AT a cost of around $4,000 (postage and packing not included), Bill Donohue’s dotty Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has sent nativity scenes to each of America’s 50 state governors in the hope that they will be displayed in government spaces.
News of the initiative serendipitously came just after we, at the Freethinker, were emailed the nativity scene below, which prompted much mirth – and it made us wonder which Governors would have the balls to doctor their gifts in an act of homage to the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
In a letter last month, the Catholic League told governors and their chiefs of staff that the nativities were on their way and suggested they be displayed in capitol rotundas.
The tacky15.5 inch crèches cost $80 each, with funding coming from an appeal to Catholic League members.
The League, which Donohue admits gets involved in the so-called Christmas wars every year, has in the past sent out Christmas decals and pressed department stores to refer to merry Christmases – not just happy holidays.
Doug Laycock, a law professor at the University of Virginia who specialises in religious liberty issues, says that the Supreme Court has ruled that the government’s ability to display religious symbols like nativity scenes depends on the setting.
The government can’t display a nativity scene all by itself, even if it’s donated and paid for by a private group. Under Supreme Court precedent, the government can display a nativity scene if it is accompanied by some (not precisely defined) number of ‘secular’ symbols of Christmas, such as Santa Claus, reindeer, candy canes, and the like.
Laycock added:
I don’t know that anyone is very happy with this compromise. But to the Justices, it seemed better than either alternative – that the government can take no note of Christmas, or that it can display ‘secular’ symbols without religious symbols, or that it can engage in a purely religious celebration of the holiday.
The Catholic League says its campaign is meant to counter what it calls “militant atheists.” The group is erecting a life-sized nativity scene in Central Park on December 16. The world’s largest menorah is currently on display there.
The group’s website declares:
We’re taking the moral high road. The atheists are out in force this year trying to neuter Christmas. While a few of their efforts are benign … most are predictably hostile.
After an atheist group posted a billboard near the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel that called the Christmas story a myth, the Catholic League put up a billboard on the New York side of the tunnel:
You Know It’s Real: This Season, Celebrate Jesus.
All in the call of duty: Freethinker editor Barry Duke gets to meet Zwarte Piet
American Atheists, the group behind the New Jersey billboard, says on its website:
It’s not a war on Christmas, rather it’s a war on intolerance and ignorance. It’s a war on false gods, false prophets, and false promises.
My Christmas began rather bizarrely when I was invited to a Dutch celebration in Benidorm on Sunday, when I got to sit in the lap of Zwarte Piet, who traditionally gives out prezzies to kids on December 5 each year.
My gift at this distinctly non-PC, but fun-filled occasion was a packet of condoms and a sachet of lube.
I don’t think the Catholic League would be in the least bit amused.
Hat tip: Pete H
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
December 7th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Perhaps we could send all the governors an empty box and suggest they display the contents prominently in Government spaces. We could claim they had all done so anyway, since their denials could easily be disproved by reference to any empty space there happened to be.
It would be a lot cheaper than the cribs.
December 7th, 2010 at 10:13 am
“The atheists are out in force this year trying to neuter Christmas.”
Wow. I didn’t even realize I was doing that.
December 7th, 2010 at 10:26 am
“Zwarte Piet” being the black helper of the white bishop “Sinterklaas” is a sensitive issue too these days among the PC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas
December 7th, 2010 at 10:27 am
I didnt realise I was out to neuter Christmas! I’ve been quite looking forward to Christmas!
Like Tim Minchin said “I… really like Christmas, it’s sentimental I know, but I just really like it”
December 7th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Can I suggest the remedy for compulsory nativity scenes we found at college.
We kidnapped Baby Jesus and ransomed him, threatening to send one limb or digit back at a time unless the college donated huge amounts of sweets and chocolates to the local kids home.
The college chaplain went berserk, as did a Bishop who went on to be a very big wig as I recall, but the staff had more than a few sly sniggers and nobody was disciplined, even though they knew exactly who’d done it.
December 7th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
I’m looking forward to Christmas as well. The basis of the festivities is pagan anyway and, as anyone who has read The God Delusion will know the Nativity they go on about never happened. I thought I would remind myself of some of the points in Richard Dawkins’ excellent chapter on this:
1. Matthew and Luke have different versions. “Lukes’ story is historically impossible and internally incoherent.” Only Matthew and Luke deal with the legend at all.
2. There was no requirement by the Romans “to go up to his own city” for taxation purposes. Joseph was of the House of David, so he was supposed to go to Bethlehem according to the legend. However, David had died a 1000 years earlier so why would the Romans be interested in sending someone to the city of an ancestor who died 1000 years earlier.
3. Anyway, Joseph wasn’t Jesus father; god was.
4. The features of the Jesus’ legend: the star, the virgin birth, the kings, the miracles, the execution resurrection and ascension are all lifted, every one, from religions already in existence.
I could go on. But this is a small reminder of the nonsense which has been elevated into a weird superstition so that the ignorant or the cynical may play the game about the baby Jesus, his virgin mother and his non father.
How do they keep going with this? And the deluge of bullshit will have our licence fee funded (or we will have you taken to court) by the BBC.
December 7th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
…..no “worldwide” census took place either. We know this because the romans kept records. In any case roman taxes were levied on each town not on individuals. The romans didn’t give a rip where someone came from as long as the taxes were paid…but then saul of tarse made the whole thing up anyway by adapting the legends about Mithra. When he went to Jerusalem to visit Peter,James and co. they told him he was full of shit! That sauline shit is the basis of the whole of christianity. Christians could know this if they wanted to!
Let’s just enjoy solstice, saturnalia, yule or whatever without letting aggressive christians ruin it for us.
Oh yeah – and screw bill donohue!!
December 7th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Sir,
I am grossly offended by the top picture in this article. It is highly blasphemous and denigrates the image of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. All tagliatelle fearing Pastafarians touched by His Noodly Appendage know the truth that the FSM has always existed in His current noodly form and was never a baby string of spaghetti.
Remove this obscene picture from your site, or we will be forced to boycott you, or issue a press release, or something.
I.M. Insane.
Pasta Defence League.
December 7th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Regarding the virgin birth, at what point did Joseph not think to himself ‘My wife insists she is a virgin, yet here she is 9 months pregnant, and we have never had sex?’
If this happened today it would be a DNA test on the Jeremy Kyle show rather than gifts from the 3 wise men.
December 7th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
$80 a piece for that tat? Check out the link at the top of the story and you’ll find Joseph looks at least seven feet tall, Mary looks like something out of a Bollywood movie and the baby Jesus (bless!) looks like a very young Michael Flatley lapping up the applause at the end of yet another performance of Lord of the bloody Dance.
Looks like somebody saw Bill ‘Twat’ Donohue and his pocket of jangly stuff coming a mile off!
December 7th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
I don’t give a toss who started the Christmas thing, I just like being with family. Even if they are mainly a bunch on unthinking godbots.
December 7th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
“We’re taking the moral high road.”
I LOLed
December 7th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
And, Broga, as regards the star, how on earth could any star be able to point out a geographical location on the face of the earth? if you move towards a star along the earth’s surface, the star will gradually appear to rise, until it’s overhead, then it will set behind you.
I’d love to see what a ball of blazing nuclear plasma would do, perched 10 m above a stable containing hay.
December 7th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
tony e: As far as I know ‘virgin’ was actually a mistranslation of ‘young woman’, during one of the Bible’s several trips between languages. Hebrew to Greek, I think, but don’t quote me on that without checking.
As for the Christ-in-Christmas thing; personally, I don’t care about where the tradition comes from. I just like the tradition. A couple of days with family and friends, a few drinks, what’s not to like? I’ve no more objection to a symbolic nativity scene than I have to Santa. A picture of some people in a barn isn’t going to convert anyone, and a lack of one isn’t going to take anyone’s faith away.
December 7th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
@Daz While I agree that “A picture of some people in a barn isn’t going to convert anyone…”, it’s the thinking behind this particularly underhand act by Donohue that really irks me.
He has deliberately sent pieces of christian symbolism to state governors in the hope that they will then be put on public display in government institutions. By doing so he is, to my mind, knowingly trying to get around the separation of state and church. It is cynical, it is mischievous and it is calculated.
I also believe he is hoping that by getting his innocent little manger scenes put up in public buildings, he will be reinforcing the ever growing illusion in the US that theirs is an unwavering, unquestioning, unanimously christian society.
One last thing. Check out the link to see what happens to people in the USA these days when they peaceful object to flagrant violations of the First Amendment regarding the separation of state and church.
http://www.atheistmedia.com/20.....d-not.html
December 7th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
IF someone was born who became known as jesus and was seen as the messiah did exist he wasn’t born on december 25th so christians haven’t been celebrating the birth of christ properly either they just changed the dates to take over winter solstace from the pagans and stole their traditions so the fact that xmas is becoming more secular then all I can say is what goes around comes around.
As an Atheist christmas has always been more about getting together witht he family and looking back on the year and looking forward to the next one and this years is going to be emotional because it’ll be my first christmas without my Granda who passed away earlier this year but it’ll also be great to see my wee neice who is also three having a great time and then of course I’ll be getting tickets for children of bodom and a copy of assassins creed brotherhood for my Ps3 so everybody wins
I bet christmas at bill donnahues house must be really boring and lonely
December 7th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
@Daz,
I agree, I don’t give a toss about the symbolism, but I really enjoy the food, presents, booze and watching the annual family fueds resurface. Great fun.
December 7th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
The legend was, of course, twisted and invented to fit in with a prophecy in the Old Testament. The books of the bible they kept are there by chancy selection and are just as dotty as the ones they rejected. Good point also on the mistranslation of virgin. (Even better and funnier – from The God Delusion again – is the mistranslation of 72 shining raisins into 72 virgins and Richard Dawkins wonders how many suicides have died in the expectation that they had 72 virgins waiting for them.)
I love Christmas. Last year a fundie type local religionut said I should not use the word christmas because I did not accept christ. I supplied her with a few medical discoveries she should not be using as she was against anything not “not created and placed there by god” including her spectacles and cataract lenses.)
I like the holly with its berries, I like the tree, I love the children, grown up, coming with their partners (all atheist), I like the meals and I like the booze. We have a great time, including great memories, and as far as we are concerned it is a pagan festival and fun.
p.s. The local religionut replied, “Now you are just being silly.”
December 7th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
The Christmas Story (according to various gospels and history)
In order to fulfil a prophecy, and also in order that people should be saved from their sins, God decided to impregnate a young virgin called Mary. He decided that the child should be called Jesus, and also Emmanuel. God was so proud that he would be a Father that he sent an angel to tell Mary that she would be the Mother of his child.
Mary was not married, even though she was married to Joseph, but God told Joseph in a dream that it would be OK to marry her because the real Father was God himself (even though they were already married).
Roughly six years after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem because the Roman Emperor Augustus ordered a census be conducted of all Roman citizens, even though neither of them were Romans. The reason they had to go to Bethlehem was because David, who may or may not have been Jesus’ Great-(random number of Greats)-Grandfather came from there (even though such censuses did not require people to do this). While they were in Bethlehem, Jesus was born.
Jesus was born in a stable because his parents, despite being chosen by God to be the parents of his child, and despite Mary being nine months pregnant, had failed to secure lodgings for the night. They seem to have been the only people who had not had this foresight. There is no record of whether God was beginning to have doubts about whether he had chosen the right people to carry this special child.
The Baby Jesus was King because he was descended from Abraham, as follows:
Jesus, Joseph, Jacob, Matthan, Eleazar, Eliud, Achim, Zadok, Azor, Eliakim, Abiud, Zarubbabel, Shealtiel, Jachoniah, Josiah, Amos, Manasseh, Hezekiah, Ahaz, Jotham, Uzziah, Joram, Jehoshaphat, Asaph, Abijah, Rehoboam, Solomon, David, Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nohshon, Amminadab, Aram, Hezron, Perez, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham
Or maybe he was descended from Abraham as follows:
Jesus, Joseph, Heli, Matthat, Levi, Melchi, Janna, Joseph, Mattathias, Amos, Naum, Esli, Nagge, Maath, Mattathias, Semei, Joseph, Juda, Joanna, Rhesa, Zorobabel, Salathiel, Neri, Melchi, Addi, Cosam, Elmodam, Er, Jose, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi, Simeon, Juda, Joseph, Jonan, Eliakim, Melea, Menan, Mattatha, Nathan, David, Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nohshon, Amminadab, Aram, Hezron, Perez, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham
But the again, his Father was God, not Joseph, so he wasn’t related to Abraham at all.
God was so proud of his newly born son that he couldn’t be bothered to tell anyone about this, apart from few local shepherds. Except that he didn’t tell them himself, but sent an angel to tell them instead. So they went to see this new baby, and we know this because several years after Jesus died, a man named Luke tells us what happened (even though he wasn’t there at the time).
Three Wise Men from the East saw a star in the East and so, realising that such an astronomical event that nobody else in the Northern hemisphere seemed to have observed, must mean that somebody very important had been born. So they decided to follow the star in the East, thus ending up West of their original location. Nevertheless, they managed to find the baby Jesus, and gave him gifts of gold Frankincense and Myrrh. No doubt Joseph and Mary were happy with the gold, but nobody knows what they made of the plant sap or tree resin. Incidentally, we know this because a man named Matthew tells us the story, even though, like Luke, he lived a long time after Jesus died and wasn’t even there. This may explain why they tell very different versions of the same story.
The local King, Herod the Great, who died about four years before Jesus was born, became jealous of the Baby Jesus and demanded that every child less than one-year old be killed. Jesus was so important to God that God felt this was a fair price to pay, so protected the new family but did nothing to protect the other innocent babies. God’s so nice, isn’t he? So Mary and Joseph fled with baby Jesus to Egypt and stayed there until Herod died (even though he was already dead!)
December 7th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
@The Woggler.
Great stuff. What a loss you have been to the preaching fraternity – I assume. Steps really out to be taken to get you into a pulpit. Or what about a appearances on Thought for the Day. The programme would be transformed, you would be a sensation and you would figure in editorials in the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph.
December 7th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Sounds as bad as that idiot on BBC breakfast today, wanting to reclaim Christmas. Nob.
December 7th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
It seems to me that given the tendency for religion to generate pointless conflicts, it is an excellent, if somewhat obvious, idea to have the state legally required to be neutral with regard to religious matters. The odd thing is that in countries where there is no law against nativity scenes in public buildings, no-one feels the need to actively promote them. Donohue is like a big kid who wants to do something just because the grown-ups have told him that he can’t.
On the subject of Christmas and the alleged war on it, it would appear that there are those who cannot just celebrate in their own way and leave everyone else to celebrate in theirs. No no, It has to be the Christian way or you must be out to destroy Christmas and ruin everyone’s fun. Of course we are talking about people who are determined to believe stuff that is self evidently untrue.
December 7th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Yep as an archaeologist i can confirm that Herod died in 4BCE and the Roman census didn’t require them to travel anywhere. right on
December 7th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Marcus:
Sure I agree about Donahue. The bloke’s a prize dick. I was talking in more general terms. Yeah, I saw that Hawaiian story. Bloody awful ain’t it. It’s worth noting that it’s more than a 1st amendment violation, too. It’s a mockery of basic committee procedure, wherein any member is allowed to voice an objection. It doesn’t even have to be a justified objection, though this one was. It’s up to the committee to decide if it is or isn’t, not the bloody security guards, the sergeant at arms or whoever.
December 7th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Daz: I’m not sure that he was a committee member, but that was scary!
December 7th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
According to the Judge: “Number one, there was no disorderly conduct. Number two, he has a first amendment right to speak in a public forum such as he did.” Not sure whether that makes him a committee member or not, but the judge seems to be saying he has the right to object, and surely any legal objection should be voted on by the committee, if seconded. Or maybe I’m stretching things a bit.
BTW, re your comment about Jules and Sandy the other day. I heard one a while back that made reference to Jules being “a virtuoso at the cottage upright”. They made it sound as if Sandy meant a piano. Gotta wonder how many people actually got the joke, though. (Maybe he could start a band with a pink oboe player…)
December 7th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Daz: He was in the gallery, so I’m assuming that he went there to object. However, good to see that the judge upheld his right to do just that!
I’m convinced that the upper echelons at the BBC knew EXACTLY what was being implied.
(Remember Bona Law? How very droll!!)
December 7th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Barriejohn: I’m reminded that my mum always called Round The Horne ‘forces humour’, ’cause the only people she knew that got all the jokes were ex-servicemen. Not sure what that implies, mind. I seem to remember hearing that polari was mostly merchant-marine in origin. (I spent ten years writing at least three forty-question trivia quizzes a week. Amazing what you pick up if you purposefully go looking for such tid-bits!)
December 9th, 2010 at 9:47 am
The only ones who should get upset about Christmas being misappropriated are pagans. They’re the ones who invented the festival in the first place! The tree, the holly, tinsel, food, booze and various other symbols of Christmas are all Germanic/Scandinavian pagan and only became part of ‘traditional’ Christmas celebrations about a hundred years ago anyway.
My other half is a pagan and I asked him how he felt about the Christians misappropriating his winter solstice festival. He said as long as he got presents and booze he really didn’t care!