Not to be outdone by any “War on Christmas,” Congressman Steve King (R-IA) introduced a House Resolution (#847) which would recognize “the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.”

No, really. Not kidding. It’s not a parody. Just a guy wasting our time with this worse-than-symbolic piece of legislation.

Here’s the text:

RESOLUTION Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith. Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world; Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population; Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population; Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible; Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization; Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity; Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ; Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God’s redemption, mercy, and Grace; and Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives– (1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world; (2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide; (3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith; (4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization; (5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and (6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

The House voted on it today. It passed, 372 – 9. (Many congresspeople were present and took no position on the bill or were absent from voting altogether.)

More Democrats (195) voted for the bill than Republicans (177).

Who in their right mind would vote against such a pro-Christian bill?

The usual good guys:

Gary Ackerman (D-NY)

(D-NY) Yvette Clarke (D-NY)

(D-NY) Diana DeGette (D-CO)

(D-CO) Alcee Hastings (D-FL)

(D-FL) Barbara Lee (D-CA)

(D-CA) Jim McDermott (D-WA)

(D-WA) Bobby Scott (D-VA)

(D-VA) Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)

(D-CA) And the non-theistic hero: Pete Stark (D-CA)

Said John Bresnahan at Politico (before the vote):

As someone with a Christian background, I can safely say this may be the silliest resolution ever introduced by, or voted upon, by Congress, although I am a little curious to see if anyone will vote against it. Do we really need Congress to say Christmas and the Christian faith are important? Isn’t that pretty self evident by now? Don’t Christians already pretty much run everything in this country, except for the mainstream media, which is of course controlled by a Jewish-Illuminati-Bill Gates cabal? Don’t we already get Dec. 25 off? Wasn’t I forced to shell out $65 for a scrawny Christmas tree this weekend? Won’t I have to go to Pentagon City or some other godforsaken place and spend more money in the next couple weeks as part of this strange ritual? What about the terrible songs that get endlessly recycled year after stinking year? And the useless catalogs that clog my mailbox, despite my efforts to get off mailing lists? Where will the horror end?

(via Neural Gourmet)





[tags]atheist, atheism[/tags]