I am 99.9% atheist.
In other words, I am an ultra, a hyper-agnostic.
I admit, however, that if I do not see signs of the existence of God, I cannot prove his non-existence either.
I just tell myself that the chances of it existing are extraordinarily low.
However, I have friends who are believers.
It would never occur to me to make fun of their faith, which is expressed with discretion and respect for others, without intolerance or aggression.
We
My non-belief does not, however, prevent me from loving this holiday, despite my aversion to Christmas music (except, obviously, the glorious Midnight, Christians).
Maybe it’s because of the family reunion. But there is more, I believe.
In fact, the older I get, the more I love Christmas. For what?
Here’s my hypothesis: we only realize the value of something when it is questioned.
Christmas, you have noticed, is now celebrated almost exclusively with family.
In public places, Christmas is becoming more and more discreet, more and more de-Christianized, so as not to offend “minorities”, to be “inclusive”.
Honestly, it makes me want to put nativity scenes with babies everywhere, stables shrouded in a halo of divine light, wise men and loudspeakers broadcasting hymns over and over again.
One thing is certain, if I am not of Christian faith, I am of Judeo-Christian culture, and I am very grateful to this culture, because I know everything I owe to it.
Judeo-Christian culture is one of the constituent sources of the West, perhaps the most important.
However, without turning a blind eye to its faults, its errors and its crimes, I realize that I am more and more attached to this unloved West.
For what? Precisely because it is attacked, both from within and without.
It seems perfectly undeniable to me that we are experiencing a clash of civilizations and, within ours, a cultural war.
However, we can say what we want, a handful of Western and Judeo-Christian countries are the envy of the entire world.
Is the undeniable blood on their hands (imperialism, colonialism, slavery) the only cause of their domination?
Of course not. They owe it above all to the combined effect of a bouquet of factors: spirit of enterprise and competition, individual freedoms, equal rights, belief in the benefits of science, limitation of the influence of religion, etc.
Better yet, our countries open their doors to people from elsewhere wanting to improve their lot, some of whom want to implement here the ways of thinking that have made their countries failures.
Proud
Celebrating Christmas is therefore also celebrating who we are and where we come from, and we have lots of reasons, with nuances, to be proud of it.
Merry Christmas to all our readers!
Let’s celebrate! Let’s even abuse it a little! We will start monitoring calories again in January.