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.
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6 comments:
Well that's disappointing. If you're going to put a *DATE* on Christmas, the popular answer is now shifting to September 11, 3 BC... that's been around since about 1998 so it has nothing to do with September 11, 2001. So the sandwich guy who knows "everything there is to know" about Christianity knows something that tons of Biblical and historical scholars still debate about. Weird, he must be brilliant.
Busboy saddens me. He knows less than sandwich guy and clings to his ignorance. Hopefully a simple internet search tonight shows him he has some research to do.
One of my friends who is an Unitarian-Universalist celebrated Christmas at his church a few years back. I don't know if you know about that "religion" but they don't have a stance that anyone is right or wrong, everyone is just free to believe in whatever. They refuse to talk about Jesus though, at least in regards to Christmas. Their main text was Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" and the point of the sermon was to spread the "Christmas Spirit." It was really annoying and frustrating and offensive. Still, I plan to celebrate Christmas sometime either in September or in May, just because it's closer to Jesus' actual birthday than December 25.
I understand where you are coming from... though I am not a Christian, I do believe in and love God, and you want everyone to have that gift of love. I know that as a Christian you want everyone to have the gift of salvation and a relationship with Jesus.
But that doesn't mean that all that he said was untrue. We don't know the actual date of Jesus's birth... and December 25th was a pagan holiday that the Christians sort of took over (they actually have a video on it today, go figure: http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/christmas-elements-have-pagan-roots/pqauiaq?q=Christmas&rel=msn&from=en-us_msnhp&form=msnhed>1=42007). And for the sandwich guy, if he doesn't believe in Jesus, then it is just a "i'm going to get gifts" day (plus you can't argue that its a little sickening how commercial businesses like Hallmark have made the holiday season). You might find it sad, but it is what it is, and just because you find it sad doesn't mean you can discount him as just another "ignorant youth". Not believing in Jesus =/= ignorant. It just means that someone has a different set of beliefs then you.
That said, I hope that you have a truly blessed Christmas.
How sad. I always hate he feeling of wanting to say something, but not having the nerve to do it.
What's really interesting about this conversation is the Sandwich Guy knew his stuff. He was right about the facts. There's hope for him yet! :)
If that happened to me, I'd be thinking about it for days and thinking about going back and saying something, or try to have an influence. Lisa~
Hey Meegs,
I think you may have misunderstood some of my post. First of all, I'm quite aware that sandwich guy had his facts on the issue of Dec 25th mostly correct. And I've said all over the place how sickening the commercialization of Christmas is, one reason I'm not accepting gifts at all this year. But I am not discounting him as an ignorant youth because he doesn't believe in Jesus...I'm discounting him as an ignorant youth because he thinks he knows "everything there is to know about Christianity" and for that matter any other religion he doesn't believe in. Thinking you know more than you actually do is a common trait of youth and immaturity, something I remember well from being 13 years old and something I'm already seeing in my 6 year old.
And I hope you and hubby and baby Gwenivere (did I spell that right?) have a wonderful holiday season :)
Oh don't get me wrong, it wasn't nerve that kept me from jumping into that conversation. I have plenty of that :)
It was the inappropriateness of the location of the conversation...in a public relationship the staff should never be having such a loud and controversial discussion.
Also, I was very hungry and had a hungry husband waiting at home :)
People who insist on dating the birth of Christ miss the point entirely, IMHO.
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