NationStates Jolt Archive


Where is society heading?

New-Lexington
30-12-2005, 02:00
I know that here in the states many retail giants are saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas" so not to offend anyone. i for one am sick of this "not offending anyone". we have to accomodate for the minority so badly it almost seems the minority rules, and thats not democracy... and the same thing with evolution in school, does teaching evolution not offend christians?
Tactical Grace
30-12-2005, 02:01
Whoa whoa whoa!

Stop right there.

Dude, you have committed a grave error of judgement in your consideration of political correctness. You gave a damn.
Gataway_Driver
30-12-2005, 02:04
and the same thing with evolution in school, does teaching evolution not offend christians?

No it offends creationists, not christians
Noodle Domination
30-12-2005, 02:05
I know that here in the states many retail giants are saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas" so not to offend anyone. i for one am sick of this "not offending anyone". we have to accomodate for the minority so badly it almost seems the minority rules, and thats not democracy... and the same thing with evolution in school, does teaching evolution not offend christians?

Yea it sux but what are you going to do? The end is near because things just keep getting warse and warse we are on a self destruct pattern as a nation.
New-Lexington
30-12-2005, 02:06
Whoa whoa whoa!

Stop right there.

Dude, you have committed a grave error of judgement in your consideration of political correctness. You gave a damn.
What is wrong? political correcness is wrong
Neu Leonstein
30-12-2005, 02:10
I know that here in the states many retail giants are saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas" so not to offend anyone.
That's silly. Christmas has not been a religious thing for decades - it's cultural now. In Germany, almost all Muslims celebrated Christmas these days, and Muslim-owned Christmas-deco shops made a killing.
But you shouldn't give a damn. Unless you've been watching too much O'Reilly.

i for one am sick of this "not offending anyone".
Cuz it's so much better to offend everyone?

we have to accomodate for the minority so badly it almost seems the minority rules, and thats not democracy...
Democracy is a system that allows the majority to rule, and relies on the goodwill and division of the majority to accomodate the minority. That's what happens most of the time - and besides, a dictatorship of the majority is the single greatest danger to a democracy there can be.
It's why we have constitutions and the like.

and the same thing with evolution in school, does teaching evolution not offend christians?
Evolution is the explanation we have. There is consensus in the scientific community. Indeed, the debate about this is pretty much unique to the US and the most backward third world nations. Other Western countries laugh at the US for this.

And as they said, only very few and very silly Creationists are opposed to teaching what essentially amounts to the truth (or close to it) in school.
Kroisistan
30-12-2005, 02:21
I know that here in the states many retail giants are saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas" so not to offend anyone. i for one am sick of this "not offending anyone". we have to accomodate for the minority so badly it almost seems the minority rules, and thats not democracy... and the same thing with evolution in school, does teaching evolution not offend christians?

Listen carefully. I don't CARE if teaching evolution offends you. In science there is no room for political correctness - I mean it's practically impossible. The only consideration is whether or not a scientific theory is supported by evidence. Evidence supports evolution. That is why it's taught in schools.

It's like teaching the Holocaust. It might offend Neo-Nazis. But I don't care, and most people don't. Why? Because the Holocaust is historical fact - whether it 'offends' certain people matters not.

That takes care of the evolution part of your 'arguement.'

Now on to Happy Holidays. I will put this as succinctly as I can - the Christian objection to happy holidays doesn't make sense. Why? Because Christmas is a holiday, a holiday that shares a relatively close section of the calander with 3 other holidays celebrated in the US(Chaunukkah, Kwanzaa and New Years). Saying happy holidays is simple, quick and inclusive of ALL winter holidays, including Christmas. It in no way slights Christmas or Christians.

Secondly, of all the things that you could complain about during this season, this is the most insignificant. The true meaning of Christmas - it's religous meaning - has long been usurped by business big and small as a way to massively boost profits. Lest we forget, the only time Jesus 'lost it' in the entire bible story was when merchants were demeaning something sacred(in the specific case, the temple) by using it as a platform for commerce. It would be truer to the actual life of Jesus if you decided to get mad about the merchants in the temple, so to speak, rather than the semantics those merchants use while prostituting the birth of your lord to boost sales.
Swallow your Poison
30-12-2005, 02:22
I know that here in the states many retail giants are saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas" so not to offend anyone. i for one am sick of this "not offending anyone".
Well, nobody is forcing you to be inoffensive to anybody. Be as absolutely offensive as you wish, and you won't get government squads coming to take you or anything. If you want to, you can even say offensive things about the government itself or its members, and still, nothing will happen.
This is because 'political correctness' is mostly a fiction.
we have to accomodate for the minority so badly it almost seems the minority rules, and thats not democracy...
Why, exactly, should I care what is and isn't democracy?
and the same thing with evolution in school, does teaching evolution not offend christians?
Perhaps it does offend some. Does that make a difference?
Utracia
30-12-2005, 02:27
No it offends creationists, not christians

It's the same thing. You cannot be Christian if you don't believe in creationism.
Eruantalon
30-12-2005, 02:30
I know that here in the states many retail giants are saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas" so not to offend anyone. i for one am sick of this "not offending anyone". we have to accomodate for the minority so badly it almost seems the minority rules, and thats not democracy... and the same thing with evolution in school, does teaching evolution not offend christians?
These are just temporary distractions. They don't change anything.
Gataway_Driver
30-12-2005, 02:32
It's the same thing. You cannot be Christian if you don't believe in creationism.

You can if your not American, believe me its a regular thing.
Ice Hockey Players
30-12-2005, 02:34
It's the same thing. You cannot be Christian if you don't believe in creationism.

Lots of Christians don't believe in creationism and frankly would consider it either offensive or ridiculous to be accused of not being Christian simply for not taking the Genesis account literally. Now, you can't be a Christian fundamentalist without believing in creation, since Christian fundamentalists take the Bible literally by definition...but Christian fundamentalist is a subset if Creationist, and Creationist is a subset of Christian.
Utracia
30-12-2005, 02:40
Lots of Christians don't believe in creationism and frankly would consider it either offensive or ridiculous to be accused of not being Christian simply for not taking the Genesis account literally. Now, you can't be a Christian fundamentalist without believing in creation, since Christian fundamentalists take the Bible literally by definition...but Christian fundamentalist is a subset if Creationist, and Creationist is a subset of Christian.

That does not make any sense. How can you believe in God and not believe in creation?
Straughn
30-12-2005, 02:42
I know that here in the states many retail giants are saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas" so not to offend anyone. i for one am sick of this "not offending anyone". we have to accomodate for the minority so badly it almost seems the minority rules, and thats not democracy... and the same thing with evolution in school, does teaching evolution not offend christians?
Well, for one, there is more than one "holy" day in the Xmas season. But shame on people who are accurate. :rolleyes:
And as for accomodation - well, shape up or ship out. This is a crumbling democracy but some of the integrity still stands - so save your theocratic fascist state for your state of mind and soul and leave everyone else to the faculties that don't betray their integrity.
Does teaching evolution not offend christians? Who gives a fat f*ck. If a person can't handle that kind of thing, based obviously on a "moral" standpoint instead of a scientific standpoint, then school is too immoral for your child and you should pull them out immediately and home school them so they don't fall too far from the nest. It would seem there's enough tolerance in this country afforded to "puritans" that there are places in the US where they have thriving communities independent of any scientific advancement.
Straughn
30-12-2005, 02:44
That does not make any sense. How can you believe in God and not believe in creation?
Maybe they believe in destruction instead. There's a few "christian" faiths that seem to be dragging folk down that path. :(
Neu Leonstein
30-12-2005, 02:44
That does not make any sense. How can you believe in God and not believe in creation?
You can believe that God created the Universe, and initiated evolution and the like - just not literally in seven days and using ribs.

Others say God is the sum of the laws of Physics.

You don't have to take things literally to believe.
Straughn
30-12-2005, 02:46
Listen carefully. I don't CARE if teaching evolution offends you. In science there is no room for political correctness - I mean it's practically impossible. The only consideration is whether or not a scientific theory is supported by evidence. Evidence supports evolution. That is why it's taught in schools.

It's like teaching the Holocaust. It might offend Neo-Nazis. But I don't care, and most people don't. Why? Because the Holocaust is historical fact - whether it 'offends' certain people matters not.

That takes care of the evolution part of your 'arguement.'

Now on to Happy Holidays. I will put this as succinctly as I can - the Christian objection to happy holidays doesn't make sense. Why? Because Christmas is a holiday, a holiday that shares a relatively close section of the calander with 3 other holidays celebrated in the US(Chaunukkah, Kwanzaa and New Years). Saying happy holidays is simple, quick and inclusive of ALL winter holidays, including Christmas. It in no way slights Christmas or Christians.

Secondly, of all the things that you could complain about during this season, this is the most insignificant. The true meaning of Christmas - it's religous meaning - has long been usurped by business big and small as a way to massively boost profits. Lest we forget, the only time Jesus 'lost it' in the entire bible story was when merchants were demeaning something sacred(in the specific case, the temple) by using it as a platform for commerce. It would be truer to the actual life of Jesus if you decided to get mad about the merchants in the temple, so to speak, rather than the semantics those merchants use while prostituting the birth of your lord to boost sales.
It would appear that i've AGAIN been upstaged by you, Kroisistan.
Good post. *bows*
Eruantalon
30-12-2005, 02:49
It's the same thing. You cannot be Christian if you don't believe in creationism.
Technically, anyone who accepts Christ as their Saviour is a Christian.
Utracia
30-12-2005, 02:58
Technically, anyone who accepts Christ as their Saviour is a Christian.

The old spirit higher than the Law? I can't fathom how people can claim that they are saved by just claiming Christ as their Savior then acting like carnal, selfish people and saying it's all right. It is hypicritical, just say "I'm going to do whatever i want to do" and don't claim otherwise.
The Capitalist Vikings
30-12-2005, 04:00
I can't fathom how people can claim that they are saved by just claiming Christ as their Savior then acting like carnal, selfish people and saying it's all right.

I agree. It is quite irritating. While there are certainly many Christians in the world, I wonder how many of them actually live at least a little like one.

I am also deeply annoyed by many protestant denominations (excuse my generalizations) who fail to distinguish between being "saved" and being "redeemed". This is especially true regarding "born-again" Christians who claim they are saved. All I can say is "oh really?". I suppose those people will just bypass judgement and have a one way ticket to heaven :rolleyes: .

As a Catholic I must say that I am "redeemed" or "justified" by the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, not "saved". I am only saved after I die, when I am judged by God.

Just a little theological sticking point...:p