solarbird | (Reply)

From:

pecunium.livejournal.com

There is no such movement.

From an abstract point of view, there are a lot of holidays across this time of year, and making it a more open recognition of all of them in no way removes from the private enjoyment of Christmas by Christians (and allegations the ACLU is against Christianity are absurd, as they have filed amicus briefs on behalf of Christians, even to the display of Christmas related materials when those were not supported by gov't, but I digress).

The argument that we must "return to our roots" is nonsense.

We should begin by setting conscience free. When all men of all religions ... shall enjoy equal liberty, property, and an equal chance for honors and power ... we may expect that improvements will be made in the human character and the state of society.
-- John Adams, letter to Dr. Price, April 8, 1785

"During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution."

James Madison

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between church and State.”

Thomas Jefferson, letter to the Danbury Baptist Association (January 1, 1802)

He also made what is perhaps the best expression of the effect of removing the ties of state and church, “Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, more than on our opinions in physics and geometry....The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” in the Virgina Statue of Religious Freedom.

In the same way that someone else marrying doesn't diminish my marriage, be they marrying between races, in plurality, or homsexually, my marriage is what it is, it stands on it's own.

The same with my faith, in fact if my faith (as a Roman Catholic) is so fragile that I need the state to support it (even so vaguely as being, "generically Christian," than I am weak in it.

The best summation on this is probably to be found in the Bible, where Jesus abjures us to "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and undo God that which is God's."

God, I think can look after his own interests.

TK