eve of the birth

No i am not Aethist. But I thought i might explore the billboard that the aethist put up outside of New Jersey as they continue their so called "war" against Christmas. 

But first things first. 

Today is Christmas Eve. Christmas eve is a fascinating time. It has inspired poems and novels alike. 

We are all familiar with the following:

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.'

The famous novel by Charles Dickens, 'A Christmas Carol' better known as 'Scrooge' begins on Christmas Eve with the following lines to captivate and intrigue,

"Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail."

Christmas eve is often the setting for many beginnings and such is the case for us. 

Christmas is where it all begins, so to speak. The anticipation of the child culminates in a child in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes. 


The angels burst in song as they bring good news and glad tidings to the shepherds in the field, singing "glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth."

When you look at the christmas reality, it goes without saying, that no one could have ever imagined such a reality. No one could have ever imagined the sign the angels give, "a child is born and wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

Aethist are right to suggest that this isn't reasonable. That is what the billboard suggest, 'tis the season for reason.' They are correct; the child in a manger born to a virgin, a birth announced by angels to shepherds in a field, and a bright star to lead to way far exceeds our reason; it is more than we can imagine.

This makes no sense at all. But this is the beauty of Christmas. God comes in ways that we could never have imagined, never have dreamed, but we certainly have hoped for. 

God acts in ways beyond our imagination. This is what the good news is all about. God is not limited by our reasonableness, by our imagination. 

Reality is not what we can concieve it to be, it just is. Our job is to let reality inform our mind and not try to coerce reality with mind games.

This is where aethesit go awry. They what everything to fit their limited way of thinking. What kind of God is that. The God of the aetheist is therefore reduced to their ability to think. They make their thinking their God. In this case they are right not to believe. I don't have faith in their thinking skills, why should they have faith in it.

One thing I know about our thinking as far as humanity is concerned is that it is often flawed in many ways and very unpredictable.

Tis the season to move beyond our reason. Tis the season to be captivated by our God who comes to stretch our imagination, stretch out thinking, inviting us to allow reality once again to be the center of our life, not as we would have it or conceive it but as it is, "wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger." 

Whenever we say merry Christmas we acknowledge that God comes in ways that is beyond our wildest imagination and this is why it is faith and hope. Our Reason is purified by our faith otherwise it just remains our own jumbled mess and who could ever have faith in that.

God is more than and this is the good news of glad tidings that causes the angels to burst forth in song sining "glory to God in the highest and peace to men of good will on earth."