A lesson in what happens when you ignore bits of the text...

Hugh Mackay in todays Sydney Sun-Herald.

What seems strange is the freedom he uses certain phrases and descriptions of the incarnation of Jesus (and distorts them), to Christianise what are essentially pagan ideas.

It is incredible when people ignore the biblical explanation of an event, to create their own one special interpretation. But what is sad is that some people still respect Hugh for his social commentary, and may think these ideas really are what Jesus is about...

Power of God rests with the wisdom of humanity

THOUGH many Christians won't admit it, the birth of Jesus poses the ultimate challenge to the idea of God as a supernatural being. The teachings of Jesus present God as an inner, spiritual experience - the spirit of goodness, truth and love - that simply cannot co-exist with the old concept of God as a vindictive, partisan, arrogant, angry, judgemental being, manipulating the external world at will.

The genius of Christianity is the revelation that "the Word was made flesh"; that the "guy in the sky" was dead. The Christian God exists within us, and nowhere else. It is a spirit with the power to make us whole ("holiness" being a fancy religious word for wholeness).

If we nurture that spirit and revere its power, we will have found God - not in the wonders of "creation" but in the greater wonders of human kindness and charity. Since there's no supernatural God to attend to the world's suffering, we ourselves must act. That's why Christianity is so intensely focused on social justice and the needs of the sick, the poor, the marginalised.

For Christians, the circumstances of Jesus's birth are intensely symbolic: no room in the inn; a stable shared with animals; a manger for a cradle. Their message is that goodness (God within us) is borne out of humility. Arrogance, triumphalism and vengeance turn out to be the most ungodly traits imaginable.