That quote is from a column in my local paper, the Valley News, written by Steve Nelson. Nelson is head of the Calhoun School in Manhattan. Steve writes most Sundays on progressive issues, and has regularly cited his atheistic beliefs. Here, though, he reconciles Christmas with atheism in a very thought-provoking piece, the essence of which is captured in these lines:
I don’t know the truth about Jesus. I don’t believe in the immaculate conception or the story of resurrection, but I’m all in for Christ. Whether historical or metaphorical, the idea of Christ is profoundly important and one cannot embrace the joy, good will and deep meaning of the season without acknowledging its source.
There's a bit more below the fold.
Steve's point is simple. Both Christians and atheists often forget what most practitioners of other religions remember: There was an historical Jesus. All of the available evidence indicates that he was an extraordinary man, and if we can agree on that, we can celebrate his life, each in our own way, without embracing the adversarial positions that complicate the season. I am a committed atheist, like Steve. I am also a musician, and for my money none of the secular Christmas songs can hold a candle to the best Christian carols. In the bleak midwinter, here in sometimes wearying New England, in my late 50s, I'm all for a bit of hope, even if it comes from a human being long dead who others believe was something more than a man.
Here's Steve's close, in two parts:
You don’t have to be Christian to embrace Christmas. I hope all citizens of our very fortunate country — Christian, Jewish, Muslim, atheist or just plain human — can share in the spirit of Christ. The demand for social justice, the power of love, the feeling of deep brotherhood and sisterhood, the rights and dignity of every human and the care for our sacred planet Earth.
Like Steve, I feel no need to accept the divinity of Jesus; also like Steve, I appreciate Jesus' message. Unfortunately, quite a few of Jesus' followers appear to accept the former without truly understanding the latter. Perhaps, too, some of us non-Christians fail to acknowledge the power of the message, because we don't believe in Jesus' divinity.
So, to my anti-secular friends: If we can agree that this is the Christ in Christmas . . . Merry Christmas to all.