The .NET Guy says that Bryan's in a Funk.
Bryan Daneman is having holiday issues. Been there, done that. I'm the only atheist on my side of the family that I know of (though last I checked, my step-dad Jean was agnostic). After I left the house and acknowledged being an atheist, I had a pretty strong push-back towards the Christmas season. I mean, everybody must know the story by now of how Christians stole the pagan holiday, right? The decorated tree as worship of Yggdrasil and the mistletoe worship by druids for its healing powers are just a couple examples of pagan rituals taken and turned into Christian ones.
That's hardly enlightening - I could turn around and observe that the pagans stole the Christian holiday of Easter. I'm not sure what point you are making.
For personal celebrations, Lisa and I are content to cherish our valuable friendships and family relationships, as well as some unabashed celebration of our unfettered love of capitalism. :-)
For work, I don't think it's appropriate that there are religious symbols in holiday decorations... perhaps even the tree is offensive, because it still connotes the Christian holiday for some. It's rude and insensitive to think that just because a majority of people in your workplace are Christian, that it's okay to put up religious decorations for the holiday.
Now, I know what the Christians are thinking right now. How dare I, right? I stopped being amazed at what Christians think is innocuous, and I've taken a page from the playbook of a local talk radio guy I listen to in the mornings. Turn it around: would Christians find it so innocous if the rituals and decorations were centered around Satanism instead of Christianity? Would they claim that it was just innocent fun then?
You are too funny, lumping all Christians together and assigning them a single opinion. But regardless, people of every sort of belief system do decorate their workspaces with elements that are reflective of what's important to them. What could be possibly wrong with that?
It seems to me that you are saying Christians cannot express their beliefs publicly, but everyone else can. Is it only when Christian beliefs are expressed that you take offense?
Bryan, there aren't a lot of people in this world willing to rock the boat. But personally, I think the potential ire of co-workers is an okay price to pay for standing up for what I know is right and proper. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.
We seem to agree on your final point, being willing to rock the boat to stand up for what you know is right. Maybe you will see that this position should allow for others to express their beliefs too, even if it's not what you believe.
