Knowledge Creates Power: So Where Is the War on Christmas Coming From?

Video: "Christmas with a Capital C" with full lyrics - h/t to Jean Stoner

The War on Christmas verses the Spirit of Christmas Series at AskMarion – part 5

So Where Is the War on Christmas Coming From?

By Marion Algier – AskMarion

Ask any atheist or even secularist why they are opposing a Nativity Scene or in some cases even a Christmas tree, which is actually a secular symbol of the season, being put up in the town square or why they are so upset about the posting of the Ten Commandments. They will almost always sight the separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution.

Amazing, because there is no mention of the separation of church and state in the Constitution, yet we have allowed them to create an entire movement based on a lie or misinformation. And actually Thomas Jefferson along with the rest of the Founding Fathers felt that God and Judeo-Christian values were essential for our Republic to survive.

The majority of people in this Country are or have Christian backgrounds and Thomas Jefferson, knowing that the only way a country can survive is to base its values and laws on solid principals, consciously chose Christian-Judeo values to set our country’s compass by! And it is seen, again and again in the Founding Fathers’ writings, that they stressed the need of biblical principles and Christian values as the framework for good government. Yet, they believed that each individual should be free to contribute according to his conscience to a pastor and church of his own choice, or no church at all if they so choose, and that one’s religious beliefs should not in any way determine his suitability for civil government. Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers also believed that their should be separation between church and state, meaning. We welcome everyone… but we expect them to assimilate and become part of the American melting pot… that is how America has survived and thrived. Just as, if we as individual Americans moved to another country, it would be our place to adjust and assimilate to their customs and traditions. The Founding Fathers realized that this amazing Country and their fight for freedom was God inspired and that God needed to be at the center of this nation.

In recent years, those who would like to interpret the First Amendment in a manner our forefathers never intended, have made use of the term “Separation of Church and State” to mean that there could be no possible impact or influence of Christianity upon civil government – or even upon education. The true meaning of the Establishment Clause can be stated in these terms – “Separation of Church from interference by the State”, exactly the opposite of what the progressives and critics now try to portray and push on the rest of us.

In fact, the only time the expression “Separation of Church and State” was used by a founding father, is in an off-the-record, non-political letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association. He wrote this letter on July l, 1802 replying to their public address which applauded his stance for establishing Religious Freedom. Jefferson prefaces his statement with an assurance to the Danbury Baptists that he concurs with their belief of man being accountable to God alone for his mode of worship, without the government’s coercion or interference:

…Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “Make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State…

We have been had again by the liberal courts and suits by radical left groups like the ACLU and our own lack of knowledge of our history and the Constitution and unwillingness to stand-up and fight. Americans need to get back to studying and insisting that their children learn real history and about their religion. A little reading or discussion of the Constitution, the Bible, current events or what is going on at school would go a long way instead of everyone eating alone while playing another video game or eating together on TV trays staring at the television.

God is common to all believers and 98% of the population. As for the atheists, we do not make you believe in any specific religion, tithe nor worship, and “we” should not have to remove God, reference to him or general prayer for the 2 - 3% who are true atheists.

85% of Americans self-identify as Christians. (2002)

7% of US adults classify as evangelicals (2004)

38% of US adults classify as born again, but not evangelical. (2004)

37% are self-described Christians but are neither evangelical nor born again

Atheists and agnostics combined comprise 14.2% of adults nationwide. (2004) (approx. 12% agnostics and 2.2% atheists) – however that number temporarily dropped after 9/11/2001

11% of the US population identify with a faith other than Christianity (2004)

2.1% of Americans are Jews (2005)

0.05% of Americans are Muslims (2007) – but it is the fastest growing religion in America and official #’s are expected to jump after the census.

And let us remember… in the end there are no atheists in fox holes or major crisis, as we saw after 9/11.

However, “An October 2012 Pew poll found that, ‘In the last five years alone, the [religiously] unaffiliated have increased from just over 15 percent in 2007 to just under 20 percent of all U.S. adults in 2012. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics,’” … many students and young people. Why this change, you might wonder? As Dennis Praeger points out, for at least the last hundred years, the world’s most dynamic religion has been neither Christianity nor Islam. It has been leftism.

Did You Know… the Founding Fathers and God

Thomas Jefferson, with input of the other Founding Fathers, based our entire system on Judeo-Christian Values because they felt it was the best and most honest system there was.

Nowhere in the Constitution Does It Talk About Separation of Church and State and the concept was pick up from a letter between Jefferson and a cousin, but the context was changed. The concept was to protect the church from the government, not the government from the church.

The Founding Fathers believed in Freedom of Religion and welcomed all faiths… all variations of Christianity, Judaism, Muslims, etc. or the right not to worship at all, but they realized that God had to be at the center of our lives and society for freedom and the Republic to survive. And although they welcomed everyone to worship as they pleased, this Country was founded as a Christian Nation and the notion that they people we welcomed to come for freedom then telling us that we could no longer worship our religion or our way… was not and would not have been a consideration. 78 % of all Americans say they are Christians, even with the decay of families going to church and 84% of all Americans say they believe in God.

Thomas Jefferson wrote a book called The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted Textually from the Gospels: The Jefferson Bible. It was the words of Jesus in four different languages. It was given to each freshman Congressman when they came to the Hill from 1904 until the Progressive era… sometime in the 1920’s, because it was considered valuable information for each of them to have.

9 of the original 13 colonies had a state religions which are and were perfectly legal, but the Federal Government was restricted from starting an official National Religion to prevent religious control by the government like in England. (This concept of states’ rights correlates directly with the argument that the left is making about National Healthcare being legal, using Massachusetts as an example of a state that has mandated healthcare as justification for required National Healthcare… much is left to the states and the people, that is not granted to the Federal Government!)

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin have been portrayed as the least religious Founding Fathers and as Deist or Atheists rather than Christians and are then help up in re-written history and Progressive arguments as examples of Renaissance Men. Both are interesting non-conventional figures in many ways, the not being Christians with strong beliefs in God is complete fabrication.

You used to be able to find the 10 Commandments in every Federal building and every State House.

Thomas Jefferson started a church in Congress, where Christian services were held for 2,000 people and the U.S. Marine Corps Band played, every Sunday. It featured the first female pastor and a black choir director.

Thomas Jefferson signed every letter: In the Year of Our Lord, Christ…

Jefferson wrote some 19,000 letters and only in 6 did he raise any question about religion in any way… yet those 6 are continuously quoted.

Founding Father Benjamin Wilson, who was one of the few men who helped draft both the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution and became one of the first Supreme Court Judges said, “You can’t have good civil law if you cut out divine law!”

Samuel Adams, called Father of the Revolution, printed the first U.S. editions of the Holy Bible in conjunction with the Continental Congress to be used in school.

Two textbooks: Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Wives of the Signers: The Women Behind the Declaration of Independence used to be standard and required textbooks for all. (They have just been reprinted by WallBuilders). In the latest textbook curriculum hearings in Texas, Thomas Jefferson and his accomplishments are virtually left out of the newest history books, and study of the Founding Fathers in general or the Constitution is minimal. (Former President Ronald Reagan has met the same fate.) Texas and California textbooks have been used by the majority of the Country for years now, because they order so many and set the standard.

Founding Father Benjamin Rush, the Father of American Medicine and the Father of American Psychiatry, had a dream about a book of letters written between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, after Adams and Jefferson had a falling out. He also dreamed that Jefferson and Adams would die on the same day, on July 4^th… and so they did 17-years later. He wrote Adams who felt Rush’s dream was providential and was willing to again communicate with Jefferson. Due to this dream the two old founders began their communication again, and years later their letters were compiled into a book and those plus so many other letters give us the insight that we have into that time. (FF Richard Henry Lee also left much invaluable documentation from that time.)

Approximately two years ago, HBO and Tom Hanks put out a special on John Adams. It was spectacular in many ways, but it purposely left out the importance of Faith in Adam’s life and falsely made Benjamin Franklin look like a lecherous, self-indulgent and faithless fool.

Benjamin Rush said, “If we ever take the Bible out of school, we will spend our time and money fighting crime.” (The same can be said for fighting uncontrolled teen pregnancy and abortions!)

In 1926 a group of Progressive Cornell Professors wrote a book called the Godless Nation, with no footnotes for their sources. They represented George Washington as being unreligious. That book and the information was contested a year later and proven untrue, but the Progressives… who have been re-writing textbooks and U.S. history are still quoting the Cornell book. George Washington had no natural children but adopted his step-daughter, who lived in her parents’ home for years. She was pressed at one point on her father’s Christianity. Although a much longer answer, essentially she said “to question the depth of his Christianity and faith in God is like questioning his Patriotism”… enough said!

In the 1940’s the Federal Government put out a poster with the Bible on it… with the claim that by fighting the Nazi’s and Communist’s they were saving the world for Christianity.

In the 1960’s the Federal Government put out various posters for war bonds including one set with Joan of Arc and another with the Nativity Scene on them and the Department of Agriculture put out a series of Fire and Flame posters and flyers with Smokey the Bear and direct quotes from the Bible.

However, in the 1960’s the Progressives infiltrated churches and began the teachings of social justice, ecumenicalism and new evangelism instead of Biblical teaching, just like they infiltrated schools and the educational system and began re-writing the history our children were (are) learning and taking God out of school. They also changed the policy of teaching Constitutional Law in Law School to studying Case Law… which allows corruption and social interpretation rather than the true law as stated in the U.S. Constitution.

Checkout WallBuilders.com about the history of the Founding Fathers on God, Jesus and Christianity – Their Founder wrote Original Intent and is travelling with Glenn Beck on his educational tour which focuses on us starting over and rebuilding this Country using the Founders principles of Faith, Hope, Charity, Duty and Truth. And you cannot rebuild a house on a rotted foundation. So in order to rebuild our country we need to understand our history, including the Founder’s Faith in God, to even start

One Major Reason Atheists Get Their Panties in a Wad Over Christmas

Clash Daily - By Doug Giles:

Why do some atheists embarrass themselves year after year trying to eradicate Christmas from American culture? Why do they make themselves societal hemorrhoids during this hallowed season? Is it because they are crusaders for equality, secularism’s saviors and humanism’s heroes? I’m sure that’s what they tell themselves when they’re pouting on their couches all alone on Christmas Eve after every single one of their friends has dumped them for being a rabid jackass.

I believe, however, and I could be wrong, that the reason some rage against the machine is that they hate God and love their sin, and bringing up Jesus in December is not the way they wanted to finish off the year. Indeed, Christ really rains on their parade—and they love their parade.

Christmas, if you really get down to the brass tacks of it, boys and girls, isn’t about reindeer, elves and iPhones, but about mankind’s sin problem and what God did to remedy it by sending His Son.

I know the chief facet most people focus on regarding Christ’s birth has been the peace on earth and good will towards men stuff, but if you dig around in the gospels a tad you’ll quickly see that the “peace on earth” thing is an ancillary perk to the main reason the second person of the godhead donned an earth suit and decided to hang out with us dunderheads. The core cause that necessitated Jesus’ incarnation was our jacked up carnality. Yep, Beavis, it was our sin. There, I said it. Sin. Yours, mine and ours.

Transgression was the reason for the season.

This is why El Diablo didn’t pass out cigars at Jesus’ birth. Happy he was not that the Son was not only going to address our sins but He was going to eternally and temporally salvage those who believe from sin’s fetid effects. This is why slewfoot energized Herod to put a hit out on the Nazarene when He was a wee little baby and why Satan’s demon inspired ilk is anti-Christmas to this today. Jesus’ birth equated to Satan’s demise.

This is not good news to some, though. Indeed, many atheists are up front about it and don’t want to leave their wantonness. As Jesus himself said, they prefer darkness to light and don’t like to be reminded of their personal accountability for their sin—and thus their need for salvation—and therefore we should not expect them to be stoked about Jesus’ birthday party.

This is easy math, folks: A person who has no remorse and thus no desire to repent from their sins is probably not going to be a big advocate for the celebration of the person who reminds them they’re wrong and calls them to repent and believe.

Call me goofy, but I’m forever grateful for Jesus’ birth, His attesting miracles, His sacrificial death, burial and resurrection. While most atheists this Christmas will be drinking to forget, I will, as Martin Luther said, drink to remember the One who was and is and is to come.

Here is an interesting although somewhat confusing take on the war on Christmas from Libertarian Atheist Penn Jillette: See Video and comment below

I found Mr. Jilette's (a comedian and an admitted atheist) comments, linked here, considerate, open minded and confusing all at the same time. Seems to me his basic theme is that atheists sense they are "left out" when the focus of the upcoming holiday is on the word Christmas and therein lies what I consider confusing. How can that be when the reason for the season/holiday, or whatever name is used to avoid offending anyone, is not so everyone can get into a shopping frenzy hunting for super shopping deals from the day after Thanksgiving until late in the day on Dec. 24th -- annually. Come to think of it, Thanksgiving Day is turning into a trigger for a sales event rather than a time of giving thanks for a lot of folks. I guess one can be thankful for their shelter while camped out at Best Buy waiting for Black Friday. Now then, if all the red ribbons, beautifully wrapped "gifts", decorated pine trees, carolers singing about peace on earth and good will to men, festive gatherings of family and friends, people dressed as Santa and/or elves preparing gifts never appeared in TV commercials, mail or store fronts would this time of year still be called Christmas by our general population? Not likely!! From a commercial point of view, for those business that cannot openly acknowledge the reason for the season, it's time to drop all the phony appearances and call this a shopping holiday instead since the overall objective is to beat last year's total dollars spent – not to celebrate Christ's birth!!
Don't know about you but I really am disgusted with the socialist direction our country is heading in and to retaliate, I'd like to see the Christian community refuse to purchase from any business that does not openly recognize the true reason for the season, for openers. Equally important to not buying is to contact those businesses and demand they to stop using the symbols of Christmas if they refuse to use the word Christmas for fear of offending someone because I and thousands like me are offended. Things have gotten to the point where those sitting at the top of the pyramid have evolved into puppeteers and we, the dumb masses, are their puppets. Even so we still have options to exercise. I've heard a number to times about the three boxes we voters have; one is the soap box, another is the ballot box and the third is the bullet box. We recently used the first two (only to get more of the same) and hope the third is never necessary but it seems the puppeteers are backing the dumb masses into the proverbial corner – not a good sign. However there is another option to consider, manipulating profit margins of any public or privately held corporation/business by collectively choosing who to deprive of our money. On a more positive note though, think of the successful Chick-fil-A event this past summer.
Take a moment to imagine how it would alter a business's attitude toward respecting the significance of Christmas in their advertisements or at the cash register when their profit margins take a dip. To take this a step further, the same principle applies to curtailing the invasive 4th Amendment abuse by 'our' TSA. For example, if, across our nation, those flying for pleasure during the Christmas holiday used another form of transportation instead to protest TSA abuse, the loss of business revenue would be significant. Not only would airlines loose a bunch of money but so would cabbies, jet fuel suppliers, air terminals and vendors, parking lots, destination facilities, etc. and would get someone's attention. Or how about this, if a business listed on the stock market does not meet their quarterly projections, their investors will show their displeasure by selling shares causing the stock value (operating capital) to take a dive and may even cause the business to close. In other words, assuming Mr. Jilette is correct, if 60 to 70 percent of our population is Christian then we actually have the power to control our country's purse strings, be that government or private, by carefully choosing where and when to spend our money collectively.
My attempt to avoid the bullet box – thank you for your patience!
Merry Christmas.....Terry Crace

And for anyone who doesn’t think that there is a War on Christmas, check out:

Can you guess this week's 'famous atheist'?

Ray Comfort debuts fun new way of challenging culture to reconsider Christ

A chorus of atheist voices in this country have subtly and effectively driven our children far from the God of their fathers.

Who are these movers and shakers? These voices in movies, music and philosophy who use their positions of cultural influence to drown out the call of Christ?

Starting today, exclusively on WND’s Diversions page, international evangelist Ray Comfort is debuting a fresh and fun new column that will unmask these influential atheists and challenge the culture to rethink the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In each weekly column, you can look forward to guessing who the featured “Famous Atheist” is and enjoy an exclusive drawing of the celebrity from caricature artist Esly Stampek. Then Comfort, author of “God Doesn't Believe in Atheists”, will explain how he would challenge the famous atheist’s views and thinking.

Comfort told WND it’s important for Christians to realize that atheism is every bit as “evangelistic” a faith as their own and that they need to be ready to confront its growth in society.

“An October 2012 Pew poll found that, ‘In the last five years alone, the [religiously] unaffiliated have increased from just over 15 percent to just under 20 percent of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics,’” Comfort explained. “While Christians have been busy with other things, redcoats like Richard Dawkins (and others) have been infiltrating our universities and writing books that are creating God-haters of millions of our young people.

Read Ray Comfort’s take on famous atheists, and animals, and read a review his newest, “The Beatles, God & the Bible.”

“These men have no conscience when it comes to spreading misinformation about God, the Bible, Christianity, about what they masquerade as science and especially about those they maintain are ‘famous atheists,’” he continued. “They want to bolster their numbers, and they do it with the zeal of religious fanatics. They have one agenda in mind – to get God (especially Christianity) out of the American culture, because with biblical Christianity comes the reality of moral accountability, and that’s not a pleasant thought for ‘free-thinkers.’”

Ray Comfort

Comfort is no stranger to confronting atheism. He was a platform speaker at the 2001 National Convention of American Atheists, Inc., has spoken on the subject of atheism and evolution on ABC’s Nightline, on the BBC, at Yale University and is the best-selling author of more than 70 books, including “You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, But You Can't Make Him Think: Answers to Questions from Angry Skeptics” and “Nothing Created Everything: The Scientific Impossibility of Atheistic Evolution”.

Comfort told WND, however, that the “Famous Atheist” column is about more than simply exposing atheists, but also offering a word of hope to those who have been ensnared by atheist thinking.

“WND has a big and broad platform that extends beyond the church walls, and that excites me, because I have something very important to say,” Comfort told WND. “Recently there was a terrible pileup of vehicles in a Texas fog, resulting in tragic deaths and serious injury. Atheism is a thick fog, and those who find themselves in it have no sense of direction. They have no idea of their origin or their destiny, or even the reason for their own existence. All I want to say to atheists (and those who are tempted to go down that dead-end street) is, ‘Slow down. There’s great danger ahead. By the grace of God I have some light that will guide you out of the fog.’”

Comfort is the founder/president/CEO of Living Waters Publications. From humble beginnings, the ministry has become internationally recognized, reaching the lost and equipping Christians with every necessary resource to fulfill the great commission. In addition to his main ministry, Ray is co-host (with Kirk Cameron) of the award-winning television program “The Way of the Master,” which airs in 70 countries around the world. He also co-hosts a daily radio program by the same name, airing on the Sirius Satellite Radio Network and hundreds of terrestrial stations. He and his wife, Sue, live in Southern California, where they have three grown children.

Look for Comfort’s “Famous Atheists” column appearing this week and every week on WND’s Diversions page!

School Replaces Baby Jesus With Frosty The Snowman After Pressure From Obama Admin

Merry Christmas!!

A great read: Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity

Wonder why there is a war on Christmas, on Christianity, on religion in general, on Israel? The ultimate goal of the global elite is a new economic world order, globalism, which would also include a one world religion.

Best Holiday Movie Classics – A Merry Christmas From Hollywood

God Rest Ye Merry Merchants – Christmas: An American Holiday and Tradition to Love and Preserve

Advent – The Season of Anticipation and Hope

The War on Christmas verses the Spirit of Christmas Series at AskMarion - with comments from Ben Stein

Red Kettles & Bell Ringers

Atheists intimidate Santa Monica into eliminating Nativity… And So the War on Christmas and Freedom of Religion Continues - Churches Thwart Nativity Ban By Putting Up Living Displays In Santa Monica

Black Friday Holiday Shopping Kick-off Overshadows True Meaning of Christmas

What Movies in History Best Captures the Spirit of Thanksgiving?

“Holidays Are Great and Fun To Share With Our Pets, As Long As We Avoid the No-No Foods”