Bill O'Reily Says Christianity is NOT a Religion

[rob19]

I wish I was making this up. But I'm not that creative. This is just proof of the old adage that "Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense; truth is not bound by that constraint."

(h/t to Jon Stewart at the Daily Show for pointing out this latest bit of folly) I am glad someone is watching FOX because it sure isn't me.

Here's the actual video of Bill O declaring "Christianity is not a religion." But Judaism is!


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Oh, Bill.


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[Statler Waldorf]

Why is this not in the Religion forum? Or are you Rob agreeing with Bill that Christianity is not a religion and therefore this belongs in this forum?

[rob19]

Why is this not in the Religion forum? Or are you Rob agreeing with Bill that Christianity is not a religion and therefore this belongs in this forum?

This is more about how dumb O'Reily is than an actual debate on the merit of what he said; which we all know is stupid.

[TheWalrus]

Why is this not in the Religion forum? Or are you Rob agreeing with Bill that Christianity is not a religion and therefore this belongs in this forum?

I haven't seen O'Relly's original comments but I'm going to assume he's asserting this about Christianity as a means to protect it from the separation of church and state, which is a political issue.

[rob19]

I haven't seen O'Relly's original comments but I'm going to assume he's asserting this about Christianity as a means to protect it from the separation of church and state, which is a political issue.

Correct.

This is about Fox News' perceived "War on Christmas"; someone banned the nativity scene from a certain public park, & O'Reily is insisting Christianity is a philosophy, as to protect it from the aforementioned separation of church & state. Despite how transparent & laughable that assertion is, it's still not as bad as the "you can't explain the tides" thing.

[TheWalrus]

Correct.

This is about Fox News' perceived "War on Christmas"; someone banned the nativity scene from a certain public park, & O'Reily is insisting Christianity is a philosophy, as to protect it from the aforementioned separation of church & state. Despite how transparent & laughable that assertion is, it's still not as bad as the "you can't explain the tides" thing.

And what would be his argument in support of that? The fact that Christianity encompasses multiple denominations? He must not realize those most religions function that way.

[Statler Waldorf]

This is more about how dumb O'Reily is than an actual debate on the merit of what he said; which we all know is stupid.

I agree that he is confusing different denominations of Christianity as being different religions, but you don't think someone can view Christianity as a philosophy as well? I actually know a few people who ascribe to most of the philosophy of Christianity but would not describe themselves as religious (if I am not mistaken even Dawkins describes himself as a “cultural Christian”). I believe that is the point Bill is trying to make, we can have a federal holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ without necessarily endorsing any particular religion because Christianity itself as many different aspects to it.
I think a funnier aspect to this is the fact that Silverman said his main objection to Christmas being a federal holiday is the fact he is “forced” to take it off from work but then later in the interview admitted that he will in fact be working on Christmas.

[rob19]

I agree that he is confusing different denominations of Christianity as being different religions, but you don't think someone can view Christianity as a philosophy as well? I actually know a few people who ascribe to most of the philosophy of Christianity but would not describe themselves as religious (if I am not mistaken even Dawkins describes himself as a “cultural Christian”). I believe that is the point Bill is trying to make, we can have a federal holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ without necessarily endorsing any particular religion because Christianity itself as many different aspects to it.

I could care less about Christmas being a federally mandated holiday, but think about the bold part I just underlined in your post. I have a feeling you wouldn't be celebrating Ramadan if it was a federally mandated holiday because "there's many aspects" to Islam.

[tylerdolphin]

I agree that he is confusing different denominations of Christianity as being different religions, but you don't think someone can view Christianity as a philosophy as well? I actually know a few people who ascribe to most of the philosophy of Christianity but would not describe themselves as religious (if I am not mistaken even Dawkins describes himself as a “cultural Christian”). I believe that is the point Bill is trying to make, we can have a federal holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ without necessarily endorsing any particular religion because Christianity itself as many different aspects to it.
I think a funnier aspect to this is the fact that Silverman said his main objection to Christmas being a federal holiday is the fact he is “forced” to take it off from work but then later in the interview admitted that he will in fact be working on Christmas.

Well any religion can be seen as a sort of philosophy so the argument of whether its a religion or a philosophy is kind of silly. It can be both and is both.

As far as the Christmas thing, Im about as non-religious as you can get, but I dont personally see the issue with publicly acknowledging Christmas and even the whole nativity thing. To me, that story and the holiday in general transcend religious beliefs and have become cultural. I think if you are offended by a nativity scene or any other Christmas decorations youre trying too hard to be offended. Its just as much a part of our culture as it is a part of a religion. The time spent complaining about Christmas decorations would be better spent on church/state issues that are actually issues.

[Statler Waldorf]

I could care less about Christmas being a federally mandated holiday, but think about the bold part I just underlined in your post. I have a feeling you wouldn't be celebrating Ramadan if it was a federally mandated holiday because "there's many aspects" to Islam.

No, I wouldn’t be celebrating it, but if I lived in a nation that had predominately Islamic roots I would have no problem with it being a federal holiday as long as I was not forced to celebrate it. You are not forced to celebrate Christmas.