Christanity is not a religion

according to conservative radio host Bill O'Reilly.

I wish I was making this up, but in the eyes of conservatives at Fox News, Christanity is not a religion, but a "philosphy".


Reilly: What religion is involved with Christmas? What religion?

Silverman: Christianity..

O'R: That's not a religion, that's a philosophy. [...] It is a fact that Christianity is not a religion, it is a philosophy. If the government were saying that the Methodist religion deserves a special place in the public square, I would be on your side.

S: So you're going actually to tell me on live television that Christianity is not a religion?

O'R: Correct, it is a philosophy.

S: You and I are going to fundamentally disagree on that point.

O'R: You are wrong. Roman Catholicism is a religion. Judaism is a religion.

[youtube:2vww5m8c][/youtube:2vww5m8c]

Not even sure I'd call Christianity a philosophy (where there's usually some degree of attention is paid to first principles/precepts).

"Christianity" is an underlying cultural context - which has grown (or shrunk, if you like) to share very little with the teachings of Jesus, the Christ.

Observing "Christian" holidays doesn't make you Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

Besides - Christmas didn't happen in December, there wasn't a manger, the Bible never paints angels as being these soft, lovable, white things with gold wings --- and I doubt there was a little drummer boy.

Sorry to ruin it for all of you -

:thumbsup:

It is big business.

In my understanding, Christanity is considered a religion, with schisms such as Protestant, Catholicism, etc. with sub schisms within each of those. To claim it is a philosphy, while Judaism is a religion is just not well founded.

What Fox and O'Reilly are trying to do is by claiming that Christianity is not a religion is to enable it to be endorsed by the government to get around the 1st Amendment.

'You killed Jesus' scrawled on Hanukkah menorah

The Hanukkah menorah is a sign of peace and joy, symbolic of a miracle in the Jewish religion.

But a menorah in Miami Beach, Fla., has also become an attraction for hate speech, with someone scribbling "you killed Jesus" on the base of the prominent Chabad Hanukkah display.

Rabbi Zev Katz, who put up the menorah, is disappointed.

"I hoped that people from other religions, we could all get along, we all have what we believe in, respect each other and live with each other," said Katz, of Chabad House in Miami Beach.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12 ... norah?lite

Oh, darn... They opened the door and let one of the knuckle-draggers out again... Just when you think you kind of have them under control....

Something the Dog Said wrote: In my understanding, Christanity is considered a religion, with schisms such as Protestant, Catholicism, etc. with sub schisms within each of those. To claim it is a philosphy, while Judaism is a religion is just not well founded.

What Fox and O'Reilly are trying to do is by claiming that Christianity is not a religion is to enable it to be endorsed by the government to get around the 1st Amendment.

Well, it's FauxNews... They have never been encumbered by facts... If they say it's a "philosophy" to get around the 1st Amendment, then I suppose they expect the rest of the low-intelligence viewers to follow in lock-step.

Christianity is a religion. It's defined by the belief that Jesus was the son of God.

It's not a church. Churches are Catholic, all the protestant flavors, etc.

I'm a Christian, raised Lutheran, but not currently participating in any of the churches.

Christianity, by its very name, consists of those who believe in Christ -- believe him to be the son of the Father and by extension believe that believing in Christ is their "path" to everlasting life. Believing that makes them Christians.

O'Reilly says some really stupid stuff ("The tides go in, the tides go out. You can't explain that.") but this one takes the cake.

The word is commonly used to refer to a group of religions. To those not adhering to these religions, the word has more meaning than it does to those that do. Many Christians disagree on many religious things, so they can they really be in the same religion? Seems that when I am in this church or that, that people are not disagreeing very much about religion.

It has historical meaning depending on the group, country or culture. I know many Catholics that have no doubt, they are not Christians, they would not consider that a religion, it does not mean they are right. If two guys get married, these Catholics would not consider them married either.

The words only really have meaning if they people you are talking to agree on the meaning. To me this is a group of religions, Catholics being the primary and then all of the offshoots that came after the plague.

I also feel the word lacks detail, kind of like saying you were down at the bar the other night and there were a bunch of hot humans...it just does not get the message across.

Bill O'R was right and I understand why he said it. Be to him it is more important to be right than to communicate. Saying Christianity is a religion is actually about the same as saying that Religion is a religion.