You better watch out. There is a new combatant in the Christmas wars.
Ads proclaiming, “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake,” will appear on Washington, D.C., buses through December. The American Humanist Association unveiled the provocative $40,000 holiday ad campaign earlier this month.
In lifting lyrics from “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” the Washington-based group is wading into what has become a perennial debate over commercialism, religion in the public square and the meaning of Christmas.
“We are trying to reach our audience, and sometimes in order to reach an audience, everybody has to hear you,” said Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group. “Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion.”
To that end, the ads and posters will include a link to a Web site that will seek to connect and organize like-minded thinkers in the D.C. area, Edwords said.
There was no debate at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority over whether to take the ad. Spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said the agency accepts ads that aren’t obscene or pornographic.
Edwords said the purpose isn’t to argue that God doesn’t exist or change minds about a deity, although “we are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people’s minds.”
The group defines humanism as “a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity.”
Last month, the British Humanist Association caused a ruckus announcing a similar campaign on London buses with the message: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
In Washington, the humanists’ campaign comes as conservative Christian groups gear up their efforts to keep Christ in Christmas. In the past five years, groups such as the American Family Association and the Catholic League have criticized or threatened boycotts of retailers who use generic “holiday” greetings.
In mid-October, the American Family Association started selling buttons that say “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas.” The humanists’ entry into the marketplace of ideas did not impress AFA president Tim Wildmon.
“It’s a stupid ad,” he said. “How do we define ‘good’ if we don’t believe in God? God in his word, the Bible, tells us what’s good and bad and right and wrong. If we are each ourselves defining what’s good, it’s going to be a crazy world.”
Also on Tuesday, the Orlando, Fla.-based Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group, launched its sixth annual “Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign.” Liberty Counsel has intervened in disputes over nativity scenes and government bans on Christmas decorations, among other things.
“It’s the ultimate grinch to say there is no God at a time when millions of people around the world celebrate the birth of Christ,” said Mathew Staver, the group’s chairman and dean of the Liberty University School of Law. “Certainly, they have the right to believe what they want but this is insulting.”
Best-selling books by authors such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have fueled interest in “the new atheism” — a more in-your-face argument against God’s existence.
Yet few Americans describe themselves as atheist or agnostic; a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life poll from earlier this year found 92 percent of Americans believe in God.
Religion
Humanist ads push Godless Christmas
- Religion
-
-
We are part way there, but don’t allow destination to eclipse journey
Today is Day 42 if you are counting. It is 42 days since we left Egypt. We have seven more days to go. Seven more days until we will camp at the foot of Mount Sinai and prepare ourselves to receive the Ten Commandments on the 50th day.
-
Churches eyeing exit
A total of 17 churches in the Shenango Presbytery have withdrawn from the Presbyterian Church (USA) or are considering doing so, all over ongoing issues including the denomination’s decision to ordain gay and lesbian pastors. Two have already voted to leave.
-
St. Paul’s UCC to mark 150 years
St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, 159 Todd Ave., will celebrate its 150th year of ministry on May 20 with a special worship service and banquet.
-
Prayer is power, but is it your steering wheel or spare tire?
Dutch Christian and Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom once asked this searching question: Is God your steering wheel or your spare tire? We might well substitute “prayer” for “God” in the inquiry.
-
Apostle Paul would not be considered a success today
You know, I think we have what it means to be a success a little confused. I think we equate it to one of those models on the front of a glamor magazine – just the right weight, no blemishes anywhere, a smile whiter than snow.
-
Cross walk covers 2 cities
A group of local men are going a long way to be involved in the 3rd Annual Men’s Rally in the Valley on May 5 at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown.
-
For 50 days ... for eternity: Why don’t we pick up when God calls?
Most Christians attended church Easter Sunday. It’s what we do. We celebrate that exquisite moment in salvation history when Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, rose from the dead, conquering sin, evil and death itself. Glory to God!
We also welcome visitors and others who rarely attend other than Christmas and Easter. And we wonder, what happens the rest of the year?
-
In words and pictures
A minister and his son combined words and pictures to create 26 portraits of Christ, and now those portraits are available in their new book.
“Portraits of the Christ” is the first collaborative printed project for Rev. Sperry Hogue, the semi-retired associate minister of Hermitage Church of Christ, and his son Nathan Hogue, a mental health therapist at George Junior Republic in Grove City. -
Whole lotta shaking goin’ on: Based on Bible, God’s at work
Does trouble lie ahead for us? I would suggest some possible happenings. You be the judge.
-
St. Patrick must have wondered what lesson God was teaching
Have you ever wondered what God is up to in your life? Maybe you have felt frustrated that things weren’t going the way you would want. Or you wonder if God is hearing your prayers or even notices your problems. At times like these we can learn a thing or two from St. Patrick.
- More Religion Headlines
-
We are part way there, but don’t allow destination to eclipse journey
