Falwell fighting for holy holiday He threatens to sue, boycott groups that

[RamboLiberal]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/20/MERRY.TMP

Evangelical Christian pastor Jerry Falwell has a message for Americans when it comes to celebrating Christmas this year: You're either with us, or you're against us.

Falwell has put the power of his 24,000-member congregation behind the "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign," an effort led by the conservative legal organization Liberty Counsel. The group promises to file suit against anyone who spreads what it sees as misinformation about how Christmas can be celebrated in schools and public spaces.

The 8,000 members of the Christian Educators Association International will be the campaign's "eyes and ears" in the nation's public schools. They'll be reporting to 750 Liberty Counsel lawyers who are ready to pounce if, for example, a teacher is muzzled from leading the third-graders in "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."

An additional 800 attorneys from another conservative legal group, the Alliance Defense Fund, are standing by as part of a similar effort, the Christmas Project. Its slogan: "Merry Christmas. It's OK to say it."

[Golden Raisin]

1. Our own Taliban

Our own Taliban...and truly in the spirit of the historical Jesus and what Christmas is supposed to be about. Jerry is just so filled with love and tolerance.

[radfringe]

15. you got it

their slogan is:

BELIEVE OUR WAY OR DIE!

welcome to the inquisition....

[ticapnews]

20. You're close...

"If you believe you are right, you have a moral obligation to impose your will upon others." -- Cardinal Tomas De Torquemada, Head Inquisitor.

[sarcasmo]

46. Christian Taliban just as EVIL as the Islamic version.

[Lochloosa]

94. Worse...the Islamic use God....Christian Taliban uses the LAW!

[leftstreet]

2. Jerry's loved ones should find him a care center. Soon.

[upi402]

3. Tribalism from the Xtian Taliban -not surprised really

They'll make frivolous lawsuits with torte lawyers in front of activist christian judges.

Fony phuquers.

[ashling]

59. Does that mean that

they will throw pies (or other rich pastries, cakes, or tortes) at Christian judges?

They'll make frivolous lawsuits with torte lawyers in front of activist christian judges.

I realize that is was a typo, but I just couldn't resist . . . after all, I am the grammar police (aka word cops :)

[melody]

4. We should encourage the pagans to go sky clad on Solstice at Jerry's House

Or the Voodoo practitioners to perform ceremonies in the open air. Or, gosh, just anything. Right in front of Jerry's house. If they insist on stuffing their little Jesus baby reindeer games down our throats, I invite everyone to do the same to them.

[Piscis Austrinus]

60. Skyclad? In Appalachia? in December?

Ye gods. Brrrrrrrr.

PsA

[melody]

77. No, it's okay, you'll have set a big bonfire, so it'll be nice and toasty

It's Jerry Fatwa's house, after all. He won't mind. He wants to force everybody else to hear about his stinking, minority religion, so why not set a big, old bonfire out of all the books in -- oh, wait a minute, Fatwa's house, never mind. Scratch that.

[NJCher]

5. Typical republican money-making stunt

This is just another way for Jerry and the lawyers to make money off the taxpayers. It's also a way for them to harass companies like Target and try to throw the Christmas business to Wal-Mart.

Jerry will make money like this:

--fundraising letters to all the suckers on his lists asking for money to wage the battle

--kickbacks from lawyers and probably a percentage of any settlements they get from any municipalities or other government organizations

--"donations" to Fallwell's organization in lieu of backing off companies like Target.

This guy is such a creep.




Cher

[fearnobush]

6. Jerry's Fatwh msg... Merry Christman or die non believer bitches.

Yes Mr. Talibush - GO FUCK YOUR SELF. Satan has a warm bed waiting for your ass you sick bastard!

[lenegal]

93. Faldwell battier than a loon

One would only hope that Faldwell gets his own Fatwah.

Perhaps a gay man accosting him.

[Arianrhod]

7. "Misinformation about Christmas"?

For at least a thousand years before Jesus, Pagans celebrated the return of the sun on the shortest day of the year. Christians never celebrated that Pagan holiday until Constantine ordered the amalgamation of all festivals under the banner of the Church, after 312 CE. That's over 250 years of Christians not saying "Merry Christmas".

[Dogmudgeon]

9. Those pagans

A good portion of the old pagans were violent, superstitious, and just plan bad-ass. Modern Wicca, Asatru, and the neo-Pagan movement are revivals that have lost the bad parts. The modern neo-Pagan need not assume I'm making an attack, nor exonorating idiots like Robertson et al.; Isaac Bonewits and other scholarly neo-Pagans have written at length about historical Paganism, its revival, and Christianity's own devolution.

Here's the "irony" -- modern Fundamentalist Conservative Christians act a whole lot like those paleo-pagans. They might as well be supplicating Thor or Loki to spare them from eternal damnation and to kill their enemies, instead. These days, the "pagans" want to kick our asses with the Prince of Peace.

Violent, superstitious, and just plan bad-ass.

It took nearly 2000 years for those pagan beliefs to be revived and separated from their original adherents' madness. I hope it won't take Christianity another 2000 years before "Neo-Christians" and "Salvvans" can do the same for Christianity.

So Merry Christmas. And Happy Holidays. And Good Yule. And someone, please, share the message of Jesus of Nazareth with Pat Robertson. It's good news that Pat needs to hear. If Loki or Thor are in town, I'm sure they'll be happy to lend a hand.

--p!

[spancks]

13. Thanks...

...for turning me on to Isaac Bonewits. I looked at his site, and it is exactly the kind of resource I've been looking for.

(I love all the different kinds of info I'm exposed to since joining DU.)

:)

[joefree1]

56. Isaac's site: www.neopagan.net

Just in case any other "Pagans" need it. Also check out Witchvox.com, another great site with info for Pagans.

http://www.witchvox.com

Isaac's site http://www.neopagan.net/

And Merry Yule everyone.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PaganWarrior/

[knight_of_the_star]

85. Just to point something out

"Here's the "irony" -- modern Fundamentalist Conservative Christians act a whole lot like those paleo-pagans."

This was more due to cultural factors than to the actual religions themselves. Keep in mind that it wasn't until the rise of Christianity that you had cultures influenced by religion, not the other way around. That and if you are going to raise the whole thing about mass Druid human sacrifices, the sources on that were all Romans, who hated the Celts with a passion and, like most people of the time, had no problem creating total bullshit about their enemies to fire up the masses. To also point out the stuff on the Vikings were not much worse than the rest of Europe at the time, not to mention some of the most infamous "atrocities" were not actually recorded until a couple centuries post-facto. When you REALLY look at it, conservative Christianity is simply a continuation of Roman culture, with all the bells and whistles implied.

"A good portion of the old pagans were violent, superstitious, and just plan bad-ass."

When you look at the various pagan cultures in Europe prior to Christianity you have some that defy your first statement, namely Greece and Rome, both of whom are considered by the vast majority of historians to be the foundations of the West and both of whom had created their greatest achievments as overwhelmingly pagan cultures. Also if a good portion would imply something similar to a majority, Greece and Rome had much larger numbers of that portion than the Northern European cultures. And to point out, the Germanic cultures were the ones who came up with something truly amazing: trial by jury of your peers (ie the thing and althing) and adversarial justice, not to mention that the English word for law is of Norse origin. Celtic Europe was also where the first iron and steel was forged in Europe, not to mention amazing works of beauty as well as rulers who were actually responsive to their people along with probably the first organized college, the well-documented and semi-famous Druidic and Bardic colleges of Britain.

[ikojo]

24. Also Christmas was not a holiday during the early

years of the colonies. It was seen as a day of debauchery and its observance was not encouraged by the powers that be. Much of what is accepted as the American Christmas was introduced by German immigrants in the 1800s...

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/christmas1.html

"In the American colonies, Puritans, Baptists, Quakers, and Presbyterians opposed the festivities, while Catholics, Anglicans (Episcopalians), Dutch Reformed, and Lutherans approved.

Christmas celebrations became more common in America during the mid-1800s. The introduction of Christmas services in Sunday schools reduced religious opposition, while the Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol popularized the holiday as a family event."

[Ian David]

31. An Outlaw Christmas

An Outlaw Christmas

In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday.

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America's new constitution. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

More:
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/real3.html


Only Falwell and his band of idiots think that George Washington sang Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer around a Christmas whith his family drinking eggnog.

[LiberalFighter]

48. My source does not show Congress in session 25 Dec 1789

First Session: March 4, 1789 to September 29, 1789 (210 days, held in New York)
Second Session: January 4, 1790 to August 12, 1790 (221 days, held in New York)
Third Session: December 6, 1790 to March 3, 1791 (88 days, held in Philadelphia)

Congress was not in session 25 Dec 1791 either. It fell on the weekend and Congress held session about 6 Saturdays during that period for which Christmas Day was not one of those.

On a side note doing a search of the Senate and House Journals I found Christian mostly as a result of an individual having it as their first name. Religion was mentioned when enacting the Bill of Rights. Christmas was not mentioned when the House or Senate adjourned during that time period. Christmas appears to be mentioned in letters by various delegates but not in sessions of Congress.

I would like to know of any possible resources about customs from pre-Revolutionary times to early 1800's.

[pschoeb]

65. I'm not sure where the History Channel got its info

You are right that in 1790 and 1791 Christmas fell on the weekend and Congress did not meet. The first Christmas that fell on a weekday was 1792, Congress was in session on the Monday December 24th, and on Wednesday December 26th, but was not in session on the 25th. This would seem to show that they took off the 25th, but didn't seem to make a big deal about it.

The only thing I could think is that maybe the first Confedertion Congress(under the newly accepted articles of Confederation) of 1781 met on the 25th of December, but I can't find any complete annals of their meetings online unlike the later Congress under the Constitution. In 1781 it's quite possible they needed to meet often, as they were dealing with Britains defeat at Yorktown at the end of October.

[pschoeb]

67. I Found the Journal of the Contintal Congress 1774-1789 online

So there was no meeting of Congress on December 25th 1781 even though it was a weekday and Congress met on the 24th. This is true for 1776, Congress met on Tuesday the 24th of December, and Thursday the 26th, but did not meet for the 25th, despite the dire straights Washington's Army was in at the time. It seems to me the pattern is clear, that Congress from it's inception, always took off the 25th if it was in session during Decemeber.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwjclink.html

[LiberalFighter]

69. From what I can tell the Continental Congress...

met year round 6 days a week. Unlike the Post Office that conducted business 7 days a week.

[struggle4progress]

68. No wonder the English encouraged the Puritans to emigrate. eom

[Okiesoldier]

29. Holiday condemned in the manuscripts

Yep christmas was a celebration of the rebirth of Nimrod. Check Jeremiah 10 and see that the christmas tree is an abomination to the Father. There is nothing new under the sun.
The christians have changed the times and laws of the Father(Yahweh) and are warned numerous times what will be their punishment.
Sorry to burst ya bubble folks, but you have been deceived.
Rev 12:9

[Ian David]

30. Jesus' Birthday = 15th of Tishri. This year, that was October 18th. n/t

[ixion]

36. yep, agreed.

Xmas -- Winter Solstice

Easter -- Spring Equinox

Also, the iconography of Pan being replaced with the devil. :eyes:

In fact, they usurped Jesus as well, IMO. Jesus, the prophet, would never approve of the institution the xian sects have morphed into.

Just my opinion, of course. ;-)

[joefree1]

57. iconography

And the iconography of the Christian Right has become fat bloated greedy old men threatening the general public with with biblical disasters that never happen.

[ixion]

61. I think that's been true for over a millennia

The Xian Church has never represented honestly what Jesus (and so many other prophets throughout history) have tried -- in vain -- to teach.

Try though they may, no prophet has ever been able to convey basic enlightenment to violent, short-sighted, war-like species known as Homo sapiens sapiens.

[Piscis Austrinus]

63. Christmas was originally on the winter solstice, folks

I used to teach undergraduate astronomy as a lab assistant some years ago...

The earth's geographic North Pole points to a particular point in the sky, the celestial north pole. The star Polaris (the North Star) currently happens to be almost exactly in that position in the sky in our era, so everyone knows about it.

However, the pole precesses as the earth circles the sun over a period of about 23,500 years. Therefore, as the earth's pole precesses, it draws a small circle in the sky. In ten thousand years, Polaris will no longer be the pole star; it will lie in a position between the stars Vega and Deneb.

Why is this important? Because, relative to the calendar, the times of seasonal change are moving backward. Five hundred years ago, when the current calendar was adopted in the Western world, the pole was approximately 2% along its circular path away from its current position. The seasons therefore started approximately five days later than they do now. The winter solstice occurred five days later than it does now (around December 20th-21st). Christmas was set by our current calendar on the Winter Solstice under our current configuration (and prior calendars set the end of the year to coincide with it, which is why the New Year in our culture occurs when it does).

This may not necessarily connect these holidays with pagan holidays or observances directly. However, it makes a common connection with the high days of most world religions - the astronomical calendar. This makes perfect sense since the skies are the most reliable calendar mankind has had in its history.

In short, claiming the Yuletide holiday exclusively for Christianity is effectively a slap in the face of every other religion on earth, with a very few exceptions, and most of those don't have date-specific high days. I hope the defense lawyers for future tort defendants have enough on the ball to bring this up in court.

BTW, I happen to be a Christian myself, and I frankly think we would all be better off without the garbage that has so surrounded Christmas as to obscure it. I often cannot see the gift from God lying in his manger because of all the hogs that are crowding it.

PsA


on edit - spelling error

[Thom Little]

8. Coercion, the True Spirit of Christmas

:eyes:

[fasttense]

10. And we'll stone to death anyone who is against us.

And we'll pray in public for everyone to see how pious we are.

"Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:5-6).

[aquart]

11. Aww, has his fundraising been dropping off?

Can't compete with Katrina?

[ragin_acadian]

16. Don't worry. He can go to his friend Rev. Moon and stuff his

pockets any time.

[sofa king]

12. Aw, that's so cute.

Is this what Jesus would do? Maybe, if Jesus was an asshole.

[xchrom]

14. foulwell speaks

thousands tremble in brainwashed ecstasy.

[Miss Chybil]

17. Friend or Foe Christmas? How damn Christian is that?

God, help us.

[Bloodblister Bob]

39. It's very Christian; that's why I respect all of them less and less. n/t

[HeeBGBz]

51. Doesn't that fill you with holiday warmth

Makes me all snuggly inside...

[Miss Chybil]

54. I am so sick of these charlatans playing on good, but perhaps not

very thoughtful, people's fears. "Send me some money, so I can make sure George and Bob don't get married and walk their dog around your neighborhood!" "Send me some money, so I can pretend to fight against the evils of abortion! Although, I will never fight too hard, if I did and actually won, you'd stop sending me money." "Send me some money so I can make sure the Evil Liberal Grinch doesn't steal your Christmas!"

Stupid bastard.

"Merry Christmas, Jerry Falwell, you selfish, self-centered, egotistical greedy bastard! Merry Christmas!" I cry.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Jerry laughs, all the way to the bank.

[rpannier]

18. I have lots of friends and some family that have taught or or still

teaching in public schools and most of them say "Merry Christmas before the kids leave for the holidays and nobody has ever said anything to them about it." His slogan is pretty misguided.

[flordehinojos]

19. i have no other way of saying it, so please don't take ofense, but

even CHRIST and CHRISTMAS have now fallen prey to the BUSH FASCIST FARTS!

the first Christmas that bush was in the oval office, his public celebration of the event ... it did not feel like Christmas.

His public celebration of Christmas included a militarized form of the celebration which also included a choir of BROWNCOATED chinese children from china singing CHRISTMAS CAROLS... it was not just a group of kids dressed in red, or green, or navy blue velvet dresses, or coats and red bow ties singing from the joy of their little hearts all those christmas carols kids have sung for years and years and years past... it was the mechanized brown coated regimentarized voices of children from an authoritarian country singing up on that stage and bush was shielded by plastic, bullet proof, panels, sitting in a grey coat with a black cowboy texas big hat--and he didn't look at all like he gave a fart about Christmas or about why there is a Christmas ...

BUSH FASCIST FARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ticapnews]

21. A favorite quote from Sports Night...

"I know I'm alone on this. I know the vast majority of people consider Jerry Falwell a spiritual pillar of great and gentle wisdom. I know that most people consider him a scholarly and tolerant man who would never judge others harshly just because they were different. I know that most people find his calm leadership to be a gentle soothing beacon at a time of great social chaos. His guidance, for instance, on the great purple Teletubby matter was fraught with the kind of theological sophistication that only Jerry Falwell and a cafeteria full of sixth graders could devise. I know, I'm going way out on a limb, but I think Jerry Falwell's a fat-ass. Who did I just offend? I'm eager to talk to them." -- Casey McCall (as written by Aaron Sorkin)

[POAS]

22. I hope somebody in a predominantly Jewish

city like Beachwood or Skokie reports back to him and see how far he gets trying to force little Jewish kids to sing praises to Jesus.

[HockeyMom]

23. Exactly the point of HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Do they think this greeting was coined yesterday? I grew up in New York City. I can remember using that term way back when I was a teenager in the 1960s. My guess it that it came about because we had/have a very large Jewish population and during the holiday season it was very confusing and embarrassing to say Merry Christmas to somebody if you didn't know if they celebrated Christmas or Hanukkah (or anything), so Happy Holidays covered anyone.

The same happened in public schools with the carols too. I went to Catholic school, but my husband told me in public school they only had "secular" songs (Jingle Bells, Rudolph, etc.) again, mostly because of the very large Jewish population in his school.

Maybe in Jerry's Falwell's world everyone is Christian, but certainly not where I grew up. And you know what? It was WONDERFUL getting to know people from all different races, ethnicities, cultures, and religions. What are these Fundies so afraid of?

[POAS]

26. What are they afraid of? In a word HELL.

Their "Christianity" is built on and promotes fear over love.

[BiggJawn]

37. Will Rabbi Eric Yoffie fill the bill?

The leader of the largest branch of American Judaism blasted conservative religious activists in a speech today, calling them "zealots" who claim a "monopoly on God" while promoting anti- gay policies akin to Adolf Hitler's.


Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the liberal Union for Reform Judaism, said "religious right" leaders believe "unless you attend my church, accept my God and study my sacred text you cannot be a moral person."

"What could be more bigoted than to claim that you have a monopoly on God?" Yoffie told a friendly audience of about 5,000 in his keynote address during the movement's national assembly in Houston, which runs through Sunday.

Yoffie used particularly strong language to condemn conservative attitudes toward homosexuals. He said he understood that traditionalists have concluded gay marriage violates Scripture, but he said that did not justify denying legal protections to same- sex partners and their children.

(More here)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3471845.html

Rabbi Yoffie did not mention Evangelical Christians in his address, but comment later that he was talking about religous nuts of ALL faiths. He said : "We need beware the zealots who want to make their religion the religion of everyone else."

[POAS]

49. Yes, I think he will do nicely, thank you. n/t

[ikojo]

25. More Christmas in the American colonies

Foul-smell's own denomination opposed the observance of Christmas at one time...

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/colonial_america_retired/55832

The Puritans
Until the mid-nineteenth century, Christmas was outlawed in New England. In the early part of the sixteenth century, the Puritans in England, under Cromwell, outlawed the celebration of Christmas, calling it "popish"; and considering the secular celebration a continuation of pagan beliefs. The Puritans in Massachusetts and other parts of New England held on to these beliefs. On December 25, 1620, a concerted effort was made to begin constructing the first building at Plymouth Plantation, instead of observing Christmas day. In 1659, a law was enacted in Massachusetts to punish anyone who "...is found observing, by abstinence from labor, feasting, or any other way, any such days as Christmas day, shall pay for every such offense five shillings."The immigration of other religious denominations saw this attitude lessen in New England, but Christmas wasn't officially sanctioned until about 150 years ago.

Quakers, Baptists, Presbyterians
Although Christmas wasn't outlawed outside of New England, several denominations, mostly found in the middle colonies, were opposed to the celebration. In 1749, a visitor among the Quakers in Philadelphia noted that: "Christmas Day... The Quakers did not regard this day any more remarkable than other days. Stores were open...There was no more baking of bread for the Christmas festival than for other days; and no Christmas porridge on Christmas Eve!" He went on to observe "...first the Presbyterians did not care much for celebrating Christmas, but when they saw most of their members going to the English Church on that day, they also started to have services." Philip Fithian, a Presbyterian missionary working among the Virginia Scotch-Irish in 1775, remarked that: "Christmas Morning - Not a Gun is heard - Not a Shout - No company or Cabal assembled - To Day is like other Days every Way calme & temperate."

snip

Traditional Christmas Symbols
A colonial Christmas, when it was celebrated, did not resemble a modern Christmas celebration. The Christmas tree originated in Germany in the 16th century, but did not gain popularity in America until after 1842 (when it was introduced in Williamsburg). The first Christmas card did not appear in about 1846 in England. Christmas carols were sung during the holidays, but most of the popular carols of today had not been written before the late 1700's. The most enduring hymn that was popular in colonial America was Joy to the World, written by Isaac Watts of Virginia during the 1760s.

[no_hypocrisy]

27. "Merry Christmas, or else!" Cute . . . .

Now I'm really in the holiday spirit.

[Habibi]

28. Should be called Friend? or Faux Christian? Campaign

[Ian David]

32. Let's boycott stores that don't say "Bless you" when you sneeze! n/t

[shadowknows69]

33. I could go out today

and find 24000 people who don't give a shit what mr fallwell thinks. The religious extremeist MINORITY in this country needs to be given a wake up call.

[michreject]

34. Maybe Larry Flynt was right

But his mother gave him syphilis and it rotted his brain.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

43. He lost his virginity to Ma in an outhouse?

[michreject]

47. ????????...Outhouse...??????

Larry Flynn stated that Falwell had sex with his mother and got sued by Falwell for libel/slander.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

50. In all it's glory:

[proud2BlibKansan]

79. And didn't Falwell lose that suit? n/t

[michreject]

84. Yeah

I did find the bathroom connection while looking for the judgement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustler_Magazine_v._Falwell

[0007]

35. I don't like Jerry Falwell or anyone that likes him.......

Falwell dares anyone to knock the chip off his shoulder that God has allegedly placed.

The originator, the Creator, the Guru, the Omnipotent, the Holy See, the Spiritual Leader, the Omnipresent, the infallible, the Most Perfect has spoken and has 800 attorney's to jump out at us if we make one false move?

[Democat]

38. Republicans filing "frivolous lawsuits" and wasting taxpayer money?

The taxpayers will be the ones to pay the bill and Falwell will have to pay the his money out of the pocket of his followers. Let's hope he sues a lot of people and loses them all! He will just be stealing money from American taxpayers and filing "frivolous lawsuits" that Republicans claim to be against.

[iamjoy]

40. The Epitome Of Hypocrisy

"if they expect Christians to come in and buy products during this so-called season."

Uh, I'm not a believer, but isn't the point of Christmas supposed to be the birth of the Lord and Savior, not buying things?

[Bloodblister Bob]

41. These Christians pick fights, then go bawling to mommy.

They cry "persecution" whenever they aren't allowed to persecute everyone else. Sick, just plain sick.

[goforit]

42. He's creating a battle that was never there in the first place!!!

Whata Ass.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

44. perhaps there slogan should say...

"Merry Christmas. It's OK to be gay for christmas."

[Bloodblister Bob]

45. Gluttonous Falwell isn't long for this world...

There's a prime Virginia ham out there with his name on it, drizzled in rich creamy gravy. Personally, I hope he kicks at Christmas dinner, falling face-first into the yams.

[supernova]

52. Hey, Rev Jerry, from one xtian to another

Happy Holidays!

Come here and let me give you a little :* under the mistletoe:
:* :* :*

[stepnw1f]

53. Christian Terrorists

That's what they are.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

55. "Forgiveness" and "tolerance"

That man taints the meaning of the very foundation of Christianity.

WWTBJB?

Who would the Baby Jesus boycott?

[buddysmellgood]

58. FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US! We need a counter campaign. Who will be

the eyes and ears for Festivus?

[Akoto]

62. I'll get the metal pole. Prepare for the Feats of Strength!

[Exiled in America]

76. I'll lead the airing of grieviances

"I gotta lot of problems with you people, and now you're gonna hear about em!" :D

[buddysmellgood]

86. Hooray! Oddly enough, in may family, the airing of grievances happens

every time we get together.

[northzax]

64. now, I'm not theological expert

but it seems to me that the whole idea of wishing somebody something is to wish good things for them, not potentially insult them. If someone says 'happy christmas' to me, I reply with 'happy christmas' If someone says "god bless you' I say, 'thank you' if someone says 'blessed ramadan' I reply with 'thank you, blessed ramadan to you and yours as well' if someone says 'happy talk like a priate day' I say, 'argh, me matey, let's have some grog'

I plan to celebrate the holidays the same way I have for the past 30 years, using the time off to spend my days knee deep in powder, giving small tokens of appreciation to my loved ones, and enjoying the fact that we've survived another year, while mourning those who are no longer with us. Christmas is barely a religious holiday anymore, why are we pretending? for most Americans, the religious aspect is about as important as twelfth night (the day I have my holiday party) or michelmas. It's a made up day, not even in the top five holiest days of the year, purely commercialised. And what's more, the founders of the protestant faiths would be horrified by the commercialisation of the holiday. get over yourself, Mr. Fallwell

maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store?
maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more?

and, as a final test, someone name a famous Christmas story that DOESN'T stress the importance of looking past the stuff and at the meaning?

[Roland99]

66. "I have sex with prostitutes. It's OK to say it."

Fucking hypocritical Pharisee.

[K-W]

70. I admit it. I have been fighting a war against Christmas.

They arent making it up.

I have assmbled an army of 3 million bloodthirsty athiests, in the 2008 election we plan to elect a Communist and then spend the winter season slaughtering Christans and stepping on Christmas lights.

[corporatemedia]

71. What if the Bunny Brigade counter-attack? Will you .....

start a war against the allies of Christmas???

A War Against Easter???

[K-W]

73. It's an issue my strategists disagree on.

Some argue that Easter has always harbored negative feelings about Christmas for stealing all of its thunder. Easter is, by all accounts, a much more important holiday to Christians, yet now it is basically just a wimpy holloween having been capitalistically dwarfed by Christmas.

But some argue that Easter will sense the obvious threat our hordes pose to them and take action before we have decisively defeated the forces of Christmas.

If they move against us we will destroy them, nothing can stand in the way of our liberal evil.

[corporatemedia]

78. Excellent analysis. I just worry that a 2nd war would....

over extend your troops. Probably best to leave that decision to your hand-picked generals in the field. That's not the kind of decision an atheist-in-chief should make. At least until you get past your hangover..er..sorry, I meant jet-lag.

[sakabatou]

72. Every single time

DEAR GOD, FALWELL, GET A LIFE!

Or a soul for that matter...

[Exiled in America]

74. Friend or Foe of Christmas?? BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

I love falwell.

[Triana]

75. The American Taliban (n/t)

[proud2BlibKansan]

80. I strongly object to Falwell turning teachers into narcs

We are merely abiding by federal law and district policies. He needs to work at changing those laws instead of asking teachers to be tattle tales.

[Mad_Dem_X]

81. Who Would Jesus Sue? nt

[Hyernel]

82. I am against you, fatass mullah!

:evilgrin:

[bklyncowgirl]

83. Merry Christmas or we'll sue your ass off. What would Jesus do?

I really wish that these clowns would take their "What would Jesus do" bumper stickers literally, read the damn New Testament, and just try think what the humble prophet from Nazareth who said "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." would think about having one group of people ram their religious holiday down the throats of another group of people.

Jesus, appears to have had a pretty good sense of humor but I doubt he'd find these guys amusing.

[ThePopulist]

87. Oh, I bet they're so scared.....

sort of like the American Family Association's Disney Boycott. What a fucking joke. I read a report where industry analysts said the boycott had absolutley no effect and that Disney has had fairly record growth over the past decade.

Just goes to show you that groups like AFA and Focus on the Family(Dobson's group) are little more than little men with big mouths. Translation: Nothing to back the bite up with.

[NYC]

88. Mendelssohn wrote Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

to commemorate the 400th anniversary of movable type. The printing press.

Someone else wrote the words that turned it into a Christmas carol.

I wonder how Falwell feels about Gutenberg.

[Sabriel]

89. It's an effective strategy, and I for one want to see it used more"

McDonald's: "You're either with the Quarter Pounder, or you're with the terrorists."

Jockey briefs: "You're either with us, or you're with the Hanes terrorists."

I think it might be a good marketing ploy!

[Raine]

90. WHY doesn't Foulmouth

come out against the horrible greed, materialism and crass commercialization that is rampant during the Christmas holiday and takes away from the real spirit of Christmas??? :shrug: :-(

[obreaslan]

91. Jo Saturnalia!!!!

http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/Saturnalia.html

[triguy46]

92. Oh this is a good christian example to follow...

Conversion by litigation. The deification by a team of fundie lawyers.

[noonwitch]

95. These people obviously don't understand Dr. Suess's "Grinch"

The book and cartoon, not the stupid Jim Carrey movie.

No one can keep Christmas from coming. No one can keep God out of schools, if the kids there ask for His presence. For the fundies to imply otherwise shows that they are just not understanding what God/Jesus/Christmas is all about.

[yellowcanine]

96. This is a cause looking for a problem to solve. I don't see any shortage

of Christmas celebration in my neighborhood and it ain't even Thanksgiving yet.

[shadowknows69]

97. it's ok to say it

as long as you don't mind me then going off on a 30 minute tirade on how your precious Christmas has been turned from your God's birthday to a shopping spree for the whore of Babylon. Merry Christmas :hippie:

[AgadorSparticus]

98. actually, i'm glad he comes out with such lunacy. it exposes

him for what he really is: a money grubbing charlatan. and if they are more than just empty threats, i can't wait to see the countersuits.

[nini]

99. It's a fucking national holiday (govt workers get it off)

What more do they want?

Jesus would be sooo pissed at these idiots.

[opihimoimoi]

100. Gerry should be stuck in a small cell with Ernest Angley for the rest of

his life....

[drm604]

101. Everybody should sue!

Jewish groups should sue anyone who says "happy holidays" thus refusing to acknowledge Hanukkah, African Americans can sue anyone who says "happy holidays" thus refusing to acknowledge Kwanzaa. Hell, the Costanza's can sue anyone who doesn't acknowledge Festivus.
Did I hear someone say "litigious society"?:eyes: