December 24 - A Christmas Eve Celebration with the Least Among Us; An Atheist's Christmas and Rewriting the Ten Commandments for the 21st Century

Full Program

Part 1

Today on Christmas Eve we explore this religious holiday with someone who has dedicated her life to serving the poor and vulnerable among us in the spirit of the teachings and example set by the prophet Jesus whose birth Christians around the world are celebrating. And then we will follow up on this religious holiday with someone who does not believe in religion but has rewritten the Ten Commandments for the 21^st Century. We begin with Sister Ann Kendrick, who founded what was originally called the Office for Farmworker Ministry and is now the Hope Community Center in Apopka, Florida where she works to address the problems confronting migrant laborers and their families in Central Florida. We share with Sister Ann the Christmas she is spending with the least among us and her thoughts on why she believes in Christmas.

Part 2

Then we be joined by John Figdor, the humanist chaplain serving the atheists, humanists, and agnostics communities at Stanford University who holds a master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School and was previously the assistant humanist chaplain at Harvard. He is the co-author of the new book “Atheist Mind, Humanist Heart: Rewriting the Ten Commandments for the 21^st Century” and we discuss his alternative to the Ten Commandments, the phony war against Christmas concocted by Fox News, and the difference between religion and spirituality, as well as find out how atheists celebrate Christmas and whether they believe in Santa Claus.