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Christmas: are the themes exhausted?

Sometimes it seems we live in an age where not just skepticism but a ruthless kind of reasoning prevails - one that's not only indifferent to but impatient with Christianity. Indeed, it seems to be an age impatient with idealism of any kind. I mean, many a pundit nowadays may once have been an idealist still surfing upon the optimism of the Age of Reason - but then came the advent of twentieth century dictators and events like the Holocaust. Or as one writer has put it: the skeptic of today was once "a liberal who has been mugged by reality."

And what is this new reality that can turn an idealist into a skeptic or "realist"? "The fact that Evil exists, that the Good will always be engaged in a mortal conflict with the Bad and, if you wish to maintain an enclave of security and longevity, be prepared to react. For instance, it was the wishy-washiness of the German republic of the 1920's that allowed the evil of Nazism to prevail. If they had been realists, they would have snuffed out the pestilence the moment it appeared - and without a qualm. Hit it before it hits you. History has proven that life is one of perennial warfare. In other words, close the New Testament with all its talk about mercy, forgiveness, turn the other cheek, Good Samaritans and universal love. Such talk is irresponsible in a world in which new threats arise with the birth of every generation." And I must say, when you hear this argument, it's almost convincing.

What was it Theodore Roosevelt said? "Speak softly but carry a big stick" - except that now even speaking softly has become suspect, because in the face of Evil with a capital E softness of any kind may invite disaster. Of course there's nothing new about this fatal conviction that life will always be a perpetual conflict between Good and Evil, between Clint Eastwood and Lee van Cleef, between Muhammad Ali and Joe Foster, not to be impeded by any rules set by the Marquis of Queensberry. The Church is old enough to remember a similar opinion called Manichaeism that held to the existence of a Good God and an Evil God - of equal weight - and you'd better choose which side you're on! And then there was Machiavelli who suggested we operate on the principle that "men are more ready for evil than for good" and Thomas Hobbes, a 17th century English supporter of tough absolute monarchies, who declared that " the condition of man" must forever be " a condition of war of everyone against everyone."

For many today, understandably depressed by events like the Holocaust and international terrorism, such pessimism has become a dogma, a final estimate of human nature. Nor like King Ahaz in today's first reading nor Joseph in today's Gospel are they inclined to believe in miracles. "Don't beguile me with signs of hope," says Ahaz. And as for Joseph, the mystery of Mary's pregnancy is a bit too much to swallow - until God reaches into his unconscious by way of a dream and overcomes his hesitancy to opt for something more than "divorcing" himself from a "naughty" situation.

Where do we stand in relation to modern desperation and the dualism it generates? Are we Manichaeans? Has Machiavelli taken the place of the Gospel in our heart of hearts? Are the themes of Christmas with all their songs about peace on earth and good will to men exhausted for us? Or can we still align ourselves with R. S. Thomas who in his brief poem Blind Noel writes:

Christmas; the themes are exhausted.
Yet there is always room
on the heart for another
snowflake to reveal a pattern.

-- Geoff Wood