In Arlington Heights, the Red Letter ‘A’ Next to the Christian Manger Display Not Limited by “A for Atheism” Message

Today on the first full day of the Winter Solstice in 2014, The Cardinal is welcoming the red “A” next to the Christian manger display at North School park. The red “A” is very familiar to current and former residents of Arlington Heights. A “Scarlet Letter A” has been erected next to the Christian manger display on the west side of North School Park, but the erectors of the red “A” have a more limiting message. The Freedom From Religion Foundation and its Metropolitan Chicago Chapter has apparently felt compelled to spend time and resources to preach an antagonistic message to the symbolic Christian manger display with a bright red letter ‘A’ that stands almost twice as high as the adjacent manger display. The specific message “A is for Atheist” is published at the bottom of this article. In Arlington Heights, the “A” display has great significance for many, but not merely because it stands for “Atheism.” Local and world history shows that there is much more to the atheist’s story.

 “A” IS FOR … 

‘A’ is for Arlington
For residents of Arlington Heights, the ‘A’ stands for Arlington — as in Village of Arlington Heights.

The Red ‘A’ Stands for the Logo of the The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com
The red ‘A’ logo has long been associated with excellence in publishing by The Cardinal.

The “Red A” Stands for “A Club”
A Club is a membership of varsity athletes at the former Arlington High School.

For Alumni of the Former Arlington High School, We Described the Significance of the Letter “A” Back in the Year 2002 …

ON A CLEAR NIGHT in early October, just after midnight, there is a “Tilted ‘A'” constellation clearly visible in the eastern sky in the northern hemisphere. It rises before Orion, “the Great Hunter” with his three-star belt (shown below). The ‘Tilted A’ follows Pleiades, the “Seven Sisters” known as the daughters of Atlas (not shown).

In ancient mythology, the Tilted ‘A’ constellation is actually known as Hyades, the half-sisters of Pleiades. The A-shaped cluster of stars is also known as the face of Taurus the bull. A red star “Aldebaran” (Arabic for “the Follower” after Pleiades) is also known as the Bull’s Eye, as in the center of a target, which marks the highest score or symbol of precise achievement.

The Tilted ‘A’ also rises in the evening as a sign that it is time for an Arlington Homecoming. Every year in October, you can count on the tilted ‘A’ guarding the eastern sky. By sunrise the ‘A’ overturns and becomes a ‘V’ in the western sky, as in ‘V’ for the Victory Flag so proudly flown at Arlington.

In the Christmas season, the tilted “A” or Hyades appears almost directly overhead during dinner time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Night — a little bit like a modern day Star of Bethlehem. Via the motion of stars and the daily eastward drift of <1° in the sky, the Zodiac and constellations appear to move west about 1° per day -- as in 360° of the circle of the earth's orbit around the sun -- associated with the 365 days of the year. The constellation that first appeared in the eastern sky in October, now shines directly overhead in December. The Letter “A” in Logic and Popular Culture
The letter ‘A’ in logic is the Universal Affirmative of deductive reasoning that began with the ancient Greeks. In popular culture, the letter ‘A’ is the letter that denotes prestigious or superior quality, as in the highest quality schoolwork, the highest financial strength rating, the best restaurant rating, and the top celebrities — “A-list” etc.

The Significance of the Letter ‘A’ in Christianity, and What the Letter ‘A’ Represents for Believers

Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament that describes the early Christian church.

Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ includes the specific prayers for insults and blasphemies against Jesus Christ and the Holy Name of Jesus.

Adam — defined as the first human and mentioned in the Book of Genesis, the New Testament, the Quran, the Book of Mormon and the Book of Iqan.

Adana Massacre of Armenian Christians, which occurred in the Adana Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire in April 1909. The massacre of Armenian Christians in the city of Adana totaled as many as 20,000-30,000 deaths.

Agony in the Garden refers to the events in the life of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament — the period of time between the Farewell Discourse at the conclusion of the Last Supper and Jesus’ arrest

Apocalypse, which is the term related to the last book of the New Testament — the Book of Revelation, which defines the ultimate victory of good over evil and the end of the present age.

Apostles — the primary disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. The commissioning of the Twelve Apostles during the ministry of Jesus is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark and Luke. The twelve disciples are Simon (Peter), Andrew, James (son of Zebedee), John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (the Cananean), and Judas Iscariot.

Apostles Creed
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.

Mass of the Roman Rite

Angel, a messenger of God that is also described as a spiritual being — intermediate between humans and God. Angels in the spirit of the Christmas season are believed to have proclaimed the birth of Jesus in the Adoration of the shepherds in Luke 2:10.

Ararat — in Judeo-Christian belief is associated with the “Mountains of Ararat” where, according to the book of Genesis, Noah’s ark came to rest after The Great Flood.

Ark (Noah’s) — a ship believed have been built by Noah, and to have saved a remnant of all the world’s animals from the Genesis flood, and recorded to have come to rest on Mount Ararat near the border of Armenia, Turkey and Iran.

Ark of the Covenant — a chest described in the Book of Exodus that contains the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed.

Ascension of Jesus Christ is the belief that Jesus Christ was taken up to Heaven in His resurrected body. The most detailed account of the Ascension is in the Acts of the Apostles.

Assyrian Genocide refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian population of the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s and World War I, in conjunction with the Armenian and Greek genocides in which almost 3 million Christians of Syriac, Armenian or Greek Orthodox denomination were murdered.

Atheism — a religion that puts faith in a belief that no god exists, but proclaims (in comparison to Christianity) to involve superior skeptical inquiry, freethought (logic, reason, empiricism free from authority, tradition and dogma), the rejection of concepts which can’t be falsified, the rejection of multiple and inconsistent revelations of truth or knowledge by supernatural entities or deities, and emphasizes the problem of evil, which questions the reconciliation of absolute evil in the presence of a deity that is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent.

Especially this Christmas season, enjoy the power and joy of the Christmas message and the wisdom and freedom to believe alongside the limited methods of empiricism. Even the Scientific Method starts with the Formulation of a Question, a Hypothesis, and a Prediction. It’s the lack of acceptable Testing that troubles the Atheists, but doesn’t limit Believers.

Amen — a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

“A” if for Atheist

This scarlet letter “A” was designed by the Richard Dawkins Foundation to promote their “Out Campaign.” It has been erected and paid for by the Freedom From Religion Foundation and its Metropolitan Chicago Chapter to encourage the non-religious to come out of the closet, eradicate the negative sterotypes of the non-believers, promote rational thinking over superstition, and ensure that our government remains completely neurtal on the subject of religion vs. non-religion.

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