December 25, 2016
Ayn Rand on Christmas
I'm not an Atheist and so do not speak for them. However, in an age when atheists are too frequently characterized by a vocal component of their number who want to stamp out Christmas displays amongst other things, I think it important to turn to one of the more august members of their cadre for an opposing view of this unfair characterization of them.
The Objectivist Calendar, Dec. 1976
Reportedly, this was written as an answer to a question about whether or not an Atheist should partake of the holiday.
Yes, of course. A national holiday, in this country, cannot have an exclusively religious meaning. The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will toward men—a frame of mind which is not the exclusive property (though it is supposed to be part, but is a largely unobserved part) of the Christian religion.
The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: "Merry Christmasâ€â€”not "Weep and Repent.†And the good will is expressed in a material, earthly form—by giving presents to one’s friends, or by sending them cards in token of remembrance . . . .
The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying . . . stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions—the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors—provide the city with a spectacular display, which only "commercial greed†could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.
For those of you not in the mood for philosophising, in the spirit of the season, here are three people who counterintuitively might well be atheists...because proof denies faith and without faith the gods are nothing.
Oh..I did it again didn't I? Well, at least I was paraphrasing a completely different philosopher.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
02:30 PM
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Confound that Confetti!
Posted by: Mauser at Mon Dec 26 01:40:35 2016 (5Ktpu)
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I think you can state that the existence of that show is -itself- sufficient evidence that there is, in fact, no God. ;p
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Mon Dec 26 21:01:24 2016 (v29Tn)
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