Reprise: "It Was Christians Who First Waged War On Christmas"

Alan: Few "brews" are as toxic as the convergence of dogma, doctrine and absolutism that fuels self-righteous religiosity.

When mere mortals see themselves as divinely-ordained agents discharging The Will Of God - especially the will of punitive, vengeful Gods - they are re-made in the image of punitive avengers.

It Was Christians Who First Waged War On Christmas

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/11/it-was-christians-who-first-waged-war.html

When Massachusetts Banned Christmas

https://www.history.com/news/when-massachusetts-banned-christmas

Alan: In the following excerpt, it is no coincidence the culprits are Puritans.

There are two kinds of religious people: those who see themselves as "impeccably pure" (or at least aspire to absolute purity); and there are those who believe the enticements of carnality are cannot be overcome. 

Through indulgence (and "indulgences") the latter group manages to compensate for continual failure and backsliding. And so, "the sins of the flesh" protect them from the spiritual sin of self-righteousness.

Excerpt: "After the Puritans in England overthrew King Charles I in 1647, among their first items of business after chopping off the monarch’s head was to ban Christmas. Parliament decreed that December 25 should instead be a day of “fasting and humiliation” for Englishmen to account for their sins. The Puritans of New England eventually followed the lead of those in old England, and in 1659 the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony made it a criminal offense to publicly celebrate the holiday and declared that “whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way” was subject to a 5-shilling fine."

Trump's America Is A Deliberately Cruel Place & "Christian" "Conservatives" Are The Cruelest

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2018/07/trumps-america-is-deliberately-cruel.html

"My Gripe With Christianity"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/01/my-gripe-with-christianity.html

The Christian Doctrine Of Damnation... And The Destruction Of Christ-Spirit

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-christian-doctrine-of-damnation-and.html

Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Organized Religion And The Everyday Validation Of Violence

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/04/compendium-of-best-pax-posts-on.html

The Obsolescence Of God:

Good Religion And Bad

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2011/11/obsolescence-of-god-good-religion-and.html

"Has America Lost Its Mind?" 1A's Brilliant Interview With "Fantasyland's" Kurt Andersen
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/09/has-america-lost-its-mind-1as-brilliant.html

Televangelist Jim Bakker Resurrected: If This Doesn't Scare The Bejesus Out Of You, Repent For Your End Is Near!
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/09/televangelist-jim-bakker-resurrected-if.html

Many Christians Live In An Unbreakable Bubble Of Biblical And Theological Dunderheadedness

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2016/01/many-christians-live-in-unbreakable.html