I’m writing this on Christmas Day.
While I was out walking this morning, many strangers passed me and wished me a “Merry Christmas.” My polite response was, “Thank you.” I knew they meant well even though they have no idea of my religious beliefs.
Most of those greeters probably know parts of the Christian Bible that I support, like “Love your neighbor” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” These people mean well, but I’m unlikely to have a conversation about Christmas with them. This Christmas is sadder than most for me because our president is Donald Trump. I can’t blame all well-wishers for Trump. Many Christians don’t like Trump for the same reasons I don’t. Most Christians are not MAGA and don’t support his religious right agenda.
In fact, most people have become less religious over the decades. The most recent Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study showed that less than half of all adults now say religion is very important in their lives. This is particularly true among younger adults.
Many Christians don’t realize that the Jesus of the Bible was not a Christian. He was a Jew and so am I. There was no such thing as a Christian in the time of Jesus, who would have been considered a false god by his people, not one to be worshiped.
And most Jews today are atheists, as am I. See SimpleToRemember.com (Judaism Online). I like to keep my title of Jew, because I don’t want to give Adolf Hitler a posthumous victory by denying my Judaism.
Christians and most other people say they support the Ten Commandments, even if they can’t name all of them. They view them as among the finest guidelines for a virtuous life. Few people understand how our democratic society would change were those Ten Commandments from Exodus 20 to become law. The first four Commandments are religious edicts that have nothing to do with ethical behavior. They describe how to worship and pay homage to a jealous and vindictive God.
And the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” conflicts with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees freedom of religion—the right to worship one, several, or no gods.
The next three Commandments (no graven images, not taking God’s name in vain, keeping the Sabbath day holy) refer to specific kinds of worship directed toward a God who punishes several generations of children because their fathers did not believe.
Further, those who claim these commandments are our Judeo-Christian heritage don’t realize that the Commandments predate Christianity. And the Sabbath would be on Saturday, not Sunday.
The Fifth Commandment to honor parents should not be so unconditional as to condone child abuse. There is no reciprocal commandment about parents honoring their children or treating them humanely.
I recognize that the four Commandments against murder, adultery, stealing, and lying have obvious merit and existed in cultures long before the Ten Commandments were written.
The Tenth Commandment, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, wife, slaves, ox, donkey, or any other property,” condones slavery and treats women as property. And by the way, the American system of capitalism relies on coveting our neighbor’s possessions.
The Biblical penalty for violating most of the religious commandments is death.
The commandments are also notable for what they omit: Why not condemn slavery, racism, sexual assault, child and spouse abuse, torture, and war?
As you can see, I get a little riled when I think about Christmas.
Just don’t get me started on Santa Claus.