Tis the Season to be...well, misinformed mostly but also persecuted!

Came across this lovely little article where Atheists are taken to task for their pesky mean Christmas spirit, I just thought I'd critque the piece found here http://richarddawkins.net/articles/566680-atheists-numbers-doom-them-to-irrelevance .

Atheists are once again trying to bring attention to themselves by attempting to denigrate, insult or demean religions and, in particular, Christianity and therefore Christians. [Well I guess it beats them once again trying to alter legislation, demean a gender or persecute a demographic with late Bronze Age myth.]

This time it is a billboard advertising [the horror] stunt in New Jersey; the billboard was placed [paid for by them and completely within the law] there by some atheist activist group that calls itself American Atheists. Once again an attempt to put down Christianity will be doomed to irrelevance. [Well done you for making it less irrelevant by writing an article.]
Polls show atheists to be 3 percent or less of the total population of the United States, a number that has remained about the same over past years.[In fact the non religious in one of the fastest growing minorities in the United States.] However, in a desperate attempt to make the number appear higher, the president of this organization now claims that there are many more "closet atheists."[A claim you seem to want to refute but can’t seem to provide actual evidence for.] He goes so far as to say that there are many who attend religious services during the holidays but don't believe in them. Kind of pathetic if you ask me. [I’d say that’s a bit naïve of you but lets not split hairs.]

Fortunately, the country is headed back on the right track to sanity.[You are implying that belief in a deity and private conversation with something untestable is sane, your standards are wide open.] A few years ago only 20 percent of the nation's top companies dared to make any mention of Christmas in their stores. A great many were simply intimidated by the American Civil Liberties Union or similar organizations. The number mentioning Christmas has reversed itself and is now up to 80 percent and continuing to rise.[People must’ve caught on to the fact that it has nothing to do with Christianity in any real sense.] It's also nice to see the Salvation Army bell ringers back in places where they were previously banned. [I’m guessing you see no problem with their homophobic perspective.]
Why are atheists so afraid of Christianity that they feel they have to go out and aggressively attack it every year around this time? [First of all it’s not an attack on Christianity, I would see it as Christianities attack on other religious faiths and people of non belief. You are free to pray and go to church and do what you will, why this feeling of persecution].Why don't you instead proudly proclaim your "atheistic religion" [because its not a religion, it contains no tenets or dogmas, there is nothing you must take on faith or without evidence.] and explain all the reasons and research that led you to your stance.[For the good it would do you as you have set you stall out already, plus we don’t feel the need to proselytize] Maybe you can't?[Presumptuous] Maybe your choice was made out of laziness and you didn't even give religion a chance?[Presumptuous squared] Are you going to give your children the right to choose? [I can safely say they will not be told something that is not provable as fact.]

Tell you what; why don't you pick a day, any day, call it Atheist Day, and spend the day celebrating your atheism.[Celebrating a lack of belief is a bit silly and shows sheer lack of understanding. Shall you join in for all the other gods you don’t believe in? Or should we have a ‘I don’t Believe in the Loch Ness Monster Day?] Get yourself an atheist tree, exchange atheist gifts and have a great atheist meal. [I think you’ll find that we already do, it’s called Christmas. The tree is pagan, the gift giving isn’t original, the date is stolen and as far as I recall they didn’t eat turkey in the bible.] Call all the other atheists you know (won't take long) or send them a card and exchange happy atheist wishes.

Since you believe that there is no being more supreme than yourself (a rather egocentric viewpoint), [In fact there is no more supreme to our knowledge than each other and that is the reason we should all be equal in rights and freedoms. Call that egocentric if you so wish.] you can celebrate you by staring at yourself (or small groups staring at each other) in the mirror all day. Isn't this a better idea than going around and putting other religions down?[ I wouldn’t say Christianity is being put down. It’s an obvious and historical fact hat the 25^th of December has nothing to do with Christianity, There is no impact on your ability to have your personal relationship with your g, you are free to go to church, you are free to pray and you are free to do as you wish…which is the same right extended to everyone else] At least you are doing something more positive for yourself if you follow my strategy for you.

We Christians are on the Right Side of this issue [I’m sure Muslims and Jews would tell me the same, but I guess you are just super special.]. Atheists have no real beliefs; [Now that’s closer] they just want to tear down one more longstanding tradition and belief.[You lost it again] How can they claim that a baby in a manger, a cross, a Christmas tree or some innocent Christmas songs cause them untold suffering and still keep a straight face?[I don’t recall someone mentioning ‘untold suffering. Strawman for Christmas?] And then they tell the rest of us to be more sensitive to their feelings. Wrong, atheists; you are the ones who need the sensitivity training sessions. Your claims of hurt and pain are bordering on the side of ridiculousness. [Unlike the persecuted Christian majority who don’t mention their hurt feelings?]
As has been shown over the past few years, Christians can make their feelings known by voting with their feet and their wallets. As much as the atheists hate to admit it, their impact is becoming smaller each year.[Who is asking who to admit what?] Remember the movie, "The Passion of The Christ"? It is now No. 15 of the top 1,000 grossing films of all time in the United States.[ And Phantom Menace is 7^th, so people who recognise themselves as Jedi’s have more credibility?] On the other hand, Bill Maher and his classic film, "Religulous," is number … well, I can't find it on the list. As a matter of fact, I wonder if it even covered its costs. I think it was popular for about three weekends.[ To date, Religulous has grossed over $13 million after having a production budget of $2.5 million. It is currently 7th among the highest grossing documentaries in the US and is the highest grossing documentary of 2008. But hey its not like you need facts on your side when you believe what you are saying is true.] Examples like this abound. [Yet no need to supply them to back up your argument.]
The same thing holds true for retailers. Whose business do they want? [Jesus would be so proud as he was quite into commercialism] Do they want 3 percent of the population frequenting their stores or a much larger percentage?[Depends on the wealth of the people in those percentages, but again its easy to assume people are dazzled by numbers.] I think the answer is obvious when you look at all the establishments that realized they made a huge mistake a few years back and have since rethought their positions. [Who? And what did they do?]

Even though I do push back hard against you atheists, [I think we can take it, even though it is brilliantly researched and irrefutable.] I still hope you will rethink your position and change before it's too late. You are making the biggest mistake of your lives by not at least giving religion a serious try.[Which one? And it’s near the end and you are still making assumptions.] In the meantime I wish you a Merry Christmas and I will be praying for you. [Merry Christmas also, if I pray for you can we call it a cheap Christmas present?]

Tom Sears is a local professor of accounting in Oneonta. He can be reached at searsthomas16@gmail.com. His column appears every other week. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/tomsears.