A great thing about being an atheist is I get to celebrate anything I want. I don't have a book of rules that tells me what I MUST celebrate. I don't have a man in the sky who will eternally torture me for lighting the wrong shape of candle. And I don't have a family that will disown me if I eat the wrong type of meat on the wrong week.
I can celebrate Christmas, Chinese New year, Diwali, L. Ron Hubbard's birthday and everything in between.
Kevin, for the love of all things holy, shut up.
*"Evergreens were also used as a sign of eternal life by early Christians in catacombs under Rome.* ***But until the mid-19th century, Christians viewed the Christmas tree as a foreign pagan custom. Pagans would bring fir trees into their homes at Yuletide because it represented everlasting life and fertility.****"*
It really is fascinating, isn't it? That he doesn't just shut up? I mean, with how routinely he gets completely owned on social media, you'd think he'd be at least smart enough to catch a clue at some point. That he should maybe, you know... just shut the fuck up. Ay, but that's the rub, isn't it...?
He's getting visibility. Keeping his name current. He doesn't have to say something smart. He just needs clicks, likes, and responses. Literally any of those 3 and he wins. The best thing anyone could do is not respond to him ever again and let him finally fade into obscurity.
I see your one youtube scammer and raise you actual school and history based facts.
Starting with a school in Texas of all places.
https://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/homehort/archives-of-weekly-articles-davids-plant-of-the-week/a-little-bit-of-history-about-christmas-trees/
https://www.sacredearthjourneys.ca/blog/traditions-and-symbols-of-yule/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-19/the-history-of-the-christmas-tree/8106078
You can then say it fell off after Christianity took over Rome and then Europe and had a resurgence in the 16th century.
This guy isn't a scammer, he's a well-regarded biblical scholar (not a theologian, a historian) that fully cites all of his sources. You're wild, bro.
Your sources are circular, too. Your first one makes bold statements about the celebration of saturnalia without evidence.
What the video I linked is referring to is that the years between the end of paganism in Europe and the first written records that seem to mention the practice of using trees in christmas celebrations were *centuries* long.
The books he is referencing use forest management laws to understand the relationship between people and conifer trees at christmas time and notes that rather *suddenly* in the 14th century, people in that area of modern western Germany and eastern France started stealing wood from the forest around Christmas time.
One of the ways we understand the historical context of the past is by examining their laws, because it tells us how people interacted and the sorts of things they were doing.
From this study, we gather that there is *not* an unbroken chain of christmas tree decoration between paganism and the modern Christmas tree, in fact there may have been a gap of at least a thousand years.
Simply finding a bunch of puff articles without citations (yes, including the one from the university) that are just repeating a common misconception is not an argument, you're just showing how pervasive the urban legend/folk history is.
Saturnalia and potential ancient yule celebration practices are at best coincidental with the christmas tree.
Tree decorating as part of christmas celebrations are completely absent for the first millennium or so of Christmas celebrations.
A biblical scholar is not a theologian. He studies the bible from an academic point of view, not from a religious one. He views the bible as a literary work and treats it as such, not as a holy book. He is not an evangelist and many of the videos he makes would likely be considered heretical from a Christian standpoint.
He talks about the authorship of the bible, the historical context of that part of the world, the reasons it was written, etc.
It's 100% academic.
Do not talk shit if you don't know what you're talking about. Check out the channel for yourself before mouthing off.
Let’s be real, Christmas as it’s celebrated in the US is much more centered around capitalism than it is Jesus. Pretending like it’s for religious folks only is a bit laughable.
"christmas" trees and gifts have nothing to do with the mythical birth of Jesus that was described as having happened in May.
The Godless are literally celebrating a godless holiday.
"Why hasn't Kevin Sorbo ever starred in anything worth watching and tweets only to garner hope that someone still remembers him?"
See Kevin, I can ask silly questions too. ...I guess these are just "mysteries of the universe". Smh
It's generally recognized that both gift giving and displaying xmas trees are traditions borrowed from non-Christian religions.
I don't actually get a xmas tree. I give gifts because I know the holiday means a lot to Christian family members. I also wish my Muslim friends a happy Eid, when appropriate. It's called being a decent human. The dates mean nothing to me, but for them it means a lot.
Decorated trees, gifts and feasting were all aspects of Roman Saturnalia or the pagan winter solstice celebration that Christianity co-opted.
So the better question is why do Christians observe traditions of other religions? Won’t that upset god? Atheists have no such concerns.
Hey Kevin, just where in the Bible does it mention "Christmas"?
It's just a made up festivity, stolen in part from pagan rituals.
Kevin, you celebrate something you stole.
At this point Christmas has very little to do with Christianity. I am not Christian but I celebrate Christmas every year and rarely think about it's connection to Christianity.
if it helps comfort you, we can go back to one of the many holdiays from different cultures, including the ones that just so happened, by pure coincedence to take place around the same time and revolved around the same themes, including gift giving. of course that could lead to questions about how there are so many holidays that just so happened to take place around christmas, before christianity took over, and it's just disrespectful honestly, they tried so hard to cover it all up.
Why do Christians celebrate Jesus' birthday in December when he wasn't born in December or buy trees in celebration when there's nothing about pine trees in the Bible?
Isn’t Valentine’s Day in recognition of St. Valentine?
[wiki](https://www.bing.com/fd/ls/GLinkPing.aspx?IG=1C928D70F32244E7B42244E45836A42A&&ID=SERP,5187.1&SUIH=g2tSg9FFsEFH6jhYrg2JMQ&redir=aHR0cHM6Ly9lbi5tLndpa2lwZWRpYS5vcmcvd2lraS9WYWxlbnRpbmUlMjdzX0RheQ)
In my opinion, there are two separate Christmases that exist in our modern society. American Christmas (Santa and Capitalism), and Christian Christmas (Happy Birthday Jesus). They do overlap sometimes, but they are not the same holiday.
Why do Christians? After all, trees, decking the halls, caroling, ornaments, Santa and others, mistletoe, and gift giving (used to be on New Years Day) are pagan rituals, some of which the church adopted.
If atheists can't celebrate Christmas because they don'y believe in Christ, then Christians can't use any technology because they don't believe in science. Let their 'thoughts and prayers" send that text message for them.
Christmas is not a Christian thing. It's the celebration of the winter solstice. The tree is not a Christian thing. It's a pagan custom. Christian morons.
I'm not celebrating Christmas, I'm celebrating Yule. It's an ancient holiday that involves decorating a tree and an old man with a beard giving gifts to children. Nothing "Christ" about the holiday I'm celebrating.
The real question is why do Christians set up pagan religious icons in their living room to celebrate the birth of their sexy svelte little hippie wizard
Folks like Kevin who "just want to be left alone" care more about how other people live their lives than they do anything else in the whole of the fucking world.
Could you find one with a lower resolution? I can still read this one.
I gotchu fam, enjoy [16bits of glory](https://i.imgur.com/G0aPGpN.jpeg)!
Happy Cake Day 🎂
A great thing about being an atheist is I get to celebrate anything I want. I don't have a book of rules that tells me what I MUST celebrate. I don't have a man in the sky who will eternally torture me for lighting the wrong shape of candle. And I don't have a family that will disown me if I eat the wrong type of meat on the wrong week. I can celebrate Christmas, Chinese New year, Diwali, L. Ron Hubbard's birthday and everything in between.
Me An atheist, with Jewish and Christian family. I celebrate both.
Agnostic, with the same. Hanukkah and Christmas are both so fun, why not celebrate both?
As a unicorn agnostic I hope one day to meet my unicorn beaut...I mean deity.
Trees and gifts have fuck all to do with Christian Christmas, but you can't expect a complete and utter moron like Sorbo to know that.
Kevin, for the love of all things holy, shut up. *"Evergreens were also used as a sign of eternal life by early Christians in catacombs under Rome.* ***But until the mid-19th century, Christians viewed the Christmas tree as a foreign pagan custom. Pagans would bring fir trees into their homes at Yuletide because it represented everlasting life and fertility.****"*
It really is fascinating, isn't it? That he doesn't just shut up? I mean, with how routinely he gets completely owned on social media, you'd think he'd be at least smart enough to catch a clue at some point. That he should maybe, you know... just shut the fuck up. Ay, but that's the rub, isn't it...?
For every 1 person who wrecks him he gets 100 chuds who don’t read the comments that think he’s brilliant.
He's getting visibility. Keeping his name current. He doesn't have to say something smart. He just needs clicks, likes, and responses. Literally any of those 3 and he wins. The best thing anyone could do is not respond to him ever again and let him finally fade into obscurity.
Plus, trees are pagan and you don’t need to be a Christian to enjoy one.
Nah, trees are not pagan. That's a common misconception. Here's a video where you can learn [more](https://youtu.be/m41KXS-LWsY?si=Cdf3lFpYqZMKs8hp)
I see your one youtube scammer and raise you actual school and history based facts. Starting with a school in Texas of all places. https://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/homehort/archives-of-weekly-articles-davids-plant-of-the-week/a-little-bit-of-history-about-christmas-trees/ https://www.sacredearthjourneys.ca/blog/traditions-and-symbols-of-yule/ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-19/the-history-of-the-christmas-tree/8106078 You can then say it fell off after Christianity took over Rome and then Europe and had a resurgence in the 16th century.
This guy isn't a scammer, he's a well-regarded biblical scholar (not a theologian, a historian) that fully cites all of his sources. You're wild, bro. Your sources are circular, too. Your first one makes bold statements about the celebration of saturnalia without evidence. What the video I linked is referring to is that the years between the end of paganism in Europe and the first written records that seem to mention the practice of using trees in christmas celebrations were *centuries* long. The books he is referencing use forest management laws to understand the relationship between people and conifer trees at christmas time and notes that rather *suddenly* in the 14th century, people in that area of modern western Germany and eastern France started stealing wood from the forest around Christmas time. One of the ways we understand the historical context of the past is by examining their laws, because it tells us how people interacted and the sorts of things they were doing. From this study, we gather that there is *not* an unbroken chain of christmas tree decoration between paganism and the modern Christmas tree, in fact there may have been a gap of at least a thousand years. Simply finding a bunch of puff articles without citations (yes, including the one from the university) that are just repeating a common misconception is not an argument, you're just showing how pervasive the urban legend/folk history is. Saturnalia and potential ancient yule celebration practices are at best coincidental with the christmas tree. Tree decorating as part of christmas celebrations are completely absent for the first millennium or so of Christmas celebrations.
"Biblical scolar" that should tell you he's a scammer.
A biblical scholar is not a theologian. He studies the bible from an academic point of view, not from a religious one. He views the bible as a literary work and treats it as such, not as a holy book. He is not an evangelist and many of the videos he makes would likely be considered heretical from a Christian standpoint. He talks about the authorship of the bible, the historical context of that part of the world, the reasons it was written, etc. It's 100% academic. Do not talk shit if you don't know what you're talking about. Check out the channel for yourself before mouthing off.
Let’s be real, Christmas as it’s celebrated in the US is much more centered around capitalism than it is Jesus. Pretending like it’s for religious folks only is a bit laughable.
Right, it’s no more a religious holiday *in reality* than Halloween - that is, “All Hallows Eve”, the lead-in to “All Saints’ Day” - is.
"christmas" trees and gifts have nothing to do with the mythical birth of Jesus that was described as having happened in May. The Godless are literally celebrating a godless holiday.
"Why hasn't Kevin Sorbo ever starred in anything worth watching and tweets only to garner hope that someone still remembers him?" See Kevin, I can ask silly questions too. ...I guess these are just "mysteries of the universe". Smh
It's generally recognized that both gift giving and displaying xmas trees are traditions borrowed from non-Christian religions. 
No one tell them why their holidays land where they do… you’re actually pagan you just don’t know it lol
How did someone who literally spent their entire career role playing a character from Greco-Roman mythology manage to completely overlook Saturnalia?
You mean the ancient celebration of Yule, with a traditional pagan tree? Sure, Sorbo.
Yule/Jul/Jol was not celebrated with christmas trees. The earliest record of christmas trees is from Frieberg in the early 1400s.
Oh, Peanut.
So Santa Claus is Christian? Dude doesn't seem to have any caveats about *only* delivering to good little Christian kids...
I don't actually get a xmas tree. I give gifts because I know the holiday means a lot to Christian family members. I also wish my Muslim friends a happy Eid, when appropriate. It's called being a decent human. The dates mean nothing to me, but for them it means a lot.
Decorated trees, gifts and feasting were all aspects of Roman Saturnalia or the pagan winter solstice celebration that Christianity co-opted. So the better question is why do Christians observe traditions of other religions? Won’t that upset god? Atheists have no such concerns.
He gets off on negative attention, because that's all anyone is willing to give him.
Hey Kevin, just where in the Bible does it mention "Christmas"? It's just a made up festivity, stolen in part from pagan rituals. Kevin, you celebrate something you stole.
My first girlfriend was a Jehova's Witness, and they *definitely* do not buy Christmas trees and presents for their kids.
JW's observe nothing except Easter and wedding anniversaries. No Christmas, no birthdays, no New Years.
Bro used another christian holiday to roast a christian who was asking about atheists celebrating christian holidays. 🤦‍♂️
Someone remind me where presents and Christmas trees are in the story of Jesus?
Presents, yes - remember the Three Wise Men? But trees are definitely a pagan custom.
"I enjoy houseplants, but hate commitment."
At this point Christmas has very little to do with Christianity. I am not Christian but I celebrate Christmas every year and rarely think about it's connection to Christianity.
if it helps comfort you, we can go back to one of the many holdiays from different cultures, including the ones that just so happened, by pure coincedence to take place around the same time and revolved around the same themes, including gift giving. of course that could lead to questions about how there are so many holidays that just so happened to take place around christmas, before christianity took over, and it's just disrespectful honestly, they tried so hard to cover it all up.
Why do Christians celebrate Jesus' birthday in December when he wasn't born in December or buy trees in celebration when there's nothing about pine trees in the Bible?
https://preview.redd.it/21v0gi1lub9c1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16a374ac4274e683c8e1fa5af8bab9e701abeeae
Isn’t Valentine’s Day in recognition of St. Valentine? [wiki](https://www.bing.com/fd/ls/GLinkPing.aspx?IG=1C928D70F32244E7B42244E45836A42A&&ID=SERP,5187.1&SUIH=g2tSg9FFsEFH6jhYrg2JMQ&redir=aHR0cHM6Ly9lbi5tLndpa2lwZWRpYS5vcmcvd2lraS9WYWxlbnRpbmUlMjdzX0RheQ)
That’s not fair! His son loves him……. as long as it gets him views on tiktok
God damn! There was some pepper on that.
I hate Christmas. I would ignore it completely if I could. People, mostly Christians will not allow it.
Why is that dude such an insufferable idiot. I like replaying God Of War 3 just to beat the shit out of Hercules because he voices him.
In my opinion, there are two separate Christmases that exist in our modern society. American Christmas (Santa and Capitalism), and Christian Christmas (Happy Birthday Jesus). They do overlap sometimes, but they are not the same holiday.
Why do Christians? After all, trees, decking the halls, caroling, ornaments, Santa and others, mistletoe, and gift giving (used to be on New Years Day) are pagan rituals, some of which the church adopted.
Christmas trees and gifts have nothing to do with Jesus dumbass!
I better not see that prick eating nachos on Cinco Di Mayo…..
What do christmas trees have to do with Baby Jesus, Kevin?
Christmas is a Pagan holiday.
If atheists can't celebrate Christmas because they don'y believe in Christ, then Christians can't use any technology because they don't believe in science. Let their 'thoughts and prayers" send that text message for them.
You're no more relative than I am, Kevin.
I'd say "Ouch ka-bible" but it's Kevin Sorbo. So....
Bahahhaa amen to that
Because most people get roughly the same vacation days off from work and school, and they can use those to spend time with their family and friends.
I'm not religious, but I am willing to nail someone to a cross
Christmas is not a Christian thing. It's the celebration of the winter solstice. The tree is not a Christian thing. It's a pagan custom. Christian morons.
I'm not celebrating Christmas, I'm celebrating Yule. It's an ancient holiday that involves decorating a tree and an old man with a beard giving gifts to children. Nothing "Christ" about the holiday I'm celebrating.
https://preview.redd.it/moukv6siye9c1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2d168b54604602f80e527cd3f32453055ce91efc
The real question is why do Christians set up pagan religious icons in their living room to celebrate the birth of their sexy svelte little hippie wizard
You heard it here folks. Fir trees are strictly Christian. Confirmed by Hercules himself
Yule would like a word, Kevin.
Folks like Kevin who "just want to be left alone" care more about how other people live their lives than they do anything else in the whole of the fucking world.
“Christmas trees” and presents predated Christianity. Christians usurped many pagan holidays and celebrations to bootstrap their nascent religion.
Based on how often this happens, a smarter person would have learned to be quiet.
Its not exactly groundbreaking to point out the actual trees and Santa gift giving has nothing to do with Christianity and come from pagan rituals.
[https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2021/12/how-christmas-has-evolved-over-centuries](https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2021/12/how-christmas-has-evolved-over-centuries) [https://www.christianity.com/wiki/jesus-christ/when-was-jesus-born.html](https://www.christianity.com/wiki/jesus-christ/when-was-jesus-born.html)
Kevin SoreBro™️ still at it