Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Honing the Delusion.

I was just reading through the BBC news text pages and came across a short report on the annual Delusional Delight – the Christmas pilgrimage of the faithful to Bethlehem.

I could go on, couldn’t I? I could write a post about the fact that all credible evidence points overwhelmingly to the near-certain conclusion that the whole nativity story is a complete fabrication. I could rant on about how expressions of The Nativity – from school plays to tableaux in public places – disturb me, since they’re OK as long as they’re viewed as a pleasant little cultural tradition, but too often they’re not. Instead, we expose generation after generation of children to an icon which is designed to condition generation after generation of supposedly grown up people to the notion that this stuff really happened.

But let’s not be a party pooper.

I already was? Oh. Sorry.

Still, back to the beginning. The news report concluded that ‘The Church of the Nativity sits on the spot where the Bible says Jesus was born.’ You mean the Bible is that specific? Wow! Must read it again. Or maybe somebody could point me to the chapter and verse where it says Baby Jesus was born in a cow shed at the intersection of Main Street and King Herod Avenue, south west quadrant. That will save me rummaging through my boxes of old books. Thank you.

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