During a family gathering over Christmas a family member who identifies himself as a Christian and one who considers himself an atheist got into an argument over religious beliefs. The position of the Christian was that Jesus was a savior who died for the sins of all of humanity and Christmas should include a time to honor that sacrifice. The atheist argued that if Jesus existed at all, that he was nothing more than a man with a convincing enough story that he was able to sell it to a lot of desperate people. He stated that he observed Christmas only as a way to express love to his family and friends and that the spirit of Christmas was all that needed to be acknowledged.
This unwinnable debate brought to mind the many instances I have had over the years of people who call themselves Christians asking me if I am a Christian. I generally reply to that question with a question of my own. “What exactly do you mean by ‘Christian’?” If the answer is that a Christian believes Jesus died for our sins and that we can only be saved through Jesus, I answer “No, I am not that kind of Christian.” Most of the time individuals will ask what other kind of Christian there is. My answer to that is “The kind of Christian who heard Jesus’ core message and adheres to the spirit of that message.”
Those who have truly studied the life and teachings of Jesus, apart from all the other stuff added by others over time, recognize that the core message is one of love and when you get right to the core of the message, you recognize that it doesn’t matter whether Jesus was a historical figure, as some believe, or simply a myth manufactured as a parable or teaching metaphor as others claim. When you boil it all down to love, the story is rich and full and worthy of perpetual repetition, not as history or myth, but for the purest of reasons; love.
Love is actually the entire story. It aligns religion and science and allows the theist and the atheist to agree. When love is considered from a core perspective, religion and science are in perfect agreement; they are just using different terms. But, as Shakespeare observed, “a rose by any other name is just as sweet.”
When we consider that the core message of Jesus was love and we look at the power of love, we find that the source of every miracle anyone has ever performed is really just love in action. Love does indeed heal the sick and raise the dead, and not just those who are emotionally dead either. Many people have been brought back to life by someone passionately administering CPR or by a doctor working passionately over a clinically dead patient to revive them.
And that’s just the beginning. Love is actually irresistible attraction and when you explore irresistible attraction, you discover that virtually everything that exists; all matter, all life, all energy has its being in irresistible attraction. Every substance, be it solid, liquid, or gas is made up of atoms which are themselves made up of electrons, protons and neutrons with specific attraction features. All matter, all energy and even life itself exists because of irresistible attraction.
Science calls irresistible attraction by names like electromagnetism, gravity, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, etc. Biologists call it instinct. Psychologists call it urges, obsessions, wants and needs. Some who consider it from a spiritual perspective call it the law of attraction, others call it love.
No matter what you call it or to what source you attribute it, the result is the same. Love creates. Love heals. Love attracts. All that exists or ever has existed or ever will exist has its being in irresistible attraction and in the purest sense that is exactly what love is. The scientifically minded can call it whatever they want as can the spiritually inclined, but it’s just a “rose” by another name.
We often hear religious people proclaim “God is love.” Perhaps a more accurate statement might be “Love is God.” If all things exist, including life itself, as a result of irresistible attraction and if love is simply a term for irresistible attraction, then truly love is the source of all creation.
Some people believe that Christmas is a celebration of a man named Jesus. Some believe it is about the spirit of love and giving. Ultimately, everyone is right. Jesus taught love. He lived by it and he died for it. So the real story of Jesus is that love heals. Through love we are able to forgive past transgressions. Through love we help and support one another. Through love we gather together to celebrate the bonds we share with family and friends.
No matter what we believe about Christmas or the reason for the season, at the core of it all is a single, simple truth; all things come together as a result of irresistible attraction; that universal force which some see as science and some know as love.