Why do agnostics celebrate christmas

Heaven and hell dominated my understanding of life when I was a young child. I lived in fear of disobeying my parents, then dying before having had a chance to ask God forgiveness for that sin. I can say, pretty fearlessly, that I was mostly a well-behaved kid. Is all of that achievable? By the time Friday night rolled around, I decided to give it a try.

Neuroscientist and author Sam Harris is a well-known atheist and a vocal critic of religion. In " The End of Faith ," he wrote, "We will see that the greatest problem confronting civilization is not merely religious extremism: rather, it is the larger set of cultural and intellectual accommodations we have made to faith itself.

In his book " Breaking the Spell ," Dennett said, "You don't get to advertise all the good that your religion does without first scrupulously subtracting all the harm it does and considering seriously the question of whether some other religion, or no religion at all, does better.

British physicist Peter Higgs is among those credited with the theory behind the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle long thought to be a fundamental building block of the universe.

In an interview with the BBC , he expressed his discomfort with people calling it the "God particle. The second thing is I know that name started as a kind of joke and not a very good one. It's so misleading. To suggest that one can't be good without belief in God is not just an opinion, a mere curious musing -- it is a prejudice.

In his autobiographical book, " Palm Sunday ," he examines how he was affected by studying anthropology. Vonnegut died at age 84 in In his book " The Salmon of Doubt ," he satirically imagined a puddle thinking, "This is an interesting world I find myself in -- an interesting hole I find myself in -- fits me rather neatly, doesn't it?

In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it! He was Science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov wrote in his autobiography , "If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words.

I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul. Madalyn Murray O'Hair, who was murdered in at age 76, was an atheist activist. She founded the American Atheists and served as the organization's president from to She is perhaps best known for her role in the Supreme Court ruling that ended Bible reading in public schools.

Life magazine once called her "the most hated woman in America. Ayn Rand, author of "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged," was an atheist and an opponent of religion.

In her book " The Voice of Reason ," she criticized President Ronald Reagan and his administration for trying "to take us back to the Middle Ages, via the unconstitutional union of religion and politics. Katharine Hepburn was a four-time Academy Award winner whose career spanned six decades.

In a interview with Ladies' Home Journal, she said, "I'm an atheist, and that's it. I believe there's nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for each other. She was Story highlights One atheist author says, "Christians don't own December" Many atheists enjoy Christmas trappings -- without church. He loves getting together with family and friends.

He loves giving gifts. He loves the upbeat spirit and the crowds shopping on Chicago's Michigan Avenue. He even has a tree. There's just one catch: Mehta is an atheist. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen Dawkins without a suit. It's like he was born in one and it is a permanent part of him. Maybe he IS Jesus. Feb 3, 13, 1 0. Because it's a national holiday? Slick Diamond Member. Nov 10, 8, 3 Christmas is both the religious the birth of Jesus as well as a secular holiday Santa, giving of gifts, family gathering.

The origins of Christmas are actually a pagan holiday celebrating the winter solstice. The Christians didn't like that and moved Jesus' birthday to today to try to claim the holiday most historians agree he would have been born around April. So no, there's nothing hypocritical about an atheist celebrating Christmas. They're just focusing on the secular part of the day. IronWing No Lifer. Jul 20, 62, 16, It's fun. We should probably view the mid-Winter celebrations as the Hindus view the million faces of god - multiple aspects of the same thing, a celebration to light the dark and drive away the cold.

PS: Persecution whine is really whiny even as whiny persecution whines go. Jan 23, 16, 6 Invisible Evil Golden Member. Dec 7, 1, 0 0. I wouldn't dig too deep in to this.. Its gifts.. Jan 14, 1, 0 0. The origin of "Christmas" is pagan. A celebration in mid-winter,focusing on community and family. Spin it all you want, the christian holiday was adapted to incorporate pre-existing pagan tradition.

Besides, me loves some presents. You may now return to your self prescribed sanctimony. Engineer Elite Member. It's about love and light in darkness. He declared himself an atheist in after being raised and educated as a Catholic. The fact his family is not super religious makes it easier for him to embrace the holiday. I try to remember that not everyone is decorating and baking and rushing about because of the birth of Jesus," she says.

I just don't understand why we can't feel generous, count our blessings and hold those dear to us close all year long.