atheists and thanksgiving?

[lisue49]

I am inquiring why do atheists celebrate thanksgiving. After all an atheist can't logically "celebrate" thanksgiving because you are thanking the Lord for nature's bounty. Do you accept a paid day off from your employment? you are being given a day's pay to celebrate something you don't believe in. That's not logical. To all the true atheists, I suspose you could visit your atheists friends and enjoy a fried spam sandwich. After all, the traditonal foods of thanksgiving are the products of a bountiful harvest provided by God. So if you celebrate Thanksgiving why and how do you justify that celebration? Thank you for your explaination.

Respectfully submitted.

[Prodigy54321]

I celebrate thanksgiving and christmas and all that crap for the same reasons that most other people do..that is for reasons that have nothing to do with what the holiday was originally intended to be about

[madnak]

Sharkey? Stop coming around please.

[Hopey]

I convert to Christianity for 24 hours on Thanksgiving so that I can get the day off work. I do the same thing at Christmas and Easter.

[hmkpoker]

Well, we atheists are kind of in a pinch. While we are, of course, grossly offended at the idea of someone giving us free money and a day off (those BASTARDS!), it does also give us lots of necessary time to pursue the unholy decadence that our empty, meaningless existences demand so we can fill the void in our miserable souls. It's very nice having a four day weekend to go out and inject speedballs, rape sixteen year old boys and sacrifice chickens in the backyard to a golden calf, and then do even more disturbing things like watch Will and Grace and read Dawkins. And I like it personally because it gives me more time to prepare for the gay pride parade and pro-choice feminist rallies that I so love.

As for food, I make it a point not to defy my atheism, and buy food that was produced on evil, liberal run organic farms rather than that which magically springs up from the glorious well of God's bounty. Sure I'll get e.coli from the spinach and die, but meh, I'm gonna die anyway and then there's gonna be nothing left at all, so I might as well kill myself now! hahahah!!!!

[CaseS87]

[ QUOTE ]
Well, we atheists are kind of in a pinch. While we are, of course, grossly offended at the idea of someone giving us free money and a day off (those BASTARDS!), it does also give us lots of necessary time to pursue the unholy decadence that our empty, meaningless existences demand so we can fill the void in our miserable souls. It's very nice having a four day weekend to go out and inject speedballs, rape sixteen year old boys and sacrifice chickens in the backyard to a golden calf, and then do even more disturbing things like watch Will and Grace and read Dawkins. And I like it personally because it gives me more time to prepare for the gay pride parade and pro-choice feminist rallies that I so love.

As for food, I make it a point not to defy my atheism, and buy food that was produced on evil, liberal run organic farms rather than that which magically springs up from the glorious well of God's bounty. Sure I'll get e.coli from the spinach and die, but meh, I'm gonna die anyway and then there's gonna be nothing left at all, so I might as well kill myself now! hahahah!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]


lol

[CrazyIrishman]

[ QUOTE ]
I am inquiring why do atheists celebrate thanksgiving. After all an atheist can't logically "celebrate" thanksgiving because you are thanking the Lord for nature's bounty. Do you accept a paid day off from your employment? you are being given a day's pay to celebrate something you don't believe in. That's not logical. To all the true atheists, I suspose you could visit your atheists friends and enjoy a fried spam sandwich. After all, the traditonal foods of thanksgiving are the products of a bountiful harvest provided by God. So if you celebrate Thanksgiving why and how do you justify that celebration? Thank you for your explaination.

Respectfully submitted.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanksgiving can mean different things to different people. I may be using the time to be introspectively thinking about all the things that are going good in my life and what I am thankful for.

I may take the time to spend with people that I am glad are in my life, like friends and family.

Neither of those has anything to do with "god's bounty".
You thank the Lord on thanksgiving, fine. Doesn't mean everyone else has to.

[kurto]

[ QUOTE ]
I am inquiring why do atheists celebrate thanksgiving. After all an atheist can't logically "celebrate" thanksgiving because you are thanking the Lord for nature's bounty. Do you accept a paid day off from your employment? you are being given a day's pay to celebrate something you don't believe in. That's not logical. To all the true atheists, I suspose you could visit your atheists friends and enjoy a fried spam sandwich. After all, the traditonal foods of thanksgiving are the products of a bountiful harvest provided by God. So if you celebrate Thanksgiving why and how do you justify that celebration? Thank you for your explaination.

Respectfully submitted.

[/ QUOTE ]

I consider it a day to come together with family and/or friends, to eat delicious food and mock history and christians. Like the humor filled thanksgiving where Christians give thanks to God for having the Indians save their asses... and then they turn around and do the 'Christian' thing of slaughtering the people who saved them.

Aaaah Thanksgiving. Good times.

[moorobot]

[ QUOTE ]
After all an atheist can't logically "celebrate" thanksgiving because you are thanking the Lord for nature's bounty. Do you accept a paid day off from your employment? you are being given a day's pay to celebrate something you don't believe in

[/ QUOTE ] Lousy jewish and scientologists get Christmas off work as well. It isn't "logical" for you to post about this and not about that.

[ QUOTE ]
That's not logical.

[/ QUOTE ] Either is you making this post, nor is eating four huge meals in one day, or me preferring breasts to robocop II. But I don't complain about people having differing views on these things, or being logical about them, or claim that they have to "justify" it. Except you, because I'm big into reciprocity (thanks to that liberal secularist some call "evolution"). So what justifies you making this post instead of one about all the heathens who believe in a different invisible man than you getting Thanksgiving off of work as well? They shouldn't even be allowed to smell the turkey, imo.

[ QUOTE ]
To all the true atheists, I suspose you could visit your atheists friends and enjoy a fried spam sandwich. After all, the traditonal foods of thanksgiving are the products of a bountiful harvest provided by God.

[/ QUOTE ] What? God provided this bountiful harvest? I thought it was human hard work and ingenuity and natural resources. My mistake.

Why is god responsible for all of the good things, but not for the bad things, btw? How come nobody ever says "after all, gangrene is a disease provided by God and therefore you atheists shouldn't get to have it"? How come no sports superstars say: "Hey, we lost, but God wanted the other team to win, so no biggie".

[ QUOTE ]
So if you celebrate Thanksgiving why and how do you justify that celebration ?

[/ QUOTE ] Now we have to justify celebrations? I thought things that were intrinsically unenjoyable had to be justified by extrinsic reasons, whereas things that are intrinsically enjoyable were done for their own sake. My mistake.

You see, non-religous people tend to have these crazy idea that the purpose of life is to enjoy life. They don't have nine virgins or eternal bliss or salvation to fall back on; they have to make something out of their lives here and now.

[lisue49]

If the antheists unofficial leader DS, can call Glen Beck an
arrogant moron because he does not approve of his lack of "logic" don't I, in the interest of trying to understand another view of the world, have the right or even the duty to respectfully ask for an explaination or clairfication of an aspect of that thought or practice,which to me is illogical or dare I even say it, hypocritical?

I haven't called anybody anything and in previous posts I have found that by the atheists own admission they have not founded one social organization to help their fellow man do anything. I will be the first to admit that the biggest problem with christianity are the misguided actions of christians, but when push comes to shove who are you going to turn to? what are theists susposed to think? On this forum alone I have answers from people who don't believe in the holiday, but are more than willing to accept hospitality and funds in the name of that holiday. What does that say about people who scoff at people who do believe? VERY LITTLE. As far as I can see atheists should be very grateful to theists because if theists didn't believe in being givers what would the rest of you do?


Respectfully submitted

[MidGe]

[ QUOTE ]
On this forum alone I have answers from people who don't believe in the holiday, but are more than willing to accept hospitality and funds in the name of that holiday. What does that say about people who scoff at people who do believe? VERY LITTLE. As far as I can see atheists should be very grateful to theists because if theists didn't believe in being givers what would the rest of you do?

[/ QUOTE ]

Gee, I would have thought that workers benefits were achieved by atheist communists comrades efforts. If it was not for them you still would not even have 4 weeks holidays or more a year, let alone statutory holidays or minimum wages. Wait a minute! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[moneyfaucet]

I don't celebrate anything including my own birthday.

[CrazyIrishman]

The labor movement is what we have to thank for all of these holidays off. Also, hundreds of thousands of people DON'T get holidays off. I've worked Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Years and Easter for the last 2 years. How's that for "Christian" generosity. Give your workers holidays off unless they are service industry wage slaves.
Name a few things that 'theists' actually give to atheists.

[MidGe]

[ QUOTE ]
The labor movement is what we have to thank for all of these holidays off.

[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed! It is just is and has been a weaker movement in the US than many other places, for many reasons.

[CrazyIrishman]

I've heard that Europe, mainly due to the rise of socialism, has FAR better vacation/holiday time than we here in the US have.

[madnak]

[ QUOTE ]
If the antheists unofficial leader DS, can call Glen Beck an
arrogant moron because he does not approve of his lack of "logic"

[/ QUOTE ]

Glenn Beck (http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=911_morons) made a logical error, and David called him out on it. Was David justified in calling him a moron? I don't know, maybe you should ask the moderators to ban him.

[ QUOTE ]
don't I, in the interest of trying to understand another view of the world, have the right or even the duty to respectfully ask for an explaination or clairfication of an aspect of that thought or practice,which to me is illogical or dare I even say it, hypocritical?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not really, the situations aren't even remotely analogous. Not to mention that your understanding of logic isn't exactly stellar based on your posts - if you can identify a specific fallacy then that's something else. Finally, you have a clear ulterior motive, and pretending otherwise only makes it worse.

[ QUOTE ]
I haven't called anybody anything and in previous posts I have found that by the atheists own admission they have not founded one social organization to help their fellow man do anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is false. You have by our admission that no organization helps people in the name of atheism, however atheists themselves have started a huge number of charitable organizations (we covered this in the thread you're referencing).

[ QUOTE ]
I will be the first to admit that the biggest problem with christianity are the misguided actions of christians, but when push comes to shove who are you going to turn to? what are theists susposed to think?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know, I don't do remedial teaching.

[ QUOTE ]
On this forum alone I have answers from people who don't believe in the holiday, but are more than willing to accept hospitality and funds in the name of that holiday.

[/ QUOTE ]

Holidays are cultural rituals - actually most of what you call the Christian holidays were adapted arbitrarily from pagan festivals. The history of some of these holidays is downright hilarious - Easter was a festival of devotion to the goddes Eostre, and was probably an orgy-fest.

At any rate, holidays and festivals existed long before organized religion, and will exist long after it.

[ QUOTE ]
What does that say about people who scoff at people who do believe? VERY LITTLE.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with you there, that atheists celebrate holidays implies basically nothing at all.

[ QUOTE ]
As far as I can see atheists should be very grateful to theists because if theists didn't believe in being givers what would the rest of you do?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's largely secular influences that are responsible for work holidays. Did you have a point? Hey, personally I'd prefer to go back to the orgiastic rites - those were the days.

(And theists are Indian givers anyhow.)

[KUJustin]

Was this a legit question or an attempt to mock ppl who would ask atheists why they celebrate Christmas?

I'm hoping for the latter even though it would still be terrible execution

[kurto]

Atheists don't have a leader official or otherwise.

"I haven't called anybody anything and in previous posts I have found that by the atheists own admission they have not founded one social organization to help their fellow man do anything." Really. I really doubt you've researched all social organizations to see if any were started by atheists.

I don't believe most people, including the christians I know, think of Thanksgiving as a religious holiday.

[vulturesrow]

Im a conservative Christian and this post is plain dumb. Atheists arent allowed to celebrate the blessings of life even if they disagree on the ultimate source? I dont know what you are trying to gain by making posts like that, but you might want to examine your motives for making a confrontational post. They certainly do nothing to advance the message of Christ with those who don't believe.

[fnord_too]

Just skimmed the OP. Thanksgiving is not a religous holliday AFAIK. It is in fact a strictly US (well canada has their own I think) holliday. Hell, we are celebrating the native americans saving our asses from starvation, and they were all "savages". In other news, the fourth of july is also not a Christian holliday.

[Hopey]

[ QUOTE ]
It is in fact a strictly US (well canada has their own I think) holliday.

[/ QUOTE ]

Canadian Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October. Shorter growing season and all that...

[Hopey]

[ QUOTE ]
Atheists don't have a leader official or otherwise.


[/ QUOTE ]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ce/DavidSklansky.jpg/200px-DavidSklansky.jpg

????

[HSB]

[ QUOTE ]
I am inquiring why do atheists celebrate thanksgiving. After all an atheist can't logically "celebrate" thanksgiving because you are thanking the Lord for nature's bounty. Do you accept a paid day off from your employment? you are being given a day's pay to celebrate something you don't believe in. That's not logical. To all the true atheists, I suspose you could visit your atheists friends and enjoy a fried spam sandwich. After all, the traditonal foods of thanksgiving are the products of a bountiful harvest provided by God. So if you celebrate Thanksgiving why and how do you justify that celebration? Thank you for your explaination.

Respectfully submitted.

[/ QUOTE ]

I celebrate Thanksgiving because my entire family expects it plus I get to sit around, eat like a pig, play cards, and watch football. Plus, there's pie.

Not once in the entire history of my experience with Thanksgiving have I thanked the lord for anything.

So basically, the entire premise is a load of crap.

[BPA234]

"I don't know, I don't do remedial teaching." lol

[revots33]

I think it is a good day to be thankful I finally woke up and realized religion is a crock.

Plus I've got 50 bucks on the Broncos.

[bocablkr]

I have never thought of Thanksgiving as a holiday that had anything to do with god - so I don't see the problem.

[Hopey]

[ QUOTE ]
I have never thought of Thanksgiving as a holiday that had anything to do with god - so I don't see the problem.

[/ QUOTE ]

Quite a few people would say the same thing about Christmas and Easter, too.

[Tennenbaum]

[ QUOTE ]
I am inquiring why do atheists celebrate thanksgiving. After all an atheist can't logically "celebrate" thanksgiving because you are thanking the Lord for nature's bounty. Do you accept a paid day off from your employment? you are being given a day's pay to celebrate something you don't believe in. That's not logical. To all the true atheists, I suspose you could visit your atheists friends and enjoy a fried spam sandwich. After all, the traditonal foods of thanksgiving are the products of a bountiful harvest provided by God. So if you celebrate Thanksgiving why and how do you justify that celebration? Thank you for your explaination.

Respectfully submitted.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never ever thought of Thanksgiving as a religious holiday. I'm not thanking the Lord for nature's bounty. I'm eating dinner w/ my family reflecting on all the things I have to be greatful for, yes. But it has nothing to do w/ God in my family. So I think that anyone, can celebrate it IMO.

[gurgeh]

[ QUOTE ]
I am inquiring why do atheists celebrate thanksgiving. After all an atheist can't logically "celebrate" thanksgiving because you are thanking the Lord for nature's bounty. Do you accept a paid day off from your employment? you are being given a day's pay to celebrate something you don't believe in. That's not logical. To all the true atheists, I suspose you could visit your atheists friends and enjoy a fried spam sandwich. After all, the traditonal foods of thanksgiving are the products of a bountiful harvest provided by God. So if you celebrate Thanksgiving why and how do you justify that celebration? Thank you for your explaination.

Respectfully submitted.

[/ QUOTE ]

I used to be an atheist, but as you have so respectfully stated, eating fried spam with my atheistic friends was no fun at all. I wanted some nice, god-fearing turkey with some nice, god-fearing people (read: trolls).

So I converted to Christianity, but then I realized that I couldn't celebrate Thanksgiving that way either. My family was stuck eating roasted mana and dry, thin wafers of bread. The wine sucked, too.

So I figured I'd have to be a pagan of some sort, since as you say, Thanksgiving is all about nature's bounty. Couldn't find any decent-looking Wiccans, so I became an Asatruar (Odinist), which is closer to my heritage anyway. Now I'm even allowed to drink mead. Yay!

[benjdm]

[ QUOTE ]
I am inquiring why do atheists celebrate thanksgiving.

[/ QUOTE ]
Tradition and enjoyment, just like Christmas.

[ QUOTE ]
After all an atheist can't logically "celebrate" thanksgiving because you are thanking the Lord for nature's bounty.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's not what I am celebrating, obviously. Do you rename the days of the week ? Or do you call still call them Thursday (Thor's day), Tuesday (Tyr's day), Wednesday (Wodin or Odin's day), etc.

[ QUOTE ]
Do you accept a paid day off from your employment?

[/ QUOTE ]
Always. It's a national, federal holiday, you know. Not solely religious. Just like Christmas.

[jogsxyz]

We atheists have no problem enjoying thanksgiving. We get to skip the blessing.
The year is 2006. Have no problem with that either.