......“The Jesus story is a compelling story, its incoherence notwithstanding. And I have nothing against people believing it to be “true” (even in some non-metaphorical way) if that is what they wish to believe. (I love Christmas, and I love the Baby Jesus!) In fact, James, there’s only one word in your email that I strongly (if provisionally) object to. It’s the word “only” in your penultimate sentence, where you write, “as uncomfortable and joy-lacking as it may seem, it is only by the cross we are given ultimate joy.”
Or maybe it’s the word “we” I’m objecting to. If by “we” you mean only you and your fellow evangelicals, then—fine. But if by “we” you mean you and your fellow human beings, then please—speak for yourself. There are many paths to ultimate joy, and not all of them involve gods or crucifixions. When “we” start decreeing that it’s our way or the highway, trouble ensues.
But I think you know that. Hence your last line, which I take to mean that Christmas and Passover and Ramadan and Shivarathri—and the Darwin Bicentennial!—are as much yours as mine and as much mine as yours, that all of it is part of our common human inheritance. So Merry Christmas, James, to you and your family from me and mine. What the heck, let’s go further, like Santa Claus: “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Warmly, Rick
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/hendrikhertzberg/2009/12/omg-its-christmas.html#ixzz0alvmdaU4
But I think you know that. Hence your last line, which I take to mean that Christmas and Passover and Ramadan and Shivarathri—and the Darwin Bicentennial!—are as much yours as mine and as much mine as yours, that all of it is part of our common human inheritance. So Merry Christmas, James, to you and your family from me and mine. What the heck, let’s go further, like Santa Claus: “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Warmly, Rick
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/hendrikhertzberg/2009/12/omg-its-christmas.html#ixzz0alvmdaU4
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