To you self described “non-religious” people who see no benefit to religious beliefs. To you who are ‘good without God,’ and evolved beyond the need for faith in a higher power. To you who ridicule religion as regressive superstitions. To my intellectual superiors who have rejected Christianity for a more enlightened worldview…

Your ‘Holiday Greeting’ is stupid.

Because you spend your time telling me how smart you are instead of thinking about stuff, you don’t understand the meaning of the phrase, “Blessings to one and all.” You like the way it sounds when religious people say it and even though you know that religion is just a scam, you want to participate in ‘spreading cheer’ during Christmas.

I’m going to suggest you do something painful. Think about why you felt the need to send blessings. You have no use for religion. You mock everything metaphysical. Your holiday wishes are terribly anti-science. Why did you write a blessing? Think about that for as long as you can (I predict you’ll last less than 5 seconds).

What you would discover if you were open to receiving wisdom, is that blessings, well wishes, and seasons greetings are empty words without some kind of ‘religion’ to give them meaning. Despite your protestations, you have a soul. It is the thing that God put inside you that makes you different from animals. Notice that your dog doesn’t feel the need to send Christmas cards?

Your soul yearns to splash good cheer around during the holidays. Religious people call on a ‘higher power’ to bestow blessings. You don’t believe in a ‘higher power’ so your blessings aren’t connected to anything. They are just words.

Now you’re going to say something like, “You’re a jerk, John! I don’t need to believe in God to extend warm wishes and kind words!” And you’d be right (about both things).

Blessings are like balloons and religion is like helium. You think helium is nonsense. At Christmas parties, you throw your flaccid balloons all over the floor and get angry when those of us with helium aren’t appreciative. Sorry! We just can’t get super-excited about empty blessings.

If you want to satisfy your soul’s desire to bless others, you need to tap into something bigger than yourself. Wishing ‘everyone’ well for ‘whatever you choose to celebrate’ is a cheap, hollow sentiment that doesn’t bless anyone.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

(James 1:17)