I gasped at his candor, but agreed with him even though I knew little of the knowledge from which he drew his conclusions. You must remember the times when this statement was made. Sen. Joseph McCarthy was near the peak of his power. Ours was a very constrained society full of all sorts of silent "Thou shalt's" and "Thou shalt not's" -- how we dressed, how we wore our hair, where we ought to live, etc. etc. And, as for matters of religion, nobody felt free to voice their skepticisms in public.
And so I was jolted by Dr. Davies' comment, knowing that it would create a stir. And yes, it did, prompting many calls to the radio station and letters to the Washington Post. And Dr. Davies' church services were packed for several Sundays thereafter.
But Dr. Davies was only doing his duty as a liberal minister, confronting ancient dogmatism for what it is -- an arrogant assertion of opinion as fact. This is called dogma or doctrine in religious context. One could say that A. Powell Davies was confronting the dogma in the manger (pun intended, and not original with me, I must admit). (Puns come easily at Christmastime, when we feel particularly nostalgic and Santa-mental.)
We American Unitarians have been demythologizing Christmas and other religious beliefs for nearly 200 years. We have taken our lumps over that time because of this. But few mainline Christians today would disagree with our criticisms about how Christ was put into Christmas. We hope not to debunk Christmas, only to show how it all came about. We don't want to take Christ out of Christmas, for that can never be undone. We'd only like to send the dogma yelping down the street. When the Christmas myths are understood, we draw away the blinds that have hindered our understandings of this remarkable season, which encompasses almost all peoples of the world.
How did the dogma get into the manger? It arrived in small and large steps over many centuries as the Christians appropriated an ancient festival to their own use. There were Christmases by other names long before the Christian Christmas. (Christmas is one letter short for the term Christ Mass, by which the early church celebrated the birth of Jesus. What time of the year he was born is unknown.) Also, there were Christs by other names long before the Christian Christ.
Many ancient festivals are centered around the annual winter solstice, when the sun was lowest in the winter skies. Such festivals go back to the dawning of civilizations, when all religions were nature religions, expressing the human response to the Earth, the sky and the seasons as they affected human life. Of all the seasonal changes, the winter solstice is the most dramatic. The ancients perceived the sun sinking away and feared that it might not return. In many ways they sought to persuade the sun god or other gods and goddesses to bring back light and warmth and fertility to the world. Huge bonfires would even be lit in order to warm the sun back to life.
The solstice celebration that was most encountered by early Christians was the Roman Saturnalia, a wild bash of several days ending on December 25th, which was the earliest day that astronomical measurements of that time showed that the sun was returning. Those lusty, pagan, sun-worshipping Romans ate, drank, debauched and made merry. They even exchanged gifts. Good will was the mode; even slaves were allowed "freedoms" not possible for the other 51 weeks of the year. (Many heirs of Roman noblemen were conceived at this time.)
Constantine, the first Christian emperor, in the fourth century sought to suppress Saturnalia as well as other pagan practices. He was unsuccessful. He discovered that a ruler might smash the idols and altars of the native religions but never destroy the deeply held practices themselves.
And so, following the universal dictum that "If you can't lick 'em, join 'em," the early Christians appropriated Saturnalia to their own uses. It so happened that December 25th was also celebrated as the birth of the sun god, Mithra. Mithraism was the chief religious competition encountered by the Christians. And so, what was more natural than for this rising new religion to take over the birthday of the old god and celebrate their own god's birth? Thus, the Christ Mass was moved from an earlier place on the calendar to December. Heretofore, the birth of Jesus had hardly been recognized by the church. It was a lesser holy day. The church's main emphasis was Holy Week and Easter, for therein was contained the whole of the Christian message: the Resurrection. But with the appropriation of Saturnalia, Christianity had yet another festival by which it could gain popularity and strength.
As I said earlier, there were many Christs, or Messiahs, before the Christian Messiah came along. For the idea of a savior is one of the most ancient of human yearnings -- the hope that a divine deliverer from heaven will save the world from its sins and sorrows.
One such earlier Messiah was Zoroaster, Persian founder of Zoroastrianism some 700 years earlier, who, like Jesus, was believed a human being before he became God. Later it was even believed that Zoroaster was born of a virgin and that his birth had been foretold by prophets who called him "savior." The story also claimed that Zoroaster had been rescued in infancy from a jealous ruler and that he later performed miracles and impressed his elders with his wisdom. Does any of this sound familiar?
And please note these other earlier Messiahs. Hercules' birth also was celebrated on December 25th and he also was believed born of a virgin. Krishna, the incarnate Hindu God, was believed born in a cave of a virgin mother while shepherds watched their flocks. Krishna also had to flee from a wicked king.
And, to add a few more Messiahs -- the god Dionysus was born of a virgin and of the god Zeus. The Assyrian god Tammuz was virgin-born, as was the Phrygian sun god, Attis.
And so the ancient gods receded into the past, replaced by the babe in the manger, born on December 25th in Bethlehem. The dogma had arrived in the manger.
In addition, numerous other practices have accrued to the winter solstice celebration, not as dogma but because they serve human needs. From all over Europe, customs were adopted by Christianity. The emphasis on peace and good will, the Yule log, the green decorated tree, gift-giving, the mistletoe over the door with its earthly pagan message of fertility, the baking of special cakes and cookies, even the spirit of kindliness and gaiety and the old "Ho ho ho!" All these European pagan practices were deeply rooted when Christianity arrived on the scene. Even today we are creating new Christmas myths and practices: new carols, popular songs, stories such as "The Night Before Christmas," "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," "Amahl" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
Yes, Christmas is full of adaptations and accretions that bring additional charm and delight to the season, just as each of us adds beauty and memories to our family Christmas trees by means of the new decorations we add each year, each with its own story, its own special meaning. The Christmas tree with its multitude of ornaments is the perfect metaphor for our modern Christmas.
And so, we Unitarian Universalists demythologize Christmas, we chase the dogma from the manger, not to diminish it but to make it all the more lovely and understandable. By challenging the literal belief in the myths, we are freed to accept the magic and the power of those very same Christmas myths on our own terms -- each of us finding meaning and joy in the season in our own ways.
In doing this, then, the babe in the manger is no longer the Christ who would work miracles and change the world. Rather, the infant becomes the possibility -- the possibility of the human ideal as expressed through the life of a humble Jewish carpenter's son who lived, pondered the meanings of life, sought to improve the human situation and became so beloved of his followers that they made a god of him after he was dead.
If we are truly free of a literalistic understanding of the Nativity stories of Jesus' birth, then we are freed to enjoy all of Christmas and even its magical and miraculous stories. For then, the wise men, the angels on high, the star over the manger, the virgin mother and the babe -- all become charming symbols of the utterly human spirit that Christmas embodies in all its lovely ways.
"Emmanuel -- he shall be called Emmanuel," the Old Testament said, in reference to the Messiah. Emmanuel means "God with us." From this, Christians claim that Jesus was God. I cannot accept this literally. I interpret it to mean just what it says: God with us. And Jesus was but one example of the divine flame that burns within us all, but perhaps most brilliantly in his unique personhood. But, even if Jesus had never been, I think we could still sing "Emmanuel," particularly during this season, when the spirit seems most apparent within and among us. It can be called the Christ Spirit, or the Buddha Spirit, or the Krishna Spirit, the Native American spirit of "Wakonda," the Chanukah spirit, or by any other name. The label is not important -- the reality remains.
In this darkest time of the year, in a world full of suffering, conflict and cruelty all about us, human beings still recall a simple birth of another human being some 2,000 years ago and they take heart and find renewed hope. In view of the sordid reality, how can this be?
Perhaps it is because human beings, in their deepest need, seem to still find a hopeful side to existence. And Christmas helps us to do so. For Christmas reaffirms the best of humanity in the face of the worst. Christmas says: "God is with us, and human beings can be, and are, kindly and good."
And finally, demythologized, Christmas becomes not just Jesus' birthday but everyone's birthday -- a time when everyone should give and get a birthday present. By demythologizing Christmas and chasing the dogma from the manger, we may just have some effect against the dogmatic claims of one religion that Christmas belongs only to them.
Christmas belongs to all people, of all faiths. And, when so understood, we can then begin to enjoy the simple and natural and lovely beauty of this festival of lights and love -- enjoyment unencumbered by the supernaturalism and dogma of the past. Then the Christmas Spirit becomes alive in us, and a star will be our guide as we also make our journey to the manger.
May the joy of Christmas
brighten our hearts.
May the hope of Christmas
embolden our vision,
And may the promise of Christmas
be made manifest
through our love and compassion.
So may it be.
* * * * * * * * * *
Note: For the title and many of the ideas in this sermon, I give credit to the late Rev. Peter Samson and the Rev. Phillip Hewitt.
The sermon in a Unitarian Universalist setting is never the last word on any subject, but rather an invitation to further dialog.
You may want to read other visitors' comments on Rev. Oren A. Peterson's "How the Dogma Got into the Manger" .
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