Hitchens & Hannukah

[The Atheist]

Interesting article by Hitchens here.

Strong words:

The display of the menorah at this season, however, has a precise meaning and is an explicit celebration of the original victory of bloody-minded faith over enlightenment and reason. As such it is a direct negation of the First Amendment and it is time for the secularists and the civil libertarians to find the courage to say so.

I don't have the history to be able to comment on accuracy, but it all reads pretty well.

 

[KarlG]

I would think it would depend where the display is, the same with xmas trees.

 

[jjramsey]

I'd say that while Hanukkah isn't so pretty when looked at closely, it's pretty silly to say that it was a victory "over enlightenment and reason." It was the victory of one religious group over another, and it's not as if the Greeks didn't have blood sacrifices, sacred myths, etc.

BTW, there is a response to Hitchens here: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/munson/1482

It's from Commentary magazine, which has its own, ahem, issues, like being "the flagship of neoconservatism in the 1970's", but it's interesting.

 

[The Atheist]

Thanks, jj, that balances it out nicely.

 

[Charlie Monoxide]

Somehow I'm reminded of that South Park xmas song "Merry F****** Christmas", as sung by Mr Garrison.

I could also see Bill O, taking that on as a December theme song.

(WARNING - lots of swearing, not for kids and work and religious people)
Here's the Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01u8YtVjDUU

Charlie (Merry effing Christmas everyone)

 

[ravdin]

I thought the article was very interesting. I always viewed (C)hannukah as a relatively unimportant holiday that happens to coincide with a Christian holiday. I figure it lets Jews exchange gifts at that time of year and not feel left out.

I was a little taken aback at Hitchens' assertion that if the Macabees hadn't won their independence, then there would today be no Christianity or Islam. By extension, this means that the Middle East would now be influenced by Greek rationalism instead of tribal monotheistic religion. Since the Greeks had invented geometry and accurately calculated the size of the planet, who knows what wonders we might have today if their worldview had prevailed?

Christians: Blame the Jews for killing Jesus.
Hitchens: Blame the Jews for retarding Western civilization.