Ryan, I think you misread the motives of a huge corporation. Is their wish to piss of Christians, or is it to sell products? I think it’s to sell. Selling things to a wide variety of customers makes catering to each individual’s religious preferences very difficult. I’m sure if WalMart could somehow read your mind as you came through the door and determined you were a Christian, they would wish you Merry Christmas. Because they cannot, they’re forced to use “Happy Holidays,” as it’s the easiest way to greet the widest variety of customers. There’s no hidden anti-Christian agenda here. There is, however, an aversion to getting bad press: so they will change when pressured enough by groups such as the one in the MSNBC article. More here.

Here’s one about a lawsuit pertaining to the Bible.

The constitutional issues are insanely complex. Can any old cult get their monument on public property (like that case I linked to)? What if a city’s park runs out of room because Scientologists are throwing a bajillion statutes out there? What if a judge or teacher wants the class to recite a Muslim prayer? Or spread Jewish teachings? I’m not saying any of that is good or bad, but the answers are complicated. But, it’s complicated because there’s tons of people with different views who are trying to get different things, not because everyone’s secretly unified in trying to piss of Christians and not because a shadowy evil liberal conspiracy is making companies be PC.

There are numerous lawsuits out there about crosses on Federal property.

That’s because the groups that want to evangelize want to do so on public property, which some people have a problem with. It’s not about some anti-Christian bias, it’s about whether it’s Constitutional or not to let religions use government property to spread a religion. Meaning, most of these lawsuits are brought by the religions themselves. Not saying that’s good or bad, but people are definitely not “going after religion” for the sake of being PC. Certain religions are using the courts to try to get more power to express themselves, which they’re totally entitled to do.

There are numerous lawsuits out there about crosses on Federal property. Here’s one lawsuit that’s going on. http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060720/news_1n20cross.html . I don’t pretend to be a Constitutional lawyer so I don’t know how valid any or all of them are. It’s just one more aspect in the attack on Christianity. Here’s one about a lawsuit pertaining to the Bible. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83370. Can you imagine what would happen if someone tried to ban the distribution of the Qur’an under the same circumstances? They would get sued so fast for discrimination, and it would be all over the national news. It all goes back to the political correctness that has become so prevalent, which is a load of garbage. It’s gone way past the bounds of guarding against racism, bigotry etc, and it’s ridiculous.

But that’s what makes the Fake War on Christmas fake! It’s fake because no one cares if you say Merry Christmas. Not one single person on the planet is irked by this, except for the scary God-hating liberals that exist only in the minds of far-right evangelicals (ie “I’m not going to try to soothe your tender psyche or put up with your feelings of entitlement.”)

This whole discussion is made-up nonsense, as is the idea that the largely white, rich, politically-connected, evangelical movement is somehow persecuted.

lawsuits for the banning of crosses on federal property,

I know you’re not referring to the recent Supreme Court decision denying other religions’ monuments while at the same time explicitly allowing Christian monuments, (which is fine by me), so I’m not sure what you’re talking about.

@Aguy – There’s a systematic attack on Christianity in this country right now, camouflaged as the pursuit of civil liberties. The fact that stores are pushed to switch to using the words “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is one example, along with the new hate crimes legislation, and lawsuits for the banning of crosses on federal property, to name a few.

“I could take it as a compliment – because they are sharing their holiday with me.”

I assume you mean religious holiday. What if you’re, like 1/4 of 18-25 year-olds, an atheist or agnostic? I don’t think Bill O’Reilly or George W. really give it that much thought, sending out “holiday cards” or selling “holiday ornaments.”

The fake war on Christmas reminds me of this Bible verse … and of the work of Jim Henderson. It’s damaging to evangelism to conceive of a world in which I must get out there to “save Christmas,” but it fits with the weird victimization thing a lot of evangelical Christians have after listening to too much Focus on the Family. If anything, the culprits not using “Christmas” are the businesses who are trying to appeal to a wider audience. That’s not blasphemy though; that’s capitalism.