Christmas – Page 20 – Family Council

City Refuses to Remove Nativity Scene Despite Threats from Atheists

The Freedom From Religion Foundation–which we recently wrote about–is, once again, threatening legal action over a Nativity scene on city property. This time, it’s in the small town of Chipley, Florida.

Chipley, a town of roughly 3,700 residents, has a Nativity display on the lawn of its city hall. Freedom From Religion Foundation has told the city the display is unconstitutional (an assessment that is most likely incorrect) and threatened legal action. The city, however, has refused to take the Nativity scene down.

Christmas is a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. It has never been anything else in this country. Our government has chosen to recognize Christmas as a federal holiday. Why, then, would it be unconstitutional for a government entity to put up a decoration depicting the very event Christmas celebrates?

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Words From Our Founders: Benjamin Franklin on Christmas

Dec 12, 2013JerryChristmas, Poor Richard's Almanac, Words From Our FoundersChristmas, Poor Richard's Almanac, Words From Our Founders

Today we continue our Words From Our Founders series examining our Founding Fathers’ own words on religion, religious liberty, and morality.

Below is an excerpt from Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin relating to the celebration of Christmas.

“How many observe Christ’s Birth-day! How few, his Precepts! O! ’tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.”

Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1743

Montana Christmas Festival Goes on Despite Atheists’ Threats

Dec 11, 2013JerryChristmas, Religious FreedomAlliance Defending Freedom, Christmas, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty, War on Christmas

A Montana school recently received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the ACLU threatening possible legal action if the school’s choir members were permitted to voluntarily participate in a community Christmas celebration at a local church.

The school has rightly decided to ignore the threat and let students join in the festivities.

From Alliance Defending Freedom:

“Schools should not have to think twice about whether they can allow choirs to participate in community Christmas events,” said Litigation Staff Counsel Rory Gray. “Courts have unanimously allowed students to sing Christmas carols at school. Nothing changes when they sing the same Christmas songs at a community festival instead. We commend the districts for rightly ignoring the baseless threats delivered by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.”

This latest action by the ACLU and the Freedom From Religion Foundation is yet another in a long series of anti-Christmas (and anti-religion) activities by the groups, including:

In addition to past actions by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Arkansas has also seen its Christmas celebrations targeted by other atheist groups, including unwarranted controversy over a Nativity display at a school in Paragould and an anti-Christmas display sponsored by the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers on the Arkansas Capitol grounds.