From all account buses advertising that there “probably” isn’t a god, is going to generate much more open discussion about the nature of religion. I’m not sure where the idea that God has been a closed debate has come from? The existence, or otherwise, of God has been rattling around society and the hall of philosophy for, well, a very long time. New Zealand is an outpost of the enlightenment era; we are a nation birthed in the secular age.
Over the last few years I have been intrigued by the various attempts to demythologise Christmas. By that I mean the removal of all religious connotations in order for Santa to stand as a secular symbol of gift giving and general happiness to all. The idea that Christmas should continue to be connected with the birth of Christ and central to Christianity is something of an anthema to an apparently secular mind. We can keep Christmas, but we must do away with the religion.
Some time ago I read Lloyd Geering’s book, “Christianity Without God”. It was an interesting read because Geering is one of New Zealand’s most renowned Christian ministers in that he was tried for heresy in the 1960’s.
That aside, Geering makes the point that all Western atheists are in fact Christian atheists. To suggest that we can do away with the impact of the Christian faith on the way we live, think and see the world is quite ridiculous. The church principally founded the very education we currently receive. Indeed our whole way of life - law, ethics, world-view, politics and so on, have been shaped by Christian belief within culture over time.
If it were possible to strip Christian belief from society we would have to consider what we might be left with? Certainly some aspects of religious intolerance might be shed, but then so would everything else we consider to be good because the fact we consider it to be good is a result of our sub conscious Christianised view of life.
In the 1960’s social scientists foresaw the demise of God by the end of the century. They obviously got that wrong. These days it’s quite cool to be spiritual, but it’s not so cool to be religious. Religion is bad, spirituality good. The reason is simple: Spirituality is frighteningly undemanding because the god’s we engage with serve us. These gods never confront our wills; they become what we want them to be. It’s a new religion of self-interest
Christianity is not about me. It has a long history of shared thought, wisdom and practice. It also has an extensive map of wrong paths that have been taken, from which it has learned; indeed from which our society has learned.
This Christmas it is well worth considering the implications of the life of Jesus Christ. He’s not as avoidable as you might think.
Climb past the consumerism and look to the God Christmas represents and you will find the true self-giving love around which our society has tried to frame itself.