That’s why we celebrate Christmas.

Each nation is made up of all kinds of people: atheists, humanists, secularists, do-gooders, good-doers, traditionalists, religious people of hundreds of religions, church members, nominal Christians, and dedicated Christians. Most of these people celebrate Christmas, at least a secular Christmas. But then, a secular Christmas, while completely legal, is not celebrating Christmas.

Some people have an affinity toward snowmen, Rudolph, a jolly old man, gifts, wild parties, elves, and reindeer. If that’s your thing, go with it. But it isn’t Christmas.

Some dedicated Christians refuse to celebrate Christmas for various reasons. They are correct in their belief that the Bible gives no command to do so, but then there is no biblical command to observe Easter. We are not even sure when Christ was born. Evidently, we don’t need to know that fact. The fact of His birth is sufficient. The day doesn’t matter.

Upper-class Romans believed that Mithra, born from a rock as a youth on December 25, was an infant god, the god of the unconquerable sun. That date was the most sacred day of the year. It is said that Christians, as they rose to some influence, usurped that day for the birth of Christ.

With the reign of Constantine (died A.D. 337), Christianity quickly became more powerful and the dominant religion around the Mediterranean area, the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, part of Turkey), and Central Europe. By the Middle Ages, nominal Christianity had replaced paganism. Roman Catholics slowly dominated all religions throughout Europe, building enormous cathedrals in larger cities and parish churches in smaller towns. The independent Bible Churches continued to operate in their shadow. The Catholics went to church on Christmas Day, jumped through the religious hoops, then left church to celebrate in a raucous, drunken, carnival-like atmosphere somewhat like today’s Mardi Gras.

The Christians in colonial America wanted nothing to do with the drunken partying of European church members, so Christmas was not observed in the 1600s in Puritan colonies. It was even illegal to observe the day in Boston, but Christmas was slowly accepted until it was declared a national holiday in 1870. Jamestown was an exception since it was more secular than the other colonies, and Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was universally observed in Jamestown.

Principled Christians who refuse to observe Christmas are not without ostensible biblical and historical support. Jeremiah 10:2-4 commands, “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.”

So, nonobservant Christians claim scriptural support, but it is a perversion of Scripture to give that support. We must never twist Scripture to support what we choose to believe. We frame our beliefs with the proper interpretation of Scripture.

Christmas critics hone in on “deck it with silver and with gold.” However, this is a warning to Jews not to commit idolatry by doing as the heathen in worshiping the heavens, cutting down trees and carving, polishing, and painting wooden idols and worshipping them.

Isaiah 44:14-15 says, “He heweth him down cedars, …Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.” Here, too, is a warning against idolatry in “maketh a god and worshippeth it.”

Even if they are sincere, it is a twisting of Scripture to use those verses to support the refusal to celebrate Christmas.

There is no doubt that many Christmas traditions have roots back into paganism, but that does not require us to reject the holiday. After all, the days of the week are pagan-based, but when we think of Sunday, we don’t think of pagans who worshiped the sun god. Same with the other weekdays.

A big criticism of Christmas is that it is so commercial, and the message of a baby being born (incarnate God) who would bear the sins of mankind is lost in all the buying and selling, drinking and carousing, giving and getting. However, that does not negate the true meaning of Christmas; after all, man has corrupted everything from sex, the family, the church, etc. What’s wrong with families making an untainted Christ-honoring season to observe?

It is alleged that observing Christmas gives credibility to paganism and revives and recognizes the wild, wicked, and wayward practices of the Middle Ages. After all, the Apostle Paul warned in I Thessalonians 5:22 to “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” But that means to have nothing to do with any genuine form of evil as revealed in the Word of God, not man’s ever-changing conjecture of right and wrong.

Paul reminds us that some people see evil in everything, and that too is wrong. Titus 1:15 tells us, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” There are some who teach that all sex is wrong or it must be for the purpose of procreation; however, that is a distortion of what the Bible teaches.

The critics remind us that since the Bible does not tell us to observe Christmas, it is a presumptive sin to do so; however, that is fallacious logic. We don’t have biblical support for youth pastors, 401-k plans, Lincoln Town Cars, church vans, church dinners, Christian schools, hymnbooks, church pews, Wednesday evening services, sabbaticals, and mission boards. The old discredited argument from silence only works on the non-thinkers and the simpleminded.

Colossians 2:16 declares, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.” It is each person’s decision as to what he or she will celebrate. But it must be sincere and not contrary to Scripture.

It must be remembered that there are precedents for making much of His birth. After all, the shepherds caused a big stir about it. The angels made a big deal out of His birthday. “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The wise men from the East came hundreds of miles with hundreds in their entourage to celebrate His birth. The early churches met each Sunday to commemorate His death and resurrection. And there is no scriptural command to go to church on Sunday. Fact is, the early Christians met every day and later changed it to Sunday. As circumstances changed, they adjusted as long as no Scripture was violated.

The criticism that we spend large sums of money is a legitimate criticism. Children are often overwhelmed with gifts and are not reminded about the gifts of the wise men to celebrate the birth of Christ. Or the fact that Christ gave Himself as the sin offering for the world. Moreover, excessive spending is a bad example for children who learn not to appreciate their gifts.

The ultimate reason for the season is to recognize, repent, and receive the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ as the gift of personal salvation—the most important, inspiring, and illustrious events in history. Moreover, it would seem to be unusual if those events were not recognized as such by His followers.

Become convinced in your own mind what to do about celebrating Christmas, then don’t judge others who disagree with you. Romans 14:5 warns, “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”

Whatever you do about Christmas, what will you do about the Santa thing? What will you tell your children? A big mistake is made if you confuse Santa and the Savior. It is already being done because “Santa knows when you’ve been sleeping; he knows when you’re awake; he knows if you’ve been bad or good.” Sounds like an omniscient God to me.

Furthermore, if you support the receiving of gifts because you’ve been good, you are promoting the heretical idea that one must earn his or her salvation. Another horrific result is the children who don’t believe their parents when they tell them about Christ after deceiving them about Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy.

Christmas should be a time of fun for children; however, parents must not instill a lifetime heresy in them. My wife and I never spoke about Santa or discussed it with the children since they were bright enough to know a big fat man could not ride around the world in a sleigh pulled by reindeer and get it done in one night. Furthermore, they knew he could not get down the chimney and eat cookies and milk in every home. Besides, we didn’t have a chimney.

God instructed the Jews in Deuteronomy 6:6, 7 to give a proper answer when the children asked about their traditions, such as the Passover. “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Special days were to be teaching experiences.

It would be a rejection of their heritage not to tell them about Jewish captivity in Egypt and God’s deliverance. When children ask about Christmas, they must get the right story, not some silly myth. Go on, if you must, with the Santa stuff but be sure they know it is a myth. You might suggest that they not discuss Santa with their friends. My four-year-old daughter was told by her older sister that Santa was a myth, and she told her pre-kindergarten class, causing a sobbing brouhaha with fellow students. The teacher, who was my friend whom I had hired, had to calm her whole class. I suggest you require your children not share with believers (in Santa) that he is a myth. It is the job of parents.

My wife, Ellen’s three-year-old Jennifer, asked her, “Is there a real live Santa Claus man in this whole world of ours?” Her mother told her the true meaning of Christmas and that people made up Santa for fun. When asked by her pastor’s grown son, what Santa brought her, she replied, “Philip, you know there is no real live Santa Clause man in this whole world of ours.”

In the early churches, the question of eating meat that had been offered to idols was hotly contested. Some said it was endorsing paganism while others suggested idols are simply pieces of wood; therefore, there is no harm in eating such meat. I Corinthians 8:9 reminds us, “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.” We need to apply this biblical principle to this issue.

Now, go out and get your Christmas tree.

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 18 books, the most recent being Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! The eBook is available here with the printed edition (and other titles) at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don Boys, Ph.D.; and visit his blog. Send a request to DBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles, and click here to support his work with a donation.)

The early church leaders lived close to the time of Christ and the apostles; plus, they staunchly defended the faith against the first major heretics. However, even they, with their commitment, courage, and character also harbored error and even strange, scandalous, and silly teachings.

The Gospel of Thomas, (unknown author) as early as A.D. 40, ran off the rails by commanding nudity during baptism! “Jesus said: ‘When you unclothe yourselves and are not ashamed, and take your garments and lay them beneath your feet like the little children (and) trample on them, then [you will see] the Son of the Living One, and you will not be afraid.’” Jesus didn’t say that!

It seems they removed their clothes out of fear that a demon might hide inside a fold and be baptized with them! Silly and scandalous teaching so early in church history.

The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (A.D. 95) stoops to pagan mythology when it declared, “Let us consider that wonderful sign [of the resurrection] which takes place in Eastern lands, that is, in Arabia and the countries round about. There is a certain bird which is called a phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives five hundred years.” Even such notable non-Christians as Herodotus, Lucan, and Pliny the Elder, along with Isidore of Seville (a professing Christian) propagated that same error! Some even said that the bird is resurrected after each life and can live 1400 years!

It is amazing what sane, educated, and professedly orthodox people believed and please note that Clement was bishop at Rome and knew the Apostle Peter. Some say Peter consecrated him as bishop yet Clement thought the Greek phoenix was a fact! Unbelievable!

Justin Martyr (died 165) declared, “And then, when Jesus had gone to the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, and when He had stepped into the water, a fire was kindled in the Jordan.” There is no fire in the Gospel account, just water.

Incredibly, Martyr also indicates that the “true religion” predated Christianity. He declared that the “seeds of Christianity” (manifestations of the Logos acting in history) actually predated Christ’s incarnation as unknowing Christians! Heresy from Martyr! This notion allowed him to claim many historical Greek philosophers including Plato and Socrates as unknowing Christians! Since personal salvation requires a choice, there cannot be any “unknowing” Christians. Furthermore, while dying, Socrates ordered a cock to be sacrificed to Aesculapius–the Roman god of healing.

This same heresy was taught by Clement of Alexandria (who died 215) that Greeks were saved through philosophy! “Before the coming of the Lord, philosophy was necessary for justification to the Greeks; now it is useful for piety . . . for it brought the Greeks to Christ as the law did the Hebrews” (Miscellanies 1:5 A.D. 208). He also taught that Christ’s promise of salvation is available to all, even those condemned to hell!

Clement declared, “By striving to imitate Christ, man can achieve salvation.” Say what! He suggested that Christ is neither male nor female, and that God the Father has both male and female aspects. Please note that Clement was an early pastor at the church in Rome!

Tertullian, who died in 240, taught that dedicated Christians would not have false hair, wear colored garments, have gold and silver vases, downy pillows, eat white bread, take warm baths, or shave the head or beard. In fact, he taught that to shave the face was to lie against our own face and was an attempt to improve on the works of the Creator.

He taught that there is no public entertainment which does not inflict spiritual damage.

He also taught, “Without baptism, salvation is attainable by none.” So, Tertullian taught baptismal regeneration!

Origen, considered one of the most alert, astute, and active minds of the early church, even castrated himself thinking he was obeying Matt. 19:12! Gibbon wittily commented, “As it was Origen’s general practice to allegorize Scripture, it seems unfortunate that, in this instance only, he should have adopted the literal sense.”

Self-castration! I would not call Origen alert, astute, and active but dumb, dumber, and dumbest.

Origen declared, “It is not possible to receive forgiveness of sins without baptism” (Exhortation to the Martyrs 30 A.D. 235). Here was another famous early church leader who taught baptismal regeneration!

Origen rejected the literal teaching of Scripture asserting that the reader would find many passages in the Gospels that were untrue events! He believed God had created other worlds and would do so again in the future. Origen was another mixed up dude!

One of the most famous early church leaders was Augustine who declared, “In the Church, therefore, there are three ways in which sins are forgiven: in baptisms, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance.”

He even went further to teach baptism of infants! “The custom of Mother Church in baptizing infants is certainly not to be scorned, nor is it to be regarded in any way as superfluous, nor is it to be believed that its tradition is anything except apostolic” This famous theologian declared, “The sacrament of baptism is most assuredly the sacrament of regeneration.” Not according to Scripture.

In 420, he declared, “Baptism washes away all, absolutely all, our sins, whether of deed, word, or thought, whether sins original or added, whether knowingly or unknowingly contracted.” How do followers of Augustine handle his teaching of baptismal generation?

Augustine said, “It is better that men should be brought to serve God by instruction than by fear of punishment or by pain. But because the former means are better, the latter must not therefore be neglected….Many must often be brought back to their Lord, like wicked servants, by the rod of temporal sufferings, before they attain the highest grade of religious development.”

By that teaching, Augustine laid the foundation for the bloody Inquisition in Europe by the Roman Church in dealing with “heretics.”

Modern Christians must ask some questions: Is it possible to be a born again person and hold some of the teachings revealed here? And remember that some of these men gladly went to their deaths for their faith. If a local pastor or seminary professor taught what Origin, Justin, and Tertullian believed, would he be fired peremptorily? Have Christians down through the centuries been too quick to accept a preacher or teacher because of his impressive preaching, pedigree, and personality? Has there been massive failure on the part of pastors and seminary professors to rebuke, exhort, and contend for the faith? What responsibility do laymen have in challenging a pastor who preaches strange, scandalous, and silly beliefs? Isn’t it time to get back to what we have professed: we teach only what the Bible teaches?

Maybe historian Will Durant provided the answer why the early church ran off the rails so quickly when he wrote, “While Christianity converted the world, the world converted Christianity, and displayed the natural paganism of mankind.” Faithful Bible preaching would have kept early Christians on the right track and it will do so today.

Boys’ new book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published recently by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.

Furthermore, I would have chosen Truman (a Baptist) over Thomas Dewey (an Episcopalian) and Baptist Bill Clinton over Methodist George Bush. However, I preferred Dewey and Bush, both non Baptists. Truman was a cursing Baptist and Clinton was a carousing Baptist and both, in my humble opinion, never had a New Birth experience. Yes, I know it is dangerous to question motives; but I believe that Christians act, talk, and live like Christians with sporadic momentary digressions. Both Truman and Clinton indicted by their lives that they were simply members of Baptist churches.

Today’s CBS national poll has Carson leading Trump 26% to 22%! Donald Trump has been leading the pack until now. Trump might make a good president; at least he gives the Grand Old Progressive establishment nightly heartburn. However, Dr. Ben Carson, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination is leading for the first time. While there is no religious test to be President, it is not smart to elect a candidate without considering his or her religious beliefs. In fact, it is irresponsible not to consider what every candidate believes.

It would be irresponsible not to ask a dedicated Quaker his position on using force in protecting U.S. citizens from terrorists and other enemies.

It would be irresponsible to not ask a Muslim candidate if he accepts the traditional, radical view of the Koran as interpreted by radicals in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, etc.

It would be irresponsible not to ask a Buddhist if he would try to make all of us vegetarians since they refuse to kill anything. They don’t eat meat because they may be eating a dead relative! What impact would a Buddhist have upon our pork, beef, chicken, and turkey industry?

An Orthodox Jew should be asked if he would refuse to work on Saturday in event of a major national problem that threatens America’s safety. Similarity, it is not unreasonable to ask Ben Carson if he has convictions to that extent against working on the Sabbath.

Last week Trump opined that he did not understand why he is losing support among evangelical Christians in Iowa. He told CNN on Sunday, “I can only speak for myself. I don’t like to talk about somebody else’s faith. I can say that I’m a Presbyterian. I’m a believer.” On Saturday in Jacksonville he said, “I’m Presbyterian. Boy, that’s down the middle of the road folks, in all fairness.” Trump said. “I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don’t know about. I just don’t know about.” I have a problem with Presbyterians and Adventists but a problem I can live with if they meet my other criteria for President.

An evident fact: most of Christianity looked upon Adventists as a cult; however, many Adventists now claim to be mainline Christianity believing in Christ’s substitutionary death and His physical resurrection. Sure, they are way off on some other matters but since I am choosing a President not a pastor, I will live with that.

Trump professes to be a Presbyterian but he’s been reported as having been a Catholic, a member of the Reformed Church of America, and he married his third wife in an Episcopalian church. He admits going to church on Christmas and Easter and some other Sundays. Politically, he registered as a Democrat in 2011.

With his admission to being a Presbyterian, he picks up baggage that he obviously did not consider. The Presbyterian USA was at one time a biblically true group but like all mainline denominations, it fell (or jumped) into the snake pit of unbelief in 1923 when the Presbyterian General Assembly rejected the “Auburn Affirmation.” They rejected the veracity of Scripture, the virgin birth, the victorious resurrection, the vicarious atonement and the validity of miracles.

Following this apostasy, the conservative theologians and pastors fled the denomination, as Baptists and Methodists left their groups for the same reason, and formed conservative off-shoots of the parent groups. Those “off-shoots” (original Baptists, Presbyterians, etc.,) are now flourishing while the mainline churches can’t pay their light bill. Since 2011 almost 700 churches left the Presbyterian USA because of apostasy.

In 2014, the Presbyterian USA voted to accept practicing homosexuals into church membership and moved their headquarters to Sodom. With a branch office in Gomorrah.

Recent Iowa polls showed Trump running second to Carson and Trump was surprised at that and the fact he is second to Carson with evangelicals. Trump commented, “I match myself against just about everybody. I am a believer.” He added that evangelicals “like me. I’ve gone to many meetings. We’ve had 28 of the great ministers last week. … And pastors from all over the country, and so many and they really — I’ve had a great relationship with Christianity, and frankly, I would say every bit as good as his.” I hope Trump has a relationship with Christ, not Christianity; that is far more important than where he goes to church.

While I have major differences with Carson, I believe his testimony that he is a genuine Christian, not simply a church member. I am not confident that is true of Trump. I would like to hear an intrepid reporter (remember them) ask all candidates: “Was there a time in your life when you repented and placed faith in the death and resurrection Jesus Christ?” I won’t hold my breath.

When asked if he ever asked God for forgiveness, Trump replied, “When we go in church and when I drink my little wine … and have my little cracker, I guess that’s a form of asking for forgiveness.” That is a flip, frivolous, false answer since real Christians know they commit sin daily if “only” the sins of arrogance, anger, or avarice. Plus, his frivolous reply displayed his lack of knowledge about and/or his lack of respect for the Lord’s Table or as some call it communion. Others incorrectly call it the Eucharist.

Additionally, Trump is uninformed as to what that “wine” and “little cracker” are all about. The Bible does not teach there is forgiveness in partaking in the memorial ceremony (of the death of Christ) but in preparing for the partaking of the “wine” and “little cracker” by repenting of sins before participation.

Carson is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and his critics have suggested that he is in conflict with his denomination since they have a record of being conscientious objectors to all war. The Adventists declared in 1865 that Christians should have “nothing to do with carnal instruments of war.” Due to this history, Adventists like Alexander Carpenter claim Carson “is not an authentic Adventist…The language of [Carson’s] support for guns is totally outside the rhetoric and beliefs of the Adventist church.” However, Carson has served as elder in his denomination so evidently the church leadership did not consider Carson a heretic.

Other Carson critics have brought up his teenage days of violence when he used bricks and bats in assaults; moreover he admitted that he tried to stab someone. Therefore, according to some, they asked if his anti-gun control beliefs make him “a fake.” No, it makes those asking the question a fraud. He trusted Christ and it changed his life. As an adult, he used a knife for better things than stabbing an opponent, like brain surgery!

No, one does not have to be a theologian to be President. Good thing because neither Trump nor Carson would have a prayer!

However, when Trump boasts about being a Presbyterian and puts down Carson’s Adventism, well, that’s like a skunk accusing a rabbit of having bad breath!

(Boys’ new book, was recently published by Barbwire Books; to get your copy: The God Haters click here An eBook edition is also available.)

Man was created in the image of God so within every man is a desire and capability of knowing God. No matter how pagan or how wicked people become, they never lose that ability to know God; however it is possible to know about God and not know God. People can know Him only through faith in Christ.

Philosophers and anthropologists have long speculated why religion is so prevalent in every society and has been since the beginning of time. The answer is rather simple: a loving God wanted to make Himself known to His creatures so He put a question inside every living soul: “Where did all this come from and why am I here?” That is an internal revelation of a sovereign God as John 1:9 says of Christ, “which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”

Atheists have been discomforted lately with the possibility that the brain is wired for a knowledge of God! God’s Brain by Lionel Tiger who is the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University and Michael McGuire suggest that faith is rooted in the very structure of the brain! So, it appears that faith, at least in something, is a part of life!

Additionally, there is an external revelation of God in nature. God made it obvious in nature that He existed as recorded in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” As men tremble while watching leaping lightning during a dangerous thunder storm; as men watch the sun rise over the Atlantic; as men observe the intricacies of the hummingbird and monarch butterfly; as men watch the birth of a child; all are confirmation of a sovereign, all-powerful God.

While external revelation is not enough to provide personal salvation since only trusting in Christ will do that, it does provide enough information to produce a thirst for more information. However, rebellious, sinful man has often rejected the knowledge of a sovereign God and stooped to the construction and worship of idols.

The internal revelation is recorded in Romans 1:18, 19 declaring, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.” Clearly God has revealed Himself to all men who hold the truth in unrighteousness even New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins! Someone call Dick and tell him he does believe in God!

Rom. 1:20 reveals, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Notice that the things of God are “clearly seen” from the creation of the world and men are therefore without excuse. At the Judgment, men will not be permitted to argue that they were in ignorance.

It seems the writings of prominent philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Seneca, etc., indicate they knew much more of the Divine nature than they thought safe or prudent to reveal to others. They were also aware of the Hebrew nation and their Scriptures and rejected them. Those judicious men, aware of their cultural and political circumstances, refused to honor God and turned to the most absurd idolatries and superstitions. Consequently, they degraded themselves by the most vile, vain, and vulgar deeds.

Most people of the ancient world and into the first century refused to profit by the light they had and chose darkness rather than the light. Because they refused to live up to the knowledge they possessed, they died in darkness.

However, men may argue that they know whether or not they believe in God; after all, they are the final authority as to what they believe. But they are not. Men have a deceptive heart and cannot know it according to Jer. 17:9. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Plus they have a rebellious nature so they cannot be trusted to declare what they believe! And people must understand that saying it a thousand times does not change the fact that they do believe in God. We were created with a need for God and a desire for Him even though sin gets in the way.

Gibbon remarked, that “the philosophers regarded all the popular superstitions [religions] as equally false; the common people as equally true; and the politicians as equally useful.” This was probably a correct account of the prevalent feelings among the ancients. Cicero, a few years before Christ, showed that they had the knowledge of one God: “There is something in the nature of things which the mind of man, which reason, which human power cannot effect; and certainly that which produces this must be better than man. What can this be called but God?” Again, he wrote, “What can be so plain and manifest, when we look at heaven, and contemplate heavenly things, as that there is some Divinity of most excellent mind, by which these things are governed?”

There is no doubt that the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers were convinced of God’s existence but thought it was the better part of wisdom to keep it from the hoi polloi. All for the stability of the state. Often the ruling dictator accepted the legislature’s award of personal deity upon him but no one really believed it.

Most people have always done what they knew to be wrong and refused to do what they knew to be right proving the whole world is guilty before God. Faith in Christ satisfies the inner craving in every human heart that mere religion cannot satisfy.

No, neither God nor I believe in atheists. Atheists don’t even believe in atheism!

http://bit.ly/1iMLVfY  Watch these 8 minute videos of my lecture at the University of North Dakota: “A Christian Challenges New Atheists to Put Up or Shut Up!”

Yes, I know the U.S. Postal service issued a stamp honoring Kwanzaa, but that only proves how shallow and stupid the Postal Service is. And yes, the New York Times and other major journals have positively pitched Kwanzaa. (See the previous sentence.) Those people are wearing the “merit badge” of political correctness, and in fact, they flaunt it.

It was December 26, 1966, that Ron Karenga and his family and friends lit a candle at the kick-off of Kwanzaa, a new holiday to remember their African roots. However, Karenga admitted to the Washington Post that Kwanzaa was not African and hated whites. Karenga wrote what I call the mission statement for Kwanzaa fanatics: “The sevenfold path of blackness is think black, talk black, act black, create black, buy black, vote black, and live black.” That is black separatism and racism to the core. Let me suggest it should be “Think American, talk American, act American, create American, buy American, vote American and live American.”

While some of the “seven principles” (unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith) of Kwanzaa seem commendable, they must be read within the total socialist, Marxist, and the anti-white context in which they were developed by a very unstable guy.

The Kwanzaa Information Center also notes that the Kwanzaa flag “has become the symbol of devotion for African people in America to establish an independent African nation on the North American Continent.”

Remember during the 1960s, President John Kennedy was assassinated, followed by his brother Bobby and Martin Luther King. Hippies protested the Vietnam War, and many burned their draft cards and fled to Canada. Timothy Leary convinced thousands of youths to use illegal drugs (especially LSD) using the phrase, “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” When he dropped out and assumed room temperature, his remains were cremated and shot into space, where they still orbit the earth.  Leary is still “high” and going around and around and around without the help of any drug!

The 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed giving Blacks the right to jobs, college enrollment, access to public restrooms, etc., and many Blacks overreacted and promoted “Black Power.” Some black leaders like Malcolm X were intent on creating a separate black American nation in the U.S. or Western hemisphere. He and other leaders wanted black independence and freedom from dependence upon Whites.

The Black Panther Party was formed in Oakland, CA, by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966 to protect blacks and black neighborhoods from “police brutality.” However, those lofty goals changed with time. While the party was always socialist, it became more vicious and violent. They and other black groups spewed bigotry, intolerance, hatred, sexism, anti-Semitism, dogmatic historical revisionism, and violence throughout North America. Many black nationalists exemplified more hatred for whites than a love of their own race. Most Black Nationalist leaders were critical of Martin Luther King’s professed nonviolent approach to civil rights and sarcastically called him “De Lawd.”

Into such an atmosphere entered Ron Karenga, founder of United Slaves (a violent nationalist rival to the Black Panthers) and a dupe of the FBI. The tension between the Black Panthers and the United Slaves reached the highest level over who would head up the new Afro-American Studies department at UCLA. Each radical group supported different candidates.

Then on January 17, 1969, fewer than 200 students gathered on the UCLA campus to discuss their differences. During the meeting, John Jerome Huggins and Alprentice Carter of the Panthers verbally attacked Karenga, much to the dismay of his followers. After the meeting, two United Slave members, George and Larry Stiner, confronted Huggins and Carter in a hallway and shot and killed them, and the fat was in the fire.

George and Larry finally were sentenced to life in San Quentin prison. In 1975, the two brothers, fearing an alleged retaliatory plot by white prison guards, escaped from San Quentin (with help from a black prison guard) fled to Suriname. In 1994, Larry turned himself in to United States officials and returned to America, but George’s whereabouts are still unknown.

On September 17, 1971, Ron Karenga was sentenced to one to ten years to the slammer on felonious assault and false imprisonment counts. The charges stemmed from a May 9, 1970 incident in which Karenga and two others tortured two women. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Deborah Jones, who once was given the title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Miss Davis’ mouth.”

At his trial, Ron Karenga’s sanity was in question, and a psychiatrist declared, “This man now represents a picture which can be considered both paranoid and schizophrenic with hallucinations and elusions, inappropriate affect, disorganization, and impaired contact with the environment.” The psychiatrist observed that Karenga talked to his blanket and imaginary persons and believed he had been attacked by dive-bombers!

My two-year-old grandson also speaks to his blanket, has imaginary friends, and believes he has been attacked by peg-legged, one-eyed Caribbean pirates, but he has not been offered a position at a major university as was Karenga! Eight years later, California State University at Long Beach made Karenga the head of its Black Studies Department! I think he should be making license plates in a state prison.

Blacks can celebrate whatever they choose, but I will remind them that if it is Kwanzaa, they recognize a “holiday” designed by a hateful, bigoted, black Marxist who reportedly talks to his blanket and has imaginary friends and believed he was attacked by dive-bombers! Watch out, they’re coming out of the clouds at the two o’clock position!

Maybe Blacks and Whites should be more careful in choosing their holidays and heroes.

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 20 books, the most recent, Reflections of a Lifetime Fundamentalist: No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets! The eBook is available at Amazon.com for $4.99. Other titles at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don  Boys, Ph.D., and visit his blog.  Send a request to DBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles and click here to support  his work with a donation.)

Kent’s enemies have painted him as a greedy tax resister when he has said repeatedly that he has always paid any taxes he owes. He could not get any response from the IRS nor did the judge, prosecutor, or anyone else inform him why his ministry was not exempt from taxes as are hundreds of thousands of similar organizations. Therefore, he has spent six years in the Big House. That’s where they send killers, traitors, rapists, child molesters, armed robbers, and other Very Bad Guys.

Well, not always. If you are a celebrity entertainer, liberal politician, or sports figure, you can usually get probation; only a slap on the wrists. Sometimes a fine.

Note that Senator Ted Kennedy, while driving drunk, with a young woman in his car, drove off a bridge and swam away leaving her to die a slow death as she used what oxygen was available. Justice? He sat in the U.S. Senate the rest of his life and some fools actually took him seriously. My friend, Kent Hovind is still in prison!

Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, an admitted pervert, confirmed that his Washington apartment had been used as a callboy headquarters by a male prostitute for a year and a half until late 1987. So, Barney’s lover-boy was using his apartment as a callboy ring to make a little money on the side. Barney did not go to jail, and did not lose his seat in Congress. I’m not sure if he passed go and collected $200.00. Maybe his lover can tell us that. However, Kent Hovind sat in prison while Barney retired from Congress from making laws that you are expected to obey.

The late Massachusetts Congressman Studds plied a sixteen-year-old male page with liquor and seduced him, and tried to seduce two other male pages. After admitting his seduction of the male page and taking him on an 18-day trip to Europe (where they had sex every two days) Studds was reelected to Congress 6 times! He didn’t spend a day in court or jail! He sat in Congress but Kent Hovind has spent six years in federal prisons.

But it gets worse!

Andrew James of Vermont molested a four-year-old at least ten times, admitted it and walked away with probation and a $22 fine! He had three other convictions and Judge David Howard could have sentenced him to life in prison and a $50,000 fine. The judge is a jerk!

Mark Hulett, a 34-year-old, pled guilty to aggravated sexual assault on the daughter of a friend from the time she was 6 to age 10! The prosecutor asked for 8-20 years in the slammer but Judge Edward Cashman gave him 60 days! That esteemed judge has esteemed rocks in his head.

I could bore you with numerous cases of schoolteachers who took advantage of their position, seduced students, and walked away with probation, although usually the men go to prison and the females go free! And have you noticed that screaming feminists are not demanding equal treatment between male and female predators?

There are recent cases where rapists and killers walk away with probation and Kent Hovind sits in prison for ten years! Folks, there’s gotta be more to it than meets the eye. Your Federal Government wanted to “get” an outspoken Christian and they did. All right, so Kent made a mistake in judgment, and even if he is guilty, don’t sane people think his sentence is excessive? After all, didn’t Kent tell them he would pay any taxes they showed him he owed? Is it possible that they got him, not for taxes, but for religion? The Feds didn’t like his outspoken brand of Christianity.

Yes, Lady Justice is blind, dumb, stupid, and bigoted as is obvious in the case of Dr. Kent Hovind who sits in prison as I write this piece. And if it could happen to him, it could and might happen to you or me. Maybe Bible believing Christians should do as Chinese Christians and keep a small bag packed with personal things waiting for that ominous knock on the door. “We’re from the Federal Government and we’re here to get you.”

The feds “got” Kent and it’s past time for him to be released. Maybe the Pensacola judge or IRS agent could take his place in prison. Well, it could happen; after all, it is a time of miracles.

(Rewrite of 2007 column)

Copyright 2013, Don Boys, Ph.D.

Dawkins and his fellow New Atheists started the prevailing “war” against Christians so I treat them like enemy soldiers, not gracious gentlemen, and I take any shot at them that I can make and I don’t shoot blanks.

His hatred for religion was displayed when he declared, “I think a case can be made that faith is one of the world’s great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate.” Such statements are the reason many people think Dawkins is despicable, disgusting, and dishonest! He obviously tries to be obstreperous, offensive, and outrageous like an insecure kid throwing a fit to get attention.

He foams at the mouth in his hatred for God and wiping the foam away he wrote, “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homo-phobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalo-maniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” He adds that the God of the Old Testament was “an evil monster.”

Dawkins is dishonest in that he misstates and mischaracterizes Christian beliefs in order to take a shot, but then he usually fires a blank as when he declared that if you really take the Bible seriously, you will “strictly observe the Sabbath and think it just and proper to execute anyone who chose not to.” He knows that is an outrageous lie but he continues to parrot it and is too lazy or incompetent to correct it for himself. Or he is too dishonest to admit his lie. Take your choice: lazy, incompetent, or dishonest. Has to be one of the three.

He has antagonized many people who would normally be in his corner. In fact, his brash, bullying, and boisterous comments have embarrassed many of his friends. He is infamous for his hatred of religion, all religion, but especially Christianity. Atheist philosopher Dr. Michael Ruse declared concerning Dawkins’ book The God Delusion: “The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist.” Ruse says of the book, “Don’t judge the rest of us by this pseudointellectual drivel.” O my, sounds like it may be the shootout at the O. K. Corral.

Dawkins seems to have a unique way of dividing his friends and uniting his enemies with his brashness, boast¬ing, and bigotry.

Dawkins was voted one of the world’s three leading intellectuals in the November 2005 issue of Prospect magazine, but things do change. With the publication of The God Delusion, the same magazine declared the book “incurious, dogmatic, rambling, and self-contradictory.” Plus, it is dull, very dull. But then, since it is a real snoozer, it may help with insomnia!

Anthony Flew, who was the Number One Atheist in the World (until he saw light and became a theist!) declared of The God Delusion, “…the contents–or rather lack of contents–of this book show Dawkins himself to have become what he and his fellow secularists typically believe to be an impossibility: namely, a secularist bigot.” Flew made that observation after he flew the atheist coop.

Famous evolutionary biologists H. Allen Orr, David Sloan Wilson, and Massimo Pigliucci now question Dawkins’ intellectualism because of his “elementary errors in The God Delusion.” There is rebellion in the scientific camp!

Dawkins is truth deficient. For sure, he cannot say, “I never told a lie.” Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, reported, “Dawkins attacked me on his website and denied that he and I had ever debated. My office quickly posted the full footage of a two-hour debate.” Of course, Dawkins had “forgotten” about the debate that he lost! Richard also lied about an interview he did with a creationist group from Australia. Google “Dawkins stumped” for an interesting session.

He made a fool of himself when he advocated the arrest of Pope Benedict XVI for “crimes against humanity” during the Pope’s visit to Britain in 2010. I’m no friend of the Pope but Dick seems to be irrational at times. When he has occasional seizures of normalcy, he is rather tolerable. Of course, unless Dawkins is a total idiot outside the realm of biology, he knows the Pope has diplomatic immunity and would not be arrested even if he did not have the immunity. It was simply another publicity stunt drawing much wanted attention to himself. Pity.

Dawkins jumps from one frying pan into another. He calls a rabbi “Hitler” for daring to disagree with him (Dawkins), and then calls others who disagree with him “Holocaust deniers.” Poor Richard has multiple problems. Maybe his atheism has made him delusional. His problem is in his memes!

Dawkins angered everyone except the LGBT, the North American Man/Boy Love Association crowd, and psychiatrists who make a very good living dealing with such abnormalities, abominations, and aberrations when he declared that there are “gentle pedophiles and that way too much is made of pedophilia at times.” Gentle pedophiles! Maybe his next campaign will be to legalize “gentle pedophiles,” or he could be applying for membership in Weirdoes and Whackos of the World. He caused a firestorm in the U.S. and Europe when he said, “Mild paedophilia never did me any harm.”

Dawkins is a spoiled adult brat who will say and do anything to get attention. Must have been the way he was potty trained. Stay tuned for his next tantrum. “Film at eleven.”

He was asked by CNN about permitting children in church and he replied, “I certainly wouldn’t wish to prohibit parents influencing their children.” Even his close associates and acolytes cringed when he gave his answer. No doubt, his fingers were crossed because he believes that teaching children about Hell is child abuse. Dawkins wrote, “We should work to free the children of the world from the religions which, with parental approval, damage minds too young to understand what is happening to them.” The New Atheists all demand that children be removed from biblical teaching and preaching since, to the atheists, it is child abuse. I think the atheists’ books are literary abuse!

He can’t seem to make up his mind whether he is an agnostic or a militant atheist, although he pleads for militant atheism. Does Dawkins have an unstable mind? He is alternately angry, agitated, and amused. A Canadian writer, Robert Fulford, asked, “Why is Richard Dawkins, of all people, acting like a fool?… he’s turned himself into a clown.” Another writer said, “he’s turned himself into a clown, and damaged his reputation.”

Dawkins declared, “By all means let’s be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.” Sorry, Dick but I’m afraid you’ve already had that experience! Someone yelled, “Send in the clowns” however, that is not necessary because in walked Richard.

America, Canada, Britain and the free world are in deep trouble when you realize there is still a fool on every corner, a clown in most public offices, and every city has not one, but several idiots along with numerous tyrants and totalitarians lounging down at the Angry Atheist Association.

Copyright 2013, Don Boys, Ph.D.

Let me state the obvious: If Blacks (or anyone else) want to celebrate Kwanzaa that is their right; however, it is my right to set the record straight. Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, nor is it a traditional “African thing.” Moreover, it is grounded in violence, corruption, and deceit. Furthermore, it has an admitted humanist foundation, so professing Christians should not go near the thing. Neither should black Americans!

Yes, I know the U.S. Postal service issued a stamp honoring Kwanzaa but that only proves how shallow and stupid the Postal Service is. And yes, the New York Times and other major journals have positively pitched Kwanzaa. (See previous sentence.) Those people are wearing the “merit badge” of political correctness. In fact, they flaunt it.
It was December 26, 1966 that Ron Karenga and his family and friends lit a candle at the kick-off of Kwanzaa, a new holiday to remember their African roots. However, Karenga admitted to the Washington Post that Kwanzaa was not African and they hated whites. Karenga wrote what I call, the mission statement for Kwanzaa fanatics: “The sevenfold path of blackness is think black, talk black, act black, create black, buy black, vote black, and live black.” That is black separatism and racism to the core. Let me suggest it should be “Think American, talk American, act American, create American, buy American, vote American and live American.”
While some of the “seven principles” (unity, self determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith) of Kwanzaa seem commendable, they must be read within the total socialist, Marxist, and anti-white context in which they were developed by a very unstable guy.
The Kwanzaa Information Center also notes that the Kwanzaa flag “has become the symbol of devotion for African people in America to establish an independent African nation on the North American Continent.”
Remember during the 1960s, President John Kennedy was assassinated followed by his brother Bobby and Martin Luther King. Hippies were protesting the Vietnam War and many burned their draft cards and fled to Canada. Timothy Leary convinced thousands of youth to use illegal drugs (especially LSD) using the phrase,”Turn on, tune in, drop out.” When he dropped out and assumed room temperature, his remains were cremated and shot into space where they still orbit the earth. Leary is still going around and around and around without the help of any drug!

The 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed giving Blacks the right to jobs, college enrollment, access to public restrooms, etc., and many Blacks overreacted and promoted “Black Power.” Some black leaders like Malcolm X were intent on the eventual creation of a separate black American nation in the U.S. or Western hemisphere. He and other leaders wanted black independence and freedom from dependence upon Whites.

The Black Panther Party was formed in Oakland, CA by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966 to protect blacks and black neighborhoods from “police brutality.” However, those lofty goals changed with time. While the party was always socialist, it became more vile, vicious and violent. They and other black groups spewed bigotry, intolerance, hatred, sexism, anti-Semitism, dogmatic historical revisionism, and violence throughout North America. Many black nationalists exemplified more hatred for whites than love of their own race. Most Black Nationalist leaders were critical of Martin Luther King’s professed nonviolent approach to civil rights and sarcastically called him, “De Lawd.”

Into such an atmosphere, entered Ron Karenga, founder of United Slaves (a violent nationalist rival to the Black Panthers) and a dupe of the FBI. The tension between the Black Panthers and the United Slaves reached the highest level over who would head up the new Afro-American Studies department at UCLA. Each radical group supported different candidates.
Then on January 17, 1969, fewer than 200 students gathered on the UCLA campus to discuss their differences. During the meeting John Jerome Huggins and Alprentice Carter of the Panthers verbally attacked Karenga, much to the dismay of his followers. After the meeting two United Slave members, George and Larry Stiner, confronted Huggins and Carter in a hallway and shot and killed them. The fat was in the fire.
George and Larry finally were sentenced to life in San Quentin prison but in 1975, the two brothers, fearing an alleged retaliatory plot by white prison guards, escaped from San Quentin (with help from a black prison guard) and fled to Suriname. In 1994, Larry turned himself in to United States officials and returned to America but the whereabouts of George is still unknown.
On September 17, 1971, Ron Karenga was sentenced one to ten years to the slammer on counts of felonious assault and false imprisonment. The charges stemmed from a May 9, 1970 incident in which Karenga and two others tortured two women. According to the Los Angeles Times “Deborah Jones, who once was given the title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Miss Davis’ mouth.”
At his trial, Ron Karenga’s sanity was in question and a psychiatrist declared, “This man now represents a picture which can be considered both paranoid and schizophrenic with hallucinations and elusions, inappropriate affect, disorganization, and impaired contact with the environment.” The psychiatrist observed that Karenga talked to his blanket and imaginary persons and believed that he had been attacked by dive-bombers!

My two-year-old grandson also talks to his blanket, has imaginary friends, and believes he has been attacked by peg-legged, one-eyed Caribbean pirates but he has not been offered a position at a major university as was Karenga! Eight years later California State University at Long Beach made Karenga the head of its Black Studies Department! I think he should be making license plates in a state prison.
Blacks can celebrate whatever they choose but I will remind them that if it is Kwanzaa, they recognize a “holiday” that was designed by a hateful, bigoted, black Marxist who reportedly talks to his blanket, has imaginary friends and believed he was attacked by dive-bombers! Watch out, they’re coming out of the clouds at the two o’clock position!
Maybe Blacks and Whites should be more careful in choosing their holidays and their heroes.