Christmas: Mything the Point

Christianity is an historical faith: which doesn't mean that it's old. It is, by American standards, but that's not the point.

My faith is rooted in events which actually took place, at particular points in time and space. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 269, 304, 450, 2568, 2584)

A few of these events are - unique: like the virginal conception of Jesus. It's been fashionable to dismiss the Incarnation as 'myth,' or a convenient lie told by the apostles. (Catechism, 498)

A few decades back, 'intelligent' folks sometimes said that the early disciples of Jesus were motivated by greed: which is why they lied about the Incarnation and Resurrection. That almost made sense, since around that time some televangelists were making out like gangbusters: financially and otherwise.

Oddly, asking why 1st-century Christians would have made claims that practically guaranteed mockery and - in many cases - an unpleasant death: wasn't considered 'intelligent.'

Belief, Decisions, and George Washington

It's still a matter of belief, of course. I could decide that John the Baptist didn't live two thousand years ago, and that Jesus wasn't born in Bethlehem and crucified near Jerusalem. I could also decide that Poughkeepsie doesn't exist, and that George Washington is a myth invented by Abraham Lincoln to justify the War Between the States.

But I believe that what happened, happened; and that Poughkeepsie really exists.

Oddly, saying that Jesus wasn't real, or that he wasn't anything more than a political reformer, would probably let me be recognized as 'intelligent' these days. But saying that Lincoln invented Washington so he could start a war - - - come to think of it, if I stressed the 'white racist warmonger' angle, I might not be called crazy.

These are interesting times.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "I Worship a Jew"
  (April 3, 2011)
• "I Don't Understand the Incarnation: No Surprise There"
  (January 12, 2011)
• "Reason, Faith and 'What Folks Know, that Just Ain't So' "
  (June 4, 2010)
• "Good Friday, Catholic Beliefs, and Fitting In"
  (April 3, 2010)
• "A Few Thoughts, After Leaving my Brain in Neutral"
  (January 3, 2010)
  Particularly
  • A Myth-taken Meaning of "Myth"