[StBernard] Atheists' National Holiday?

[Westley Annis]

Atheists' National Holiday? 
by Chuck Norris (more by this author)
Posted 12/16/2008 ET
Updated 12/16/2008 ET


Atheists from England to the West Coast of America are stepping up their
efforts this year to make a bigger antagonistic splash on the Christmas
scene. From London and Washington, D.C., buses to Colorado billboards,
skeptics are skewering religions with little respect to the adherents of the
religions.

At the forefront is a group's government-sanctioned posting of a sign by a
Nativity scene in the Capitol of Washington state (and now also in Wisconsin
and Illinois): "At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail.
There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only
our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts
and enslaves minds."

I am a patriot, and I believe that atheists are free to believe, speak and
post whatever they want. This is America, and that's their First Amendment
right. But to do so with harassment and hatred under the guise of free
speech is despicable. An anti-religious poster filled with spite is in no
way equal to a religious symbol, such as a Nativity scene. Where are the
political correctness police when religious followers are the victims?

If such words were written against any social minority group, protests would
be ubiquitous. But anti-religious bigotry is in vogue these days. Still,
there is absolutely no justification for these atheists' written revile. And
if they want to keep using hate-filled language against theists --
particularly Christians -- then they shouldn't be surprised when they meet
up with a yuletide (written) roundhouse kick.

Anyone can spew disdain for religion, but is that what America's Founders
created our rights for? Just because they post such verbal vomit, does that
demonstrate intellectual superiority or the type of moral decency our
Founders hoped we would perpetuate?


What profit would there be if I posted a taunt that atheists had no vital
part in the founding of our country? As Benjamin Franklin noted in his 1787
pamphlet for those in Europe thinking of relocating to America: "To this may
be truly added, that serious religion, under its various denominations, is
not only tolerated but respected and practiced. Atheism is unknown there."

What profit would there be if I posted a claim that atheists are un-American
because they try to suppress theists' freedom of religion by the false
notion of separation of church and state?

What profit would there be if I posted the accusation that atheists are
imprudent because they exhaust too much time trying to convince everyone
else of the absence of a being who doesn't exist?

What profit would there be if I posted a retort that atheists are igmos
because they try to replace Christmas with winter solstice celebrations,
which are ancient pagan festivals entrenched in polytheistic religions?

What profit would there be if I posted that atheism hides behind a false
pretense that it is scientific when eminent scientist Paul Davies -- the
renowned British-born physicist, agnostic and professor of cosmology,
quantum field theory and astrobiology -- once spoke against the certainty of
atheism to Time magazine (in the column "Science, God, and Man"):
"Agnosticism -- reserving judgment about divine purpose -- remains as
defensible as ever, but atheism -- the confident denial of divine purpose --
becomes trickier. If you admit that we can't peer behind a curtain, how can
you be sure there's nothing there?"

What profit would there be if I posted that atheists are totally blind to
the pristine beauty and ordered complexity of creation, so they cannot see
the hand of a Creator? As the Bible pointed out 2,000 years ago, "For since
the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power
and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has
been made, so that men are without excuse."

What profit would there be if I posted the fact that atheists denigrate
every religion and prayer that ever has been offered? To say God doesn't
exist is to say every religious leader in every age was delusional at best.
And it also is to say that not one prayer on any continent in any era of
human history has been answered. That premise alone rules atheism
preposterous and foolish.

Finally, what profit would there be if I posted that I agree with my friend
Mike Huckabee, who said on his book tour via Fox News that atheists
shouldn't be fighting for a holiday in December when they already have a
holiday: April Fools' Day (a holiday also grounded in sacred Scripture, "The
fool says in his heart, 'There is no god'")?

We all know I would be labeled as an extremist, irrational and a bigot if I
posted any of the preceding ideas. Yet atheists do and get away with First
Amendment murder.

I'd like to remind our nation that it was only a short time ago when Ronald
Reagan freely spoke for the majority by explicitly and passionately
conveying belief in Jesus Christ during his presidential Christmas
addresses. Compare the message in his Dec. 23, 1981, speech with that of the
present day, when the very term "Christmas" is being erased from every
corner of culture.

As long as different displays line the corridors of Washington state's
Capitol like Christmas potpourri, let me posit this last idea as a final
pre-Christmas posting. At the base of the bust of George Washington (which
stands between the atheists' winter solstice sign and the Nativity scene in
the Washington state Capitol), I suggest the posting of one more sign, which
would contain the wisdom from George Washington's farewell address: "Of all
the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and
morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the
tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of
human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens."

(Note: In the spirit of Christmas, Chuck is giving away a free chapter of
his current New York Times best-seller, "Black Belt Patriotism." To obtain
yours, go to www.ChuckNorrisNewBook.com.)