions, and our interests, or what we consider to be our interests, are always being threatened.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t feed the hungry and have peace, I’m just not optimistic about the outcome. But in the meantime, the hedonism of christmas lets me forget about the apparent inevitability of suffering for a while.
Christmas has only become soulless to those who choose not to celebrate it for it’s true meaning and have bought into today’s culture of more more more. If you choose to make it about gifts and hedonism that’s your choice- but many choose to use it as a time to come together, to celebrate life and a new year gone by and to celebrate the story of Christ at Christmas.
At the last census over 70% of the population registered themselves as Christians – there are a lot more people out there who celebrate for the right reasons than the wrong ones.
I usually like your humour but it seems a little too cynical for it’s own good lately. Just my opinion. No intent to offend.
Christmas always gives me warm fuzzy nostalgic for the time when I was a child, before I knew my family was as dysfunctional as families can get.
The only thing about Christmas is that it is being used and exploited.
Christmas has insane merchants, the Internet has spam. All good things are abused by some. I these 2 cases, they are the same group. 😉
Just because 70% of people in the US register themselves as Christians doesn’t mean those that consider themselves Christians celebrate it for the “right reason”. Also, what IS the right reason, considering it used to be a winter solstice festival and it got changed?
What is the biblical direction on the way to celebrate xmas?
It looks like the Magi fucked up and made it a commercial cash grab from the get go– couldn’t they have waited until Jesus’ bar mitzvah to roll out da bling?
Hmm, it looks like Jeremiah thinks that trees are out:
10:3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
10:4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. I forget the chapter and verse.
“Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the poor and the hungry and the sick would suddenly stop having children that they can’t care for if they were healthy and well fed. ”
Don’t you know that hunger goes away when you make love. There’s a Finnish saying about that: nälkä lähtee naimalla. So it’s inevitable that those that are hungry all the time will have more children.
Jonathan, “Rollerball” – the movie.
On overpopulation, the “developed” countries, the ones where engineering has made us rich and powerful and fat tend to have populations who have fewer children than do the people in less rich countries. In the “developed” countries the people with more money, better educations, better jobs and better lives tend to have fewer children than their less successful countrymen. The answer to overpopulation would seem to be making everyone rich, educated, powerful people of leisure who have all their bodily needs satisfied.
In short, don’t just feed them, empower them.
Then Christmas can be fun for everyone and Band Aid can be retired.
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March 4, 2006
lol lol this was funny 🙂
Imagine if all the money we spend on Christmas gifts for all our greedy relatives and co-workers simply went to helping feed the poor, and getting medical attention for all the AIDS victims in Africa? What a different place this would be.
Imagine if we could have good have peace on earth and goodwill to all humankind every day. Not just on the Winter Solstice festival of *that* Roman Son God.
But I agree with Jesus here. Keep ‘Christ’ out of Yule.
More Saturnalia for everyone!
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the poor and the hungry and the sick would suddenly stop having children that they can’t care for if they were healthy and well fed. And rampant overpopulation is a major cause of the very misery we wish to relieve. In fact, the survival tactic seems to be to have as many children as you can when times are hard in the hope that at least a couple will live. Just look at the average age in any developing country – it’s about 16. And that’s not just the result of many of the adults dying. In Somalia we fed so many people that the farmers couldn’t sell their crops – hard to compete against free. So the farmers are out of business and the people are dependent.
As for the peace part, peacetime seems to result in a gradual loss of perspective that makes war possible again at some point. Our sports arenas don’t seem to be a sufficient release valve for our aggressive emotions, and our interests, or what we consider to be our interests, are always being threatened.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t feed the hungry and have peace, I’m just not optimistic about the outcome. But in the meantime, the hedonism of christmas lets me forget about the apparent inevitability of suffering for a while.
Christmas has only become soulless to those who choose not to celebrate it for it’s true meaning and have bought into today’s culture of more more more. If you choose to make it about gifts and hedonism that’s your choice- but many choose to use it as a time to come together, to celebrate life and a new year gone by and to celebrate the story of Christ at Christmas.
At the last census over 70% of the population registered themselves as Christians – there are a lot more people out there who celebrate for the right reasons than the wrong ones.
I usually like your humour but it seems a little too cynical for it’s own good lately. Just my opinion. No intent to offend.
This site is fabulous! Love to you all, and the Prophets (aws).
Christmas always gives me warm fuzzy nostalgic for the time when I was a child, before I knew my family was as dysfunctional as families can get.
The only thing about Christmas is that it is being used and exploited.
Christmas has insane merchants, the Internet has spam. All good things are abused by some. I these 2 cases, they are the same group. 😉
Even the real Jesus would have agreed to this one! 🙂
Just because 70% of people in the US register themselves as Christians doesn’t mean those that consider themselves Christians celebrate it for the “right reason”. Also, what IS the right reason, considering it used to be a winter solstice festival and it got changed?
What is the biblical direction on the way to celebrate xmas?
It looks like the Magi fucked up and made it a commercial cash grab from the get go– couldn’t they have waited until Jesus’ bar mitzvah to roll out da bling?
Hmm, it looks like Jeremiah thinks that trees are out:
10:3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
10:4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. I forget the chapter and verse.
Jonathan said:
“Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the poor and the hungry and the sick would suddenly stop having children that they can’t care for if they were healthy and well fed. ”
Don’t you know that hunger goes away when you make love. There’s a Finnish saying about that: nälkä lähtee naimalla. So it’s inevitable that those that are hungry all the time will have more children.
NES
Jonathan, “Rollerball” – the movie.
On overpopulation, the “developed” countries, the ones where engineering has made us rich and powerful and fat tend to have populations who have fewer children than do the people in less rich countries. In the “developed” countries the people with more money, better educations, better jobs and better lives tend to have fewer children than their less successful countrymen. The answer to overpopulation would seem to be making everyone rich, educated, powerful people of leisure who have all their bodily needs satisfied.
In short, don’t just feed them, empower them.
Then Christmas can be fun for everyone and Band Aid can be retired.