Vincent J. Curtis
22 Dec 2017
RE: Making Christmas Make Sense (Hamilton Spectator 22 Dec
2017)
After perusing Dr. Latham Hunter’s article, her question,
“how does an anti-consumerist atheist celebrate at this time of year?” can be
easily answered. For a dyspeptic progressive, one dwells upon the suffering
of people you hate.
The trouble is, Trump has had such a good year, you can’t
even image that he is suffering. That puts killjoy progressives into a
foul mood.
What a waste of education Latham has had. A professor of “communications and cultural
studies” she apparently neither knows nor cares much about geography or
history. Her reference to a “Caucasian Christmas” is a pathetic attempt
to taint Christianity with racism. Well, the people of the Caucasus are
mostly Muslim. The word she ought to have used was “European,” or, more
precisely, “Roman.” And Christianity is for anyone and everyone, of any
race. Including her. The cheap
shot alleging racism doesn’t hold.
Her reference to suffering in the world as somehow
dispositive of the non-existence of
God is one of the most easily refuted of the objections to existence of God.
But it would be too much work for her to look up whether someone of serious
intellect has written about her rather obvious objection. (They
have. Try Edward Feser, for a modern
one.) Instead, she would rather read
second and third hand accounts of the origin of certain aspects of the
celebration of the birth of Christ continued today, as though these origins too
reflected adversely on the existence of God. It never occurs to her to
wonder what really did happen 2000 years ago that caused all these people to do
all these things that Latham, from her high intellectual perch, looks down
upon. (In philosophical terms, to discover what is the primary cause that
has all these instrumental causes doing what they do.)
It never occurs to her to wonder why man the world over, and
from the first one, looked for a deeper meaning to life and the world, and
wondered about God Why did this trait develop during Darwin’s ascent from
the apes, a trait she holds in contempt? There must be a reason. Why hasn’t she explored the
matter herself, with her great intellect?
Christmas makes sense to a lot of people, and has for a long
time. If Hunter took her own thinking seriously, she would ignore
everything, be a killjoy to her kids, deny them Christmas presents, and show up
for work on Christmas Day. But she won't.
-30-
It is a wonder what a difference presidential leadership makes. Two years ago, under President Obama, the
expression, “Merry Christmas” was considered suspect, non-inclusive, and perhaps
even a little hostile to non-Christians, such as Muslims and atheists. Now, under President Donald Trump, the
expression is back in vogue. Christians may now feel that have permission for a little cultural pushback against the
progressive killjoys like Obama, and Hunter.
No comments:
Post a Comment