For believers, the question isn’t why there are presents under the tree. It is whether the love around the family circle speaks of a larger reality and in some way reflects the meaning inherent in the universe as a whole, or whether that happy Christmas morning feeling is nothing more than the biologically conditioned response of a collection of primates in a kinship setting.
Walter Russell MeadDecember 30, 2021
Why do Christians and so many other people believe in an invisible Ruler and Creator of the universe—and then how does the Christian idea of God differ from the others?
Walter Russell MeadDecember 29, 2021
Today, the third day after the orgiastic opening of the presents beneath the tree, is also the day that the traditional liturgical calendar tries to slap us into serious reflection on the meaning of the event, jolting us out of our turkey comas and eggnog overdoses with an unforgettably grim story.
Walter Russell MeadDecember 28, 2021
Conventional manger scenes don’t show it, but besides the ox, the ass, the sheep, and the camels, there was another animal in the room at Christmas: an elephant. And the elephant in the room was the idea that Jesus’ mother was a virgin when He was born. A Yuletide blog that didn’t talk about the elephant wouldn’t be doing its job.
Walter Russell MeadDecember 27, 2021
As we start to look at this whole Christmas phenomenon, it makes sense to begin with the basics. The first questions any sensible person asks about Christmas are pretty straightforward: What event is this holiday supposed to commemorate, and do we know that it actually happened?
Walter Russell MeadDecember 26, 2021
The manger scene these days really is the face of Christmas for most people and, perhaps not surprisingly, it is one of the aspects of the season that keeps causing trouble.
Walter Russell MeadDecember 25, 2021
In 1946, Walter Russell Bowie wrote the following Christmas story about fictional men who had been in Bethlehem on the night that Mary gave birth to Jesus.
Christianity & Crisis MagazineDecember 25, 2021
My generation and the generation before us inherited an enormous wealth of spiritual capital from a society shaped by hundreds of years of deep religious faith and engagement. Our environment was shaped by that wealth in ways that many of us did not understand; we took it for granted.
Walter Russell MeadDecember 24, 2021
Our greatest need today is the certainty of God, the profound conviction that he does rule, that his righteousness and justice and love are imperishable.
Christianity & Crisis MagazineDecember 24, 2021
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