Steve McAlpine pulls up a chair to Christmas and asks if the increasingly secular scene we're looking at is one we'll be happy with in years to come.

Steve believes Christmas is becoming like so much of the other stuff that Christianity gave to the world - advances that many in the West think sprang up from nowhere. 

The idea seems to be that if we can have the fruit of the gospel without the root of the gospel, we'll be just fine. And now pretty much the same for Christmas. If we can have the effect without the cause, the trimmings without the turkey, the packaging without the present, that will be fine as well.

But Steve says the Christian response should be so much more than just mourning the loss of a nativity scene at the local carols.  Something critical is lost when we give up the idea of a free gift at Christmas time - a biblical idea rooted in covenant and the promise-keeping God.

LINKS

Steve recommends you check out the work of uber-historian Tom Holland, The Myth of 'pagan' Christmas.

And if you're interested in having the link between Christmas and pagan celebrations further debunked, check out Pagan Christmas on History For Atheists.