Borders bookstores have begun giving out Christmas cards this holiday season along with your purchase of Richard Dawkins‘ The God Delusion.
The card reads: “O come all ye faithless.”
Cute. Kind of funny. Not really a collector’s item, but a nice little added bonus.
The Rev. Jonathan Edwards, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. said the idea was “crass.”
Of course he did.
“I am quite sure that Borders intended their Christmas card as a joke. However, I personally find it an ill-judged and insensitive joke,” he said, as reported by Baptist Times.
I don’t get it. Why is it insensitive?
He continued, “Christians have always been used to being punch bags but I would have hoped that, in a society in which we are seeking to show respect to all people and beliefs, we might have grown out of this kind of nonsense.”
How is it disrespectful?
(And while people should be respected, their beliefs certainly don’t have to be.)
He was supported by Justin Thacker, head of theology at the Evangelical Alliance, who said, “It won’t surprise me if this spectacularly fails. Christmas still holds a high place in people’s hearts – I think a lot of people will be offended by it.”
How will they be offended?
The Evangelical Alliance’s Thacker noted, “I think the atheists will love it because it’s bashing Christians around the head. It’s another thing to take a Christian festival and abuse it.
“Borders wouldn’t do this to any other religious festival. Borders [has] made a strategic mistake and Christians will boycott it.”
How does it bash Christians?
(And when will Christians realize their boycotts all backfire?)
(And when will Christians finally boycott my book? I’m a heathen who went to churches and didn’t put any money in the collection plates! Blasphemy! Ban me, dammit, ban me!)
(via Friendly Christian)
[tags]atheist, atheism[/tags]
