Merry Christmas, Dear Atheist (and Free Mark Steyn!, too)

From Albert Mohler:

Richard Dawkins appears quite comfortable with his status as the world's most influential apostle of atheism. He can rest his atheist laurels on the reputation of his best-selling book, The God Delusion, and his incessant advocacy of atheism in the media worldwide. To date, Professor Dawkins has demonstrated a take-no-prisoners approach to pressing his case, arguing that parents who inculcate religious beliefs within their own children are guilty of a form of child abuse.

And yet, it seems that Dawkins now wants to call himself a "cultural Christian." The BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] reports that Dawkins now wants the traditions of cultural Christianity and plans to sing Christmas carols this season "along with everybody else." Now, why would an atheist want to sing Christmas carols?. . .

Read it all.
H/t to The WebElf Report. And check out their new blog, Free Mark Steyn! As Binks says:

Why this blog? I’m defending Mr. Mark Steyn and his right to say stuff, not every single thought he ever had or wrote or said. Don’t know the guy, yet I’ve read (and enjoyed) the hateful and narrow-minded Islamophobical screed America Alone, and many other of his columns, comments, videos, and suchlike– and actually wrote to The Steyn himselfs on certain aspects of the AA book I disagreed with. No doubt he’ll address my concerns in an upcoming abjcct apology edition of the book, over which I demand complete editorial control, including the cover art, dedication, pagination, font, and paper-quality.

Our freedoms are under attack, and this is the thin edge of the wedge, and a foretaste of more and worse to come. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Just saying, that’s all.

A Christmas Letter from Archbishop Orombi, Uganda

From here:

To: The Church of Christ
Overseas

Dear Brethren,

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord! Christmas is already on us yet it looks like not long ago we went through one.

Christmas message is of the God who is generous. He is not only generous but also mindful of his creation. He gave his only one son to come among us and experience our natural birth, life and death.

He was born in Bethlehem a small town of no significant yet historically important because it is known as the city of King David.

The heavenly king is born in the city of King David, what a royalty. I believe we have a picture in Christmas of a humble king born in a humble stable to show the humble nature of incarnation of the almighty God. This is the picture of the God who loves his people whom he treasures and sought to become part of—God with us (Emmanuel).

We can now see the dawn of the light of God coming onto the darkness of human misery. Once we were in darkness of hopelessness but now we have hope because the Saviour has come to identify with us.

In a world where so much has gone wrong—wars, floods, earthquakes, injustice, greed, abortion, prostitutions, broken families, the birth of Jesus bring new hope. It shows a new understanding of the love of God.

God was not afraid to come and face the brokenness of humanity but was willing to be part of it. He shares in our pain, confusion and lost-ness. We can never forget the price he paid.

This great sacrifice is what speaks to us in Uganda as we witness transformation taking place in a family suffering with A HIV/ADS positive family members. A mother whose child has died of malaria, a family who has lost a home due to the floods, a family starting again after many years in the camp. All look to a God who understands the pain and suffering of humanity by personally getting involved.

As this is a season of celebration may the Lord fill you with a lot of joy and peace! May you experience his love afresh as you celebrate this Season! May the New Year bring hope and Prosperity!

We remain together in the spirit of togetherness as we serve him. “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” Luke 4:14

Have a wonderful Christmas!

In His Service,

+ Henry Orombi (signature)

The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi
ARCHBISHOP OF CHURCH OF UGANDA.

H/t to Holy Trinity Anglican Church, South Haven, Michigan.

A Child of the Snows

There is heard a hymn when the panes are dim,
And never before or again,
When the nights are strong with a darkness long,
And the dark is alive with rain.

Never we know but in sleet and in snow,
The place where the great fires are,
That the midst of the earth is a raging mirth
And the heart of the earth a star.

And at night we win to the ancient inn
Where the child in the frost is furled,
We follow the feet where all souls meet
At the inn at the end of the world.

The gods lie dead where the leaves lie red,
For the flame of the sun is flown,
The gods lie cold where the leaves lie gold,
And a Child comes forth alone.

G.K. Chesterton
(1874 - 1936)

How I got my groove back: Holiday edition II

Okay, it's not Thursday yet and I still haven't "caught up" from Thanksgiving, but I love shoes again! Thanks to the Manolo (but of course!)

Manolo says, here are the beautiful Dolce and the Gabbana golden peep toe pumps, perfect for the most festive of holiday events not involving Santa-intoxicated children and mountains of tattered wrapping paper.

Not that I will ever wear these, but just looking at them is enough for now. Merry Christmas!

Spectator Christmas survey: Do you believe in the Virgin Birth?

From The Spectator (U.K.) [boldface mine] (Vital Signs Blog provided the info on who some of these people are - and some are self-explanatory):

Christmas is not just about shopping and flirting, eating and drinking, anger and remorse. It is also about the Incarnation. But how many people believe in the Christian story of Christmas, and how strong is their belief? To find out, The Spectator approached leading public figures in the Churches, in the arts and the media and in politics, and asked them: ‘Do you believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ?’ Here are their challenging — and sometimes surprising — answers.

The Most Reverend and Right Hon. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury:

Yes; I believe that the conception of Jesus was a moment when the creative action of God produced a reality as new in its way as the first moment of creation itself. And I believe that what opened the way for this was the work of God through human history over centuries, coming to its fullest moment in Mary’s consent to God’s call. The recognition of the uniqueness and newness of Jesus is a recognition of the absolute freedom of God to break the chains of cause and effect that lock us into our sins and failures; the virginal conception is an outward sign of this divine freedom to make new beginnings.

His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster:

Of course. All teaching about Mary the Mother of God points us to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. The miracle of his birth shows us that he is God-with-us. Jesus has only God as Father and Mary as Mother and in his birth we are adopted as children of the Father in the Holy Spirit. We look to Mary as a Mother who loves us.

Colin Wilson (prolific English writer whose novels and non-fiction alike dwell on the issues of human potential and existentialism):

No, of course I don’t, and I imagine you’ll have some difficulty finding any educated person who believes in it, or any other Christian dogma. Of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, only the third survives.

James Delingpole (British libertarian who writes on matters political and social):

Look, I’ve successfully survived 42 years as a member of the Church of England without ever having to give serious thought to the Virgin Birth and I jolly well don’t see why I should be put on the spot now just for the sake of a Speccie feature. I guess that makes me a ‘Don’t Know’, which is a terrible thing to admit given that I’m halfway towards being a pillar of my beloved Chelsea Old Church. But that’s the great thing about being C of E, isn’t it? If I were Catholic, I suppose I’d have to find the issue intensely important. Me, I care more about hymns having the right tunes, and the Prayer Book being 1662. . .

The Revd Professor Keith Ward (theologian, professor, and ordained priest in the Church of England):

I do not believe in the Virgin Birth. The point of the Biblical account is to see Jesus as the start of a new creation, fulfilling the hopes of the ‘virgin Israel’. I do not dogmatically deny it, but think it probably legendary.

The Revd Nicky Gumbel, Vicar, Holy Trinity, Brompton (former atheist, lawyer, author, ordained Anglican priest, and the developer of the Alpha course, a basic introduction to Christianity supported by all the major Christian denominations):

I do believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus is the unique Son of God. The Virgin Birth was a miracle. The real issue facing the world today is ‘Is there a God?’ If there is, then miracles become a real possibility. If God is God, then he created matter, reason, time, space and all scientific laws and therefore is at liberty to interfere. If there is no God, then miracles are a problem. But philosophy and science alone will not answer the crucial question. Scientific laws are not like the laws of pure mathematics that cannot be broken. Rather they are descriptive. Once I came to believe in the great miracle — that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us — I had no problem in believing in the Virgin Birth. . .

The Rt Revd Dr Michael J. Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester:

Yes. The story is reported by both Matthew and Luke, who rely on independent traditions for their material. It is also echoed in other parts of the New Testament. There is good reason to believe that there was something very unusual about the birth of Jesus, even his enemies and detractors acknowledged this and early anti-Christian polemic had to find ways of dealing with it. Finally, there is, of course, the testimony of the Koran which relies on yet another stream of tradition! Quite a lot of evidence for the birth of a child, don’t you think?

Charles Moore (former editor of the Daily Telegraph, 1995–2003):

Jesus Christ was true God and true Man: the Virgin Birth is an obstetric statement of this fact. . .

Christopher Hitchens:

I no more believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary than I believe that Krishna was born of the virgin Devaka, Horus was born of the virgin Isis, Mercury was born of the virgin Maia or Romulus was born of the virgin Rhea Sylvia. As the preceding examples help to demonstrate, parthenogenesis would in any case not be proof either of divine paternity or of the truth of any subsequent preachings. The authors of St Matthew — whose account cannot be squared with the one offered by Luke — in any case seem to have mistranslated the Hebrew word almah, meaning ‘young woman’, from the original legend in the book of Isaiah. Christianity insults our intelligence as well as our innate morality by insisting that we believe absurdities that are drawn from the mythology of paganism and barbarism.

Paul Johnson (British Roman Catholic journalist, historian, speechwriter, popular author, winner of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom):

The Incarnation is the most delightful, human, visually beautiful and delicate of all Christian beliefs. The idea of God’s son coming to earth in the womb of a virgin, and being born in a manger, is beyond the power of any mortal imagination to invent and is so obviously true that anyone who denies it must have the feelings of a brute. . .

NO SHOWS

Three bishops were too busy to help The Spectator with its inquiries: The Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford; the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London; and the Most Revd Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States. The following politicians did not respond to approaches made through their offices: the Prime Minister (who may have been too busy), Liam Fox, David Cameron, George Galloway and Tony Blair.

Read it all.
H/t to Vital Signs Blog.

Dr John Sentamu is a mini marvel

From The Press (York, U.K.):

A SELL-OUT frenzy has stopped the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, buying a Christmas tree decoration of himself.

Miniature versions of the archbishop are hanging on festive trees in many homes across the city this Christmas - except for his own.

Dr Sentamu was approached by representatives from York Minster earlier last month and agreed to the production of the decorations in the hope it would help raise funds for the cathedral.

The 10cm fabric decorations were handmade in Thailand by a group of 30 women, and the bespoke range features a 6in-high padded Dr Sentamu wearing a gold and blue robe.

Avid Christmas decorators snapped up all 200 of the £6.50 fabric tree decorations before they even hit the shops. . .

Ah, but how are sales going for the Archbishop of Canterbury ornament?

Primates to star on top of Christmas trees

From the Telegraph (U.K.):

They have already ascended to the highest offices in the Church of England, but now two of the country's most senior clergymen are set to climb to the top of the Christmas tree.

With the festive season fast approaching, a souvenir company has produced miniature versions of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York which it hopes will prove a popular alternative to the usual star.

Like the archbishop Dr Rowan Williams himself, the Canterbury decoration is distinguished by a Father Christmas-like white beard.

The York decoration may not bear the closest resemblance to Dr John Sentamu – the absence of his gap-toothed smile being the most obvious omission – but he has given it his blessing.

Caroline Apfel, of St Nicolas, the company that makes the decorations, said that she had been asked to design the Sentamu ornament after an approach by a representative from York Minster.

"It's an alternative to your traditional Christmas fairy," she said. "He looks brilliant – very cute.". . .

The ornaments have been hand-made by women working in cottage industries in Thailand.

The 6in decorations are being sold for £5.99 each and a proportion of the proceeds will go towards York Minster's £30 million restoration and the Save Canterbury Cathedral appeal.

Read it all and order early!

Christmas reminder

From Kendall Harmon, and TitusOneNine, comes the reason for the season:

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty winds made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter,
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty
Jesus Christ.

–Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)