Atheist Free Thought Society of Philadelphia Disrespects Christmas with Tree of Knowledge Tree
A “Tree of Knowledge” sponsored by society atheists in Westchester attempts to subvert Christmas tradition by creating a legal case where a “universal” tree is required in traditional holiday displays, then Constitutionally allowed to be adorned with cultural symbols that are offensive to the American Christmas holiday season.
America is a blessed nation that was built upon Christian values and traditions. Therefore as December rolls along in our homes this winter, we prepare to celebrate the holidays with Christmas trees, gift exchanges and holiday gatherings to share our an integral part of our culture with friends and family.
There are those in our society who do not partake in Christmas or even the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, which is fine.
The problem is that many of these non-celebrating people are antagonistic atheists who have an anti-Christian agenda to destroy the holiday season by disrespecting our nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage via legal loopholes.
Specifically, in Westchester, Pennsylvania, there is a dangerous group of atheists who are trying to set precedent that will further strip the “Christ” out of Christmas.
Every year, a trinity of good — a Christmas Tree, a manger display and a menorah — is placed outside the old courthouse to help set a mood for the holiday spirit. Setting these things outside for this time of year is no less wrong than setting out our flag for The Fourth of July to the tunes of God Bless America. It’s simply a part of who we are and what defines our nation as American.
Atheists, however, are trying to open up a proverbial Pandora’s box by making a legal push for a disruptive “Tree of Knowledge” added to the holiday display. There is nothing holy about their plans to break apart a peaceful tradition with legal calamity and chaos.
On social internet site Facebook, one of the purported planners — Margaret Downey — behind this disruptive agenda even stated:
For those of you who think that the Tree of Knowledge is “tacky” please know that I was “restricted” with my design this year. The most beautiful display was the one we did in 2007. Please see: www.fsgp and the Tree of Knowledge online book for details about the 2007 tree and the “New Regulations” the Commissioners passed to make sure the design would be small and un-named.
Since the religious community has openly requested people to call the Commissioners office to complain, I now ask for all of you to call in support of the Tree of Knowledge. The number is: (610) 344-6100. Please let the Commissioners know that the tree is appreciated by many and for reasons that they have not understood. It will take just a few minutes, folks and I need your support now. Please call and state what you stated here on Facebook. The comments are fantastic!
So now we see they are making a coordinated effort to skew the perception of interest in the tree. Their agenda is to overturn a long standing part of our country, Christmas, by making it look like an inordinate amount of people support the hideous Tree of Knowledge.
By having several dozen of their followers call-in, at request, they are trying to trick the commissioners into believing a large part of area really supports the tree. This tactic is vile and not honest; it’s called manipulation and tampering.
This is interesting for as we see with the actual story behind the original Tree of Knowledge, Eve was the victim of and then a willing participant of tampering and manipulation when she tricked Adam into tasting the forbidden fruit.
The atheist tree of knowledge will be as destructive as Eve’s decision thousands of years ago. There is reason to believe that the Tree of Knowledge being sponsored by the atheists will start a dangerous legal precedent in America.
Already, against the town of Westchester’s wishes we see the offensive tree is being allowed in proxy to the nativity scene. How long before government allows atheists to come to your yard or state venues to deface your nativity scene with obscene things like foreign Muslim stars and crescents, Satanic numbers and maybe even a hammer with sickles.
All of these things stand in the way of Christianity and have been used as symbols against our American way of life. Now, atheists want to promote a tree that supports terrorism, communism and Satan’s plan to lead our nation into a third-world, Godless state. Why anyone would want that future for our country is beyond reason.
Friends, let us stand strong against the atheists and make sure the Town Council knows that all across America, we want the spirit of Christmas to fill every town, unadulterated, from coast to coast. We do not need Christmas to be a political nightmare as the atheists are trying to make it, but simply a time to reflect upon our Lord and Savior, friends and family and to be thankful for another year of living in the greatest, safest and most culturally connected lifestyle; America.
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Author: Pat Heinkel
Pat Heinkel is the senior church organist for Shellington Pres., where he also proudly serves as a volunteer firefighter, distinguished lecturer and has the town's (maybe region!) largest collection of Coleoptera. Email Pat
4:24 pm
You do know that Christmas’s origins are Pagan, right?
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4:59 pm
Tree of Knowledge, oh how awful Pat! I wonder who gets to play the serpent and the naked Eve in their pageant? Why do these people hate Christmas? It’s such a cruel thing for our youngest Americans to see this wonderful holiday stomped upon, to have their traditions and gifts torn from their hands and replaced with these fake, politically correct socialist symbols. It just makes my stomach churn.
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6:51 pm
you do know that the christmas tree is 100% pagan right?
christmas is only a christian holiday because when christians converted back in the vrey dark ages to make it easier they took over the allready existing holidays. the tree was part of the original holiday event and as such have nothing to do with christ. as a matter of fact it has been proven that if jesus was born the year the bible claims the only posible date lies in july(based on what day a new star emerged on the sky) also you always go on about how we can’t have symbols that oofend you so what gives you the right to have symbols that offend me? i’m offended when i see a christmas tree. same with these people so they wanted to make it something not offending them. you could ofcourse be against this if it wasn’t because YOU DO THE EXACT SAME THING!!!!
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3:51 pm
This is the problem I’m having with the new atheist movement; they are using the law not to uphold order in the land but really just to start trouble and as an active instrument against religion.
There is no reason for Margeret Downey and her ilk to do this.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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6:38 pm
Jack had us contact FTSP and they are very abrasive. In addition to not wanting to discuss our concerns they were consistently rude and aggressive, finding it funny that so many are getting upset over their antics.
This has nothing to do with progress and everything to do with creating division. And yes, it violates the spirit of our Constitution and legal system to use it in such a way to create such nasty conflict.
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3:53 pm
America, according to our founding fathers, was NOT a christian nation. It was a nation that was to provide the RIGHT to freedom of worship and freedom of speech. No matter what belief that may be. The atheists have every right to promote their thoughts and ideas. You have no right to stop this freedom of speech. If what they are saying and promoting is incorrect, then you should not be threatened because it will of course prove itself false. The reason you are threatened is because their arguments hold weight. Here are a few quotes to back up my opinion on the matter
“. . . no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.”
—Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1779
“Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect.”
—James Madison, letter to William Bradford, April 1, 1774
“Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.”
—Ben Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1758
“The question before the human race is, whether the God of nature shall govern the world by his own laws, or whether priests and kings shall rule it by fictitious miracles?”
—John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson, June 20, 1815
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4:07 pm
I’m tired of the trite post-modern critic analysis that tries to state America is not a Christian nation.
Of course not everyone in this nation is not required to be a Christian. God gave us free will and it only fits that in America, the Constitution of our land makes the same guarantee. Everyone Must have the right to choose a faith or lack thereof, not considering the eternal consequences of such.
What you’ve attempted to do is set the argument for what it means to be a Christian nation. It’s not just a piece of paper, it’s the culture that has brought us to where we are today. It is our history and traditions. You must get away from your post-modern view and look at things from a piecewise historical perspective to grasp why our nation is Christian.
Justice Brewer recognized we are a Christian nation, out of all nations on Earth, because “because Christianity “has so largely shaped and molded it.”
Let us also consider this excerpt from W.B.:
Every nation is defined by its past and the resultant bearing that past has set its course upon. The course of America is tied in with Christian identification and faith. Our eternal plan is written by God. And our people, therefore, are citizens of a nation that is Christian.
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5:12 pm
Although i completely disagree with your end conclusions, i will give credit to your point of Christianity having greatly influenced this country. I did not say that it did no do that. I am showing the basis that ALL people have the right to express their opinions, no matter christian or atheist or muslim, etc. etc. etc. The problem i have with your opinion is that it seems to push for a “lets stay the same because that’s how we have always been” attitude. Christianity has NEVER been the only religion in this country (HELLO, do you happen to remember that the native americans MIGHT have been here first) and that the founding fathers setup a system that would allow religious TOLERANCE for all peoples. These people making their own “Tree of Knowledge” is well within there right based upon free speech. They are doing nothing wrong by this demonstration and in fact seem to be simply trying to spread their ideas and beliefs to others. I believe christians do this every day and call it evangelism. Why is it Christians consider spreading their beliefs to be right and true, yet when a non-christian does the same, they say that we are destroying the ‘values of this country’. Seems to me that by utilizing free speech in this way that the atheists in this situation are behaving in a more American fashion that you are by judging them for their beliefs.
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5:34 pm
If the Puritans that settled America had their way, we still wouldn’t be raising Christmas trees every year. Or burning yule logs. Or drinking eggnog. Or giving gifts, feasting, etc.
We can thank German and Roman pagans for most of these traditions – believe it or not, people knew how to celebrate the winter solstice before Christianity.
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6:04 pm
Do we call that same number to lend support to taking the atheist tree down?
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6:39 pm
This is all a sign of the times, where atheists use law to slowly marginalize our faith and persecute us.
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7:50 pm
You should be marginalized. You hold fast to beliefs that no longer make any sense. There is no such thing as god.
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6:51 pm
You guys are the belligerent ones, with your less than friendly phone calls and messages to organizers behind this event, let alone trying to actually deface the tree?
Pretty pathetic. At any rate, I heard about your little campaign and wanted you to know that our tree is still fine, alive and well. Here’s a few new pictures for you to enjoy. =)
Margaret donning the tree with awesome apparel. And she changed the book cover for “The Tree of Knowledge”, so you guys failed in trying to get that ornament removed too.
Atheists can smile too.
There are plenty more. Hopefully this just goes to show you ridiculous people that in this nation, we do have a right to freedom of religion. Just because there’s a history of you disrespecting and trying to coerce your beliefs on others does not mean we cannot have equality now. Enjoy seeing more of these trees in your malls, courthouses and neighbor’s yards every year.
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12:18 am
Or, in your case, freedom to non-religion
I support you, because it’s “American” (which means it’s allowed by the oldest Constitution still used in the world) US of THEREISNOGOD!
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10:37 am
“You should be marginalized. You hold fast to beliefs that no longer make any sense. There is no such thing as god.”
That’s mean and uncalled for. I think that Christian fanatics are out of line, but so are statements like that.
The Tree of Knowledge should go up. I am all for Christianity having no place in the legal system. I am 100% for freedom of all religions, and for everyone to have respect for one another. I don’t believe religion should get in the way of logic when making decisions.
But comments like that are not respectful, either. Respect goes both ways. If you want religious Americans to respect your right to be non-religious, then you need to respect their right to be religious (as long as their ideas aren’t harming anyone, or messing up the legislative and judicial system, etc.) You can’t expect respect if you refuse to reciprocate.
I’m sick and bloody tired of people complaining “this group doesn’t respect me!” but then goes off and doesn’t respect other people, either. Immature, illogical, unfair, and just plain childishly stupid.
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5:36 am
“The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God. July 4th ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.” –John Adams in a letter written to his wife Abigail on the day the Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress
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5:37 am
“We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus!” –John Adams and John Hancock, April 18, 1775
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10:16 am
congratulations you have proved that SOME of the founding fathers were christian….the problem is the point of the argument id they ALL belived that religion is a choice. that means america is founded on the belif that everyone have to find theire own belif and NOT christinaity
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1:06 pm
Jazze, that’s well known. The Bible makes it clear that God gives us free will, so of course he gives every single American the choice of which religion to follow in our nation’s Christian Constitution. Read it carefully and you’ll see it simply reflects the Bible.
What you cannot forget, however, is that just because God gives us the choice to be Christian or not, it does not negate the fact that if you choose to not follow a Christian lifestyle and faith that you will not burn for all time.
The choice is yours, and sadly, there are those who choose atheism and other false religions. Their choice, and in the end, they’ll be roasting in hell.
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1:12 pm
and muslims say the same about you. so does jews. and ever other religion on earth.
also it still means america isn’t founded on christian belifs. it’s founded on the belif that it shouldn’t be founded ona single belif.
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11:21 pm
“Their choice, and in the end, they’ll be roasting in hell. ”
The arrogance of Christianity is quite astounding.
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1:29 pm
What does anyone’s lack of faith have to do with them not getting tossed into hell?
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10:04 pm
What an assinine premise.
You fail before you even begin when you declare America a christian nation. The early settlers from Europe were escaping the very tyranny you would like to see in place; a church-state.
If you knew anything about history you would realize xmas is a hijacked festival celebration – a pagan ritual that was only repackaged as christian event. Just because many Americans are ignorant to the true origins of christmas doesnt mean it is worthy of respect or any legal protection… anymore than psychic advisors or palm readers deserve such liberties.
More & more people are waking up to the curse of faith and the negative effect religions have on a civilized society. You may as well get quite used to it.
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11:16 pm
Let us not forget that this “Christian Nation” once had legalized slavery. It was wrong and our country changed course. A religious state is wrong, and the bill of rights took care of that.
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1:49 am
actually Xmas was celebrated by greek and Norse people as well WAY before jesus was born at that time it’s was called Winter solstice in scandinavian holiday every tribesman and tribes leader gathered in one village Like a big family just to feast and rejoice each other
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12:22 pm
These christian zealots are trying to silence peopel who don’t buy into their supernatural myths and pretend atheists don’t exist. Discrimination is discrimination. “Grandfathering” 10 commandment monuments or christmas tree is no better then saying that slavery is justified on the bases of historic tradition. It’s ludacrious. They should keep their bigoted ideas to themselves and stop acting like they own America.
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1:37 pm
The issue here not to condemn or insult religious symbols. The First Amendment guarantees that people of all religions (or no religion) can express their views. When two religions chose to use the public square to express their views (the erection of the manger, tree, and menorah) then it became only fair that other groups got the same access. If Hindu or Muslim groups request space then they should also be accommodated.
I am sorry if the religious find the Tree of Knowledge offensive but that is the price of a free society and the marketplace of ideas. The lawns of churches, temples, and private homes can have all the religious symbols they desire; and they won’t hear a peep from the atheists.
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11:22 am
This is also AMERICA where even Non -Believers have rights .The Chistian values you base your Early America on, consisted of lying ,stealing and slaughtering the Original inhabinants,” The Indians “Where do you come off denying All American the right to Free speech .If the Atheists want a Tree full of book covers ,how is that hurting you unless you fear education and the irrational belief in the imaginary .
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9:32 am
“Now, atheists want to promote a tree that supports terrorism, communism and Satan’s plan to lead our nation into a third-world, Godless state.”
Oh please … get a grip! This is so far beyond the usual fanatical Christian hyperbole that it enters the realm of the absurd. You don’t amplify your argument with such ridiculous nonsense; you weaken it by demonstrating your ignorance.
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11:42 am
Why try to ruin Christmas for so many? American is a Christian country and freedom of speech or not – it’s an outrage to blatantly try to ruin the holiday spirit for millions of people. These terrible people are proselytizing – isn’t that what they’re against? Look at this! http://tictacdo.com/ttd/Become-an-Atheist – step by step instructions on how to reject Jesus. What a crying shame… targeting our youth directly.
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12:09 pm
first of christians don’t get to complain about atheists trying to “recruit” since christianity can’t exist with out that same recruitment. a child growing up never hearing about christianity would never become christian under any circumstances.
also they aren’t doing it to offend you. they do it because they want you to stop offending them. the thing is you offend some people with forcing christmas onto everyone. thats why they want any official celbration that common people can’t ignore to be neutral.
short version: your entire arguemnt is” we can offend people and decide what people should belive, but other people who don’t agree with us can’t”.
you can’t just be for freedom of speech when it’s used like you want. either you’re for it or you’re against it. and you’re obviously against it and so is everyone who find this act offensive enough to want it banned.
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12:03 pm
“targeting our youth directly”
Um, excuse me, but isn’t that the same thing Christians/Jews/Muslims/etc do when they drag their children to service once (or more) per week? It’s controlled, prolonged brainwashing. Children are impressionable (as you eluded to) and it works both ways.
I don’t think anyone should be allowed to attend church until they’re 18 and/or have fully developed minds and sensibilities with which to objectively explore the possibility of a supreme being. And if they decide they need that crutch to get through life with, so be it.
If fundamentalists can expose children to their way of thinking, so can atheists.
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11:49 am
The people behind this and those who support it will certainly rot in hell. There time will come too.
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10:10 pm
Meanwhile, in another universe, their Pat Heinkel is posting:
“Specifically, in Westchester, Pennsylvania, there is a dangerous group of Jews who are trying to set precedent that will further strip the “Christ” out of Christmas.
Jews are trying to open up a proverbial Pandora’s box by making a legal push for a disruptive menorah added to the holiday display. There is nothing holy about their plans to break apart a peaceful tradition with legal calamity and chaos.
The Jewish menorah will be as destructive as Eve’s decision thousands of years ago. There is reason to believe that the menorah being sponsored by the Jews will start a dangerous legal precedent in America.
Already, against the town of Westchester’s wishes we see the offensive menorah is being allowed in proxy to the nativity scene. How long before government allows Jews to come to your yard or state venues to deface your nativity scene with obscene things like foreign Stars of David, upside-down crosses and maybe even a swastika.
All of these things stand in the way of Christianity and have been used as symbols against our American way of life. Now, Jews want to promote a menorah that supports apartheid, genocide and Satan’s plan to lead our nation into a third-world, Jesus-less state. Why anyone would want that future for our country is beyond reason.
Friends, let us stand strong against the Jews and make sure the Town Council knows that all across America, we want the spirit of Christmas to fill every town, unadulterated, from coast to coast. We do not need Christmas to be a political nightmare as the Jews are trying to make it, but simply a time to reflect upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, friends and family and to be thankful for another year of living in the greatest, safest and most culturally connected lifestyle; America.”
Of course, *that* Pat Heinkel is a despicable bigot, right?
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