Amen. I'm a Christian, but I find this whining about how victimized we are very tiresome. In some parts of the world, Christians who profess their faith openly do so at the risk of their lives. I'd like to tell every American Christian who feels outraged that a store clerk wishes them "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" to get a real problem.

"why folks like Bauer wallow in self pity"

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

The right-wing prospers when people feel a sense of grievance. whether or not something is true doesn't signify, as you really should know by now.

Christmas is an amalgam of old pagan holidays/traditions (the solstice, saturnalia, basic winter festival) reskinned as a middle eastern religious holiday. Even some of the more Christian parts, like the story of a virgin birth, are borrowed from other earlier religions.

It's hilarious to see Xtian fundamentalists fulminating because they think someone's trying to steal their stolen holiday back

For the last 2000 years Christians have complained about being persecuted. For the last 1700, since Constantine they have been the majority religion... And the major persecutor of other peoples and religions... This is a typical tactic of the bully... "he made he made me hit him.". let's recognize this for what it is, pure thuggery and PR by the republicans.

They'll get there's in the ind when when they're choking out their final breath and leave this world with a Peggy Lee moment: Is that all there is?

Ah, yes, Gary Bauer, the return of Oliver Cromwell to cast out those Wassailers. Yeah, one good thing might come as a result of the Puritans destroying any secular vestige, but, at least, if they end up destroying all CDs and tapes of Whitney Houston wannabes ruining Christmas carols with their off key scale runs and trilling, it might have some value.

Gary, when you hear about "The War on Ramadan!" please alert the media!
Until then, STFU!!!

Just another Christian Dipshit.
And Gary, I know you and your fellow Christianista's want to feel like a martyred minority, but remember, we can't martyr you until you're dead. So, give that some consideration, will ya? Especially the dead part.

If Christians were treated like Muslims our air transportation system would come to a screeching halt as so many passengers would be pulled out of line and subjected to extra-special inspection.

Gretchen is right...Christianity is a guilt ridden masochistic pool of narcissism.

jimBOB has it right. Since pagans refused to give up celebrating the solstice with gifts and regalia, early converters decided to co-opt the season, and invented a birthday for their demi-god. Now we have to listen to complaints that the 'true meaning' of this festival has been lost?

Come on Bauer let's have some details of all these poor persecuted christians. Just what other religous holidays are even officially recognized in this country?(that would be ones that the banks and post office are closed)

SaintZak said:
They'll get there's in the ind when when they're choking out their final breath and leave this world with a Peggy Lee moment: Is that all there is?

Or maybe it will be a John Lennon moment: And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

Then they'll look back on all the times victimized those they disagreed with, and all the time they whined about their perceived victimhood, and finally realize that they never took the time to love others as they loved themselves.

I recently read where Best Buy had a small 'celebrate Eid' (or something to that effect) on a advertising circular. According to the advertising manager (whose name appeared Muslim, but I could be wrong, not that it makes any difference), the backlash against that one little comment on an ad was incredible and outrageous. So, until there is a backlash against 'Christmas specials' on an ad (and I'm not holding my breath), then these morons can STFU.

Poor Gary's just cheesed off that they can't have "public(ly funded) displays of Christianity".

Bauer's a world-class practitioner of the Karl Rov Two Step: take your worst fault and project it on to someone else. What he's really complaining about is that ANY other religion gets any respect -- exactly like the Islamic extremists he professes to hate. He wants a country where his religion and only his religion is permitted.

I was going to say that when a construction site for a Christian church is firebombed, Bauer can start to worry. Then I remembered that in the Real America (read, red state South) church burning is fairly common. But only Black churches. Funny how none of these "war on Christianity" whiners never even think to mention those incidents.

If Christians aren't victims, then why do we have a president who's trying to implement Sharia law?

I just hope I live long enough to see an open Christian be elected to public office in America.

Somewhere around 800 CE Charlemagne chopped off the heads of 40,000 Germanic tribal leaders who refused to convert to Christianity. He was probably consolidating power, but he claimed he was saving their souls. That was before the Crusades. Some of those tribal leaders might have been Bauer's ancestors. Of course, the Spanish killed millions of Native Americans in Central and South America. Those they didn't kill outright they worked to death in their gold and silver mines. The Chritian priests who condoned the slaughter were quick to destroy the sacred texts, as well as mathematical and historical tracts, eraticating cultures over 1000 years old all in the name of Jesus. I haven't even mentioned the Inquisition and the persecution of the Jews and others in Europe. Nor have I mentioned the millions of Christians killed by other Christians.

Organized Christianity has never been a religion for, well, Christians who have actually read and appreciate the New Testament.

Bauer is absolutely correct. Jesus Christ himself wouldn't turn the other cheek, so why should modern Christians?

And in the spirit of the season: may you all be touched by His noodly appendage.

I'd be happy to privilege Christmas exactly the way we privilege Ramadan and Eid and all the other Muslim holidays we don't celebrate. Kids could stay in school, offices could stay open, employees could make money, and I'd only have to make the long trip to my parents' house on Thanksgiving.

My eye-opener was in the 9th grade, after 8 years of nun-run Catholic school. Religion came up and a couple of sisters said that they were Christians. Sure, I said. So are we.
Yes, but we're CHRISTIANS, they answered.

And that's that dogwhistle. Catholics aren't Christians. Neither are WCC, 21st Century Protestants.

Or as Fielding's Mr. Thwackum would put it:

"When I mention religion, I mean the Christian religion; and not only the Christian religion, but the Protestant religion; and not only the Protestant religion, but the Church of England."

Bauer is right: I think we should call for government hearings to investigate the patriotism of Christians, like himself. All for parity, of course.

I think what Bauer and his ilk mean by "public" is ON public property SUPPORTED by public means. IOW, establishment of Xianity. These people will not be mollified until they have a chokehold on government.

Mr. Bauer and his gang have done far more damage to Christianity in America than all the left-wing elites and radical Islamists ever could.

@Ron Byers, not to forget the many Native Americans atop mesas in now New Mexico, who were given the choice, while standing at the edge of mesas, to either convert or learn, very quickly, how to fly. Another example of the Christian spirit of the Spaniards was an incident where warriors had been ordered to kill the remaining Spanish near the sea. However, Cortez had been invited to the palace and was not pleased. Moctezuma, to show his good faith, ordered them sacrificed. Cortez was outraged and demanded they be released into his custody, so, they could have a "decent Christian" burning at the stake wrapped in the chains from his destroyed ships.

Another reason I prefer Pete Seeger's "Give me that Old Time Religion" such as a Zarathusta boosta or a fluid Druid.

@SteveT: That's a Paul McCartney line.

It's the paranoid rapture.

I've actually been wondering about this weird victimhood for a few days - it is after all Christmas, which is no longer about togetherness or Jesus but bitter people looking for reasons to hate. So it's a good time to meditate upon this.

I've come to the conclusion that this victimhood is part of the mindest of people like Bauer because a sense of victimhood is necessary to cultivate a need for revenge.

If you're a victim, then lashing out at your victimizer is percieved as justified and understandable - as well as emotionally fulfilling. Revenge is an easy emotion, it has black and white clarity and it allows people to justify anything they do no matter how horrific. Revenge is also an easy cathartic, a kind of negative emotional orgasm.

What Bauer is doing is cultivating the victimhood - which then in turn cultivates the sense of revenge. This is a major part of right-wing politics right now - revenge is easily directed, rarely questioned, and people can take out their other frustrations on their targets. Better a perceived war on Christmas be in people's crosshairs then, say, lying evangelical exploiters, banksters, and corrupt politicians . . .

Thus the teaching of Jesus, who taught us not to immediately lash back, are used so a bunch of corrupt folk like Bauer can cultivate a sense of victimhood in people and direct their anger at people who never hurt them.

Oh yes, and let's not forget the persecution by Christians of the old Hellenic religion believers, Jews (since before the middle ages, starting with Paul), Buddists, Zoroastrians, all native American religions, Mithrans, scientists, Muslims, and other christians in frighteningly vicious intra-religion wars.

And let's not forget that wonderful institution, the Inquisition, the burning of witches, the forced conversion of California Natives by the Spanish, oh and the church kept the tradition of castrating boys to prevent their voices from changing until well into the 19th century.The damage Christians have done to art and literature they disagree with is also incalculable. Ranging from the destruction of ancient roman and Greek manuscripts, to the burning of Aztec and Mayan texts, to the looting and burning of the ancient Chinese library by the British during one of those "rebellions."

So, my dear friends, if anyone needs persecuting perhaps it is time the Christians are held accountable for the crimes of their past. They should be taxed and the money put towards peservation of indigenous cultures.

Modern day self-pronounced Christians seem to be of the Yohann Tetsil school of ponzi theology!

Bauer would do well to remember the clay pigeon aspect to any dogmatically inspired insanity.

Why can't he welcome Allah into his heart as a spiritual messenger to 1/7 of our planet's human population?

Does Bauer have a small pecker? -Kevo

KurtRec1453 hits on part of it. The roots of Christianity do have a storng element of persecution, which is still colled on, 2000 years later, to solidify, organize, or in various ways instill a series of myths and actions that conservative Christians use to gain power. The myth is powerful, and amplified via various media methods. It is used to form stronger bonds within the group.

On the other hand Irving Berlin, who was Jewish,
wrote White Christmas and Easter Parade, which
certainly helped in secularizing these Christian
holidays.

Kevo, Muhammad is the messenger. Allah is simply Arabic for "God."

If one made a mold of the beatitudes of the New Testament, and tried to fit Bauer's particular brand of Christian into it, it would be like pounding a square screaming peg into a Jesus shaped hole.

The people standing up as vocal representations of Christianity seem to actually believe that the disparity between their religion-coated words and the obvious underlying meaning is not visible to people, let alone God. The duality between their religious talk and the wealthy lifestyles these people live actually reflect the very antithesis of Jesus' desire for the Christian walk.

The quandary for Christian leadership, and Main Street Christians too, is that Jesus doesn't give Christians permission to amass wealth and worldly possessions like McMansions in gated communities, boats, multiple cars, huge TVs in every room. He certainly doesn't give Christians permission to strive for social domination. He certainly wouldn't advocate the Fox brand of lying to unduly influence the masses to get power, and nowhere in the Bible does he outline the way to cheat a democratic system to gain seats and offices. Jesus says nothing about the need to control people, to deregulate and not tax corporations, to subjugate or intimidate anyone.

We have a nation of privileged, overfed, and wealthy Christians who desperately need permission from somewhere to keep and increase their excesses. People like Bauer are working to ease the consciences of a large percentage of unproven Christians who have no cause to claim suffering. Talk Radio voices certainly work to provide the same service, since they too are in the same money-driven boat. Not a lick of gratitude from any of them, just condemnation and finger-pointing.

These people talk religion but they don't live it and there is no reason anyone of real faith should listen to them.

Where I live in AL, large stained-glass churches with landscaped lawns and paved parking lots full of huge Ford F-150's just aren't getting the Jesus message of humility, sacrifice, and love across to their moneyed patrons. Instead it's: Believe you Receive when you Pray, and the wealthy's new Bible verse: To Those from Whom Much is Expected, Much is Given.

Well, they got the Much is Given part down...

If Christianity were treated like Islam, Christmas and Easter would be publicly celebrated for what they are -- the signature events of Christianity, marking the birth and the death and Resurrection of Christ -- not stripped of all their theological meaning and transformed into secular holidays devoted to crass consumerism.

When the Christians were busy marketing their fictional "Savior" to the Romans, they stole the Saturnalia winter solstice festival to celebrate his "birth" (turning the celebration of the avoidance of death on its head), then stole the Spring Equinox festival of fertility to celebrate his "death" (again, turning the celebration of the beginning of new life on its head).

In 60+ years of paying attention to these people, I have yet to find any "theological meaning" in any of their bullshit (from any of their sects). Could it be that's because there was nothing there to begin with???

Let's recall the first great Christian crime, that of Clement of Alexandria in whipping up the masses to go burn the "pagan texts" in the Library of Alexandria, thus bringing on The Dark Ages in the West. For this, Clement was rewarded by becoming Pope Clement I.

The Christian Fundamentalist church, in all its forms, has been the greatest impediment of progress in the past 2,000 years. They are of course followed closely by the Muslim and Hindu Fundamentalists

It just occurred to me that Bauer-like Xians have even co-opted the Festivus ritual, among all the other pagan ones they've stolen over the centuries. They now consider this reason for this season as primarily the time for the Airing of Grievances.

My bad 1st Paradox - Why can't he (Bauer) welcome Allah into his heart and accept Islam as the spiritual calling to 1/7 of our planet's human population? (To be sure, His God won't be offended!) -Kevo

Bauer's "public display" is just his codeword for "government-sponsored and endorsed display". He doesn't understand why we can't have a nice little theocracy like all those amazing Islamist countries.

Muslim Family Day is wrong, but the Christian Family Day at my local amusement park is okay? Magic Springs in Hot Springs, AR has had an annual CFD for several years, as well as bringing in Christian rock groups for their Saturday night concerts which attract busloads of youth groups. (Religion or shameless commerce?) I think the new owners have dropped the CFD but are still bringing in Christian concerts, which are free with a daily or annual pass. Churches and youth groups get a discounted rate.

Thanks for bringing some common sense to the table!