Cheer Up — It’s Christmas!
Americans of all stripes could use a tale of comfort and hope right about now. Good thing we've got the Christmas story.
The year 2008 is when things got totaled up, bills were presented, and markers called. We close the year hearing stories of staggering corruption, fraud, and mismanagement on the economic front, and in a social climate so broad-minded it allows every identity group to call itself “victim” and commence whining.
You can count on one hand the folks who feel contentment or hope these days and still have five fingers left.
Into this tumult arrives Christmas, and so convulsed is society that the season can find only a grudging welcome made by a distracted people. Christmas is costly in uncertain times. It is religious, when the “sophisticated” world is post-belief. Christmas is one more thing to feel victimized about, no matter who you are.
And it is so much damned work, too.
But then there is the story, and it has something for everyone.
An angel sent by God proposes an outrageous venture to a virgin Jewess who — at some personal risk — agrees to play her indispensable part. A quiet carpenter is enlisted to protect her and she is off — first to visit a cousin who is having a bit of an adventure of her own, what with her priest-husband suddenly struck mute and her aged womb alive with a rambunctious prophet. He makes his first pronouncement in utero, and the young Jewess launches into one of the greatest songs ever written. Then a census is called; heads must be counted so that taxes may be levied. The carpenter and his young wife travel by rough road to an obscure town, where they discover that obscure towns surrounded by bad roads are generally short on lodgings. They put up in a cave where, surrounded by oxen and asses, the woman gives birth to a son. She lays him in the manger, the food bin. In the starlit night, angels appear for a big musical number with a timely message: peace on Earth. There are shepherds and astrologers and even a king, but he’s a cynic.
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Elizabeth Scalia is a contributing writer to First Things Magazine and the blogger known as The Anchoress.
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17 Comments
1. vivo:Merry Christmas everybody!!
Dec 25, 2008 - 4:25 am 2. formwiz:The Anchoress’ point about non-believers is very well-taken. Even the miltant secularists of the Left must couch their doctrines in the style and substance of Christianity. That is the power of the Christian message and why it will always prevail.
Dec 25, 2008 - 4:49 am 3. The Historian:MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE LEFT COAST & ELVIS
Enjoy the Holiday Season, we will all be back to reality in January:
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2008/12/have-very-merry-christmas.html
Dec 25, 2008 - 10:31 am 4. Jim Hicks:Another great article.
Merry Christmas to all.
Dec 25, 2008 - 10:57 am 5. Dr. Lumplevin:But in these difficult days, perhaps even non-believers can take some comfort in the story of Christmas.(Scalia)
Dec 25, 2008 - 11:43 am 6. vanderleun:Although my highly scientific, intelligent mind has great difficulty in finding something of worth in this infantile myth, I can see perhaps a comforting, inspiring analogy – a savior arises out of questionable birth details to come save us from our sins of greed, oppresion of the world, racism, captalist accumulation and imperialism to redeem us and bring peace and joy to the world.
You’re talking about Lenin, right?
How’d that work out?
Dec 25, 2008 - 12:04 pm 7. jvon:Merry Christmas to everybody! Even Dr. Lumplevin, who is loved by our Creator whether he believes in Him or not.
Dec 25, 2008 - 1:01 pm 8. Cienfuegos:Dr. Lumplevin is veh-wee veh-wee angwy.
Dec 25, 2008 - 1:30 pm 9. Войска ПВО:“Even Dr. Lumplevin, who is loved by our Creator whether he believes in Him or not.”
Your capitalization is wrong; our Creator does NOT believe in Dr. Lumplevin.
Dec 25, 2008 - 2:24 pm 10. Evil Pundit:This isn’t exactly a Christmas story, but it’s a fine story nevertheless … The President-Elect in the Iron Mask.
Dec 25, 2008 - 4:23 pm 11. jaybear:“a savior arises out of questionable birth details to come save us from our sins of greed, oppresion of the world,”
That would be Jesus….
if you were talking about obama the lesser, it would have to be phrased thusly:
a charlatan arises out of questionable birth to scam us into thinking he can save us from our sins of greed, oppresion of the world….
It’s so sad that you hold nothing in this world higher than yourself….how lonely you must be.
Dec 25, 2008 - 7:07 pm 12. Bad:I think you’re a little confused here. Us non-believers most certainly can appreciate the power of a nice hopeful story and myth. The Christian story wouldn’t have survived so long or been so compelling if it didn’t have appeal and insight to things human beings are concerned about. But it’s the myopic obsession with this story and this story alone and singular, somehow above and beyond all other wonderful and hopeful stories, and somehow that it’s the MOST universally insightful possible story that we find sort of baffling. The world has had a heck of a lot of other important insights and realizations that are worth knowing too.
And I find it deeply silly that someone can claim both to be a majority and a victim at the same time: all while accusing others of being pathetic exploiters of victimhood status. I’m sorry, but just because not quite everyone on the planet happens to think that your beliefs are the most important and most insightful doesn’t mean that you’re under any sort of threat from anything other than maybe not feeling as important as you’d hoped.
Dec 25, 2008 - 7:59 pm 13. myth buster:No, the capitalization is just fine. The Creator loves the Doc even if Doc doesn’t reciprocate that love.
Dec 25, 2008 - 8:09 pm 14. Jake Was Here:jaybear: The Doc clearly believes both Barack and Jesus to be frauds.
“I don’t believe in God.”
Dec 26, 2008 - 5:52 am 15. Gayle Miller:“Doesn’t matter. He believes in you.”
–Stephen King, THE STAND
The fact is that the so-called “story” is taken on faith as pure truth by billions of people worldwide for good reason – it is TRUE. Both the Doc and Bad are endangering a great deal by not having an open mind (a requirement for all good liberals) and a trusting heart. How sad to be them and how much joy and wonder they have and will continue to miss through their hardened and closed hearts.
God bless you all Christmas 2008 and all Christmases to come!
Dec 26, 2008 - 6:39 am 16. Jbl:“But it’s the myopic obsession with this story and this story alone and singular, somehow above and beyond all other wonderful and hopeful stories, and somehow that it’s the MOST universally insightful possible story that we find sort of baffling.”
But that’s because there is no other story like it. No other religion, no other myth claims that God actually became HUMAN and dwelt among us. And the people who walked the earth with him and saw his empty tomb endured torture and slaughter and never recanted. People still do. It’s not just a story.
Dec 26, 2008 - 8:58 am 17. Brian:Well written! Merry Christmas!
Dec 26, 2008 - 1:25 pm