>>1562710
>America is not a Christian nation.
>Church and state are separate.
>Nobody is required to believe in a silly tribal god and a spooky devil to be American
While I can certainly appreciate this anon's sentiments, I would remind agnostics and atheists that there are very important non-religious reasons that we should respect and value the story of Christ.
After all, Christ demonstrated that one need NOT "walk on water" to do what is RIGHT in the world.
For the past 2000 years, Christ represents the composite hero of the West as the "Truthful Individual" who acts upon the Truth.
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” – John 8:32 KJV
In the earliest Christian manuscripts, the Greek word for "Christ" was "Chrēstós”, which means useful, benevolent, or “kind one."
If we look past the religious packaging, we see that Christ’s most important teachings to humanity were as follows:
1) Christ taught us to treat others as we would expect to be treated (the "Golden Rule").
2) Christ exposed the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.
3) Christ exposed the corruption of the "money changers."
4) Christ’s path to the Truth was by solitary quiet discernment ("Prayer").
5) Christ voluntarily accepted suffering as a prerequisite for "being" and in doing so transcended his own mortality.
6) Christ used free will to refuse, not only sinful temptations, but also conscription by “the Authorities” to commit violence against the innocent.
These mythological truths are factual whether you believe or not in God and/or Christ as a historical figure.
This is not a religious statement, but rather one based on logic and reason (logos).
The existence of organized religion and "the State" itself depend on obscuring these fundamental Truths.
Though rarely acknowledged, the story of Christ is the foundation upon which Western Culture was built and continues to exist.