The Godless Holiday Tree

The Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia has set up what they are dubbing the "Tree of Knowledge" on the lawn of a Pennsylvania courthouse. It's a lot like a Christmas tree, but traditional ornaments have been swapped for atheist and agnostic book covers. Some of these "ornaments" include:

--The End of Faith by Sam Harris
--A Portable Atheist by Christopher Hitchens
--The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
--Breaking the Spell by Daniel Dennett
--The Myth of Nazareth by Rene Salam
--Why I Am Not a Muslim by Ibn Warraq
--Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman
--Deviating from the Godless theme, the Bible and the Koran are added for the sake of fairness.
--And many more, with the whole list available here.

Now this is my kind of tree. However, most people who saw it weren't impressed:

"Why do they have do that now?" wondered Laura Walsh, 30, of Glenside, who was sitting at the window table with six family members, planning Christmas dinner.

"It's very stupid," opined Carolyn Gott, of Wilmington, who was wearing a jeweled cross around her neck.

"It's terrible. And the tree is ugly," said Peggy Carroll.

"We should pray for them," said Marian Feeley of Newark, Del., and the others chuckled in agreement.

It should be mentioned that The Freethought Society isn't trying to stop Christmas, or any other holiday, from being celebrated. They are happy to share space with a Christmas tree and a menorah, and say they would welcome the additions of Kwanzaa candles and a Buddha statue.