A multi-faith birth of Jesus

Anglicans give Christmas a multicultural makeover
The Church of England has backed plans to turn Christmas into a more multicultural event.

It may have become traditional for angels, three wise men and the baby Jesus to play a starring role in the festive season.

But now Hindu snowmen, a Chinese dragon and a Jewish temple are also to be included in an attempt to make the celebrations more inclusive of Britain’s diverse communities.

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When they can change so easily what they believe to be fact, they obviously don’t value their beliefs very much.  They might argue that that the birth of Jesus is what matters but it simply highlights that Religion is just another business, adjusting to changes in society, rather than a philosophy or doctrine on how the world operates. If their message was the the one and only truth then there should be no compromises and no changes ever.

Everyone’s an atheist

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours”
– Stephen Roberts

Abstinence Fad

Teenage fads don’t always have to confuse or upset their parents. I hope their parents do know that the main motivation for their children’s enthusiasm about saving themselves until marriage is simply that it’s trendy and their friends are doing it.

Abstinence band aid

Ring worn as reminder of purity pledge becoming more popular with teenagers

Akron, Ohio —- Abby Wilson wears a sterling silver ring shaped like a flower on her right hand. It’s an outward symbol that tells others the 15-year-old is saving herself for marriage.

“I have many friends [boys and girls] with purity rings,” said the high school sophomore. “I call it my self-respect ring.”

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Self-respect ring? Is it self-respectful to get married to someone who you have deliberately refused to get to know as well as you can? Sex, even more so for women, makes someone vulnerable to another. It is revealing. It is important. If you haven’t had sex with your partner then there is a significant side to them that you don’t know.

Some people aren’t sexually compatible and this can lead to sadness and humiliation which is magnified significantly if you’ve just married the person. It is not self-respectful to put yourself at risk of living your whole life with someone who you don’t want to have sex with. This would also increase the temptation of one partner to cheat.

It’s simple, have sex with someone when you feel you want to and do it safely (not just wearing a condom but with someone you trust). Girls, don’t have sex with a guy because he wants to or because he might break up with you if you don’t. Only do it when you want to and do all you can to make sure you enjoy yourself too; don’t simply focus on his pleasure. If you make sex equal then there’s no need to fear losing your dignity or self-respect. This applies to guys too of course, but the problem is less severe there.

In some areas of the country, father-daughter purity balls or dances are held in honor of the young women and their pledges to remain virgins until their wedding day.

The young women wear up-dos and formal gowns, and the fathers, often dressed in tuxedos, promise to be responsible men of integrity and to support their daughters in their vows of chastity. Sometimes the girls say their oaths aloud, but more often it’s done silently.

Peer pressure and parental pressure, a dangerous combination. They are putting these girls on a pedestal and giving them too-high expectations. It’s not long before they will come crashing down. Noone should restrict or deny themselves an enjoyable part of life and everyone should ‘try before you buy’ or they are leaving themselves vulnerable to a life of frustration and sadness.

Churches: too harsh AND too weak

They just can’t seem to get it right, can they? While some churches fight against human rights, others are watering down their content to make it even more dull.

“O come let us adore Him” changed to “O come in adoration”

Now we’re not even sure if Jesus was a guy!

Politically correct Christmas carols censor ‘king’, ‘son’ and ‘virgin’

Enduring favourites such as Hark the Herald Angels Sing and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen are being altered by clergy to make them more “modern and inclusive”.

But churchgoers say there is no need to change the popular carols and complain that the result is a “festive car crash” if not everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet.

It comes just a day after a Church of England vicar banned his congregation from singing O Little Town of Bethlehem because he believed its words do not reflect the suffering endured by modern residents of Jesus’s birthplace.

Another clergyman has rewritten the Twelve Days of Christmas to include Aids victims, drug addicts and hoodies.

Steve Goddard, co-editor of the Christian website Ship of Fools, which is running a competition to find the worst example of a rewritten carol, said: “It’s a festive car crash.

“Half the congregation sing familiar words from memory, while the rest stumble over revised alternatives. Our readers are telling us straight – for some new versions there should be no room at the inn.”

Among the “theologically-modified, politically-corrected” carols encountered by visitors to the website are Hark the Herald Angels Sing in which the line “Glory to the newborn King” has been replaced by “Glory to the Christ child, bring”.

The well-known refrain of O Come All Ye Faithful – “O come let us adore Him” – has also been changed in one church to “O come in adoration”, both changes apparently made for fear the original was sexist.

“[One reader] wrote in asking if the original line was considered too gender-specific,” Mr Goddard said. “But as he rightly pointed out, Jesus wasn’t hermaphrodite, neither was he a girl.”

Churchgoers at one carol service will not be allowed to sing the words “all in white” during Once in Royal David’s City in case they appear racist, while another cleric has removed the word “virgin” from God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.

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Ban Left-Handed Marriage

Ban Left-Handed Marriage

It is estimated that nearly 10% of the population is left-handed, clearly it is unnatural as 90% of the population is right-handed. We must stop left-handed people from forcing us to accept their deviance and not allow them to teach our children that it is okay to use either hand.

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Just as today we laugh when reading that people used to think left-handedness was a sign of evil, I’m sure in the future we will laugh at how many people today still consider homosexuality evil.

Bible promotes Atheism

“Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.”
– Isaac Asimov

Religion facilitates evil

“Men never commit evil so fully and joyfuly as when they do it for religious convictions.”
– Blaise Pascal

When all else fails, make up a God

Bad Times Draw Bigger Crowds to Churches

The sudden crush of worshipers packing the small evangelical Shelter Rock Church in Manhasset, N.Y. — a Long Island hamlet of yacht clubs and hedge fund managers — forced the pastor to set up an overflow room with closed-circuit TV and 100 folding chairs, which have been filled for six Sundays straight.

In Seattle, the Mars Hill Church, one of the fastest-growing evangelical churches in the country, grew to 7,000 members this fall, up 1,000 in a year. At the Life Christian Church in West Orange, N.J., prayer requests have doubled — almost all of them aimed at getting or keeping jobs.

Like evangelical churches around the country, the three churches have enjoyed steady growth over the last decade. But since September, pastors nationwide say they have seen such a burst of new interest that they find themselves contending with powerful conflicting emotions — deep empathy and quiet excitement — as they re-encounter an old piece of religious lore:

Bad times are good for evangelical churches.

“It’s a wonderful time, a great evangelistic opportunity for us,” said the Rev. A. R. Bernard, founder and senior pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York’s largest evangelical congregation, where regulars are arriving earlier to get a seat. “When people are shaken to the core, it can open doors.”

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This, and statements like “there are no atheists in foxholes”, are not evidence of God’s existence nor that deep down everyone believes. They are evidence that one of the reasons people created gods were because they were scared and afraid. Children can go to their parents but adults need someone too. When they don’t have people to turn to, they make one up who has superpowers and loves you unconditionally – that kinda guy’s bound to help!