Faith in Christmas by Baxter Black

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cowz

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Faith in Christmas

It's Christmas time, when we celebrate the birth of Christ. In the U.S., surveys show that more than 80 percent of us believe in God. That's more people than have lawyers, drive foreign cars, believe DNA is absolute proof of a criminal act, own a home, have been divorced or watch Oprah.

How can such a high percentage of a highly educated, well-read, technologically and scientifically knowledgeable people believe in an omnipotent being? Where inside of us is the biological process that allows faith to exist? Not just to exist but to flourish. How do you define the words soul, love, compassion, conscience, guilt or sorrow without going outside the parameters of scientific definition?

To choose to believe only what is scientifically provable is to assume, I guess, that all human behavior can be traced to the basic instincts of territoriality, reproduction of species, and survival. That a conscience is a highly refined sophisticated mechanism that somehow helps keep peace in the herd, ensures that each member gets her share of the kill and that each dog in the pack gets a place in the pecking order.

If Earth is truly just a long series of accidental chemical bondings and adaptation to the environment, and God has no hand in it, then those animal rights folks who say a rat is a dog is a baby, are right. Human existence on earth would have no significance, no more than dinosaurs, rocks, oxygen, stars, wars or renal dialysis. As Bertrand Russell, an atheist, once said, "Unless one assumes a God, any discussion of life's purpose is meaningless."

One of the dilemmas that deep thinkers have is the need to explain the biological, physical, neural or meteorological mechanisms that allow something to happen. Miracles are hard for them to swallow. There must be some earthly explanation that the Dead Sea parted, Lazarus rose from the dead and Jesus turned water to wine.

It is necessary for them to write off Jesus feeding the multitude. To conclude the Bible is more fiction than fact. That Christmas is just a benign commercial day off.

But for the vast majority of Americans, Christmas is the recognition of something bigger than ourselves. It also strengthens our beliefs and reminds us that Jesus was born to change the world and that He has. Our entire concept of God exists by faith. It's not complicated. When I'm asked if I believe Christ was born of a virgin, I say, of course!? If I can believe in something so almighty, all-powerful and unbelievable as God, I can surely believe Jesus was His son.

Merry Christmas, and God bless you.

This was written by Baxter Black, author, cowboy poet and former large animal veterinarian, lives in Benson, Ariz.




 

aj

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I am an amateur anthropologist. I don't go to church much. I don't like some of the baggage of organized religion. A couple of days ago I had a discussion with a reverend in town(at the coop coffee table of all Places). He has a collection of artifacts from the woodland peoples from Nebraska. So he is a amateur archeology. We were talking artifacts. It is a rule to not not mix science and religion but I ask him anyway. How long did he think natives in north america. He surprised me and said 6000 bp.He than made a good point. He said it takes as much faith to believe in the big bang theory or single cell evolution into humans as it does to believe in a creator. To me this was brilliant. I believe in a creator and I think that science and and the bible willeventually be shown to come together. I don't think the archeologists are as smart as we think we are. The people writing the bible didn't have the science we know today. I think man might have been in north america 10,000 to 15,000 bp(before present). I am not a neanderthal believer really though. So... I have broken the rule and mixed science with religion but good post cowz. Keep CHRIST in christmas.
 
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