Kid Stuff

It upsets me that my belief in Christmas is regarded by some as immature and stupid. It also upsets me that my beliefs about Christmas are regarded by some as heretical and sacrilegious. Yes, I believe in Santa Claus and God, and yet in neither case do I consider myself a prisoner to a literal, anthropocentric understanding of what or who they are; I only know that they are real and that they symbolically embrace the reason for this season: the miracle of life! I shudder to think how many of my “clients” believe that they are Christian and that their pursuit of concretized commercialism in any way offsets the way they debase and dehumanize the very lives they have brought into this world. Christmas is rightfully about the children and their sacred role in the universe, not about a victorious conquest over those vying for Tickle Me Elmo. From the perspective of having been estranged from organized religion for five years now I can see more clearly how it is fundamentally responsible for the Christological corruption that has literally perverted this grandest of holy celebrations. Who cares about virgin births? Who cares about brilliant stars in the sky? Who cares about angels, shepherds and magi? To paraphrase: it’s about the kid, stupid! What a magnificent holiday this can be if our focus is upon the child in the manger and what empowered him to grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and humankind.