Tom Lehrer - A Christmas Carol

[tedmania4]

Christ didn't teach us to celebrate his birth or to worship him, He taught us to love and accept God as the father. And I hope you belive is Christ after listening to a song like this 

[goreth01]

@tedmania4: Don't count on it. I like Tom Lehrer, but I first heard about this one on Richard Dawkins' homepage.

Christmas is whatever you make of it. I'm an atheist but I think it makes for a good occasion to celebrate with the family.

Merry Christmas!

[SullivanKatie]

This should be played in every Argos in the world!

[JoeRailfan]

Lehrer! Thou shouldst be performing at this hour: / America hath need of thee: she is a fen ...!

[Vitance]

How appropriate—before the video would start I was forced to watch an ad for a smart phone or something with Christmas music in the background. -__-

[yaceya]

Well, technically, there was a "Santa Baby" song written 1953, as a bit lighter version, but of the very similar attitude regarding Christmas as it is celebrated in consumer society.

[supermariogalaxy01]

Instead of a matching pen and pencil (or, indeed, a useless old utensil), my relatives got my Tom Lehrer's CD...better than any Lobotomy Gift-certificate!

[RockabillyKathy]

i love that there is under 300 of us

[flawlessmeans]

I GREW UP ON TOM, MY OLDER SISTER HAD A CHANCE TO SEE HIM IN CONCERT,I WAS SO UPSET AT BEING TOO YOUNG TO GO!

[flowiepanda]

can we do this instead of rap? 

[wwwpastacom]

lolz

[Puellile]

Given how long ago Abraham is meant to have existed, by this time he'll either have no descendants left or be the ancestor of most of the world.

[Hamgammy]

You can only be born as a Hindu.

[siragwatkins]

All good contemporary Xmas songs were written by Jews.

Interesting.

[FungusMossGnosis]

@siragwatkins

Interesting, but not quite true... Shane MacGowan ("Fairytale of New York") for example, isn't Jewish. There are others....

[Cameronomics]

@FungusMossGnosis Interestingly enough, it turns out Shane MacGowan co-wrote the song with Jem Finer who I believe is Jewish.

[davehorne]

@siragwatkins Thanks, second laugh of the day!

[Roxor128]

The perfect song for Christmas.

[rainbowheydrich]

Tom Lehrer <3

We need you. xD

[mabarry3]

@rainbowheydrich I wish Tom ran for president. Or at least went to DC and "talked" to the people in power.

[rainbowheydrich]

@mabarry3 YES. He totally should. I love him. xD <3

[B29Bomber]

@mabarry3 Not even Jesus went into politics...

Tom certainly won't.

[tonan63]

seldome is one as wise as this elementary dude.

[GoblinKnightLeo]

Irving Berlin wasn't Jewish. he was an atheist

[kthejoker]

@GoblinKnightLeo Jewish is an ethnicity, not a religion. Berlin was a Jew.

[GoblinKnightLeo]

No.

Being Jewish requires adhering to Judaism. No amount of Jewish ancestors will make a person Jewish.

The idea of Jews being a race began with the Spanish Inquisition, as a means of confiscating the estates of converts. It was continued in the pogroms of Russia, and into Nazi Germany. But the fact of the matter is that Judaism is a religion, and the word "Jewish" is analogous to Muslim or Christian, not to Arabic or Caucasian. Its also not a nationality, since there's no "Judeah" anymore.

[blackMAMBA724]

@GoblinKnightLeo Judaism is explicitly defined as: those who are the sons and daughters of Abraham. The story is that God gave Abraham and all of his family the gift of being his chosen people since abraham loved god so mush that he would've given his only son's life for god. So it is a classification of people and exclusive to only those people. You can marry a Jew and then convert since technically you'd still be family but random ppl can't properly convert to judaism.

[GoblinKnightLeo]

That may fall under Jewish law, I'll admit. I'm not familiar with much of Jewish law.

However, the idea of Jews as a race began with the Spanish Inquisition. I know that much for a fact.

I would have thought that Jews would not want to perpetuate an idea that was formed for the express purpose of persecuting them.

[privetprivetprivet]

@GoblinKnightLeo i realize i'm responding to old comments, but still: Jewish ethnicity and nationality exist as much as the religion, Judaism. Traditionally, you are a Jew either if your mother was Jewish or if you converted. If your mother was Jewish but you didn't believe in Judaism, you were still a "Jew", as were your children. Now some definitions have changed, but there are many atheists that still identify as "Jewish". The wikipedia article called "Who is a Jew?" covers this in detail.

[GoblinKnightLeo]

@privetprivetprivet You are referring to a tradition, not to a definition. Besides which, the point I'm trying to make is that having Jewish ancestors does not make one Jewish, because there is no longer a nation of Judeah. If there was, it would be a nationality.

The idea of Jews being "the children of Abraham" requires that Abraham have really existed, and there is even less evidence that he did than there is that Jesus existed.

[privetprivetprivet]

@GoblinKnightLeo there is no definition of "Jewishness". Orthodox Jews consider other people to be Jews by the rules in the halakha, ie matrilineally or by conversion. You can say you are not a Jew, but others will consider you Jewish. You can be Jewish and embrace Jewish culture while being an atheist and rejecting the religion.While there is less evidence for the existence of Abraham than of Jesus, if you don't believe that Jesus was a real historical figure, i'm not continuing this discussion

[privetprivetprivet]

@blackMAMBA724 i realize i'm responding to old comments, but still: Jewish ethnicity and nationality exist as much as the religion, Judaism. Traditionally, you are a Jew either if your mother was Jewish or if you converted. If your mother was Jewish but you didn't believe in Judaism, you were still a "Jew", as were your children. Now some definitions have changed, but there are many atheists that still identify as "Jewish". The wikipedia article called "Who is a Jew?" covers this in detail.

[blackMAMBA724]

@privetprivetprivet o i think we have a misunderstanding. I accept Judaism as both an ethnicity and a religion. my only point was that some guy from england with no bloodline connecting him to abraham and the rest of the jews can't properly become Jewish since he's not a descendant of abraham. but ya i agree that an Israelite who doesn't believe in god is still Jewish.

[privetprivetprivet]

@blackMAMBA724 what? A guy from england can become Jewish by conversion, as can anybody else. Its a fundamental principle in Judaism: you don't need to be related to Abraham, anyone can convert. Also, Israelite doesnt equal Jew, an Israelite is someone living in Israel. There are many Muslims, Christians, and Druze living in Israel, as well as atheists with non-Jewish ancestors.

[blackMAMBA724]

@privetprivetprivet i misused the word israelite, true. I've never read any form of the torah, but i've been told that it practically the same as the old testament of the bible. so in the bible im almost certain that God told Abraham that his sons and daughters would be his chosen people/Jews. And later Jesus saved all the gentiles. So doesn't that mean that you must be a descendant of abraham to be Jewish?

[privetprivetprivet]

@blackMAMBA724 no. First of all, I suggest you read up a little before arguing. The torah is one of three section in the tanakh, aka the hebrew bible. The tanakh is more or less the old testament. Also, Jewish law comes from the Halakha, which is in part based on the tanakh. A convert is a Jew with the Jewish law applying fully to him (with a few exceptions).I suggest you start by reading the wiki articles "who is a jew?","tanakh","halakha",if you dont want to get yourself a good book on judaism

[blackMAMBA724]

@privetprivetprivet wow, now i'm thinking that there is no point to jesus. If anyone can convert to judaism then there is nothing special about christianity. ppl can just choose not to be a gentile. and don't be so quick to say ppl are ignorant about a topic. I've got the bible and quaran under my belt and i thought the old testament and having a couple of jewish friends would provide enough insight for a general discussion on judaism. I was at least referring to abraham for evidence.

[privetprivetprivet]

@blackMAMBA724 well, christianity is a whole different story from Judaism. Some of the appeal was that conversion to christianity is much simpler, and Christians dont follow the many strict rules of Judaism (kosher, Shabbat, etc.). But you cant really argue about Judaism without some background, so I suggest you read a bit about it, it really is interesting. And I really need to get around to reading the quaran some day...

[mabarry3]

@privetprivetprivet @blackMAMBA724 How did this conversation start again? This is just a song by a satirist that is meant to be funny, not provoke months and conversation that actually make you "think" ;).

[ek180]

@GoblinKnightLeo I don't believe you. You're a liar.

[wahkeema]

Actually...it's both. It's the only classification of people that is both an ethnicity and a religion.

[guymcl]

God bless us every one! And God bless Prof.  Tom Lehrer!

[smegmacheez]

Tom Lehrer's ''A Christmas Carol'' and lrving Berlin's ''White Christmas'' is proof that Jews write the best Christmas songs.

[CatFiain]

Don't know what you've been missing! Go find more: you'll love it!

[MissGuideMe]

music and maths, heaven...

[stuffhappens222]

epic

[gilraen690]

I'm putting some lyrics of this in my father's christmas card : ) it doesn't matter how sincere it is nor how heartfelt the spirit etc ....we all love Tom Lehrer :D

[scorekeepn]

I have Lehrer's triple album. How did you like the photo of him with the piano and the seat belt at the Grand Canyon?

[ptoone101]

Great, Love it!

[irishmauddib]

i have been trying to contact the man himself, if anyone knows how to do this please contact me and i will do whatever i can to reward you

[Dyslexica]

Remember when Christmas was all about Christ? This shows America IS all about the "mighty' dollar. Very funny!

[Saiaton]

Christmas never was about Christ. He probably wasn't even born at ths time of year. It's the birth of the Risen Sun, the feast of Mithras, Saturnalia and in the Middle Ages it was even more of a commercial riot than it is now with boy bishops, Lords of Misrule, parodies of the Mass with stinking incense and midwinter fairs.

In any case isn't he Resurrection supposed to be THE essential aspect of Christianity?

[Dyslexica]

Christmas IS all about Christ. You're right... This time of year is all those 'pagan' holidays. Christians don't know the exact date of Christ's birth, though it's thought to be in the Spring, rather than Winter. Christmas celebrates God's gift of His Son. The Easter Story is about His death and Resurrection. Tom Lehrer's Christmas Carol is America salute to the 'real' reason of the season - Money!

[lordlynchy]

@Saiaton KNOB

[56Packman]

This song was written before 1959, so................nothing has changed in a while.

[Dyslexica]

Sad, isn't it? That the almighty dollar is more important, than our Lord and Saviour

[justdom80]

@Dyslexica

Well, Your lord and savior doesn't really drive the economy. commercialization means jobs, and that is what we really need now.

Oh, and in all likelihood, there is no god.

Yay Tom Lehrer!

[AmericanAviator]

@56Packman

Actually, I bet it hasn't changed for a long time even prior.

[Triniwomaninred]

haha...nice

[celticsaga]

XDDD

this is great!

[Wampbit]

Pure Genius - Thank you!