Comment

Comment by David W on December 15, 2011 at 1:25pm

Nativity scene hijacked by atheists

Comment by Natalie A Sera on December 10, 2011 at 12:46pm

Of course, Earther. I was a teacher for 23 years, but not in the performing arts, so I was able to avoid that pressure. I never made a fuss about Christmas or Easter or any holidays, and I'm sure I wasn't popular with the administration for it, but so be it -- I survived.

Comment by Earther on December 10, 2011 at 7:50am

Natalie, the public pressures the teachers to have there children participate in themed music or art.  It makes planning a show very difficult for theists and atheists.  The public knows teachers must perform so they pressure them to perform their way.  Peer pressure is a powerful strategy.  Instead of blaming a teacher though it may be better to be supportive and lead an effort to take on the establishments.  Change laws that help shelter students and teachers from disrespect. 

Comment by Natalie A Sera on December 9, 2011 at 8:34pm

Thanks, Sk8ey! I think Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas, too. And you're right about doing it for money -- all throughout Christian history, once the Church became powerful and rich enough to commission religious art, it has been spending a lot of money on it. And as the Church became less influential, there was still the commercial market -- rich patrons, and eventually radio and TV and recordings and Muzak. I STILL hate the fact that children HAVE to sing Christmas music, even if "secular", in school "Winter" concerts every single year when there is such a wealth of OTHER music they could be exploring! I do believe in taking care of the poor and disabled, and peace and all that other good stuff, by why do we only concentrate on it during the Christmas season when we really need to be focusing on it all year, every year?

Comment by Earther on December 9, 2011 at 7:49pm

Gestalt psychology or gestaltism (German: Gestalt - "essence or shape of an entity's complete form") is a theory of mind and brain of the Berlin School; the operational principle of gestalt psychology is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies. Gestalt psychologists stipulate that perception is the product of complex interactions among various stimuli. Contrary to the behaviouralist approach to understanding the elements of cognitive processes, gestalt psychologists sought to understand their organization (Carlson and Heth, 2010). The gestalt effect is the form-generating capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves. In psychology, gestaltism is often opposed to structuralism. The phrase "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" is often used when explaining gestalt theory.^[1] Gestalt theory allows for the break up of elements from the whole situation into what it really is. ^[2]

Comment by James M. Martin on December 9, 2011 at 7:38pm

Bread Jesus is as common as Elvis sightings. I think it is symbolic of the way they place faith in God, they want so badly for it to be true, they erect bridges from rationality to fantasy.  Their employment of presentism is alarming: pretending that 6,000 year old laws should apply to 21st century behavior now that science has explained it all for us, e.g. the desert warlord rebbi thought J*H*V*H* put the worms in the pork, so pork must be a no no.  It is the same with their brainless "historians," who use "their Creator" in the Declaration of Independence to signify the Judeo-Christian God rather than the once and never again god of the Deist authors.

Comment by Regina Goodwin on December 9, 2011 at 7:06pm

Troy Gorsline - about 10 years ago, xtians was complaining about the backlash against them.  I told several xtians "if you cannot take what you dish out, don't give it."  Xtians do not know the meaning of the word RESPECT.

Comment by Regina Goodwin on December 9, 2011 at 7:02pm

Mriana, xtians worship a piece of toast if it had a certain pattern in it.  Remember several years ago there was a window in a office building in Florida and Catholics claimed that it was in the shape of the virgin mary and they made a pilgrimage to the building and started worshiping the image.

Comment by Regina Goodwin on December 9, 2011 at 6:58pm

@Peggy Henderson - someone from the Nation of Islam told me about the text on xmas trees in Jeremiah.  I never heard it in church.  I have not put up a tree since I was 9 y.o.  A friend of my late mother tried her best to get me to put up a tree and I finally told her to shove it and damn a xmas tree.

She finally backed off. 

Comment by James M. Martin on December 9, 2011 at 6:51pm

I am told that Hector Berlioz was an atheist, although he grew in provincial surroundings where most were "village Catholic."  His father wanted him to go into the family business of doctoring, but he struggled on his on (they cut him off) and he had to compose a great choral work to win the Prix de Rome, where his friend Mendelsohn was a fellow.  I had my doubt about Berlioz being anything but religious until I realized that the "Fantastic Symphony" was inspired more by the Lyonnaise Satan who would be depicted by Huysmans in La-Bas.  And then I heard Berlioz's Requiem and I knew for sure: the man was a freethinking rationalist.  Doubt can be just as spine-tingling as belief is made out to be.

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