Overheard at Panera Bread

Tonight I headed to our local Panera Bread to pick up a little dinner since Mike is sick and not wanting a big deal with lots of dishes to clean up. Sunday nights at Panera are not particularly busy, and I think it's like the third string of staff working.  I'm in there a few times a week, so I know the first string of managers and wait staff pretty well. While trying to get the soda fountain to work properly, I overheard a rather disturbing conversation between a busboy and the guy behind the counter who makes the sandwiches. Of course, since I ordered take-out, I had to stand in front of the counter and wait quite awhile listening as it got heated.

Busboy: Wait, so YOU celebrate Christmas?
Sandwich Guy: Yeah, so? Christmas is not a religious holiday.
Busboy: Of course it is, it's a Christian holiday.
Sandwich Guy: Nah, Christmas just means, "Imma gonna get sum presents."
Busboy: It's Jesus' BIRTHDAY, duh, that's a Christian holiday.
Sandwich Guy: Wrong. Christmas is a pagan holiday that was taken over by the Christians and then taken over by Hallmark. Christmas is a Hallmark holiday. Everybody knows Jesus wasn't even born on December 25th.
Busboy: Of course Jesus was born on Christmas! Every Christian knows that.
Sandwich Guy: No! Jesus was born in the springtime, December 25th was a pagan holiday.
Busboy: You're thinking of Easter, Jesus' death. Jesus died in the springtime but I GUARANTEE you 100% of Christians KNOW that Jesus was born on Christmas.
Sandwich Guy: Wrong, Jesus was born in springtime. And anyway Easter isn't about Jesus' death,  it's about his resurrection!
Busboy: ...and his death! Jesus died and then three days later was resurrected. What do you know anyway, you believe in Univers...cintology.
Sandwich Guy: Scientology?! NO. (Very loudly) I'm an ATHEIST! I believe in SCIENCE! FACTS! REALITY!

(this is the point at which it was all I could do to not jump in that I, too, believe in science, facts and  reality...and Jesus as my Savior.)

Sandwich Guy: I know all about Christianity. I don't actually DISBELIEVE in anything, any religion, until I know everything there is to know about it. (emphasis mine)

This is the point at which my number was called, I exhaled sharply and ran out, praying all the while for both kids, who could not have been a day over twenty.

Ah youth. I remember when I had a very similar attitude to that sandwich guy. I thought I knew everything there was to know about anything of importance, and most especially anything to do with Christianity. And I was pretty quick to tell people too. Age and experience has taught me how little any of us really know about anything at all. Maturity has taught me how little I know of God, despite knowing what the Bible says and believing its authority as truth. What I do know is that He exists, science has proven that to me. And I do know that He is loving and personal, experience has proven this to me.

The whole conversation was saddening to me, the fact that so many people do believe Christmas is all about getting presents, and that so many have been led to believe that science proves there is no God and religion is stupid. So many young atheists fail to see how religious their beliefs really are.