Asymmetric Religion and Philosophy

Caravaggio adds one of those Saints who experienced Christ during his lifetime, St. Francis.

About 2000 years ago, God decided to become man in addition to God to fulfill a mission He gave Himself, the redemption of the world. Respecting our free will, God sought the cooperation of she whom He created for that purpose, Mary.

I can prove this indirectly through the testimony of the apostles, all of whom suffered and died carrying out their own mission assigned to them by Jesus, to spread the Good News. We also have the reality of unique miracles, personal witnesses, and the peaceful transformation of an entire society. Nobody can disprove it directly or indirectly without arguing that the God of their conception wouldn't follow this course or that there isn't a God at all. Therefore a leap, but not one that must ignore reality or dismiss counter-evidence: God thinks faith important and I don't expect completely verifiable evidence until He comes again.

One may assume that such a course better served Cosmic Justice. Actions must be recompensed physically as well as in thought. The means by which God deals with humanity's straying, a mystery which requires faith in man's free will- that man could have done otherwise even with God's foreknowledge, is sacrifice, a recurrent theme in God's history with us and instituted to help us appreciate the truth.

God simply wants us to recognize this reality, to believe what truly is, and in keeping with the emphasis on physical actions, to live in accordance with that truth. The moral ordering of the world is faintly written on our heart and He's given us sacraments, scripture, and an earthly authority, His Church, to help us out.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I love everything related to this season- the music, movies, decorations; and the way they combine with my memories of Christmases past and what I believe about the holy day to effect a real inner-transformation, one that conforms to the traditional urgings of the Advent season: peace, charity, brotherhood.

Merry Christmas