An Almighty claim
IN a few days, Christians like myself will make an Almighty claim.
It is this: that the First Cause, the Uncreated Creator (ie. God) took the form of one of His creations and was born in a stable.
Christians often refer to the nativity of
Jesus as the Christmas Miracle. The secular world opts for Christmas Magic which is why Channel 4 makes programmes like Inside McVitie’s at Christmas.
On Christmas Day, you can bet your last mince pie that the nativity will be the focus of sermons in churches across Reading and Wokingham.
However, as this paper reports every other week, Christians believe the Christmas Miracle is too good to restrict to just one month. It is just as relevant on January 25 or July 25 as it is on December 25.
That’s why churches of all denominations support Street Pastors, food banks and provide debt advice. They help the homeless, the elderly, young people, refugees, asylum seekers and those with addictions.
Christians fight racism, homophobia, injustices and prejudice of all kinds – and so much more.
But wait, the atheist cries: “I can be good too. I can be moral without God.”
I agree. You don’t need to attend church, read the Bible or believe in God in order to live a good, moral life.
Some of my best friends are practising atheists and they are more moral than many of my Christian friends.
So why bother with God? Doesn’t every person instinctively know the difference between right and wrong? Yes, is the short answer. That’s because God has written His moral law on our hearts.
The problem for atheists is when they take the Divine out of the equation, they have no objective foundation on which to ground their moral views.
As the Christian speaker and scientist, Prof John Lennox puts it: “If there are no eternal values external to humanity, then how can anyone’s values be anything other than limited human conventions, meaningless by-products of an unguided evolutionary process?”
Surprisingly, there is agreement from Prof Richard Dawkins, the High Priest of modern atheism, if that’s not a contradiction in terms.
Prof Dawkins is honest enough to remind us of the stark reality of what atheism actually means.
In his book, River Out of Eden, he writes:
“In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice.
“The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.
“DNA neither knows nor cares, it just is and we dance to its tune.”
If there is no mind prior to the human mind then we are simply the products of matter and energy, and how can neutrons and protons be the source of any kind of morality?
As ever, this Christmas, at dozens of nativity plays, young children wearing badly fitting cloaks will hold plastic dolls and beautifully remind us adults of the first Christmas miracle.
There was no room at the inn, but there is plenty at the stable. All are welcome.
No need to bring a present.